Pop
10 K-Pop Acts That Dominated 2021
The 2021 edition of our Annual Report continues with a spotlight on some of the best and brightest acts in K-pop. As the year winds down, stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of 2021. You can find it all in one place here. 2021 was another major year for K-pop. What was once a niche corner of the music industry has transformed into a formidable sub-genre in recent years, in part because of its depth and diversity of sound. There’s something for everyone under the K-pop umbrella — the catch-all label refers to South Korean groups (boy and girl alike) and soloists who incorporate a mix of standard-raising production, choreography, and packaging. The music itself pulls from so many different sounds that listeners drawn to rap are able to debate sp...
Kelly Clarkson Begs ‘Christmas Come Early’ for Festive New Performance
Christmas couldn’t feel farther away for Kelly Clarkson, who performed her own hopeful holiday song “Christmas Come Early” on Monday’s (Dec. 13) Kelly Clarkson Show. Joined by her band Y’all, the Emmy-winning daytime talk-show host sang earnestly about needing the holiday season to come sooner and bring joy to the world when it needs it most, pleading, “Christmas, won’t you please come early this year?” in front of a makeshift white Christmas trees. Explore See latest videos, charts and news “Christmas Come Early” is featured on Clarkson’s second holiday album, When Christmas Comes Around…, which was released on Oct. 15 via Atlantic Records. The album, which features star-studded collaborations with her fellow The Voice coach Ariana Grande, Chris Stapleton and Brett Eldredge, went No. 1 on...
Coldplay, Lil Nas X Drop Off UK Jingle Ball Show After Positive COVID Tests in Camps
Both Lil Nas X and Coldplay were forced to drop off the line-up of the UK’s annual Jingle Ball all-star concert after unspecified members of their teams tested positive for COVID-19. “Sadly we have to announce that Coldplay and Lil Nas X have had to pull out of performing at this weekend’s Jingle Bell Ball with Barlaycard,” read a statement from host Capital FM released on Saturday (Dec. 11). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Both acts have had members of their teams test positive for COVID-19 and therefore are not able to perform. We’d like to wish the very best and a speedy recovery to Coldplay, Lil Nas X and their teams. Of course, everyone at Capital is absolutely gutted, but the show must go on…” Their slots were filled by newly added acts ...
Mariah Carey ‘Can’t Stop Watching’ Video of Neighborhood Christmas Lights Synched to ‘All I Want’
‘Tis the season to light it up. A group of neighbors in a California town caught the eye of Christmas queen Mariah Carey over the weekend when the singer saw their elaborate display set to her most iconic holiday hit. “So festive. I can’t stop watching!’” MC tweeted along with a series of heart eye emoji in reaction to a post about the holiday light display cued to her perennial Xmas hit, “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news The video she was reacting to shows cars slowly driving through the display, in which a cul de sac-full of houses coordinated their elaborate light displays to the strains of Carey’ beloved holiday tune. Mariah has once again taken her place as Christmas chart royalty, with “All I Want” jumping from No. 12 to No. 3 on the ...
Billie Eilish Hosts SNL: The Six Best Sketches
Billie Eilish went through a minor but impressive pop-culture rite of passage this weekend on Saturday Night Live: After appearing as musical guest in September 2019, she returned to the show for double duty, hosting and serving as musical guest. This isn’t exclusively the specialty of young, female pop stars—Justin Timberlake has famously done it, as have Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, and a bunch of others—but it does feel like a particular proving ground for that demo, especially in the past decade-plus. Double-duty gals have included Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, and Miley Cyrus, who (like Britney) has done a double-double, with two separate host/guest stints. (Cyrus must have been on hand to advise Eilish; she actually appeared in a sketch before Eilish herself did...
Billie Eilish Performs ‘Happier Than Ever’ & ‘Male Fantasy’ on ‘Saturday Night Live’: Watch
Billie Eilish returned to Saturday Night Live on Dec. 11, pulling double duty as host and musical guest. Between some hilarious sketches, the 19-year-old superstar singer delivered memorable performances of songs from her latest album, Happier Than Ever. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Following a sweet introduction from her parents, Eilish unleashed her inner rock star with a raucous performance of “Happier Than Ever,” accompanied on guitar by her brother and hitmaker-in-crime Finneas. The performance began with Eilish casually lounging in a cream colored chair beneath a softly lit lamp before turning into a trashing rager with the singer passionately spinning across the stage. For her second performance, Eilish slowed things down with a thoug...
Billie Eilish Confirms Her Rock Star Status with SNL Performance of “Happier Than Ever”: Watch
In 2019, Dave Grohl famously proclaimed Billie Eilish as the future of rock ‘n’ roll. “The same thing is happening with her that happened with Nirvana in 1991,” Grohl said. “People say, ‘Is rock dead?’ When I look at someone like Billie Eilish, rock and roll is not close to dead!” While some may scoff at the comparison, one needs to look no further than Eilish’s Saturday Night Live performance of “Happier Than Ever” to see one of the more kick ass concert moments in recent memory. The title track to Eilish’s sophomore LP began as a hushed ballad sung from a love seat positioned on an on-set living room. However, as the song reached its crescendo, the 20-year-old singer assumed the role of rock ‘n’ roll frontwoman, leading her brother Finneas and drummer Andrew Marshall with the same unbrid...
Taylor Swift Ordered to Face Trial in “Shake It Off” Copyright Lawsuit
Here’s one lawsuit Taylor Swift just can’t shake off. On Thursday (December 9th), a federal judge ruled the pop singer must face a jury trial after being accused of taking lyrics from 3LW’s “Playas Gon’ Play” for her 2014 hit “Shake It Off.” Per Billboard, US District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald turned down Swift’s request to dismiss the case, ruling that there were “enough objective similarities” between the two songs that a jury could come to the conclusion that “Shake It Off” had infringed on the copyright to 2001’s “Playas Gon’ Play.” “Even though there are some noticeable differences between the works, there are also significant similarities in word usage and sequence/structure,” the judge wrote. “It is clear that there are enough objective similarities amongst the works to imply that...
Olivia Rodrigo Celebrates Sold-Out Sour Tour, Promises Fans ‘There Will Be More Tours’
If you’re an Olivia Rodrigo fan who saw how quickly her Sour Tour sold out on Friday morning (Dec. 10), she was just as shocked as you were. The “Drivers License” superstar took to Instagram to thank “all my incredible fans” for already getting the 40-date North American and European journey off to a wild start. The sold-out tour kicks off April 2, 2022, in San Francisco before the U.S. leg wraps in May with two Los Angeles stops and the European leg starts in June with a show in Hamburg, Germany. “SOUR TOUR is sold out!!! been waiting so long to perform these songs live. this is my very first tour and i’m so nervous but so excited to sing and dance the night away with you all!!!” the 18-year-old singer-songwriter captioned the vintage photo of her holding blue and pink balloons. “If you w...
Charli XCX Recruits Perfume Genius for “Good Ones” Remix: Stream
“Good Ones” just got a spritz of perfume. Today, Charli XCX unveiled a new remix of her latest hit single courtesy of Perfume Genius. Stream the track below. Under the spell cast by the artist otherwise known as Michael Hadreas, the song is transformed from a high-energy bop into a ghostly goth banger, with Charli’s vocals slowed and pitched down over menacing production. “And baby you couldn’t have loved me any better/ But doin’ this is all that I’ve known ever,” the pop star sings on the pre-chorus, her voice virtually unrecognizable before Perfume Genius summons a demonic beat. “I want the bad ones, ’cause they’re all I know/ I always let the good ones go.” Advertisement Related Video The remix follows the release of Charli XCX’s all-star collaboration with Christine and the Queens and ...
Billboard’s Greatest Pop Stars of 2021: No. 9 — Dua Lipa
Over the last year, Dua Lipa has proven herself not only as a still-rising global star, but one who could dominate in what would be considered an off-cycle year for most pop artists, after releasing her sophomore album in March 2020. Lipa started the year out stronger than ever, still reeling from the success of the glitzy, disco-inspired Future Nostalgia and its hit singles (“Don’t Start Now,” “Physical,” and “Break My Heart”), which made her a pop titan in 2020. It might have seemed like the Future Nostalgia era was beginning to go stale nearly a year after the album dropped, but thanks to Lipa’s staggering star power, she was able to keep herself front and center throughout 2021. Explore Explore Dua Lipa See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In Febr...
Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi Share ‘Just Look Up’ Performance Video From ‘Don’t Look Up’: Watch
Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi’s new collaboration “Just Look Up” is already scorching hot. It’s topped Billboard’s weekly new music poll, and don’t bet against it going supernova when the film it appears in, Don’t Look Up, drops on Netflix later this month. For Arianators who can’t wait, Grande shared the full performance video from the film. In the clip, Ari descends from the rafters, dressed like an angel sent from Hollywood, as a packed arena laps it up. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Just Look Up, a sci-fi black comedy in which the lead is an extinction-level rock heading for earth, features an all-star support cast including Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet, Cate Blanchett and the two singing stars. The m...
