Music

03 Dec 2023

Taylor Swift’s ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200

Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Dec. 9), as the set rises 2-1 for its third total week atop the tally. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Nov. 11-dated chart and spent its second week in the lead, before dipping to No. 2 for the next two weeks and bouncing back to the top on the new chart. The set earned 141,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 30 (up 3%), according to Luminate.

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Swift has a stranglehold on the new Billboard 200’s top 10, as she has five titles concurrently in the region. After 1989 (Taylor’s Version), four more former No. 1s follow: Midnights (rising 6-3), Folklore (9-5), Lover (8-6) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (17-10). Swift’s titles, like many on the entire chart, see sales gains gleaned partially from retail promotions associated with Black Friday and holiday campaigns.

With five titles in the top 10, Swift is the first living act to have five albums concurrently in the top 10 since the Billboard 200 was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one all-encompassing list in August of 1963. The only other act to hold at least five of the top 10 at the same time was Prince, on the May 14, 2016-dated list, following his death. That week in the top 10, he had The Very Best of Prince (falling 1-2), the Purple Rain soundtrack (with The Revolution; 2-3), The Hits/The B-Sides (6-4), Ultimate (61-6) and 1999 (31-7).

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Michael Bublé’s chart-topping Christmas returns, vaulting 24-9. The set, first released in 2011, spent five weeks at No. 1 in December 2011 and early January 2012 and has returned to the top 10 in every following holiday season.

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. The new Dec. 9, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Dec. 5. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

With three weeks at No. 1, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) has the most weeks atop the chart of Swift’s four re-recorded projects. The Taylor’s Version releases of Fearless, Red and Speak Now ruled for two, one and two weeks, respectively. Further, Swift’s total weeks at No. 1 – across all 13 of her chart-topping releases – climbs to 66 weeks, just one week from the most for a soloist. Elvis Presley has the most weeks at No. 1 among soloists, with 67, while only The Beatles have more than Swift and Presley, with 132 weeks.

Drake’s chart-topping For All the Dogs falls to No. 2 on the new Billboard 200 with 85,000 equivalent album units earned (down 42%), after its rush back to No. 1 a week ago in the wake of its deluxe reissue with six bonus tracks. Swift’s Midnights rises 6-3 with 65,000 units (up 16%), Morgan Wallen’s former leader One Thing at a Time climbs 5-4 with 63,000 units (down 7%) and Swift’s Folklore flies 9-5 with 60,000 units (up 33%).

Swift’s Lover bumps 8-6 with 53,000 equivalent album units earned (up 4%), SZA’s chart-topping SOS ascends 10-7 with 48,000 units (up 8%), Olivia Rodrigo’s former No. 1 Guts bolts 14-8 with 47,000 units (up 20%), Bublé’s Christmas climbs 24-9 with 46,000 units (up 56%) and Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) flies 17-10 with nearly 46,000 units (up 23%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

03 Dec 2023

Kiss Announces ‘New Era’ With Digital Avatars Following Final Concert in New York

Kiss will live on as digital avatars following its final concert at Madison Square Garden in New York.

During the encore of their last show on Saturday (Dec. 2), the legendary rockers — co-founders founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons as well as guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — made a surprise announcement that they will continue on as digitized versions of themselves going forward.

“Kiss Army, your love, your power, has made us immortal!” vocalist/guitarist Stanley said in a video revealing the digital characters as the virtual band launched into a performance of “God Gave Rock and Roll to You.” “The new Kiss era stars now!”

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After the concert, part of the Kiss’ End of the Road farewell tour, the quartet shared a two-minute video on YouTube teasing their next chapter.

“The future is so exciting,” Simmons says amid behind-the-scenes snippets of the band wearing motion capture suits to develop their high-tech avatars. Stanley adds, “We can live on eternally.”

Kiss’ avatars were created by George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic, in partnership with Sweden’s Pophouse Entertainment Group, according to the Associated Press. The companies recently collaborated on the ABBA Voyage show in London, a virtual concert performed by the Swedish pop group.

“Kiss could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That’s what you could do with this,” Pophouse CEO told the AP.

In a roundtable interview, Stanley noted that Kiss “deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are,” adding, “It’s exciting for us to go the next step and see Kiss immortalized.”

Simmons pointed out that the forthcoming digital band will be able accomplish things the original members couldn’t dream of doing.

“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before,” the bassist said. “The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he’s ever done before.”

Watch Kiss’ “New Era” promo video below.

03 Dec 2023

Ryan Reynolds Cozies Up to Travis Kelce in Hilarious Edited Photo of Taylor Swift and Blake Lively

Ryan Reynolds always knows how to get a laugh.

The Deadpool star took to social media on Sunday (Dec. 3) to share a hilarious edit of his and Travis Kelce‘s faces photoshopped onto an image of Taylor Swift and Blake Lively cozying up at the London premiere of Beyonce’s Renaissance concert film on Nov. 30.

“I feel like I should remember this,” Reynolds wrote alongside the photo on his Instagram Story, giving a shout-out to its original creator @karthiknjartist.

The actor’s wife, Gilmore Girls alum Lively, shared the unaltered photo on her own Instagram account following the London showing of Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé earlier in the week. In the image, Lively and her pop superstar pal are seen flashing lovely smiles and donning sparkly outfits as they embrace on a couch.

Reynolds’ comical rendition of the photo is, of course, a reference to Swift’s ongoing romance with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. The 12-time Grammy winner has become a frequent guest at Kelce’s games since the pair started dating earlier this year, and she’s often spotted cheering him on in a box suite next to the Ohio native’s mom and Brittany Mahomes, who is married to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

In October, the “Cruel Summer” singer appeared at an away game against the Jets in New York City, arriving to MetLife Stadium with a fleet of celebrity friends including Lively, Reynolds, Sophie Turner and Hugh Jackman.

Swift and Lively are longtime friends whose paths have also crossed professionally. Swift used the names of Lively and Reynolds’ children (James, Inez and Betty) in her 2020 song “Betty” after featuring James on the introducing her 2017 track “Gorgeous.” Lively also directed the singer’s “I Bet You Think About Me” music video from 2021.

See Reynolds’ post on his Instagram Story here.

03 Dec 2023

Noah Kahan Performs ‘Dial Drunk’ & ‘Stick Season’ in ‘SNL’ Debut: Watch

Noah Kahan made his Saturday Night Live debut on Dec. 2, performing songs from his latest album, Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever).

The Vermont-born singer-songwriter, who snagged a best new artist nominee at next year’s Grammys, opened with his Post Malone collaboration “Dial Drunk” and closed with his breakthrough song “Stick Season,” which recently got the cover treatment from Olivia Rodrigo.

The pair of tracks — which currently sit at No. 25 and No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, respectively — appear on the deluxe version of Kahan’s third album, Stick Season. The expanded version of the 2022 set dropped over the summer and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

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“It’s been an unbelievable year-and-a-half now … a whirlwind of attention and wonderful outpouring of love from fans,” Kahan told Billboard in September.

After appearing on the Emma Stone-hosted episode of SNL, Kahan called the experience “one of the greatest moments of my career.” “Had some fun with my buddies and sang for a few people last night,” he wrote on X. “@nbcsnl thank you for one of the greatest moments of my career.”

There will be two more SNL episodes this year: Dec. 9 with host Adam Driver and musical guest Olivia Rodrigo and Dec. 16 with host (and SNL alum) Kate McKinnon and musical guest Billie Eilish.

Watch Kahan’s SNL performances below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=JZ9NavfzLvE&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent


https://youtube.com/watch?v=npc9qws28CY&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

02 Dec 2023

Taylor Swift Reacts to Mariska Hargitay Naming Her New Cat ‘Karma’

Mariska Hargitay recently introduced her new cat Karma to the world, and no one is more thrilled than Taylor Swift.

The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star shared a photo of her sweet pet on Instagram earlier this week. “Karma is a Cat @taylorswift Meet Karma. My Cat. #MeAndKarmaVibeLikeThat #AndIKeepMySideOfMyPawClean #KarmaIsACat,” Hargitay wrote, revealing the inspiration behind her cat’s name is, of course, a lyric from a song by Swift.

On the chorus of the Midnights track “Karma,” Swift sings, “Sweet like honey, karma is a cat purring in my lap ’cause it loves me.”

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On Saturday (Dec. 2), two days after Karma the cat made their debut on social media, Swift publicly shared her reaction to the kitty’s arrival.

“Are you serious?!!!! Nothing has ever come more full circle,” Swift wrote in the comments section of Hargitay’s post. “LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!”

Hargitay and Swift — who in 2014 named one of her own cats Olivia Benson after the actress’ starring role on SVU — have been connected for years.

After becoming friendly, Swift invited Hargitay to appear in 2015’s “Bad Blood” music video alongside Ellen Pompeo, whose Grey’s Anatomy character Meredith Grey inspired the name of Swift’s first cat in 2011. In June 2015, Hargitay walked the catwalk as one of Swift’s celebrity guests on the 1989 World Tour. More recently, Hargitay’s taken in more than one Eras Tour show and showed her support for the singer at the premiere of the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film.

“She’s pure magic,” Hargitay told Entertainment Tonight in October. “There’s nothing she can’t do. It’s been so beautiful to reconnect to that innocence, you know? I think Taylor gives such a beautiful message to kids and unlocks these girls’ emotions.”

“I see how it affects my daughter, and she cries and just opens up like a flower,” Hargitay said of Swift’s impact. “And [I see] how meaningful it is, and I’m grateful to be part of it and watch that journey.”

“It’s been so beautiful [to see] how she gracefully walked through her journey and allowed herself to evolve and truly step into her power pose, her talent and all of her glory. And she’s got quite a bit of it … I think she is a magicmaker,” she added.

Swift released a remixed version of “Karma” featuring Ice Spice in May, giving the track a boost to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

02 Dec 2023

Billie Eilish Comments on Coming Out: ‘I Didn’t Realize People Didn’t Know’

Billie Eilish wasn’t aware that a recent interview would be perceived as a coming out story, but she’s cool with it.

“I didn’t, but I kinda thought, wasn’t it obvious?” the pop star said to Variety on the red carpet for the Variety Hitmakers Brunch, where she and brother Finneas were being honored with the film song of the year award for their Barbie soundtrack tune “What Was I Made For?” on Saturday (Dec. 2). “I didn’t realize people didn’t know.”

In the publication’s Nov. 13 cover story, Eilish had mentioned that she’s attracted to women: “I love them so much,” she said. “I love them as people. I’m attracted to them as people. I’m attracted to them for real … I’m physically attracted to them. But I’m also so intimidated by them and their beauty and their presence.”

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Eilish has only ever been in public relationships with men, most recently The Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford before their breakup in May. 

Speaking on the red carpet Saturday about the Variety cover story and the concept of coming out, she casually said, “I just don’t really believe in it. I’m just like, why can’t we just exist? I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I just didn’t talk about it. Whoops.”

“But … I saw the article and I was like, ‘Oh! I guess I came out today!’” Eilish said with a laugh.

“It’s exciting to me because I guess people didn’t know, so it’s cool that they know,” the singer added. “But ooh, I’m nervous talking about it.”

“I am for the girls,” confirmed Eilish, who will soon be seen as the musical guest on the Kate McKinnon-hosted Dec. 16 episode of SNL.

“I’m still scared of ’em,” she added in the red carpet interview, “but I think they’re pretty.”

Watch the interview clip via Variety below.

02 Dec 2023

Olivia Rodrigo Debuts ‘Can’t Catch Me Now’ Live at 2023 Jingle Ball in Los Angeles

Olivia Rodrigo brought “Can’t Catch Me Now” to the stage for the first time at iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball in Inglewood, California, Friday night (Dec. 1).

“So, has anybody watched The Hunger Games?” Rodrigo teased the crowd at Kia Forum before launching into the ballad. She added, “I was super lucky because this year I got a chance to write a song for the movie that’s out now.”

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Rodrigo wrote “Can’t Catch Me Now” for The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, the latest installment in the Hunger Games film series starring Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth. The song release has so far peaked at No. 56 on the  Billboard Hot 100, and comes just a couple months after Rodrigo’s sophomore album, Guts, arrived. Guts debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in September.

Her set list for Los Angles fans Friday night also featured “All-American Bitch,” “Get Him Back!” and “Vampire” from Guts, plus debut album Sour‘s “Deja Vu,” “Drivers License,” “Brutal” and “Good 4 U.”

Other artists on the bill at Friday night’s Jingle Ball included Sabrina Carpenter, Niall Horan, Flo Rida and more.

Watch a clip of Rodrigo singing “Can’t Catch Me Now” below, as well as other highlights from her performance.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=e4eA_jtpNgg&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

02 Dec 2023

Blake Lively Applauds Taylor Swift & Beyonce for Empowering Each Other: ‘There’s Space for Us All’

Blake Lively is showing love to Taylor Swift and Beyonce following the stars’ respective blockbuster tours and concert film openings.

On Saturday (Dec. 2), the Gossip Girl alum took to Instagram after she and Swift attended the London of premiere of Bey’s Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé earlier in the week to share a strong message about female empowerment.

“When I grew up, women were always pit against one another. It took me until adulthood to see that the instinct for women to lift each other up to their highest potential is the norm not the exception,” Lively captioned a photo gallery of herself at the opening. “Most of my best friends are women who would’ve been packaged to me as threats or competition. It’s our job to show younger generations the power in aligning rather than dividing.”

She jokingly added, “All this to say, @beyonce and @taylorswift neither of you have to be threatened by my pop stardom. There’s space for us all.”

The A Simple Favor actress’ heartfelt note arrives amid Swift and Beyonce’s record-breaking Eras and Renaissance tours, along with the debuts of their new concert films.

Lively’s post featured a carousel of snapshots from the London premiere of Beyoncé’s Renaissance concert film on Thursday (Nov. 30). One pic features the actress alongside Bey and another shows her posing with Swift.

A day earlier, Swift shared her own photos from the premiere, including an image of her standing alongside Beyonce. “Got invited to London by The Queen…✨?✨ Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé is in theaters now!!” Swift captioned a series of photos.

Swift’s attendance at the London premiere arrived after Bey supported Tay at her Eras Tour film premiere in Los Angeles in October.

“I’m so glad I’ll never know what my life would’ve been like without @beyonce‘s influence,” Swift wrote after the event, sharing a gif of her and Bey posing in movie theater seats. “The way she’s taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms.”

See Lively’s post on Instagram here.

02 Dec 2023

Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Concert Film Headed Toward $22M-Plus Opening at Box Office

Beyoncé‘s new concert film is headed for a big opening weekend at the box office.

The superstar singer’s Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé is likely to earn between between $22 and $24 million in its domestic debut, giving it the largest early December opening in two decades, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film’s distributor, AMC Theatres, is playing it on the safe side with a projected domestic opening of $20 million. Renaissance, which hit theaters on Friday (Dec. 1), is also rolling out globally, where it’s reportedly tracking to open in the $20 million range for a global start of $40 million.

The post-Thanksgiving period is typically slow at the box office. The largest opening for the first weekend of December is Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai with $24.3 million, not adjusted for inflation, THR reports.

Prior to its Friday opening, Renaissance enjoyed star-studded premieres in Los Angeles (Nov. 25) and London (Nov. 30). The latter was attended by Taylor Swift and other celebs, including Michelle Williams, Blake Lively and will.i.am.

The concert documentary was written, executive produced and co-directed by the 32-time Grammy winner, and chronicles her record-breaking Renaissance World Tour.

Renaissance is the second one to be distributed by AMC, following the massive opening and box office for Swift’s own Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which has earned $250 million to date, the cinema giant reports. Those numbers cement the pop superstar’s movie as the highest-grossing concert film of all time. The three-hour-plus Eras Tour movie is headed to on-demand on Dec. 13 with three bonus songs.

02 Dec 2023

U2 Remembers Pogues’ Shane MacGowan With Moving ‘A Rainy Day in Soho’ Cover

U2 is remembering fellow Irish musician Shane MacGowan.

The veteran U.K. Rock and Roll Hall of Famers paid tribute to the late Pogues singer with a moving rendition of the Celtic band’s “A Rainy Day in Soho” during their Las Vegas residency on Friday (Dec. 1) at the Venetian’s Sphere venue.

“Sing with us, for Shane McGowan,” Bono told fans at the show as U2 performed the somber acoustic cover.

During the song, Bono altered the lyrics to reflect the death of MacGowan, who passed away Thursday (Nov. 30) following a recent hospitalization. He was 65.

“McGowan’s song is never over, but we may never find out what it means,” he sang. “You’re the measure of my dreams.”

This isn’t the firs time Bono has performed “A Rainy Day in Soho.” The 63-year-old singer previously performed the 1986 Poguetry in Motion track alongside actor Johnny Depp during MacGowan’s 60th birthday party in Dublin in 2018. The bash was also attended by such legendary artists as Nick Cave and the late Sinéad O’Connor.

Earlier in the week, the Pogues confirmed the passing of their notoriously hard-living singer, whose yearning, howling vocals and gritty rose-from-concrete lyrics super-charged the Pogues’ meld of traditional Irish music and punk rock spirit on such beloved songs as “The Old Main Drag” and “A Pair of Brown Eyes.”

U2 was among numerous artists to honor MacGowan after his passing. “Shane MacGowan’s songs were perfect so he or we his fans didn’t have to be…,” Bono captioned an illustration on X of MacGowan and lyrics to to “A Rainy Day in Soho.”

See U2’s “A Rainy Day in Soho” tribute here.