Pop
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Jin‘s Happy tops this week’s new music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Nov. 15) on Billboard, choosing the BTS member’s debut EP as their favorite new music release of the past week.
The poll featured a strong competition from all genres, but Jin’s new collection especially inspired fans to make their choice heard, bringing in almost 83% of the vote. Voters this week chose Happy over new music releases from talent including Gwen Stefani, Tate McRae, Linkin Park, Shawn Mendes, Rauw Alejandro, Shaboozey, Lil Nas X and more.
Happy, the long-awaited set from the BTS superstar, has just six tracks, but it’s the longest listening experience fans have gotten from him yet; on his own Jin’s previously released singles only, making him the seventh and final member of BTS to put out a multi-song solo project.
“Putting the album together has allowed me to pause and reflect on just how much ARMY means to me,” Jin recently told Billboard. “As I worked on each track, I thought about what I wanted to convey to them, how I want to bring joy and happiness to them, while also expressing how much I missed them during our time apart.”
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Jin was referring to the break he had from music while completing his mandatory military service.
“Before enlisting,” he said, “I was focused mainly on our group activities, so a solo album didn’t feel right at the time. But with all the members now taking turns serving, it felt like the right time to share something personal with ARMY who have supported us all along. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I’ve enjoyed making it.”
Among the new music trailing behind Happy on this week’s poll is Gwen Stefani’s Bouquet, which came in second place, and Tate McRae’s “2 Hands,” which came in third.
See the final results of this week’s poll below, or here.
Take Our Poll
Charli XCX hosted SNL for the first time and starred in nine sketches Saturday night (Nov. 16) in an episode that indulged in the pop star’s brat vibes.
Pulling double duty Saturday night as host and musical guest, Charli got things going with a monologue that explained how her career started (“I played at my first rave when I was 15 years old — my parents actually drove me there”), how she’s gotten to where she is (“Today, I consider myself to be a triple threat, which in England means I sing, I drink and I smoke”) and what it truly means to be “brat.”
“So many people have asked me, ‘What is ‘brat’?’ And honestly, it’s just, like, an attitude. It’s a vibe. For example, the new Martha Stewart documentary: When Martha gets mad about an old magazine article and she says that she’s glad the journalist who wrote it is dead, that is brat. And on Friday, when that exact journalist responded and said, ‘Hey, I’m alive, b—-!’ — that is extremely brat,” Charli said in front of the live audience at Studio 8H.
Besides bringing a dose of dry wit, the three-time musical guest brought her late-night party to the stage Saturday with Brat tracks “360” and “Sympathy Is a Knife” (the original album versions, not her Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat collabs).
The episode had an SNL cast member playing Charli in one sketch — so that Charli could star opposite, as her tourmate Troye Sivan. (Sivan’s response: changing his profile pic to Charli’s version of him.)
Charli’s impersonation skills were also put to the test in portrayals of Adele and Victoria Beckham, and she was part of a group cover of Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” that welcomed the now-recurring character Domingo, the guy who crashed a wedding reception in Ariana Grande’s episode last month.
The best sketch, which had Charli’s humor matching a certain SNL trio’s comedy, was actually cut for time during the live broadcast. Thankfully we’ve got the internet and SNL uploaded this one online.
Here’s a ranking of every sketch Charli XCX was in Saturday night, when SNL‘s Nov. 16 episode aired. Watch all nine sketches below.
“Banger Boyz”
Charli XCX delivered some Wicked impressions during her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live.
On Saturday (Nov. 16), the 32-year-old British pop star pulled double duty as both host and musical guest. She showcased her comedic chops in a standout sketch about auditions for the upcoming live-action adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked.
The sketch begins with a voiceover for the movie: “Audiences can’t wait to see the star-studded cast of Wicked,” as clips from the Jon M. Chu-directed film, featuring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, play on screen. “But before production starts, actors across Hollywood audition to step foot in Oz. Here are their never-before-seen screen tests.”
The sketch features a series of hilarious fake auditions from various celebrities, including JoJo Siwa (Chloe Fineman), Bernie Sanders (Sarah Sherman), Sydney Sweeney (Fineman), Al Pacino (Dana Carvey), Martha Stewart (Fineman), and Bad Bunny (Marcello Hernandez).
Charli kicks things off with a spot-on impression of Adele. Dressed in an elegant black dress and sporting long, wavy hair reminiscent of the British singer’s look during her Weekends With Adele residency in Las Vegas, Charli’s Adele exclaims, “Oh, hello, can I take me shoes off? OK, wicked!” as she flings off her heels and struts down a yellow brick road. “Oh my God! I said the name of the bloody movie! That’s f—ing funny!” she adds, laughing with exaggerated flair.
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Later in the sketch, SNL‘s Bowen Yang, who famously impersonated Charli during the show’s Season 50 premiere, returns to play Charli once again — this time while standing next to Charli herself, who appears as her Sweat tour mate Troye Sivan.
“Can I call you Elphie?” Bowen’s Charli asks, prompting Troye (played by Charli) to respond, “No.” Bowen continues, “I only bullied you because I’m a b—- and you’re a witch. And you’re a witch, I’m confused.” Charli’s Sivan clarifies, “I’m not a witch. I’m a top.”
Yang also plays Pfannee in Wicked, which hits theaters on Nov. 22.
Elsewhere in the episode, Charli electrified the crowd with performances of “360” and “Sympathy Is a Knife,” both tracks from her sixth album, Brat. Released in June, the set debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and earned widespread acclaim, including a 2025 Grammy nomination for album of the year.
Saturday’s appearance marked Charli’s third time on SNL, following previous musical guest spots in 2014 and 2022.
Watch SNL‘s “Wicked Auditions” sketch below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.
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Charli XCX brought songs from her Grammy-nominated Brat album to Saturday Night Live on Nov. 16. The 32-year-old British pop star pulled double duty as both host and musical guest on the iconic NBC sketch comedy show. Between cracking jokes in sketches, Charli delivered electrifying performances of “360” and “Sympathy Is a Knife,” both from […]
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