The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard 200 dated Dec. 6, a couple true chart heavyweights duke it out for the top spot.   Stray Kids, DO IT (JYP/Republic): A new five-track mixtape wouldn’t be a particularly big threat from most artists to take down the record-setting new album by the biggest pop star […]

The last time Simon Cowell saw Liam Payne was a year before the former One Direction singer and solo star plunged to his death in a fall from the third-story balcony of a Buenos Aires hotel on Oct. 16, 2024. Speaking to the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast this week, Cowell described their final meeting […]

Most artists probably wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of a diss from Eminem, but Lil Yachty wears it like a badge of honor. Em took a shot at the Atlanta rapper on 2018’s “The Ringer” when he rapped, “Get this f—kin’ audio out my Audi yo, adios/ I can see why people […]

While ugly Christmas sweaters have become an annual holiday tradition, they’re not in the dress code for every festive event. Jimmy Fallon finds that out the hard way in his latest Christmas song, the twangy “Ugly Sweater,” featuring Nashville newcomer Carter Faith. The song and video will debut on the Thanksgiving episode (Nov. 27) of […]

With the unexpected declaration “NOT CUTE ANYMORE!,” ILLIT returns sharper than ever with new single album by the same name that arrived Nov. 24. The five members — Wonhee, Minju, Iroha, Moka and Yunah — step out of every label and limitation, unveiling a fresh new sensibility that refuses to be defined. Here, they talk […]