Music News
Cardi B Lets a Troll Know She’s Worth More Than $40 Million & That She Could Lose It at Any Second
Looks like we can add financial planner to Cardi B’s résumé. Earlier this week, the superstar schooled a fan who criticized her wealth on social media. The exchange started when Cardi tweeted, “We going through a recession…..Merry Christmas,” along with a festive Christmas tree emoji. The statement then prompted a follower to clap back, “Says the rapper worth 40 million,” using a GIF of an irritated man nodding his head and rolling his eyes. Well, naturally, the “Hot Sh–” rapper wasn’t going to take that shade lying down. “I’m worth more [than] that and guess what? If I don’t save, work and budget I could lose it too!” she replied. “What makes you think that no matter how much money you got you can’t lose it all if you don’t manage your money correctly. I too have bills, responsibilities a...
9 Can’t Miss Moments from ‘Homeward Bound: Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon’
It’s not a surprise that Homeward Bound: Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon, which aired on CBS on Wednesday Dec. 21, was so satisfying. Paul Simon has long been regarded as one of our top songwriters. He won the 1970 Grammy for song of the year for “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and was nominated in that category for “Mrs. Robinson” and “Graceland.” He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1982 and received that organization’s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award, in 1998. In 2007, he became the inaugural recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Many of the participants on the two-hour special spoke warmly about Simon’s songs. Elton John recalled early days when he and Bernie Taupin would sit on the floor listening to Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends through hea...
Thom Bell, Philadelphia Soul Icon, Dies at 79
Thom Bell, the iconic pioneer of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s, passed away on Thursday (Dec. 22) in Bellingham, Washington. He was 79 years old. The news was first reported by Philly R&B radio station 105.3 WDAS-FM, with host Patty Jackson saying, “We remember Thom Bell: record producer, arranger and songwriter known for his work with Linda Creed, Gamble and Huff, the many hits, the creators of Philly soul.” The station also paid special tribute to the late musician on its website by sharing a video of the Stylistics’ 1972 Bell-produced single “People Make the World Go Round.” Bell’s attorney confirmed his passing to Billboard, saying, “Thom Bell left an indelible and everlasting mark on the history of popular music, but even more so, he will be remembered by all who knew him as a ki...
Kate Bush Reflects on ‘Running Up That Hill’ Success, Shares Message of ‘Hope’ in 2022 Christmas Message
Kate Bush is looking back on the ups and downs of 2022. In a bittersweet message titled “Merry Christmas” on her website, the 64-year-old U.K. pop icon reflects on the pains of the the past year, including the war in Ukraine and death of Queen Elizabeth II, but also shares thanks for the renewed success of her classic 1985 song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” and expresses hope for a brighter 2023. “I don’t think any of us have ever known a year like this one,” Bush begins her note. “Life became incredibly frightening in the pandemic, but just as we think it might be over soon, it seems to keep going. It’s a bombardment — the horrific war in Ukraine, the famines, the droughts, the floods… and we lost our Queen.” The singer-songwriter then turns to a more uplifting topic: the resur...
Chrissy Teigen Jokes About Posing for ‘Storks Illustrated’ in Bikini Photo Baring Her Baby Bump
Chrissy Teigen is proving that being a swimsuit model and being pregnant aren’t mutually exclusive. In a new Instagram photo from her and John Legend‘s beachside holiday getaway, the former Sports Illustrated covergirl showed off her baby bump in a black bikini — a shot she hilariously dubbed “Storks Illustrated.” In the a photo shared Wednesday (Dec. 21), Teigen stands on a sandy shore with her feet in the water, looking on as her son, 4-year-old Miles, runs from an approaching wave. Facing slightly away from the camera, the Cravings founder’s belly is on full display in her two-piece, which she revealed in a followup post is from the brand Monday Swimwear. “storks illustrated? I don’t know,” she jokingly captioned the post. Teigen is currently expecting her third child with Legend, with ...
TWICE’s Tzuyu Gets Into the Holiday Spirit With a Christmas Cover of Ava Max: Watch
With just days left until Christmas, TWICE‘s Tzuyu is spreading cheer to ONCEs everywhere by gifting them a cover of a holiday track on Wednesday (Dec. 21). The K-pop star went with a modern Christmas song and put a sweet spin on Ava Max‘s 2020 song “Christmas Without You.” The TWICE vocalist filmed a video to accompany her take from the studio, and is in a cozy white sweater, red scarf and a festive reindeer headband complete with small antlers. Kicking off the first verse, Tzuyu went with a serene delivery of the track and its chorus. “Lights on the trees under fallen snow/ You get a bit closer when the winter’s cold/ Now I can’t wait ’til you’re by my side/ All of the best gifts, you just can’t buy,” she sang. “Wherever you go, you light up the room/ I hope that you’ll make it back home...
Lizzo Shows Off Her New ‘Wolf Cut’ on TikTok
Lizzo, fresh off of her appearance as musical guest on SNL last weekend, has a fresh new look. She took to TikTok on Tuesday (Dec. 20) to show off her new hairstyle, a wolf cut featuring shaggy, wavy layers and bangs. “are we loving the wolf cut ???” she asked her followers on the post, which had reached 3.9 million views at press time. In the video, Lizzo mouths a Blair Waldorf line from the original Gossip Girl series: “Some people are simply better than others.” Her cute new hairstyle can also be seen in a second clip, in which the singer applied lipstick and showed off her outfit, a T-shirt dress with cut-outs. “I’m posting a lot today so beware,” she wrote. “Obsessed w how cute I was yesterday,” she added in an Instagram glimpse at herself in the mirror. See Lizzo’s new hairstyle belo...
From Beyoncé to Brent Faiyaz, What Was Your Favorite R&B Album of 2022? Vote!
It’s that time of year! Yes, the holiday season, but also when we look back and take stock on the best music of the year. And in the countdown to Christmas, we want to know which R&B album released in 2022 was your favorite. On Tuesday (Dec. 20), Billboard staffers ranked their ten picks for the year’s best R&B studio sets, starting with Brent Faiyaz‘s Wasteland. Calling it the indie artist’s “most transparent project to date,” the sophomore follow-up to 2017’s Sonder Son was led by singles “Dead Man Walking,” “Gravity” with DJ Dahi and featuring a guest assist from Tyler, the Creator, and “Wasting Time” featuring Drake before finally debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in July. Of course, it wouldn’t be the year in R&B without considering Beyoncé‘s mammoth Renaissance, even...
Rory Kramer, Justin Bieber’s Photographer, Mourns Loss of Son After Premature Birth: ‘How Fragile Life Is’
Gone far too soon. Rory Kramer, Justin Bieber‘s longtime photographer and music video director, took to social media on Monday (Dec. 19) to share the news that his baby son had died after a premature birth. “It’s with a broken heart that I share on December 1, 2022 at 9:41pm, my wife Amy went into a preterm labor and gave birth to our baby boy, Daniel Thomas Kramer after 21 weeks,” Kramer wrote alongside an Instagram photo of himself cradling the tiny baby, whose face was covered by a heart emoji. “A name after both our fathers. He weighed 14oz and was 11 inches long. He made Amy and I parents for 52 minutes before heading off to heaven.” Kramer went on to recall his very first moments in the hospital with baby Daniel before writing, “It went from the most beautiful moment to the most eye ...
Nicole Scherzinger Is ‘Down for a Collab’ With Taylor Swift
When she grows up, she wannabe famous, wannabe a star, wannabe … Taylor Swift‘s next collaborator. Nicole Scherzinger shared with followers in a Tuesday (Dec. 20) TikTok that the door is definitely open if a certain 11-time Grammy-winning pop star ever wants to get into the studio together. In the TikTok, the former Pussycat Dolls star stands in a recording booth, dressed in a black dress. Singing into a microphone, she jams out to a mashup of Swift’s latest No. 1 single, “Anti-Hero,” and “Buttons,” one of Scherzinger’s own hits. “I’d be down for a collab @Taylor Swift 😏🖤,” she captioned the video. Scherzinger posted the TikTok in response to one fan who thought she had been teasing a Swift collab in a previous video, in which she’d worn another all-black outfit and dark na...
The Specials Singer Terry Hall’s Cause of Death, Final Days Revealed By Bandmate: ‘The World Has Lost a Unique Voice’
Just says after the death of The Specials singer Terry Hall at age 63 after what the band described as a “brief illness,” the group’s bassist revealed the beloved singer’s cancer diagnosis, as well as the previously undisclosed album the group was preparing to record. “We had it all planned out. Make the album we were going to do in 2020 – a reggae album,” wrote Horace Panter, an original member of the second wave British two tone ska revivalist group of the sessions that were already booked in Los Angeles during the first winter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Panter said Aggrolites keyboardist Roger Rivas was set to co-produce the set and famed street artists Shepard Fairey was on board to create the cover. With 8 songs prepped for the sessions by Hall, “confidence was high,” Panter wrote, not...
Stray Kids‘ New Album ’SKZ-REPLAY’ Is Here: Stream It Now
Who says new music needs to arrive on a Friday? Stray Kids defied the traditional release formula and dropped its third compilation album, SKZ-REPLAY, on Wednesday (Dec. 21) much to the delight of fans. The new project contains a whopping 25 songs across two discs. Side A features 10 tracks consisting of eight solo songs from members Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N., as well as the Korean version of “Fam” (which received an official music video following the album’s release) and “#LoveStay.” Side B includes original songs from the group’s two video series, SKZ-Player and SKZ-Record. SKZ-REPLAY is the third installment in the group’s compilation album series. Last year, the K-pop stars dropped SKZ2021 on Dec. 23 via JYP Entertainment. The album...
