Music
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Dolly Parton may be the only person surprised that Billboard named the country icon to the No. 1 spot on its list of the 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time, which rolled out throughout November.
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“I just learned that Billboard Magazine just released their list of greatest country artists of all time, and they have my name sitting at the top! Can you believe that?” Parton exclaimed in a video she made in response to the honor.
Since releasing her 1967 debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly, Parton has scored 25 No. 1s on Billboard’s Country Songs chart, the most among all women, and 49 top 10s on Country Albums, including nine No. 1s, most recently in 2023 with Rockstar. At 78, the much-beloved entertainer and renowned songwriter is still at the top of her game.
From an early age, Parton wanted to make country music. “Now, when I was a little girl, I would sit around the radio and listen to the Grand Ole Opry and hearing all those great big stars like Hank Williams and Kitty Wells and Johnny Cash, I dreamed about what my life could actually become as well,” she continued.
Parton thanked Billboard but saved her biggest thanks for her fans: “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to take my music all around the world and to see all my dreams come true.” Then she concluded by singing a line from one of her most famous songs. See the complete video above.
In determining these rankings for the list, members of the Billboard editorial staff selected their top artists from a list of nearly 200 names spanning the past century. Certain parameters were set, including focusing primarily on mainstream country artists, instead of embracing adjacent genres like Americana or bluegrass
While commercial success was a factor, artistry, longevity and enduring influence counted just as much. Because it’s too early to gauge the long-term impact of many of the newer acts yet, the list leans largely on artists whose place in country music history is already secure. But everyone on the list has in their own way moved the genre forward.
Bravo’s announcement Tuesday (Nov. 26) that Vanderpump Rules is relaunching with a new cast of SURvers may not have been “Good as Gold” news for longtime viewers, but Scheana Shay — one of the hit show’s OG stars — has her focus on a passion project: her upcoming EP with The 27s. And believe it or not, pop superstar Taylor Swift had some part in the inspiration.
“What I wanted to do with this EP was each song is kind of — and this is my Taylor Swift inspo — is a different era of Scheana,” the singer and TV personality, who attended the Eras Tour, tells Billboard. “So you have the ‘Apples’ Scandoval era, you have the ‘Boy Crazy’ era, ‘Sweet & Sour’ is like the mean girl, the early Vanderpump Rules era, and the next single I have is called ‘Miss Understood.’ So that is just a combination of 11 years on reality TV feeling like I’ve been a little misunderstood! But it’s a really good song. That one is a little more poppy, and then we have a couple more that are definitely more rock.”
And like Swift, Shay — who has her own NFL ties via hosting some of Smirnoff’s We Do Game Day Matchups, with her next one being Dec. 5 in Detroit — will also be doing at least one other new take (Scheana’s Version, if you will) of her own tunes. “We’re doing a stripped-down version of ‘Apples.’ It’s just gonna be a more acoustic vibe, slower,” the Scheananigans podcast host shares of the bop that originally arrived in August 2023. The tune was inspired by co-star Tom Sandoval’s affair with their friend Rachel Leviss (dubbed “Scandoval” for its betrayal of fan-favorite castmate Ariana Madix, Sandoval’s partner of nearly 10 years and one of Leviss’ closest friends), which Shay performed during the VPR season 11 finale. “That’s the only one we’re really redoing. We already did the Screamo Version of ‘Good as Gold,’ but I’m really excited.”
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Though Shay wasn’t sure about the future of the hit Bravo reality show when she spoke to Billboard, she said at the time that she was in no major rush to get the EP out, hoping that this would give VPR the chance to document her artistic process, which the show has done in past seasons. “I would love for at least, if it’s not me in the recording booth, that when we do the release, that that’s captured in some way,” she says of her ideal scenario. “And if it’s not on Vanderpump Rules, it would be on my YouTube channel, and I’ll vlog everything that doesn’t get shown on the show.”
The TV personality adds that she and The 27s have already mastered “a couple songs,” and that the new single would be out before the EP arrives. “It’s such a good song that I don’t want to release it without a visual aspect, so just figuring out if we’re gonna do a full music video for that … but it will be coming soon, at least that single,” she shares. “And then I would love to have the EP out before the end of the year.”
But if a new single and EP aren’t enough to fulfill fans’ appetites, Shay teased that there may be something else on the way for VPR devotees: a collab with co-stars Lala Kent and Ally Lewber. “Lala and I, we actually talked about doing a song with Ally!” reveals the podcaster, who shares daughter Summer Moon with husband Brock Davies. “It might be more of like a children’s song, but I recently recorded a song with Station Little, and they do a bunch of pop inspiring music for kids. … We were thinking about it, and we’re like, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if the three of us did something together?’ Maybe around the holidays, which I know is approaching quickly, so we would need to figure that out soon, but we have talked about the three of us partnering with Station Little and doing something for the kids! I’m in my mom era!”
Though pop music and parenting are in the influencer’s wheelhouse, she hopes to step outside the box with her music too. “I would love to collaborate with a legend like Dr. Dre, Eminem, where I’m just on the hook and they’re doing their thing they do. They’re so talented!” she gushed of the hip-hop icons. “Snoop Dogg, maybe Drake, but definitely more on the hip-hop side if I was going to do a collab. I feel like people would expect me to say, like, Britney Spears or something pop or Gwen Stefani. No! Put me in the studio with Dr. Dre and I would be a very happy girl!”
Brandon Lake achieves his fourth No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart as “That’s Who I Praise” jumps three spots to the top of the ranking dated Nov. 30.
During the Nov. 15-21 tracking week, the song drew 5.6 million audience impressions, according to Luminate. Over on Christian AC Airplay, it reigns for a second frame. It’s Lake’s fourth chart-topper on each list.
The 34-year-old Lake, from Charleston, S.C., co-authored the single with Steven Furtick, Benjamin William Hastings, Zac Lawson and Micah Nichols, the lattermost of whom also produced it.
“I’m completely blown away. To hear that this song is connecting with so many hearts out there is humbling and just unreal,” Lake tells Billboard. “Keep praising God even when you don’t feel like it. Your worship is a weapon and our God is faithful.”
Lake last led both tallies as featured on Elevation Worship’s “Praise,” also featuring Chris Brown and Chandler Moore, beginning in May. He also scored his first No. 1 on the charts in collaboration with Elevation Worship: “Graves Into Gardens,” in 2021. Lake has also topped the surveys with “Gratitude” beginning in March 2023.
Transformation Worship Makes History
Gospel and Christian music collective Transformation Worship banks its third leader on Top Gospel Albums, as well as its third top 10 on Top Christian Albums, entering at Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, with Undefeated Champions. Released Nov. 15, the set earned 4,000 equivalent album units in its first week.
The Tulsa, Okla.-based act launched in 2010 at the city’s same-named church by lead pastor Michael Todd.
On Top Gospel Albums, Transformation Worship becomes the first worship collective to achieve three No. 1s in a calendar year, as Undefeated Champions follows Dominion, which opened on top in July, and Overflow, which started at the summit in June.
The group boasts a fourth Top Gospel Albums top 10 this year: Thy Kingdom Come debuted at its No. 6 best in October.
Brooks & Dunn, Jelly Roll Chart Remake
Renowned country duo Brooks & Dunn returns to Billboard’s religious charts with an update of “Believe,” which hit No. 6 on Hot Country Songs in 2006. The new version features Jelly Roll, who joined Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn for a performance of the song on the 58th annual Country Music Association Awards (Nov. 20), broadcast live on ABC.
The remake is from Brooks & Dunn’s collaborative LP Reboot II, which debuts at No. 5 on Top Country Albums with 24,000 equivalent album units. It marks the twosome’s 15th top 10 and first since 2019, when Reboot started as the pair’s seventh No. 1.
The new “Believe” bows atop Christian Digital Song Sales with 5,000 sold, while the 2019 original reenters at No. 6. It also debuts at No. 6 on Hot Christian Songs, bolstered further by 1.8 million official streams, marking Brooks & Dunn and Jelly Roll’s first appearance each on the chart.
TDE founder Top Dawg weighed in on Kendrick Lamar‘s latest album GNX, suggesting rivals might not want to engage with the red-hot rapper. “Dot is a dangerous man right now,” Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith said on his Instagram Story. “Everything I thought he would be at 16 years old is here right now. Everybody stand […]
Congratulations are in order for Flo Milli, who revealed on Monday (Nov. 25) that she’s pregnant with her first child. The “Never Lose Me” rapper took to X (formerly Twitter) to write, “Flo mommy s—,” before adding, “i can’t even see my coochie nomore that’s crazy.” She also shared a series of photos with her […]
Grimes is sharing a glimpse her difficult year-long custody battle with Elon Musk, with whom she shares three children: sons X Æ A-Xii, 4, and Techno Mechanicus, 2, as well as daughter Exa Dark Sideræl, 3.
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“Having babies rips you apart and puts you back together,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter until Musk bought and renamed the platform in 2023). “Babies are ten thousand philosophy classes of s— you can only learn from that experience.”
She continued, “Spent a year locked in battle in a state with terrible mothers rights having my instagram posts and modeling used as reasons I shouldn’t have my kids and fighting and detaching from the love of my life as he becomes unrecognizable to me, with a fraction of his resources (or iq/ strategy experience), all the while I didn’t see one of my babies for 5 months. And this is only what can be said publicly, since most of my experience these last years should remain behind closed doors.”
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While she didn’t indicate which of her children she wasn’t able to see and why, the “Genesis” artist continued that she is now ready to reignite her creative process, “Poetry and pure raw emotion are pouring out of my soul at a rate I’ve never known, and Im improving deeply as a producer past the technical and back to the art after now knowing my craft so much better. + I’ve found the creative partners I’ve always wanted. So I hate to waste everyone’s time, but I have to make what I’m making right now. And it might be upsetting and provocative to many, but it’s real and the people who will feel me will feel me.”
She concluded, “And all that said I’m grateful for every bullet I caught. Cuz I feel on top of the world right now. And everything that used to give me anxiety feels like child’s play after all this. Ego death, ego birth – it’s everything an artist could dream of.”
Musk has 12 children total. In addition to X Æ A-Xii, Techno Mechanicus and Exa Dark Sideræl, Musk shares seven children with his first wife, Justine Wilson — Nevada Alexander Musk, Griffin Musk, Vivian Jenna Wilson and triplets Kai, Saxon and Damian Musk. In 2021, he welcomed twins Strider and Azure with Shivon Zilis.
Jowell & Randy will soon host their five-date stint at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot —where they’ve already handed an interesting rider list to the promoter.
As tradition holds, a rider is a set of requests for the dressing room made by the artist that is typically fulfilled by the hosting venue. This can range from foods to beverages to decorations and beyond. For their upcoming shows, the pair requested 1,500 pounds of dog and cat food.
Though this may sound bizarre, it’s actually for a good cause.
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The Puerto Rican duo — known for hits like “Bonita” with J Balvin, Nicky Jam, Yandel, & Ozuna, and “Safaera” with Bad Bunny and Ñengo Flow — teamed up with Giving Tuesday Puerto Rico to highlight the importance of donating to and supporting local social causes.
“We as artists ask for whatever we want because we have our requirements,” member Joel “Jowell” Muñoz said in a press statement. “We asked for 1,500 pounds of dog and cat food, but it’s to donate to the Save a Sato organization through the Giving Tuesday movement. There are several artists who joined and it is a positive initiative on our part. Anyone who wants to join and donate can choose any other foundation, the important thing is to donate.”
The Pet Friendly PR organization also confirmed that they will be collecting donations of pet foods at some of the Jowell & Randy concerts taking place Dec. 12, 13, 14, 15, and 20.
“Creative actions like this help give visibility to the crucial work of our organizations,” Blamilsa Corujo, local leader of Giving Tuesday Puerto Rico, added.
Other artists who joined the Giving Tuesday initiative included Rawayana, Gale, and Jon Z, asking for donations such as 300 whoppers and 200 hula hoops, for example. For more information, visit Giving Tuesday PR.
J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival is returning to North Carolina in 2025. Dreamville Fest is set to celebrate its fifth anniversary during the weekend of April 5 and 6 at Raleigh’s Dorothea Dix Park.
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The first wave of pre-sales will start on Dec. 11 at 9 a.m. ET, with various general admission and VIP packages available on the Dreamville Fest website. These will be the least expensive deals for the two-day tickets, which will only increase as the festival date gets closer.
While the lineup is yet to be revealed, fans can expect another star-studded affair in 2025 along with dozens of tasty food vendors, site-wide art installations, merch booths and the famed Dreamville Ferris Wheel on the festival grounds.
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Fans had plenty to say in the Instagram post’s comments section about the festival’s return. “Damn 5 years already seems crazy to hear. Especially having never missed one,” one person wrote.
Another suggested: “I’ll come but can we get better speakers for the rise stage this year.”
There were fans even calling for J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar to get back on good terms so the “Not Like Us” rapper could headline the festival.
“April 5 & 6, 2025 Sign up now to be the first to get presale access at dreamvillefest.com or by texting DREAMVILLE to 68624,” Dreamville captioned the announcement on IG. “Presale begins 12/11 at 9am EST.”
2024’s festival featured J. Cole headlining, but his set is perhaps best remembered for his apology to Kendrick Lamar as he walked back his “7 Minute Drill” diss track and bowed out of the feud.
“That s–t don’t sit right with my spirit,” Cole said in April. “That s–t disrupts my f–king peace. So what I want to say right here tonight is in the midst of me doing that and in that s–t, trying to find a little angle and downplay this n—a’s f—ing catalog and his greatness, I want to say right now tonight, how many people think Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest motherf–kers to ever touch a f—ing microphone? Dreamville, y’all love Kendrick Lamar, correct? As do I.”
The North Carolina rapper continued: “I just want to come up here and publicly be like, bruh, that was the lamest, goofiest s–t. I say all that to say it made me feel like 10 years ago when I was moving incorrectly. And I pray that god will line me back up on my purpose and on my path, I pray that my n—a really didn’t feel no way and if he did, my n—a, I got my chin out. Take your best shot, I’ma take that s–t on the chin boy, do what you do. All good. It’s love.”
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Drake is doubling down. After initially accusing Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify of boosting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” to his detriment, in a second filing, Drizzy claims that UMG and iHeartRadio defamed him in the process of making the song massive.
According to Billboard, Drake filed this latest petition in Texas, and he alleges that K. Dot “falsely” accused him of being “a sex offender” in his megahit diss song “Not Like Us.” But his label promoted it anyway.
Per Billboard:
A day after filing an action in New York accusing UMG of illegally boosting Lamar’s track on Spotify, Drake’s company leveled similar claims in Texas court regarding radio giant iHeartRadio. The new filing, filed late Monday and made public on Tuesday, claims UMG “funneled payments” to iHeart as part of a “pay-to-play scheme” to promote the song on radio.
But the filing also offers key new details about Drake’s grievances toward UMG, the label where he has spent his entire career. In it, he says UMG knew that Kendrick’s song “falsely” accused him of being a “certified pedophile” and “predator” but chose to release it anyway.
Part of the backlash to Drake’s initial filing was that he had all this energy to question Kendrick Lamar’s ht song getting all these spins, but none for the accusation of being a pedophile. However, the way he addresses it in this filling is not earning him any points. Instead, the Toronto rapper sounds sour that UMG dared to make money at his expense—when considering they surely made cash off his own diss tracks.
“UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed,” Drake’s lawyers write. “But UMG chose to do the opposite. UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues. That plan succeeded, likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations.”
While Spotify and iHeartRadio have yet to respond, UMG did so on Monday (Nov. 25). From the tone of its statement, the entity is not to happy with their superstar rapper and the nefarious actions he is insinuating.
“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” said the company in a statement to Billboard. “We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”
This is only going to get more interesting, while Drake is going to continue getting cooked online.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson may play the role of Maui in Moana 2, but even a Disney demigod had trouble getting tickets to Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras tour. The actor told Entertainment Tonight that he had to “pull strings” for the first time to secure tickets. “It’s never happened in my career,” he said, noting […]