Music

07 Dec 2023

Demi Lovato Talks Holiday Special, Upcoming ‘Child Star’ Documentary & New Music in 2024

In a way, 2023 was Demi Lovato‘s reset year. Across myriad projects spanning various genres and formats, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter spent the year flaunting both their versatility and their distinct star quality — two attributes that make their brand new Roku special, A Very Demi Holiday Special, an effortless winner.

They kicked off the year with “Still Alive,” an original song for the box office-topping Scream VI that earned them a best song nomination at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards. The single soon gave way to the promotional campaign for Revamped, a reclamatory endeavor that found Lovato re-recording their biggest pop hits in the rock-focused style of their recent music. Included on the album were rock-ified versions of Billboard Hot 100 hits such as “Sorry Not Sorry” (No. 6), “Heart Attack” (No. 10) and “Cool for the Summer” (No. 11), all of which were included in Lovato’s MTV VMAs performance, which Billboard ranked as the fourth best of the night.

At that ceremony, Lovato enjoyed a best pop nomination for “Swine,” a blistering protest song they released two days before the anniversary of the fall of Roe v. Wade. The track peaked at No. 12 on Alternative Digital Song Sales.

By September, Revamped — which also featured collaborations with Slash, The Maine, Nina Strauss and The Used’s Brett McCracken — became their ninth career entry on the Billboard 200 (No. 60), reaching the top 10 of Top Album Sales (No. 4), Top Rock Albums (No. 10) and Top Alternative Albums (No. 8) in the process. Nonetheless, the new projects didn’t stop there.

Outside of their own music, Lovato also found time to appear Le Sserafim’s K-pop-meets-Jersey-club “Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s Wife” remix and Luísa Sonza‘s Portuguese-language “Penhasco2,” both of which made the Billboard charts. They also released a cover of “Let Me Down Easy” from the Emmy-nominated Daisy Jones & the Six miniseries. Of course, the multi-hyphenate maintained their presence in the film and television arenas, appearing as Anonymouse on the kick-off show for the tenth season of The Masked Singer and guest-starring as herself in the third season of the FX comedy Dave.

Ready to wind down for the holidays and bask in her delightful new holiday special, Demi Lovato catches up with Billboard for a light-hearted conversation about family traditions, her upcoming Child Star documentary, a potential Christmas rock album and plans for new music next year.

Why was this the year for you to hop into your holiday bag and put on A Very Demi Holiday? 

That’s a good question and I don’t really have an answer for it! [Laughs.] It just was an opportunity that presented itself and I had to take it because I love the holidays! 

What’s your absolute favorite thing about the holidays? 

I love getting to spend time with my family. I think that’s my favorite part of the holidays. 

What are some family traditions that you guys hold near and dear to your hearts? 

Sometimes we wear onesies on Christmas morning. Other times, we have s’mores on Christmas Eve, but those aren’t traditions we do every year. We do do this tradition where we come down the stairs and look at presents, and we’ve been doing that since I was a kid — just having my mom say, “Okay, it’s time for the presents!” and then all three sisters come down at the same time. It’s cute. 

I remember you recounting those moments in the special. When it comes to getting into the Christmas spirit, what’s your personal favorite Christmas song and which performance in the special would be your top pick? 

I’d say that “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is probably my favorite Christmas song. My favorite song in the special would probably [also] be “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” because I got to do it with JoJo and we had a really great time performing together. 

You guys have worked together previously. What was it like reuniting for a Christmas cover? 

Oh, it was so great! She’s so sweet and funny and being able to work with her again was such a joy. She’s so talented. She’s such a powerhouse vocally and she’s incredible. 

It’s always a treat to hear two vocalists like yourselves joining forces on a track. In terms of the music in the special, how did you guys decide which of your original non-holiday songs to include, and what was the aim of those arrangements? 

You know, it wouldn’t really fit if I did a rock concert for a holiday special, although it depends on who you who you ask! [Laughs.] I wanted to have a different approach to it, so my band was different than my normal band and they were incredible. We had a really great time. I wanted it to feel more in line with the Christmas spirit, so that’s what I did! 

Do you have plans for this to be a recurring special, or is this one-off thing for you? 

I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see! Wait until next year. 

Between making ugly sweaters and learning the Nutcracker ballet, what was your favorite thing to really sink your teeth into and show out in front of the cameras? 

I think making the meat cakes for my dog was one for the books. Paris and I had a really great time, and I would do anything for my dogs. So, getting to dress them up and see who liked the cake more was really cute. 

Did you look to any past Christmas specials and concerts for inspiration for your own? 

No, I didn’t. I just. I just kind of winged it! [Laughs]. 

What draws you to the holiday season? Why do you think that it’s such an inspiring time of the year for so many artists? 

The holidays inspire so many people because there’s a lot of downtime, so there’s a lot of opportunity to be able to listen to what inspires you during downtime that you wouldn’t have normally throughout the rest of the year. 

There is a segment in the special where you’re consoling this young lady whose grandmother had recently passed away and it was such a beautiful, sentimental scene. What was it like getting to involve fans in this project in such a special way? 

Getting to involve my fans was really fun. It was great to be able to sing with them too, you know? We sang “Joy to the World,” and they seemed really enthusiastic. Getting to surprise my fans was really fun and gave me nerves. I had butterflies to tell each person, but it was fun! 

At the very end of the special there’s this animated thing that comes across the screen and you do a voiceover where you’re talking about aliens and you’re like, “Bye, b—ches, I’m going to Mars!” Did you freestyle that?

Well, the holiday special was trying to show what it would look like if an alien came to Earth and saw what Christmas was like. It would be showing them how absurd Christmas is. How a jolly old man comes down the chimney to give gifts, and there’s a tree that we decorate, you know? So, that was kind of a through-line through the special and I don’t remember how that last line came about! Maybe I freestyled that, I’m not sure. [Laughs.] 

So, for the fans that didn’t get to sing with you in the special, what can they expect from you musically come 2024? 

Hopefully, I’ll have an album by then. I would love to put out new music. I’m kind of just always releasing new music, it feels like, because I’m always trying to top myself or do something that feels fulfilling in the moment. So, hopefully, I’ll have new music out or new music to release next year. But I’m also not putting any pressure on it. 

Do you have any plans to officially release any of these holiday covers for fans to stream? 

I don’t have any plans to do that, but maybe next year I’ll come out with a Christmas album or something! 

Okay if we get a Christmas album, can we get some rock Christmas songs on there? 

Yeah, that would be cool! 

Outside of music next year, you’re also continuing to make some moves in the film world. You’re currently prepping your Child Star documentary, what are some updates you can give fans on that project? 

I’m getting some really great people to participate in the film. I’m really excited about it and — nothing that I can share with you right now! — but it’s turning out great. I’m having some deep and meaningful conversations with people that obviously were child stars previously. I can’t wait for everyone to see it. 

Okay, now it’s time for some “this or that,” holiday edition. Peppermint or Gingerbread? 

Peppermint. 

Eggnog or apple cider? 

Eggnog! 

This is the tricky one: “All I Want for Christmas Is You” or “Last Christmas?” 

“All I Want for Christmas Is You!” [Laughs.] 

What is on your Christmas playlist? What’s playing around your house as you countdown to the 25th? 

This isn’t Christmassy at all, but I’ve become a really big fan of Lola Young. I’ve been listening to her album a lot. 

When you look back on the year, what’s your favorite overall moment? What’s one moment that you’ll always remember from the making of A Very Demi Holiday? 

I think my favorite moment this year — I mean professionally — I would say the VMAs performance was really fun for me. Yeah. also filming the “Swine” music video was really fun, getting to release the Revamped album was awesome. I think, personally, anytime I’ve been able to spend with my best friends, my boyfriend and my loved ones. 

07 Dec 2023

Tate McRae Talks Choreography, Teases New Album Track & More | Billboard Music Awards 2023

Tate McRae brought her first-ever award show performance of “Greedy” to the 2023 Billboard Music Awards Presented by Marriott Bonvoy, and the pop star explained just why choreography had such an important role in the number. Elsewhere in our sitdown interview, McRae teased a track called “My Hometown” off her new album, Think Later, dropping Dec. 8.

Tate McRae:
It is so exciting to perform “Greedy” today — it’s my first ever award show performance of it. For years I’ve been trying to figure out how to dance and sing at the same time. It’s been like an ongoing battle of, like, my songwriter side and my dancer side. And for the first time, I wrote a song that I can, like, fully dance to dance, influence on music so much just because I’ve been surrounded by it my whole life. My mom was my dance teacher at the age of two. She was just, like, putting so much music in front of me as a dancer — you just hear music different, you feel it. And I think that’s what makes me a pretty, like, soulful writer.

Tate McRae:
Got to go to some very cool places. Honestly, one of the best places to go is Australia. For me, I think one of my craziest crowds are in Australia. I’ve no idea why. But I remember going last year for the first time — it was pretty nuts, just know, like, that far away across the world, people were listening to all my lyrics is surreal.

Tate McRae:
I used to be scared of singing in front of people. And then I got to be able to tour for the first time. I’m just, like, I have the coolest fans who just want to have a good time and screaming lyrics as loud as possible. And that’s why I feel like it’s so special when I bring it — to see them even in a setting like this just to be able to interact with them any way just always makes me very happy.

I have a song on my upcoming album. It’s actually called “My Hometown.” It was actually, like, I remember going home for, like, a break for, like, two weeks and ended up writing the song, like, as I was there after I, like, just gotten home from a night out. And I, like, started the song and then finished it back in L.A., but it’s very personal to me. Fans can expect a totally different side of my personality. I usually always write to talk about, like, my deepest darkest fears and, like, the worst parts of my life, and this time I wanted to explore just having fun in the studio. It’s the coolest thing ever, charting on Billboard. I think you just go your whole life, like, looking at your favorite artists and your idols charting. And so it feels very surreal when you’re seeing the name up there. Yeah, every time it shocks me.

07 Dec 2023

Emilia & TINI’s ‘La_Original.Mp3’ Rules Billboard Argentina Hot 100 for a Fourth Week

Emilia and TINI’s “La_Original.Mp3” holds steady atop the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart for a fourth week at No. 1 on the chart dated Dec. 9. The song enters a tie with Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” for the eighth-most weeks in charge in 2023.

Singer-songwriter Abel Pintos nabs his first top 10 entry as “Que Me Falte Todo,” with Luck Ra, advances 13-9 in its fifth week.

Back to Emilia, “GTA.Mp3” concurrently holds at No. 10 for a third week, after its No. 2 high last October. Plus, seven other of her songs make progress across the chart. In total, Emilia places nine simultaneous entries on the tally this week, the second-most for a woman in 2023, after Maria Becerra, who places 11 concurrent songs during the Jan. 7-14 dated rankings.

Only two artists have placed more simultaneous entries in 2023: Duki with 15 songs (July 1st-dated list) and Bad Bunny charted with 13 (Oct. 28-dated survey). Let’s review all of Emilia’s songs on the current tally:

  • No. 1, “La_Original.Mp3”, along with TINI
  • No. 10, “GTA.Mp3”
  • No. 14, “Exclusive.Mp3”
  • No. 18, “Los del Espacio,” with LIT Killah, Tiago PZK, Maria Becerra, Duki, Rusherking & Big One
  • No. 32, “No_Se_Ve.Mp3,” with Ludmilla
  • No. 37, “Salgo a Bailar,” with FMK
  • No. 43, “En la Intimidad,” with Big One & Callejero Fino
  • No. 48, “IConic.Mp3”
  • No. 86, “Jagger.Mp3”

TINI’s “Cupido” takes home the Greatest Gainer trophy of the week, as it climbs from No. 85 to No. 68.

Meanwhile, the Hot Shot Debut of the week goes to Uruguayan band Rombai, Fer Vázquez and Cami Raj whose first team-up, “Cumbia Cheta,” debuts at No. 80.

Lastly, two other songs debut this week, starting with El Joan and Celso El Potente who secure their first Billboard Argentina Hot 100 entry through “Le Gustan Lo’ Flaites” at No. 90, while Lauty Gram adds his fourth entry with “Mayor Que Yo” at No. 98.

07 Dec 2023

Teksupport Produced 164 Dance Events in 2023, But Founder Rob Toma Isn’t Ready to Rest: ‘You’re Only as Good as Your Last Show’

On May 3, 2021, Rob Toma got the call he’d been waiting for. A staffer from the office of New York City’s then mayor Bill de Blasio was getting in touch to inform Toma that live events would be allowed to resume the next month, as the pandemic waned. Toma hung up, and for the next two weeks, barely slept.

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Instead he booked shows, putting 13 events on the calendar for when venues reopened to full capacity. Lineups included The Martinez Brothers, Michael Bibi, Sven Vath and Loco Dice playing in a cavernous (and also packed), Brooklyn warehouse — the venue format that’s defined Toma’s company, Teksupport, since he started throwing parties under the name back in 2010.

“Since [after the pandemic], we’ve been gaining a lot of real momentum,” Toma says, “and we really kind of just [kept] turning it up.” This year, Toma and his 20-person, Brooklyn-based team have put on 164 shows at venues including 99 Scott, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Brooklyn Navy Yard and various warehouses. In the four days surrounding New Year’s Eve, the company will produce six events. Talking to Billboard over Zoom, Toma is tired — “it’s come to a point now where it’s very, very intense … I just don’t sleep, actually” — but focused.

“10,000 is the new 5,000 and 5,000 is the new 2,000,” he says. “We’re doing like, 25,000 to 30,000 people a month now.”

Toma was born in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood, the son of Egyptian immigrants. His first job was at his grandparents’ bagel shop. He was then a busboy at a catering hall run by his uncle. When the hall hosted a teen night, the lightbulb turned on. “‘What the hell is this?’” he recalls thinking. “Like, I could do this.”

He was right. Toma started hosting dry events for teens at the hall, then graduated to New York’s club scene, working his way through venues like the Chelsea mega-club Crobar. In 2010, he took his first trip to Ibiza (“I was like, ‘What the hell is this?’”) then traveled to Germany, where he had his mind blown at Time Warp, the fabled house and techno festival.

Energized by Time Warp’s musical offerings — “In America, it’s usually like nine EDM stages and a dubstep stage, this had all great artists” — he got in touch with the festival’s owner, Steffen Charles, to see about bringing the event across the Atlantic. As Toma recalls, Charles’ response was icy: “I’ll never do New York. America is not ready.”

It took a few years, but Toma convinced him otherwise, and in 2014 Time Warp made it’s U.S. debut in Brooklyn. The show was a logistical nightmare. Toma lost his license for the Brooklyn Armory days before the festival, having to relocate to another venue, The Shed. The event lost $400,000. Toma considered it a success.

“It was just kind of a dream,” he says. “I looked at it as, ‘This is not a loss, this is an investment.’”

The event helped Teksupport distinguish itself as the company that European brands could trust to introduce their shows to U.S. audiences. Toma and crew could draw the right crowd, book the right artists, pull the right permits and, particularly as an independent operator, provide an experience with “heart and soul,” and a staff that would do anything to pull off a party. (He recalls convincing a friend to let him use the warehouse of the friend’s family business, Utz Potato Chips, for a show, hauling seven tractor trailers worth of chips out, then back in when the event was over.)

In 2016, Ibiza born techno party CircoLoco made it’s U.S. debut in partnership with Teksupport. In 2022, the company presented techno legend Ricardo Villalobos’ first solo New York City show. Last month, the company brought Eric Prydz’s HOLO show to New York City for the first time since 2019. This past weekend, Teksupport hosted the first U.S. events from Dutch dance producer DGTL in New York City and Los Angeles. (Toma is a partner in Stranger Than, which puts on parties in L.A.) The company also books a litany of international producers who less-commonly play the city’s EDM-focused festivals and clubs. (Toma is also a partner of the Manhattan club Nebula, and the invite only Hearsay.)

With its efforts, Teksupport has both catalyzed and capitalized on house and techno’s surge in popularity in the U.S. in the wake of EDM. These so-called “underground” genres are now, by dance scene standard, anything but, with parties from Burning Man to Art Basel focused on the sounds. As they’ve bled into the world of fashion and video games, Teksupport has forged a presence in those realms as well. Toma says one of the most surreal moments of his career was being in a motion capture suit while filming his cameo for Grand Theft Auto V. (Teksupport works closely with GTA creator Rockstar Games, which has a partnership with CircoLoco that has resulted in appearances, radio stations and soundtrack contributions by producers including The Blessed Madonna and Moodymann.)

Despite the cultural cachet, Toma says Teksupport is still a family business, made up of many staffers who’ve been around since day one — along with his actual sister, brother and cousin. He and his business partner Mike Vitacco have been best friends since high school, with Toma handling promotion, marketing and bookings, while Vitacco handles licensing and operations. Given the company’s growth over 2023 in particular, Toma is planning to expand the company by bringing in new employees from locations around the world who are steeped in their respective scenes and fans of Teksupport. (He says this is preferable to “recycling people from other producers’ businesses in the space.”)

“You’re only as good as your last show,” he says. “So you’ve got to figure out how to keep it going. That’s my M.O.”

He’s also got another big event on the horizon. On January 3, after Teksupport’s back-to-back (to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back) New Year’s Eve shows, Toma and his two kids — daughter Celine is six and son Rob is 9 — are flying to the Caribbean for a two week vacation. Toma has a plan for how to finally relax.

“I’m just literally not bringing my phone,” he says.

07 Dec 2023

Tom Petty’s ‘Love Is a Long Road’ Up Over 8,000% in Streams Following ‘Grand Thef Auto VI’ Trailer

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. 
 
This week: Late rock legends Tom Petty and Shane McGowan see huge gains for a pair of late-’80s favorites, a turn-of-the-century U.K. pop smash gets some U.S. love for a cheeky film synch and much more.

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‘GTA’ Trailer Leads to ‘Long’ Season for Tom Petty on Streaming



1989’s Full Moon Fever album was a career apex for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tom Petty. His first LP recorded without usual backing band the Heartbreakers, the set was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA in the U.S., and spawned the massive radio and MTV hits “Free Fallin’,” “I Won’t Back Down” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” But it’s one of the album’s deeper cuts that’s lighting up streaming services this week: the hi-octane synth-rocker “Love Is a Long Road.” 

The song is taking off due to its use in the recently released trailer for the highly anticipated upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI, which set viewership records in its first 24 hours of release on YouTube. Though “Long Road” was only drawing between 4,000-5,000 daily official on-demand U.S. streams before over the weekend, that number was up to 78,000 on Monday (Dec. 4) – when the trailer first leaked on social media – and rocketed to 376,000 on Tuesday after the trailer’s proper release, according to preliminary numbers from Luminate: a gain of 8,421% from the prior Sunday. (The song also sold nearly 1,000 digital copies over those two days, after a negligible number the days before.) 

Those numbers may only continue to increase as the GTA trailer spreads around the internet, possibly making “Long Road” a contender on some of Billboard’s rock charts next week. It wouldn’t be the first time the song made a chart impact – back in 1989, it made it to No. 7 on Mainstream Rock Airplay, despite never being released as an A-side in the U.S. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Fans Mourn the Late Shane MacGowan by Reliving a “Fairytale of New York” 



Last Thursday (Nov. 30), Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan died from pneumonia after a monthslong ICU stint earlier this year. In the days since his passing — which painfully coincided with the beginning of December, a.k.a. the height of Christmas music season – fans have rallied around the Pogues’ holiday-themed Kirsty MacColl duet “Fairytale of New York” to soundtrack their collective mourning. 

On TikTok, the four official “Fairytale” sounds have a combined total of just over 10,000 posts, but that only tells half of the story. In the wake of MacGowan’s passing, several celebrity covers of the song have garnered renewed traction on TikTok – including clips of Ed Sheeran, Saoirse Ronan, and, of course, Travis Kelce, who recently earned his first Billboard chart-topper with “Fairytale of Philadelphia,” a spoof on the Pogues’ original featuring his brother Jason Kelce. The general Christmas spirit has also bolstered the song’s circulation on the app, and a microtrend of British creators highlighting the different regional uses of the F-slur between the U.S. and U.K. did the same. 

According to Luminate, “Fairytale of New York” earned just under 400,000 on-demand U.S. streams the day MacGowan passed (Nov. 30), marking a 227.2% increase in streams from the day prior. During the first four days of this tracking week (Nov. 30-Dec. 3), “Fairytale” logged 1.19 million streams, a 146.1% increase from around 483,000 streams during the period of Nov. 26-29. 

“Fairytale of New York” served as a single from the Pogues’ 1988 If I Should Fall From Grace With God album, which became their highest-peaking entry on the Billboard 200 (No. 88). Although none of their songs have entered the Billboard Hot 100, “Fairytale” — which is a certified Christmas classic in the U.K. — recently reached a new peak of No. 16 on Holiday Digital Song Sales (chart dated Dec. 9, 2023). Should streams continue to remain up, “Fairytale” might get within striking distance of becoming the Celtic band’s very first Hot 100 hit. – KYLE DENIS

Barry Keoghan’s Cheeky NSFW Saltburn Scene Revives a Sophie Ellis-Bextor Classic on Streaming 



Barry Keoghan’s lengthy full-frontal scene in Emerald Fennell’s much-discussed Saltburn has become an inescapable part of day-to-day social media discourse, but it’s not just the swoon-worthy actor people are fawning over. In the scene – which features the nude Oscar nominee dancing through a seemingly empty mansion – Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” booms in the background, making it a prime selection for TikTok’s latest musical obsession. 

On TikTok, the most popular “Murder on the Dancefloor” sound – which originated from a June post by a Sophie Ellis-Bextor fan-page – has garnered over 99,600 posts, with the official sounds boasting a combined 2,109 posts. The vast majority of recent “Murder on the Dancefloor” posts are split between users lauding the song’s greatness outside of Saltburn and users expressing admiration and shock for Keoghan’s daring performance. “Just found out in this scene of [Saltburn], Barry Keoghan didn’t use a prosthetic,” reads one cheeky caption, while another proclaims, “Barry Keoghan twirling around a mansion naked lives rent free in my head.” 

According to Luminate, “Murder” earned over 670,000 on-demand U.S. streams during the period of Nov. 24-30. That marks an enormous 362.3% increase from just under 145,000 streams during the period of Nov. 17-23. From Dec. 1-4, “Murder” had already pulled 547,000 streams, signaling an even faster rate of growth than the week prior.

“Murder on the Dancefloor” may have never reached the Hot 100, but the track did top out at No. 9 on Dance Singles Sales back in 2002. The song fared much better in Ellis-Bextor’s home of the U.K., reaching No. 2 in late 2001. With Saltburn headed to on-demand streaming later this month, “Murder on the Dancefloor” has plenty of room to keep growing. – KD

‘Little Life,’ Big Streams: Cordelia Scores Celebratory TikTok Hit



“I think I like this little life.” So goes a refrain that’s becoming increasingly popular on TikTok, with users soundtracking sentimental moments alongside friends, as well as glistening nature shots, with “Little Life” – the gentle and emotionally arresting song by independent singer-songwriter Cordelia. “Little Life” was released as the final song on Cordelia’s four-track Caramel EP in October, and since then, the song has steadily ballooned in weekly streams to become a potential breakthrough for the rising artist.

During the week ending Nov. 9, “Little Life” earned 2,500 U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate; that number grew by a factor of 100 (265,000 weekly streams) by the week ending Nov. 30, and looks to keep swelling in December, as the song earned 216,000 streams in the first three days of the month. For her part, Cordelia is reveling in the TikTok explosion: “People are using my song ‘Little Life’ to soundtrack their own wonderful little lives,” she wrote last month. “It’s TOO CUTE.” – Jason Lipshutz

Q&A: Alex Tear, VP music programming at SiriusXM + Pandora, on What’s Trending Up in His World

What’s the number one trend that you think we’ll remember when we look back at 2023 in popular music?

The art and controversy of the sped-up single peaking at a new high. Although sped-up versions have been present since the 2000s, 2023 feels to have been a breakthrough year with mass appeal acceptance, charting, radio airplay and totally normalized consumption.

What was the year’s most surprising trend to you?

Music’s reset to innovate and push boundaries again vs. being predictable and formulaic. The growing mass acceptance and appetite to blur genre lines and era boundaries has allowed artists to really shine with strong audience reaction. The resurgence of retro-inspired pop that embraces the sounds of previous decades has also been very welcomed.

The charts are currently being dominated by holiday music, but do you think there are any songs from late 2023 that will carry over as big hits in early 2024?

I feel there are several that will continue to melt the snow, from Tate McRae with her new album Think Later, to Jack Harlow to Dua Lipa, and let’s keep our eye on Noah Kahan. Noah’s creeping momentum is poised to roll into 2024 with a presence.   

Fill in the blank: the major artist I’m hoping has a big 2024 is ______.

Teddy Swims and Tyla. These are two artists first embraced by SiriusXM + Pandora to amazing audience reaction. We’re excited to be a part of their rise and will continue spreading the word across North America as they become major artists. – J.L.

07 Dec 2023

Behind the Scenes of Tate McRae’s ‘Greedy’ Performance | Billboard Music Awards 2023

Go behind the scenes of Tate McRae’s “Greedy” performance at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards Presented by Marriott Bonvoy. The number was filmed at the Moxy Downtown Los Angeles. Moxy Hotels is one of over 30 hotel brands in the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio.

Narrator:
We’re here at the Moxie Hotel in downtown Los Angeles for the iconic Billboard Music Awards, taking a look behind the scenes at how an award show performance comes to life.

Alex Mazareas:
This year, the Billboard Music Awards launched a new format that really leans into creating amazing performance experiences that we could never pull off on a traditional award show. The Billboard Music Awards is all about celebrating artists and their fans this year, the same way Marriott Bonvoy is all about connecting their members to their passions through once-in-a-lifetime experiences. So this really is the perfect partnership.

Narrator:
This year, the BBMAs were reimagined and performances took place in custom venues around the world. Moxy Hotels was such a unique venue, and we knew it was the perfect location to lean in and create an aesthetic performance that would provide the fans with the most epic experience.

Matthew Boettcher:
Moxy is a hotel brand within the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. Moxy gives our guests permission to break free in a world that doesn’t play enough.

Narrator:
The electric atmosphere surrounding the performance is exactly what Moxy is all about. Fans were able to attend the performance through Marriott Bonvoy’s unrivaled experiences platform, Marriott Bonvoy Moments.

Matthew Boettcher:
Attending a one-of-a-kind Billboard Music Award performance is such a genuine example of our unique and exclusive platform that can help create memories through extraordinary moments.

07 Dec 2023

Karol G Reveals How She Prepared for Her First-Ever Stadium Tour: ‘The Stage Is My Happiest Place’

When Karol G decided to go on a stadium tour, she recalls, someone asked her how prepared she was. “‘Beyoncé is doing stadiums. Taylor Swift is doing stadiums. Are you ready?’ And I answered, ‘No, today I’m not. But I will be ready, because it depends on me.’”

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Six months later, Karol G, the subject of this week’s Billboard cover story, was onstage in a phenomenally quick turnaround, and, most importantly, an astoundingly successful one. By year-end, she was the highest grossing Latin artist of 2023 according to Billboard Boxscore.

But planning to perform in stadiums and actually performing are two very different things. For Karol, it starts with the basic love of performance. “The stage is my happiest place,” she tells Billboard. “It’s not like I’m always happy and perfect when I go onstage. But when I go out, there’s nothing the energy in that place can’t cure.”

When it came time to plan her Mañana Será Bonito Tour, the singer says that she and her team knew it was time to take on bigger audiences. “It was something we discussed a lot internally,” she says. “I came from doing the ‘Bichota’ tour, then $trip Love tour. Everyone said, ‘You have to let people breathe. A lot of artists are touring.’ Then, I released Mañana será bonito. This album, I feel, got into people’s bodies, their veins, and it touched something in them. I had never felt as much love from my fans as with this album.”

Playing Mañana live became a mission. The first step in preparing, says Karol, was “proving to myself that I was ready to do it. We had the pressure of knowing Beyoncé and Taylor Swift would be touring at the same time, so it couldn’t look like Karol G was the one who had no business doing a stadium tour. It was a huge personal challenge from how I looked to how I thought.”

Among the challenges was getting physically fit — between changing her diet and exercise routine and getting mentally prepared for the show, Karol says the physical preparation for her show brought out a major change in her.

“It’s spending two hours and 45 minutes in a place that’s five or six times bigger than what you’re used to, singing and dancing, so there was a big physical challenge,” she says. “I had worked out my entire life, my muscles were used to it, so I began to see changes. And the more change I saw, the more I wanted to do!”

However, she says, the hardest challenge was having Mañana será bonito, and Mañana será bonito: Bichota season – two very different albums — coexist in the same show.

“It’s two completely different worlds,” she says. “So, I wrote a mini book [a concept that opens the show] where I explained everything, and I gave it to [the tour designers], and said: ‘This is my story.  This is Carolina’s story, and I want her to be a siren.’ And they found the way to make it work.”

Going to a Karol G show is a bit like a religious experience — multiple generations gather together in a collective exercise of letting go that begins hours, even days before a show, when fans decide what to wear, what wig to buy, what signs to take to catch Karol’s attention; she’s known for constantly engaging with fans from the stage, sometimes dropping out of a choreography mid-song for a picture, a kiss, a hello.

“It’s an energy,” Karol says. “After a show, I put on Lana Del Rey’s ‘Summertime Sadness’ and I lie in bed crying thinking how amazing shows are. If you could turn off the light and just see the energy, it would be blinding. The most beautiful thing about my shows is people arrive with the intention to heal. Their intentions are so beautiful that when I go onstage, and all that energy is directed toward me, I feel like a battery that’s recharging, and filling up and sometimes I cry a lot in my shows. I try not to, but my heart feels like it’s going to burst.”

Read the full cover story here.

07 Dec 2023

YOASOBI, King & Prince Hit No. 1 on Billboard Japan’s 2023 Year-End Charts

Billboard Japan unveiled its 2023 year-end charts, tallying the weeks from Nov. 30, 2022 to Nov. 26, 2023.

The No. 1 song of the year on the Japan Hot 100 is YOASOBI’s “Idol.” The opening theme song of the anime series Oshi no Ko was released digitally in April and logged a whopping 21 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Japan Hot 100, an all-time record in the history of the Billboard Japan charts.

The long-running hit by the male-female J-pop duo also made headlines in Japan for hitting No. 1 on Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart on the list dated June 10, a first for a Japanese-language song. “Idol” racked up 509,751 downloads and 527,143,965 streams during the tracking period, taking the top spot on the ranking for the respective metrics.

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“I’m elated. It’s no exaggeration to say I’ve been working hard for this,” says Ayase, YOASOBI’s producer and songwriter. “Of course, I don’t make music for the sake of the charts, but we came in a close second both last year and the year before, and it kind of felt like defeat. I found myself feeling like I had to hit No. 1 (on the year-end charts) to move forward. Looks like my gears will start to move at last.”

Singer ikura adds, “I really feel the same way, and the fact that we were able to reach No. 1 in our third year is the result of YOASOBI having made progress and updated itself. I’m happy to be able to actually feel that.”

At No. 2 this year is “Subtitle” by Official HIGE DANdism, the theme of the popular drama series called silent. Vaundy’s “Kaiju no Hanauta” follows at No. 3, a track that has been charting consistently in the top 10 after being boosted by the 23-year-old hitmaker’s first-ever performance on NHK’s prestigious year-end music show Kohaku Uta Gassen last year.

King & Prince

King & Prince

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The No. 1 album of the year on Billboard Japan’s Hot Albums chart is Mr. 5, the greatest hits collection by King & Prince. The set sold 1,408,873 copies total during the tracking period after dropping April 19. “Our best-of album Mr. 5 hitting No. 1 on Billboard Japan’s Hot Albums of the Year 2023 is an honor,” said Ren Nagase and Kaito Takahashi of King & Prince. “While this will be a repeat of what we said when it hit No. 1 on the mid-year chart, again we’d like to sincerely thank everyone who picked it up and everyone who was involved in its production.”

“This year marks our fifth anniversary, and we’re so grateful to receive such major recognition during our milestone year,” they continued. “It proves many people listened to and saw the works and activities that our group has created since our debut. Thank you to our Tiaras (King & Prince fans) for watching over us all these years. We’ll work even harder next year and beyond so that our works and activities will please those who listen to us. Thank you so much.”

Snow Man’s i DO ME comes in at No. 2 and Stray Kids’ Social Path (feat. LiSA)/Super Bowl -Japanese ver. follows at No. 3.

YOASOBI also tops the Artist 100 ranking compiled from the results of the Japan Hot 100 and Hot Albums charts. With “Idol” and “The Blessing” (No. 15 on the year-end list) showing strong performance in streaming and downloads throughout the year, YOASOBI charted a total of six songs and three albums on the respective year-end top 100 lists. Following at No. 2 on the Artist tally is Mrs. GREEN APPLE with ten songs and Official HIGE DANdism at No. 3 with eight songs on the year-end Japan Hot 100.

YOASOBI’s “Idol” is currently the record-holder in Japan for a song that surpassed 500 million streams the fastest and continues to steadily increase that monumental figure. Meanwhile, HIGE DAN’s “Subtitle” was the record-holder for that same milestone before “Idol” came along, meaning the year-end chart for 2023 sees historic chart results with the biggest hits of the century in Japan dominating the top two spots.

With many reports of international successes and achievements by J-pop acts including YOASOBI, Fujii Kaze, XG, imase and more, we can expect more artists to proceed with a global perspective in 2024. The end of the pandemic will likely lead to more Japanese artists expanding their scope of activities outside of their country, and 2024 looks to be a promising year with music by domestic and international acts intermingling in an unprecedented and exciting way.

Billboard JAPAN Hot 100 of the Year 2023

1. “Idol” / YOASOBI

2. “Subtitle” / Official HIGE DANdism

3. “Kaijuu no Hanauta” / Vaundy

4. “KICK BACK” / Kenshi Yonezu

5. “Dai Zero Kan” / 10-FEET

6. “New Genesis (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED)” / Ado

7. “Dance Hall” / Mrs. GREEN APPLE

8. “W/X/Y” / Tani Yuuki

9. “Overdose” / Natori

10. “Utsukushii Hiré” / Spitz

Billboard JAPAN Hot Albums of the Year 2023

1. Mr.5 / King & Prince

2. i DO ME / Snow Man

3. Social Path (feat. LiSA) / Super Bowl -Japanese ver.- / SEVENTEEN

4. FML / SEVENTEEN

5. ALWAYS YOURS / SEVENTEEN

6. THE SOUND / Stray Kids

7. SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN / SEVENTEEN

8. Koe / SixTONES

9. POPMALL / Naniwa Danshi

10. SWEET / TOMORROW X TOGETHER

Billboard JAPAN Artist 100 of the Year 2023

1. YOASOBI

2. Mrs. GREEN APPLE

3. Official HIGE DANdism

4. Vaundy

5. Ado

6. back number

7. Yuuri

8. Kenshi Yonezu

9. King & Prince

10. SEVENTEEN

07 Dec 2023

FIFTY FIFTY’s ‘Cupid’ Named TikTok’s Top Song of 2023

FIFTY FIFTY‘s “Cupid” has celebrated another milestone — the K-pop group’s breakout hit, which charted within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year, was named 2023’s top song around the world by TikTok on Wednesday (Dec. 6).

“With over 20 million creations, “Cupid – Twin Ver” by K-Pop group FIFTY FIFTY is the biggest song on TikTok in 2023,” a rep the group also shared in a press release.

“Cupid” has also seen success on the Billboard charts. The track debuted April 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at No. 17 on the May 20-dated tally. Elsewhere on the charts, the track peaked at No. 1 on the Global Excl. U.S. tally for two weeks, and at No. 2 on the Global 200 tally, where it spent 38 weeks on the chart.

FIFTY FIFTY’s latest achievement comes amid the group suffering a lineup change amid its agency, ATTRAKT, announcing that three out of the four members — Aran, Sio, Saena — had their contracts terminated after filing lawsuits that the company claimed “slandered and defamed the agency” and sought to break their contracts. Keena is currently the sole remaining member of the group after dropping the lawsuit and returning to the agency.

The lineup change comes after all four girls filed a contract dispute against ATTRAKT in June that, according to the Korea Times, alleged the company had breached its contract by “failing to provide accounting data” and neglecting the group’s mental health. ATTRAKT has not shared how FIFTY FIFTY will proceed in the coming months.

07 Dec 2023

Ado’s ‘Show’ Stays Atop Japan Hot 100 for 10th Week as tuki. Breaks Into Top 10 for First Time

Ado’s “Show” continues to rule the Billboard Japan Hot 100, now in its 10th week atop the list dated Dec. 6.

The enigmatic songstress has been ramping up exposure on terrestrial TV as the year-end festivities draw near, kicking off her string of appearances on NTV’s Best Artist 2023, a four-hour music extravaganza broadcast on Dec. 2 featuring some of this year’s biggest acts. She performed “Show” and “Tot Musica,” a track off the ONE PIECE FILM RED soundtrack onstage in an elaborate cage-like set, her face veiled in the shadows the entire time.

The USJ Halloween event theme is at No. 3 for downloads this week with 9,991 units, up 6 percent from the week before. Streaming and video views are on the decline but still at No. 1 — both down by about 7 percent with the former at 10,522,262 streams and the latter at 3,296,075 views. The track also comes in at No. 8 for karaoke and No. 38 for radio airplay.

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The 21-year-old singer’s next scheduled TV appearance will be on the FNS Music Festival Day 1 on Wednesday (Dec. 6), where she is set to perform “Show” and “Ibara,” a song written by 23-year-old J-pop hitmaker Vaundy (whose “Kaiju no Hanauta,” by the way, is at No. 7 this week). As the song continues to hit terrestrial waves during the year-end and New Year’s holidays, it’ll be interesting to keep an eye on how the exposure will be reflected on the Japan charts.

=LOVE’s “Last Note shika shiranai” debuts at No. 3 this week. It’s the 15th single by the group produced by former AKB48 member Rino Sashihara, who also wrote the lyrics of this wistful love song about the lingering notes of a perfume. The track featuring youngest member, Kiara Saito (19), in center position of the choreography achieved the group’s best first-week CD sales with 256,835 copies (No. 1), about 7 percent higher than the 239,196 copies sold in the first week of the previous single, “Natsumatope.” 

Following at No. 4 is KID PHENOMENON’s “Sonzai Shoumei” (“Proof of Existence”). The Exile Tribe boy band’s second single is featured as the ending theme for Season 2 of the new Rurouni Kenshin anime series. The track launches with 67,853 CDs — not quite reaching the 84,185 copies sold in the first week of the group’s debut single “Wheelie” — and bows at No. 2 for sales. It also hits No. 1 for radio this week.

“Bansanka” by tuki. entered the Japan Hot 100 top 10 for the first time at No. 8, giving the 15-year-old singer-songwriter her first-ever top 10 single. Points for both downloads and streaming for the track soared by about 113 percent from last week, the former climbing to No. 7 and the latter to No. 6. Video also rose by about 11 percent to hit No. 13, and karaoke is at No. 38 after gaining 7 percent. The overall increase in points indicates that the song’s popularity is gradually on the rise.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.