Music News
Taylor Swift Reveals the Badass ‘Game of Thrones’ Character She Identifies With
Winter is coming … swiftly. Named to The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2022 Women In Entertainment Power 100, Taylor Swift revealed to the publication Wednesday (Dec. 7) that the fictional character she identifies a lot with is Game of Thrones‘ Arya Stark. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I realize I don’t know how to use a sword and I’ve never had to rise up from near death to go on an epic revenge mission,” quipped the 32-year-old pop star. “But I have been in the music industry for over 15 years, so …” This isn’t the first time Swift has shared her love for HBO’s hit fantasy drama. In fact, she once revealed that her 2017 album Reputation was inspired, in part, by Arya and her sister, Sansa Stark. “So much of my imagination was spent on ...
Andrea Bocelli & Family to Meet the Simpsons in Upcoming Holiday Special
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Disney+ is bringing together two beloved families for the holidays. The streaming service announced on Wednesday (Dec. 7) that their upcoming shot, The Simpsons Meet the Bocellis in “Feliz Navidad” will launch exclusively on the platform on December 15. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In the short, Homer Simpson surprises his wife Marge with the ultimate gift, a performance from Andrea Bocelli, his 25-year-old son Matteo and 10-year-old daughter Virginia. ‘The Simpsons Meet The Bocelli...
Lance Bass, Angel Conrad Team For Charity Concert Following Aaron Carter’s Death
In honor of Aaron Carter, who died at the beginning of November, his twin sister, Angel Conrad, and Lance Bass are co-hosting a charity concert to raise awareness for mental health. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a lengthy Instagram message posted on her birthday on Wednesday, Conrad expressed the heartache of losing her twin brother and remembering the last moment she spoke with him, saying, Carter’s death “was the worst day of [her] life.” “Almost 11 years ago, I lost my sister, Leslie. I remember feeling broken, confused, and I questioned how I was going to continue on without her in my life … And now, over a decade later, I am forced to once again deal with the extreme grief of the death of a sibling. This time, it’s my beloved twin, Aa...
‘Wicked’ Has Begun Filming, ‘SpongeBob’ Star Ethan Slater Joins Cast
The filming for the highly anticipated Wicked films is officially underway, according to Instagram Stories from director Jon M. Chu as well as Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who are set to play Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba the Wicked Witch, respectively. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “What a day today has been,” Erivo captioned a blank screen on her Stories on Wednesday (Dec. 7), tagging Grande and Chu. The director, meanwhile, shared an adorable Wicked-themed drawing made by his daughter “to commemorate the first day of shooting.” Grande reposted it, writing, “My heart.” That’s not all the news going down in the land of Oz this week: Variety revealed that actor Ethan Slater has been cast as Boq, the love interest of Elphaba’s ...
How hello82 Brought K-Pop Fan E-Commerce to the Top of the Charts & On Tour With ATEEZ
To millions of K-pop fans, hello82 has been a destination to watch their favorite idols take on viral challenges, play celebrity babysitter to kids, attempt karaoke in foreign languages and star in other ready-to-share videos. But in the past year, the company behind the multi-language YouTube channels has expanded its e-commerce offerings to better meet its’ viewers’ wants. The results have led to success for the four-year-old company on the Billboard charts and, as of last week, completing their first “tour.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news When ATEEZ‘s first U.S. shows since 2019 kicked off in January for The Fellowship: Beginning of the End tour, the band was selling out arenas but had yet to break into the Top 40 of ...
Kanye West Shares First Song Since Antisemitic Interviews & Social Posts
Kanye West has had a lot to say over the past few months, facing backlash over his antisemitic interviews and social media posts since early October, but the one place he hasn’t been sounding off is in song. That changed Wednesday (Dec. 7) when Ye posted a new song titled “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” which samples Donny Hathaway’s 1973 song of the same name, to his Instagram and also shared it with Alex Jones to play on his far-right talk show InfoWars. The lyrics address much of the last two months’ controversy, including his strained relationship with ex-wife Kim Kardashian and his now-banned Twitter account. “Tweeted deathcon, now we past three,” he repeats to end the song, referencing the antisemitic tweet that first got him banned on the now-Elon Musk-run Twitter. After causing ire wi...
What’s Your Favorite Song of 2022? Vote!
2022 is coming to a close, and Billboard celebrated the music of the year by compiling our 100 ranked, favorite songs. From TikTok-viral hits like Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit,” Dove Cameron’s “Boyfriend” and Gayle’s “abcdefu” to new tracks from top artist like Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” and Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” there was a little something for every type of music lover this year. We want to know which 2022 hit is your favorite. Check out our picks here, and let us know by voting below. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news [flexi-common-toolbar] [flexi-form class=”flexi_form_style” title=”Submit to Flexi” name=”my_form” ajax=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”post_ti...
Kevin Bacon Is a Billboard-Charting Hitmaker Thanks to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Holiday Song
Kevin Bacon scores his first solo entry on a Billboard songs chart as “Here It Is Christmastime,” from The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, debuts at No. 7 on Holiday Digital Song Sales, No. 10 on Rock Digital Song Sales and No. 27 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart (all dated Dec. 10). The song, on which he’s co-billed with the Old 97’s, debuts with 2,000 downloads sold in the Nov. 25-Dec. 1 tracking week, according to Luminate. The Guardians special, in which Bacon plays a fictionalized version of himself, premiered on Disney+ Nov. 25. While Bacon makes his first solo appearance on a songs ranking this week, this isn’t his first-ever appearance on any Billboard chart. He charted for the first time in 2014 with his band The Bacon Brothers — his folk-rock group with his brot...
An Appreciation of Stax Records’ Jim Stewart: ’One of the Great Label Chiefs of the 20th Century’
Steve Greenberg, founder/CEO of S-Curve Records, produced “The Complete Stax/Volt Singles 1959-1968,” and box sets devoted to Stax artists Otis Redding and Sam & Dave. He wrote album notes for “Stax ’68: A Memphis Story.” Below, he reflects on a 30-year friendship with Stax co-founder Jim Stewart, who died Dec. 5. I first met Jim Stewart when I was producing the 9-CD Complete Stax/Volt Singles:1959-1968 box, which came out in 1991. While consulting with him over the phone about the project, he mentioned that legendary Stax songstress Carla Thomas still lived in Memphis, and that he’d really love a chance to work with her again on a record—something he hadn’t done in over 20 years. Almost immediately, I flew down to Memphis, meeting Jim and Carla at the stately Peabody H...
Here’s Why H.E.R. Is Going by Her Real Name to Promote ‘Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration’
H.E.R. officially wants you to call her by her name. The singer, who was born Gabriella Wilson, appeared on Good Morning America Wednesday (Dec. 7) to discuss how it feels to be starring as Belle in ABC’s Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration, and why the project has since led her to go by her birth name. Host Michael Strahan introduced the singer, kicking off the interview by using her legal name, and inquired about her decision to go by that. “I’ve been re-finding my voice. Now I’m not wearing glasses. I can’t be acting and wearing glasses, so I think it’s time for people to really get to know the person behind H.E.R.,” the singer explained. “H.E.R. is me, but at the same time it’s a new chapter of my life, and I think I’m really finding that connection and I’m allowing people to see ...
Michael Bublé on Finding a Whole New Appreciation for His ‘Christmas’ Album: ‘Can You Imagine How Lucky I Feel?’
The Billboard charts are getting ever more festive in the march to Christmas. On the Billboard Hot 100 songs and Billboard 200 albums charts (both dated Dec. 10), the lists are looking very merry and bright. On the Hot 100, Mariah Carey’s evergreen chart-topper “All I Want for Christmas Is You” vaults to No. 2 and Michael Bublé’s former No. 1 album Christmas jingles up the Billboard 200 into the top five. Christmas was released in 2011 and spent five weeks atop the list late that year and in early 2012 and has returned to the top 10 in every subsequent holiday season. Speaking of Bublé, earlier this year on the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, he joined hosts Katie and Keith to discuss his then-new album Higher (a recent Grammy Award nominee for best traditional pop vocal album). Well, the late...
Shania Twain Swaps Her Brad Pitt Lyric for a New Heartthrob at 2022 People’s Choice Awards
Shania Twain proved just what makes her a Music Icon when she accepted that prize and performed a medley of her hits at Tuesday’s (Dec. 6) People’s Choice Awards. One of the highlights of her performance — which included her breakthrough 1995 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Any Man of Mine,” her crossover late-’90s pop smashes “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” and her latest single “Waking Up Dreaming” — is when the pink-haired singer swapped the famous spoken-word “Brad Pitt” line from “Impress” for a fellow Canadian star. “OK, so you’re Ryan Reynolds!” she said sassily as the cameras cut to the surprised Deadpool star, who was on hand to accept the People’s Icon award later in the evening. Reynolds mouthed, “Oh my God, me?!” from the audience. In addition to the perfor...
