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Lana Del Rey may have a lot to thank Jack Antonoff for when it comes to music, but in a speech at the Variety Hitmakers ceremony over the weekend, the 39-year-old pop star revealed that she’s actually most grateful for the way the producer inspired her to get married to husband Jeremy Dufrene. While presenting […]
Composer/producer Charlie Calello knew he was in the presence of something special when he began working on the landmark Eli and the Thirteenth Confession album with Laura Nyro early in 1968.
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“I first heard it in the studio; she played me the entire record…and I was dumbfounded,” Calello, who co-produced the album with Nyro, tells Billboard. “I’d never heard anything like it and still haven’t heard anything as good. There was never a record that was actually written by a composer who displayed her emotions and her feelings the way she did.”
Nyro’s musical legacy, complex and underappreciated, is being celebrated with the recent release of Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995, a limited-edition box set from Britain’s Madfish Records. It includes Nyro’s 10 studio albums, along with six live albums (two previously unreleased), the 1966 demo tape that landed her first recording contract at the age of 18 and a Live & Rarities disc including more demos, alternative versions, outtakes and live tracks. The collection also comes with a coffee-table sized book of liner notes by Vivien Goldman, a foreword by Elton John and remembrances from Calello, Jackson Browne, Clive Davis, Lou Adler, John Sebastian and others.
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The Bronx-born Nyro possessed a three-octave voice and was best known for songs such as “Wedding Bell Blues,” “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “And When I Die” and “Stoney End” — which were turned into hits when covered by the Fifth Dimension, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Barbra Streisand. In addition to music Nyro was an avid feminist and animal rights activist. She passed away April 8, 1997 from ovarian cancer at the age of 49 (her mother died of the same disease, at the same age 22 years earlier) and was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2012).
In his foreword, John calls Nyro “one of my all time idols. She wrote songs that had no kind of fixed compass point, they had different sections, codas and various tempo changes. They remain as unique and absolutely spellbinding to this day as when I first heard them in the ‘60s…. She was a giant of a songwriter who sadly didn’t have the legacy and recognition she deserved during the years she was with us.”
Calello, who also co-produced Nyro’s 1976 album Smile, echoes John’s praise about Nyro’s fusion of pop, jazz, R&B and gospel. “The whole thing did not glue together from a pop standpoint,” he explains, “but yet when you collectively put it together, it was its own thing. It had all of those elements — it had the R&B, it had that jazz, all of it — and it also had the honesty she looked for. And also she would rein it in when things seemed to be getting out of control. It was really an amazing experience seeing her arrive at those conclusions.”
For Nyro’s son Gil Bianchini, Hear My Song is a welcome chronicle of his mother’s artistry. “I think it’s a great reminder of a real talent,” says Bianchini, a rapper who records under the moniker Gil-T. He’s also an associate producer of an upcoming documentary that’s in production with director Lisa D’Apolito (Love, Gilda), with no release date yet. “For people who sit down and really listen to the music…it’s not just a melody or a hook or whatever. I just think it’s a great collection of something that’s real and positive, but also something that’s reality-based and can really inspire. It’s a beautiful thing.”
The Hear My Song box set was produced by James Batsford, pulling together catalogs primarily from Sony Music and Concord/Craft, as well as from the Nyro Estate. It’s an outgrowth from a 2020 vinyl box set of Nyro’s Columbia Records recordings, and Batsford says that the CD package “gave us more room to be expansive and tell her story. It wasn’t a completest mentality; it’s more, ‘What are the touchstones of her career, and how can we bring it in an interesting way and include the best possible material out there?’ It’s not just, ‘What can we get our hands on?’ but ‘What’s the best we can get our hands on?’ and bring them together in one place.”
And when it comes to Nyro, Batsford adds, there’s quite a bit that can be considered best-possible.
“I’ve gotten deeper and deeper into her over the years from working on these records, and it astounds me how my favorite record changes from month to month,” he says. “She’s just such a great (artist). Your taste evolves with listening to her records. She’s just timeless.”
Producer Calello says he’s particularly happy Hear My Music includes a wealth of live material, including a pair of previously unreleased concerts from San Francisco in 1994, while Nyro was touring to promote her final album, 1993’s Walk The Dog & Light The Light. “You see the growth of her as a performer,” he says. “When I made Eli she didn’t want to tour; she was really afraid of the audience. But by the ‘80s she had gotten to the point where she loved performing and there was an energy. You could hear the growth and joy, and the performances are simply amazing.”
The 2013 release Live at Carnegie Hall: The Classic 1976 Radio Broadcast was not included, however, due to rights issues.
Batsford, meanwhile, says there’s more coming from the Nyro vaults. He’s planning a vinyl reissue of 2001’s posthumous Angel in the Dark during April on his own New Land Records. Looking ahead, Batsford promises that “there are some bits and pieces I can’t talk about yet. I’m aware of some rarities that exist that I’d love to help to bring to the public at some point. There is still stuff out there that wasn’t possible this time around but are things that will excite people down the line.”
Normani’s years-in-the-making debut album arrived with Dopamine earlier this year, but the 28-year-old revealed she’s not planning to make fans wait that long again with her sophomore LP. In an interview with Rolling Stone at Spotify’s Wrapped party, Normani opened up about her plans to release another album in 2025. “Putting lots more music out, […]
Following the final show of the Eras tour, a comparison between its opening and closing, and how Swift’s biggest live show evolved over time.
Gracie Abrams isn’t done yet. Just one day after wrapping her stint as an opener on Taylor Swift‘s blockbuster Eras Tour in Vancouver Sunday (Dec. 8), the 25-year-old pop star announced a new run of North American headlining tour dates slated for 2025 in support of her The Secret of Us deluxe edition. In an […]
She’s just kidding — but really. Sabrina Carpenter recently made a surprise appearance on vocal coach Eric Vetro’s BBC Maestro course Sing Like the Stars and opened up about the inspiration behind her smash hit “Please Please Please,” which she said is very much non-fiction.
While talking about her approach to songwriting with Vetro, the 25-year-old pop star shared that she, “was so excited when I wrote that song, because it felt like a fraction of me that I had been waiting to not only write, but to put out and then perform.”
“Then it just it [made] me so excited for the rest of the project, because it feels very aligned with all the music I grew up listening to that I love, but also very much myself,” she continued. “And that song was obviously based on real-life events.”
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The discussion of the song came just days after reports emerged that Carpenter and boyfriend actor Barry Keoghan have split after about a year of dating. The Saltburn star deactivated his Instagram account before posting a statement on X Saturday (Dec. 7), explaining that he “can no longer let this stuff distract me from my family and work.”
“My name has been dragged across the internet in ways I usually don’t respond [to],” added Keoghan, who is a father to a young son named Brando. “I have to respond now because it’s gettin to a place where there are too many lines being crossed … Absolute lies, hatred, disgusting commentary about my appearance, character, how I am as a parent and every other inhumane thing you can imagine.”
Many fans believe Carpenter penned “Please Please Please” about the Banshees of Inisherin actor, especially after he starred alongside his then-girlfriend in the Short n’ Sweet track’s music video. The Jack-Antonoff-produced Billboard Hot 100-topper finds the Tall Girl actress literally pleading with a love interest to act respectably, singing, “Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another/ I beg you, don’t embarrass me, motherf–ker.”
“Please Please Please” is also one of the closing numbers on Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet Tour, which wrapped its North American leg in November. The star — whose holiday special A Nonsense Christmas dropped on Netflix Dec. 6 — will hit the road again in Europe in March.
Watch Carpenter reflect on writing “Please Please Please” below.
Exclusive: #SabrinaCarpenter makes a surprise appearance on singing coach Eric Vetro’s ‘BBC Maestro’ course, talking about writing the viral hit “Please Please Please” from her latest album ‘Short n’ Sweet’.”That song was obviously based on real-life events.” pic.twitter.com/QpEvaj4UXe— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 9, 2024
Two months after his shock death in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Liam Payne is being remembered by his girlfriend Kate Cassidy. In one of her first social posts following Payne’s passing, Cassidy posted a TikTok video on Sunday (Dec. 8) in which the 25-year-old influencer looked back on the couple’s love affair via a series of happy moments set to Mazzy Star’s 1993 beloved bummer “Fade Into You.”
The series of short vignettes opens with the couple chilling in a wood cabin, before turning to quick clips of them walking up marble steps hand-in-hand, slow dancing in a room with stars projected on the ceiling and a playful bit where a laughing Payne drags Cassidy around the kitchen floor by her ankles.
Elsewhere they go bowling, Cassidy assures the singer that he looks “stunning,” they play with their dog, share snacks on dates, visit Disneyland, celebrate New Year’s Eve, snuggle in bed and goof around on a toboggan. The melancholy video captures intimate moments where Payne and Cassidy are traveling the world, hugging, building Lego sets and, in the final image, sharing a kiss and a laugh. “I love you,” Cassidy captioned the post.
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Cassidy — who dated the former One Direction singer for two years — had been traveling with Payne in Argentina in the time leading up to his death. The singer died on Oct. 16 after falling from the third floor balcony of a luxury hotel in Buenos Aires.
A few days later, Cassidy addressed his passing in an Instagram Story, where she thanked her followers for “all of the kind words and love that has been sent my way.” She added, “I have been at a complete loss. Nothing about the past few days have felt real. I ask and pray that you’ll give me the grace and space to navigate this in private.” She also addressed Payne directly, writing, “Liam, my angel. You are everything. I want you to know I loved you unconditionally and completely.”
A week later, Cassidy posted another message to Payne, writing, “My heart is shattered in ways I can’t put into words. I wish you could see the huge impact you’ve had on the world, even as it feels so dark right now. You are — because I can’t say were — my best friend, the love of my life, and everyone you touched felt just as special as I did,” Cassidy continued. “None of this feels real, and I can’t wrap my head around this new reality of not having you here. I’m struggling to figure out how to live in a world without you by my side. Together, we got to be kids again, always finding joy in the smallest things.”
She also shared a note Payne wrote just weeks earlier in which he said he hoped to marry her within the year. Payne was laid to rest on Nov. 20 in south-east England in a private funeral attended by family and friends, including his 1D bandmates – Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan – as well as The X Factor‘s Simon Cowell, former late night host James Corden and Cassidy.
Payne’s autopsy confirmed that he suffered internal and external bleeding and multiple traumatic injuries from his fall. According to a translated copy of the toxicology report, in the days leading up to his death, Payne reportedly had “alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants” in his system.
“It was the end of an era, but the start of an age.” Taylor Swift sang these words as the final performance of her globe-spanning, blockbuster-selling Eras tour came to a close on Sunday night (Dec. 8) at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, tucking some fan service into a piano rendition of “Long Live” during […]
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a 16th nonconsecutive week, as the set vaults 8-1 on the chart dated Dec. 14, following the first physical release of the album’s deluxe Anthology edition, exclusively at Target in the U.S. The set earned 405,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 5 — up 839% — according to Luminate, largely driven by physical album sales. It’s the biggest week for any album since Poets’ second week, when it tallied 439,000 units.
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TTPD was initially released on April 19 as a standard 16-song digital download album, as well as an in array of 17-song physical configurations. Two hours after the album dropped, Swift issued an expanded 31-song edition of the album, dubbed The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, which added 15 additional songs. However, the Anthology edition was only available as a digital download and streaming set until Nov. 29, when its CD and vinyl editions became available for purchase exclusively through Target. The Target CD and vinyl additionally boasted four bonus acoustic tracks (which were previously released in other alternative versions of the album).
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The announcement of Poets’ return to No. 1 comes on the same day (Dec. 8) that Swift closes her globe-trotting, stadium-filling The Eras Tour in Vancouver, after 149 dates. The retrospective trek launched in March 2023 and visited 21 countries across five continents.
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Juice WRLD’s The Party Never Ends debuts at No. 4, securing the late rapper his sixth top five-charting set. Plus, the top 10 is getting festive, as the region welcomes its first holiday titles this season: Michael Bublé’s former No. 1 Christmas jingles 12-7 and Bing Crosby’s new compilation Ultimate Christmas dashes 18-9. With the latter, Crosby claims his first top 10 album in nearly 64 years.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Dec. 14, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (Dec. 10). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of The Tortured Poets Department’s 405,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Dec. 5, traditional album sales comprise 368,000 (up 4,377%; it surges 17-1 on Top Album Sales for a ninth nonconsecutive week on top), SEA units comprise 37,000 (up 6%; equaling 48.19 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs; it holds at No. 9 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum (down 21%).
Of TTPD’s 368,000 album sales for the week, vinyl sales comprise 191,000 (up 3,284%) and CD sales comprise 177,000 (up 7,738%), largely driven by sales from the exclusive editions sold at Target. (Digital download and cassette sales comprise a negligible sum for the week.)
Poets spent its first 12 weeks on the Billboard 200 at No. 1 (charts dated May 4-July 20), fell to No. 4 for two weeks, returned to No. 1 for three more weeks (Aug. 10-Aug. 24 charts) and then departed the top slot until the latest chart.
With a 16th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, The Tortured Poets Department now solely has the third-most weeks at No. 1 among albums by women (since the list began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March 1956). It steps past Carole King’s Tapestry, which registered 15 weeks at No. 1 in 1971. Only Adele’s 21 (24 weeks in 2011-12) and the Whitney Houston-led soundtrack to The Bodyguard (20 weeks in 1992-93) have more weeks at No. 1 among women.
The last album to spend at least 16 weeks at No. 1 was Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which logged 19 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 between March 2023 and this March. The last album by a woman to spend at least 16 weeks at No. 1 was Adele’s 21, which earned 24 nonconsecutive weeks on top in 2011-12.
With Poets — Swift’s longest-leading album on the Billboard 200 — she adds her 85th career week at No. 1 on the chart, extending her record among soloists. (Elvis Presley has the second-most among soloists, with 67.) The total encompasses her 14 No. 1 albums. (She’s tied with Jay-Z for the most No. 1s among soloists.)
Kendrick Lamar’s GNX falls 1-2 on the Billboard 200 in its second week with 165,000 equivalent album units earned (down 48%). The Wicked film soundtrack dips 2-3 in its second frame, with 108,000 units earned (down 22%).
The late Juice WRLD collects his sixth top five (and top 10) charting effort — the entirety of his charting releases — as The Party Never Ends debuts at No. 4. The set bows with 86,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 84,000 (equaling 123.43 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks; it debuts at No. 2 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 2,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
The new album was preceded by the Billboard Hot 100 chart hit “AGATS2 (Insecure)” (with Nicki Minaj), which reached No. 68 on the Nov. 30-dated chart. On the Hot Rap Songs chart, it debuted and peaked at No. 11.
The Party Never Ends is the third posthumously released charting effort for Juice WRLD, who died on Dec. 8, 2019. Since his passing, he’s notched Billboard 200 entries with Legends Never Die (two weeks at No. 1 in 2020), Fighting Demons (No. 2 in 2021) and now The Party Never Ends.
Sabrina Carpenter’s chart-topping Short n’ Sweet falls 3-5 on the Billboard 200 with 68,000 equivalent album units earned (down 1%), while Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft slips 5-6 with 59,000 units (though up 18%).
Bublé’s chart-topping Christmas returns to the Billboard 200’s top 10, jumping 12-7 with 56,000 equivalent album units earned (up 53%). The set, first released in 2011, spent five weeks at No. 1 in December 2011 and early January 2012 and has returned to the top 10 in every following holiday season. In the latest tracking week, of its 56,000 units, SEA units comprise 48,000 (up 59%; equaling 63.79 million on-demand official streams of its songs; it climbs 13-5 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 8,000 (up 23%; it falls 27-30 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess rises 10-8 on the Billboard 200 with 52,000 equivalent album units earned (up 23%).
The legendary Crosby is back in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 for the first time in nearly 64 years, as his new holiday compilation Ultimate Christmas climbs 18-9. The set earned 50,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Dec. 5 (up 59%). Of that sum, SEA units comprise 46,000 (up 62%; equaling 61.37 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks; it jumps 16-6 on Top Streaming Albums).
Crosby, who died in 1977, was last in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 with his classic Merry Christmas album, which ranked at No. 9 on the Dec. 31, 1960-dated chart. It had previously spent a week at No. 1 on Jan. 6, 1958-dated chart.
Merry Christmas became the second holiday album to top the Billboard 200, following its launch as a regularly published weekly chart in March 1956. Elvis Presley’s Elvis Christmas Album was the first chart-topping holiday set, as it topped the chart for three weeks in December 1957, moved aside for Crosby for a week and then returned to No. 1 for one more week in January 1958.
Ultimate Christmas is available as 14-song standard album, an expanded 28-song edition, and a deluxe 58-song version. All versions of the album contain such classic Holiday 100-charting tunes from Crosby as “White Christmas” (featuring The Ken Darby Singers and John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra), “It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” “Mele Kalikimaka” (with The Andrews Sisters) and “Silent Night” (featuring John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra and Max Terr’s Mixed Chorus).
Rounding out the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200 is Tyler, The Creator’s chart-topping CHROMAKOPIA, falling 4-10 with 49,000 equivalent album units earned (down 19%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
BTS‘ V and the late Bing Crosby‘s duet version of “White Christmas” has topped this week’s new music poll, which highlights releases from artists across a variety of genres.
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Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Dec. 6) on Billboard, naming the new rendition of the holiday classic their favorite new music release of the past week.
“White Christmas” secured nearly 51% of the vote, outpacing new releases from ROSÉ (rosie), TWICE (Strategy), Bad Bunny (“EL CLÚB”), Khalid and Normani (“Personal”), and more.
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In the festive collaboration, V and Crosby trade lines, harmonizing on the iconic lyrics: “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas/ With every Christmas card I write/ May your days be merry and bright/ And may all your Christmases be white.”
“I’m so grateful to have had the chance to be featured in a song with my all-time favorite jazz artist, Bing Crosby,” V previously said of the track in a statement. “I grew up listening to his song ‘It’s Been a Long, Long Time’ countless times a day, and I feel incredibly fortunate and honored to have sung along on ‘White Christmas’ with the voice of someone I consider an idol.”
“Being a huge fan of his, I sang with the utmost sincerity and admiration for him,” continued the superstar, who previously covered “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” “I hope many people enjoy it as much as I enjoyed singing it. Lastly, I wish a lovely holiday season to everyone listening to the song.”
Crosby passed away in 1977. His daughter, Mary Crosby, expressed her excitement about her father’s new posthumous collaboration, saying, “As a family, we are thrilled to have V and Dad singing together on this ultimate Christmas song. Their voices blend beautifully, capturing the holiday spirit in the best possible way.”
The Christmas classic, written by Irving Berlin in just 18 minutes, remains the best-selling song of all time, with over 50 million copies sold worldwide, according to Guinness World Records. “White Christmas” also won the Oscar for best original song in the 1942 musical Holiday Inn and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.
Trailing closely behind V and Crosby in this week’s poll is BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ, whose debut solo album, rosie, garnered almost 48% of the vote. The 12 tracks on the set include the hit single “APT.” with Bruno Mars, which has held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Global 200 for six consecutive weeks, as well as “Number One Girl.”
Check out the full results of this week’s poll below and head to Billboard‘s Friday Music Guide for more must-hear releases.