TV/Film

16 Dec 2023

Jessica Chastain Reveals Taylor Swift Made Her a ‘Breakup Playlist’ After Their First Meeting

Jessica Chastain is remembering the time when Taylor Swift helped her through a difficult breakup.

During her appearance on Friday’s (Dec. 15) episode of The Tonight Show, the Memory actress revealed how the pop superstar kindly shared a breakup playlist after their first meeting at the Met Gala in 2011.

“It was the first year I was invited to the Met Ball, first year I had movies out, and we were both sitting next to each other. We were next to Ryan Murphy, who was just started to become successful with all his TV shows,” Chastain told host Jimmy Fallon. “She was so sweet. I just went through a breakup and I was talking to her about that. We went and danced together — it was such a fun night.”

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Shortly after meeting, the Scenes from a Marriage star discovered a special email from Swift waiting in her inbox.

“The next day, I had an e-mail from iTunes that said, like Taylor Swift, whatever, and I just thought it was a Taylor Swift album,” the Oscar-winning actress said. “She had made me a breakup playlist that she sent me. Isn’t that the sweetest thing? … And here I thought it was like a Taylor Swift advertisement. And I was like, wait a minute? She curated all these breakup songs to send me to help me get through my breakup.”

Chastain and Swift recently met up again during the “Cruel Summer” singer’s Eras Tour stop in Mexico City this summer. After the show, the actress shared a carousel of photos and videos of herself at the show, including a snap of her with Swift backstage.

“Spamming u w really good @taylorswift Eras Tour content,” she captioned the post.

Watch Chastain’s Tonight Show interview below.

15 Dec 2023

Billie Eilish & Khalid’s ‘Lovely’ Reigns on November Top TV Songs Chart

Billie Eilish and Khalid’s 2018 collaboration “Lovely” launches at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind (a Songtradr company), for November 2023 after its inclusion in Disney+ and Hulu’s Goosebumps.

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Rankings for the Top TV Songs chart are based on song and show data provided by Tunefind and ranked using a formula blending that data with sales and streaming information tracked by Luminate during the corresponding period of November 2023.

“Lovely” appears in the Nov. 3 episode of Goosebumps, the first-year series that is an adaptation of RL Stine’s long-running children’s book series of the same name. After premiering Oct. 13 with its first five episodes, the series premiered one episode a week through its season finale on Nov. 17.

The song earned 17.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads in November 2023, according to Luminate. The song peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2019, Eilish’s first song to chart there.

It’s the second time “Lovely” has led Top TV Songs, following the May 2018 tally, when the track reigned after a synch in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why.

“Lovely” and Goosebumps reign over a pair of songs from Netflix’s Virgin River, the second part of the fifth season of which premiered Nov. 30. Both are holiday-themed songs; Michael Bublé‘s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” leads the group at No. 2 (30.5 million streams, 3,000 downloads), while Stevie Wonder’s “What Christmas Means to Me” (No. 5; 9.5 million streams, 2,000 downloads) also appears.

Both Fargo and A Murder at the End of the World also boast a pair of entries each.

See the full top 10, also featuring music from The Kardashians, Fargo and Invincible, below.

Rank, Song, Artist, Show (Network)
1. “Lovely,” Billie Eilish & Khalid, Goosebumps (Apple TV+/Hulu)
2. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” Michael Buble, Virgin River (Netflix)
3. “All the Small Things,” blink-182, The Kardashians (Hulu)
4. “Hey Joe,” Charlotte Gainsbourg, Fargo (FX)
5. “What Christmas Means to Me,” Stevie Wonder, Virgin River (Netflix)
6. “Karma Police,” Radiohead, Invincible (Amazon Prime Video)
7. “Clint Eastwood,” Gorillaz, For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
8. “No More ‘I Love You’s,” Annie Lennox, A Murder at the End of the World (FX)
9. “Working Man,” Rush, Fargo (FX)
10. “Moon River,” Frank Ocean, A Murder at the End of the World (FX)

15 Dec 2023

Tunefind Top TV/Movie Synchs of 2023: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Remains Top Dog

It’s seven straight years for Grey’s Anatomy as the top TV show for music synchs, according to Tunefind.

Tunefind, a Songtradr company, has again announced its top shows, movies, songs and artists for onscreen music synchs for the year, with ABC’s 19-season behemoth snagging both top show and top song honors.

The music discovery website Tunefind’s year-end rankings are based only on traffic and interaction on its website, which helps fans identify what song they heard in a TV show or film. Tunefind’s year-end charts are separate from the monthly Top TV Songs chart, presented with Billboard. The monthly Top TV Songs chart ranks the top songs that appear in TV shows each month, using a combination of metrics from Tunefind and Luminate.

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Throughout 2023, Grey’s Anatomy appeared on the monthly Top TV Songs list multiple times via its 2023 run of episodes as part of the 19th season, which concluded May 18. The No. 1 song of the year, Lxandra’s “Let It Be Hope,” appeared in the first episode of 2023 (the seventh episode of the season), which aired Feb. 23.

“Let It Be Hope” saw its overall premiere via the show’s episode, with an ensuing wide release in May.

A second song, Lindsey Ray and TAIINA’s “I Am Here,” ranks at No. 9 on the year-end songs tally via its synch in the 10th episode of the season (March 16).

The series will have a chance to defend its title yet again in 2024, as the show has been renewed for a 20th season.

The top song on the year-end chart whose origins are pre-2023 is the No. 2: Sofi Tukker’s “Best Friend,” featuring NERVO, The Knocks and Alisa Ueno. A popular synch since its 2017 release (it was prominently featured in an ad that year for the iPhone X), the song was heard in the season (and eventually series) finale of The Rookie: Feds, ABC’s spinoff of The Rookie¸ on May 2 (the show was later canceled in November).

Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso ranks at No. 2 on the shows list, bettering its appearance at No. 5 in 2021. The Jason Sudeikis-led comedy-drama ended its three-season run in May, with synchs throughout the season including songs from Bob Marley & the Wailers (“Three Little Birds” ranked at No. 1 on the April 2023 chart), Beyonce, Cat Stevens and more.

The top new show, meanwhile, is Apple TV+’s Shrinking, which premiered in January and concluded its first season in March. Fred again..’s “Dermot (see yourself in my eyes)” concurrently represents the series on the top songs ranking, appearing at No. 6. Shrinking has been renewed for a second season.

The top movies chart finds Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse with top honors, buoyed by a popular soundtrack full of original music helmed by producer Metro Boomin. The Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse: Metro Boomin Presents soundtrack peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 in June and yielded multiple appearances on the Billboard Hot 100, paced by “Calling” with Swae Lee and Nav and featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, which peaked at No. 41 that month.

Lil Nas X ranks as the year’s top artist, while Max Richter takes home the distinction of top composer. Lil Nas X boasted a variety of synchs in 2023 from series like The Summer That I Turned Pretty, Red, White & Royal Blue, RuPaul’s Drag Race and School Spirits. Richter, meanwhile, is the composer on Apple TV+’s Invasion (which premiered its second season in August) and his composition “On the Nature of Daylight” was also used in HBO’s The Last of Us this year.

See each of the year-end rankings below.

Top Songs

  1. “Let There Be Hope,” Lxandra, Grey’s Anatomy
  2. “Best Friend,” Sofi Tukker feat. NERVO, The Knocks & Alisa Ueno, The Rookie: Feds
  3. “Never Let Me Down Again,” Jessica Mazin, The Last of Us
  4. “Numb,” Tramont, Ginny & Georgia
  5. “Until I Found You,” Stephen Sanchez & Em Beihold, Ginny & Georgia
  6. “Dermot (see yourself in my eyes),” Fred again.., Shrinking
  7. “Nothing Else Matters,” Phoebe Bridgers, Will Trent
  8. “Feeling Our Way Through the Dark,” Katie Garfield, The Good Doctor
  9. “I Am Here,” Lindsey Ray & TAIINA, Grey’s Anatomy
  10. “Fuel to Fire,” Agnes Obel, The Last of Us

Top TV Shows

  1. Grey’s Anatomy (supervisor: Justin Kamps)
  2. Ted Lasso (Tony Von Pervieux & Christa Miller)
  3. The Blacklist (John Bissell)
  4. Yellowjackets (Nora Felder)
  5. Love Island
  6. All American (Madonna Wade-Reed)
  7. Sex Education (Matt Biffa)
  8. The Bear (Josh Senior & Christopher Storer)
  9. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Robin Urdang)
  10. Billions (Jim Black)

Top New TV Shows

  1. Shrinking (supervisors: Tony Von Pervieux & Christa Miller)
  2. Sullivan’s Crossing (Lindsay Wolfington)
  3. Beef
  4. The Last of Us (Evyen Klean & Ian Broucek)
  5. Poker Face (Thomas Golubic)

Top Movies

  1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (supervisor: Kier Lehman)
  2. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Jen Malone)
  3. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (Dave Jordan)
  4. Creed III
  5. M3GAN (Andrea von Foerster)
  6. Barbie
  7. Fast X
  8. Talk to Me
  9. Scream VI
  10. Magic Mike’s Last Dance (Season Kent)

Top Artists

  1. Lil Nas X
  2. SZA
  3. Usher
  4. AC/DC
  5. The Smashing Pumpkins
  6. Phoebe Bridgers
  7. Tones and I
  8. Cake
  9. James Brown
  10. Ramones

Top Composers

  1. Max Richter
  2. Daniel Pemberton
  3. Nathan Barr
  4. The Newton Brothers
  5. Theodore Shapiro

15 Dec 2023

New Orleans Bowl: How to Watch Lousiana vs. Jacksonville State Without Cable

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Bowl season is officially upon as with the New Orleans Bowl back for its 23rd edition on Saturday (Dec. 16). Louisiana and Jacksonville State will take to the field at Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans, LA, marking the transition to post-college season. The game will begin at 2:15 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+. Other games taking place within the same day include the Myrtle Beach Bowl and the Cricket Celebration Bowl — so be sure to clear your schedule for the entire day.

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Tickets to the big event are still on sale from $25+ if you’re able to score some last-minute travel deals to view it in person. You can grab tickets through resale retailers such as TicketSmarter, Ticketmaster, StubHub, VividSeats and Seat Geek (get $10 off your first purchase through Seat Geek of orders $250+ with code BILLBOARD10).

For those who can’t make it to the game in person this year, you can still livestream the game without cable through a few streaming options.

Keep reading to learn how.

How to Watch the New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State

The game will begin at 2:15 p.m. ET on Saturday (Dec. 16) on ESPN and ESPN+. If you have cable, you’ll be able to watch the game for free anywhere there’s ESPN. Don’t have cable? You may still be able to watch the New Orleans Bowl live through a HD antenna like one of these here from Amazon.

Live cable streamers including FuboTV, SlingTV, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV all offer free trials for either five, seven or 30 days, which means you can watch the game and more for no cost.

Cable cutters can take advantage of ESPN+, the official streaming platform for ESPN. The streaming platform doesn’t have a free trial, but it’s one of the more affordable platforms out there with plans starting at $10.99/month or you can save over 15% off with an annual plan for $109.99/year. Click here or the button below to start your membership.

Besides the New Orleans Bowl, a membership with ESPN+ will provide you with access to the platform’s entire library of content. This includes exclusive live events, sports series, TV shows and originals from big names in sports like The Captain, America’s Caddie, Man in the Arena With Tom Brady, More Than an Athlete With Michael Strahan, Our Time: Baylor Basketball, Al Davis vs. The NFL, Vick, Be Like Water, Breakaway, the entire 30 for 30 series and other original content such as UFC fights and more.

If you want to triple you content library offerings while saving money, you can bundle ESPN+ with Hulu and Disney+. Looking for live TV options, too? You can also bundle the platform with Hulu + Live TV for even more content offerings.

15 Dec 2023

Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration: How to Watch & Stream Online for Free

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Willie Nelson went big for his 90th birthday with a major celebration special that fans can tune into on Sunday (Dec. 17) at 8:30 p.m. ET. Now, you can relive the fun from the legendary country singer’s birthday special that happened earlier this year at the Hollywood Bowl on April 29 and 30 when it airs on CBS and Paramount+.

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The two-hour special will include exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with those close with Nelson and performances from a star-studded lineup up that includes Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, Norah Jones, Miranda Lambert and Dave Matthews.

Keep reading to learn the streaming options available.

How to Watch Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration

The birthday special will be airing exclusively on CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday (Dec. 17) at 8:30 p.m. ET. If you have cable, you can watch the special for free anywhere CBS is televised. You just need to check with your cable provider’s channel guide for the exact channel. If you don’t have cable, you may be able to see the special with an HD antenna like one here from Amazon.

Live TV streamers like FuboTV, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV offer free trials of up to seven days that’ll have CBS as well as more live channels to watch you favorite shows, sports and more.

For cable cutters, Paramount+ is the official streamer for CBS and its affiliates, which includes Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration. If you’re already a subscriber, you can watch the special for no additional cost, just log into your account and you’ll find it under new releases.

Don’t have a Paramount+ subscription? The streamer offers a seven day free trial that’ll allow you to watch the special and more for free. Once the free trial is over, you’ll be charged the regular subscription price based on the plan you choose. Click here or the button below to start your free trial.

There are two plans you can choose from: Paramount+ Essential and Paramount+ with Showtime. The Essential plan is $5.99/month and includes some ads, thousands of episodes of Paramount+ Originals, movies, series and exclusives as well as NFL on CBS, UEFA Champions League and CBS News. Paramount+ with Showtime is $11.99/month and includes everything in the Essential plan except with no ads and access to the entire Showtime library, live TV, college football and the ability to download content to watch offline.

Along with Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration, a subscription to Paramount+ will give you access to the entire library of content and exclusives including Survivor, NCIS, Blue Bloods, Big Brother, Jersey Shore Family Vacation, Frasier, Mixtape, Family Legacy, I Wanna Rock, Hip Hop My House, Behind The Music, Yellowstone, Fatal Attraction,  1923, iCarly, The Good Fight, Mayor of Kingstown, Seal Team, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Why Women Kill and Before I Forget. With Showtime, you can stream original shows and movies such as Yellowjackets, The 12th Victim, Dexter, Dexter: New Blood, George & Tammy, Homeland, Ziwe, Penny Dreadful, Buried and more.

Check below for a sneak peek of the special.

15 Dec 2023

Billie Eilish Teases She’s ‘Almost Done’ With Her Next Album

Billie Eilish fans should be happier than ever to learn that the 21-year-old pop star is closing in on finishing her third album. 

Stopping by the Tonight Show Thursday (Dec. 14) — two days ahead of her return to Saturday Night Live — Eilish teased that she and her brother/producer Finneas are putting the final touches on her highly anticipated next record. “We are almost done with this new album we’re working on,” she told host Jimmy Fallon, putting her arms up to brace herself against the high-pitched screams she was immediately met with from the studio audience. 

“So, at some point, you will know more, but I’m not going to say anymore now,” she added. 

Without officially confirming, the “Bad Guy” artist also strongly hinted which song she plans to perform on SNL this weekend by pointing at her hat, which was emblazoned with the Barbie movie logo. Eilish contributed “What Was I Made For?” to the Greta Gerwig project’s soundtrack, scoring a No. 14 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year. 

“[Gerwig] was like, ‘I really want Barbie’s heart song,’” the Grammy winner recalled to Fallon of making the ballad with Finneas. “And that, like, stuck with us. That stayed with us.” 

“I feel like [the song] brought women together in this way that I feel like I haven’t felt part of like that,” she continued. “It made me feel really good.” 

Earlier this week, Barbie scored nine Golden Globe nominations – the most of any other project in the pool. The film is also responsible for three of the six total best original song nods, with “What Was I Made For?” in the running against “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa and “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling. 

Watch Eilish on the Tonight Show above. 

15 Dec 2023

Simu Liu Taps Into Some Serious Kenergy During ‘I’m Just Ken’ Performance in L.A.

Barbie star Simu Liu is not ready to stop feeling the Kenergy. The actor who played a rival Ken to Ryan Gosling’s abtastic Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Oscar-nominated box office blockbuster busted out a solo version of the theme song from the movie’s signature dance number, “I’m Just Ken,” at an intimate show at Los Angeles’ Hotel Café on Wednesday (Dec, 13).

According to a video of the gig he posted on X, Liu instructed the crowd, “If there’s one thing that I want each and every one of you to take away from this show tonight in your hearts it’s that you’re enough,” he said the to 100 or so fans in the house as a keyboardist played some piano mood music behind him. “I want you to do this with me now. I want you to close your eyes, and I want you to put your hand on your heart, and I want you to repeat after me, okay?: I. Am. Kenough.”

They, of course, did as he instructed and Liu then busted into the first verse of the track written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt in a strong, soulful voice over a jazzy arrangement. He later admitted, however, that like the real world in the movie, something was a little off.

“The most Ken thing about this is that I forgot part of the words to ‘I’m Just Ken.’ What a great night!!!!,” Liu wrote on X after he fumbled the chorus line “Where I see love she sees a friend,” smiling and mumbling a nonsense phrase where the lyric should have been. He made up for it by taking off his leather jacket and showing off his guns in a tank top to whoops from the audience.

The consummate professional laughed off the flub, asking, “Are you ready to feel the Kenergy with me tonight? Let’s do this! You are Kenough, you are Kenough!” He also busted out the choreo from the movie’s insane dance dream sequence and belted out the lyrics while literally flexing all over the place and letting out a primal scream mid-song.

“I’m Just Ken” debuted at No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August, giving Ryan Gosling his first entry on the 100 tally.

This isn’t Liu’s first singing rodeo. The actor released his debut four-track EP, Anxious-Avoidant, in Novmeber, which includes a song co-written by the Jonas Brothers’ Joe Jonas, “Break My Heart.”

Check out Liu’s performance below.

14 Dec 2023

Megan Thee Stallion & Reneé Rapp Are Cold, Shiny, Hard Plastic on ‘Not My Fault’: Stream It Now

So you agree? You think Reneé Rapp and Megan Thee Stallion are really pretty?

On Friday (Dec. 15), the pop singer and rap icon joined forces to release “Not My Fault,” their hotly anticipated new collaboration off the soundtrack of the forthcoming Mean Girls remake. Sampling an audio clip from the original 2004 film — in which Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) yells at her best friend Janis (Lizzy Caplan) that “it’s not my fault that you’re, like, in love with me or something” — Reneé and Megan flex their “hot girl” status throughout this slick dance track.

Rapp kicks things off with a “steal your girl” approach to the song, insisting, “It’s not my fault/ You came with her but she might leave with me.” As the singer ratchets up the sexual tension (she casually asks “can a gay girl get an amen?” in the song’s second verse), Megan jumps in to boast her accolades. “B—h so bad, dudes thought I was A.I., ballin’ like eight/ Stick to the motherf—in’ money like a stapler, stack like Jenga,” she spits in her verse. “It’s funny how the mean girl open all the doors/ I been told y’all, I’m the Black Regina George.”

“Not My Fault” was first announced by Megan earlier this week via a post on Rapp’s Instagram account. In a teaser clip, the “Cobra” rapper announced that she and the “Snow Angel” singer had “a new song coming out for Mean Girls.” Rapp then subsequently posted the cover art for the new single, showing the pair baring it all in a room filled with plastic mannequins. “meg told me to put my a– out so I put my a– out,” Rapp wrote about the art on X.

Rapp stars in the Mean Girls reboot as the queen bee of North Shore High School Regina George, reprising her role from the Broadway musical on which the film is partially based. The film arrives in theaters on Jan. 12.

Check out Reneé Rapp and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Not My Fault” below:

14 Dec 2023

Billie Eilish & Kate McKinnon Spread Christmas Cheer in New ‘SNL’ Promo

Kate McKinnon and Billie Eilish are feeling festive leading up to their Saturday Night Live episode this weekend (Dec. 16), and the duo chatted with Ego Nwodim about some of their favorite things about the holiday season.

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While Eilish and Nwodim gushed over holiday lights and decorations, McKinnon chimed in with her unusual festive favorite activity. “The hibernal solstice,” the comedian shared. “When the Earth strays furthest from the sun, shrouding us in darkness.”

With Nwodim offering the Rockefeller Tree instead of McKinnon’s dark thought, and Eilish suggesting that ice skating rinks make the season bright, the SNL alum shared how much she loves the “Yule alter, the root vegetables, the birthday of the unconquered Sun God Mithra — and, of course, candy canes.”

SNL alum and Barbie star McKinnon — who in the past has delivered hilarious impressions of everyone from Justin Bieber to the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg — returns to Studio 8H to host for the first time on Dec. 16. Eilish, whose song “What Was I Made For?” for the Barbie soundtrack has been nominated for five 2024 Grammy awards — will be the musical guest for the third time.

Saturday Night Live airs on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET, and streams live on Peacock. Watch the new promo video below.

14 Dec 2023

Janelle Monae Reflects on Having Prince as a Mentor: ‘He Never Let His Mystery Get in the Way’

Janelle Monàe has nothing but fondness for Prince, she revealed in her Thursday (Dec. 14) sit-down on The Jennifer Hudson Show. The “Water Slide” singer gushed about the late artist’s support for her and other Black musicians, and reflected on a special moment in which he took the stage with her during a concert.

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“He loved you. I remember talking about you — he loved you and that just speaks to the type of person he was. I think he was a big advocate for artists, for Black women in particular,” Monàe told Hudson, who remarked that she was sad she didn’t have the chance to work with Prince before his death in 2016.

The 10-time Grammy nominee continued, “I just remember him calling me, like, ‘Hello, Janelle. This is Prince.’ I opened up for him — I wanna say this was The Forum. I did Madison Square Garden and I also did The Forum, and this was my set opening for him, and he came out during our set and performed our song we have together [“Give ‘Em What They Love”] on [my 2013 album] The Electric Lady together. The headliner never comes out before its time for them to come, and for him to do that … he never let his mystery get in the way of his mentorship.”

Monáe and Prince continued to work together throughout the 2010s, with the late icon helping her with her 2018 album, Dirty Computer. In an interview about the set with The Guardian, Monáe shared that the “Raspberry Beret” singer was helping her “collect sounds” for the project before he died. “It’s difficult for me to even speak about this because Prince was helping me with the album before he passed on to another frequency,” she explained.

Monáe also noted at the time that she “dedicate[s] a lot of my music to Prince, for everything he’s done for music and Black people and women and men, for those who have something to say and also at the same time will not allow society to take the dirt off of them. It’s about that dirt, and not getting rid of that dirt.”

Watch Monáe talk about Prince’s mentorship in the video above.