Music

03 Jan 2024

Amanda Seyfried, Will Ferrell & More Set to Present on 2024 Golden Globes

Amanda Seyfried, Will Ferrell and George Lopez are among the first round of presenters on the 2024 Golden Globe Awards, which will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on Sunday, Jan. 7, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Other presenters include Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, Gabriel Macht, Julia Garner, Justin Hartley and Patrick J. Adams. Additional presenters will be announced in the coming days.

Comedian Jo Koy is set to host the show.

Yeoh and Bassett both won Golden Globes last year. Yeoh won best performance in a motion picture – musical or comedy for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Bassett won best supporting performance in a motion picture for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Yeoh went on to make Oscar history, becoming the first Asian winner for best actress and the second woman of color, after Halle Berry, to win in that category. Bassett did not go on to win the Oscar for best supporting actress, but she is set to receive a Governors Award from the Motion Picture Academy on Jan. 9.

On the film side, Barbie is this year’s leading Golden Globes nominee with nine nods, followed by Oppenheimer (eight), Killers of the Flower Moon and Poor Things (seven each), Past Lives (five), and Anatomy of a Fall, Maestro and May December (four each).

On the TV side, Succession is the leading nominee with nine nods, followed by The Bear and Only Murders in the Building (five each) and The Crown (four).

The Golden Globes will unveil two new categories this year. Barbie, last year’s biggest box-office hit and one of its most widely admired, is expected to win the award for cinematic and box office achievement. The other nominees are Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, John Wick: Chapter 4, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Oppenheimer, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.

The other new award is best performance in stand-up comedy. The nominees are Ricky Gervais for Ricky Gervais: Armageddon, Trevor Noah for Trevor Noah: Where Was I, Chris Rock for Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, Amy Schumer for Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact, Sarah Silverman for Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love and Wanda Sykes for Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer. All but one of these specials streamed on Netflix; Silverman’s special streamed on HBO.

Emmy-winning producing duo Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner of White Cherry Entertainment will serve as executive-producing showrunners of the 2024 Golden Globes, with Weiss also set to direct. Produced and owned by Dick Clark Productions, the Golden Globe Awards is one of the few awards ceremonies to include both motion picture and television achievements.

Penske Media Corporation, Billboard’s parent company, is a part-owner of dick clark productions and has a partnership with Eldridge.

03 Jan 2024

Kelly Clarkson Reveals How She Worked Through Her Depression After Divorce

Kelly Clarkson‘s music isn’t only for her fans — it’s also to help her work through her personal hardships. In the latest issue of People, the American Idol alum revealed that writing her latest album, Chemistry, provided a healthy way to express her feelings following her divorce from ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.

 “I didn’t see it other than: This is my outlet. I’m a let-go person; I don’t hold grudges. So it was really delving into what happened in my life and why — and what am I going to do about it?” Clarkson said of releasing the record.

The three-time Grammy winner additionally expressed her gratitude at being able to use music to help her heal from difficult times. She added, “I cannot express how appreciative I feel for having that kind of healthy outlet. Because the level of depression and things that come with divorce or grieving is extraordinarily hard. You feel alone, and it’s just a blessing to be able to have that outlet for those emotions that are overwhelming.”

When Chemistry was released on June 23, Clarkson revealed that it felt like “‘I’m taking my power back.’” Though the singer joked that her choice of words sounds “very therapy,” she said the practice has only benefited her and thinks “it’s important to have those tools to navigate your life and relationships.”

Chemistry marked the 41-year-old’s 12th album to hit the Billboard 200, and her ninth to achieve top 10 status on the chart. The set peaked and debuted at No. 6 on the July 8-dated chart.

See Clarkson’s cover of People below:

03 Jan 2024

Travis Kelce Reflects on His ‘Fun’ New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve was a fairy tale for Travis Kelce. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end opened up briefly about how nice the last day of 2023 was for him in the Wednesday (Jan. 3) episode of New Heights, the podcast he cohosts with brother Jason Kelce.

While discussing the Chiefs’ big New Year’s Eve home game against the Cincinnati Bengals — which Taylor Swift attended to cheer on boyfriend Travis — Jason boasted about how his younger brother’s team not only clinched the AFC West title with its 25-17 win (the Chiefs’ eighth consecutive division title), but also earned its ninth consecutive playoff berth and ninth consecutive 10-plus win season.

“It was all around a fun game. The atmosphere was great on New Year’s Eve, a lot of Chiefs fans excited for this one,” said the tight end, who had Swift — wearing his black-and-white Chiefs jacket — supporting him in the stands. “It was a fun day, man.”

“How was having Mom there for that game?” the Eagles center asked. “Pretty good?”

“It was fun! Then we all got to celebrate New Year’s together! It was cool, man, to have all the friends and family,” said Travis, who has not only appeared on Billboard charts alongside Jason, but also topped two charts late last year with their holiday tune “Fairytale of Philadelphia.” “I think I had over 50, 55 people come in for this one. A good new year’s celebration with all the friends and fam.”

Though the player didn’t mention the 12-time Grammy winner by name during the latest podcast episode, the couple — who began dating over the summer — were spotted leaving Arrowhead Stadium together after the Chiefs’ victory. Later that day, during a New Year’s Eve party, the pair shared a sweet kiss, which was captured on video and shared on X.

Listen to Travis discuss his New Year’s Eve in the New Heights episode above.

03 Jan 2024

June Carter Cash Recalls Meeting Johnny Cash in ‘June’ Trailer

June, a documentary that premieres Jan. 16 on Paramount +, will examine the extraordinary life of June Carter Cash. 

A member of the country music’s pioneering Carter Family, Carter Cash won five Grammy awards, co-wrote the classic “Ring of Fire,” and married Johnny Cash. The songwriter, performer and actress opened for Elvis Presley and appeared onscreen with Robert Duvall and Jane Seymour. 

The documentary features rare and never-before-seen footage of Carter Cash as she carries on her family’s legacy and becomes half of a power couple with Cash. Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Kacey Musgraves and Reese Witherspoon — who won an Oscar in 2006 for her portrayal of Carter Cash in Walk the Line — also contribute.

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Carter Cash, who died in April 2003 at age 73, charted as a solo artist only once on Billboard’s Country singles chart in 1971 with “A Good Man,” but found greater success with her duets with Cash, reaching the top 10 four times with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe” (1964), “Jackson” (1967), “Long-Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man” (1967) and “If I Were a Carpenter” (1969). Cash scored a hit with “Ring of Fire,” taking the song to No. 1 for seven weeks on the country chart in 1963. 

June is produced by Jason Owen and Josh Matas for Sandbox Productions, Mary Robertson for Maxine Productions, Sarah Olson and Kristen Vaurio. Executive producers include Tom Mackay and Krista Wegener for Sony Music Entertainment, Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman for Sony Pictures Television, Jean Song and Chandra LaPlume for Sandbox Productions, Bruce Gillmer and Vanessa White Wolf for MTV Entertainment Studios, and her children John Carter Cash and Carlene Carter. The documentary premiered at the DOC NYC Festival on Nov. 12.

After opening in North America on Jan. 16, June will be available on Paramount + starting the next day in the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. 

03 Jan 2024

Taylor Swift Has 7 of the Top 10 on Billboard’s Album Sales Chart

Taylor Swift holds seven of the top 10 titles on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Jan. 6), marking the first time any act has concurrently claimed as many titles in the region since the chart launched in 1991. Previously, Swift held the record for the most concurrent albums in the top 10 on Top Album Sales, with six, on three separate weeks.

Swift leads the latest list with her most recent release, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which rules for a fourth nonconsecutive week. She also populates the top 10 with former chart-toppers at Nos. 2, 4, 6-8 and 10.

The Jan. 6-dated chart reflects album sales in the U.S. in the final tracking week of 2023 (Dec. 22-28), as tabulated by data-tracking firm Luminate, thus capturing some last-minute holiday shopping relating to the Christmas Day holiday on Dec. 25. Most of Swift’s sales for the week were owed to vinyl purchases. Of Swift’s total album sales across all of her albums for the week, including those not in the top 10, vinyl sales accounted for 65% of her total sales.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) heads up the new Top Album Sales chart, holding at No. 1 with 61,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 28 (down 36%). She’s also in the top 10 with Midnights (holding at No. 2 with 24,000; down 44%), Lover (3-4 with 22,000; down 28%), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (4-6 with 20,000; down 31%), Evermore (12-7 with 17,000; up 5%), Folklore (6-8 with 16,000; down 38%) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (holding at No. 10 with 13,000; down 29%).

The only non-Swift titles in the top 10 are Stray Kids’ ROCK-STAR (7-3 with 23,000; down 3%), Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts (holding at No. 5 with 20,000; down 22%) and ATEEZ’s The World EP.Fin: Will (8-9 with 14,000; down 33%) – all former No. 1s.

In the week ending Dec. 28, there were 2.507 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 29.4% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 2.172 million (down 32.5%) and digital albums comprised 335,000 (up 0.1%).

There were 755,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Dec. 28 (down 34.4% week-over-week) and 1.409 million vinyl albums sold (down 31.4%).

03 Jan 2024

Joe Bonsall, Tenor Singer for The Oak Ridge Boys, Announces Retirement From Touring

Joe Bonsall, who has spent the past five decades as the tenor singer for Country Music Hall of Fame group The Oak Ridge Boys, has officially revealed his plans to retire from touring.

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In 1973, Bonsall left his position with gospel group The Keystones to join The Oak Ridge Boys. With his signature tenor and charismatic persona, Bonsall entertained audiences on stages around the world for 50 years, alongside his Oak Ridge Boys bandmates Duane Allen, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban. Along the way, the group notched more than a dozen No. 1 Hot Country Songs hits, including their signature 1981 hit “Elvira,” which earned the group one of their five Grammy wins.

Bonsall noted that his decision to retire from the road is due to an ongoing health issue. For more than four years, Bonsall has battled the slow onset of a neuromuscular disorder.

“I am now at a point where walking is impossible, so I have basically retired from the road. It has just gotten too difficult,” Bonsall said in a statement. “It has been a great 50 years, and I am thankful to all the Oak Ridge Boys band crew and staff for the constant love and support shown to me through it all. I will never forget, and for those of you who have been constantly holding me up in prayer, I thank you and ask for you to keep on praying.”

Bonsall’s departure from the road marks a significant lineup change for the group, as Bonsall, Allen, Golden and Sterban have helmed the group for the past 50 years, save for an eight-year timespan when the now-deceased Steve Sanders had replaced Golden.

Ben James

Ben James

Courtesy of The Oak Ridge Boys

Bonsall’s touring replacement will be Ben James, 27, known for his previous work with Doyle Lawson’s band Quicksilver, as well as Dailey & Vincent’s band. James is also a songwriter, penning “I Hear You Calling” and “Teardrops in Tennessee” as part of his recent solo album Wonderland.

Bonsall officially introduced James to Oaks fans in his statement, saying, “There is a young man named Ben James singing for me out there, and he needs your love and encouragement … his sound is different than mine, but he brings a ton of talent to the table! The Oak Ridge Boys will finish the Farewell Tour without me, but rest assured, I am good with all of it! God’s Got It!!!”

James was introduced to The Oak Ridge Boys during a 2022 concert in Wheeling, West Virginia, where Dailey & Vincent shared the bill with The Oak Ridge Boys. Bonsall’s final show was on Dec. 17, while James’s first show with the group took place Dec. 30.

“Joe handed me the mic and said, ‘You’ve got the next verse,’ James recalled in a statement. “And I’m not sure I will ever get over that moment. ‘Elvira’ was always on repeat when I was growing up. It’s still one of those timeless songs that never grow old.”

In September, The Oak Ridge Boys announced their farewell tour, The Oak Ridge Boys American Made Farewell Tour, with a full slate of shows for 2024. The group is also slated to return to the studio with producer Dave Cobb later this month. To date, the Oak Ridge Boys have worked on four projects with Cobb,

See below for a full slate of The Oak Ridge Boys American Made Farewell Tour shows for 2024:

The Oak Ridge Boys American Made Farewell Tour:

Jan 20: The Grand 1894 Opera House – Galveston, Texas
Jan. 21: The Grand 1894 Opera House – Galveston, Texas
Feb. 2: Boot Barn Hall (Gainesville) – Gainesville, Ga.
Feb. 11: San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo – San Antonio, Texas
Feb. 29: Florida Strawberry Festival 2024 – Plant City, Fla.
March 2: Montgomery Performing Arts Centre – Montgomery, Ala.
March 15: Foxwoods Resort Casino – Ledyard, Conn.
March 16: American Music Theatre – Lancaster, Pa.
March 17: American Music Theatre – Lancaster, Pa.
March 23: Sugar Creek Casino – Hinton, Okla.
April 4: Oxford Performing Arts Center – Oxford, Ala.
April 5: City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium – Morganton, N.C.
April 6: Alabama Theatre North – Myrtle Beach, S.C.
April 10: Clay County Agricultural Fair – Green Cove Springs, Fla.
May 17: Peoples Bank Theatre – Marietta, Ohio
May 18: The Oak Ridge Boys American Made Farewell Tour – Defiance, Ohio
June 7: Hartville Kitchen – Hartville, Ohio
June 8: Hartville Kitchen – Hartville, Ohio
Sept. 15: Kansas State Fair – Hutchinson, Kansas

03 Jan 2024

Dionne Warwick, Chloé Bailey & More to be Saluted at 2024 Urban One Honors

Dionne Warwick, Chloé Bailey, Frankie Beverly and Donald Lawrence will be saluted at the 2024 Urban One Honors, which is set to tape on Saturday, Jan. 20 at the Coca Cola Roxy in Atlanta. The two-hour telecast will premiere on Sunday, Feb. 25 on TV One and simulcast on CLEO TV.

Warwick will be recognized as the lifetime achievement honoree, Bailey as the generation next honoree, Beverly as a living legend, and Lawrence for his inspirational impact.

Both Warwick and Beverly have had their old hits revived very successfully in the recent past. Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red,” which features Warwick’s 1964 hit “Walk on By,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks last year. In 2019, Beyoncé covered Beverly’s 1981 hit with Maze, “Before I Let Go,” on Homecoming: The Live Album.

Beyoncé was born two weeks after Maze’s record entered Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, as Top R&B/Hip-Hop Songs was then known. Doja Cat was born more than 30 years after “Walk on By” was a hit – which shows the longevity of this prized material.

Warwick, 83, received the Kennedy Center Honors in a ceremony which aired on CBS on Dec. 27. The five-time Grammy-winner received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2019.

Lawrence, 62, won a Grammy in 2008 for best traditional gospel album for Live – One Last Time.

Bailey, 25, has received five Grammy nods, including best new artist, as part of Chloe X Halle.

Beverly, 77, the leader of Frankie Beverly & Maze, has never even been nominated for a Grammy, but the group received a BET lifetime achievement award at the 2012 BET Awards.

“As we unveil the lineup for this year’s Urban One Honors, we are delighted to highlight [their] incredible musical journeys,” Michelle Rice, president of TV One and CLEO TV, said in a statement. “Their selection as honorees is a recognition of their profound impact on both music and culture, spanning generations.”

Urban One Honors bills itself as the ultimate celebration of Black excellence, acknowledging individuals who have left an indelible mark on the arts, media, music and the community. This year’s theme is “Best in Black.”

Bebe Winans, Angie Stone, Teyana Taylor, Damon Little and October London will also appear on the show. There will also be an R&B Divas reunion featuring KeKe Wyatt, Chanté Moore and Nicci Gilbert. Additional names will be announced. Singer and actress LeToya Luckett returns to host the event’s Backstage Pass, featuring exclusive interviews with the show’s honorees, performers and presenters.

The 2024 Urban One Honors marks the official kickoff celebration for TV One’s 20th Anniversary. Throughout the year, TV One is set to roll out an array of special programming featuring curated retrospectives, exclusive behind-the-scenes content and a series of commemorative events.

Urban One Honors is produced for TV One by James Seppelfrick of The Cheat Code. Marilyn Gill is the executive producer. Myriam Leger will serve as director and Daniel Moore as music director. Kashon Powell is the vice president of programming for Radio One and Susan Henry is the executive producer in charge of production for TV One.

03 Jan 2024

Metro Boomin Planning a Trifecta of Albums in 2024

Metro Boomin had an epic 2023, but the in-demand producer is promising he’s got an even bigger 2024 on tap. After co-producing Young Thug’s Business Is Business album and reportedly producing the delayed joint Ye/Ty Dolla $ign collection Vultures — as well as curating the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack — MB promised in an exchange with a fan on X on New Year’s Eve that there is way more coming over the next 365.

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“How many albums do you think you’ll be dropping in 2024?” the X user asked on the eve of the new year. “3 at the very least,” Boomin responded, without specifying the titles or released dates for the projects. The promise of a trifecta came after MB tweeted, “2023 was great but just watch what I do 2024!!!!!”

While Boom didn’t name names, among the albums he appeared to be referring to are anticipated joint projects with Future and J.I.D., as well as a follow-up to his 2022 studio album Heroes & Villains; he is also producing A$AP Rocky and The Weeknd’s next efforts.

Back in October, MB chatted with Billboard for a cover story in which he revealed that there was a studio snafu while he was working on beats for the Future project. “They was beats I was making for the next time I see him, and they was going crazy. Boom, boom, boom. And I just came from Atlanta, and there was a storm,” he said.

“One of my beat machines that I use…. It’s not like a computer, it’s old-school, so it’s plugged up. The power goes out, and you haven’t saved it, that’s it,” he added about the storm that zapped “3 [fire] beats” he’d cooked up on his MPC 3000. “Sometimes, if I’m so far into something and that happens, then I’ll just be like, ‘Alright, I just gotta do something.’ And that usually be a blessing in disguise, I’ve done learned, ’cause the next thing be like, ‘Oh man, I wouldn’t have had this if I hadn’t lose this,’” he said.

See the exchange below.

03 Jan 2024

Jack Harlow Goes Back to the Start in Trailer For ‘No Place Like Home: A VR Concert’ Special

They say you can’t go home again, but that is exactly what Jack Harlow does in the trailer for his upcoming concert special No Place Like Home: A VR Concert. The preview opens with Harlow enshrouded in fog on a stage accompanied by his 2023 Jackman track “Ambitious,” in which the rapper reminisces about being a “peach fuzz” faced teen with huge dreams… many of which have come true.

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The-rags-to-riches story reaches it apotheosis in the trailer, as Harlow confidently walks the stage in an all-black leather outfit in front of an adoring hometown crowd. The concert special will premiere on Thursday (Jan. 4) at 8 p.m. ET through Meta Horizon Worlds, which promises an immersive VR experience that will give fans a “front-row seat at an incredible, intimate concert,” as well as behind-the-scenes footage from the KY gigs.

The Live Nation-produced Bluegrass state tour marked the third annual hometown run for Harlow, featuring a six-show mini-tour that kicked off on Nov. 24 at Owensboro Sports Center in Owensboro, KY and wrapping up at Rupp Arena in Lexington on Dec. 3 after hitting Pikeville, Covington, Murray and Bowling Green. The string of gigs came three months after Harlow was honored with a “Hometown Heroes” banner in his hometown of Louisville.

After its premiere, No Place Like Home will be available to replay on Meta Horizon Worlds through Jan. 25. Harlow released his third studio album, Jackman, in April, spawning the global hit “Lovin’ On Me,” which rode the top of the U.K. charts in late 2023 on the way to becoming the MC’s third Hot 100 No. 1.

Watch the trailer for Harlow’s No Place Like Home concert special below.

03 Jan 2024

Noah Kahan’s ‘Stick Season’ On Track For U.K. No. 1

Last week, it was festive season on the U.K. singles chart. Now we’re entering Stick Season.

Noah Kahan is on track to snag the first U.K. No. 1 single of 2024 – and the first of his career – with “Stick Season” (via Republic Records), which leads the midweek chart.

The Vermont, U.S.-born singer and songwriter should benefit as Christmas songs make their annual migration from the weekly chart, including last week’s leader, Wham’s “Last Christmas” (Epic).

“Stick Season” is expect to lift 10-1, for its first stint at the summit in its 14th week on chart, having previously peaked at No. 2 last month.

Jack Harlow’s ex-leader “Lovin On Me” (Atlantic) is forecast to bounce 27-2, while Tate McRae’s “greedy” (Ministry of Sound) could return to podium, up 37-3 on the chart blast. Those three titles were the only non-Christmas themed recordings in the U.K. top 40 when the weekly chart was published last week.

Meanwhile, Sophie Ellis-Bextor is set for a return to the top 40 return with “Murder on the Dancefloor” (Polydor), powered by the 2001 pop song’s sync in Emerald Fennell’s dark feature film Saltburn. Lifted from the British artist’s debut full-length LP Read My Lips, “Murder” peaked at No. 2 followings its release more than two decades ago. It’s at No. 27 on the chart blast.

Finally, The Weeknd, BLACKPINK’s Jennie and Lily-Rose Depp should earn a new peak position with “One of the Girls” (Republic Records/XO). Lifted from 2023 HBO drama The Idol, “One of the Girls” is tracking for No. 20, well up on its previous peak of No. 60.

All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published Friday, Jan. 5.