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It appears that wedding bells may be in order for Vanessa Hudgens and Cole Tucker! According to People, the High School Musical star and the professional baseball player, tied the knot in Tulum, Mexico.
Although both Hudgens, 34, and Tucker, 27, have yet to comment on the reports, photos of the Tick, Tick… Boom! star posing in a white dress made the rounds on X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend (Dec. 3). A post from former High School Musical co-star Monique Coleman added more fuel to the rumors; the Emmy-nominated host shared clips of a sunny beach on her Instagram Story, tagging her location as Tulum, Mexico.
Billboard has reached out to representatives for both Hudgens and Tucker for comment.
In a 2021 Drew Barrymore Show interview, Hudgens recounted how got in touch with Tucker after meeting him in a Zoom meditation group during the peak of COVID-19 lockdowns. “I fully just slid into his DMs and was like, ‘Hey it was nice to meet you,’” she said. “I think there’s no shame in making the first move. If you want it, why wait for someone else to give you what you want?”
On Valentine’s Day 2021 (Feb. 14), Hudgens made the couple Instagram official when she posted a sweep snap of them sharing a kiss. “It’s you, it’s me, it’s us. @cotuck ❤️💋🤟🏽,” she captioned the post. By Feb. 9, 2023, the couple confirmed their engagement — again via Instagram — with a post captioned, “YES. We couldn’t be happier.”
News of Hudgens’ reported marriage closes a busy year for the multi-hyphenate. This year, she starred in the Lily Rabe-directed drama Downtown Owl, hosted the pre-show for the 95th Academy Awards and continued to prep for the forthcoming fourth installment of the Bad Boys franchise.
Vanessa Hudgens has earned 15 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, including the top 10 hits “Breaking Free” (No. 4) and “What Time Is It” (No. 6) from the High School Musical and High School Musical 2 soundtracks, respectively. On the Billboard 200, she has charted both of her solo studio albums: 2006’s V (No. 24) and 2008’s Identified (No. 23).
Even the self-proclaimed Queen of Christmaas has a subpar holiday season every once in a while. But in 2023, Mariah Carey is determined for that not to be the case.
“Years? What are years? I’m unfamiliar with them,” the 54-year-old vocalist joked in her Monday (Dec. 4) digital cover story with People, adding that she prefers to live “Christmastime to Christmastime.”
“I’ve been looking forward to this Christmas for, like, the whole year,” she continued. “Since last year —because last year wasn’t the greatest. I’m thankful for them all, but it wasn’t my most fun version of Christmas ever.”
To make up for last year’s apparent dud, Carey has embarked on a 14-city “Merry Christmas One and All” tour, ending Dec. 17 with a finale show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The five-time Grammy winner is famous for dominating the Christmas music market from year to year, mostly thanks to her evergreen hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You”; the 1994 hit ranks at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Dec. 2 and has spent a collective 12 weeks at No. 1 over the years.
“I’ve been working day and night on this one,” Carey told the publication of her tour. “I’ll be doing songs I’ve never done before, some duets. I’ve got to keep some surprises.”
Her 12-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe, whom she shares with Nick Cannon, are coming on the road with her as featured performers. “Roc,” as Carey calls him, raps during “Here Comes Santa Claus,” while “Roe” duets with her mom on “Jesus Born on This Day.”
In between details about her favorite X-mas decorations, the “Obsessed” singer also opened up to the publication about not shying away from the “diva label. “I still define the word ‘diva’ the way it is in the dictionary,” she said. “It’s a successful singer, usually a soprano, typically in the opera field.”
“So many people that I know that are called ‘divas’ all the time, don’t take offense to it,” she added. “If someone’s like, ‘The diva, so-and-so.’ Who cares? Why is it a big deal? Just take it and be on your merry way.”
Lana Del Rey hasn’t ruled out motherhood. In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, the 38-year-old alt-pop superstar opened up about possibly wanting to have kids someday — but not until the time is right.
“That’s why God didn’t give me children yet,” she told the publication, according to People. “Because there is more to explore. I know people who’ve tested every water. It’s burnt them, like Icarus. But I’m willing to go there.”
“I see it coming for me,” she continued. “We’ll see. We’ll see what melts the wings.”
Del Rey was reportedly in a relationship with house musician Jack Donoghue of Salem that began in early 2022. After several years with Scottish singer-songwriter Barrie-James O’Neill of Kassidy, Del Rey began dating Italian photographer Francesco Carrozzini in 2014, before a reported brief dalliance with rapper G-Eazy, followed by a year with cop Sean Larkin and an engagement to musician Clayton Johnson. Billboard reported in March that Del Rey was engaged to Range Media Partners’ Evan Winiker but it’s unclear where that relationship stands now.
The Grammy nominee also addressed her viral June Glastonbury set in the interview, a performance that was abruptly cut short by organizers after Del Rey’s blew past the midnight curfew. Videos from the night captured the musician — who was about 30 minutes late to the gig — attempting to stay onstage and sing a cappella with the crowd before security escorted her away.
“I didn’t feel great about it,” confessed the “Summertime Sadness” singer. “I was a little confused because I don’t think I was ever in a position where somebody said, ‘If you do not finish by this time, everything will go out.’ I was only 15 minutes late.”
“I’ve heard of curfews before,” she added. “But I didn’t know they actually turned the lights off!”
Del Rey’s latest interview comes shortly after the artist was nominated for five Grammy Awards, picking up nods for album of the year and best alternative album with Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd; song of the year and best alternative music performance for “A&W”; and best pop duo/group performance for “Candy Necklace” feat. Jon Batiste.
“It’s just such a fun day,” she reacted to the Grammy news in an Instagram video last month. “It’s really just about how excited everybody else is, and everybody calling, getting in touch and saying hi. All about the process and just one more exciting thing that’s happening… I in fact only learned this year that you have to submit your own album if you want to be nominated. Even that was out of my wheelhouse, but I did do that.”
Maren Morris was awarded Changemaker of the Year at Variety’s Hitmakers Brunch this weekend, and she used her acceptance speech to share the spotlight with fellow female musicians who she said have given her courage to stand up for what she believes in.
Recalling the “backlash” she’s faced over the years in response to her activism and political disputes with other public figures, the 33-year-old country pop star told the audience that she “found solace in the stories of my musical heroines.” Those heroines include Taylor Swift, for “taking back ownership of her life’s work,” and The Chicks, for “criticizing a sitting United States president on invading Iraq at the height of their country music career,” Morris said, according to People.
Morris also praised the late Sinead O’Connor — who passed away over the summer — for “shining a light on the abuses of the Catholic Church” as well as Billie Holiday for “continuing to perform ‘Strange Fruit’ in protest, even with a racially targeted FBI investigation threatening her.”
“They were all told not to bite the hand,” continued the “Middle” singer. “They were all told to shut up and sing. Now, I would never be silly enough to compare myself or my story to these women, but I have found deep inspiration in their courage in my moments of loneliness.”
“You have to be a giant pain in the a– to make any kind of change, because you’re criticizing and trying to dismantle a status quo and making comfortable people feel uncomfortable,” Morris added.
The Hitmakers event comes a couple months after Morris announced plans to step back from the country music industry, parts of which she’s said are “toxic.” In the years leading up to her decision — which includes no longer submitting her music for country awards consideration and switching record labels — the Grammy winner became known for advocating for LGBTQ rights and racial equality.
On many occasions, Morris’ activism resulted in conflicts with everyone from Jason and Brittany Aldean to Tucker Carlson. “I realized very quickly that publicly pointing out these inequalities doesn’t make you the most popular,” she reflected in her Changemaker speech. “If you dare criticize blatant misogyny, racism, transphobia within the ranks of your industry, you’re met with isolation, death threats, labeled as ungrateful, biting the hand that fed you or diminishingly told to just shut up and sing.”
Usher and BTS‘ Jung Kook are clearly having a blast with their team-up on JK’s “Standing Next to You.” In addition to dropping a new version of the song from the BTS singer’s debut solo album, Golden, on Friday, on Sunday (Dec. 3) the pair hit a dance studio to hoof it to one of […]
Billie Eilish again confirmed that she’s part of the LGBTQ community in a red carpet interview at the Variety Hitmakers Brunch on Saturday (Dec. 2), just a couple weeks after she first told Variety that she’s “attracted” to women in her November cover story. After the event was over, however, she took to Instagram to call out the publication, alleging that she was outed on the red carpet.
“thanks variety for my award and for also outing me on a red carpet at 11 am instead of talking about anything else that matters,” the 21-year-old pop star wrote, captioning clips from the Hitmakers event as well as a photo of her pants pulled down to her thighs, taken while she was presumably sitting on the toilet.
“i like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares,” she added. “stream ‘what was i made for’🥸,” she added in reference to her Grammy-nominated Barbie soundtrack song.
Eilish’s post most likely referenced the on-camera interview she gave to Variety‘s Tiana DeNicola, who asked the Grammy winner, “Did you mean to come out in [your cover story]?”
As both of them laughed, Eilish replied, “No I didn’t, but I kinda thought, Wasn’t it obvious?“
In the Nov. 13 Power of Women issue, Eilish confessed that she’s “attracted to [women] for real … I’m physically attracted to them. But I’m also so intimidated by them and their beauty and their presence.”
“I just don’t really believe in [coming out],” continued the “Happier Than Ever” singer on the red carpet. “I’m just like, why can’t we just exist? I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I just didn’t talk about it. Whoops. But … I saw the article and I was like, ‘Oh! I guess I came out today!’”
The musician went on to pick up the Hitmakers award for Film Song of the Year, earning recognition for her Barbie contribution “What Was I Made For.” The track is also nominated for record of the year, song of the year, best pop solo performance, best song written for visual media and best music video at next year’s Grammys.
See Eilish’s post below:
It was a night of high notes at the Kennedy Center Honors, and not only because Sir Barry Gibb —and his signature falsetto — was inducted into the 2023 class along with Dionne Warwick, Queen Latifah, acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming and Billy Crystal.
Now in its 46th iteration, the Honors has steadily been morphing from a staid affair to a full-scale entertainment spectacle befitting the nation’s highest honor bestowed for artistic achievement. This year’s gala, held Sunday (Dec. 3) with President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden and a host of DC power players in the house, packed dazzle and dignity — and plenty of star power.
Host and 2017 honoree Gloria Estefan, as well as Michael Bublé, Dove Cameron, Ariana DeBose, Robert De Niro, Sheila E, Missy Elliott, Cynthia Erivo, Whoopi Goldberg, Gladys Knight, Jay Leno, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rita Moreno, Ego Nwodim, Rob Reiner, Meg Ryan and Kerry Washington were among those who took the stage to fete the night’s guests of honor.
Gibb, 77, is one of the most prolific songwriters in history. He has written or co-written hundreds of songs, many alongside brothers Robin and Maurice as hitmaking machine the Bee Gees, whose songbook defined both disco and reinvention. Gibb penned the title track of the film Grease, performed by Frankie Valli; and together with the Bee Gees wrote the 1983 crossover smash “Islands in the Stream,” which Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers took to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The eldest and last living member of the family brotherhood, Gibb said before the show that he felt the presence of his siblings as he prepared to take his seat in the balcony of the opera house. “It’s very emotional; there’s something going on in the air and you just feel it,” he said of feeling the presence of late brothers Robin, Maurice and Andy Gibb.
Also emotional pre-show was Bublé, who described how Gibb jump-started his career 20 years ago by dueting with him on Bublé’s first album on one of his own songs. “I was working with producer David Foster and David said, ‘We have no heat, we need a duet.’ And no matter who we sent ‘How Can You Mend a Broken Heart’ to, we couldn’t get someone to duet.” Foster got Buble’s version of the song to Gibb, “and two days later my first duet was with Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees, and it changed my life,” Bublé said.
Bublé performed the track during Gibb’s tribute, which also included a compelling version of “Lonely Days” by Little Big Town, who collaborated with Gibb on his 2021 album Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1,; a fittingly theatrical version of “Nights on Broadway” by Ben Platt; and a disco-infused medley featuring DeBose accompanied on piano by Chloe Flower that was the perfect crescendo to close out the night in a swirl of confetti.
Gibb’s son Stephen Gibb gave a heartfelt homage, noting, “My father somehow was gifted with a heart-focused, supernatural ability to express himself in song, which has allowed him to connect with people on such a mass level.”
Clive Davis was on hand to praise Warwick, 82, who counts the Bee Gees-penned “Heartbreaker” among her 56 charted hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and a reported 100 million records sold. He recounted the phenomenon of Warwick’s early partnership with Burt Bacharach and Hal David and the legacy that led her to win Grammys for their songs “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.” She has since won three more Grammys plus a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy.
“There simply is no song that Dionne Warwick cannot sing,” Davis said. “The lexicon of her hits is as great and as deep as any artist who has ever recorded.”
After 2020 Kennedy Center honoree Debbie Allen and 2013 honoree Herbie Hancock bestowed accolades for Warwick’s humanitarian activism, including her collaboration with Elton John, Knight and Stevie Wonder on “That’s What Friends Are For” — the 1985 hit and first recording dedicated to raising AIDS awareness — the musical tributes started to flow.
Mickey Guyton and The Spinners delivered a smooth and spirited rendition of “Then Came You”; Erivo manifested a soaring “Alfie,” which brought Warwick to tears; and Knight offered up a perfectly punctuated version of “I Say a Little Prayer.”
Before her time on stage, Saturday Night Live cast member Nwodim gushed about her experience portraying Warwick, alongside the real Warwick, in a now-storied sketch. “Her embrace of the impression and then publicly celebrating it was really special to me,” she said. “I am eternally grateful to her for that.”
Latifah, 53, is the first female rapper to receive Honors, and Moreno and Washington dove deep into the reasons why during their tributes, before an assembly of rap and hip-hop heavyweights —including Monie Love, MC Lyte, D-Nice, Yo-Yo and Rapsody — cranked up the volume with a medley including Latifah’s “U.N.I.T.Y.” and “Ladies First.”
As one of the artists to pay tribute to LL Cool J when he became the first hip-hop artist to receive Honors, Latifah told Billboard pre-show she was embracing her moment. “It’s trippy to be here for myself tonight,” she said. “I feel very honored. I’m very, very humbled. Being honored the same year as hip-hop’s 50th anniversary? “Icing on the cake.”
Latifah recently inducted Missy Elliott into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Elliott returned the favor with an intimate tribute that brought both laughs and knowing nods. By crowning herself Queen, Elliott said, Latifah is saying, “People will respect me, I will be a leader, I will be a provider, I will be an inspiration to many. I will be the blueprint to success. I don’t set the bar, I am the bar.”
Crystal, 75, joins an elite group of comedy performers — including David Letterman, Steve Martin and Carol Burnett — to be bestowed with both the Kennedy Center Honor and the Center’s Mark Twain Prize, which he received in 2007.
He was feeling patriotic when Billboard caught up with him before the show. Describing his experience at the dinner hosted by Secretary of State Antony Blinken the night before, he said, “Secretary Blinken had just flown in from Tel Aviv, he landed at 5 a.m. and in the middle of this horrendous situation, he hosts us, makes a brilliant speech about the arts… and then they put [the lanyard] on us. It’s spectacular. This is our country. This is who we are, and more people should feel that and be positive about America. This isn’t an awards show. This is about appreciation for the soul of our artistic community, and that’s a beautiful thing.”
Rob Reiner, in town to celebrate his friend whom he directed in The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally… (and This Is Spinal Tap, if you count that one line), noted on the red carpet, “The guy is a great comedian and he’s also not afraid to show his feelings, and that’s a rare combination.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda realized a different kind of dream. “I’ve been dreaming of doing an Oscar-style tribute to Billy Crystal since I was 10,” he said of the nine-time Academy Awards host before launching into the perfect Crystal-esque number, complete with song and dance.
Ryan reminisced about that fateful scene from When Harry Met Sally… —“I’ve never been around anyone who makes faking an orgasm easier”— Goldberg recalled the early days of Comic Relief working with Crystal and the late, great Robin Williams (whose absence was deeply felt). “We were constantly being reminded to behave ourselves, which we did not,” she said, while Bob Costas honored their shared love of baseball and the Yankees. Between dropping “f” bombs, De Niro dropped some priceless jokes.
“I had no idea you’d won so much,” he said to Crystal. “And you’ve done it all in such a relatively short amount of time. You’re only 71. That means you’re just about six years away from bring the perfect age to be elected President,” he snarked, right in front of 81-year-old President Biden.
Fleming, 64, is one of the most prominent sopranos of our time, and her tribute showcased the breadth of her influence. She was the first opera singer to perform the National Anthem at a Super Bowl, in 2014. She also launched the first ongoing collaboration between the Kennedy Center and the National Institutes of Health.
Presenters included Christine Baranski, a fellow Juilliard alum, who reminded the audience that Fleming once sang the top 10 on list on David Letterman’s late-night show, and Titus Burgess, who demonstrated some serious pipes.
Dove Cameron, who appeared alongside Fleming in the musical The Light in the Piazza, shared, “I was never not astounded by the quality of human Renee is,” Cameron said before showcasing her own musical chops performing the title track from that show.
This year’s Kennedy Center Honors special was again produced by Done+Dusted, in association with ROK Productions. The special will air Wednesday, Dec. 27 on CBS and stream live and on demand on the CBS app and Paramount+.
Grammy-winner Olivia Rodrigo was praised as one of the most important songwriters of her generation by St. Vincent at Friday night’s Variety Hitmakers ceremony, where she was presented with the Storyteller of the Year award.
“In order to be a good storyteller, one must—to quote Olivia herself — pay attention to things most people ignore. Olivia sees the cracks and contradictions in herself and others and makes the ineffable understandable and transformational for her listeners,” St. Vincent said. “Her honest songs about the impossible task of growing up have liberated so many young people fighting and fumbling their ways through the same experiences. But it’s not merely paying attention that matters to the craft of songwriting. It’s also how you observe and how you listen.”
Vincent said one of the things that makes Rodrigo’s songs so alluring to fans is that they consider them to be their personal rallying cries thanks to the “Vampire” singer’s openness and compassion. “Her authenticity — not an affect, not a brand — allows her listeners to step inside her songs as their complete selves: struggling, searching, celebrating, just living. Just being,” Vincent continued. “Olivia’s songs pull off the magic trick of sounding like all of us at once, but also uniquely just like her. I call that a sly generosity, which is a beautiful thing to witness and to hear, and it’s one of the reasons I’ve so enjoyed getting to know Olivia over the past few years.”
Searching for words to describe Rodrigo, 20, St. Vincent landed on calling her a “precious baby angel muffin… but if a precious baby angel muffin was tough as nails and cool as hell and f–in’ loved the Breeders. She is shockingly talented, whip smart, and to me, the most important combination, curious and kind. These attributes make her great and will make her a great storyteller for years to come. Olivia’s listening, she’s asking, she’s interrogating the cracks in herself and in humanity. But because of her empathy, what she brings to the surface in her songs are the small frailties and the slivers of joy — those threads that make up our every single day. She pays attention to the things most people ignore, and makes them not just seen, but makes them shine. So I’m happy to call her a friend.”
Clearly moved, Rodrigo thanked Vincent and said her tribute made her want to cry. “I think she’s the most talented, kindest, most wonderful person I’ve ever met and I’m so inspired by her constantly and I’m very lucky to call her a friend,” Rodrigo said of her inductor. The singer also talked about writing “Can’t Catch Me Now,” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, saying that “telling stores through songwriting has been my favorite thing to do for as long as I can remember. I write to figure out how I feel, to move through my emotions, and to commemorate and honor seasons of my life.”
She added that even though songwriting is one of her favorite things to do in the world, “I wouldn’t say it’s always been effortless for me by any means. Especially making my most recent album, I had so many voices in my head and I felt so much pressure to please everyone with the music I was making.”
Welcome to Green Bay. Taylor Swift headed to Wisconsin all bundled up in a red Stella McCartney overcoat to support Travis Kelce as the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field Sunday night (Dec. 3). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Like […]
ATEEZ‘s THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL tops this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Dec. 1) on Billboard, choosing the group’s EP as their favorite new music release of the past week. THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL brought in more than 49% of the vote, inching toward 50%, and beat out […]