Videos

28 Dec 2023

Pop Culture Rewind: Remembering the Most Iconic Moments of Aretha Franklin’s Career | Billboard News

Here are the biggest Billboard chart achievements and most iconic moments of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin’s career.

Evan Burke
Nothing but respect to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. Today, we celebrate the iconic diva and look back at some of her biggest moments in our pop culture.

Evan Burke
Aretha Franklin placed 20 singles atop Billboard’s R&B and Hip-Hop songs chart during her career that began in the 1950s. Her catalog quite frankly is the soul of American music with two of her hits reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Franklin earned a Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Arts in 1987, she became the first female inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and who could forget when she brought the house down at Kennedy Center in 2016, and even had President Obama in tears.

Evan Burke
We lost Aretha in August of 2018. Her life was celebrated in a biopic starring Jennifer Hudson simply titled ‘Respect.’ This has been in your pop culture rewind.

27 Dec 2023

Hot 100 Chart Reveal: Dec 30th | Billboard News

The Billboard chart is still fully in the holiday spirit, while Mariah Carey sets a new record. Watch the full video to find out who’s on top.

Tetris Kelly
This is the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 for the week dated December 30th. “Sleigh Ride” slips to No. 10, while “Felix Navidad” joins the top 10.

Tetris Kelly
“Let It Snow” climbs to 8, as Andy Williams stays at 7. Jack Harlow has the only non-holiday track in the top ten, “Holly Jolly” stays at 5, as does “Last Christmas” at 4.

Tetris Kelly
“Jingle Bell Rock” at 3 and Brenda Lee at 2. Becoming the first artist to have three songs spend at least 14 weeks on top is Mariah Carey.

22 Dec 2023

Josh Groban on Leaving ‘Sweeney Todd,’ 20th Anniversary of ‘Closer’ & More | Billboard News

Josh Groban spoke with Billboard’s Executive Features Editor Rebecca Milzoff about leaving Sweeney Todd, earning a Grammy nod for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2023 Broadway Cast Recording), the 20th anniversary of his album Closer, working with David Foster, his friendship with Leslie Odom Jr. and Josh Gad, and more.

Josh Groban:
The Jonas Brothers were across the street from us at The Marquee. They would come out to greet stage door, right at the time that I think, like, I don’t want to spoil anything, but there’s a big death at the end with a quiet moment right afterwards, and so the audience would chuckle because this very serious dramatic death would happen and then there would be these just absolute screeching, scream outside the theater.

Hi, it’s Josh Groban, and you’re watching Billboard News.

Rebecca Milzoff:
Hi, everyone. Welcome to Billboard News. I’m Rebecca Milzoff, executive features editor at Billboard, and I’m here today with Josh Groban.

Josh Groban:
Hi!

Rebecca Milzoff:
Hi, Josh.

Josh Groban:
Thanks for having me.

Rebecca Milzoff:
You may not remember, but we actually met once before six years ago, when you were making your Broadway debut in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.

Josh Groban:
I do remember that. Yes, I knew when we met that we’d met before, I just couldn’t remember exactly when it was.

Rebecca Milzoff:
Well, I remember that you said at the time that you were excited by educated risks.

Josh Groban:
Yes.

Rebecca Milzoff:
I thought that was such a great thought and I imagine Sweeney was very much one of those.

Watch the full interview above!

22 Dec 2023

Friday Music Guide: New Music From Anuel AA, Central Cee, Jimin, ITZY & More | Billboard News

It’s Friday, Dec. 22, and we’re breaking down the biggest music drops of the week!

Tetris Kelly:
This week’s got a lot of rap, some club beats and a bunch of K-pop. It’s Dec. 22, and we’re kicking this Friday Music Guide off with my BTS boy, Jimin. Jimin gave his fans a parting gift as he left for his mandatory military service, promising ARMY that the boys will be back together in no time.

It may be the end of the year, but that isn’t stopping Central Cee from dropping his first solo track of the year. In “Entrapreneur,” he raps about his swift come up.

If you’re looking for a hot new Katin track to add to your playlist, Anuel AA dropped the perfect bop for you. He says “Luces Tenues” is dark and sexy, and has the perfect video to accompany it.

ITZY launched their new era with their comeback track “BORN TO BE” and gave us not one but two solo tracks from Ryujin and Yeji.

And finally, Jax Jones enlisted Robbie G to bring you “Forever,” a club anthem before the year ends.

For a full list of the newest hits head over to Billboard.com

Watch the full video above!

21 Dec 2023

Pop Culture Rewind: Christmas Songs That Have Gone to No. 1 | Billboard News

Here are the most successful Christmas songs that have gone to No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

Evan Burke:
Oh, it’s definitely that time of the year as Mariah reminded us, but even though everybody increases the spirits on their Yuletide playlist every year during the holidays, only three Christmas tracks have topped the Billboard Hot 100. We tell you who in this week’s Pop Culture Rewind.

In 1958, “The Chipmunks Song” by The Chipmunks with David Seville spent four weeks on top beginning that December. It actually kicked off what would become the multimillion dollar Alvin and the Chipmunks brand and went on to win three Grammy Awards.

When you say Queen of Christmas, only one name comes to mind. Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” first topped the chart in 2019.

It was her record-extending 19th No. 1 song, the most for any solo artists.

Mariah Carey:
Thank you to everyone who’s allowed this song to be part of their holiday soundtrack each year.

Evan Burke:
And just this year, only the third holiday song has ever reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and it was Brenda Lee with “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” “Christmas Tree” has come 65 years after the songs released in 1958. And with Brenda 78 years young, she’s become the senior most artist to top the chart. Cheers, Mrs. Lee!

We’ll have another huge moment for you next week in our Pop Culture Rewind.

21 Dec 2023

JID Tops TikTok Billboard Top 50, Nicki Minaj & Lil Uzi Vert’s Collab Enters Top 10 | Billboard News

JID’s “Surround Sound” tops the TikTok Billboard Top 50 for a second week with Lana Del Rey and Nicki Minaj securing spots in the Top 10.

Tetris Kelly:
JID holds on to the top spot while Lana Del Rey and Nicki Minaj break into the Top 10.

JID’s “Surround Sound” featuring 21 Savage and Baby Tate claims a second week at No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 for the chart posting December 21st.

Christmas music continues to rule most of the Top 10 but Lana Del Rey and Father John Misty jumped from No. 34 all the way up to No. 4 with “Let The Light In.”

Another newbie to the Top 10 is Nicki Minaj.

“Everybody” featuring Lil Uzi Vert debuts at No. 9 it’s one of two tracks on ‘Pink Friday 2’ to debut on the chart.

Every Thursday, Billboard will bring you the verified list of the hottest songs on TikTok by monitoring music discovery and engagement on the platform in the United States. To find the TikTok Billboard Top 50 each week, users can simply go to any sound detail page and tap the top right button to access the charts page.

Watch the full video above!

20 Dec 2023

Billboard Explains: The Year-End Charts

2023 is coming to a close, and what better way to celebrate the year than with Billboard‘s year-end charts? But what are the year-end charts? When did they start and how are they created? Billboard sits down with Managing Director of Charts Keith Caulfield to explain how we create these year-end tallies.

Alyssa Caverley:
This is Billboard Explains the Year-End Charts. Billboard first launched the annual year-end charts back in the 1940s, and they have been published every year since. What exactly are these charts? They represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts dated Nov. 19, 2022, to Oct. 21, 2023.

Keith Caulfield:
That’s a complicated way of saying if you look at our charts and add them all together, at the end of the year, we spit out who the top artists, songs and albums are.

Alyssa Caverley:
The charts have evolved in different ways throughout the decades thanks to technological advancements, including how the year-end charts are determined. Billboard‘s managing director of charts and data operations Keith Caulfield explains.

Keith Caulfield:
The simple answer as best as I can tell you is you take all of the combined performance for all of the songs artists albums on a particular chart throughout that chart here, add them all together, and then you get a bunch of numbers. And that, generally speaking, is what the year-end version of that chart would look like.

Watch the full video above!

20 Dec 2023

Hellcats & Hip-Hop: Music Video Roundtable With Killer Mike, Funkmaster Flex & Chop Towbin | Billboard Roundtable

Dodge has been a driving force in hip-hop since the genre’s inception. To celebrate hip-hop’s 50th birthday, Billboard’s Deputy Editorial Director Damien Scott sat down with Grammy-nominated rapper Killer Mike, DJ Funkmaster Flex and legendary Dodge Dealer Chop Towbin to watch and review music videos featuring the brand’s signature models. 

Damien Scott:
What up? My name is Damian Scott; I’m the deputy editorial director at Billboard. For the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Billboard and Dodge linked up to celebrate one of the most iconic, hottest cars to ever roll out.

To do so we’ve linked up with an amazing cast of people, but before we get to them, I think it’s important to highlight how important the brand of Dodge is and has been to hip-hop, how influential the brand has been for over 100 years — it’s set trends and delivered some of the hottest models I think we can all agree has ever has ever graced the streets. It’s only right for us to take a look at how Dodges are being represented right now with the current crop of hip-hop artists, and how it shows up in videos, so we put together a short list of videos for us to go through to get your guys’ feedback on it. The first one we’re going to check out comes from our esteemed Grammy-nominated panelist right here, Killer Mike.

Killer Mike:
Nominated me for three Grammys, hopefully, we get an album of the year so I get to celebrate this song, which was the intro and it’s called “Down by Law,” intro by Rico Wade, the founder of the Douglass Family and it has my favorite car and that cat’s in the back.

Watch the full video above!

20 Dec 2023

Madonna’s Top 5 Hot 100 Hits: ‘Like A Virgin,’ ‘Crazy For You,’ ‘Take A Bow’ & More | Billboard News

In honor of Madonna’s The Celebration Tour, we are breaking down the singer’s most iconic tracks on the Hot 100.

Madonna:
’80s, ’90s, 2000s. Four decades of music avec moi. Welcome to the party, b*tches.

Eric Frankenberg:
After a delayed start due to a medical emergency, Madonna’s Celebration Tour is in full swing and the living legend kicked off her U.S. leg earlier this month. In celebration of the Queen of Pop, we are taking a look at Madonna’s five biggest hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

Since arriving on the Hot 100 dated October 29th, 1983 with “Holiday,” Madonna has earned a total of 58 chart hits including 38 top 10s.

Let’s kick it off with “Vogue” at No. 5. Her tribute to voguing in the New York City ball scene is as iconic as its glamorous black and white music video directed by David Fincher.

One of Madonna’s more controversial hits lands at No. 4 “Like a Prayer.” The song premiered in a two-minute Pepsi commercial in February of 1989 but by early April after pressure from conservative protests, Pepsi canceled the ad campaign and ultimately pulled out of sponsoring an upcoming tour for Madonna. Thirty-four years later, in September of this year, Pepsi released the shelved commercial to the praise of Madonna who wrote on Instagram, “The commercial was immediately canceled when I refused to change any scenes in the video where I was kissing a Black saint or burning crosses. So began my illustrious career as an artist refusing to compromise my artistic integrity. Thank you, Pepsi for finally realizing the genius of our collaboration.”

At No. 3 is “Take A Bow.” Even though the two songs above it had stronger overall chart performances on the Hot 100, “Take A Bow” actually spent more time at No. 1 than any other Madonna song, seven weeks in early 1995. After scoring a No. 1 hit in almost every year since 1984, “Take A Bow” was her first chart-topper in three years. Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the song with Babyface.

“Crazy For You” takes the silver medal. The track was written and recorded for the 1985 film Vision Quest and showed a new side to Madonna as her first ballad to top the Hot 100. After spending three weeks at No. 2 on the chart, it finally knocked the all-star charity single “We Are the World” by U.S.A. for Africa out of the top for one week.

Watch the full video above!

19 Dec 2023

Brandy Talks Her First Christmas Album, Playing Cinderella Again & More | Billboard News

R&B singer Brandy talks about making her first Christmas album Christmas With Brandy, singing with her daughter on the album, reprising her iconic role as Cinderella in Descendants: The Rise of Red, her role in the new Christmas movie on Netflix called Best. Christmas. Ever!, having her own brandy with Stella Rosa and more!

Gail Mitchell:
Are we thinking about working on B8? Since your last time album was B7?

Brandy:
I would love to start working on B8. OK, I really would. I … that’s … that’s in the plan. OK, for sure. I love how you called it B8.

Gail Mitchell:
Again manifesting.

Brandy:
I love that.

Hi, I’m Brandy, and you’re watching Billboard News.

Gail Mitchell:
Hi, this is Gail Mitchell, executive director of R&B and hip-hop for Billboard magazine, and I’m so excited. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this woman, but this is one of the timeless voices of music — Grammy Award-winning singer Brandy.

Here you are with a Christmas album. The very first one, really, and a movie as well — Christmas With Brandy. I can’t believe it is your first holiday.

Brandy:
Yes, I can’t believe it either. Because I love Christmas and I love Christmas carols, and so I can’t believe it’s my first one.

Gail Mitchell:
How did you make a Christmas album? A Brandy album.

Brandy:
Well, I’ve had a great team of people to work with me producers, nephew. One of the writers is Sebastian Kole, Tatiana Clark, India Kearney. I just had a really good team around me. And they really helped me put my own spin on the classics and helped me put together some originals that I’m really proud of.

Watch the full video above!