Music

08 Dec 2022

Intocable Ties for Most Top 10s on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay Chart

Intocable climbs to a milestone 45 top 10s on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart as “Un Poquito Tuyo” jumps 13-9 on the Dec. 10-dated ranking. The group now ties with Los Tigres del Norte for the most top 10s overall.

“Un Poquito Tuyo” lands in the upper reaches of the chart in its fifth week thanks to a 15% weekly increase in audience impressions earned in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 4, according to Luminate. The song was released Oct. 14 via Good I Music.

“Un Poquito” is the second single from Intocable’s forthcoming album (release date to be announced), and was written by Carlos Preciado and Ricardo Muñoz. As mentioned, the song advances to the tally’s top region and earns the group its 45th top 10, all spanning four decades, tying with Los Tigres del Norte for the most top 10s since the chart launched in 1994. Here’s the leaderboard:

  • 45, Intocable
  • 45, Los Tigres del Norte
  • 44, Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga
  • 36, Los Tucanes de Tijuana
  • 35, La Arrolladora Banda el Limón de Rene Camacho
  • 32, Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga
  • 32, Calibre 50
  • 30, Marco Antonio Solis
  • 28, Conjunto Primavera
  • 24, Vicente Fernandez

The new top 10 arrives just a month after the sextet earned its second top 10 of 2022 through “Más Muerto Que Vivo,” with Matisse (Nov. 5-dated ranking). Previously, “Si Me Duele Que Duela” ruled for two week in July.

Elsewhere, “Un Poquito”climbs 32-26 on the all-genre Latin Airplay chart.

08 Dec 2022

Taylor Swift Goes Full Director Mode in ‘All Too Well’ Behind-the-Scenes Footage: Watch

And … cut. Taylor Swift released her longest directorial project to date last year when she dropped “All Too Well: The Short Film,” a heartbreaking 14-minute music video starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. And now, she’s giving fans a glimpse into how she put the whole thing together.

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In a Thursday (Dec. 8) post on Instagram, the 32-year-old pop star shared several minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from her shoot with Sink and O’Brien, who portrayed onscreen the dysfunctional, age-gap relationship Swift describes in her record-setting No. 1 Red (Taylor’s Version) track “All Too Well (10 Minute Version).” In many of the clips, a pony-tailed Swift describes to the actors in detail how they should be feeling in the moment, sometimes trading places with them and tracking their approximate movements for them.

“The first seeds of this short film were planted over ten years ago, and I’ll never forget the behind the scenes moments of the shoot,” she wrote in her caption. “I owe everything to @sadiesink_, Dylan O’Brien, my incredible DP @the_rinayang and my producer @saulysaulysauly.”

Not only does Swift closely direct the video’s two stars, but she also gives specific instructions to its many background extras. In one of the short film’s most meticulously planned scenes, she instructs when exactly the camera should zoom in and out, when exactly an actor should place a birthday cake in front of Sink, and when exactly the Stranger Things star should blow out the candles.

“I also want to say thank you to our wonderful background actors and crew who made this story come to life so naturally,” she added. “I loved every second of it and I will always remember it. All. Too. Well. The behind the scenes footage of ATW the short film is out now!”

Both the “All Too Well” song and short film have become some of the 11-time Grammy winner’s most critically acclaimed projects, with the video winning video of the year at this year’s VMAs. Swift has made appearances at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival to speak about her directorial process, and the short film is eligible for a nomination at next year’s Oscars in the live-action short category.

See Taylor Swift’s post below, and watch the behind-the-scenes video for “All Too Well: The Short Film” above.

08 Dec 2022

Mariah Carey Clarifies ‘Queen of Christmas‘ Mess, Harmonizes With Stephen Colbert During ’Colbert Questionert’

Mariah Carey is known. But on Wednesday night’s (Dec. 7) Late Show With Stephen Colbert she was also seen as she sat down for the the show’s scientifically dubious “Colbert Questionert,” in which the host probed the recesses of her mind in order to peel back the unseen layers of the divine miss MC.

After a few minutes of idle chatter about how much better it is to chat in person than on Zoom — as the pair did during the COVID-19 pandemic — before he could even get the Questionert started, Colbert stumbled out of the gate. “Because you are the Queen of Christmas, I’ve got a couple…” he started, before Carey immediately cut him off.

“First of all, may I say I never called myself the Queen of Christmas. Can we please be clear on that?,” Carey said with authority as Colbert noted that he never called her that; Carey recently lost a legal fight over her effort to claim the “Queen of Christmas” trademark. “But others have [said], ‘the self-proclaimed Queen of Christmas.’ I’m like, ‘really? I’m gonna do that?’ They can look up every interview I’ve ever done, and not to get super religious, but if anybody would be the Queen of Christmas that would be Mary?”

For the record, MC said, Christmas is for all and she just happens to really love it too. With that settled, nearly 7 minutes into the segment, Colbert finally got to the first question… which he also fumbled. “White lights or colored lights at Christmas?” he asked the “All I Want For Christmas Is You” singer.

“Um, I’m going to say is that politically correct in the way that you phrased that,” Carey asked with a sideways glance. A grinning Colbert was momentarily speechless about his verbal faux pas. “I’m going to… as a biracial… as a Black and biracial mix… Black, Irish,” Carey laughed while seamlessly plugging her Black Irish liquor brand.

Asked to pick between hot cocoa and eggnog, of course MC went with the cocoa… with a splash of Black Irish, naturally. As for whether she goes angel or star on her tree top, Carey said both, because the unofficial yuletide royal has four trees in her house. But when Colbert wondered when it’s time to start playing Christmas songs, the singer — who famously does not acknowledge time — said she had no idea “All I Want” would have such long legs when she wrote it more than two decades ago. So when she goes shopping, which she only does at Christmas, she said it seems like every retail outlet she hits is playing “cool” music and not classic holiday tunes.

Among her other answers: Best Sandwich (chicken parm with mozzarella cheese instead, lightly toasted), One Thing She Owns She Should Throw Out (a “hideously ugly” jacket in her closet that is multicolored, bright and sparkly), What’s the Scariest Animal? (snakes), Apples or Oranges? (oranges), What Do You Think Happens When We Die? (“the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evidence of things yet unseen.”) and Window or Aisle? (“a bed.”)

And, finally, if she only got one song to listen to for the rest of her life, she said, “Stephen Colbert’s latest hit.” When the host informed her that the last song he sang was “All I Want For Christmas” during the previous night’s monologue, Carey insisted he prove how much of her perennial holiday No. 1 he knew. But MC being MC, after Colbert busted out the first verse and chorus, the famously exacting singer joined in and sang, “You skipped a little part of the B section, but that’s all right.”

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” has already begun its now-annual journey up the Hot 100 for this Christmas season. On the chart dated Dec. 10, the 1994 single sits at No. 2, just behind Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero.” It’s peaked at No. 1 three years in a row now, dating back to its first ascension in 2019.

Check out Mariah’s answers below.

08 Dec 2022

Billboard’s Top 25 Holiday Albums, From Crosby & Cole to Bublé & Bocelli

As we count down the shopping days remaining until Christmas, let’s also count down the top 25 holiday albums. This list is drawn from Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Top Holiday Albums chart, which is based on actual performance on Billboard’s weekly Top Holiday Albums chart from its inception on Dec. 21, 1985, through the ranking dated Jan. 8, 2022.

Mannheim Steamroller has four albums in the top 25, more than any other artist. Pentatonix and Trans-Siberian Orchestra each have two. The top 25 includes two Various Artists albums – NOW That’s What I Call Christmas! and A Very Special Christmas – and one soundtrack – the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Nine of the top 25 albums are instrumental. Six are by male solo vocalists; four are by female solo vocalists. Two are by a vocal group (the aforementioned Pentatonix), one is by a vocal duo (Carpenters).

The most prized tracks on two of these albums were first recorded in the 1940s. Bing Crosby first recorded “White Christmas” in 1942 for the film Holiday Inn, in which he co-starred with Fred Astaire. Nat King Cole first recorded “The Christmas Song” in 1946, when he was still with the jazz trio, The King Cole Trio. These two classics were among the first five recordings inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.

Let’s take a closer look at the top 25 holiday albums since 1985. We show the album’s release date, its Billboard 200 peak and the names of any guest artists who appeared on the standard edition of the album.

08 Dec 2022

Farruko Set to Perform in Puerto Rico For ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2023, presented by ABC and dick clark productions, returns to Puerto Rico for its second annual Spanish-language countdown, Billboard can exclusively announce today (Dec. 8). 

La Isla del Encanto will host the coveted New Year’s celebration at the DISTRITO T-Mobile in the Puerto Rico Convention Center, with the night’s first countdown kicking off at 11 p.m. ET on December 31st.  Puerto Rican actress and producer Roselyn Sanchez returns as co-host and the Boricua superstar Farruko has been confirmed to perform a medley of hits. 

“We will have an enchanting night and are so very pleased to share our beautiful Island and welcome 2023 with a bang!” Sanchez said in a press statement. “What a blessing to be a part of the New Year’s Rockin’ Eve tradition from my home island of Puerto Rico that represents and means so much!” Farruko added. 

Last year’s inaugural Spanish-language countdown from Puerto Rico coincided with the celebration of the 500th anniversary of San Juan’s founding and featured global Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee with a hometown performance in his native San Juan. 

“We are very excited to again host Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on our Island to lead the countdown in welcoming 2023. Puerto Rico’s participation in this high-caliber event celebration will allow us to continue projecting to the world everything we have to offer as we head into our peak tourism season,” said Pedro Pierluisi, Governor of Puerto Rico. “We will again be front and center on national television to promote Puerto Rico’s beauty, culture and attractions and continue driving our booming tourism industry and economic development”

Sanchez and Farruko join the previously-announced lineup, which includes 18-time host Ryan Seacrest and co-hosts Liza Koshy, Jessie James Decker, Ciara, Billy Porter, and D-Nice, as well as artists Aly & AJ, Armani White, Bailey Zimmerman, Ben Platt, Betty Who, Billy Porter, Ciara, Dove Cameron, Finneas, Fitz & The Tantrums, Halle Bailey, Lauren Spencer Smith, Maddie & Tae, Nicky Youre, Shaggy, TXT, and Wiz Khalifa. 

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2023 airs live on Saturday (Dec. 31) starting at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

08 Dec 2022

Jonathan McReynolds Notches Fifth Gospel Airplay No. 1 With ‘Your World’

Jonathan McReynolds‘ “Your World” ascends to the top of Billboard‘s Gospel Airplay chart (dated Dec. 10), marking his record-tying fifth No. 1 in a row, encompassing all his leaders.

In the tracking week ending Dec. 4, “Your World” increased by 22% in plays, according to Luminate.

McReynolds co-authored the song with Dee Wilson.

“The past year has been filled with great milestones,” McReynolds tells Billboard. “I’m thankful that we have been able to offer life-changing music that points people straight to the source of it all.”

McReynolds ties Todd Dulaney, who also boasts an active run of five straight Gospel Airplay No. 1s. In September, Dulaney notched his fifth in succession with “Satisfied,” featuring Smokie Norful (marking Dulaney’s sixth leader overall, and Norful’s third).

For the 33-year-old McReynolds, who hails from Chicago, “Your World” follows “Grace,” which dominated for a week in August 2021. “Movin’ On,” a collaboration with Mali Music, topped the tally for one frame in October 2020; “Make Room” became a one-week leader in December 2019; and “Not Lucky, I’m Loved” paced the chart for a week in September 2018.

McReynolds has notched one additional top 10, “Gotta Have You” (No. 5, August 2015).

Plus, “Your World” completes McReynolds’ quickest trip to the Gospel Airplay summit: 15 weeks. The ascent passes “Grace,” which reached the penthouse in its 21stweek.

08 Dec 2022

Chart Rewind: In 1990, Stevie B Sent ‘The Postman Song’ to No. 1 on the Hot 100

While many listeners have surely dedicated Stevie B’s 1990 smash ballad “Because I Love You (The Postman Song)” to a romantic interest, its writer, Warren Brooks, remembers that it was inspired by a different source.

“It was God talking to me, telling me He got my letter, and that whenever I needed Him, He’d be there for me,” Brooks tells Billboard. “I was feeling a little down one day, and talking to God, and God talking to me. That’s how it came about. I just wrote down what came to me.”

On the Billboard Hot 100 dated Dec. 8, 1990, Stevie B sent the song (also featuring string arrangements by Brooks) to No. 1 for its first of four weeks at the summit. It marked the first, and to-date sole, leader for Brooks as a writer, and for the singer who had broken through with uptempo freestyle anthems including “Dreamin’ of Love,” “Spring Love (Come Back to Me)” and “I Wanna Be the One” in 1988-89.

With the release of Stevie B’s third LP, Love & Emotion (on LMR/RCA Records), he reached his highest Hot 100 rank to that point with the title cut, also penned solely by Brooks. The dance/pop song hit No. 15 in September 1990, paving the way for the singer’s first No. 1 three months later.

Brooks and Stevie B met in 1985, when the former finished writing “The Postman Song” after beginning it in 1983, and the latter gave it his stamp of approval. “Stevie heard me playing it on the piano and he said, ‘That sounds like a hit,’” Brooks recalls. “When he got his deal with LMR Records, he decided to [record] it. He really loved it.”

In topping the Hot 100, “The Postman Song” dethroned “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” the lead/title-track single from Whitney Houston’s third album. Also in the top 10 that week were enduring hits such as Mariah Carey’s “Love Takes Time,” DNA’s “Tom’s Diner,” featuring Suzanne Vega, and Madonna’s “Justify My Love.”

“I just felt, ‘It’s on now. I’m in the game’,” muses Brooks, who since 1991 has run Wab Nation Records, which he co-founded.

“The Postman Song” helped set the stage for Stevie B’s second-highest-charting Hot 100 hit, and further success with love songs, as follow-up ballad “I’ll Be by Your Side” rose to No. 12 in March 1991. Another AC-focused song, “Dream About You,” hit No. 29 in June 1995.

Three decades past its Hot 100 peak, “The Postman Song” ranks among the top 100 classics on Billboard‘s Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs chart. “I felt that the song had the right lyrics,” Brooks says. “I just thought that if it got a shot, it would do great things.”

08 Dec 2022

Bad Bunny: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

During the first of his two sold-out stadium shows in November in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bad Bunny lost his voice.

There he was, standing in the middle of the vast stage, barely able to hear himself through the roar of the very loud 40,000-plus crowd, when his voice deserted him.

“It was all of a sudden, like a click,” recalls Bad Bunny, snapping his fingers. “Like the temperature or something. Seems like one of my vocal cords was suffering, and boom, it happened. And I’m thinking, ‘This can’t be happening. These people are giving me the most cabrón energy. It’s the most euphoric audience I’ve had all tour, and I’m going to lose my voice? It’s not possible.’ ”

Yet he didn’t lose his cool. He briefly left the stage as if nothing had happened, drank warm tea and did vocal exercises until his voice returned. Then he powered through the rest of his nearly three-hour show, and no one was the wiser. After two days of complete vocal rest, he’s now revealing to me for the first time what really happened. It’s our second encounter since his World’s Hottest Tour began playing stadiums in North and South America in Orlando, Fla., last August, and we’re in a trendy Buenos Aires club, where a master sommelier pours us glasses of red wine from renowned Uco Valley vintner Jose Galante. Bad Bunny’s trademark deep bass sounds perfectly normal, and his demeanor is nonchalant as he leans against the bar, a black suit with a rose print draping his tall, athletic frame.

Read Billboard‘s full Bad Bunny cover story here.

08 Dec 2022

Aerosmith Cancel Rest of Las Vegas Residency Dates Over Steven Tyler’s Illness

Aerosmith canceled the final two dates of their Las Vegas “Aerosmith: Duces Are Wild” residency on Thursday morning (Dec. 8) due to the undisclosed illness affecting singer Steven Tyler. “On the advice of doctors, Steven has to sit these out,” the band announced on Instagram of the shows slated to take place tonight and on Sunday (Dec. 11).

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Earlier this week, the veteran band scotched their Dec. 2 and 5 gigs at the Dolby Live in Park MGM due to an illness affecting the 74-year-old singer; at press time a spokesperson for the band could not be reached for comment on Tyler’s diagnosis. Tickets purchased through Ticketmaster will be automatically refunded, with refunds available at the point of purchase.

Earlier this summer, Aerosmith canceled some shows to allow Tyler to voluntarily enter a treatment program after the singer who has struggled with addiction issues in the past said he relapsed after using pain meds following foot surgery.

“As many of you know, our beloved brother Steven has worked on his sobriety for many years,” the band’s joint statement from may explained of the singer who has been open about his struggles with addiction issues in the past. “After foot surgery to prepare for the stage and the necessity of pain management during the process, he has recently relapsed and voluntarily entered a treatment program to concentrate on his health and recovery.”

Before kicked off their most recent run of Las Vegas shows the band performed a gig at Boston’s Fenway Park on Sept. 8 to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

See the band’s statement below.

08 Dec 2022

Celine Dion Reveals Rare Neurological Disorder, Vows to Return to Stage in 2024: ‘All I Know Is Singing’

Celine Dion opened up to fans about a serious health struggle she’s been facing that will result in all her 2023 dates being pushed back to 2024 or cancelled entirely. In an emotional video posted on Thursday morning (Dec. 8), the 54-year-old singer described her battle against a rare neurological disorder called “Stiff-Person Syndrome,” which she said has caused uncontrolled and serve muscle spasms.

“As you know, I’ve always been an open book. And I wasn’t ready to say anything before,” said a solemn Dion, seemingly on the verge of tears in the brief video. “But I’m ready now… ’I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through.”

Fighting to keep her composure, Dion said she was recently diagnosed with the “very rare” disorder that affects one in a million people. While her team is still learning about the condition, she said they now know that SPS has been causing all the spasms that she’s been having. “Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life. Sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to,” Dion said. “I have to admit it’s been a struggle. All I know is singing, it’s what I’ve done all my life.” 

The immediate result is that she will not be able to re-start her tour in Europe in February as planned. In fact, she said, all of her spring 2023 dates will move to 2024 and 8 of her summer 2023 shows have been cancelled. The shows scheduled from Feb. 24 to April 11, 2023 will now move to March 6-April 22, 2024 and her summer 2023 shows slated for May 31-July 17 have been cancelled; a run of shows scheduled from August 26-Oct. 4, 2023 remain on her schedule as of now.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, SPS is a rare neurological disorder that has features of an autoimmune disease. It is characterized by “fluctuating muscle rigidity in the trunk and limbs and a heightened sensitivity to stimuli such as noise, touch, and emotional distress, which can set off muscle spasms. Abnormal postures, often hunched over and stiffened, are characteristic of the disorder.” People with SPS can be too disabled to walk or move and may be “afraid to leave the house because street noises, such as the sound of a horn, can trigger spasms and falls.” According to the Institute, the disorder affects twice as many women as men and science does not yet understand what cause it.

The current treatment is a regimen of anti-convulsants and valium and intravenous treatments aimed at reducing stiffness and lowering sensitivity to touch, noise and stress. The preferred treatments can improve symptoms, but a cure is not yet known and sufferers are often subject to frequent falls because of a lack of the usual defensive reflexes.

“I have a great team of doctors working alongside me to help me get better,” Dion said, adding that her “precious children” are standing beside her and giving her hope. “I’m working hard with my sports medicine therapist every day to build back my strength and my ability to perform again. But I have to admit it’s been a struggle. All I know is singing. It’s what I’ve done all my life and it’s what I love to do the most.”

Gathering her composure, Dion told her fans that she misses them terribly and that she misses performing for them. “I always give 100% when I do my shows,” she said. But my condition is not allowing me to give you that right now.” Dion said she’s hopeful that she is on the road to recovery and is spending all her time focusing on getting better. “I really hope I can see you again real soon,” she said emotionally at the end of the statement.

Back in April, Dion once again postponed her Courage World Tour citing a then-unnamed health issue that was causing severe and persistent muscle spasms. At the time, the European leg of her tour originally slated to kick off in May of this year (and last through late September) were pushed to February 2023 and slated to run through Oct. 4, 2023. In addition, her Las Vegas residency was cancelled in Oct. 2021 after she said she was suffering from spasms.

To see the full list of cancelled and rescheduled shows, click here.

Watch Dion’s full statement below.