Even with the latest data tracking week reflecting four days after Christmas Day (Dec. 23-29), Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” holds at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, reigning for a 12th total week. While SZA’s ‘SOS’ rules the Billboard 200 chart (dated Jan. 7) for a third straight and total week as the set earned 128,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 29 (down 29%), according to Luminate.
Billie Eilish has proved once more that she’s the ultimate The Office fan.
The 21-year-old superstar joined the latest episode of Earwolf’s Office Ladies podcast, in which she recreated “the first-ever party planning committee” scene from season one of the show with the podcast’s co-hosts and Office stars Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer.
“Oh yeah, I know this scene quite well,” Eilish shared in the clip initially shared by People, which is no surprise, as the star has often claimed that she’s watched the entire series numerous times. She then channels the show’s character Phyllis, diving into the scene and floating the idea of streamers for the fictional party. “But that’s dumb, everybody has streamers, never mind,” Eilish says as Phyllis.
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Fischer then revives her role as receptionist Pam Beesley, agreeing that they should have green streamers. Kinsey then jumps in as her character Angela Martin, delivering the iconic deadpan line, “I think green is kind of whorish.”
The trio then cheer for their flawless execution of the scene, and Fischer tells Eilish, “You’re officially in the PPC [party planning committee]!”
Back in 2019, Eilish took part in Billboard‘s “Quizzed” segment with Rainn Wilson, who portrayed Dwight Schrute on the iconic series, and participated in some Office-related trivia. Overall, Eilish did a stellar job, earning herself a special handmade reward that viewers will recognize from the “Office Olympics” episode of the show. “This will go well with your goth bling,” Wilson tells her as he gifts her the yogurt lid medal.
Revisit the moment below.
Bonnie Raitt wrote the title song to her latest album, Just Like That, by herself. The tender ballad, which is sung from the point of view of a mother of a son whose organs were harvested to save others’ lives, is the first song written by just one songwriter to receive a Grammy nomination for song of the year since Taylor Swift’s “Lover” three years ago.
In 1971, when Raitt launched her recording career, solo-written songs weren’t at all unusual. Three of that year’s song of the year nominees were written by just one writer – the James Taylor smash “You’ve Got a Friend” (written by Carole King), the Sammi Smith classic “Help Me Make I Through the Night” (written by Kris Kristofferson) and the Lynn Anderson smash “Rose Garden” (written by Joe South).
As late as 2002, songs written by just one writer weren’t outside the norm. Four of the song of the year nominees that year were the work of just one writer – the Norah Jones hit “Don’t Know Why” (written by Jesse Harris), Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles,” Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” and Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).”
But in recent years, the trend has been toward songs written by collectives of writers. Last year, the Justin Bieber-led smash “Peaches” set a new record as the song of the year nominee with the most co-writers (11). This year, the DJ Khaled-led “God Did” nearly matched that record. It has nine co-writers.
Here are all of the songs written by just one writer to receive song of the year nominations since 2000. We show the peak Hot 100 position for each song. All songs spent one week at peak position unless otherwise noted.
As the daughter of first generation immigrants, stylist Katie Qian recalls her mother regularly sending pre-med requirements and courses all throughout college. But Qian was certain of her path. “In my head, I knew I wanted to pursue styling the whole time,” she says.
Growing up in San Diego, Qian devoured Fashion Week clips on YouTube and sartorial posts on Tumblr as a teen. “I got into a rabbit hole of watching high fashion runway shows of old McQueen and Dior by [John] Galiano,” she recalls. While volunteering at a hospital gift shop, she would flip through fashion magazines like W and British Vogue, becoming inspired by the editors. Her research paid off; one of her first celebrity gigs was for a local magazine, styling Tori Kelly.
She went on to double major in psychology and business at the University of California Los Angeles, but continued collecting editorial styling credits on top of a full schedule of classes. That intense workflow helped her amass a stable of star clients, and since graduating in 2018 Qian, now 25, has worked full-time as a stylist. Regulars include Conan Gray, Hayley Kiyoko and NIKI, along with most of 88Rising’s roster.
“It’s noticeably harder [to pull clothes] for Asian people,” says Qian of the challenges she has faced so far. “I think [fashion houses] usually have a target list of talent they think is a good fit for their brand … [there’s a perception that] there haven’t been that many Asian artists who fit that profile in America. I don’t think we’re super visible yet.”
Her growing portfolio – which includes a recent magazine cover for Rina Sawayama – is helping change that perception. And while Qian has already dressed many stars on her wishlist, she always has an eye on who could be next: “[I’m most interested in] really cool, alternative artists who are not afraid to do something crazy or funky. To stand out.”
Below, Qian breaks down some favorite moments she styled this year and beyond.
After first meeting through Lauv on the set of their “Fake” music video in Oct. 2020, Qian and Conan Gray teamed up to create the singer’s gender-bending looks. “I remember the first time I put him in a corset when we were fitting in his garage two years ago. His face lit up,” says Qian. “Since then, I kept bringing him riskier and riskier stuff to experiment.”
Case in point: Gray’s monochromatic fuschia fit of custom Valentino trousers, platforms and a wind-catching cape that he wore for his Coachella performance earlier this year. Qian says that particular look proves just how much his style has evolved from the white tank top and jeans combo he often adorned in the beginning of their working relationship. “Conan trusts everything,” she says. “That’s one of my favorite things about him.”
Qian says she manifested working with the music label 88Rising. Founded by Sean Miyashiro and known for repping Asian-American artists, “88Rising was a big goal of mine. I love what they stand for, so I was trying to get in touch with them for a while,” she recalls. In 2018, the stylist got her chance when photographer Silas Lee tapped her to style one of the label’s artists, NIKI, for a Guess fashion campaign. “That’s when I first met anyone from 88,” she says. “NIKI liked me and continued reaching out. After that, I started doing Rich Brian, Higher Brothers, Joji. It kind of spread throughout the whole label.”
Near the end of 2022, Qian was preparing to join NIKI on the Asian leg of her Nicole tour. When dressing the Indonesian-born singer for the stage, Qian says Niki will give her a feeling to work with: “‘I wanna feel hot. I wanna look badass.’ I’ll then come up with new ways to portray that.”
When asked which of her clients excites her the most, Qian blurts out her muse: Sabrina Claudio. “For every stylist, they need to find a client that fits them. You can’t shine until you find a client that lets you create to your fullest capacity.” According to Qian, Claudio’s confidence and embodiment of “divine femininity” is what makes dressing her so fun.
In 2021, Qian enlisted the help of designer Michelle Hébert to create a look that captured that exact ethos. Specializing in ethereal gowns, Hébert made Claudio’s silk butterfly dress for a livestream concert tied to her album About Time. Using ’90s-era Versace as a reference, Hébert hand-stitched silk printed butterflies and sewed it over an asymmetric, orange charmeuse gown featuring strategic cutouts. The look enjoyed a viral moment on the internet, about which Qian says: “It was just magic.”
New year, new you! Shay Mooney showed off his slimmed-down physique in a new social media post on Monday (Jan. 2).
“Consistency,” the Dan + Shay crooner captioned the shirtless side-by-side on Instagram. “I changed my entire world in 6 months. No gimmicks or fads. Just consistency. If that tired guy on the left can do it so can you.”
The singer got plenty of support from his country music peers in the comments on the post as well. “Hardly even noticed you in the drop off line at school the other day! Congrats brother.. incredible,” Thomas Rhett wrote using a hands-up emoji. Carrie Underwood commented, “You should be proud!” Brian Kelly of Florida Georgia Line also added, “@shaymooney freaking gettin it dude!”
In a December interview on TODAY, Mooney shared the inspiration behind his recent fitness journey, joking that part of it stemmed from comparing himself to bandmate Dan Smyers “all the time.”
“I had this moment where I was just not feeling healthy,” he said. “It wasn’t necessarily for my appearance, but it was to feel healthy. And I’m down about 53 or 54 pounds.”
Dan + Shay recently made an appearance on the red carpet for the 2022 American Music Awards, where they dished to Billboard about their latest Christmas single, “Holiday Party,” and their habit of penning holiday tracks during the summer months. At an earlier November awards show — the 2022 CMA Awards — Brothers Osborne teased the possibility of joining forces with the duo. “Oh my god, that would be amazing!” TJ Osboerne gushed to Billboard. “I mean, obviously I’m, like, a baritone. But, like, Dan can sing the craziest stratosphere stuff … Maybe we’ll be the new Oak Ridge Boys, I dunno.”
See Mooney’s latest fit pic below.
Source: Cook County Department of Corrections / Cook County Department of Corrections
Even though R. Kelly is serving time for his crimes, the world will find out more about his creepy ways. The final installment of Surviving R. Kelly premiered on Lifetime Jan. 2.
As per Variety, it seems the disgraced crooner’s ways will be the talk of the town again in 2023. The Lifetime documentary will be returning with a third and final installment. This time the series will not only give updates going into Kelly’s trial and subsequent incarceration, but also detail how he allegedly groomed younger men. Some of the other themes covered include how witnesses were intimidated, following some of the survivors post trial, as well as sourcing feedback from legal and trauma experts.
Executive producer Jesse Daniels granted the media outlet an exclusive interview on how the new episode came to be. “After part one, we said that was it. But as we continued to stay in touch with our survivors, we started to hear about the pressure and the toll of preparing for this trial and gathering the courage to take the stand” he said.
Daniels also says that the project also examines the accusations that Kelly also abused young men. “Our goal was to create a real 360-degree look at what was unfolding every day of the trial, and that certainly was a big chapter of the trial where there were male victims who testified” he explained. “It was certainly something that we had heard in the past, but not in the context of this trial. We felt obligated to tell the whole the arc of the trial and every detail that we could.”
Lastly, the film executive confirmed that R. Kelly enforced NDA’s (non-disclosure agreements) to silence his victims including the late Aaliyah. Episode one of Surviving R. Kelly Part III is available to stream.
Photo: Cook County Department of Corrections
Source: Jerritt Clark / Getty
The son of heralded actress Angela Bassett, Slater Vance, landed in hot water, issuing an apology after pulling a video prank involving faking the death of Michael B. Jordan on TikTok.
On New Year’s Eve, Slater Vance filmed a video that he shared on the social media platform apologizing for the stunt where he claimed that her fellow Black Panther actor Jordan had died to the actress and his father, actor Courtney B. Vance. “I apologize to Michael B. Jordan’s entire family, his extended family, and him directly as he is an idol of mine,” he said in a video posted to his Instagram account which was deleted shortly after. “Taking part in a trend like this is completely disrespectful. I don’t wish any bad ramifications upon his family nor my parents as they deserve none of the backlash.”
In the original 27-second video which was posted earlier in the day, he’s observed asking his mother and his father if they had heard that Michael B. Jordan had died. Bassett is seen placing her hand over her heart in disbelief and walking overcome with emotion toward her son to ascertain where he had read the news. The video ends abruptly, but not before Courtney can be heard off-camera telling his son, “Stop it. You’re playing.”
“I own this mistake,” the 16-year-old continued in his apology, appearing remorseful and holding back tears. “I hope this can be a teaching lesson to anyone who uses social media as a tool and a source of entertainment to truly understand that your actions can have consequences that extend beyond you.”
The video prank was part of a growing trend on TikTok featuring teens telling their parents a favorite celebrity of theirs had died and recording their reaction. The hashtag “celebritydeathprank” had over 174 million views on the app as of Sunday (Jan. 1). Many have observed that Slater Vance’s prank went entirely too far given that Jordan and Bassett were cast mates in both of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther films, but also given the abrupt death of lead actor Chadwick Boseman in August 2020 from colon cancer, which shocked the cast and crew.
Two legends are coming together for a brand new collaboration.
Dionne Warwick joined Tamron Hall on the latter’s talk show on Tuesday (Jan. 3), where she revealed that she has teamed up with Dolly Parton for a duet. “She sent me a song that she wanted me to record, and I said, ‘Okay, that sounds like a deal,’” Warwick recalled of how the collaboration came to be. “She’s such a sweetheart, I know her. And then she sent me another song, the one that we’re going to be doing as a duet.”
Warwick went on to note that the upcoming song is a gospel song titled “Peace Like a River” that Parton wrote. “I am very excited about this, I really am. I’ve done so many duets over the years, but this one’s gonna be very special,” the singer noted.
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Elsewhere in the interview, Warwick, known among her fans as the unofficial Queen of Twitter, discussed some of her viral tweets. In response to a post from November 2022, in which the “Heartbreaker” singer wrote, “I will be dating Pete Davidson next,” Warwick laughed and said, “Everyone else dating him. Why not me?”
Meanwhile, the singer’s new documentary, Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over, debuted on CNN on Sunday (Jan. 1), and unveiled the story of her life and career from the days of working with Burt Bacharach and Hal David to the present. Quincy Jones, Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, Olivia Newton-John and former president Bill Clinton are among the talking heads who offer their perspectives on Warwick’s legacy throughout the film.
Shakira began 2023 with a heartfelt message of hope after a difficult year due to her separation from Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué, the father of her children.
“Even if our wounds are still open in this new year, time has a surgeon’s hands. Even if someone’s betrayed us, we must continue to trust others,” wrote the Colombian singer on Sunday (Jan. 1). “When faced with contempt, continue to know your worth. Because there are more good people than indecent ones. More people with empathy than indifference.”
She continued: “The ones who leave are fewer than the many who stay by our side. Our tears are not in vain, they water the soil our future will spring from and make us more human, so that even while suffering heartache we can continue to love.”
Shakira’s message, which she published both in Spanish and English and does not name her ex, comes months after her very public split from Pique after a 12-year relationship. The singer has spoken openly about the breakup since it was confirmed in June, and has posted material alluding to her pain.
In October, the Colombian superstar released the heartbreak song “Monotonía” alongside Ozuna, in which she lyrically displays her sadness against a gripping bachata backdrop. “Suddenly you were no longer the same/ You left me because of your narcissism/ You forgot what we once were,” she sings in Spanish.
Although bachata has been embraced in recent times by non-Dominican artists such as Rosalía, The Weeknd, C. Tangana and Nathy Peluso, Shakira’s choice of genre is likely not a coincidence. Bachata was known as “amargue” (meaning “bitter” or, roughly, “lovesick”) when it was created about a century ago because of its lovelorn lyrics, so it seems fitting for the emotion at hand.
In the music video, Shakira looks distraught as her ex shoots her straight in the chest in a supermarket, where her heart is ejected from her body, leaving a large hole.
A month before releasing “Monotonía,” Shakira told Elle that the separation from Piqué has been one of the “most difficult” and “darkest” moments of her life. “I’ve remained quiet and just tried to process it all,” she shared. “It’s hard to talk about it, especially because I’m still going through it, and because I’m in the public eye and because our separation is not like a regular separation. And so it’s been tough not only for me, but also for my kids. Incredibly difficult.”
See her new year’s post below:
