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Bono is among 19 individuals who will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, President Joe Biden announced on Saturday (Jan. 4).
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In addition to the U2 frontman, other recipients include Hillary Clinton, NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, soccer icon Lionel Messi, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, George Soros, designer Ralph Lauren, chef José Andrés and conservationist Jane Goodall.
“President Biden believes great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot, and put decency above all else,” the White House wrote in a statement. “These nineteen individuals are great leaders who have made America and the world a better place. They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world.”
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The statement also noted that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”
In honoring Bono, the White House highlighted the legendary Irish rocker as a “pioneering activist against AIDS and poverty,” noting his role in uniting politicians from opposing parties to create the U.S. PEPFAR AIDS program. Bono is also the co-founder of advocacy organizations ONE and (RED).
The Presidential Medal of Freedom will be presented at the White House on Saturday.
The announcement comes just weeks after U2 released How to Re-assemble an Atomic Bomb, a special edition celebrating the 20th anniversary of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb with previously unreleased tracks from the 2004 album’s recording sessions. In September, U2 premiered V-U2: An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas, showcasing their historic residency at The Sphere in Sin City.
U2’s most recent album, Songs of Surrender, was released in March 2023 and reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
Britney Spears is giving fans another glimpse into her special Christmas with her son, Jayden James Federline. On Friday (Jan. 3), the 43-year-old pop star shared a short video on Instagram featuring her 18-year-old son — whom she reunited with on Dec. 25 — opening a gift by a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. “Nice, nice, […]
From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
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Greeicy’s Dreamy NYE
Greeicy rang in the new year surrounded by her loved ones — including partner Mike Bahía and their son Kai — in Times Square, where she performed as part of Univision’s New Year’s Eve programming. The Colombian singer-songwriter shared a slideshow of photos from that special night on her social media where she also wrote a heartfelt message. “Suddenly the year ended as if it were a dream… a beautiful dream. I know that there were many people watching this moment where a dreamer lived something she could not even imagine… I know there were many and that excites me BUT what I felt when I looked in front and saw those people I love and respect THERE WITH ME???? In the rain with me!!! Seeing their eyes full of emotion and illusion made my end of the year unexplainable,” she expressed.
See the sweet post here.
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Daddy Yankee Wraps 2024 Feeling Grateful
Despite going through a rough moment in his life, Daddy Yankee is closing the year expressing gratitude. The Puerto Rican hitmaker, who in December announced he was divorcing his longtime wife — whom he later filed an injunction against claiming she withdrew $100 million without authorization — posted a video where he’s seen smiling from ear to ear, singing and dancing as he welcomes the new year. The caption is equally optimistic: “2024 was a year of learning, in which I came across a resilient character of my person that I did not know,” he wrote. “Believing in God and waiting on him, without understanding the processes, speaks to me of the growth I am experiencing, and I do not intend to give up. I live in gratitude for the good and the not so good, because I have learned that for those who love God, all things work together for good. To YOU who read me, I wish you health, prosperity, blessings and may JESUS truly be the center of your LIFE. HAPPY 2025!”
Bad Bunny Continues “Bonita Tradición”
Still in the holiday spirit, Benito held his annual “Bonita Tradición” gift giveaway in Puerto Rico as part of the Día de Reyes (Three Kings Day) celebrations. “I feel grateful to contribute my grain of sand for the children and youth of this country, so they know they are not alone in that dream that perhaps they see as unattainable,” Bad Bunny said in a statement. “This little boy came out of this neighborhood and look how he has raised the flag of Puerto Rico high in the whole world. With efforts like this I want them to be convinced that anything is possible and that they can be as great as they want to be.”
The Puerto Rican star is set to drop his new album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, on Sunday (Jan. 5).
Bad Bunny
Cheery Viruet / Fundación Good Bunny
Rosalía Hints at New Album
Rosalía already has some clear goals for 2025. Among them, to release an album. Ringing in the new year, the Spanish superstar took to social media to share a long list of major accomplishments in 2024, including “surviving another year” and “leaving therapy.” The note also included goals for 2025, such as “to release new album.” Rosalía last dropped an LP in 2022 when she unleashed the Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning album Motomami.
See her post here.
Rauw Alejandro’s “Regalos Pa’ Los Míos” Initiative
Along with his sister and mother, Rauw Alejandro launched Fundación Proyecto PaMaRa, a non-profit organization “dedicated to empowering children, youth and families in the beautiful community of Puerto Rico,” according to a post on social media. To celebrate, Rauw and his family are hosting the fourth annual “Regalo Pa’ Los Míos” on Jan. 4 in San Juan, Puerto Rico that includes free activities and “surprises” for kids 4-12 years old. “Come with your families,” Rauw says in a video he posted on Instagram. “It’s a complete experience and there, you’ll learn more about our project PaMaRa.”
Footage of a 2024 traffic stop between Ice-T — born Tracy Marrow — and a New Jersey police officer surfaced earlier this week. The contentious exchange reportedly went down in May in Hudson County when bodycam footage showed the “Cop Killer” artist was stopped mere feet away from the Department of Motor Vehicles as he […]
Lorduy (real name: David Lorduy Hernández) announced he’s leaving Piso 21 after entering the Colombian group in 2019. Both the artist and the group shared the news on their respective social media accounts in two separate videos on Friday (Jan. 3). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “After […]
Long before Benny Blanco entered her life, Selena Gomez had her eyes on a handful of stars.
While speaking to W for the publication’s best performances issue published Friday (Jan. 3), the 32-year-old singer-actress shared that she “probably had too many crushes” when she was younger. “Jesse McCartney — when ‘Beautiful Soul’ came out — that was just life-changing for me,” Gomez said, giving one example.
“I loved Chad Michael Murray from One Tree Hill,” she continued. “I also just had crushes more in real life than on actors or musicians.”
Speaking of crushes, the Rare Beauty founder also opened up about her first kisses — on screen and off. Gomez has previously said that her very first smooch was technically with Dylan Sprouse during a guest stint on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, about which she told W: “It was really funny because both of us were so young. We were figuring out how to kiss. I had never done it, and I was so scared.”
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But of her first kiss without cameras present, Gomez recalled, “My real-life one would probably be with a boy named Juan, and I was 14.”
The “Lose You to Love Me” singer’s W cover comes in honor of her performance in Jacques Audiard’s musical drama Emilia Pérez, for which she recently nabbed a Golden Globes nod for best supporting actress. Her costar in the film, Zoe Saldaña, as well as Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Zendaya, Paul Mescal and more also posed for the publication’s best performances package.
When Gomez did her interview for the issue, she wasn’t yet engaged to a certain pop-music hitmaker. Now, Blanco is poised to be the Wizards of Waverly Place alum’s forever celebrity crush after he popped the question in December.
The pair had, however, celebrated Halloween 2024 together before Gomez spoke to W, with the Spring Breakers star dressing up as Alice from Alice in Wonderland while her then-boyfriend went all out for a Mad Hatter tribute. “He used prosthetics!” Gomez gushed to the publication.
“Until this year, I hadn’t dressed up for Halloween since I was a kid,” she added. “We were invited to a party, so I had a reason to dress up … I think it’s safe to say we won best costume at the party.”
See Gomez on the cover of W below.
Three Days Grace notches its 18th No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart – and its first featuring vocals from original frontman Adam Gontier since “Misery Loves My Company” in 2013 – as “Mayday” lifts two spots to the top of the Jan. 11-dated tally.
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The band moves to within one spot of the all-time No. 1 record on Mainstream Rock Airplay, which began in 1981, behind only Shinedown’s 19 leaders.
Most No. 1s, Mainstream Rock Airplay:
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19, Shinedown
18, Three Days Grace
15, Five Finger Death Punch
14, Foo Fighters
14, Metallica
13, Godsmack
13, Van Halen
12, Disturbed
11, Linkin Park
Of Three Days Grace’s 18 Mainstream Rock Airplay No. 1s, 11 have been with Gontier, the group’s original lead singer, beginning with “Just Like You” in 2004. Following his departure in 2013, succeeding frontman Matt Walst racked up six rulers as the band’s sole vocalist, starting in 2014 with “Painkiller.”
“Mayday” is the first single since Gontier rejoined the band, with the singers trading vocals.
Meanwhile, “Mayday” rules in its sixth week on Mainstream Rock Airplay, completing Three Days Grace’s swiftest rise to No. 1 since “Chalk Outline” wrapped a four-week sprint in 2012.
Concurrently, “Mayday” ascends 37-36 on Alternative Airplay, marking the band’s highest charted entry since “The High Road,” which peaked at No. 24 in 2013. On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, “Mayday” leaps 6-2 with 3.9 million audience impressions, up 6%, in the week ending Jan. 2, according to Luminate. That’s the band’s highest spot in the standings since “The Good Life” was No. 1 for six weeks in 2010.
On the most recently published multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs list (dated Jan. 4, reflecting data tracked Dec. 20-26, 2024), “Mayday” ranked at No. 4, after debuting at its No. 2 best on the Dec. 7-dated survey. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 871,000 official U.S. streams.
“Mayday” is currently a standalone single, with Three Days Grace recording its eighth studio album and first since 2022’s Explosions. The new set will mark Gontier’s first with the band since 2012’s Transit of Venus.
All Billboard charts dated Jan. 11 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Fito Páez has set a new date for his free concert in Mexico City’s Zócalo, which was originally postponed due to having an accident in September that resulted in fractured ribs. The Argentine singer-songwriter will now perform Jan. 18, Ana Francis López, the Secretary of Culture of the Mexican capital, confirmed on Friday (Jan. 3) during a press conference.
His presentation at the so-called Primer Cuadro de la Ciudad de México will precede his shows scheduled at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, on Jan. 21-22, and his concert in Guadalajara, Jalisco, on Jan. 26.
This series of concerts, including the one in the Zócalo, are part of his El Amor Después del Amor 2025 Tour, with which the award-winning Argentine musician celebrates 32 years of his seventh and most emblematic album.
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“With 28 albums, three novels, two films as screenwriter and director, 11 Latin Grammy awards and a Grammy, Fito Paéz is more than a musician: he is a storyteller, an icon who has marked generations with his art,” Mexico City’s ministry of culture wrote in a post on social media.
In September, Páez revealed on his social media channels that he had suffered an accident that resulted in the fracture of five ribs, and that his concerts scheduled for that month in Mexico and Colombia would be rescheduled.
Mexico City’s Zócalo — where international artists such as Roger Waters, Paul McCartney and Rosalía have performed — is the country’s main public square and the second largest in the world after Tiananmen Square in Beijing. So far, the group with the largest attendance at this venue has been the Argentine band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, which in June 2023 gathered 300,000 people, according to official figures, taking the record away from the Mexican band Grupo Firme, which in September 2022 gathered 280,000 people.
Check out the announcement from Mexico City’s Secretary of Culture below:
El Gobierno de la Ciudad de México a través de la Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de México, presenta en el Zócalo a @FitoPaezMusica, músico y cantautor fundamental del rock latinoamericano.Con 28 álbumes, tres novelas, dos películas como guionista y director, 11 premios… pic.twitter.com/XBc26Mcj4R— Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de México (@CulturaCiudadMx) January 3, 2025
After closing the book on a turbulent 2024, Drake may be looking to make the most of a clean slate in the new year. Conductor Williams, a producer who has worked with the OVO boss, released a brand new Drizzy freestyle on his YouTube page on Friday (Jan. 3).
While the video was quickly taken down, fans grabbed the “Fighting Irish” freestyle and spammed the viral clip across social media. The visual captures Drake’s side profile as he raps through a small, grainy TV screen.
On the track, the 6 God gets introspective about the trials and tribulations of his 2024 over Conductor’s gleaming production, and seemingly blasts those who switched sides on him throughout the Kendrick Lamar feud.
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“The world fell in love with the gimmicks, even my brothers got tickets, seemed like they loved every minute/ Just know the s–t is personal to us and wasn’t just business/ Analyzing behavioral patterns is somewhat suspicious,” he raps.
Drake appears to be targeting those he considered close friends, such as NBA stars DeMar DeRozan and LeBron James, who were in attendance for Kendrick’s Pop Out concert in June. The Fighting Irish was also the mascot for LeBron’s high school team when he attended St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Ohio.
Drizzy also dispels on the track Kendrick’s notion that he has a drinking problem, which Lamar alleged on the diabolical “Meet the Grahams.” “I don’t have a drinkin’ problem, I got a subtle addiction/ I got my father’s habits and I got my mother’s permission,” Drake rhymes.
He also sent a possible subtle jab at Universal Music Group regarding his legal actions alleging that his parent label artificially inflated the popularity of Lamar’s “Not Like Us” diss track. “I hate to see their empire crumble on judges’ convictions,” he spews. (UMG denied his allegations, calling them “offensive and untrue” in a November statement to Billboard.)
Drake and Conductor have connected in the past on For All The Dogs tracks such as “8am in Charlotte” and “Stories About My Brother.”
Billboard has reached out to Drake and Conductor Williams for comment about the track and its removal.
Carlos Santana was scheduled to return to Las Vegas‘ House of Blues at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino later this month, but a minor injury has caused him to postpone his shows until he is able to play guitar again. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The […]
