R&B sensation Khalid is back with his all-new EP Scenic Drive (The Tape), which comes as a follow-up to his 2018 debut EP Sun City.

The Grammy-nominated artist has also partnered with Coca-Cola to launch an all-new TikTok challenge that aims to give BIPOC creators more visibility and recognition. As part of Coke’s TikTok Challenge, which is an extension of the brand’s Real Magic philosophy, Khalid released his tune “Open,” featuring Canadian duo Majid Jordan, to which fellow creative Jalaiah Harmon launched a new “Real Magic” dance to the track.

“Growing up, Coca-Cola has always been in my life, and with the release of my EP, it felt like the stars aligned themselves,” Khalid says of his new partnership. “They told me they were fans of my music as much as I’m a fan of them, so it’s truly a partnership. I’m blessed and honored to be a part of this.”

Speaking further on his collaborative, smooth track “Open,” Khalid says, “’Open’ is one of my favorite songs on Scenic Drive. It’s a special song to me and creating it felt like magic. To be able to work with amazing collaborators like Majid Jordan who are a duo [of Majid Al Maskati and producer Jordan Ullman] that have inspired me since before I was a songwriter myself and before I made music in high school makes me smile.”

“Open” is “the perfect song for the [Coca-Cola] campaign,” and comes as the eighth tune on the nine-track Scenic Drive, which Khalid describes as “such a vibe.”

Khalid

The 29-minute project is jam-packed with features from incredible artists, including Alicia Keys, 6LACK, Lucky Daye, QUIN, JID and Kiana Ledé. Plus, hitmakers Ari Lennox and Smino appear on its rhythmic title track, “Scenic Drive.”

Khalid, who previously topped Billboard’s Artist 100 chart for the first time in April 2019 as the No. 1 music act in the U.S, explains of his creative process, “I create music for long, late-night drives because after I record the song, I’m always leaving the studio at night and listening to the music in my car with my friends that came with me. We listen to it on repeat from our way to the studio to my house.”

“That resonates a lot with me,” adds the “Location” star. “Over the past few years, I’ve matured and learned so much about myself and who I am as a creative.” The longtime rhythm and blues  connoisseur details, “I’ve been tapped into the things that inspire me and my youth, R&B and soul music. That’s my foundation.”

He definitively states, “This tape is a perfect representation of the person I became over the years, but also the person who I was at the beginning. All of the collaborators did an amazing job. The songs melt into one another and everything was intentional in that we wanted to bring in people that I respect, whose music I listened to and that I’ve actually had conversations with.”

Khalid reflects on his journey from the making of Sun City to Scenic Drive: “Sun City, to me, was my homecoming and this is like, I’ve graduated school and now I’m coming back home as a young man. From the intro song, which I’m excited for people to hear Alicia Keys slams the keys so beautifully, right down to the last song [‘Scenic Drive’] with Ari Lennox and Smino. It reminds me so much of home, normalcy and being with the people I love.”

Through the years, he adds, Keys has “become like a mentor to me in the industry.”

Khalid

Also exciting for Khalid, in addition to his Coca-Cola partnership and new music, the singer appears on Justin Bieber’s Grammy-nominated album Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe) on their duet “As I Am.” The project could win album of the year and best pop vocal album awards at the 2022 Grammy Awards on Jan. 31, though, as a featured artist, Khalid would only win for AOTY. “Any award that comes my way is a blessing to forever be grateful for,” he says proudly. “I’m so appreciative of how far I’ve came and feel so blessed. I will never take for granted any award I’m nominated for. It’s a huge accomplishment.”

He’s also finalizing his upcoming third studio album. Titled Everything Is Changing, it’s set to be released next year. “I love it dearly,” he affirms. “I want to make sure it’s everything I imagined, remain grounded and not rush to release it.”

Khalid also appears on collaborative Christmas single “Fall in Love at Christmas” with holiday icon Mariah Carey and gospel music pioneer Kirk Franklin. He says of working with both greats, “I had a personal call with Mariah and we talked about the vision she had. Everything was supernatural. I’m grateful I was a part of it.”

Cardi B wished her other half Offset a happy 30th birthday on Tuesday (Dec. 14) by thanking him for always being by her side.

She scrolled down memory lane with a carousel of her and Offset’s best memories, from photoshoots to nights out to playtime with their 3-year-old daughter Kulture to the first time he held his second child with Cardi, whom she gave birth to in September. Cardi praised Offset for his love and commitment to her, business acumen and dedication as a father to the children they share as well as his other three previous children.

“Happy birthday to my huuuuusband, best friend and babydaaadddyyy. I love you so much and I’m so proud of you. We have overcome so much together. I love the man that you’re becoming and I love the father that you are. Thank you for always being there for me, for being a great confidant and advisor and for never allowing me to sell myself short. I’m so lucky to have you as a partner raising our beautiful kids,” she started the caption. “You have soo many projects and businesses that you are managing and leading yet you have helped me so much in this journey wit our two babies. May life keep blessing you and you continue to thrive. I’m so excited for the world to see what you got coming. I love you!! We turning up tonight and next week for your party.”

Cardi and Offset have been together since early 2017 and secretly married on September of that year before the Migos rapper proposed to her onstage at Power 99’s Powerhouse concert in Philadelphia in October 2017.

See her sweet birthday tribute to Offset below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cardi B (@iamcardib)

Kelly Clarkson delved into her own Christmas songbook on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Tuesday (Dec. 14) with a performance of “Merry Christmas Baby.”

Dressed in a sparkling gray gown, the pop singer powered through the opening track of her new holiday album, When Christmas Comes Around…, which she co-wrote with Aben Eubanks.

“You’ll wake up all alone and/ Wonder why I’m not home/ And I’ll let my phone ring/ A dose of your kind of love and/ I’ll let my absence show you/ What I got you for Christmas/ Is losing me/ Merry Christmas, baby,” she belted on the chorus while flanked by a trio of back-up singers and her talk show’s house band, Y’all.

The track is just one of five original Christmas tracks penned by the American Idol champ on the new LP, including lead single “Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You),” “Merry Christmas (To the One I Used to Know),” Chris Stapleton collab “Glow” and Ariana Grande-assisted bop “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me.” The studio set also features holiday classics such as “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “Santa Baby,” “Last Christmas” and “Jingle Bell Rock.”

To promote her second Christmas record, Clarkson even nabbed her own holiday special, Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around…, which premiered on NBC earlier this month.

Other “Kellyoke” numbers The Voice coach has nailed to open her eponymous show range from her 2021 cut “Christmas Come Early” and beloved 2003 single “The Trouble With Love Is” to covers of Amy Grant’s “Breath of Heaven,” The Chicks’ “There’s Your Trouble” and Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good.”

Check out Clarkson’s gorgeous live rendition of “Merry Christmas Baby” below.

Britney Spears and her fiancé Sam Asghari teased they had a “new addition to the family” Tuesday (Dec. 14), but the superstar is keeping her fans guessing as to what exactly that means.

She posted an Instagram video of herself cradling something in front of her magnificent Christmas tree and feeding it milk from a baby bottle while “Look at the Sky” by OsMan plays in the background.

“New addition to the family guess if it’s a boy or a girl,” she captioned the clip. “Thank you again baby @samasghari !!!!” Her fiancé Asghari commented a series of speechless-looking emojis, which defined how the rest of her fans felt in the comments section.

“Baby, one more time???” one IG user wrote, referencing her 1998 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit. Last month, the 39-year-old pop superstar revealed she was “thinking about having another baby” when she posted a black-and-white photo of a baby standing on their tiptoes. She and Asghari joked about having a little girl together in late September when he captured the singer holding a baby doll to form a matching mother-daughter duo. “Exclusive! We had a baby,” he captioned one of the videos on his IG Story with crying-laughing emojis. “What should we name her?”

Spears already has two sons — Sean, 16, and Jayden, 15 — with ex-husband Kevin Federline. But in June, during a hearing to address her now-terminated court-ordered conservatorship, she told Judge Brenda Penny that the team in charge of her situation wouldn’t allow her to have another baby like she wanted.

“I want to be able to get married and have a baby. I was told right now in the conservatorship, I’m not able to get married or have a baby. I have an IUD inside of myself right now so I don’t get pregnant,” Spears said during her emotional testimony. “I wanted to take the IUD out so I could start trying to have another baby. But this so-called team won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out because they don’t want me to have anymore children. So basically, this conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good.”

See her latest video below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears)

Sam Cooke died 57 years ago, on Dec. 11, 1964, but his music remains timeless. And it figures in four 2022 Grammy nominations.

Leslie Odom Jr. has two nominations for his work on One Night in Miami…, the film for which he received two Oscar nominations (best supporting actor and best original song) earlier this year.

Odom is Grammy-nominated for best compilation soundtrack for visual media, alongside compilation producer Nicholai Baxter and music supervisor Randall Poster. He is also nominated for best song written for visual media for “Speak Now,” alongside his co-writer Sam Ashworth.

BJ the Chicago Kid, PJ Morton & Kenyon Dixon featuring Charlie Bereal are nominated for best traditional R&B performance for “Bring It on Home to Me.” Cooke received his first Grammy nod 59 years ago for his original version of the song, which was nominated for best rhythm & blues recording.

Tehillah Alphonso is nominated for best arrangement, instruments and vocals for a new recording of Cooke’s classic “A Change Is Gonna Come,” performed by Tonality & Alexander Lloyd Blake. Cooke’s original was released as the B-side (!) of “Shake,” which received a 1965 nod for best rhythm & blues recording.

Cooke never won a Grammy. Two factors help explain that (though of course they don’t excuse it). His biggest hit, the silky “You Send Me,” was released in 1957, the year before the Grammys were launched. And he died in December 1964, when he was still very active – and before the Grammys fully embraced contemporary R&B. If he had lived, he might well have picked up some overdue Grammys, in the same way such contemporaries as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson did.

Cooke received four Grammy nominations in his lifetime and two posthumously. He was nominated four times for best rhythm & blues recording (for “Bring It On Home to Me,” “Frankie and Johnny,” “Good Times” and “Shake”) and twice for best rock & roll recording (for “Twistin’ the Night Away” and “Another Saturday Night.”

In recent decades, Cooke has been saluted several times by the Recording Academy. He received a lifetime achievement award in 1999. Four of his classics have been voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. “You Send Me” was inducted in 1998, followed by “A Change Is Gonna Come” in 2000, “(What a) Wonderful World” in 2014 and “Bring It on Home to Me” in 2018.

The documentary Sam Cooke: Legend won the 2003 Grammy for best long form music video (since renamed best music film).

Cooke has received many other awards. He was one of the inaugural inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. (He was inducted by Herb Alpert, who co-wrote “(What a) Wonderful World with Cooke and Lou Adler). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and received that organization’s Towering Song Award for “A Change Is Gonna Come” in 2013.