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12/17/2024
See our editorial staff’s list for the greatest artists from an all-time year in pop stardom, rolling out throughout December.
12/17/2024
Jelly Roll was spotted shaking hands and smiling with president-elect Donald Trump at a UFC match New York City’s Madison Square Garden last month, leading to controversy surrounding the country star’s political opinions. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news However, Jelly cleared the air alongside his wife […]
For the second consecutive year, the NBA will hold its annual NBA Cup championship game Tuesday in Las Vegas, featuring the Milwaukee Bucks and the Oklahoma City Thunder (Dec. 17). The road to Vegas was tough as four teams vied for the title, including the Atlanta Hawks, the Houston Rockets, the Bucks, and the Thunder. […]
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We now have more details about the mishap at Jamie Foxx’s birthday. The incident was apparently caused by crew members of Jackass.
Page Six is reporting that the Oscar winner’s recent celebration of life came to an abrupt end thanks to an indecent attempt at humor. The celebrity website says the In Living Color talent invited a small circle of family and friends to Mr. Chow’s in Beverly Hills, Calif. While dining, someone in the upstairs VIP area starting shining a laser pointer in the shape of a penis to his table. Naturally, this infuriated the comedian especially considering both of his daughters Corinne, 30, and Anelise,16, were both present.
He and some of his party went upstairs to meet the troublemakers. According to TMZ, the area was rented out by Dickhouse Productions, the makers of Jackass. Words were exchanged, which resulted in a confrontation where one of the production crew members allegedly tossed a drink at Jamie’s face, which cut his mouth. Sources tell TMZ the Ray star stood there bleeding and said, “It’s my birthday, what is wrong with you?” It is reported he soon left after the incident, but the Dickhouse Productions crew continued to be aggressive to Jamie’s party downstairs.
A lawyer for Dickhouse has commented on the matter saying, “Although the crew has the greatest respect for Jamie, the version of events that has been presented is totally inaccurate and deeply unfair to those attending their holiday celebration that night.” None of the actual stunt cast members from the Jackass series were present.
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Source: YouTube / Sony
With the surprising success of Netflix’s Cobra Kai series, The Karate Kid is finding new life in a new generation and is now returning to the big screen as it first did back in 1984.
Looking to capitalize off the hype of Cobra Kai, Sony Pictures just dropped their first trailer to their upcoming Karate Kid: Legends starring Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan who starred alongside Jaden Smith in the 2010 remake of the classic film. Linking up two generations of Karate Kid characters, the film centers around Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) and Mr. Han (Chan) taking a new student under their wing (Ben Wang) and showing him the ropes in the world of martial arts.
Looking more like a Street Fighter film than anything, it seems like the tournaments and competitions will be taking place on rooftops and underground garages as LaRusso and Chan also get into some fisticuffs along the way.
Real talk, this joint looks entertaining as hell. We lowkey hope that Jaden Smith pops out with a jump kick at some point cause that’ll really set the audience on fire. Just sayin.’
Check out the trailer for Karate Kid: Legends below and let us know if you’ll be checking for this when it hits theaters on May 30, 2025.
Snoop Dogg has reacted to Drake’s pair of legal actions against Universal Music Group in which he alleges that his label artificially inflated the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
The West Coast legend is on a press run in support of his Missionary album with Dr. Dre, and he stopped by The Bootleg Kev Podcast on Tuesday (Dec. 17).
Kev asked Snoop about myriad topics, including his thoughts on Drake’s legal action against his parent label, which Snoop initially offered up a “no comment” before expanding briefly. “On the West, we hold court in the streets,” he said of his policing preference rather than turning to the legal system.
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In November, Drake filed a pair of legal actions, which also alleged that UMG could’ve stopped the release of “Not Like Us,” which he believes defamed him and falsely accused him of being a sex offender. UMG denied Drizzy’s “offensive and untrue” allegations about artificially inflating numbers, telling Billboard at the time, “We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Snoop revealed he spoke to Kendrick Lamar in the weeks since K. Dot expressed his disappointment in one of his mentors on GNX‘s opening track “Wacced Out Murals.” In the midst of Kendrick’s feud with Drake, Snoop reposted Drizzy’s “Taylor Made Freestyle” — which included AI-generated vocals using Snoop’s voice — to Instagram.
“Snoop posted ‘Taylor Made,’ I prayed it was the edibles/ I couldn’t believe it, it was only right for me to let it go,” Lamar raps on the track.
Snoop Dogg quickly apologized and admitted it “was the edibles” and called Lamar the “West West King” shortly after on X.
“He’s a rapper he’s supposed to speak his mind and tell his truth,” Snoop told Bootleg Kev on Tuesday. “I’m his big homebody so I have to take what’s said from his perspective because he’s speaking truth. I’m willing to accept truth when it’s brought to me directly.”
Snoop explained he did a “collaborative post” on Instagram and allegedly didn’t even know what song he was posting. “I’m thinking I’m posting ‘Gin & Juice.’ Then I get the word [Kendrick] didn’t like what you posted,” he added. “Then I deleted it, called nephew and left him a message … Nephew, it’s uncle Snoop, I got the message I apologize I was f–ked up. My bad.”
Watch Snoop’s full interview below.
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Source: Fulton County Jail / Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
Donald Trump’s claims of presidential immunity to dismiss his hush money conviction were struck down by the presiding judge in New York, dealing him a temporary loss.
On Monday (Dec. 16), New York District Court Judge Juan Merchan ruled that Donald Trump cannot use presidential immunity as a reason to overturn his felony conviction in the “hush money” election interference case. The decision is a blow to the president-elect weeks before he is set to return to the White House and comes after he has already seen several wins in other court cases against him.
“The People’s use of these acts as evidence of the decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the executive branch,” wrote Judge Merchan in a 41-page document detailing the ruling. Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to covering up an affair he had with adult film star Stormy Daniels, which was overseen by his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who paid Daniels $130,000. Trump would eventually repay Cohen.
The ruling is not the definitive ending to this case. Judge Merchan has paused sentencing in the case several times, and prosecutors have signaled that they wouldn’t stand in the way of putting the case on hold until after Trump has served his time in office. While the conviction does carry a potential sentence of up to four years in prison, Judge Merchan can uphold the conviction but not impose any prison time or any other punishment. Trump can also argue for the conviction to be thrown out if he chooses to take it to the conservative Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor concerning presidential immunity in June.
Representatives for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment. Steven Cheung, a spokesman for President-elect Trump, called the decision “a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s decision on immunity,” adding: “This lawless case should have never been brought, and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed.”
Numerous music stars are on the best original song shortlist for the 2025 Oscars, including Elton John and Brandi Carlile, Lainey Wilson, Pharrell Williams, Maren Morris, Robbie Williams, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
John and Carlile are shortlisted for co-writing “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late; Wilson for co-writing “Out of Oklahoma” from Twisters; Williams for writing “Piece by Piece” from the Netflix film Piece by Piece; Morris for co-writing Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot; Williams for co-writing “Forbidden Road” from Better Man; and Reznor and Ross for co-writing “Compress/Repress” from Challengers.
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences released shortlists in 10 categories, including best original song and best original score on Tuesday (Dec. 17).
While music stars were well-represented on the shortlist, several others fell short, including Luke Combs, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran and Megan Thee Stallion, Reneé Rapp and Ryan Tedder.
Two songs from Emilia Pérez appear on the shortlist for best original song. The songs are “El Mal” and “Mi Camino,” both co-written by Clément Ducol and Camille, with the film’s director, Jacques Audiard, co-writing “El Mal.”
Diane Warren is shortlisted for writing “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight. If Warren is nominated, she’ll tie midcentury lyricist Sammy Cahn for the longest streak of consecutive nominations (eight) in the history of the category. (Cahn was a contender every year from 1954 to 1961.) This would be Warren’s 16th overall nod in this category, more than any other woman. Among women, she’s currently tied with the late Marilyn Bergman.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is shortlisted for writing “Tell Me It’s You” from Mufasa: The Lion King. Miranda has been just an Oscar away from an EGOT since 2014, when he won his first Primetime Emmy. He has been Oscar-nominated twice for writing “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana and “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto.
“El Mal” and “Mi Camino” are both nominated for both the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards for best original song. Three other songs that are nominated for both of those awards are on the Oscar shortlist “Beautiful That Way” from The Last Showgirl, “Compress/Repress” from Challengers and “Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot.
The sixth nominee for the Golden Globe is “Forbidden Road” from Better Man. The sixth nominee for the Critics Choice Award is “Harper and Will Go West” from Will & Harper. Both are shortlisted here.
Kristen Wiig co-wrote the latter song with Sean Douglas. (The multitalented performer and writer was Oscar-nominated for best original screenplay for the 2011 hit Bridesmaids.) “Harper and Will Go West” has elements of humor, as have such recent nominees as “Husavik,” from the 2020 comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, and “I’m Just Ken,” from last year’s Barbie.
Here’s a complete list of this year’s 15 shortlisted songs for best original song.
Shortlisted Songs
“Beyond” from Moana 2 (Walt Disney Pictures) — Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear
“Compress/Repress” from Challengers (Amazon MGM) — Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Luca Guadagnino
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez (Netflix) — Clément Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard
“Forbidden Road” from Better Man (Paramount Pictures) — Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, Sacha Skarbek
“Harper and Will Go West” from Will & Harper (Netflix) — Sean Douglas, Kristen Wiig, Josh Greenbaum
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight (Netflix) — Diane Warren
“Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot (DreamWorks Animation) — Delacey, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, Ali Tamposi
“Like a Bird” from Sing Sing (A24) — Abraham Alexander, Brandon Marcel, Adrian Quesada
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez (Netflix) — Clément Ducol, Camille
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late” (Walt Disney Pictures) — Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, Bernie Taupin
“Out of Oklahoma” from Twisters (Universal Pictures) — Lainey Wilson, Luke Dick, Shane McAnally
“Piece by Piece” from Piece by Piece (Focus Features) — Pharrell Williams
“Sick in the Head” from Kneecap (Sony Pictures Classics) — Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, DJ Próvaí, Adrian Louis Richard Mcleod, Toddla T
“Tell Me It’s You” from Mufasa: The Lion King (Walt Disney Pictures) – Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Winter Coat” from Blitz (Apple Original Films) — Nicholas Britell, Steve McQueen, Taura Stinson
And here are some highly-touted songs that were passed over for the shortlist.
Not Shortlisted
“Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” from Twisters (Universal) – Jessi Alexander, Luke Combs, Jonathan Singleton
“Beautiful That Way” from The Last Showgirl (Roadside Attractions) — Miley Cyrus, Lykke Li, Andrew Wyatt
“Folie à Deux” from Joker: Folie à Deux (Warner Bros.) — Lady Gaga
“Leash” from Babygirl (A24) — Sky Ferreira, Jorge Elbrecht
“Not My Fault” from Mean Girls (Paramount Pictures) — Alexander 23, Nell Benjamin, Jasper Harris, Megan Thee Stallion, Reneé Rapp, Jeff Richmond, Ryan Tedder, Billy Walsh
“Under the Tree” from That Christmas (Netflix) — Ed Sheeran
“Vaster Than Empires” from Queer (A24) — William Burroughs, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Nominations-round voting runs from Jan. 8 to 12. Nominations will be announced Jan. 17. Final-round voting runs from Feb. 11 to 18. The 97th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide. The show will also stream live on Hulu for the first time.
With just over a week to go before Beyoncé turns the Netflix-NFL Christmas Day halftime show into her very own Cowboy Carter rodeo, there’s still tons of new music racing to get heard before the calendar flips over to January 2025.
Between Bossman Dlow (Dlow Curry), Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre (Missionary) and Roc Marciano & The Alchemist (The Skeleton Key), hip-hop heavyweights kept the new projects rolling in. In addition, R&B sent a sterling representative in Mario, who dropped Glad You Came, his first studio album in six years.
Speaking of Beyoncé, the Billboard staff’s Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century (So Far), also became the woman with the most RIAA-certified titles in history (103). The impressive news comes the day after husband Jay-Z‘s attorney Alex Spiro spoke out Roc Nation’s New York headquarters, reiterating that the minor rape allegations levied against the rap mogul are “provably, demonstrably false” and “never happened.”
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Jay wasn’t the only rap icon in the news this week; Lil Wayne cleared the air on his friction with Kendrick Lamar after the latter secured the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show and name-dropped Tunechi in his “Wacced Out Murals” verse. In addition, Future — who headlined Rolling Loud Miami’s victorious tenth anniversary alongside Travis Scott and Playboi Carti — sent “Too Fast” to the top of three different airplay surveys (Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Rhythmic Airplay and Rap Airplay) in the same week (dated Dec. 21). Finally, SZA officially announced that the deluxe edition of her blockbuster SOS LP will arrive on Friday (Dec. 20).
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Sleepy Hallow and Babyface Ray’s new team-up to Tank and the Bangas’ ode to Black womanhood. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
Tank and the Bangas, “This Black Girl”
This year, Tank and the Bangas picked up its third career Grammy nod, as “Todo Colores,” its team-up with Ibrahim Maalouf and Cimafunk, is nominated for best global music performance. To close out the year, the funky musical group has unleashed a loving ode to “This Black Girl.” Lead singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball begins things in media res by employing a spoken word-esque cadence in her delivery of, “This Black girl got a attitude/ This Black girl has a defense mechanism too, I feel played at least once a day/ I need the treatment that you give the white girls/ I know my worth,” over Kaidi Tatham’s lush, warm, slighlty ominous soundscape.
Less of a traditional song, this is Tank seizing the soap box for all Black girlhood and womanhood — particularly those whose Blackness can never be confused or obfuscated. Tank’s voice is filled with the conviction of a priest, the tongue-in-cheek diction sourced from intracommunal conversations and the endless hope and indecipherable exhaustion of generations of Black women. “And I’m only gon’ cut that shit once,” she proclaims in the song’s outro. “I ain’t doing it again/ Ooh, that felt powerful y’all/ Ooh, that felt powerful.” — KYLE DENIS
Sleepy Hallow & Babyface Ray, “Top Tier”
The Brooklyn native returned last week with his Read This When You Wake Up album, and Sleepy Hallow reasserted that he isn’t one to be slept on in the drill scene. The woozy “Top Tier” finds SH connecting with Detroit’s own Babyface Ray, as Sleepy ruminates about his near-death experiences — but he’s still here to tell the tales. “They say you toxic, bae, you top tier/ I keep a Glock, ’cause I got shot and life is not fair,” he raps. Ray invades the scene with a shout-out to NY’s Dyckman neighborhood and admits he’s kicked a prescription drugs habit as he’s put the bottle down. — MICHAEL SAPONARA
Mario, “Love Ain’t Perfect”
This year marks the 20-year anniversary of one of the most beloved R&B songs of the ’00s: Mario’s “Let Me Love You.” To celebrate, Mario kept pushing forward and treated fans to his first studio LP in six years, Glad You Came, via his New Citizen imprint through Epic Records. Though the three singles that preceded the album are all strong, “Love Ain’t Perfect” is the set’s hidden gem. “Baby, baby, baby, you turn me on/ Even you play me all day like a radio/ When it feels this good, you can’t let it go,” he croons, succinctly outlining the masochistic allure of an imperfect, but undeniably electric, connection. With BNYX behind the boards and James Fauntleroy helping out on the songwriting side, “Love Ain’t Perfect” is a solid synthesis of classic Mario and where he’s headed next. — K.D.
BossMan Dlow feat. Ice Spice, “Pillsbury Dlow”
BossMan Dlow is everyone’s cup of espresso to get up and be motivated to chase a bag. He caps off his rookie of the year campaign with his Dlow Curry album – an homage to the Golden State Warriors sniper Steph Curry. Nobody expected an Ice Spice appearance on the track, but her feature ended up being a slam dunk, as she slowed down her flow into cruise control mode. “Up and down his algorithm, every pic I post is pain/ I put that on that shit for real, broke hoes don’t even know the name,” she rhymes, while tormenting exes that fumbled her. — M.S.
Kalan.Frfr, “Dice Game”
With GNX keeping the upper reaches of the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 locked up, the West Coast is finishing out its seismic 2024 on top. Though he wasn’t one of the L.A. rappers featured on GNX, Kalan.FrFr is keeping up his Pop Out-assisted momentum with a new bass-heavy banger called “Dice Game.” “I done took the Wock’ a lot of places, never been to Poland/ Man, these niggas got lil’ money, Gary Coleman/ Yeah, either way it go, Rick James, Rick Owens/ Yeah, either way it go, bein’ tough ain’t no motion,” he spits over DTB’s gritty, synth-inflected beat, smartly combing cross-generational and cross-medium reference into one punchline-anchored verse. — K.D.
Sugarhill Ddot & Star Bandz, “Energy”
Two of the best teenage rappers out reconnect for another sexy drill anthem with “Energy,” which feels like a track Dej Loaf and Lil Durk would’ve ripped during their days of collaborating. Sugarhill Ddot and Star Bandz’s chemistry feels palpable and authentic. The duo should probably just lock in for a joint project, as speculation rages on that they could be rap’s junior prom power couple. Ddot and Star pass the mic back and forth living as young, wild and free teens figuring out life on the fly: “Yeah I like yo energy/ You bring out the best in me/ This s–t feel like destiny,” Bandz raps on the previously teased tune. — M.S.
Burna Boy announced on Tuesday (Dec. 17) that he will be releasing his eighth studio album, No Sign of Weakness, next year via Spaceship, Bad Habit and Atlantic Records. He kicked off the album rollout with the release of his new single “Bundle by Bundle” the same day. Produced by his frequent collaborator Telz, “Bundle […]