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Taylor Swift Celebrates Her Birthday by Gifting Fans With a ‘Willow’ Remix
Taylor Swift may be celebrating her 31st birthday on Sunday (Dec. 13), but she’s the one giving out the gifts. The musician announced early the morning of her birthday that she has released a new remix of her latest single, “Willow.” “Not to be all ‘iTs mY BiRtHdAY & I jUsT wAnNa DaNcE’ but… it is and I do,” she wrote on social media, along with a link to the song off her new album, Evermore. “So here’s the willow dancing witch version, remixed by Elvira, a bad ass female producer I really respect.” It was just days ago on Dec. 10 that Swift announced that she was dropping Evermore, her second surprise album of the year, on Dec. 11. “Ever since I was 13, I’ve been excited about turning 31 because it’s my lucky number backwards, whic...
Charley Pride Was a Force For Change at Award Shows For More Than 50 Years
In 1966, Pride became the first Black artist to receive a Grammy nomination in a country category. His hit “Just Between You and Me” was nominated for best country and western vocal performance – male. Pride received his first CMA nominations (entertainer of the year and male vocalist of the year) in 1968. Three years later, in 1971, he won in both categories. It goes without saying he was the first non-white artist to win in either category. In fact, he remains the only non-white artist to win in either category. But he opened doors and minds. It may or may not be a coincidence, but the year after won his groundbreaking entertainer of the year award, Loretta Lynn became the first woman to win in that marquee category. Pride also received four CMA nominations for album of the year and thre...
‘SNL’ Takes on Dionne Warwick’s Twitter Fame With Sketch Featuring Timothee Chalamet as Harry Styles
On the Dec. 12 episode of SNL, cast member Ego Nwodim portrayed Warwick in a talk show parody, hilariously interviewing such musical artists as Harry Styles (played by the evening’s host Timothee Chalamet), Billie Eilish (Melissa Villaseñor) and Machine Gun Kelly (Pete Davidson). In the nearly six-minute skit, Warwick read off a recent comical tweet to Snoop Dogg (“How do I send a tweet to @SnoopDogg? Did I do this correctly?”) before welcoming Styles as her first celebrity guest. “Maybe you know my song ‘Watermelon Sugar,'” Styles explains to Warwick, who then asks the meaning behind the hit single. “I think it’s just about summer, but some people think it’s about oral sex,” Styles explains. “That’s nasty!&#...
Taylor Swift Schedules First TV Interview Following ‘Evermore’ Album Release
Swift’s longtime publicist, Tree Paine, retweeted the Kimmel announcement, noting that the singer would indeed be giving an interview on late-night show. “Interview on Monday!” she captioned the retweet. Evermore is Swift’s second surprise album of 2020, following her critically acclaimed indie-folk album, Folklore, which dropped in July. The new 15-track set dropped Friday and finds Swift reuniting with Folklore collaborators Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff and Justin Vernon. “Ever since I was 13, I’ve been excited about turning 31 because it’s my lucky number backwards, which is why I wanted to surprise you with this now,” Swift explained in a letter announcing the project’s track list. “You’ve all been so caring, supportive and thoughtful...
Charley Pride, Trailblazing Country Music Singer, Dies at 86
“No person of color had ever done what he has done,” Darius Rucker said in the PBS American Masters film Charley Pride: I’m Just Me. The son of a sharecropper, Pride came to country music after playing in the Negro American League. His love for baseball never abated: for the last 10 years, he was part of the Texas Rangers’ ownership group. In November, Pride received the 2020 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th annual CMA Awards. He was named CMA entertainer of the year in 1971 and was the first Black man to co-host the CMA Awards in 1975, with Glen Campbell. The three-time Grammy winner was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1993 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. “To say Country Music has lost a trailblazer is an obvious understatement, but in fact ...
Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire & More Mourn Charley Pride: ‘We Will Always Love You’
On Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, country music legend Charley Pride, the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, died at age 86 due to complications from COVID-19 in Dallas, Texas. Throughout his storied career in country music, Pride was a trailblazer in the industry — along with being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000, Pride charted 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1969 and 1974, while earning a whopping 29 No. 1 hits on the Hot Country Songs charts throughout his career. The star’s last live performance came at the 2020 Country Music Association Awards, when Pride took home a lifetime achievement award and performed his single “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'” with Jimmie Allen. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looki...
CMA Explains COVID-19 Protocol Following Charley Pride’s Death a Month After Attending CMA Awards
Maren Morris, a triple winner at the awards, was one of the first to question how Pride had been infected. She tweeted, “I don’t want to jump to conclusions because no family statement has been made, but if this was a result of the CMAs being indoors, we should all be outraged. Rest in power, Charley … F— this f—ing year.” “We need answers as to how Charley Pride got covid,” Mickey Guyton wrote, bringing the discussion to her Twitter page. The CMA Awards were held at Music City Center in Nashville, attended only by performers, nominees and selected guests sitting at socially distanced tables. In an interview with Billboard after this year’s CMA Awards — an event that had a number of artists, including Florida Georgia Line, Lee...
Ashanti Tests Positive for COVID-19 Ahead of ‘Verzuz’ Battle With Keyshia Cole
Ashanti revealed she tested positive for COVID-19 just hours before her Verzuz battle against Keyshia Cole. The pair were set to face off Saturday night (Dec. 12). Ashanti, who says she’s feeling well, indicates that she’s still trying to make her side of the event happen from home. “Hey y’all I can’t believe I’m saying this but I tested positive for COVID-19. I’m ok and not in any pain. I’m actually down to do the verzuz from my house… we’re tring to figure it all out!!!” wrote Ashanti in a note on Instagram shortly after 6 p.m. ET. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat...
Ashanti & Keyshia Cole Discuss Their Postponed ‘Verzuz’ Battle & ‘Getting Our Flowers’ on IG Live
But even after Verzuz co-creators Swizz Beatz and Timbaland officially postponed it, Ashanti took to her own Instagram Live on Saturday to openly discuss her positive COVID status. She later teased Cole to join her IG Live, and the two R&B queens talked about how their upcoming battle would celebrate the new year and deliver us from 2020, which Ashanti described as “the year of the devil.” “We’re gonna do it for the ladies, how the fellas just did it last week,” Cole said in reference to Gucci Mane and Jeezy’s record-setting Verzuz battle on Nov. 19 that kicked off season two. And as Ashanti wrote earlier this month to promote their battle, “women empowerment” will remain at the core of the celebration — not just amongst the heartbroken women who’ve found consolation ...
Get a Sneak Peek of Doja Cat, Lewis Capaldi & Tones and I Performing at YouTube Streamy Awards
Creators like Bretman Rock, Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, David Dobrik, James Charles, Camila Loures, Casey Neistat, Dream, LaurDIY, MrBeast, Mark Rober, MatPat and Stephanie Patrick, Rebecca Zamolo, Shalom Blac, Tabitha Brown and ZHC will make appearances at the star-studded event. Past Streamys winners Juanpa Zurita, Kyle Exum, Lilly Singh, Liza Koshy, Marques Brownlee, NikkieTutorials and PatrickStarrr will give out the first-ever Streamys Creator Honors. Check out the performance first look above, and tune into the YouTube Streamys, hosted by Trixie Mattel and Katya, at 9 p.m. ET on youtube.com/streamys. The YouTube Streamy Awards are produced by dick clark productions, which is owned by MRC Entertainment, the parent company of Billboard. You Deserve to Make Mone...
How to Watch the 2020 YouTube Streamy Awards
Doja Cat, Lewis Capaldi and Tones And I are set to perform during the star-studded event. Social justice activist Amber Whittington will give a presentation on race and representation, AsapSCIENCE will discuss COVID adaptability and Jay Shetty will inspire with a chat about mental health and wellness. Bretman Rock, Camila Loures, Casey Neistat, Charli D’Amelio, David Dobrik, Dixie D’Amelio, Dream, James Charles, LaurDIY, MrBeast, Mark Rober, MatPat and Stephanie Patrick, Rebecca Zamolo, Shalom Blac, Tabitha Brown and ZHC are all set to make appearances. Catch all the fun on Saturday (Dec. 12) at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT here. The show will be available on demand following the ...
5 Uplifting Moments in Latin Music This Week (December 12)
On Thursday (Dec. 10), Karol G crooned to fans via a virtual concert held at The Fillmore Miami Beach. Not only did she perform hits such as “Bichota,” “Tusa” and “Ocean,” but she also connected with select fans via a virtual meet-and-greet. The Colombian star is the latest artist to join the all-female powerful lineup for the Verizon Up concert series that celebrates diverse women’s voices including Erykah Badu, Jessie Reyez and Chloe x Halle, to name a few. J Balvin on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon J Balvin was a guest star on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this week, where he talked about all the great things that happened in his career this year, including making Latin Grammy history, the J Balvin McDonald’s meal, and becoming the first Latin artist to collaborate with...
