Music News – Billboard https://www.billboard.com Music Charts, News, Photos & Video Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:08:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 200641670 Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker Post Sweet Holiday Pic With Whole Fam, Including Baby Rocky https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/kourtney-kardashian-travis-barker-holiday-picwhole-family-baby-rocky-1235867056/ Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:08:25 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235867056

The whole Barker/Kardashian crew slipped into their holiday finest last week for a Christmas photo shoot featuring Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker‘s kids, including the couple’s 13-month-old son, Rocky.

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The blended family is posted up in front of a Christmas tree in a series of snaps posted by Kardashian on Monday (Dec. 30), captioned, “‘Twas the night before Christmas.” Kardashian is in the center of the main shot, with her arm draped around son Reign Disick, 10 — the youngest of her three children with ex Scott Disick — who is killing the Christmas fashion with baggy zebra-print pants and a black bomber jacket.

Right next to her is Blink-182 drummer Barker, who is holding up and giving a sweet kiss on the cheek to baby Rocky, whose face is disguised by a heart emoji. Like his rocker dad, Rocky is kitted out in an all-black ensemble too. Also in the mix are Barker’s son Landon, 21, as well as stepdaughter Atiana De La Hoya, 25, Kardashian’s daughter, Penelope Disick, 12, and eldest son Mason Disick, 15, who is just in front of family friend Carl Dawson.

Barker’s eldest daughter with ex Shanna Moakler, 19-year-old Alabama Barker, was not featured in the shot; TMZ reported on Monday that the aspiring singer decided to give up vaping cold turkey to take care of her voice and after not feeling well recently she was transported to a local hospital, where experts said she was suffering from nicotine withdrawal.

The photo roll featured a sweet image from behind of Barker holding Rocky while staring at the Christmas lights, in addition to Kourtney’s sister, Kendall Jenner, singing karaoke while wearing a Santa hat and an all-white outfit. There is also a glam shot of Kourtney with sister Kim Kardashian, mom Kris Jenner with longtime love Corey Gamble and a series of photo booth snaps of the family goofing off.

Last week, Kourtney posted a roll of pics with Travis in which she dressed as Mrs. Claus while they snuggled and listened to some favorite from Nirvana and Frank Sinatra on vinyl.

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Fatboy Slim Admits to Losing His ‘Passion for Making Music’ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/fatboy-slim-admits-to-losing-passion-for-making-music-1235867042/ Tue, 31 Dec 2024 02:54:45 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235867042

Don’t expect new music music from veteran electronic producer Fatboy Slim (aka Norman Cook) any time soon, with the artist revealing that live shows have taken over as his main focus in recent years.

Cook, who began his professional musical career as a member of indie rock outfit The Housemartins in the ’80s, has been an electronic producer since his work with Beats International at the advent of the ’90s, ultimately going solo as Fatboy Slim in 1996.

Though massively popular in his native U.K., Cook’s success also extended globally, with his breakthrough record – 1998’s You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby – reaching No. 34 on the Billboard 200, and third single “Praise You” hitting No. 36 on the Hot 100. However, he’s been largely absent from the charts for most of the past two decades, with his 2004 album Palookaville arriving as his last studio album to date.

Instead, Cook has largely turned his focus towards his live show, though new music does arrive sporadically. In 2024 alone, Cook released the singles “Role Model” and “Bus Stop Please”, which were his first new tracks since 2022’s “Speed Trials on Acid” with Carl Cox.

Speaking to British publication The Sun’s Bizarre column recently, Cook explained that his output has slowed dramatically due a lack of passion for creating new material.

“My last two singles just came out of a live show,” he explained. “They were both things that I made just to play on the side. I had tunes that nobody else had in my set. And that kind of caught on with people when we worked out that we could clear the samples and release them.

“The thing is, you can’t make music unless you’re absolutely passionate about it and it drives you from the moment you wake up in the morning,” he added. “I just don’t seem to feel like that any more. I feel like that about DJing and about putting on things like this, but I’ve kind of lost my passion for making music.”

In 2010, Cook collaborated with Talking Heads frontman David Byrne for Here Lies Love, a joint concept and soundtrack album about Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines. To date, this is the closest thing he’s come to making a new full-length record, though he admits to struggling with a sense of obligation alongside his live sets.

“For five years, I tried to beat myself up about it and go, ‘You should be doing this’, but then I thought, ‘Well, everybody likes my DJing and I enjoy that more, so I’ll do that’,” he continued. “I’m hoping that one day the passion will come back.”

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The Doobie Brothers Detail New Album, ‘Walk This Road’ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/the-doobie-brothers-new-album-walk-this-road-1235867039/ Tue, 31 Dec 2024 02:34:14 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235867039

The Doobie Brothers are readying their 16th studio album, with the group revealing that Michael McDonald will return to perform vocals on the newly announced Walk This Road.

News of the band’s forthcoming record was shared during a year-end wrap-up post shared to Facebook on Monday (Dec. 30). “It’s hard to believe another year just shot by like a rocket!” the band wrote. “We’re currently celebrating almost 56 years together as a band. 55 years since we released our very first self titled album The Doobie Brothers.

“It’s been a long winding road since those early days but we’re still working together, doing our best to remain creative, and looking forward to bringing our music to you folks out there again next year.”

Reflecting on their activities across 2024 (which included close to 60 live shows and featured U.K. opening for the Eagles), the Doobie Brothers closed by looking ahead to the coming year and their plans for new music.

“Here’s the goal we’ve set for 2025,” the post continued. “This train keeps rollin’ down the track and we’re almost ready to release our new album Walk This Road sometime after the first of the year. We have 10 new songs sung by Tom [Johnston], Michael [McDonald], and Pat [Simmons]. The three of us wrote songs and collaborated together. We had a lot of fun recording it and we feel very proud of the results.

“John McFee added his incredible musical talents as well. Once more we turned to the amazing John Shanks who produced, wrote, and played on the tracks with us. Fortunately we’re back working with our friends at Warner Brothers/Rhino Records on this release. We’ll probably debut a song soon after the first of the year and the full album will follow sometime in the Spring/Summer.”

The most notable takeaway from the band’s update is the return of McDonald on an album of original music. Joining the band in 1975 ahead of their Takin’ It to the Streets album the following year, McDonald remained lead vocalist of the band until their 1982, overseeing some of their most popular releases, including 1978’s Minute by Minute – their only album to top the Billboard 200.

Though the Doobie Brothers would reunite in 1987, McDonald’s time with the band was somewhat sporadic, with stints within the group in 1992, 1995, and again in 2014 as a studio member. His last studio album of original material recorded with the Doobie Brothers was 1980’s One Step Closer, though he would feature on one song from 2010’s World Gone Crazy, and feature on the band’s 2014 covers/collaboration album Southbound.

While McDonald rejoined the band as a full-time member in 2019, he was ultimately absent from their 2021 album, Liberté.

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BigXthaPlug Teases Upcoming Country Project Featuring Shaboozey, Jelly Roll, Morgan Wallen & More https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/bigxthaplug-teases-upcoming-country-ep-shaboozey-jelly-roll-morgan-wallen-1235867036/ Tue, 31 Dec 2024 02:01:05 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235867036

Rapper and songwriter BigXthaPlug previously appeared on “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” hitmaker Shaboozey‘s song “Drink Don’t Need No Mix” (from Shaboozey’s album Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going)–but he says he has plenty more country collaborations ahead.

In an interview with Complex, BigXthaPlug noted that he has an upcoming country music EP in the works and it’s packed with country music luminaries.

“I got a country EP loaded up, you got Shaboozey, you got Morgan Wallen, you got Post Malone, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll…” BigXthaPlug said. The rapper also noted he has a second project in the works, though he hasn’t decided which to release first.

“I also got another project I’m putting together, kind of like a ‘South Mix’ of me, Megan Thee Stallion, GloRilla, NLE Choppa…” he said.

Of course, prior to Jelly Roll’s transition into country music, he spent years releasing rap projects, and still incorporates a medley of rap classics into his headlining shows, alongside his hits such as “Son of a Sinner” and “Halfway to Hell.” Meanwhile, Wallen previously teamed with Moneybagg Yo for the song “Whiskey Whiskey,” and with Lil Durk for the songs “Broadway Girls” (which topped Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart in 2022) and “Stand By Me.”

Texas native BigXthaPlug previously hinted about his Wallen and Post Malone collaborations in January during an interview for Los Angeles radio station Real 92.3, when he recalled that Wallen came to one of his shows in Arkansas and they hung out. At one point during the interview, BigXthaPlug called Wallen “the Drake of country,” and teased the collaboration, saying, “We actually cooking something up…I got something coming with Morgan Wallen. I got something coming with Post Malone.”

In 2022, BigXthaPlug released the song “Texas,” which cracked the top 40 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. And last year, he mentioned the possibility of a country collaboration, telling Complex, “I also really want to do an actual country version because a lot of country playlists and whatnot have been reaching out to me because of the song. I figured, “Why not do a song with a popping country artist and just expand it on some Lil Nas X-type deal?'”

2024 has been a big year for genre-traversing artists with collaborative projects, including Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter project and Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion, both of which topped the all-genre Billboard 200. Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter featured collaborations with artists including Shaboozey, Linda Martell, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, while Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion featured collabs with artists including Wallen, Tim McGraw, Lainey Wilson, Parton, Luke Combs and Sierra Ferrell. Meanwhile, Kane Brown’s collaboration with Marshmello has spent 33 weeks entrenched atop the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.

Depending on when BigXthaPlug releases the EP he’s teasing, it seems those cross-collaborative country hits could keeping coming in 2025.

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Taylor Swift Celebrates With Ashley Avignone on Longtime Best Friend’s Birthday https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-ashley-avignone-birthday-1235866942/ Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:10:48 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235866942

Shortly after Ashley Avignone helped celebrate Taylor Swift‘s birthday, the pop star returned the favor. In photos shared by the stylist on Instagram Sunday (Dec. 30), she and her longtime bestie celebrated another trip around the sun at what appears to be a cozy restaurant gathering, sharing drinks and a colorful cake.

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One photo finds Swift — sporting a sleek black top, cherry red lipstick and sharp white-and-black eyeliner — wrapping Avignone in a big hug while seated at their table. Another snap shows off the sprinkle-covered cake the pair shared, featuring pink and purple frosting reading, “Ash is 25 (again).”

“Happy birthday to me, emphasis on the *happy,*” Avignone captioned the post.

The post comes exactly 10 days after the interior designer shared pictures from Swift’s own birthday bash, which Travis Kelce, Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, the HAIM sisters and more friends also attended earlier this month. The party appeared to be themed around the 14-time Grammy winner’s global Eras Tour, which closed Dec. 8 in Vancouver.

“When she thought she was going to a small, quiet dinner but it was actually a giant surprise party with her friends and family, props included,” Avignone wrote at the time.

Avignone and Swift have been besties for well over a decade, with the latter including the former’s first name in the secret liner-note message for Red single “22” back in 2012. The influencer has also attended a few Kansas City Chiefs games with the “Karma” artist, including the 2024 Super Bowl in February.

Swift seems to be closing out her 2024 by enjoying quality time with family and friends following a blockbuster 2024, which, for her, included spending 17 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with The Tortured Poets Department, winning two new Grammys — including album of the year for Midnights — at the February ceremony and setting a new record for most Billboard Music Awards wins in December, in addition to raking in more than $2 billion at the close of her Eras trek. Over the weekend, she and Kelce stepped out in New York City with Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley, one day after Swift and the tight end went out again on a date night at the private supper club Chez Margaux, per reports.

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Chrissy Teigen Calls John Legend the ‘Soul of Our Home’ in Sweet 46th Birthday Message https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/chrissy-teigen-john-legend-happy-birthday-message-1235866886/ Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:30:55 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235866886

All of Chrissy Teigen loves all of John Legend, who rang in his 46th birthday on Saturday (Dec. 28). In a sweet Instagram post on the day of his big celebration, the cookbook author praised her EGOT-winning husband with a tribute on Instagram dedicated “to our everything.”

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“The soul of our home (I’m the heart) we love you so much,” Teigen wrote, captioning a photo of Legend sitting on a swing tethered to a ceiling decorated with blue balloons. “Happy 46th birthday. You spent it taking the kids to the bubble experience in London at 8am, and now we are heading to the Devil Wears Prada musical because you’re up for any kind of date night you can get, ever.”

“I love you so much, we love you so much,” added the model. “Happy birthday.”

Teigen and the “Love Me Now” singer have been married since 2013 and share four kids — Luna, Miles, Esti and Wren. Three days prior to Legend’s birthday, Teigen shared photos on Instagram of her family sitting around their Christmas tree, the kids wearing matching festive pajamas.

“Christmas morning in London! Merry Christmas, guys,” she wrote at the time. “We love you so much.”

In August, Legend dropped an album of children’s lullabies titled My Favorite Dream, featuring guest vocals from his wife and their two oldest children on lead single “L-O-V-E.” The Voice coach and his eldest daughter recently stopped by Billboard to chat about the LP in a sweet interview conducted by Luna.

“I think it’s the most pure love you can have, the love you have for your family,” Legend said during the father-daughter conversation. “It’s so pure. When me and Mommy look at you, and look at your brothers and sister, we see ourselves and we want to pour all this knowledge and these lessons we’ve learned in life into you and help you become the best adults you can be.”

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‘If There’s Ever a Documentary Made About Me, You Should Use This’: See Unreleased Footage from the New Avicii Film https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/avicii-documentary-im-tim-director-interview-henrik-burman-1235863124/ Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:16:36 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235863124 I'm Tim, which is narrated by the late producer and premieres on Netflix on Tuesday, Dec. 31.]]>

In the six-and-a-half years since Avicii’s death, many of the late artist’s colleagues, critics, fans and friends have tried making sense of his suicide and legacy.

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A new documentary is now letting the artist speak for himself. Out tomorrow (Dec. 31) on Netflix, I’m Tim follows the producer born Tim Bergling from his childhood and adolescence in Stockholm to the global fame he achieved as Avicii, with the film narrated by Bergling himself.

“When I determined that he’d be the one who’d narrate this story, I thought that maybe it was how I could be close to him,” says the film’s director Henrik Burman. “Maybe that’s how I can meet him.”

Burman began work on the project in 2019 — shortly after the pioneering artist’s death at age 28 earlier that year — where he initially planned to make an hour-long program for Swedish National Television about the final, posthumous Avicii album, 2019’s Tim. A longtime musician and music journalist in Sweden, Burman had completed the 2020 Yung Lean documentary Yung Lean: In My Head and was ready to take on another music-related project.

Working with the blessing of Bergling’s parents, Burman had full access to the sprawling Avicii archives. He found hours of interviews with the producer conducted during different periods of his career, including some in the later part of his life, when he was able to reflect on quitting touring in 2016, his problems with alcohol abuse, his approach to making music and more.

“There were moments in these interviews where he’d say, ‘This really describes me as a person, so if there’s ever a documentary made about me, you should use this to tell the story,” Burman says of the moments he discovered amid the archival footage. “He’d say things like, ‘If there’s a documentary, we need to talk about alcohol; we need to talk about the bad things in my life.’ I’ve been looking for clues like this — I’ve listened to Tim for hours and hours trying to understand him and put together the puzzle of who he was as a person and who Avicii was as this amazing artist.”

Beyond the material culled from the archive, Burman scoured the internet for other Avicii interviews, finding a bounty of clips on YouTube and other platforms “that are like, five or four or three minutes long,” says Burman. He and his team pieced together these tiny segments into the larger puzzle they were “working like maniacs” to construct.

Simultaneously, Burman and his small team from Stockholm were traveling between the U.S. and Europe to interview many of the key figures in Bergling’s life and career. I’m Tim features Neil Jacobson, who was the A&R for Avicii while president at Geffen Records; Aloe Blacc and Dan Tyminski, who worked on Avicii’s 2013 country crossover album True; Per Sundin, who signed Avicii’s breakout tracks “Seek Bromance” and “Levels” to Universal Music Sweden; Ash Pournouri, the manager who architected Avicii’s rise; fellow EDM pillar David Guetta; Nile Rodgers; Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who worked with Avicii on music including the 2014 hit “Sky Full of Stars”; longtime friend and early collaborator Filip “Philgood” Åkesson; close friend Jesse Waits; and Bergling’s parents, Anki Lidén and Klas Bergling. (Editor’s note: the writer of this article also appears in the documentary.) Burman’s “super long interviews” with each of these subjects allowed him to research his subject at the same time he captured footage for the film.

“We had thousands of hours of video by the end,” he says. But he had a guiding theme in trying to penetrate the superstar DJ world of Avicii and show who Tim Bergling was as a person. “In the material from the early years there’s so much humor and so much warmth. It’s very personal, before it got really big and things got harder for him,” says Burman. “That’s the thing I was really drawn to and how I started thinking about it as ‘Okay, who was Tim as an artist and a musician, and who was Avicii?’”

It took years for Burman and his team to edit down their thousands of hours into the 90-minute film, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and is nominated for Guldbagge Award, the biggest Swedish film award, for editing. (Winners will be announced on Jan. 13.)

The non-linear storyline goes from a sonogram image of Bergling in the womb, to lo-fi footage of the artist as a baby dancing with his dad in the family home, to him as a pimply-faced teenager, to his developing an interest in electronic music production and subsequent rise. In one sequence, Universal Music’s Per Sundin tells the story of manager Ash Pournouri asking for €500,000 to sign Avicii’s “Levels,” a number Sundin first balked at, but eventually paid. The song recouped the entire €500,000 within six weeks of its release.

The film also presents loads of studio footage, highlighting Bergling’s approach to making music and his special gift with melody. (Check the look of supreme satisfaction on his face while he and singer Audra Mae are in the studio recording vocals for 2013’s “Addicted to You.”) See additional unreleased footage from I’m Tim focused on Bergling’s studio process below.

But of course, given that viewers know how this story ends, the film is also laced with darkness. Bergling talks about developing a dependance on alcohol, saying the “magical cure of having a few drinks before going on stage” helped him loosen up before performances. His drinking ultimately led to pancreatitis and a general downturn in his health, which is apparent in scenes where he appears gaunt and haunted looking. Other interviews in the film discuss his later opiate addiction.

“I saw complexity from early on,” Burman says of tracing the lines of Bergling’s physical, emotional and spiritual health. “I didn’t want to point fingers or speculate. I wanted to listen in and see layers.”

The film is, of course, stacked with Avicii music, with the documentary being released alongside My Last Show, a 30-minute performance film from Avicii’s final live show at Ushuaïa Ibiza on August 28, 2016 that’s meant to function as a companion piece. “When you’ve seen this film, you want to also feel who Avicii was on stage,” Burman says.  “It’s his last show, but it’s such a happy feel around it.”

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I’m Tim comes amid a broader shoring up of the Avicii legacy, with the Avicii Experience museum opening in Stockholm in 2022, a biography, Tim― The Official Biography of Avicii, also coming out in 2022, and an official photobook being released earlier this year, around the same time as an auction of Bergling’s personal effects that raised $750,000 for charity. These projects have been done in collaboration with Bergling’s parents and the Tim Bergling Foundation, which his parents founded after their son’s death. The Foundation focuses on suicide prevention among young people, with Bergling’s parents focusing their work on the mental health crisis and the core factors leading to suicide among young people.

Burman says the thought of Bergling’s parents seeing the film was “hard because I was of course so nervous.” But seeing it months after its Tribeca premiere, they texted Burman to say, he recalls, that “they liked the warmth and honest perspectives. They also said it kind of felt like being able to get Tim back for 90 minutes.”

If you or anyone you know is in distress or experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Free confidential support is available 24/7.

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SZA to Tweak ‘Lana’ With New Songs & Updated Mixes: ‘Thank Y’all for Your Patience’ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/sza-re-release-sos-deluxe-lana-new-songs-updated-mixes-1235866799/ Mon, 30 Dec 2024 17:28:34 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235866799

Ten days after the release of SOS Deluxe: Lana, SZA has announced that she’s giving the project another makeover.

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Despite the LP being out in the world for over a week — and already topping the Billboard 200 this week — the 35-year-old hitmaker revealed on X Monday morning (Dec. 30) that she’s officially tweaking some of the songs on Lana‘s tracklist in addition to adding new music to the fold. “Just got word all updated Mixes and new songs will be added Jan 6th,” SZA tweeted, noting that her fixes had been delayed until “the label comes back from holiday.”

“Sorry they can’t do it any sooner,” the musician added. “Just wanted to keep y’all in the loop … Thank yall for your patience “

The announcement comes after SZA finally unleashed the highly anticipated expanded version of her hit 2022 album SOS via RCA Records following a lengthy rollout with several false starts on Dec. 20. On the same day, the Grammy winner shared that she had three more songs that she wanted to retroactively include on the tracklist — “Take You Down,” “PSA” and “Open Arms” — as revealed in a screenshot of a text thread with now-former manager Terrence “Punch” Henderson that she posted on X.

Around the same time, SZA confirmed that she and the Top Dawg Entertainment president had parted ways, telling fans on Instagram that he had “stepped away abruptly” from their working relationship and that “sometimes ppl grow apart and that’s okay.”

On Dec. 23, SZA gave another update. “After listening w a clear mind I’m Switching some mixes out when I add stuff on Christmas lol,” she tweeted. “This means nothing to you but had to say it for me lol . Who knows u might notice 🤷🏾‍♀️”

Christmas came and went with no new additions, but fans can now expect the finished Lana to arrive Jan. 6, per SZA’s latest alert.

But while SZA may not yet be happy with Lana as it is now, listeners have certainly embraced the second chapter of her SOS era. Selling 178,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in its first week, Lana propelled the singer-songwriter’s second studio effort back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated Jan. 4 a full 22 months after she first dropped SOS the longest gap between weeks at No. 1 ever recorded since the chart began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March 1956.

Prior to Lana, SOS spent nine weeks atop the Billboard 200 in late 2022 and early 2023. It also earned SZA an album-of-the-year nod at the 2024 Grammys — which Taylor Swift ended up winning with Midnights — and took home best progressive R&B album at the same ceremony.

See SZA’s tweet below.

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That’s That Dunkin’ Espresso: Sabrina Carpenter Partners With Coffee Chain to Release Custom Drink https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/sabrina-carpenter-dunkin-donuts-partner-shaken-espresso-drink-1235866491/ Mon, 30 Dec 2024 15:49:51 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235866491

What’s that on Dunkin’ Donuts’ new menu? That’s that Sabrina Carpenter espresso.

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As unveiled Monday morning (Dec. 30), the 25-year-old pop star is the face of a new drink called Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso, which will become available in stores nationwide starting on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31). The sweet, hand-crafted drink will feature rich espresso, oat milk and ice freshly shaken together — or, moved up, down, left, right, oh, switched up like Nintendo, you could say — with each order.

In photos showing off the product, Carpenter wears a sparkly pink vest while posing with her new favorite beverage, still in its clear shaker. The musician also stars in a hilarious new commercial for the partnership in which she mixes up her own espresso drink, cheekily telling the camera, “I just love shaking that ess’.”

“Been shaking that ess’ for hours,” Carpenter adds as other people join in on the fun, including her grandmother, who declares while shimmying: “No one shakes that ‘ess like Gam Gam!”

Then for the punchline: “Oh! ‘Shake that ess” kind of sounds like, ‘Shake that a–!'” the Grammy nominee chirps.

Carpenter is just the latest star to partner with the coffee chain, with Ice Spice joining forces with Dunkin’ for a custom Munchkins drink in 2023. In June, Jelly Roll celebrated National Donut Day with the company and shared that his own stage name was inspired by jelly donuts.

The Girl Meets World alum has also previously leveraged her highly caffeinated smash 2024 hit into a partnership with Van Leeuwen, unveiling a chocolate-swirled espresso-flavored ice cream with the company in June. Her new business move with Dunkin’ caps off an explosive year for Carpenter, who scored her first-ever No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with August’s Short n’ Sweet.

Carpenter also earned her first-ever top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2024, with “Espresso,” “Please Please Please” and “Taste” reaching Nos. 3, 1 and 2, respectively. Plus, the former closed out the year as the most-steamed song on both Apple Music and Spotify.

See Carpenter shake that ess’ in her new Dunkin’ commercial below.

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‘Obnoxious, Arrogant and Bold’: Charli XCX Shares the Vision Behind ‘Brat’ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/charli-xcx-shares-brat-vision-1235866720/ Mon, 30 Dec 2024 09:56:07 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235866720

Charli XCX didn’t just make an album with Brat—she crafted a manifesto. The Apple hitmaker recently revealed the bold vision behind her Grammy-nominated project, detailing how she planned to dominate the charts and redefine pop culture.

Released in June, Brat debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, becoming Charli’s highest-charting album to date, but the journey to global success started long before its release.

Taking to her private Instagram, Charli shared the conceptual framework that guided every aspect of the album, from its polarizing artwork to its chaotic yet meticulously executed marketing.

“The artwork for Brat will be obnoxious, arrogant, and bold. Some people will hate it,” Charli wrote, describing the album’s stark, text-heavy cover. “It will be heavily text-based, either font on a plain background or painted on a wall or disregarded object.”

The bold strategy extended far beyond visuals. Charli shared that the entire album campaign was conceived as a mix of “high art” and “low art,” blending avant-garde chaos with mainstream celebrity culture.

“The whole album campaign is high art. But it is also crucial to understand the benefit of low art and celebrity. The coupling of the two is vital.”

“There is no explanation for what I do,” she explained. “The answer is always ‘No comment.’ We must cultivate desire, chaos, and destruction.”

The Brat rollout also saw Charli teasing unfinished demos at underground raves to build anticipation. “You need to understand my vision. This is global. I will provide momentum and tell the story in a laser-focused way,” she declared. Her fanbase, known as the Angels, became a pivotal part of the campaign’s success. “The Angels are ready and waiting. This is the moment.”

In a recent interview for Variety’s Hitmakers issue, Charli revealed that the marketing concept for Brat came before the music.

“Usually when I’ve made a record, there is this transitional phase [after it’s recorded], where I’m thinking about how to present the music. But with this one, I actually did that first,” she shared.

Charli’s meticulous approach paid off as Brat debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 77,000 equivalent album units in its first week, including 40,000 pure album sales and 46.72 million on-demand streams. The album’s longevity has been equally impressive, returning to its No. 3 peak in its nineteenth week and topping Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

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