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The Wanted‘s Max George told fans that, unfortunately, he’ll be spending Christmas in the hospital. The 36-year-old singer posted an image of himself giving a thumbs up and smiling from a gurney on Thursday (Dec. 12) along with a lengthy message explaining his condition. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, […]
This article is presented by Marriott Bonvoy.
Shaboozey took home not one, but three honors at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs), presented by Marriott Bonvoy, and the victory couldn’t have been more fitting after he opened the show.
On Thursday, December 12, the country star performed his smash hit, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” in front of a live audience at W Hollywood, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio. For the number, viewers caught a glimpse of the exterior rooftop, which featured a massive billboard depicting the breakout star inside the venue and eventually brought viewers into the hotel. From there, the star walked down a grand staircase as a spectacle of back-up dancers and swinging napkins from the audience took the performance to new heights. In addition to “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” the star also performed “Highway.”
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See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“I’ve never done anything like this, but I’m excited for it,” the chart-topper told Billboard ahead of the numbers at W Hollywood. “I’m usually a rugged environment sort of guy but this elevated look is just taking me out of my comfort zone and I’m just excited to see how it all comes together.”
Benjamin Askinas for Dick Clark Productions
Benjamin Askinas
Carlos Gonzalez for Dick Clark Productions
Carlos Gonzalez/The1point8
Unique among music award shows, the Billboard Music Awards winners were selected by year-end performance metrics on the Billboard charts, the music industry’s ultimate authority and data-driven measure of success. Eligibility dates for this year’s awards were aligned with Billboard’s Year-End Charts tracking period, which measured music consumption from the charts dated October 28, 2023 through October 19, 2024.
The “2024 Billboard Music Awards” is presented by Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s award-winning travel program and portfolio of more than 30 hotel brands and 10,000 destinations. Marriott Bonvoy members had exclusive access to attend six different BBMAs performances through Marriott Bonvoy Moments.
Follow the BBMAs on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and YouTube to join the conversation with #BBMAs and get the latest news and updates at BillboardMusicAwards.com and billboard.com.
LL Cool J has teamed up with The Skateroom to launch a series of limited-edition skateboard decks inspired by his new The Force album.
The vibrant collection of decks boasts 300 in total between The Solo Deck and The Triptych models, which combine the cultures of music and skating with art. Released on Friday morning (Dec. 13), each collector’s item purchase comes with a certificate of authenticity autographed by LL Cool J himself.
“Skateboarding, music, and art are about breaking boundaries and rewriting the rules. Collaborating with The Skateroom on these limited-edition decks honors The FORCE and the culture that made me, while sparking the next wave of creativity. These decks are for those bold enough to push what’s possible and make their mark. Let’s ride.”
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See latest videos, charts and news
A portion of proceeds from sales will benefit the skating community as funds will go toward skate NGOs, new skateparks, and skateboarding programs helping the youth.
“At The Skateroom, we believe in the transformative power of art and skateboarding to inspire change,” said Skateroom Founder Charles-Antoine Bodson. “Collaborating with LL COOL J is an incredible honor, as his legacy transcends music and embodies the bold creativity we strive to celebrate. This partnership is about more than skate decks — it’s about bridging communities, empowering youth, and proving that art, music, and skateboarding can create real social impact.”
The New York rap legend may have hung up his skateboard trucks years ago, but 2024 ended up being a busy year for LL Cool J.
The 56-year-old returned in September with his first album since 2013 with The Force. Produced by Q-Tip, the LP debuted at No. 50 on the Billboard 200 with features from Snoop Dogg, Nas, Eminem and more.
Check out the decks below and shop them here.
LL Cool J teams up with The Skateroom for exclusive limited-edition skate decks inspired by new album, The Force.
Daniil Lavrovski
12/13/2024
Some had peaked commercially, but many had big chapters still to come.
12/13/2024
Musical inspiration comes from so many different places. And while many pop musicians will tell you that some portion of their desire to write songs stems from an obsession with the Beatles, not many of them cite the country jamboree “Rocky Raccoon” as their guiding light.
“When I was very, very young, my dad played me ‘Rocky Raccoon’ for the first time and I was so mesmerized by that song and the songwriting of it all that I fell in love with Paul McCartney,” Sabrina Carpenter told Stephen Colbert on The Late Show on Thursday night (Dec. 12). “I was convinced that was my husband, my future husband,” she added of the now-82-year-old pop icon.
“But he was quite old and I was so young I didn’t understand that he was much older than me because I was looking at all these photos,” she recalled thinking. “No, he’s young, he’s only like 10 years older than me. I didn’t understand math… I was a child.”
Then, when she grew up, Carpenter said she fell in love with McCartney’s songwriting, and, eventually, she met Sir Paul, as evidenced by an awards show candid of the two Colbert pulled out from behind his desk. So, Colbert wondered, what was it like meeting her lifelong musical hero.
“I just formed tears in my eyes and he was just so normal and casual and was so charming,” she said. “It felt like I was entering an alternate universe… like the Upside Down vibes? Like Stranger Things, but a lot happier than Stranger Things.” What isn’t strange, Carpenter noted, is that in every room McCartney enters he makes everyone feel “seen and heard,” which was inspiring to see from someone she’s “obsessed” with.
To celebrate Carpenter’s six Grammy nominations, Colbert offered the singer an espresso martini in honor her Billboard Hot 100 No. 3 hit “Espresso,” which was nominated for record of the year and best pop solo performance; her No. 1 hit “Please Please Please” was nominated for song of the year and her album Short n’ Sweet is up for best pop vocal album and album of the year and she is also nominated for best new artist.
“I would love that,” Carpenter said as Colbert read off the list of noms and she challenged him to a boozy caffeine chugfest. “This truly is my first time [attending the Grammy Awards]. I always told myself I never wanted to go until I was nominated and I didn’t think it would be for all those categories, which is really special. So I’m excited.”
Carpenter said that, for now, she’s just trying to “vibe it out” and enjoy the ride, but predicted that “in five years [I’ll] look back on this moment be like ‘wow, so much happened at once.’ It’s hard to process it in the moment.” That said, Carpenter, 25, added that she feels incredibly lucky because music is all she’s ever wanted to do. “Writing songs is my favorite thing in the world, so the fact that I could do it and people listen is sentimental but it’s a gift so I’m very grateful,” she said.
Talk eventually turned to Carpenter’s entertaining new Netflix holiday special, A Nonsense Christmas, with Lord of the Rings obsessive Colbert mentioning that none other than Samwise Gamgee — actor Sean Astin — plays Santa in the singer’s holiday variety show. “Do you know him as Samwise Gamgee?” Colbert asked as Carpenter covered her face and blushed.
“Have you ever seen a Lord of the Rings movie? Answer the question,” Colbert asked with rising alarm. “Do you want to know how I know him? From Stranger Things,” Carpenter giggled. “For me he’s Bob… So for me, I was like, ‘Bob wants to be Santa?! That’s epic.’ But you are from a different generation,” she added as Colbert threw his head back and guffawed, grabbing Carpenter’s hand for a sweet kiss.
Watch Carpenter on The Late Show below.
Machine Gun Kelly is all up in his holiday emotions this Christmas. The rapper-turned-rocker gave Wham!’s snowy season classic “Last Christmas” a revved-up, skatepark vibe for Wednesday night’s A Motown Christmas special on NBC. With his hair knotted up in a pair of double-dutch braids and rocking a baggy black suit with white flames at […]
Pozer has shared his psych-influenced new single “Aquatic,” following a year of major commercial and critical breakthroughs. The song (which you can hear below) arrives less than a month after the Croydon artist teamed up with AJ Tracey on collaborative track “Heaterz,” which sampled “Gunshot Riddim” by pioneering grime producer Ironsoul. The 22-year-old has also […]
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Source: The Game Awards / The Game Awards 2024
The biggest night in video games, The Game Awards 2024, has arrived, plenty of big announcements were made (we will share those in another post), and plenty of awards were given out.
Despite the bad news (layoffs and game studio closures), there is still plenty to celebrate this year in video games. As the night unfolded, the most significant award, Game of the Year, saw Astro Bot, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree contend for the prestigious title, which ultimately went to Astro Bot, capping Team Asobi/PlayStation Studios’ big night with four awards, including GOTY.
This year’s darling, Balatro, the highly addictive poker roguelike and Metaphor: ReFantazio, also had a big night, winning three Game Awards.
You can see all the winners from The Game Awards 2024 below.
Game of the Year
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE) – Winner
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Best Game Direction
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE) – Winner
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Best Narrative
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
Metaphor: ReFantanzio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega) – Winner
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Best Art Direction
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega) – Winner
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
Best Score and Music
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix) – Winner
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)
Best Audio Design
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios) – Winner
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Best Performance
Briana White, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Hannah Telle, Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Humberly González, Star Wars Outlaws
Luke Roberts, Silent Hill 2
Melina Juergens, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 – Winner
Innovation in Accessibility
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare/EA)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft) – Winner
Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
Games for Impact
Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios/Skybound Games)
Indika (Odd Meter/11 Bit Studios)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver) – Winner
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios/EA)
Best Ongoing Game
Destiny 2 (Bungie/SIE)
Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE) – Winner
Best Community Support
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian) – Winner
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Independent Game
Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack) – Winner
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
Best Debut Indie Game
Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack) – Winner
Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)
Best Mobile Game
AFK Journey (FARLIGHT/Lilith Games)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack) – Winner
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Creatures Inc/TPCI)
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)
Best VR/AR Game
Arizona Sunshine Remake (Vertigo Games)
Asgard’s Wrath 2 (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj/Oculus Studios) – Winner
Metal: Hellsinger VR (Lab 42/The Outsiders/Funcom)
Metro Awakening (Vertigo Games)
Best Action Game
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science) – Winner
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
Best Action/Adventure Game
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE) – Winner
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
Best RPG
Dragon’s Dogma 2 (Capcom)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega) – Winner
Best Fighting Game
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Arc System Works/Cygames)
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)
MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco) – Winner
Best Family Game
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE) – Winner
Princess Peach: Showtime! (Good-Feel/Nintendo)
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)
Best Sim/Strategy Game
Age of Mythology Retold
Frostpunk 2 – Winner
Kunitsu-Gami Path of the Goddess
Manor Lords
Unicorn Overlord
Best Sports/Racing Game
F1 24 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
EA Sports FC 25 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports) – Winner
NBA 2K25 (Visual Concepts/2K)
Top Spin 2K25 (Hangar 13/2K)
WWE 2K24 (Visual Concepts/2K)
Best Multiplayer Game
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Helldivers 2 (Arrow Game Studios/SIE) – Winner
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
Best Adaptation
Arcane (Riot/Fortiche/Netflix)
Fallout (Bethesda/Kilter Films/Amazon MGM Studios) – Winner
Knuckles (Sega/Paramount)
Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Sega/Amazon MGM Studios)
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Crystal Dynamics/Legendary/Netflix)
Most Anticipated Game
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)
Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games) – Winner
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Retro Studios/Nintendo)
Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)
Content Creator of the Year
CaseOh – Winner
IlloJuan
Techno Gamerz
TypicalGamer
Usada Pekora
Best Esports Game
Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
DOTA 2 (Valve)
League of Legends (Riot Games) – Winner
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)
Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete
33 – Neta Shapira
Aleksib – Aleksi Virolainen
Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon
Faker – Lee Sang-hyeok – Winner
ZyWoO – Mathieu Herbaut
ZmjjKk – Zheng Yongkang
Best Esports Team
Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends)
Gen.G (League of Legends)
NAVI (Counter-Strike)
T1 (League of Legends) – Winner
Team Liquid (DOTA 2)
Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre dropped their Missionary album on Friday (Dec. 13) via Death Row Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Missionary features previously released singles “Gorgeous” (featuring Jhené Aiko), “Outta da Blue” (featuring Alus) and “Another Part of Me” (featuring Sting). “Gorgeous” helped the iconic West Coast hip-hop duo return to Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop […]
GloRilla and Kehlani are getting everyone in the spirit for “Xmas Time” with their new collaboration that dropped on Friday (Dec. 13). “Good luck with yo Mrs dis as merry as I’m getting,” the rapper wrote on Instagram earlier this week while announcing the single with a video of both artists’ animated bobble heads in […]
