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Mariah Carey is the Queen of Christmas… pranks. The singer has now officially joined the list of A-list singers (Rihanna, Britney Spears, Dua Lipa) who’ve participated in the time-honored tradition of scaring the bejeezus out of Jimmy Kimmel in the middle of the night for our amusement.
On Thursday night’s (Nov. 2) Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Carey and her Christmas minions — including accomplices dressed as elves and Santa — snuck into Kimmel’s house in the middle of the night and gently roused the late night host. “Jimmy, I didn’t mean to wake you up, but it’s time!” Carey whispered sweetly as a confused Kimmel was woken from a deep sleep.
“What time is it?” he gurgled. “Hit it!” Carey replied as her holiday staple “All I Want For Christmas Is You” blasted out and the tinsel intruders began throwing fake snow and ringing sleigh bells as lights flashed and Kimmel’s wife Molly danced in glee at her husband’s annoyance. The bit ended with a barefoot Kimmel — wearing Molly’s robe and still rocking his mouth guard — accepted a piece of Carey’s new “It’s Time!” Christmas merch before groggily going off to bed, again.
Carey was in the studio for some couch time as well, laughing about her love of prank calls as a child and revealing that the police got involved one time after the then-11-year-old MC relentlessly called a girl who bullied her as a child. They also, of course, talked about how “All I Want” has become a perennial holiday No. 1, a development that Carey said is “bananas” because it was the first-ever Christmas song she ever wrote.
“I just wanted it to sound like a classic because that’s the kind of Christmas song I want… I just wanted it to be timeless,” she said. The singer said she “hopes” her 12-year-year-old twins, Monroe and Moroccan, like her signature song, but either way the kids will be along for the sleigh ride when Carey embarks on her 13-date Merry Christmas One and All! tour, which begins on Nov. 15 in Highland, CA.
“I’m putting them on my tour, which is coming up soon,” she said. “They’re gonna do various moments of music-making and merriment.” She also pushed back on Kimmel’s questions about whether it really is “time” to start thinking about the holidays when we still have Thanksgiving to get through, a push-back against the Christmas creep that Carey helped pioneer with her “It’s Time!” stunts.
“It’s the season, darling,” she assured Kimmel, but adding, “We have to have Thanksgiving. It’s the holidays, is it not?” Frankly, MC said, she doesn’t disagree with Jimmy that Thanksgiving has become a bit of a “speed bump” on the way to Santa season. “But I had to just go with the flow because everybody was rushing the holiday season and they started playing my song, so I kept being like, ‘not yet, don’t play it yet, why are we playing Christmas songs?’”
So, what was a joke at first became a lean-in with her funny “it’s time” videos over the past two seasons.
The singer also talked about making a cameo in Britney Spears’ best-selling tell-all memoir, The Woman in Me. “I heard something about it,” she said of her mentions in the book, as Kimmel noted that Britney said she loves Mariah, with Carey saying she loves her right back. He then read an excerpt in which Britney wrote about being at an awards show and knocking on Mariah’s dressing room door and being confronted with a “beautiful, otherworldly light,” 20 years before ring lights were a thing.
“Of course I had a ring light [in 2003],” the always perfectly-lit singer said. “By the way, that was super sweet what Britney said about me.”
Watch Carey on Kimmel below.
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It’s been a busy week in New York for Reneé Rapp. Between singing “For Good” for the 20th anniversary of Wicked with fellow singer-songwriter Lizzy McAlpine on Monday (Oct. 30), or serenading Lola Tung with “One Less Lonely Girl” while dressed as Justin Bieber on Tuesday (Oct. 31), the rising star has made the most of her time in the Big Apple.
But during her sold-out performance at the Avant Gardner in Brooklyn on Thursday night (Nov. 2), Rapp brought out her biggest guest yet — pop superstar Kesha. The pair performed a vamped-up, rocked-out version the latter’s 2010 hit “Your Love Is My Drug.”
A little more than halfway through her headlining set, Rapp spoke to her rapt audience about the influential artists who inspired her throughout her life. “I want to talk about the people who, musically, personally, and professionally, I look up to and regard so highly,” she said. “They shaped who I was as a kid, and made me want to be sexy, and funny, and exciting, and outrageous, and loud and, most of all, really f–king sexy. So what better way to honor one of those women, [than] by doing one of their songs?”
Rapp proceeded to perform a sped-up rock version of the pop single, much to the crowd’s delight. But as she reached the song’s second verse, she called Kesha out onto the stage — dressed in all black with a pair of tinted sunglasses and a leather jacket, Kesha acoompanied a visibly stunned Rapp onstage for a rousing performance of the song. “I f–king love you, Reneé,” Kesha declared as they reached the song’s bridge.
Once the song was over, Rapp couldn’t contain her excitement any longer. “Getting to sing with one of your idols, who is unapologetically perfect is so insane,” Rapp said giddily to the crowd. “We just sang a song, like, ‘lovesick crackhead,’ and I’m gonna cry. Oh f–k that was so cool!”
Check out two clips of Reneé Rapp and Kesha duetting to “Your Love Is My Drug” below:
Out of all the days Jung Kook sings about in his hit single “Seven,” Friday just might be the most special one. At long last, the “Golden Maknae” of BTS has finally unveiled his debut solo studio album, Golden. The record — which already features two Billboard Hot 100 top 5 hits — arrived on […]
Kelly Clarkson took on a classic for her talk show’s popular Kellyoke series on Thursday (Nov. 2), delivering a soulful rendition of Nat King Cole’s 1954 track, “Smile.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “That’s the time you must keep on trying / Smile, what’s the use […]
The Queen of Christmas has officially declared that “it’s time” for the holiday season, and she’s now celebrating with some new merch. Mariah Carey took to social media on Thursday (Nov. 2) to share a photo of her 12-year-old twins, daughter Monroe and son Moroccan, whom she affectionately calls “dem babies,” posing in Carey’s new […]
ENHYPEN is making another big splash to extend their dominance beyond the K-pop, beauty and fashion scenes.
Following the news that the group was joining Cardi B, Offset, Lance Bass, Ashley Tisdale and more stars in the cast of Baby Shark’s Big Movie!, the septet teamed with Nickelodeon and The Pinkfong Company to launch a music video for a new single “Keep Swimmin’ Through” for the viral character’s first feature film.
In the visual aquatic extravaganza, ENHYPEN members Jungwon, Heeseung, Jake, Sunghoon, Jay, Sunoo and Ni-ki perform as both themselves and a boy band of beluga whales. The guys deliver inspiring, oceanic-themed lyrics (“So don’t give up when the tide turns against you, you know you got friends in the deep blue”) to the delight of Baby Shark and friends (with appearances by Mommy Shark, Daddy Shark and ENHYPEN superfan William).
After wrapping the U.S. leg of their Fate World Tour in October, ENHYPEN will return stateside to perform “Keep Swimmin’ Through” on Nickelodeon and Pinkfong’s Baby Shark float during the 97th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 23. Nickelodeon described their display as a “25-foot-long Baby Shark balloon and an 18-foot-long float that showcases an underwater seascape featuring the lovable Shark family,” per a press release.
The new collaboration follows the previous Big Movie music video “It’s Stariana!” that introduced Tisdale’s singing starfish character Stariana. Actors like Aparna Nancherla, Ego Nwodim, and Chloe Fineman, plus Baby Shark series regulars like Kimiko Glenn, Luke Youngblood, Natasha Rothwell, Eric Edelstein, Debra Wilson and Patrick Warburton are also on hand for the flick.
ENHYPEN’s “Keep Swimmin’ Through” releases worldwide across streaming platforms tomorrow, Nov. 3. The song comes ahead of the group’s upcoming ORANGE BLOOD album, dropping on Nov. 17, which Jake recently told Billboard is “our best album to date.”
The video will appear across Nickelodeon platforms and stream on Paramount+ leading up to the winter premiere of Baby Shark’s Big Movie. Watch the exclusive premiere of “Keep Swimmin’ Through” below:
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Joe Jonas called for an S.O.S. after an unusual interaction with a security guard at CVS. The Jonas Brother took to TikTok on Wednesday (Nov. 1) to playfully share the moment while walking around in the drugstore’s snack aisle. “I just walked into CVS and the security guy goes, ‘Oh! Joe Jonas?’” he said. “And […]
Zayn Malik will pull triple-duty in the upcoming animated feature 10 Lives, for which he will write new music and perform a duet with Bridgerton star Simone Ashley. Variety reported that Malik and Ashley will both star in the film, in which the singer will play play “tough-guy twins Cameron and Kirk,” with Ashley voicing […]
“When I saw that you were going to call from Billboard, I was reminiscing about the first time I was on the charts,” Nancy Sinatra tells Billboard over the phone. “I think I was No. 89 or something. It barely made it. [It was called] ‘So Long Babe.’”
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The 83-year-old pop legend has a sharp memory. Her first Billboard Hot 100 hit, “So Long Babe,” hit No. 86 – just three spots away from her guess. Of course, that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who follows her on X (formerly known as Twitter). Sinatra regularly weighs in on everything from politics (she’s NOT a fan of the guy who tried to reverse the results of a democratic election, FYI) to AI to her celebrity pals’ birthdays.
Although she’s effectively retired from music, she’s more than happy to reflect on her lengthy career as Light in the Attic releases a new compilation of her work, Keep Walkin’: Singles, Demos & Rarities 1965-1978, on vinyl and CD. “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in,” she jokes, making a Godfather reference which is doubly funny, considering that her father Frank famously berated series author Mario Puzo.
Here, Nancy Sinatra chats with Billboard about everything from finding her voice on the Hot 100-topping “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” her up-and-down acting career and how her daughters’ “tenacity” keeps her music alive.
When you started releasing music, you had a string of singles that didn’t chart. Eventually, working with Lee Hazelwood yielded you a career-defining breakthrough, “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” Did working with him feel different?
Very much so. That early stuff was what we used to call bubblegum. I was a nervous wreck [on “Boots”]. I was eager to please because I knew I was going to be dropped from the label if I didn’t do something important enough to make the charts. It was nerve-racking.
After working with him for a bit, were you able to relax?
It got better. The fact that we had a chart record right away was the impetus to keep going. It gave me the confidence to know I was going in the right direction.
With “Boots,” you’re singing in a deeper register than on your earlier stuff. That must have been a conscious decision with your new direction.
Absolutely. Each song dictates the vocal approach. The fact that the music was so completely different, the vocals just followed suit.
You and Lee had another classic with “Some Velvet Morning.” It’s a very strange song – what did you think of it when you first came across it?
I had no idea what it was about. I don’t know if Lee even had an idea either. Later on, in retrospect, he said something about Phaedra [from Greek mythology], that he wanted to pay tribute to Phaedra. That’s a bunch of bull. That never came up in all the years we’d performed. Never once. It was a lucky marriage of vocal sounds, strange as it may seem, and arrangement. He dictated the change in time signatures that occurs in the song. Lee asked Billy [Strange] to do that.
How was working with the Wrecking Crew’s Billy Strange? He’s a legend in his own right.
He was like a big brother. He was one of the best people I’ve ever known in my life. I still miss him so much.
Light In the Attic has done a few reissues of your material. I gather your daughter was the impetus behind that connection.
It’s incredible how my kids have helped me so much. Both of my daughters are very much responsible for these incarnations of mine. I keep bouncing back and it’s because of their tenacity, AJ and Amanda. I’m very blessed.
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Do you think about these songs a lot in your day-to-day life?
I don’t, but I’m on Twitter constantly to keep in touch with the public, and they remind me every day of the songs. But the funny thing is they don’t know the half of it. There’s so much they’ve never heard. I’m hoping if we’re blessed enough to succeed with the first couple projects, they will dig deeper into my catalog because there are so many songs that should be heard. They have access to all of my master tapes. Between the Light in the Attic reissues and the book, I feel like I’m reborn again, again. The book is called One for Your Dreams, the phrase from “You Only Live Twice.” David Wills is the author. It’s a picture book with all of the iconic photographs by Ron Joy and stories to go with them.
Since you mentioned the Bond theme, I’m curious, do you keep up with the film series?
I love Daniel Craig. I’m crazy about him. He’s so good, he’s such a good Bond. Did he really die in the last one?
In No Time to Die? I feel like… no.
They blew him up, for heaven’s sake!
Yeah, but he can get out of anything.
I hope so.
When you said people on Twitter don’t know the half of it, what are you referring to? What era?
There was an album called Nancy Sinatra that had artists like Kim Gordon, Morrissey, Pete Yorn — that was another gift from my daughter AJ. She put that together. She said, “Mom, I know so many people who love your music and we should take advantage of that and get songs written by them.” And they did, they came up with songs, which was so sweet. Whether I like it or not, they’re bringing me back all the time. But the songs people are not talking about are very versatile. There’s my California Girl album; I did an album called Cherry Smiles that was a lot of rare singles nobody’s heard. There’s a lot of interesting music that’s recorded that hopefully Light in the Attic will discover. I guess we have to be pretty successful with what we’re doing before they commit to doing anything else. But I’m grateful and humbled. It’s such a gift to me at this time in my life.
Do you miss recording or performing?
Every day of my life. It’s true what they say about how it’s in your blood.
Would you ever get back into it?
No, I’m too old now. I wouldn’t be able to tour. I suppose men can do it but I don’t know about women my age who tour. Do you? Dolly Parton is a lot younger than me and she does still tour.
You also did movies back in the day but didn’t stick with it. Were you less passionate about acting than music?
I was such a crappy actor. It never grabbed me. I made what I like to call my epic films and I stopped. (laughs)
I caught one on TCM that featured you performing, a movie called The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini from 1966.
Oh, that is so horrible. I made a couple of fun ones. The Last of the Secret Agents? was a fun movie. The Wild Angels made me No. 1 at the box office. I had a run-in with a couple of fun movies. I’m very lucky.
Do you have any personal favorites of your own songs?
I like a song called “100 Years,” it’s a Lee Hazelwood song. I also like a song called “Cuando calienta el sol” which is on my California Girl album which is just me and a guitar player called Daryl Curaco. I do lean toward the guitar/vocal duets, I think they’re quite lovely and special. “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” was one of them.
And that song, of course, got a second life thanks to Kill Bill.
Isn’t that the truth? That’s what I mean. In spite of me, I keep getting brought back. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.
Taylor Swift will be spending a little extra time up north next year. Three months after announcing that her ongoing global Eras Tour will open for several shows in Toronto in 2024, the 33-year-old pop star has now added a trio of additional dates to her Canadian leg. All of the new shows will be […]