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Paris Hilton is stepping up to help those impacted by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
On Friday (Jan. 10), the 43-year-old Simple Life alum announced on social media that she is launching an emergency fund through her nonprofit 11:11 Media Impact to support families who have lost their homes in the fires.
“My heart is with everyone impacted by the devastating fires here in LA,” Hilton wrote on Instagram. “While I’ve lost my Malibu home, my thoughts are with the countless families who have lost so much more — their homes, cherished keepsakes, the communities they loved, and their sense of stability.”
The singer and entrepreneur added, “As a mom, I can’t imagine the pain and fear of not having a safe place for your babies.”
She went on to announce that she is personally contributing $100,000 to the fund and will match additional donations up to $100,000. “I’m asking others to join me in doing our part to support these families,” she wrote.
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Hilton is working alongside L.A.-based emergency relief organization CORE, founded by Sean Penn and Ann Lee. The funds will provide short-term housing, hotel stays for displaced families, essentials for evacuation centers, and support for local animal shelters.
Hilton’s charitable effort comes shortly after she watched her Malibu home burn down live on TV. On Wednesday (Jan. 8), she posted a heartfelt message on Instagram: “Heartbroken beyond words. Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience. This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London.”
She continued, “While the loss is overwhelming, I’m holding onto gratitude that my family and pets are safe. My heart and prayers are going out to every family affected by these fires. To all the people who have lost their homes, their memories, and their beloved pets. My heartaches for those still in harm’s way or mourning greater losses. The devastation is unimaginable.”
The first full music-release week of 2025 has officially arrived, bringing with it fresh releases from Teddy Swims, Lil Baby and more hitmakers to start the new year off right. Following a dominant year in 2024 thanks to his Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Lose Control,” Swims has returned this year with a new track titled […]
Gracie Abrams‘ breakout hit “That’s So True” has secured a seventh non-consecutive week at No. 1 on the Official Singles Chart (Jan. 10). “That’s So True” first hit the top spot back in November and lasted at the summit for five consecutive weeks into mid-December until Wham!’s festive classic “Last Christmas” interrupted her run at […]
Sir Elton John is still shining bright on the U.K.’s Albums Chart as his greatest hits collection Diamonds has finally hit No. 1 in its 374th week on the chart (Jan 10). The icon’s career-spanning collection was first released in 2017 and features a number of his biggest hits, including “Your Song,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket […]
The Weeknd is ready for a change. As the release of new album Hurry Up Tomorrow approaches, the 34-year-old hitmaker is saying it will most likely be his last under the persona that made him a star.
In a new Variety cover story published Friday (Jan. 10), the artist — born Abel Tesfaye — addressed his plans to retire his stage name following the conclusion of his ongoing album trilogy, which began with 2020’s After Hours, continued with 2022’s Dawn FM and will end Jan. 24 with Hurry Up Tomorrow. The first LP debuted atop the Billboard 200 and spawned smash hit “Blinding Lights,” which spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, logged a record 57-week run in the Hot 100’s top 10 and was recently revealed as the No. 1 song on Billboard’s Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century chart.
After hinting in the interview that the final trilogy installment would represent a broader chapter close, Tesfaye clarified that the chapter in question is “my existence as the Weeknd.”
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“It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for,” he said of his moniker. “You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it.”
The musician previously hinted that his days as The Weeknd were coming to a close in late December, when billboards reading “The End Is Near” started popping up in cities all over the world. In a May 2023 interview with W Magazine, Tesfaye also forewarned: “It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd.”
To Variety, the “Blinding Lights” singer echoed that he still plans on making music no matter what, emphasizing, “I don’t think I can stop doing that.” “But everything needs to feel like a challenge,” he added. “And for me right now, the Weeknd, whatever that is, it’s been mastered. No one’s gonna do the Weeknd better than me, and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now.”
Tesfaye added that his headline-making 2022 concert at SoFi Stadium — during which he had to stop and cancel midway through the show after losing his voice on stage — partially inspired his decision to hang up his Weeknd hat for good. “Part of me actually was thinking, ‘You lost your voice because it’s done,’” he told the publication. “You said what you had to say. Don’t overstay at the party — you can end it now and live a happy life … I just want to know what comes after.”
See Tesfaye on the cover of Variety below.
Cast recordings are a crucial part of supporting a musical’s life, during its initial run on or off-Broadway, as well as far beyond that. While a show is running, a recording available on streaming platforms can reach a wide ticket-buying audience and thus potentially help increase its performing lifespan; the recording is also often the way that regional theaters first discover shows they might produce — which proves especially important to shows that have shorter lives on Broadway.
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But while shows have ample platforms for releasing their original cast recordings — from boutique labels specializing in theater to major labels getting in on the next big hit — a trio of journeyman theater musicians noticed a gaping hole in the market for a new kind of label: one that would support a show from its earliest writing stages all the way through is fully realized production.
That new label — aimed at amplifying new voices in musical theater as well as individual solo performers — is Joy Machine Records, co-founded and run by Ian Kagey, Sonny Paladino, Brian Usifer and Will Van Dyke.
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The quartet have musical theater bonafides in spades. Kagey is a Grammy-winning engineer and mixer who has engineered numerous Broadway cast recordings in addition to working in TV, film, and with artists including Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney; Paladino is a seasoned arranger and producer who most recently was music supervisor, arranger, orchestrator and conductor for Neil Diamond bio-musical A Beautiful Noise; Usifer is an orchestrator, arranger, music director, pianist, producer and composer who recently worked on the acclaimed (but short-lived) Swept Away and Huey Lewis’ The Heart of Rock and Roll musical; and Van Dyke is a Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter, music supervisor, orchestrator and arranger who was music director of Swept Away and is music supervisor/orchestrator/arranger for the long-running off-Broadway hit Little Shop of Horrors.
“Our approach comes from our experience being on many sides of the table in that process, and understanding what it takes to see a show from inception through opening night and beyond,” says Usifer. “We approach every project with not only a high bar musically but an emphasis on kindness and transparency throughout the process.”
Joy Machine, which will be distributed by The Orchard, is launched as a full-service record label which will offer what it calls “three tiers of support for musical development.” As Van Dyke explains, “from the first piano/vocal demos through fully produced tracks,” Joy Machine’s team will “help producers think about budgeting for these recordings from the jump. That kind of awareness will also help teams build a cast recording into their budget to be able to fully preserve their final product.”
The label’s current and upcoming client roster includes The Avett Brothers’ original Broadway cast recording of Swept Away; Huey Lewis’ OBCR of The Heart of Rock and Roll; and solo projects with Joy Woods (currently starring as Louise in Gypsy on Broadway), composer Joe Iconis (Be More Chill), Corey Cott (a star of The Heart of Rock and Roll) and more.
Thus far, the team has recorded at Kagey’s own Renaissance Recording in New York for demos and smaller concept albums, and at the storied Power Station studios for original Broadway cast albums. (“They really know how to make a cast album and make it a seamless and un-chaotic experience,” says Usifer of the latter). Joy Machine is currently working on a concept album for the new musical Joy, meant to give audiences an insight into the show’s music before it ventures to Broadway.
01/10/2025
From international superstars to that Oasis reunion, it’s set to be a busy year for music lovers.
01/10/2025
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, Teddy Swims is still delivering the soul, Lil Baby has even more WHAM and Wallows drop a new favorite. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Teddy Swims feat. Giveon, “Are You Even Real”
Following the smash success of “Lose Control,” which topped the Hot 100 chart last year and helped yield a best new artist Grammy nod, Teddy Swims is kicking off 2025 with some more snappy soul-pop: “Are You Even Real,” which previews the upcoming I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy, Part 2, sways delicately between the singer-songwriter’s earnest croon and guest star Giveon’s booming flourishes, with some pinpoint harmonies in the back half.
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Lil Baby, WHAM (Extended Edition)
A week after making his return with the concise, rock-hard WHAM, Lil Baby has added four new tracks to the album by way of a deluxe edition, with the sizzling Future team-up “99” serving as both the highlight of the new collection and an instant follow-up to “Dum, Dumb, and Dumber,” the Baby-Future-Young Thug summit challenging for a strong Hot 100 debut next week.
Wallows, “Your New Favorite Song”
Wallows’ upward trajectory continues with “Your New Favorite Song,” a dreamy slice of pop-rock that could serve as a crossover hit for a Los Angeles trio that’s become a sizable touring act over the past few years. Following 2024’s Model, “Your New Favorite Song” nudges Wallows forward with subtle details in the arrangement, including horns that accentuate instead of trying to dominate the mix.
JADE, “IT Girl”
“Angel of My Dreams,” JADE’s 2024 debut solo single, established the Little Mix star as a bold, forward-looking pop auteur; that reputation remains intact with new single “IT Girl,” which immediately showcases the pop star’s expansive voice before slamming into thick drums and wobbly harmonies — creating a sonic juxtaposition that worked so well with her breakthrough track, and once again succeeds here.
Warren Zeiders, “Can a Heart Take”
With new album Relapse, Lies, & Betrayal due out in March, rising country star Warren Zeiders prepares for a potentially major year with “Can a Heart Take,” a wistful rumination on loss that demonstrates the singer-songwriter’s range in the span of its chorus — he starts off speak-singing the line “How much pain can a heart take?,” then brings the sentiment to life with a wounded roar.
Editor’s Pick: Blondshell, “T&A”
Sabrina Teitelbaum’s next album as Blondshell promises to be a major leap forward from a songwriting and production standpoint, and lead single “T&A” hints at the evolution to come: with glum recollections of a regretful hook-up, an anthemic chorus that asks unanswerable questions and electric guitar work that charges up the song’s energy, “T&A” is a home run of an opening statement, and the sound of Blondshell becoming an indie star.
What sonic characteristics led to The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” claiming the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century chart?
In 2021, Hit Songs Deconstructed, which provides in-depth analysis of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits, held its Max Martin Deconstructed Masterclass, led by Hit Songs Deconstructed co-founder Dave Penn. Martin co-wrote and co-produced “Blinding Lights” (with The Weeknd, among others), which contributed to his 27 No. 1s as a writer and record 25 leaders as a producer.
“Blinding Lights” led (LED?) the Hot 100 for four weeks in 2020, logged a record 57-week in the top 10 and charted for a dazzling 90 weeks total.
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Class is in session again (spit out your gum): Here’s a reprinted rundown, according to Penn’s insights as presented in 2021, of the songwriting and production elements and more that helped “Blinding Lights” beam brighter than any other song on the Hot 100 over the first 25 years of the century.
David Penn of Hit Songs Deconstructed: “Like most hits, ‘Blinding Lights’ features a meticulous combination of the typical and the atypical, which helps the song sound familiar to people while still standing out from the pack. But when it comes to this song, it’s really the writing and production team’s stellar arrangement techniques, along with Max Martin’s melodic genius, that make it such an interesting and captivating hit.
“For instance, its 28-second intro is almost unheard of currently; the average [intro on a] Hot 100 top 10 in 2020 was just 13 seconds. So, it really comes down to the way that the ‘Blinding Lights’ team arranged the intro to keep the listener engaged, all while establishing many key aspects of the song, including its atypical instrumental hook; most hooks in today’s hits are vocal.
“Another atypical quality is its, what I call, disappearing chorus. While many top 10 hits give the listener more chorus as a song progresses, the ‘Blinding Lights’ creators actually shorten the chorus as the song progresses. Like with everything else, there is purpose behind this. In this case, it makes the listener long to hear that full chorus again and return for another listen.
“Also, the song’s 1980s-influenced production qualities, a la ‘Take On Me’ by a-ha, come across as new and fresh to younger audiences while creating a sense of nostalgia for older audiences, which ultimately broadens the song’s reach across demographics.
“But perhaps the song’s most notable quality is the expert use of motifs and hook foreshadowing techniques that take its catchiness and memorability to the next level, whether the listener realizes it or not. This is a hallmark of Max Martin’s melody writing throughout his career. For example, the synth hook in the intro melodically foreshadows lines two and four of the chorus vocal melody. And the verse that follows rhythmically foreshadows lines one and three of the chorus.
“So, by the time listeners arrive at the first chorus, they’re already familiar with the entire melody, which makes it that much easier for them to sing along and remember it. And this goes on throughout the entire song; almost every line relates to some other line in the song, which gets it ingrained in the listener’s head without ever becoming monotonous.
“Along with promotional factors, these are just of a few of the many qualities that helped ‘Blinding Lights’ achieve its mass success.”
Browse Billboard’s Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century chart, Top Artists of the 21st Century chart and Top Billboard 200 Albums of the 21st Century chart, as well as all coverage of Billboard’s 21st Century charts here.
Billboard’s Top Artists, Top Billboard 200 Albums and Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century recaps reflect performance on weekly charts dated Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 28, 2024. The Top Artists category ranks the best-performing acts in that span based on activity on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100. (Titles released prior to mid-1999 are excluded, although such entries that appeared on the Billboard 200 or Hot 100 in that span contribute to the calculation of the Top Artists chart.)
Billy Joel announced a one-off summer 2025 gig with fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Rod Stewart at New York’s Yankee Stadium. The one-night-only event will take place on July 18 at the iconic ballpark as part of the Piano Man’s ongoing string of stadium shows with A-list guests. Citi cardmembers will have access […]