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‘Tis the season for new holiday hits! On the latest Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are taking their annual sleigh ride through a half-dozen Christmas songs impacting the Billboard charts this year. For 2024, we’re taking a look at Jimmy Fallon and Jonas Brothers’ “Holiday”; Cher’s “DJ Play a Christmas Song” remix with […]
12/10/2024
From chart hits “APT.” and “Number One Girl,” the BLACKPINK star’s debut LP shares intimate experiences amid pitch-perfect vocal performances.
12/10/2024
To close out 2024, Sabrina Carpenter was on countless people’s year-end Spotify Wrapped lists — including her own.
That’s exactly why the 25-year-old pop star didn’t join many of the streaming service’s users in sharing her listening-habit summary on social media this year, she told Vogue Arabia in a new interview published Tuesday (Dec. 10). “When I first saw mine, my initial reaction was, ‘Oh, damn, I can’t post that, because I’m on my own [list],’” she told the publication. “‘It’s a bit conceited.’”
“But then I was like, I guess it’s a good thing that I’m on my list and listening to my own music, because it means I f–k with what I do,” Carpenter added.
The Girl Meets World alum definitely isn’t the only one. In 2024, her smash hit “Espresso” was streamed more than 1.6 billion times on Spotify, making it the app’s most-streamed song of any other upload. Plus, her Billboard 200-topping sixth studio LP Short n’ Sweet was the platform’s third-most popular album, bested only by Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft.
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While on the topic of Spotify Wrapped, Carpenter did reveal which other four artists made her top 5: Dolly Parton, ABBA, Kacey Musgraves and the Bee Gees.
Carpenter is currently on a break from her first-ever arena trek, with the North American leg of the Short n’ Sweet Tour closing in November. The “Please Please Please” singer will get back on the road for a run of European dates in March.
In the meantime, fans can enjoy her new holiday special A Nonsense Christmas, which premiered Dec. 6 on Netflix. Of the project, Carpenter told Vogue Arabia, “It was kind of a s–t show — but in the best possible way. A Christmas s–t show, which is way better than normal ones, because everyone’s festive and dressed up,” she said, revealing that her crew filmed the special in just two days. “You can’t really be mad when everyone is dressed like Christmas. And I’m so lucky that my friends were a part of it, that just made it all the more fun.”
Despite two Oscars and nine Grammy Awards, sold-out shows around the world and the adoration of a generation, Billie Eilish still gets anxious about whether she’ll ever be able to write another song.
CBS Morning‘s Interviewer Anthony Mason caught up with Eilish on tour at the United Center in Chicago to talk about intense writer’s block she and brother/producer Finneas were paralyzed by last year, as well as whether she cares about winning any more Grammys; the singer is up for seven Grammys at next year’s show, including record of the year and song of the year for “Birds of a Feather” and album of the year for Hit Me Hard and Soft.
Letting out a huge laugh, Eilish said the continued accolades from the Recording Academy are “the craziest thing in the world,” leaving her “blown away and excited and honored and humbled all at the same time.”
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That said, the process of recording he third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, was tortuous, with Eilish, 22, saying that at some point the siblings were “pretty stuck,” a feeling she said you never get used to. “It happens and you’re like, ‘what the hell?! I’m never going to create again,’” she said. After months of dead ends, Eilish and Finneas said that things got unstuck precisely on May 25, 2023, when they stumbled on the beginnings of the song “Wildflower.”
“And then ‘The Greatest,’ and it started to become clear that we were telling the truth,” Finneas said of the period when things began to flow again. Eilish, who said she never considered herself a singer until recently, has begun taking vocal lessons, something she’d resisted because of her insecurity about not feeling like she was a “big singer,” or having a teacher tell her she wasn’t. “When you’re a girl and you’re bad at something once, then all the boys think you’re bad at that forever,” Eilish explained about her insecurities as a female athlete growing up.
Eilish also took Mason on a tour of the traveling recording studio she sets up in her green room at every venue — which also includes a piano — explaining that she jams with friends at night after shows. She then cued up a two-second snippets of a pair of new songs she’s been working on, including one that was just her voice and a jaunty piano line and another with her signature breathy vocals over a subdued beat.
“It’s not even serious, it’s just… we’ve been making music and crocheting,” she said. Eilish will play the SAP Center in San Jose, CA on Tuesday night (Dec. 10) as part of Hit Me Hard and Soft The Tour.
Watch Eilish on CBS Mornings below.
Sabrina Carpenter‘s blockbuster sixth studio album Short n’ Sweet is continuing to stack up accolades, with a few of its singles earning new multi-platinum certifications Monday (Dec. 9). As announced by the Recording Industry Association of America, the 25-year-old pop star’s smash hit “Espresso” — the lead single from Short n’ Sweet — is now […]
12/10/2024
Our editorial staff’s 2024 list of the Greatest Pop Stars from the year that was gets underway with the 10 artists who just missed the cut.
12/10/2024
Jade Thirlwall had auditioned for The X-Factor twice as a teen and was just not feeling it when the third time came around in 2011. Luckily, her older brother pressed her to give it one more try, which led to the 31-year-old singer being grouped with her future Little Mix bandmates, launching her into global superstardom.
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“I couldn’t be bothered because I was with a crappy boyfriend, and I was like, ‘Oh, I just want to hang out with him.’ I just didn’t know if it was realistic anymore,” Thirlwall told People magazine about last shot at the Factor when she was 15. “I was going to do an art degree for theater production and stuff. Then, my older brother was like, ‘Just go one more time. You never know what’s going to happen. You’ve got nothing to lose.’ I was like, ‘Fine.’ I went, and then I got put in Little Mix, so thank God.”
It was in that season that she was teamed up with Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson, with Little Mix going on to become one of the most successful winners in the show’s history and landing five No. 1 singles on the UK charts along with 19 top tens. The group went on hiatus in 2022 so that the members of the Brit Award-winning act could pursue solo projects, and Thirlwall told the magazine that she if fully ready to present her new vision to the world.
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The singer — who goes by Jade for her solo work — is off to a good start after landing a top 10 hit in the U.K. with her propulsive dance pop debut solo single “Angel of My Dreams” this summer, followed by kink-celebrating disco track “Fantasy” and the electro grinder “Midnight Cowboy,” co-written by RAYE. All three songs will appear on Jade’s upcoming, as-yet-untitled debut solo album, which is due out net year.
“You can really hear through the tracks that I’m trying to find who I am as an artist on my own,” she said. “I wanted to let fans in on that experience because it’s the truth.” Thirlwall said the inspiration behind her new single “Fantasy” was simple: “sex, darling.” The original idea was to write a love song, but in her own unique way, which led to the track on which she sings, “Passion, pain/ Pleasure, no shame/ If you like it weird, I like it strange/ It’s a fantasy, babe.”
“I wanted this liberating concept of feeling like you’ve found the right person that you can explore all your sexual fantasies with, a safe space for whatever you’re into. I’ve not seen much of that, actually, especially from a woman,” she said of the song that “heavily references” her 1970s disco-era sheroes Diana Ross and Donna Summer, but reflected in her own unique disco ball fashion.
Feeling more liberated and able to lean into more overtly sexy themes than in the innuendo-trafficking Little Mix, Thirlwall went all-in on the song’s promotion, releasing a line of “kinky merchandise” that she expected her team to reject. “Thankfully everyone was onboard,” she said, noting that the line of edible underwear, lubricant and sex toys was also originally going to include condoms, before she worried that it was too risky if, for some reason, they failed during use.
Thirlwall said she wanted the three songs released so far to reflect the “chaos of the record,” explaining, “You would not expect each song to come after the next. That’s definitely the vibe. I just want to show everyone a little taste of each part of me before the album comes next year.” She described the full LP as “quite experimental,” saying you can hear her trying to find her solo artistic groove on them. “I wanted to let fans in on that experience because it’s the truth. I’ve spent three years writing an array of so many different kinds of songs, and I want the unexpected twists and turns along the way,” she said. “I only get one debut solo album. Why not just do whatever I want?”
While she’s still putting the finishing touches on the album, Thirlwall said she can’t wait for her fans to hear it. “I’ve lived with it for a long time, so it kills me when fans are asking online, ‘What’s this clip? I’ve heard this might be the title of a song.’ I just want to blurt it all out and tell everyone, but I can’t,” she said. At press time a release date had not yet been announced for the album.
Mariah Carey has a million reasons to be thankful this holiday season. In fact, the Queen of Christmas has 16 million reasons according to the RIAA, which recently announced that Carey’s yuletide classic single, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” has been certified 16x Platinum. The perennial holiday favorite — which was once again […]
The lineup for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2025 has added a galaxy of stars to this year’s lineup. The West Coast portion of the show will include Alanis Morissette with special guest Reneé Rapp, as well as Dasha, DJ Cassidy’s “Pass the Mic Live!” with Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Slick […]
James Taylor is hitting the road next summer with his all-star band for an extensive 2025 North American tour. The 23-date outing will feature support from vocal harmony trio Tiny Habits, with a presale for the show slated to open today (Dec. 10) at 10 a.m. local time; a JamesTaylor.com account is required in order to participate in the presale.
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The tour is slated to kick off on May 5 with a show at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ, followed by amphitheater gigs in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Toronto before winding down at the BankNH Pavilion in Gilford, N.H. on July 1. The outing will feature a few double-downs, including a pair of nights at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in San Diego, a pair at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, CA, two at the Chateau St. Michelle Winery in Seattle, WA and a double-night run at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO.
A Live Nation presale for select dates will kick off on Wednesday (Dec. 11) at 10 a.m. local time here (use code JOY). The general onsale will begin on Friday (Dec. 13) at 10 a.m. local time through Ticketmaster. According to Taylor’s announcement, more dates will be announced soon.
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The 76-year-old James is headed back on the road after a busy 2024, which found him hitting amphitheaters across the U.S. and playing a benefit Concert for Carolina in October to raise funds for North Carolinians impacted by Hurricane Helene, as well as performing at the DNC and at a Kamala Harris/Tim Walz rally in October.
See James Taylor’s 2025 U.S. summer tour dates below:
May 5 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint CenterMay 7 — Palm Desert, CA @ Acrisure ArenaMay 8 — Highland, CA @ Yaamava TheaterMay 10 — San Diego, CA @ Rady ShellMay 11 — San Diego, CA @ Rady ShellMay 13 — Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara BowlMay 14 — Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara BowlMay 16 — Stanford, CA @ Frost AmphitheaterMay 17 — Lincoln, CA @ The Venue at Thunder ValleyMay 19 — Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes AmphitheatreMay 21 — Nampa, ID @ Ford AmphitheaterMay 23 — Ridgefield, WA @ RV Inn Style Resorts AmphitheatreMay 25 — Seattle, WA @ Chateau St. Michelle WineryMay 26 — Seattle, WA @ Chateau St. Michelle WineryJune 13 — Morrison, CO @ Red RocksJune 14 — Morrison, CO @ Red RocksJune 17 — St. Paul, MN @ Xcel CenterJune 19 — Highland Park, IL @ RaviniaJune 21 — Milwaukee, WI @ SummerfestJune 23 — Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend AmphitheaterJune 24 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music CenterJune 27 — Toronto, ON @ Budweiser StageJune 29 — Canandaigua, NY @ CMACJuly 1 — Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion