Music

19 Nov 2023

Mariah Carey’s 12-Year-Old Twins Present Her With a Special Billboard Music Award After Mom’s Festive Holiday Performance

It’s officially the holiday season, and the Queen of Christmas has defrosted.

Mariah Carey took the stage at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (Nov. 19) to deliver a festive performance of her holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Dressed in a white figure skater dress, complete with matching go-go boots and sunglasses, the legendary vocalist performed the track in the middle of an “ice-skating rink,” as her dancers on wheels glided around on the white floor surrounding her in a Debbie Allen-choreographed sequence.

The fans in the audience were chosen in a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the BBMAs and Spotify Fans First, who teamed up to identify fans who have consumed the most hours of music over the past year and helped drive their favorite artists to the top spots on the Billboard charts.

Carey was also honored with the Billboard Chart Achievement Award for the holiday classic, and the award was presented to her by her 12-year-old twins, Monroe and Moroccan.

“Billboard has been an integral part of my life for a very long time now,” Carey said in her acceptance speech. “Even though I don’t acknowledge time, I kind of have to admit that some of my most memorable times in my career are connected to Billboard and the BBMAs. One thing I really have to say that I’m really grateful for is the fact that my fans have been here with me through the hits, through the misses, the No. 1s and the Bubbling Unders.”

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey performs at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards at Culver Studios in Culver City, California. The show will air on November 19, 2023 on BBMA.watch.

Gilbert Flores

“All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which has climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 every year since 2019, has thus far spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s flagship chart, becoming one of three Carey hits to log 10 or more weeks in the top spot. It joins “One Sweet Day,” a collab with Boyz II Men that spent a then-record 16 weeks at No. 1 in 1995-96, and “We Belong Together,” which spent 14 weeks on top in 2005.

19 Nov 2023

Mike Tyson Joins Peso Pluma for a Knockout Performance of ‘Rubicon’ at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards

Peso Pluma is already a champ, and at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, he was victorious once again with a knockout performance of his swaggy corrido “Rubicon.” The Mexican star took the stage — or, rather, boxing ring — alongside heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson, whose robe had “the best ever” written on the back.

As the 24-year-old hitmaker — Mexican music’s biggest star today — made his way to the ring, his superfans cheered him on. He then took to the ring to perform the track that’s part of his history-making album Génesis, and was joined not only by Tyson, but also his seven-piece band.

Following his epic performance, Peso Pluma (born Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija) was honored with the top Latin song award for his and Eslabon Armado’s global smash hit “Ella Baila Sola.” Earlier this year, the track made history as the first regional Mexican song to enter the top five on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart.

“Give it up to the people’s champion, Peso Pluma!” Tyson said as he handed the singer-songwriter his award. Then, it was Peso’s turn to speak.

“Thank you everyone,” he said, speaking in English. “Thanks, Mr. Tyson, for being here. Thank you to all the fans, thank you for all the love and the support. And I’d like to thank the Billboard Awards for having me here. Thank you very much.”

Peso Pluma

Peso Pluma performs at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on November 19 at The Mayan in Los Angele

Gilbert Flores

Peso has 22 entries on the Hot 100, and in June, he became the first artist to ever lead both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. lists simultaneously with different songs: “Ella Baila Sola” and “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 55,” respectively. His Génesis album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 (dated July 1) — the highest rank ever for a música Mexicana album on the chart.

Peso was a top winner at October’s Billboard Latin Music Awards, taking home eight awards, including artist of the year, new. He entered Sunday’s awards show as a six-time finalist.

19 Nov 2023

Tate McRae Leaves Fans ‘greedy’ for More With Fiery 2023 Billboard Music Awards Performance

Tate McRae went big for her 2023 Billboard Music Awards debut, taking over the Moxy Hotel Downtown Los Angeles for a performance of “greedy,” her highest-charting Billboard Hot 100 hit yet.

McRae put her formidable choreo skills to work for the high-energy performance, starting with a sultry shot from outside the window of the Moxy and then moving to her strutting through a garage in a gray power suit surrounded by a troupe of male dancers. She ditches her blazer to reveal a sequined crop top with matching sequined briefs sticking out from her low-slung pants.

Next, she walks through a hallway onto the Moxy rooftop, where she’s joined by a crowd of fans who line either side of a spot-lit runway as McRae powers through an intricate dance routine. She ends the performance with a wind machine turning her hair into a flowing mane as she plays air guitar to the song’s wailing solo.

The powerhouse performance was choreographed by Sean Bankhead, who also dance-directed McRae’s Saturday Night Live debut performance the night before. Her dance skills are obvious, and fans might remember that McRae competed on the 2016 season of So You Think You Can Dance as a teen, finishing third.

“Greedy” leaps from No. 22 to No. 11 on the current Hot 100. It is her second top 20 hit, following “You Broke Me First,” which reached No. 17 in March 2021. In addition to her debut BBMA performance, McRae also makes her debut on Billboard‘s cover this week.

The 2023 Billboard Music Awards are presented by Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott’s award-winning travel program and marketplace. McRae’s performance was filmed at the Moxy Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, a part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. A select group of Marriott Bonvoy Members got to experience McRae’s performance first-hand by redeeming their points for access via Marriott Bonvoy Moment, Marriott Bonvoy’s experiences platform. Additionally, two exclusive acceptance speeches were hosted at extraordinary hotel brands within the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio.

Performances and awards for the 2023 Billboard Music Awards are still rolling out tonight on BBMAs.watch and across BBMA and Billboard social channels.

Tate McRae

Tate McRae performs at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on November 19 at the Mandalay Generating Station in Oxnard, California.

Gilbert Flores

19 Nov 2023

NewJeans Delivers Bouncy Medley of Viral Hits ‘Super Shy’ & ‘OMG’ at 2023 Billboard Music Awards

With just a year since the girl group’s formal debut, NewJeans has made waves across the K-pop industry, social media and on the Billboard charts. And on Sunday (Nov. 19), the quintet — which consists of members Danielle, Haerin, Hyein, Hanni and Minji — performed their viral hits “Super Shy” and “OMG” at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards.

The performance kicked off with the girls dressed in stylish schoolgirl ensembles, dancing in solo booths to electronic music. NewJeans then stepped onto the stage with a fleet of backup dancers to perform “Super Shy” and its viral choreography, hitting every step flawlessly as the Bunnies (their fans) in the audience sang the official fan chant at the appropriate times during the track.

After the song, the quintet did a quick change into new outfits for “OMG,” which consisted of oversized snow boots, oversized angel-themed sweaters, skirts and printed beanies for the dreamy set, with white grid walls and cloudlike figures around them. The track’s instrumental received a funky remix, and saw the girls dancing in unison for the feel-good dance moves, taking small moments during the showcase to wave at the Bunnies in the crowd.

NewJeans topped off the evening by winning the new top global K-pop artist award, beating out Stray Kids, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, TWICE and Jimin of BTS.

“Thank you so much for giving us the top global K-pop artist award,” Hyein started off the speech. Hanni continued, “We have been nominated in this category alongside such incredible artists we look up to. It’s an honor in itself. We are so grateful for this opportunity to perform at the Billboard Music Awards.”

Minji also stated the importance of the honor and noted that it will serve as “a reminder to us of all the love and support we receive from our fans Bunnies.”

Danielle extended grace to NewJeans’ company for putting the group on their journey, as well as a few special others within their circle. “We would like to thank our company ADOR, our family and everyone who has helped us behind the scenes, especially our producer Min Hee Jin,” she said, with Haerin adding a sweet shoutout to the Bunnies. “Words cannot convey how grateful we are, but we hope that one day we can bring you as much happiness as you’ve given us.”

NewJeans

NewJeans perform for the 2023 Billboard Music Awards.

Courtesy of HYBE

NewJeans’ performance comes months after the group scored its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Get Up, released in July. “Super Shy” peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “ETA” and “Cool With You” — also from the EP — peaked at Nos. 81 and 93 respectively. Though not on the EP, “OMG” arrived in January and reached No. 74.

Watch NewJeans’ performance of “Super Shy” and “OMG” at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards Presented by Marriott Bonvoy, as well as the group’s top global K-pop artist acceptance speech in the videos below.

19 Nov 2023

Bebe Rexha & David Guetta Stun With Cinematic ‘I’m Good (Blue)’ at 2023 Billboard Music Awards

Bebe Rexha and David Guetta were all good at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (Nov. 19), as they teamed up to perform their massive dance hit “I’m Good (Blue).”

Dressed in a stunning form-fitting gown, Rexha opened the performance with a slowed-down, orchestral version of the track. However, midway through the performance, the beat dropped and headed back into the club-ready melody.

Fans in the audience were chosen in a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the BBMAs and Spotify Fans First, who teamed up to identify fans who have consumed the most hours of music over the past year and helped drive their favorite artists to the top spots on the Billboard charts.

“I’m Good (Blue)” — which was a finalist for three BBMAs at Sunday’s show and took home the prize for top dance/electronic song — spent 55 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. (Only one song in the chart’s nearly 11-year history has had a longer run at No. 1; “Happier” by Marshmello and Bastille topped the chart for 69 weeks.)

“I want to say thank you so much to Billboard, thank you to my fans — come on, Rexhars! Stand up, let’s go!” Rexha said in her acceptance speech, adding what an “incredible journey” the song had taken. “We did it in 2017 and we didn’t think it was going to become such a worldwide anthem. We wanted to just flip a fun song from back in the day and just make it feel good. I just can’t believe how far this song has gone. Fifty-two weeks at No. 1, OK? I grew up watching Billboard and to be here right now is such an awesome, full-circle moment.”

Bebe Rexha

Bebe Rexha accepts the Billboard Music Award at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on November 19 at the Mandalay Generating Station in Oxnard, California.

Gilbert Flores

Rexha then tossed to Guetta, who sent in a video acceptance speech. “The story of ‘I’m Good’ is actually crazy, because we were just jamming in the studio four years ago, and we didn’t want to put it out, really. I just played it as a tool in my DJ set, and someone sampled it. And it all started with TikTok, because someone used it as a TikTok sound. Now here we are: A full year at No. 1 on Billboard. This is really incredible.”

Rexha and Guetta are both past Billboard Music Awards winners. “Meant to Be,” Rexha’s collab with Florida Georgia Line, won four years ago for top country song, while Guetta was named top EDM artist in 2013.

Watch Bebe Rexha and David Guetta perform “I’m Good (Blue)” above, and the acceptance speech below.

19 Nov 2023

Karol G Performs Steamy Medley & Wins Big at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards

Karol G took center stage at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards to perform a steamy medley over a large stage of water on Sunday night (Nov. 19).

Wearing white linen pants and a white bikini top, the Colombian artist kicked off her sultry showcase with the Peso Pluma-assisted track “QLONA,” for which she was joined by a buff dancer for a stellar choreo display over water. A minute in, Karol surprised fans with “Labios Mordidos,” an unreleased track that is part of Kali Uchis’ upcoming studio album Orquideas — all hinting that it’s the pair’s second collaborative effort following “Me Tengo Que Ir.”

Joined by an energetic group of dancers, Karol continued to make a splash with her euphoric dembow “Ojos Ferrari.”

The artist born Carolina Giraldo Navarro also nabbed two Billboard Music Awards on Sunday: top Latin female artist and top Latin touring artist.

“I have to say that I’m a little more nervous than usual … but it’s the first time I have accepted an award this close to you all,” she said to fans during her acceptance speech. She used the opportunity to thank her fans — or “los de siempre” (the forever ones), as she calls them — for supporting her music and going to her tour.

“These awards mean the connection is there between all of you and me. I think you’re more than fans; you’re part of the team and the family. … I want to thank all the people that were part of the tour. It was one of the most extraordinary things that happened to me this year. In addition to the album I released, that was very special, very intimate, you know the reasons why. I’m very happy, very grateful. … I give you half of all this because nothing would’ve been possible without you. I always say awards are special because they’re an extra validation to what we do, but like I said before, to have your unconditional love, with or without music, with or without a tour, that will always be the best present ever and that’s what I hope will never fail or go away. I love you and thank you for being with me today and always.”

Karol G

Karol G at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards at Line 204 in Los Angeles, California. The show will air on November 19, 2023 on BBMA.watch.

Gilbert Flores

In December, Karol will embark on her Mañana Será Bonito Tour across Latin America, where she will visit Colombia, Mexico, Brazil and more countries throughout May. She also announced the European leg will come soon.

With five nominations going into the 2023 Billboard Music Awards Presented by Marriott Bonvoy, Karol G stood out as the only female nominee in several categories. La Bichota joins a star-studded lineup of BBMA performers that included Mariah Carey, Bebe Rexha & David Guetta, Peso Pluma, NewJeans, Stray Kids and Morgan Wallen.

Watch Karol’s performance above and speech below.

19 Nov 2023

Kesha Removes Diddy’s Name From ‘TiK ToK’ Lyrics Onstage After Cassie Lawsuit

In light of Cassie’s recent lawsuit against Diddy, Kesha is reassessing the lyrics of her breakout hit single “TiK ToK.”

The 36-year-old musician, who is currently on her Only Love Tour, hit Los Angeles’ Hollywood Palladium on Saturday night and performed “TiK ToK” as the second song in her set. In the 2009 song’s opening line, Kesha sang, “Wake up in the morning feeling just like me” — a clear change from the original lyrics: “Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy.” The pop star continued the song with no additional lyrical changes.

The lyric change comes a day after Cassie Ventura and Diddy (real name Sean Combs) settled her lawsuit against the music mogul, in which the “Me and U” singer sued Diddy for over a decade’s worth of alleged abuse. The lawsuit claimed that the singer was subject to multiple physical beatings and was coerced into “sex acts with male sex workers” as Combs masturbated and watched. Other complaints in the court filings stated that when Ventura tried separating from Combs in 2018, he “forced her into her home and raped her while she repeatedly said ‘no’ and tried to push him away.”

Ventura and Combs’ settlement occurred just 24 hours after the filing, a decision that she said allowed her to “resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control.” The statement — issued late Friday night by her attorney, Douglas Wigdor — continued, “I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support.”

Combs responded with a statement of his own, adding, “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love.” On Nov. 19, the producer’s lawyer, Ben Brafman, noted that “a decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing” and “does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims.”

Watch Kesha’s lyric change below.

19 Nov 2023

Nicki Minaj Thanks Barbz for Her First Top Female Rap Artist Win at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards

Nicki Minaj is thanking her Barbz after she took home the prize for top female rap artist at Sunday’s (Nov. 19) 2023 Billboard Music Awards.

“Thank you to the Billboard Music Awards for presenting me with the best female rap award of 2023,” Minaj said in her acceptance speech for Sunday’s show, which is announcing some early winners ahead of performances and more awards rolling out starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT via BBMAs.watch. “Barbz, you are amazing. I appreciate you so much.”

This is the first win for Minaj in the top female rap artist category, which was only introduced at the BBMAs back in 2018. We don’t know how many times Minaj might have been victorious if the category had been introduced earlier, but we do know she would have been a shoo-in for the prize in 2013, when she won the overall top rap artist award against Drake, Flo Rida, Pitbull and Psy. She was also named top streaming artist that year, and her Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded won top rap album.

With Sunday’s win, Minaj now has five Billboard Music Awards wins across her 27 times as a finalist.

In her acceptance video, Minaj looked ahead to her next big project. “I can’t wait to share Pink Friday 2 on my birthday, December 8th,” she said, signing off her message by blowing a kiss to the camera.

Minaj returns to the Pink Friday album series that launched her career with next month’s release, which she promised in a social media post in September would be “the best album that’s been released in years!!!”

Find out who else will win big at tonight’s 2023 Billboard Music Awards Presented by Marriott Bonvoy by tuning in to BBMAs.watch starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and staying tuned to BBMAs and Billboard social channels.

19 Nov 2023

Selena Gomez Credits Rema With 2023 Billboard Music Awards Win for ‘Calm Down’

A win that’s sweet like Fanta! Selena Gomez and Rema won best Afrobeats song for their collab “Calm Down” at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (Nov. 19).

In her acceptance speech, the singer-actress gave props to the Nigerian rapper. “Thank you guys so, so much for this award,” Gomez began. “This is honestly Rema’s doing. He chose me to be a part of such an incredible song. So I want to thank him and thank all of you for streaming and listening and I wish we could be there. But thank you!”

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Rema also had a few words to share about winning the award, which was newly introduced category. “This honor for ‘Calm Down’ is a celebration of unity and the global domination of Afrobeats,” he said. “I want to say a big shoutout to Selena Gomez, Mavin Records, Josie Ward as well as the amazing fans who supported us all the way to this point. I want to say a big thank you to Billboard — I’m very grateful. All the way from Nigeria, Rema. One love.”

The hit is also competing for top radio song, top Billboard Global 200 song, top Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.) song and top collaboration.

The track reached a No. 3 high on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking in June 2023. The song spent a total of 57 weeks on the chart. It’s Rema’s first song to crack the Hot 100, and the Only Murders in the Building star’s ninth top 10 hit on the tally.

The 2023 Billboard Music Awards are Presented by Marriott Bonvoy.

19 Nov 2023

Stray Kids Score Fourth No. 1 on Billboard 200 With ‘ROCK-STAR’

Stray Kids’ ROCK-STAR debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Nov. 25), scoring the Korean pop ensemble its fourth chart-topper. The set launches with 224,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 16, according to Luminate, largely powered by traditional album sales.

The act — who is performing on the 2023 Billboard Music Awards Nov. 19, and is a finalist in two categories — previously opened at No. 1 with 5-STAR (earlier in 2023), MAXIDENT and ODDINARY (both in 2022).

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, the latest releases from Chris Stapleton and Chris Brown debut.

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 Nov. 25, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Nov. 21. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Of ROCK-STAR’s 224,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Nov. 16, album sales comprise 213,000 (with 98% of that sum driven by CD sales and 2% via digital downloads), SEA units comprise 11,000 (equaling 15.68 million on-demand official streams of the set’s eight tracks) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

ROCK-STAR was issued in 11 collectible CD editions, all with the same tracklist but alternative packaging, with different merchandise (some randomized) contained inside. Among the variants were retail-exclusives sold through Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart. ROCK-STAR was also available to purchase across four different digital download editions: a standard version and three alternative cover versions (with the latter titles sold exclusively in the act’s webstore).

All four of Stray Kids’ chart entries have debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making them the first act to see their first four chart entries debut at No. 1 since Alicia Keys in 2001-07. She bowed at No. 1 with Songs in A Minor (2001), The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003), the live set Unplugged (2005) and As I Am (2007). Honorable mention (and looking at groups) goes to One Direction, who debuted at No. 1 with its first chart entry, the studio album Up All Night in 2012. Later that year, in October 2012, the iTunes Store-exclusive six-song live set iTunes Festival: London 2012 debuted and peaked at No. 140. And then the act logged three No. 1s in a row with Take Me Home in December 2012, Midnight Memories in December 2013 and Four in December 2014.)

Stray Kids logged its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 on the April 2, 2022-dated chart, with ODDINARY debuting atop the list. They followed it with MAXIDENT (Oct. 22, 2022), 5-STAR (June 17, 2023) and now ROCK-STAR.

With nearly 20 months separating Stray Kids’ four No. 1 albums, the act has the fastest accumulation of four No. 1s since Taylor Swift notched four leaders in just under 16 months with Folklore, Evermore, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) between August of 2020 and November of 2021.

As the ROCK-STAR album is mostly in the Korean language, it is the 22nd mostly non-English language album to hit No. 1, and the sixth of 2023. The other five are Bad Bunny’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, NewJeans’ 2nd EP ‘Get Up,’ Stray Kids’ 5-STAR, Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito and TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation.

Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) falls to No. 2 with 159,000 equivalent album units earned (down 35%) after spending its first two weeks at No. 1.

Chris Stapleton notches his fifth consecutive top three-charting album – the entirety of his charting efforts – as Higher bows at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 90,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 57,000 (boosted by its availability across six vinyl variants), SEA units comprise 32,000 (equaling 41.54 million official on-demand streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise 1,500.

Drake’s former No. 1 For All the Dogs falls 3-4 on the new Billboard 200 with 72,000 equivalent album units earned (down 11%). The album should see a gain on next week’s chart, dated Dec. 2, following the release of a deluxe edition of the album on Nov. 17 which added six additional songs. The new iteration is dubbed For All the Dogs: Scary Hours Edition. (All versions of For All the Dogs are combined for tracking and charting purposes.)

Morgan Wallen’s chart-toping One Thing at a Time dips 4-5 on the Billboard 200 with 68,000 equivalent album units earned (up 4%). Jung Kook’s Golden falls 2-6 in its second week with 56,000 units (down 73%). Taylor Swift’s former leader Midnights rises 9-7 with nearly 52,000 (up 19%), while Bad Bunny’s chart-topping Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana falls 5-8 with 49,000 (down 19%).

Chris Brown earns his 12th top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200 as his latest studio effort 11:11 debuts at No. 9 with just over 45,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 38,000 (equaling 50.97 million official on-demand streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 6,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000.

Rounding out the new top 10 is Zach Bryan’s self-titled chart-topper, which dips 8-10 with 45,000 equivalent album units earned (up 1%).

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.