Music

07 Dec 2022

Jenna Ortega Had COVID While Filming Her Viral Dance Scene in ‘Wednesday’: ‘It Was Awful’

Jenna Ortega has been going viral recently for her creepy and kooky dance moves in a scene from Netflix’s new smash hit series Wednesday, but as it turns out, she was feeling altogether ooky while shooting it.

In an interview with NME published in November, a couple weeks before Wednesday arrived on the streaming platform, Ortega revealed that she was sick with COVID-19 during filming for the now famous scene. During a school dance at Nevermore Academy, the You alum, as Wednesday Addams, dances oddly to The Cramps‘ 1981 single “Goo Goo Muck,” which has been experiencing a boost in streams since the series premiered.

“I choreographed that myself!” Ortega old the publication. “I’m not a dancer and I’m sure that’s obvious. I’d gotten the song about a week before and I just pulled from whatever I could… it’s crazy because it was my first day with COVID so it was awful to film.”

“Yeah, I woke up and – it’s weird, I never get sick and when I do it’s not very bad – I had the body aches,” she continued. “I felt like I’d been hit by a car and that a little goblin had been let loose in my throat and was scratching the walls of my esophagus. They were giving me medicine between takes because we were waiting on the positive result.”

According to a statement given to the publication by MGM, Wednesday‘s production company, “strict COVID protocols were followed and once the positive test was confirmed production removed Jenna from set.”

Not only is “Goo Goo Muck” going through a resurgence thanks to the dance scene, but so is Lady Gaga‘s “Bloody Mary” — not that it was featured at any point in the show, which broke Stranger Things‘ season four record for most hours viewed in a week for a Netflix English-language series. In a trend as spontaneous and unpredictable as can only be started on TikTok, users on the app have been recreating Ortega’s dance moves to a sped-up version of the 2011 track, farming millions of views and newfound recognition for the Born This Way deep cut.

Gaga herself took notice of the trend, tweeting: “Slay Wednesday! You’re welcome at Haus of Gaga anytime (and bring Thing with you, we love paws around here).”

Even though the dance scene has since exploded into Twitter and TikTok fame, Ortega confessed that she originally wasn’t completely happy with it. “I asked to redo it but we didn’t have time,” she told NME. “I think I probably could have done it a bit better…”

07 Dec 2022

The Weeknd Releases Snippet of New Song ‘Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)’ in ‘Avatar’ Trailer: Watch

Avatar: The Way of Water is just one week away from gliding into movie theaters, but what’s a blockbuster movie without an equally cinematic song to soundtrack it? A new trailer for the James Cameron-directed film arrived on Wednesday (Dec. 7), this time, featuring a snippet of a new track written by The Weeknd titled “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength).”

The 45-second clip starts off with peaceful clips of Jake Sully, Neytiri, their kids and the Na’vi people enjoying their life. “Wherever we go, this family is our fortress,” Sully says before the scenes dramatically change to those of war, turmoil and unrest.

The Weeknd’s vocals softly play thoughout the trailer, in which he sings, “I thought I could protect you from paying for my sins/ You give me strength/ I would do either way/ Nothing’s lost/ No more pain, just you.”

“Nothing Is Lost (You Give me Strength)” is set to be released as part of the Avatar: The Way of Water soundtrack; the song arrives Dec. 15 at 3 p.m. ET. The track is produced with The Weeknd’s now-frequent collaborators Swedish House Mafia.

The “Blinding Lights” singer previously teased his involvement with the Avatar sequel via social media on Dec. 4, tweeting “12.16.22” — the release day for Way of the Water — along with a 12-second music clip featuring the blue Avatar logo. “#AvatarTheWayOfWater x @theweeknd,” the official Avatar account shared after the singer’s tweet.

Listen to the first snippet “Nothing Is Lost (You Give me Strength)” in the Avatar: The Way of Water trailer above.

07 Dec 2022

SZA Explains Why Doja Cat’s Guest Feature on ‘Shirt’ Didn’t Happen

SZA called into HOT 97 on Tuesday (Dec. 6) to talk through her upcoming album S.O.S and clear the air on the Doja Cat collab that didn’t come together.

Originally, SZA hinted while performing at Mad Cool Festival in July that Doja Cat would possibly appear on what became the album’s lead single, “Shirt.” However, when the song finally dropped at the end of October, her pal was nowhere to be found on the track.

“She had surgery, she had to have that emergency, like, vocal cord surgery and she wasn’t ready in the time that we needed to get the song done,” the recent Billboard cover star shared with host Nessa. “There was a crossfire between, I think, her management and my management and they had told us it was done, but it wasn’t actually done.

“It was just a lot of confusion,” she continued, “but don’t know. I hope for the best, and I’m still, like, a major fan of her and her artistry. And I think she’s so incredible and I would love to get her on the deluxe [version].”

Previously the duo struck Grammy gold with their 2021 collab “Kiss Me More” off Doja’s Planet Her, which won the award for best pop duo/group performance, and also scored additional nominations for record of the year and song of the year.

The R&B star also opened up about upcoming album S.O.S. “I just want what’s good, that’s it. I literally just want what’s good. Or what tells a new side of me … and isn’t redundant,” she told Nessa about the approach she took to crafting her long-awaited follow-up to 2017’s Ctrl.

As for how she avoids that redundancy, the singer explained, “The sonics dictate that, the way you express it and over what beats you choose to express it and, like, that type of s–t. You know, the subject matter, that kind of dictates your perspective sometimes. Like what perspective you take on the issue itself.”

Watch SZA’s full interview ahead of S.O.S dropping this Friday (Dec. 9) below.

07 Dec 2022

J-Hope Expertly Hits His Choreography in ‘MORE’ MAMA Awards Dance Practice: Watch

The road to the 2022 MAMA Awards was not paved overnight. J-Hope dominated the stage at the award show Nov. 30 when he performed a medley of tracks from his solo album Jack in the Box, and is now giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at his performance coming together by sharing the dance practice video for “MORE” on Wednesday (Dec. 7).

Hobi — along with a small army of backup dancers clad in all black — appears in a sparse room with black walls and gray concrete floors, skipping in between the dancers and performing well-timed choreography as he rapped along to the fierce track. The dancers, for the most part, kept to the confines of marked-off squares on the floor. (The night of the MAMAs, the squares turned into a large checkered box.)

During the show, the BTS rapper also performed two other songs from Jack in the Box: “Arson,” which delivered a fiery stage set, and “Future,” which saw the BTS rapper cooling things off for something a bit more intimate feeling.

After the rapper’s appearance at the MAMAs, the official BTS Twitter account shared its congrats with the idol and thanked ARMY for making his appearance possible. “J-Hope who set 2022 MAMA AWARDS’ stage on fire! Including a valuable award that J-Hope and BTS received because of ARMY’s cheers/support! Thank you ARMY!” the account wrote at the time.

J-Hope won the award for most popular male artist at the 2022 MAMAs, in addition to the Bibigo culture and style award.

Watch J-Hope’s “MORE” dance practice video above.

07 Dec 2022

Lana Del Rey Announces New Album, Drops Its First Song

Did you know that … Lana Del Rey‘s ninth studio album is coming out next year? On Wednesday (Dec. 7), the 37-year-old alt-pop star put an end to fans’ anticipation for new music by announcing her new record, titled Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, will arrive March 10, and to tide them over in the meantime, she also dropped its title track.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Del Rey also unveiled Ocean Blvd‘s cover art, a black-and-white portrait of the “Summertime Sadness” singer resting her head in one of her hands. In chunky yellow lettering reads the album’s title, and in white are the names of its featured artists: Jon Batiste, Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers, Father John Misty, Judah Smith, Tommy Genesis and SYML.

Antonoff, who previously worked with the singer-songwriter on 2021’s Chemtrails Over the Country Club, is also listed on the cover as a producer, as are Mike Hermosa, Drew Erickson and Zach Dawes, who worked on Blue Bannisters, also released in 2021. The new record is available now for pre-order on the New York native’s website, as are vinyls with several alternate covers.

Ocean Blvd‘s brand new title track, meanwhile, finds Del Rey in her element, her voice billowing out like smoke over somber piano and dark strings. “When’s it gonna be my turn?” she sings on the single. “Open me up, tell me you like it/ Love me until I love myself / There’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard.”

The Grammy-nominated artist hasn’t released a full album since Blue Bannisters last year, but she did drop an ethereal single titled “Watercolor Eyes” in January for Euphoria‘s soundtrack. She also worked with Father John Misty on the EP Buddy’s Rendezvous this year, and was featured on Taylor Swift’s Midnights track “Snow On the Beach,” which became Del Rey’s second Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit.

Listen to “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” below:

07 Dec 2022

Who should perform at the World Cup’s Closing Ceremony? Vote!

Fútbol fans are anxiously waiting to see which two countries will play the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, set for Dec. 18. Meanwhile, music fans are patiently waiting to see which artists will take the stage for the tournament’s closing ceremony.

Both finalists and artists are still up in the air. The match will ultimately come down to whichever two teams move forward, and the Federation International Football Association (FIFA) has yet to announce the lineup for World Cup’s closing ceremony, which will also take place the same day of the last match.

Traditionally, artists who’ve released a song or anthem for that year’s World Cup perform at the closing ceremony. For example, that’s when Nicky Jam, Will Smith and Era Istrefi performed their 2018 official song “Live It Up.” But anything can happen: Shakira performed a special version of “Hips Don’t Lie” at the 2006 World Cup closing ceremony in Germany.

This time around, strong contenders include Ozuna and Gims, who released “Arbho” for the 2022 World Cup official soundtrack. The song earned the Congolese-French rapper his first top 10 Billboard chart hit. Another possibility could be Trinidad Cardona and Rahma Riad, who released a track for the soundtrack. There’s also Paulo Londra, who marked his grand return to music with his new album Back to the Game, and who was spotted in Qatar hanging out with Argentina star Lionel Messi. Maluma and Myriam Fares — who performed at the Fan Festival in Doha, Qatar, ahead of the World Cup — could also return to sing their hit song “Tukoh Taka,” this time with Nicki Minaj in tow.

There are many options and fans won’t know for sure who’s performing until FIFA officially announces the lineup. In the meantime, vote for the artist(s) you’d like to see perform at the World Cup’s closing ceremony below.

07 Dec 2022

Shania Twain Thinks Adele’s Reaction to Her Attending Las Vegas Show Was ‘So Special’

Shania Twain is extending the love to Adele. The “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” singer attended the 2022 People’s Choice Awards on Tuesday night (Dec. 6), where she received the Music Icon honor, but took some time on the red carpet to share how she felt about Adele shouting her out on instagram after Twain attended the “Easy on Me” singer’s Las Vegas residency.

“That was so special. I only heard about it after. I didn’t want to bother her before the show, and I just wanted to enjoy from the audience so she didn’t realize I was there and that was kind of good,” she told Extra. “It was cute. It was very sweet of her.”

Last month, Adele took to her Instagram Story to share how delighted she was to find out that the country singer was in the audience. “Thank god you had a hat on … I would have self combusted had I seen it was you!! I adore you, I can’t believe you came to my show,” Adele captioned a snap of her performing, with Twain in a white cowboy hat off to the side.

In response, Twain reshared the snap to her own Story and wrote, “Thank god we didn’t make eye contact, all I can think of is the reaction of all those fans to @adele combusting halfway through the show [laughing emoji].”

Twain also took a moment on the People’s Choice carpet to discuss what her forthcoming album Queen of Me means to her. “It’s really just about me coming into my own, you know, just feeling more comfortable in my own skin, she said.”

Watch Twain’s interview in the video above.

07 Dec 2022

Beyoncé, Rihanna & Taylor Swift Make Forbes‘ ’World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ List

Beyoncé, Rihanna and Taylor Swift have each done their fair share of dominating Billboard‘s charts, and now, they’re taking command of Forbes‘ rankings, too. On Tuesday (Dec. 6), the publication unveiled its list of the world’s 100 most powerful women, and all three of the hit-making pop stars earned a spot.

Of the three women, Rihanna placed the highest at No. 73, with Forbes citing her billionaire status and her Fenty Beauty and Savage x Fenty businesses as her major achievements. According to the publication, her net worth is currently $1.4 billion, making her the 2,031st richest person in the world.

Six spots behind Ri is Swift, who ranked No. 79. The success of Midnights and her re-recorded albums Red (Taylor’s Version) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) were highlighted, along with her political influence and November’s Eras Tour ticket sale meltdown, which has recently been addressed by Congress, and is the subject of a lawsuit leveraged by fans against Ticketmaster. Her net worth in 2022 was $570 million, according to Forbes.

Close behind her at No. 80 is Queen Bey, whose net worth is listed at $450 million. The publication cited her and Jay-Z’s On The Run II stadium tour, which grossed roughly $5 million per night and earned a total of more than $250 million, and her groundbreaking performance at 2018’s Coachella.

Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women list is a yearly ranking of high-profile women wielding substantial public influence, and is determined by money, media, impact and spheres of influence, according to the publication. “The result is a collection of women who are fighting the status quo,” this year’s list reads.

Rihanna, Beyoncé and Swift were all featured on last year’s Most Powerful Women roundup as well, ranking at No. 68, 76 and 78, respectively. The three also each hold a spot on this year’s Forbes list of America’s richest self-made women, with Ri at No. 21, Swift at No. 48 and Bey at No. 61.

07 Dec 2022

The 100 Best Songs of 2022: Staff List

It was a refrain heard throughout the Billboard offices in the first half of 2022: Where are the hits? The slow start for new entries really impacting the Billboard Hot 100 had us all looking left and looking right for the sort of songs we usually take for granted — the kind that slowly (or not-so-slowly) spread to all corners of the culture, connecting every kind of music fan and becoming unavoidable parts of a given year’s experience. With 2021’s biggest singles refusing to go away and this year’s listenership seemingly too spread out to elect new consensus hits to replace the incumbents, it was starting to look like we might go the whole calendar subsisting on nothing but reruns.

Luckily for us, the hits showed: first from some of pop’s biggest returning heroes, then from some artists taking the next step towards stardom, some longtime hitmakers we hadn’t heard from in a bit, and some new names we hope to be hearing a lot more from in the years to come. And of course, it wasn’t just the big songs that enraptured us in 2022; we found plenty of smaller favorites to save to our streaming playlists and inspire our vinyl orders in between those. But the year just wouldn’t have felt complete without those late-arriving, chart-crashing smashes, particularly since we ended up getting a handful who proved more than worthy of their position.

Here are our 100 favorite songs of 2022, a year that once again proved that no matter the time or context, pop music always finds a way. (Songs were considered eligible for the list if they either came out in 2022, were first released as an official single in 2022, or peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022 — though sorry, Stranger Things heads, we still couldn’t quite justify including “Running Up That Hill” or “Master of Puppets.”)

07 Dec 2022

Bah-Bah-Bah!: Neil Diamond Surprises Broadway Audience With ‘Sweet Caroline’ on Opening Night

The audience at Sunday night’s (Dec. 4) Broadway opening of A Beautiful Noise: the Neil Diamond Musical showed up to hear their favorite hits from the legendary 81-year-old singer. But they went home with much more. According to CNN, Diamond surprised theatergoers when he popped up in the balcony during the curtain call to help lead the audience in a singalong of his beloved 1969 hit “Sweet Caroline.”

The singer, who retired from touring in 2018 after receiving a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, sang the song’s opening lines before encouraging the packed house at the Broadhurst Theatre to join in on the iconic chorus as the house band played along. The pop-in at the jukebox musical that pays homage to his long, hit-filled musical career was New Yorker Diamond’s first appearance in his hometown since 2017 and one of the few times he’s appeared in public since his diagnosis.

According to People, before the surprise, Diamond walked the red carpet with his wife, Katie McNeil, and received a standing ovation from the audience upon entering the theater. While Diamond has kept a low profile since 2018, he did show up for a rare public appearance during a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park in June to sing “Caroline.”

Diamond stepped out during the 8th inning of the Red Sox’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals to deliver a rousing rendition of his 1969 hit; the singer had last performed at Fenway Park in 2013, just days after the Boston Marathon bombing. “Sweet Caroline” has been an 8th inning tradition at the ballpark since 1997. Standing alongside Diamond at Fenway was Broadway veteran Will Swenson, who plays the lead role in A Beautiful Noise.

Check out footage of the impromptu “Caroline” singalong below.