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“When I was a boy, just about every summer we’d take a vacation. And, you know, in 18 years, we never had fun.”
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In 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation, Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase) ruminates about his childhood trips, as he takes his own family cross-country in their new metallic-pea Wagon Queen Family Truckster. (The blue Sports Wagon was much too small.)
Despite the Griswolds’ series of mishaps, the hit film introduced, upon its opening frames, a buoyant theme song: “Holiday Road,” written and performed by Lindsey Buckingham. The single spent five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 82 in August 1983. It became the then-Fleetwood Mac member’s second of three career solo entries, in between “Trouble” (No. 9 peak, 1982) and “Go Insane” (No. 23, 1984).
Like the Griswolds finally witnessing Walley World, and Marty Moose (the moosiest moose we know), “Holiday Road” this week reaches the top 10 of a Billboard chart for the first time at last, as Kesha’s cover ascends 10 spots to No. 6 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs survey dated Dec. 14. It debuted on the list three weeks earlier, marking the first charted version of the song since Buckingham’s.
The update was released Oct. 15 as an exclusive on Spotify, along with four other holiday-themed songs.
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To date, Buckingham’s original “Holiday Road” has drawn 40.9 million official U.S. streams and 25.8 million in radio airplay audience and sold 133,000 downloads.
National Lampoon’s Vacation grossed a reported $60 million-plus in U.S. theaters. The film, directed by Harold Ramis, with its screenplay by John Hughes, is bookended by Buckingham’s music, closing with his likewise sprightly “Dancin’ Across the USA.” Along with Chase, its cast includes Beverly D’Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, John Candy and, in her first film role, Christie Brinkley.
Notably, Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” – his ode to Brinkley, his then-future wife – debuted on the Hot 100 three weeks after Buckingham’s version departed, on its way to a No. 3 peak.
Usher makes it a point to give back to the community and he’s investing in the youth once again with the launch of a Content Studio at the Whitehead Boys & Girls Club in Atlanta. The R&B legend made the initiative official with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Usher Raymond IV Spark Lap at the […]
Halsey is a songwriter, visual artist and makeup mogul — and now, the star has found a new medium for her artistry. According to Variety, the musician is set to write the script for a new dark comedy series Prime Video is developing called Bloodlust, with Ti West onboard to direct. As revealed Tuesday (Dec. […]
It’s gift-shopping season, and Walker Hayes has the perfect products for the cozy or outdoorsy people in your life.
The country singer chatted with Billboard’s executive editor of West Coast and Nashville, Melinda Newman, on talkshoplive, an online livestream shopping platform, where he showed off products from his Duck Buck Co. brand. The line of activewear and loungewear features trucker hats, t-shirts, leggings, sweats and much more — all featuring the quirky half-duck, half-buck logo that Hayes drew himself.
“I’m a doodler, I wouldn’t call myself an artist but I’m constantly drawing,” he shared during the livestream. “It’s therapeutic to me. We had to draw a picture for each song back when NFTs were a thing. Each song needed an NFT following ‘Fancy Like,’ so for the song ‘Country Stuff,’ I drew this duck buck. And my team — nobody asked questions, they were like ‘That’s your logo.’”
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He added that the inspiration while designing clothing were items “that are comfy, that I know I’m going to look good in.”
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Since it’s the holiday season, Hayes discussed his fun, festive spin on his Billboard Hot 100 No. 3 hit “Fancy Like.” The track, “Fancy Like Christmas,” in which he switches up the lyrics to the chorus and sings, “Fancy like Christmas ’round a fake tree/ Nutcracker on the mantle and a candy cane candle/ Get your eggnog, with your fruit cake/ Go Jesus, it’s your birthday!”
“I honestly think the lyrics to the Christmas version are better,” Hayes admitted, adding with a laugh, “When we dropped ‘Fancy Like Christmas,’ the response was so amazing and continues to be, that I did start think, ‘I mean, do we need a Halloween version? Does this song need to take over holidays?’ Is it the next ‘Happy Birthday?’”
Watch the entire livestream and shop Walker Hayes’ Duck Buck Co. brand here.
Fat Joe shares how he filmed the “Paradise” music video with Anitta and DJ Khaled, how LL Cool J inspired him to rap and more in Behind the Photo. Fat Joe:Hey, what’s up, y’all? This is Fat Joe. We are on Billboard, and this is called Behind the Photo. My big day, I promised my […]
To close out 2024, Sabrina Carpenter was on countless people’s year-end Spotify Wrapped lists — including her own.
That’s exactly why the 25-year-old pop star didn’t join many of the streaming service’s users in sharing her listening-habit summary on social media this year, she told Vogue Arabia in a new interview published Tuesday (Dec. 10). “When I first saw mine, my initial reaction was, ‘Oh, damn, I can’t post that, because I’m on my own [list],’” she told the publication. “‘It’s a bit conceited.’”
“But then I was like, I guess it’s a good thing that I’m on my list and listening to my own music, because it means I f–k with what I do,” Carpenter added.
The Girl Meets World alum definitely isn’t the only one. In 2024, her smash hit “Espresso” was streamed more than 1.6 billion times on Spotify, making it the app’s most-streamed song of any other upload. Plus, her Billboard 200-topping sixth studio LP Short n’ Sweet was the platform’s third-most popular album, bested only by Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft.
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While on the topic of Spotify Wrapped, Carpenter did reveal which other four artists made her top 5: Dolly Parton, ABBA, Kacey Musgraves and the Bee Gees.
Carpenter is currently on a break from her first-ever arena trek, with the North American leg of the Short n’ Sweet Tour closing in November. The “Please Please Please” singer will get back on the road for a run of European dates in March.
In the meantime, fans can enjoy her new holiday special A Nonsense Christmas, which premiered Dec. 6 on Netflix. Of the project, Carpenter told Vogue Arabia, “It was kind of a s–t show — but in the best possible way. A Christmas s–t show, which is way better than normal ones, because everyone’s festive and dressed up,” she said, revealing that her crew filmed the special in just two days. “You can’t really be mad when everyone is dressed like Christmas. And I’m so lucky that my friends were a part of it, that just made it all the more fun.”
Looks like A$AP Rocky will be returning to the silver screen. Spike Lee said the rapper will have the “main role” in his upcoming Highest 2 Lowest film in an interview with Deadline on Monday (Dec. 9). “The main role … is A$AP Rocky,” he said during the interview at the 2024 Red Sea International […]
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The late great, Tupac has gone viral on Tik Tok recently. Classic hit, ‘How Do You Want It’ featuring K-Ci and JoJo has become a trending sound on Tik Tok. The young Gen Xs have created a Tupac dance challenge to the song. There’s a specific moment that sparked a trend when Tupac said “I love the way you activate ya hips and push ya a*s out. Got a n-**a wantin it so bad I’m bad I’m ‘bout to pass out.” The catchy rhythm and Tupac’s laid-back vibe make it a perfect soundtrack for the challenge, which has sparked a lot of fun energy online.
However, not everyone is feeling the challenge. Some fans of Pac believe he wouldn’t be a fan of what’s happening with his music today, especially when it comes to how his songs are being used for viral trends. Tupac was known for his deep messages, social activism, and serious themes in his music. Some people feel like he’d be disappointed to see his legacy reduced to a dance trend, with little connection to the powerful messages he pushed in his lyrics.
In the same breath, real Tupac fans know he was a dancer at heart. Starting his career as a background dancer for the group Digital Underground in the 1980s and early 1990s. Check out some of the best Tik Tok’s to Tupac’s viral dance challenge below.
The second iteration of the Top Gabb Music Songs chart features a new No. 1, as KSI‘s “Thick of It,” featuring Trippie Redd, rises to No. 1 as the most-played song on Gabb Wireless phones and tablets for November 2024.
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Billboard has partnered with Gabb Wireless, a phone company for kids and teens, to present a monthly chart tracking on-demand streams via its Gabb Music platform. Gabb Music offers a vast catalog of songs, all of which are selected by the Gabb team to include only kid- and teen-appropriate content. Gabb Music streams are not currently factored into any other Billboard charts.
“Thick of It,” released Oct. 3, bowed at No. 3 on the inaugural Top Gabb Music Songs list as the most recently released song in the tally’s top 10. It retains that distinction on the November 2024 survey as well (though it isn’t the newest song on the 25-position chart – more on that later).
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The song has peaked so far at No. 64 on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100, achieving the feat on the Oct. 26-dated ranking.
Released by rapper and YouTube star KSI, “Thick of It” leads a hip-hop-dominated Top Gabb Music Songs top 10, with half of the region from rappers. Drake’s “God’s Plan,” No. 1 on the Hot 100 for 11 weeks in 2018, enters the survey at No. 4, while Travis Scott’s “Butterfly Effect” at No. 6 (No. 50 on the Hot 100 in 2018) and Juice WRLD’s “Face 2 Face” at No. 8 (No. 92 on the Hot 100 in 2022) also debut. The fifth, NF’s “Let You Down,” remains in the top 10 for a second straight month, falling 5-7.
Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” which reigned atop the first Top Gabb Music Songs list, dips to No. 2 on the November tally, but Boone still boasts a new distinction: he’s the first act with two songs in the top three, as “Slow It Down” zooms 9-3 in its second month. The former peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in March, while the latter reached No. 32 in September.
Olivia Rodrigo’s “Deja Vu” and Imagine Dragons’ “Bones” appear in the Top Gabb Music Songs chart’s top 10 for the first time; “Deja Vu” shoots 15-9, while “Bones” jumps 16-10. Three and two years old, respectively, the former reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 2021 and the latter peaked at No. 47 in 2022.
Top Gabb Music Songs’ top debut of the month by a song released in 2024 belongs to Maddox Batson, whose “X’s” starts at No. 14. It’s the second-highest-performing country song on the tally, following Luke Combs‘ “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” at No. 5. The 14-year-old Warner signee’s song was released in September.
Holiday music has officially come to Gabb as of November, as Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” bows at No. 15. And the newest song to grace the survey, ROSE and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” (released Oct. 18), starts at No. 24.
See the full top 25 below.
Top Gabb Music Songs, November 2024
1. “Thick of It,” KSI feat. Trippie Redd (+2)2. “Beautiful Things,” Benson Boone (-1)3. “Slow It Down,” Benson Boone (+6)4. “God’s Plan,” Drake (debut)5. “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” Luke Combs (-3)6. “Butterfly Effect,” Travis Scott (debut)7. “Let You Down,” NF (-2)8. “Face 2 Face,” Juice WRLD (debut)9. “Deja Vu,” Olivia Rodrigo (+6)10. “Bones,” Imagine Dragons (+6)11. “Hope,” NF (-4)12. “Please Please Please,” Sabrina Carpenter (-4)13. “Motto,” NF (=)14. “X’s,” Maddox Batson (debut)15. “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey (debut)16. “Mood,” 24KGoldn feat. Iann Dior (debut)17. “Love Somebody,” Morgan Wallen (debut)18. “Stargazing,” Myles Smith (-4)19. “Ghost,” Justin Bieber (debut)20. “Eyes Closed,” Imagine Dragons (-3)21. “Enemy,” Imagine Dragons & JID (-1)22. “Stressed Out,” Twenty One Pilots (-10)23. “Too Sweet,” Hozier (-19)24. “APT.,” ROSE & Bruno Mars (debut)25. “Radioactive,” Imagine Dragons (-6)
DROPS FROM OCTOBER 2024: JVKE, “Golden Hour”; NF, “The Search”; Glass Animals, “Heat Waves”; Zach Bryan, “Pink Skies”; Imagine Dragons, “Demons”; Tate McRae, “She’s All I Wanna Be”; Ariana Grande, “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)”; Jelly Roll, “I Am Not Okay”; Nicky Youre & Dazy, “Sunroof”
Drake and Latto connected for the 100 Gigs cut “Housekeeping Knows” earlier this year — now, the 6 God is tapping the Atlanta rapper to star in an ad for his Nike Nocta brand campaign. With the Nocta Nike Air Force 1 set to arrive as part of a larger apparel collection, Latto appeared in […]