Pop

28 Nov 2023

Yes, Ally Brooke Is ‘Trying to Reunite’ With Her Former Fifth Harmony Members

As a teaser for the new music that she has on the horizon, former Fifth Harmony member Ally Brooke dropped “Gone to Bed” this past September as a way to go back to her pop roots.

In a new interview with Billboard News, Brooke breaks down her latest single. “I love it so much, it’s basically about two lovers. You want to see your lover but you don’t and you end up seeing that person, and you’re like ‘Man, I really should’ve gone to bed,’” she explains.

The track comes years after Fifth Harmony — which was reduced to Normani, Lauren Jauregui and Dinah Jane after Camila Cabello left — disbanded in 2018. During her interview, Brooke says she hadn’t seen any of her former collaborators until recently, when she and Dinah Jane reconciled at a party for the first time in five years. The reunion was healing, she shares, especially since they’ve had time to grow separately.

“We’re women now and we have grown so much and we have done our own thing, gone our own ways and gone our own path. And now we’re together in a different light,” she explains, while hinting at more reunions with the other members in the future. “I’m trying to reunite with them, so I think some sort of reunion may happen.”

In the years since her work with Fifth Harmony, Brooke dabbled in Latin music, but revealed that she ultimately missed making the pop sounds of her earlier career. “I felt I really wanted to go back to who I truly was, the pop artist that I am,” she recalls. “I recently reconnected with my former A&R from my Fifth Harmony days … he’s amazing, he’s responsible for all the hits. We recently reconnected. He played ‘Gone to Bed’ and I completely fell in love. I was like, ‘That’s my record.’”

As for what’s next for Brooke’s solo endeavors, she promises that an album is on the horizon for 2024: “There is 100 percent an album, but that will be for next year,” she says. “Fingers crossed, but it’s really true. We’re just beginning to work on it and we have a lot that’s in store.”

Watch Brooke’s full Billboard News interview in the video above.

28 Nov 2023

Ally Brooke Talks Possible Fifth Harmony Reunion, ‘Under the Tree’ EP & More | Billboard News

Singer Ally Brooke stopped by Billboard News and opened up about a potential Fifth Harmony reunion, her return to pop music, creating her new holiday EP Under the Tree and more!

Ally Brooke:
I’ve just learned to really own who I am and be unapologetic and just be free, that’s what it is, just to be free.

Tetris Kelly:
Hey, it’s Tetris with Billboard News, and look who I got hanging out with me today! Ally Brooke. What’s up, girl?

Your return to pop. You said, “You need a banger? Well, I’m gonna give it to ya.” “Gone to Bed,” tell me about the single.

I love it so much. So it’s basically about two lovers. You want to see your lover but you don’t, and you end up seeing that person and you’re like, “Man, I really should have just gone to bed.”

Tetris Kelly:
It’s like pop, it’s very in-your-face pop, but you dabbled in a lot of things from Latin to EDM. So what made you decide on this sound for this project?

Ally Brooke:
Well, I was going to the Latin route and I loved it, but I felt like I really wanted to go back to who I truly was, you know, the pop artist that I am. I have recently reconnected with my former A&R from the Fifth Harmony days, named Joey Arbagey. He’s amazing; he’s responsible for all the hits. We recently reconnected. He played “Gone to Bed” and I completely fell in love. I was like, “That’s my record.”

Tetris Kelly:
And the fact that you’ve worked with him for so long. So how has that been, to be at a new label, but also have somebody that knows you really well?

Ally Brooke:
We made, you know, history together. So to have that and to have like a fresh perspective now and being in 2023 is really amazing. I’m kind of bringing that old energy but bringing the new energy too.

Watch the full video above!

28 Nov 2023

Are Holiday Hits by Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber Poised to Be the New Christmas Classics?

It’s almost December, so Mariah Carey and Brenda Lee are back in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and snuggled up in the top two spots of our newly returned Holiday 100 chart. But if you look beyond “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” what songs are poised to become the next Christmas classics?

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On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are identifying relatively modern holiday songs — released less than 20 years ago but adorning the Holiday 100 for at least five Christmas seasons — that look like they might have the staying power to become evergreen hits.

The biggest “new” classic: Kelly Clarkson‘s “Underneath the Tree,” which returns to the Holiday 100 top 10 this week at No. 9. The song, which Clarkson co-wrote with Greg Kurstin, was the lead single from her first Christmas album, 2013’s Wrapped in Red. It has so far peaked at No. 8 on the Holiday 100, in 2014. Could this be the year it climbs even higher?

For the rest of our modern merry melodies, listen to this week’s Pop Shop Podcast below:

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Jack Harlow hits No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lovin’ On Me” and how Dolly Parton scores her highest-charting album ever on the Billboard 200 with Rockstar.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

28 Nov 2023

Ariana Grande Celebrates 9 Years of ‘Santa Tell Me’ With Adorable Throwback Video

Santa tell me, has it really been nine years? Ariana Grande is celebrating the anniversary of her nearly decade-old Christmas single “Santa Tell Me” by sharing a sweet throwback video featuring clips from the song’s festive video shoot in 2014.

In the digital time capsule, Grande models a Christmas sweater, reindeer ears and her signature half-up ponytail, knee high boots combo as she dances along to her peppy evergreen hit. In other clips, she giggles with backup dancers on set, hiding her face under the covers of a cozy bed while sporting a truly of-its-time cheetah-print fur hat.

“tis the season!” she captioned the video. “♡ Santa Tell Me ♡ almost ten years ago ??”

Originally released exclusively for iTunes download, “Santa Tell Me” seems to climb new heights with each passing holiday season. Just last year, it reached a new peak of No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 eight years after it first dropped.

The song is far from Grande’s only contribution to the Christmas song canon. Not only does she have two holiday EPs under her belt — 2013’s Christmas Kiss and 2015’s Christmas & Chill — but the 30-year-old vocalist has also teamed up with other stars for a number of wintertime collaborations, including “Santa Baby” with Victorious costar Liz Gillies, 2020’s  “Oh Santa!” with Mariah Carey and Jennifer Hudson and 2022’s “Santa Can’t You Hear Me” with Kelly Clarkson.

See Ari’s festive blast from the past below:

28 Nov 2023

Charli XCX Is Engaged to The 1975’s George Daniel: See Her Announcement Photos

Boom, clap, the sound of … wedding bells? Charli XCX is engaged to George Daniel of The 1975, a match made in indie-pop heaven.

The news comes in the form of an Instagram post from the 31-year-old “Speed Drive” singer’s Instagram account, to which she shared a photo of a diamond engagement ring still in its box, presented on a tray in between two cups of tea. She also included a snap of her and the 33-year-old drummer exchanging a cinematic kiss, Charli wearing a white sundress.

“charli xcx and george daniel f–king for life!!!” she captioned the post.

Billboard has reached out to Charli XCX and The 1975’s rep; People has also confirmed the engagement.

Within an hour, the announcement earned several “likes” and comments from a number of the couple’s famous friends, including Muna, Arlo Parks, Dominic Fike, Rachel Sennott and Kim Petras. Even Dua Lipa commented on the post — “aaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!! LOVE THIS!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ congratulations lovebirds!!!!!” — as did 1975 frontman Matty Healy, who simply wrote, “I cry?”.

The English musicians made their relationship Instagram official in May of last year, shortly after working together on Charli’s 2022 album Crash, which peaked at a career high No. 7 on the Billboard 200. Daniel also contributed production to “In the City,” Charli’s October duet with Sam Smith, as well as “Hot Girl” for A24’s Bodies Bodies Bodies soundtrack.

Fans online are also celebrating the news. “CHARLI AND GEORGE OH MY GOD THEY REALLY ARE GETTING ENGAGED,” wrote one well-wisher on Twitter.

“GEORGE AND CHARLI FOREVER,” tweeted another fan.

See Charli XCX and George Daniel’s engagement announcement below:

28 Nov 2023

Taylor Swift Is In Her College Era: Harvard, University of Florida Add Courses Dedicated to Pop Star

More college courses dedicated to Taylor Swift have been added to the academic canon for 2024, including a class at one of the most famous universities in the world: Harvard. 

Starting in the spring, both Harvard University and the University of Florida will offer studies on the 33-year-old pop star: “Taylor Swift and Her World” and “Musical Storytelling With Taylor Swift and other Iconic Female Artists,” respectively. Summaries of the courses are already available online. 

At Harvard, English department instructor Stephanie Burt will guide students through examinations of fan culture, celebrity culture, adolescence, adulthood and appropriation, as well as approaches to white texts, Southern texts, transatlantic texts and queer subtexts. “We will learn how to think about illicit affairs and hoaxes, champagne problems and incomplete closure,” adds the course description on Harvard’s website, referencing track titles on Swift’s Folklore and Evermore albums. 

Meanwhile, UF’s Melina Jimenez will oversee “13 gorgeous weeks of discussing Taylor Swift’s discography, with a focus on her evergreen songwriting,” according to the institution’s similarly song reference-filled course description. Students will also “draw parallels between Swift’s enchanting lyrics and works by other famous female masterminds” while dissecting themes such as “old flames, infidelity, aging and double standards.” 

Harvard and University of Florida are just two of the latest schools to offer Swiftian studies, following in the footsteps of institutions such as University of Texas, Arizona State University, Stanford University and UC Berkeley. The fast-growing trend in Taylor-themed classes stems from New York University’s groundbreaking Swift course taught by Rolling Stone writer Brittany Spanos, which was launched early last year. Soon after, the “Anti-Hero” singer received an honorary doctorate from the university and spoke at its spring 2022 commencement ceremony. 

The news comes on the heels of Swift closing out her final Eras Tour show of 2023, wrapping up three nights in São Paulo, Brazil, Sunday night (Nov. 26). It’s proven to be a blockbuster year for the 12-time Grammy winner, who picked up six more Recording Academy nominations earlier this month, in addition to winning 10 Billboard Music Awards. She’s also released two albums this year alone – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) — while also reportedly reaching billionaire status thanks to her global Eras trek and corresponding concert film. 

28 Nov 2023

Cher Laughs About Iconic Hit ‘Believe’ Turning 25: ‘Pisses the F–k Out of Me’

Cher has been turning back time for decades, defying the march of the calendar pages with an eternally youthful look and sound. But after more than six decades in the public eye, the ageless 77-year-old singer is having trouble wrapping her head around the fact that her iconic 1999 dance single “Believe” is turning 25 this year.

“It’s not that amazing, OK? Pisses me — it pisses the f–k out of me,” the singer laughed as she discussed the annivary with the Today show’s Harry Smith. “And you can’t put that out.” T

he dance pop hit that introduced the world to the wonders of AutoTune spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and racked up three Grammy nominations, including best pop album for the LP of the same name, record of the year for the single and the singer’s only Grammy win to date, for best dance recording.

When Smith asked her if she’s “not friends” with age, the singer confirmed she’s not a fan of Father Time. “No. My mother didn’t mind. But I do. I hate it,” she said in a shoutout to her mother, Georgia Holt, who died at 96 last December. How much does she hate aging? “I’d give anything to be 70 again,” Cher said.

The singer’s 22nd studio album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart and is now available in a 25th anniversary deluxe edition with a bonus disc featuring three remixes of “Believe” from that era, as well as three remixes/radio edits of the singles “Strong Enough” and “All or Nothing” and four remixes of “Dov’è l’amore”; the collection compiles the mixes for the first time in 3LP and 2CD formats.

Now that Barbra Streisand, 81, has finally released her memoir, My Name Is Barbra, which was a decade in the making, Cher said she’s struggling to make progress on her book. “It’s very difficult because I’ve lived too long, and I’ve done too many things,” she said. “And so it would have to be, like, an encyclopedia, truthfully.”

Cher just released her first-ever Christmas album, Christmas, and she’ll be performing selections from it at Wednesday night’s (Nov. 29) Christmas at Rockefeller Center on NBC, which will also feature Chloe Bailey, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Liz Gillies, Darlene Love, Seth MacFarlane, Barry Manilow and more.

Watch Cher on the Today above.

28 Nov 2023

Country & Pop Remain Tied on Top: The State of the Hot 100’s Top 10 Through Q3 2023

What were some of the most notable trends on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart over the first three quarters of 2023?

Hit Songs Deconstructed, which provides compositional analytics for top 10 Hot 100 hits, has released its Q3 2023 State of the Hot 100 Top 10 report.

Here are three takeaways from Hit Songs Deconstructed’s latest in-depth research.

Country Remains Tied With Pop on Top

Over the first nine months of 2023, country and pop tied as the most common primary genres in the Hot 100’s top 10, each contributing to 21% of all top 10 hits. Country and pop shared the lead in Q1 2023, at 26% each, and at midyear, each with 23%.

“Country was the big gainer, surging from just 4% of songs in 2022 to 21% YTD 2023, its highest level in over a decade, largely thanks to Morgan Wallen,” Hit Songs Deconstructed’s report notes. Wallen’s haul has been led by “Last Night,” which first topped the Hot 100 in March and reigned for 16 weeks, the longest command for a non-collaboration in the chart’s history.

As for pop, despite its shared domination with country, its 21% share of all Hot 100 top 10s in the first three quarters of 2023 continues a decline for the genre, from 35% in all of 2022; a leading 39% in 2021; 40% in 2020; and a winning 47% in 2019.

“Pop dropped to its lowest level of prominence in over a decade,” according to Hit Songs Deconstructed. (At the same time, as Hit Songs Deconstructed noted earlier this year, while country has ascended in the Hot 100’s top 10, driven by Wallen’s hits, among others, the genre boasts notable similarities to pop songs.)

Below country and pop, two other primary genres scored double-digit shares of Hot 100 top 10s from January through September: hip-hop at 19%, and R&B/soul at 15%.

Hip-hop’s presence, like pop’s, continued to fall among Hot 100 top 10s, with its 19% take, and its third-place rank among primary genres, over Q1-Q3 2023, down noticeably from a first-place 38% finish in 2022; 34% in 2021; a leading 41% in 2020; and 34% in 2019.

R&B/soul’s share so far in 2023, conversely, nearly doubled from 8% for all of 2022.

Smaller Songwriting Teams (Sort Of)

“While songwriting teams of five-plus writers are still most common, they’ve seen a significant drop so far in 2023,” Hit Songs Deconstructed’s report indicates. Such groups accounted for a leading 38% of all Hot 100 top 10s over the year’s first three quarters, though down from 60% for all of 2019.

Songwriter groups of three (22% of all Hot 100 top 10s) and four (19%) ranked second and third, respectively, over Q1-Q3 2023.

Songwriter Team Size Graph

Courtesy of Hit Songs Deconstructed

Notably, while only 8% of Hot 100 top 10s in that span were penned by a single writer, one hit No. 1, for two weeks in August-September: Oliver Anthony Music’s self-written and -performed “Rich Men North of Richmond.” (In each of those frames, Luke Combs ranked at No. 2 with “Fast Car,” his update of Tracy Chapman’s likewise self-authored 1988 classic.)

Jersey in the Club

Among sub-genres/influences, Jersey club claimed an 8% share of Hot 100 top 10s in the first three-quarters of 2023 – following no presence between 2019 and 2022.

“Leading the way was Lil Uzi Vert’s ‘Just Wanna Rock,’ followed by Ice Spice and PinkPantheress’ ‘Boys a Liar, Pt.2,’” recaps Hit Songs Deconstructed. “Bad Bunny followed with ‘Where She Goes,’ and Ice Spice, Nicki Minaj and Aqua kept the trend going with ‘Barbie World.’”

Among other standout sub-genres/influences in the Hot 100’s top 10 in the latest research period were psychedelic/retro, via SZA’s No. 1 “Kill Bill”; Afrobeats, thanks to Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down,” which hit No. 3; and classical, as heard in JVKE’s No. 10-peaking “Golden Hour.”

28 Nov 2023

Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ Concert Movie Passes $250 Million in Worldwide Grosses

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert movie has crossed the $250 million mark in worldwide ticket sales according to distributor AMC Theatres. The Hollywood Reporter said those impressive numbers mean the three-hour-plus musical extravaganza that has found Swifties singing and dancing in the aisles across the planet ranks among the top 20 biggest films of the year.

And, as previously reported, it cements Swift’s film as the highest-grossing concert movie of all time.

The Eras Tour movie wrapped up the Thanksgiving weekend with a total of $178.2 million in grosses in North America to date, as well as $71.8 million overseas. The concert film is currently at No. 19 on the global chart of top-grossing films of 2023, just behind The Nun II ($268 million), and at No. 11 domestically, behind the controversial anti-human trafficking film Sound of Freedom ($184.2 million) and John Wick: Chapter Four ($187.1 million).

The Eras Tour movie will be back in theaters this Thursday (Nov. 30). On Monday (Nov. 27), the singer announced that she will celebrate her upcoming 34th birthday by bringing the film to at-home on-demand. Swifties will also get some bonus content for their home viewing, as the epic chronicle of the singer’s career-retrospective tour will hit home screens in an expanded version featuring three songs not featured in theaters: “Wildest Dreams,” “The Archer” and “Long Live.”

The movie will be available to rent on-demand in the U.S., Canada and additional countries that will be announced soon on Dec. 13. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour opened in October with more than $92.8 million in grosses, instantly becoming the top-grossing concert film in history after just one weekend.

Swift just wrapped a South American run of Eras shows and will take some time off from the road before returning on Feb. 7 for a run of four shows at the Tokyo Dome in Japan before moving on to Australia.

27 Nov 2023

Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ Tops Holiday 100 As Chart Returns for 2023 Season

The Holiday 100 dashes back to Billboard’s charts menu, ranking the top seasonal songs of all eras via the same formula used for the Billboard Hot 100, blending streaming, airplay and sales data.

Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” – which surges from No. 17 to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 – rules the Holiday 100 for a 58th week of the chart’s 63 total weeks since the list launched in 2011; it has topped the seasonal survey for 43 consecutive weeks, dating to the start of the 2015-16 holiday season.

The only other Holiday 100 No. 1s to date: Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe” for a week in the 2011-12 holiday season; Pentatonix’s “Little Drummer Boy” (one, 2013-14) and “Mary, Did You Know?” (two, 2014-15); and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” (one, 2014-15).

Carey’s 1994 carol reigns with 22 million streams (up 57%), 15.6 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 105%) and 3,000 sold (up 70%) in the United States Nov. 17-23, according to Luminate.

Carey performed “Christmas” on an awards show for the first time as part of the 2023 Billboard Music Awards (Nov. 19). She was also honored with the Billboard Chart Achievement Award for the song, presented to her by her 12-year-old twins, Monroe and Moroccan.

The song also boasts top honors on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs chart.

“When I wrote [it], I had absolutely no idea the impact the song would eventually have worldwide,” Carey marveled of “Christmas” in 2021. “I’m so full of gratitude that so many people enjoy it with me every year.”

Rounding out the Holiday 100’s top five are more classics, released between the 1950s and ‘80s: Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (No. 2); Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” (No. 3); Wham!’s “Last Christmas” (No. 4); and Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” (No. 5).

Meanwhile, two songs newly released this holiday season debut on the Holiday 100, both Amazon Music Original exclusives: Chloe’s version of “Winter Wonderland” (No. 57, led by 3.5 million streams, up 130%) and Stephen Sanchez’s “Silver Bells” (No. 85; 2.2 million, up 92%).

The entire latest Holiday 100, and all other seasonal charts – Top Holiday Albums, Holiday Streaming Songs, Holiday Airplay, Holiday Digital Song Sales, Holiday 100 Songwriters and Holiday 100 Producers – along with all additional rankings, will update on Billboard.com Tuesday (Nov. 28).