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Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Beyoncé welcomes us into her “House,” Tyla continues her rise and Jung Kook taps a superstar for a new remix. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Beyoncé, “My House”
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“Ooooh, who they came to see?” a swath of voices demands, as Beyoncé new surprise single “My House” begins. The answer, of course, is Queen Bey: to cap off a year marked by a mega-selling world tour, and on the occasion of her concert documentary Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé hitting theaters, the superstar has gifted fans with a propulsive thank-you that’s both assertive and inviting. “My House” bottles the boisterous energy of last year’s Renaissance album, but Bey’s delivery comes closer to the roof-rattling rap-sing sneer of a song like “7/11,” allowing the song’s structure shape-shift around her but never letting the listener forget whose house it is.
Tyla, “Truth or Dare”
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In the same week that Tyla’s invigorating single “Water” hit the top 10 of the Hot 100 and the South African star announced the upcoming release of a self-titled debut album, she also tided fans over for the 2024 full-length with three new songs, highlighted by the effervescent anthem “Truth or Dare.” As “Water” demonstrated, Tyla knows precisely how to deploy a clipped, arresting hook — and when the refrain of “Truth or Dare” kicks in around the 1 minute 15 second mark, the song levitates, and begs to be placed in several of your playlists.
Jung Kook feat. Usher, “Standing Next to You” remix
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“Standing Next to You” sounds like a smash, from an artist who knows about such things: a centerpiece of Jung Kook’s recent album Golden, the stylish dance-pop track synthesizes the sleek hooks of his BTS work and pairs them with Jung Kook’s engrossing persona and vocal power. The song peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100 upon its release, but this new remix with Usher, which introduces a legendary hit-maker to its disco-bounce ecosystem, could sustain an extended chart run; there’s probably not enough time for Ursh to bust this one out during his upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance, but you never know, right?
Dove Cameron, Alchemical: Volume 1
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Dove Cameron has said that Alchemical: Volume 1, the first half of her debut album, represents “a report from the void of my own personal experience with love, sex, loss, trauma, darkness and eventually transformation and healing,” a declaration that reaffirms the “Boyfriend” singer’s commitment to approaching pop beyond radio fodder. While Alchemical: Volume 1 includes Cameron’s previously released singles, but new tracks like the haunting “God’s Game” and the head-nodding “White Glove” suggest that the rising star’s self-exploration will contain unexpected sonic multitudes when fully realized.
ATEEZ, THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL
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As ATEEZ closes the book on a year of sprawling shows and kinetic performances, THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL captures the K-pop group’s ability to never let its audience’s attention flag for even a few seconds: every inch of the album is filled with percussive breakdowns, rap verses springing into melodic hooks and cleanly delivered interplay between the various group members. After THE WORLD EP.2 : OUTLAW reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart earlier this year, ATEEZ is hoping to close out 2023 on a high note, and artistically, they get there.
Editor’s Pick: Lana Del Rey, “Take Me Home, Country Roads”
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Lana Del Rey will enter 2024 with five Grammy nominations — including an album of the year nod for her sprawling studio set Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd — and is also featured on a pair of other album of the year nominees, Taylor Swift’s Midnights and Jon Batiste’s World Music Radio. Her past has been rightly lauded, but before she closes the books on 2023, Del Rey has unveiled a smoky, heartfelt take on a John Denver classic: her rendition of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” exists as the best type of cover song, underlining the beauty of the original composition while adding her own steely dynamism into the mix.
When you’re the greatest live rock band to ever do it, you clearly give the people what they want. So it’s no surprise that the Rolling Stones are releasing a live deluxe edition of their new Hackney Diamonds album. The refreshed version will feature seven songs recorded live at the band’s surprise show at New […]
Jennifer Lopez has a golden nugget of truth to share with an entertainment business forever focused on the new young thing: getting older is sexy, too. Maybe even, sexier.
“As you get older and you have more experience, you become a richer human being and you have more to offer,” Lopez, 54, told Elle magazine. “The idea of, ‘There’s nothing really valuable about watching a woman over 30’ is so ridiculous, it’s the opposite of right. It just makes me laugh.”
In fact, Lopez said, “People have realized that women just get sexier as they get older. They get more learned and more rich with character. All of that is very beautiful and attractive, and not just physically, but on the inside, the beauty that you gain as you get older, the wisdom you gain.”
Lopez is gearing up to release her long-awaited ninth studio album, This Is Me… Now (Feb. 16), her first full-length release in nearly a decade and a companion album of sorts to 2022’s This Is Me… Then. The multi-hyphenate star executive produced the collection with Rogét Chayed, Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman and HitBoy and she’ll pair it with the Dave Meyers-directed This Is Me… Now: The Film, which will air on Prime Video in more than 240 countries.
It’s a full-court press of projects from the star, who told the magazine that she sees herself working as long as she wants to, regardless of age. “I don’t know what that age is. It might be 70, it might be 80, it might be 90, I don’t know,” she said. l”But I know that it’s there for me if I want it and I want to create it. That has always been the mindset that I’ve had: to never let anybody put me in a box because of where I was born, where I’m from, what age I am, anything like that. Those boundaries don’t exist for me.”
Lopez — whose Nuyorican Productions shingle has been behind films such as Hustlers and The Mother — also explained why it’s important for her to make projects for and about women. “You want to make great movies, at the end of the day. You want to make great television. And that should hit everybody. But at the same time, telling stories from a woman’s point of view does draw more of a [female] audience, or they relate to it more, or they get more fanatical about it and obsessed with it because they can feel that it’s not from the male gaze,” she said.
“With all the great women producers, directors, and actors who are taking more control of their careers and creating their own material, we’re in a very exciting time for women in Hollywood,” she added. “We’re not just on the corners of life or on the outside of the stories. We are the stories.”
For that reason, Lopez said that one of the key lessons she’s learned over the years is that women have to take ownership and can’t wait around for other people to hand them roles, while acknowledging that taking charge is crucial to getting things done. “A lot of actresses right now, they produce their own movies and develop their own material, and I think that’s key as well,” she said.
It’s finally here! After weeks of waiting, two premieres (one in L.A. and one in London), and three trailers, Beyoncé‘s highly-anticipated concert documentary, Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, has hit theatres at long last.
The film provides a rare peek into Beyoncé’s behind-the-scenes process, namely how she runs her ship as the Mother of the House of Renaissance. Over nearly three hours, the documentary treats fans to pristine footage of several nights of the superstar’s record-breaking Renaissance World Tour. Seamless edits showcase the endless variety of haute couture costumes the “Break My Soul” singer flaunted across her 56 sold-out shows, and intimate black-and-white scenes present the Beyoncé her family sees offstage.
Written, directed and produced by Beyoncé herself, the film — which is evenly split between the concert (just about every track made the final cut) and behind-the-scenes footage — is as much about the enigmatic artistic genius as it is about community — the various intersecting communities that crafted the album and tour, enjoyed the music at the concerts, and inspired the throughlines of Black queer liberation that course through Queen Bey’s most recent musical era.
Nearly all of the tour’s special guests — Blue Ivy Carter, Megan Thee Stallion, Kendrick Lamar, Diana Ross, among them — make cameos in the film, alongside Beyoncé’s family (including JAY-Z, Ms. Tina Knowles and twins Rumi and Sir Carter!) and former Destiny’s Child bandmates Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson.
Even though we’re over a year removed from the release of Renaissance, it’s a body of work that continues to resonant deeply. The album ranked atop the 2023 Year-End Dance/Electronic Albums chart, and the tour helped Beyoncé earn the biggest touring year in Billboard Boxscore history ($570.5 million), making her No. 1 on the Year-End Billboard Boxscore Top Tours chart.
Clearly, the Renaissance is still in full swing, and now we can all see how Beyoncé got us here. Without further ado, here are seven of the best moments of Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé.
The Christmas countdown has begun, the first chocolate in your advent calendar is up for grabs, and a surprise early present arrives today (Dec. 1) in the form of a holiday recording by Ally Brooke and Dinah Jane.
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The Fifth Harmony bandmates gift wrap “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” following on the heels of Brooke’s recently-released four-track holiday EP Under The Tree, which includes the title track, an original song.
Ally and Dinah made the collaboration announcement by way of their socials earlier in the week.
“I’m beyond thrilled to be back together with my former Fifth Harmony mate Dinah,” Ally enthuses in a statement. “There are no words to explain how it feels to be reunited with our collaboration. We hope to bring lots of happiness to our fans and the world with our reunion.”
Christmas is, of course, a time for family. And this Xmas cut represents the first time any of the former 5H bandmates have collaborated since the pop group went on hiatus in 2018.
Formed on The X Factor in 2012 with the lineup of Brooke, Jane, Normani, Lauren Jauregui, and Camila Cabello, the group went on to land four top 10 titles on the Billboard 200 chart, and earned a top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Work From Home” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, peaking at No. 4 in 2016.
“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” comes years after Fifth Harmony disbanded, at the time reduced to a four-piece when Cabello left.
Jane presents the new song as a special gift to long-suffering Harmonizers.
“There’s a special type of joyous spirit that Christmas brings us all,” she comments. “This holiday season, I’m grateful for this healing union that has brought my good ole sister Ally Brooke and I together through music”.
“May this song encourage you to embrace love, forgiveness, and bring comfort to all,” concludes Dinah. “I pray that this song may connect souls to our dear Savior as His love is the reason for all seasons.”
“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is now bundled into Brooke’s Under the Tree collection and can be streamed below.
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While NewJeans‘ brand of easy-listening K-pop minimalism has earned the girl group both a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as well as a Billboard Music Award, the quintet shook up their formula when it came to recording League of Legends‘ annual world-championship anthem “Gods.”
For the musical collaboration alongside Riot Games set to one of the world’s most popular video games (League of Legends reports 80 million average monthly players), NewJeans bring a booming, maximalist electronic-pop epic fully in English where an ominous full choir accompanies members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein.
According to NewJeans, bringing “Gods” to life meant delivering their most elaborate live performance to date when the quintet took the stage at LoL‘s World Championship Finals on Nov. 19. Along with dancers and actors joining NewJeans, the performance included virtual-reality, computer-generated imagery and guest appearances from the top competing teams in eventual 2023 champs T1 from South Korea as well as Weibo Gaming from China.
Talking to Billboard exclusively after a big weekend where they not only performed and won at the 2023 BBMAs but helped open League‘s 2023 Worlds, NewJeans discuss recording and preparing “Gods” for the big stage, meeting T1 and Weibo Gaming, favorite Riot Games’ musical collaborations and more.
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Congratulations on a huge weekend. Not only did you perform and win at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, but you also performed “Gods” for the first time live at Worlds. How are you all feeling?
DANIELLE: The whole experience felt surreal to me! Performing for the Worlds Finals as well as the Billboard Music Awards alongside artists we deeply respect and admire was incredibly surreal! Even looking back now the scale was unbelievable and we are so grateful and honored for the experience.
The Worlds performance looked and felt very massive. How do you prepare for such a big performance with different elements like dancers, actors, VR and more?
MINJI: It felt like the stage with the most diverse range of creative elements we had so far. It was truly enjoyable going through the process of coordinating with the dancers and actors through numerous rehearsals, aligning the timing and virtual reality aspects! [Laughs]
Those VR and CGI elements are very cool to watch on YouTube. As performers, do you need to imagine the effects while you’re singing?
MINJI: I was aware that there were numerous stage setups, but when we actually rehearsed on stage, everyone was quite mesmerized. In particular, seeing the part where the video effects seamlessly transitioned into reality left everyone in awe. It was truly an honor to be able to participate in a performance of the scale!
How was making the live premiere of “Gods,” your first song in English, at Worlds? Take us through how this song was conceptualized and eventually came to life on stage.
MINJI: “GODS” was a new challenge for us as NewJeans. It has a different vocal and choreographic style from what we usually do, so we invested a lot of time and effort into it! I recall rehearsing it over and over again for a flawless and dynamic live performance on the grand stage.
HAERIN: Since it’s the anthem for a game and a tournament that is so widely loved on a global level, we thought the lyrics in English would help fans around the world immerse themselves better in the surge of emotions associated with the song.
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Are any of you League of Legends fans or players yourselves? Was anyone excited to see parts of the game like Leona and Mordekaiser’s character represented during the performance?
HANNI: I enjoy playing League of Legends every now and then, and because there are so many champions, I’ve become curious about all their different abilities. It was amazing to see the performance we practiced being brought to life on stage alongside such amazing dancers, actors, and all the special effects and CGI. I remember being in awe while we watched the playback of our performance backstage. Also, our outfits and styling were inspired by the champion Leona! Looking back, having Leona appear on stage with us was definitely cool to watch.
So, even your fashion had connections to LoL too?
DANIELLE: Yes!! In fact, our whole outfits were based around Leona, who is a holy warrior in League. Our accessories were specifically designed to resemble her armors of gold and shimmer!
HAERIN: Our wardrobe had a chic feel to it and was put together based on a palette of neutral tones. We wanted an attire suitable for portraying the song effectively!
Finalist teams T1 and Weibo Gaming (WBG) also joined on stage. T1 members have shared that they’re NewJeans fans. Are any of you fans of the teams or players? Did you meet at the event?
HANNI: We had the pleasure of meeting both T1 and WBG backstage on the media conference day! It was a few days before the Finals, and I can’t imagine how nervous they would’ve been, but they greeted us all very warmly. It was nice to have time to meet them! Up until then, we had seen all the small references they made about us and our music, so I really wanted to mention it to them and thank them. But, out of the excitement of meeting them, I forgot to mention it!
HYEIN: We had a lot of rehearsals to perfect our performance for the Finals. During one of the rehearsals, I turned around briefly and was surprised but also fascinated to see the players there! Also, before the stage, we had a moment to greet the players, and it was so gratifying to be able to tell the players from both teams that we’ll be cheering for them.
One of my favorite parts was the montage with people from the LoL community’s photos, like players, casters, announcers, owners and more. How does it feel to be part of this diverse community?
HANNI: The fact that we were able to take part in such a globally loved occasion and engage with such a big community still feels surreal. We were so honored to be a part of it, and we were also grateful to everyone who made it possible. Being there in person and witnessing how such a wide community shares the same love and passion, including all the staff and fans there alike, was an amazing experience. It really was the icing on the cake for this whole process.
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You’re now joining LoL and Riot Games’ history of musical collaborations. Imagine Dragons, Becky G, Marshmello, Kim Petras and more have participated, while Riot Games has created virtual bands like K/DA, HEARTSTEEL and True Damage. Have you listened to these collabs?
HANNI: I’ve listened to nearly all of the musical collaborations with Riot Games Music and watched all the amazing accompanying performances. I think K/DA’s “POP/STARS” was just so iconic and massive. I remember it blew up in popularity back when I still lived in Australia! Personally, “Warriors” by Imagine Dragons, the first-ever Worlds Anthem, possesses a very deep emotional sound that is captivating, and I loved immersing myself in the emotion it conveys and the expression of it itself. While we were rehearsing and preparing for the opening ceremony performance, we got to watch the other performances, and HEARTSTEEL was such a blast to watch! The song is not only fun to listen to, but the artists’ individual characteristics and personality were showcased really well on stage, while effortlessly complimenting each other!
As artists, in what ways do you see music and gaming connecting?
DANIELLE: From my perspective, I think music can enhance the storytelling aspect, enriching the whole experience of the game. I think it helps to heighten the overall immersive quality of the experience, which leads to a stronger connection between the player and the visual elements within League!
NewJeans had a massive 2023. Is anything significant still planned for the end of this year? Or any spoilers about what to expect for 2024?
HYEIN: Certainly there were many exciting events in 2023, including our music releases. I want to deliver many fulfilling and amazing performances for the remainder of 2023! I hope our fans, Bunnies, will enjoy our upcoming performances too!
NewJeans performs at League of Legends World Championship 2023 Finals Opening Ceremony at Gocheok Sky Dome on November 19, 2023 in Seoul, South Korea.
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
Remember how one of Taylor Swift‘s cats is named after Mariska Hargitay‘s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit character? In a truly full circle moment, the SVU star has now shared that she recently got her own pet feline, and she named it after a song by — you guessed it — Taylor Swift! Sharing […]
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Olivia Rodrigo just proved that her song “Can’t Catch Me Now” sounds gorgeous with and without instruments. Sitting on the floor with three of her friends harmonizing behind her, the 20-year-old pop star performs the ballad a cappella in a video posted Wednesday night (Nov. 29). “But I’m in the trees, I’m in the breeze/ […]
While everyone else is busy sharing their Spotify Wrapped lists on their socials this week, “Weird Al” Yankovic took some time on Wednesday (Nov. 29) in his Wrapped video to share a different story. “It’s my understanding that I had over 80 million streams on Spotify this year,” Yankovic said in his clip. “So, if […]