It was a big week for Mariah Carey, whose holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” finally hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after 25 years. Coincidentally, the pop legend is also this week’s Billboard cover star, and she talked all about her iconic Christmas tune and how she’s managed to build such an empire around the holiday.
In other news this week, Harry Styles crushed a cover of Lizzo’s “Juice,” Jay-Z shared his favorite songs of 2019, and Billie Eilish turned 18 years old. Plus, both The Voice and The Masked Singer crowned their latest champions.
Check out some of the biggest music happenings this week below — and beware, there’s some spoilers in here!
Juice WRLD’s girlfriend delivered a heartfelt tribute to the late rapper
The final set of Los Angeles’ Rolling Loud festival on Sunday night (Dec. 15) was dedicated to the late Juice WRLD, which featured tribute performances from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, YBN Cordae and G Herbo. The most touching moment came from Juice WRLD’s girlfriend, Ally Lotti, who declared to the fans, “He literally loved every single one of you guys.” And his fans loved him back: Juice posthumously hit No. 1 on the Artist 100 chart, and seven of his songs landed on the Hot 100 in the wake of his death.
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” finally hit No. 1
Twenty-five years after its release, Mariah Carey’s «All I Want For Christmas Is You» finally ascended to the top of the Hot 100, making history as the icon’s 19th No. 1 hit just one day after she sold out Madison Square Garden. Carey took to social media to celebrate the milestone with her beloved Lambily, tweeting simply, «We did it» with a host of festive (and emotional) emojis.
Cardi B’s daughter showed off her musical chops
With two artists as parents, it’s no surprise Cardi B and Offset’s daughter, Kulture, loves to sing too. Cardi shared an adorable video of Kulture singing the children’s classic “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” with her aunt Hennessy on Tuesday (Dec. 17), which made fans melt. It was even too much for Hennessy to handle, as she wrote in a comment on the video, “AUNTIESSSSS SMART BABYYYYYY. I LOVEEEEE Herrr sooooooooo much!!!! :’)))).”
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The Voice crowned another winner
The Voice found its 17th winner on Tuesday (Dec. 17), with country singer Jake Hoot beating out runner-up Ricky Duran, Katie Kadan and Rose Short. The triumph marks Kelly Clarkson’s third win in just four seasons as a coach, following her victories with Season 14’s Brynn Cartelli and Season 15’s Chevel Shepherd.
Billie Eilish turned 18
Billie Eilish rang in her 18th birthday on Wednesday (Dec. 18) by sharing a cute throwback video on social media. The clip features adorable vignettes of Billboard‘s future Woman of the Year playing music as a youngster interspersed with footage of Eilish now selling out arenas around the world, all while her song «8» soundtracks the journey. Eilish’s brother and right-hand music man Finneas shared a sweet post for her birthday, saying “I love you more than life itself.”
Harry Styles covered Lizzo
Since releasing his sophomore album, Fine Line, last week, Harry Styles has been a very busy guy. This week, he stopped by both The Ellen DeGeneres Show and BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge — and while the Ellen appearance featured a hilarious prank on a pizza delivery guy, there was nothing quite like his cover of Lizzo’s “Juice.” Styles tackled the sassy song for one of his four Live Lounge performances, and yes, it’s as incredible as you’d hope:
BTS made big plans for New Year’s Eve
One year after appearing on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with a pre-recorded performance, BTS will be part of the New Year’s festivities live in Times Square to ring in 2020. The K-pop superstars were announced as performers for the New York City telecast, which will be headlined by Post Malone and will also feature performances from Sam Hunt, Alanis Morissette, and the cast of the Broadway musical Jagged Little Pill.
The Masked Singer also found a winner
The second season of the hit Fox network reality karaoke show came down to the Rottweiler (Chris Daughtry) and the Fox (Wayne Brady), with Brady coming out victorious after delivering a stirring rendition of Otis Redding’s «Try a Little Tenderness.” Both Daughtry and Brady chatted with Billboard about their Masked Singer experiences, with Brady admitting that the show made him the “happiest I’ve been in a long time.”
Lizzo, Bette Midler and More Reacted to Trump’s impeachment
Wednesday proved historic, as the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, marking the third time in history that a president was charged with committing high crimes and misdemeanors. Social media lit up once the decision was final, with Lizzo, Bette Midler, Bernie Sanders and plenty more expressing their (all very excited) thoughts. The “Truth Hurts” singer summed up the reactions best: “I’m having a great day!”
Mariah Carey discussed her Christmas empire for Billboard’s cover
Just days after “All I Want For Christmas Is You” hit No. 1, Mariah Carey rightfully graced the Billboard cover — in divalicious, hair-blown fashion — for a deep-dive into the Christmas legacy she’s created. Carey recounted how her passion for the holiday began at an early age, and how that translated into making Christmas such a big part of her career. “What I’ve tried to do is take what I always wished Christmas would be and have the perfect holiday season,” she said. “For me, it’s not just making a Christmas album for the sake of jumping on a bandwagon. It’s literally exorcising the demons that I had to battle as a child and coming out still feeling festive.” Read more here.
Jay-Z shared his top tracks of 2019
Jay-Z took to Tidal Thursday (Dec. 19) to reveal his favorite tracks of 2019, unveiling a 40-song playlist appropriately dubbed “Jay-Z’s Year End Picks 2019.” His picks included tracks from hip-hop superstars like Drake and Travis Scott, while also highlighting some of the year’s breakthrough stars like Roddy Ricch and Summer Walker. Check out the full playlist here.
Nick Cannon added another diss track to his Eminem feud
It ain’t over until Nick Cannon says so, apparently. Just when you thought the Nick Cannon/Eminem feud had fizzled, Cannon fired a third diss track on Thursday. Titled «Canceled: Invitation,» the nearly five-minute song sees Cannon firing more scathing disses at the “Lose Yourself” rapper, incorporating clips of Em’s controversial track “Foolish Pride” from 1993. Cannon seems to think this diss track might put the nail in the coffin, as he tweeted «Trilogies are my favorite” and “Welp! The Invitation has expired” shortly after dropping the song. We’ll see if and when Em decides to keep this going…
First Stream
With the holidays around the corner, New Music Friday isn’t as fruitful as usual. But luckily, Future, Young Thug and Travis Scott, and DaniLeigh decided to give us some new tunes to bump while we wrap presents. Young Thug recruited Travis Scott to close out their major years in epic fashion with «Hop Off a Jet,» DaniLeigh dropped a short-but-sweet EP (appropriately titled My Present), and Future curated a compilation of rising MCs for 1800 Tequila’s 1800 Seconds series. On top of that, two highly anticipated soundtracks arrived, with the Cats and Star Wars albums adding some cinematic flair to the holiday season. Check out the full rundown of this week’s new music here!
This article was originally published by: Billboard
