music
Ed Sheeran & Elton John’s ‘Merry Christmas’ Jingles to No. 1 on Adult Contemporary Chart
Ed Sheeran and Elton John‘s “Merry Christmas” dashes to No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary radio airplay chart (dated Jan. 1, reflecting play in the Dec. 20-26 tracking week, according to MRC Data). The coronation is historic for John, as he notches his record-extending 17th AC No. 1. The carol previously became his record-padding 41st top 10 and 75th entry overall on the tally. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news John extends his lead over the Carpenters, who logged 15 AC No. 1s in 1970-81. Next up: Barry Manilow (13), Celine Dion, Lionel Richie (11 each), Whitney Houston and Olivia Newton-John (10 each). Here’s a recap of John’s 17 AC chart-toppers: “Daniel,” two weeks at No. 1, beginning May 12, 1973“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” with Kiki...
LadBaby Cooks-up U.K. Christmas No. 1 With ‘Sausage Rolls’
LadBaby lands the coveted U.K. Christmas No. 1 with “Sausage Rolls For Everyone” (FRTYFVE) featuring Ed Sheeran and Elton John, setting a new chart record in the process. “Sausage Rolls” accumulates 136,000 chart sales, the OCC reports, and is LadBaby’s fourth consecutive Christmas leader, an effort that surpasses the previous record of three, jointly held by The Beatles and Spice Girls. Of its one-week total, 85% of the “Sausage Rolls” total is made up of digital downloads, with proceeds benefiting foodbank charity The Trussell Trust. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Before now, LadBaby (the YouTuber husband-and-wife duo of Mark Hoyle and his wife Roxanne) has had top spot at Christmas with “We Built This City” (in 2018), “I Love Sausage Rolls”...
Adele Unwraps U.K.’s Christmas No. 1 With ’30’
Adele’s 2021 Christmas present is a No. 1 in her homeland. The pop superstar’s latest album 30 retains top spot to rule the Official U.K. Albums Chart over Christmas, her second festival leader after 25 took the trophy in 2015. For its fifth straight frame at No. 1, 30 rakes in 70,800 full-week chart sales including 62,000 physical copies, the OCC reports. With that achievement, 30 draws level with Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour as the longest-running No. 1 album of the year, though Sour’s reign was completed in several stints. Adele’s fourth album holds off former leaders from Ed Sheeran (equals via Asylum), ABBA (Voyage via Polar) and Michael Buble (Christmas via Reprise), respectively, while Andre Rieu & his Johann Strauss Orchestra’s Happy Together (Decca) lifts 6-5, for a new peak. Explore...
Rihanna Remembers Her Late Cousin Tavon Four Years After His Murder in Barbados: ‘Miss You and Dat Smile’
Rihanna is paying tribute to her late cousin, Tavon Kaiseen Alleyne, four years after his murder in Barbados. The 33-year-old singer and Fenty founder took to social media on Sunday (Dec. 26) to honor Alleyne with a series of heartfelt photos, many of which featured her lovingly posing alongside him. “Miss you and dat smile cuz,” Rihanna captioned the emotional post on Instagram, adding the hashtag #Tavon. Explore Explore Rihanna See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Alleyne, 21, was shot and killed on Dec. 26, 2017. At the time, local news outlet Nation News reported that he was shot around 7 p.m. while walking by a track near his home in St. Michael, Barbados, when a man shot him multiple times and fled the scene. Rihanna shared the tragic news in a h...
Adele’s ‘30’ Continues Hot Streak on Billboard 200, Spends Fifth Week at No. 1
Adele’s 30 continues its hot streak on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as the set locks in a fifth consecutive, and total, week at No. 1 on the tally (dated Jan. 1, 2022). The set earned 212,000 equivalent album units (up 16%) in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 23, according to MRC Data. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news 30 bowed at No. 1 on the chart dated Dec. 4 with 839,000 units earned. It then saw its second, third, fourth and fifth weeks tally 288,000, 193,000, 183,000 and 212,000 units, respectively. 30 logs the biggest fifth week for any album in over three years, since Adele’s last album, 25, was No. 1 in its fifth week, on the Jan. 9, 2016-dated chart, with 1.19 million units earned. Plus, 30 is the first album to tally three weeks of ...
Madonna Calls Out Tory Lanez for ‘Illegal Usage’ of ‘Into the Groove’
Madonna has implied Tory Lanez sampled one of her classic songs without permission. The Queen of Pop left a note for Lanez on one of his recent Instagram posts, indicating that she’d already tried to message him privately regarding his new track “Pluto’s Last Comet” sounding like “Into the Groove.” “Read your messages for illegal usage of my song get into the groove!” Madonna wrote in a public comment from her own verified Instagram account, in an attempt to get his attention. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news It remains unclear whether Lanez, who’s name has also been in December headlines due to his trial on felony assault and gun charges for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion in 2020, has read Madonna’s message or responded to her since she...
Alternative Pop Singer SkyDxddy Releases Newest Track ‘Hold Me’
Florida artist SkyDxddy has just dropped their newest track “Hold Me,” a song dedicated to members of the LGBTQ community struggling with mental illness and self doubt. The song details SkyDxddy’s own battles with depression and how it feels as close friends and family ignore early cries for help. Explore Explore SkyDxddy See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “‘Hold Me’ is a song I wrote at a dark time in my life. A time when I tried to speak up for myself and I was only met with judgment and gaslighting,” the gender fluid musician from a small town in Virginia tells Billboard. “I truly just wanted to be held while I cried and told I was going to be OK, and that never happened. No one should be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t love all their parts,...
KISS’ Paul Stanley and His Entire Family Infected with Omicron Variant of COVID-19
KISS singer-guitarist Paul Stanley is dealing with his second bout of COVID-19 in the past six months, and this time he’s been infected with the Omicron variant. In fact, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s entire family has tested positive for the new strain. The rock veteran first contracted COVID-19 in August, just a few shows after KISS had resumed their postponed farewell tour. Although Stanley has been a staunch advocate for mask-wearing and vaccines, he faced criticism when he was seen outside a hotel without a mask just days after revealing that he tested positive. On Sunday evening (December 26th), Stanley announced that he had once again contracted COVID-19, writing alongside a selfie on Instagram, “My Omicron face! Yup. My entire family has it. I’m tired and have sniffles. Most ...
Dave Mustaine Teases New Megadeth Song “Life in Hell” from Upcoming Album: Listen
Dave Mustaine has offered up a holiday treat in the form of a snippet of the new song “Life in Hell” from Megadeth’s upcoming album. The frontman shared the brief audio clip in a Cameo video for a fan named Gabe. While Megadeth’s new album still doesn’t have a release date, Mustaine has mentioned that the LP is slated to be titled The Sick, The Dying and The Dead. While Mustaine tells Gabe he’s the first person in the “outside world” to hear music from the new album, the metal legend did share a snippet of the title track in a previous Cameo video for a fan named Joe back in July. In the new Cameo clip, Mustaine wishes Gabe a Merry Christmas before telling him, “I will play you something that’s been recorded already and is special. How would you like to hear a little bit of the new album? ...
Paramore’s 10 Best Songs
When Paramore released their first album, 2005’s All We Know is Falling, Hayley Williams was 16. Inspired by ’90s hardcore, the Nashville teenagers wrote earnest, emphatic emo, and quickly rode the wave of pop punk nostalgia that swept the 2000s. Across five albums, however, they went from Warped Tour stages to the Grammys, from a five-piece to a trio, and from pop punk to something undefinable. How did we get here? Paramore have always been more than the genre label thrust upon them. A zippy, energetic band with a fiery, earnest frontwoman drew them initial attention, but a darkness always lurked underneath the band’s singalong, Hot Topic-ready melodies. Advertisement Distrust of authorities and relationship drama colored the band’s early albums, released when its members were still in hi...
Patti Smith Honored With Key to New York City
Patti Smith has been New York City nobility ever since she rose to prominence as one of the initial voices of the city’s punk scene in the 1970s. But now, the multi-hyphenate’s mark on the Big Apple is official: Mayor Bill de Blasio honored Smith with a key to the city today (December 27th). “There are many artists out there, many musicians out there, but there was only one Patti Smith,” de Blasio said at the ceremony. “Patti Smith had an authenticity and has an authenticity that you just didn’t find that many other places — an ability to cut through all the swirl around us and speak some more profound truths.” “I came here in 1967 from a rural area of South Jersey,” Smith added. I had just a few dollars in my pocket, nowhere to stay, no real prospects. But I came here to get a job and see...
J Balvin Clarifies That He’s Not Afro-Latino After Winning Afro-Latino Artist of the Year Award
J Balvin was named Afro-Latino Artist of the Year at the 2021 African Entertainment Awards this weekend, prompting responses from confused fans who noted that Balvin is not Afro-Latino. The award show posted the results to Instagram, prompting a slew of comments from bewildered viewers. “Is this a joke?” wrote one user. “El no es afro latino,” another user wrote, which translates in Spanish to “He’s not Afro-Latino.” The Colombian rapper, whose real name is José Álvaro Osorio Balvín, took to Instagram to address the situation. “I am not Afro-Latino,” he posted to his Instagram story in Spanish. “But thank you for giving me a place in the contribution to Afrobeat music and its movement.” The African Entertainment Awards later released a statement on social media, maintaining that J Balvin d...
