BTS’ V Receives Sweet Birthday Tributes From His Bandmates & Lizzo

BTS‘ V turned 26 on Thursday (Dec. 30) at midnight KST, and his superstar bandmates couldn’t wait to wish their “bro” the best on his special day.

Some members like RM and Jimin took to BTS’ Twitter account to post goofy and glamorous pictures of V (real name Kim Taehyung) with identical captions: “My love. Happy birthday bro.” J-Hope used his new individual Instagram account to post personal photos with V on his Story, which the birthday boy reposted on his own record-breaking account. The Guinness World Records announced earlier this month that V’s handle, @thv, broke two social media records for being the fastest to reach both one and 10 million followers on Instagram.

But over on Twitter, Lizzo shared fanmade artwork of her and V while writing, “#HAPPYVDAY somebody made this and it’s soooo cute! Happy bday V.” The original photo was taken at Harry Styles’ L.A. concert in November, where the pop star met up with the K-pop boy band at Inglewood’s The Forum.

The Grammy-winning singer captioned a series of selfies she took with V and Jimin during the show with the tag “#VMINZZO,” which she came up with during her freestyle dedicated to Jimin and V’s friendship. “I love you, you love me, just like Jimin loves some V/ Gooey like that butter B/ Gooey like that butter B/ Say I like you, you like me/ BFFs like VMIN, G,” she rapped in a video, referencing BTS’ Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash “Butter.”

See V’s birthday tributes below.

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How Ledisi’s Tribute to Nina Simone Landed a Grammy Nod for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Two tribute albums to famed singers are nominated for best traditional pop vocal album at the 64th annual Grammy Awards – Willie Nelson’s That’s Life, which is the ninth tribute to Frank Sinatra to be nominated in this category, and Ledisi’s Ledisi Sings Nina, the first tribute to Nina Simone to be nominated here.

Sinatra virtually personifies the traditional pop genre, which was built around songs from the Great American Songbook. But Simone, a jazz-styled singer who is nearly as well known for her calls for social justice, isn’t usually thought of in those terms.

So how did a tribute to Simone wind up in the traditional pop category?

Ledisi won her first Grammy in March for best traditional R&B performance for “Anything for You,” a track from her 2020 album The Wild Card, but the Grammys don’t have a traditional R&B album category. The Grammy screening committee, which makes the final determination of where albums land, had to choose between placing the album in best traditional pop vocal album or best R&B album, where Simone would have competed with the likes of Jon Batiste, H.E.R. and Jazmine Sullivan.

The Grammys have, in recent years, been trying to expand the notion of what traditional pop entails. Here’s the current guideline: “This category is for performances of a type and style of song that cannot properly be intermingled with present forms of pop music. This includes older forms of traditional pop such as the Great American Songbook, created by the Broadway, Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the period between the [1920s] and the end of World War II, as well as cabaret/musical theater-style songs and previous forms of contemporary pop. This would also include contemporary pop songs performed in traditional pop style – the term ‘traditional’ being a reference, equally, to the style of the composition, vocal styling and the instrumental arrangement, without regard to the age of the material.”

Simone is the ninth singer to be the subject of a tribute that received a nod for best traditional pop vocal album. The others, in addition to Sinatra, are Nat King Cole and Judy Garland, each of whom have been the subject of two nominated albums; and Fred Astaire, Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee, each of whom have been saluted with one nominated album.

Simone, who died in 2003 at age 70, never won a Grammy in competition. She was nominated just twice, in both cases for best R&B vocal performance, female. She was nominated in 1967 (the category’s first year) for “(You’ll) Go to Hell” and in 1970 for her album Black Gold. She lost in both cases to Aretha Franklin, whose eight-year lock on the award from 1967-74 helped clinch her title as the Queen of Soul.

Simone was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2017. Two of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which functions as a second chance for the Grammys to salute worthy recordings. Simone has been recognized for “I Loves You, Porgy” from Show Boat (recorded in 1959) and “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” (recorded in 1969). Both songs reached the top 10 on Billboard’s principal R&B chart, now called Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Voting members of the Recording Academy have one more week to cast their ballots. Final-round voting closes on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2022, at 6 p.m. PT. The Grammy telecast is set for Jan. 31.

Ledisi Sings Nina, which features Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley, appears to have little chance of winning for best traditional pop vocal album. Bennett and Lady Gaga’s Love for Sale is the clear favorite to win in the category. In addition to its nomination here, it is up for album of the year. This would be Bennett’s 14th win in this category, Gaga’s second. The two stars won seven years ago for their previous collab, Cheek to Cheek.

The other nominees in the category — besides Nelson’s aforementioned That’s Life — are Norah Jones’ ’Til We Meet Again (Live) and a pair of holiday albums, Tori Kelly’s A Tori Kelly Christmas and Dolly Parton’s A Holly Dolly Christmas.

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Charlie Puth, Kali Uchis & Rico Nasty to Headline TikTok’s New Year’s Eve Special

TikTok is ready to ring in the new year! On Monday (Dec. 27), the social platform announced the lineup for TikTok New Year’s Eve livestream, including headlining performances by Charlie Puth, Kali Uchis and Rico Nasty.

“Celebrate the New Year with @KALIUCHIS, @charlieputh, @Rico_nastyy, host @Avgfashionblog and special guests as they say goodbye to 2021 and hello to 2022,” TikTok tweeted to reveal the Dec. 31 special.

The trio of musicians will be joined by TikTok creators Tyshon Lawrence, Cristian Dennis, Tracy Joseph, Billy and Scarlet May, while Courtney Parchman — otherwise known as Average Fashion Blogger to her nearly one million TikTok followers — will serve as the evening’s host. The livestream is set to kick off at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on New Year’s Eve.

While Puth shared the progress with fans on his follow-up album to 2018’s Voicenotes as part of his new LG campaign last September, the singer more recently tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month. At the time, he urged his followers to “be safe and careful” navigating the holidays amid the rapid spread of the omicron variant.

Uchis earned her first No. 1 hit atop Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart in March with “Telepatía,” thanks in large part to the Spanish-language single going viral on TikTok. Since then, the Colombian-American singer has also collaborated with the likes of SZA (“Fue Mejor”) and Ozuna (“Another Day in America.”)

In October, Nasty sat down with Billboard for an interview all about her latest single — the Flo Milli-assisted “Money” — touring, motherhood and more.

Check out TikTok’s New Year’s Eve announcement below.

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What Was Your Favorite Cover by BLACKPINK’s Rosé This Year? Vote!

As Rosé once said, “BLACKPINK is the revolution!” On Tuesday (Dec. 28), the New Zealand-Korean singer shared her cover of Cautious Clay‘s “Wildfire.”

The acoustic take, which the BLACKPINK member filmed in front of a stunningly vivid sunset, added to the collection of impressive covers she’s released throughout the year in the wake of her debut solo single “On the Ground.”

To celebrate, Billboard rounded up the K-pop idol’s five best cover performances from her streak this spring and summer on South Korean variety show Sea of Hope.

Often paired with fellow K-pop stars Onew (of SHINee) and Lee Su-hyun (of AKMU), Rosé showed off her wide and varied range of musical influences, performing everything from rock (The Killers‘ “Read My Mind”) and pop (Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz‘s “Lucky”) to R&B (Alicia Keys‘ “If I Ain’t Got You”) and pop-punk (Paramore‘s “The Only Exception”).

Now, Billboard wants to know which cover performance you think made the BLACKPINK star shine the brightest. Were you as impressed as Mayer was by her “gorgeous” take on his beloved Continuum ballad? Were we the luckiest to witness her collab with Onew on Caillat and Mraz’s lovestruck 2008 duet? Did Rosé’s vocals on Keys’ fan favorite from her 2003 sophomore album blow you away? Or maybe you were taken aback by how well the singer translated Brandon Flowers and Co.’s 2006 hit into a delicate beachside ditty driven by keys.

Whichever of Rosé’s many covers this year you loved most, vote in Billboard‘s official poll below and let your voice be heard!

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Mariah Carey Celebrates ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ Topping Hot 100 For Another Week While Fully Dressed in a Hot Tub

If all Mariah Carey wanted for Christmas is spending another week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, then she got it.

The Queen of Christmas toasted to her holiday staple “All I Want For Christmas Is You” spending another week atop the Hot 100 this week (chart dated Jan. 1, 2022) with a picture of her hot-tubbing in the snow-covered mountains while fully dressed in a lavish black gown.

“Feeling blessed and elated. Another week at #1 on the Hot 100! Thank you Lambily… ‘Love you till the end of time,’” she captioned the picture.

That marks the song’s seventh total week at No. 1, after “All I Want For Christmas Is You” spent three weeks at the top of the all-genre songs tally beginning in December 2019 and two more starting in December 2020, before it returned to the summit a week ago. In 2019, “Christmas” became MC’s 19th Hot 100 No. 1 hit, and she’s never forgotten it or let anyone else forget it.

In a recent video interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Mimi was asked how many No. 1 songs has she landed on the Hot 100 chart, and she correctly answered 19. But when someone from outside the camera’s view tried to correct her and say 18, the iconic hitmaker responded in her own defense, “No, no, no, dahling. It is 19…. I think I know how many No. 1s I’ve had on the Hot 100 chart because one of them was a holiday song, and it is ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’”

And while Christmas itself is over, “Christmas” is still the biggest song in the world, as it continues its chart-topping success on both the Billboard Global 200 and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Jan. 1).

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Bo Burnham & Kid Cudi Vinyl Releases Spur Big Gains on Top Album Sales Chart

The vinyl releases of Bo Burnham’s Inside (The Songs) and Kid Cudi’s Man On the Moon III: The Chosen pushes both albums back onto Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Jan. 1, 2022)  — and straight into the top five.

On the Top Album Sales chart, Inside (The Songs) re-enters at No. 3 (a new high, and its first week in the top 10) with 44,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 23 (up 15,220%; and easily the album’s best sales week). The album was released on vinyl and CD for the first time on Dec. 17. Of its 44,000 sold for the week, vinyl sales comprised 36,000; CD sales comprised 8,000 and digital download sales comprised a negligible sum.

Inside (The Songs) was initially released on June 10 as a digital download and via streaming services. It spent five weeks on Top Album Sales (the June 19 through July 17-dated charts) and then left the tally until it re-entered this week.

Meanwhile, Kid Cudi’s Man On the Moon III: The Chosen also scores a new high on Top Album Sales, as it re-enters at No. 4 (surpassing its previous high-water mark of No. 10) with 42,000 sold (up 4,359%; its best sales week). The Chosen dropped on vinyl LP for the first time on Dec. 17. Vinyl sales comprised 41,500 of the album’s sales for the week.

The Chosen was originally released on Dec. 11, 2020 as a digital album and via streaming services. Its CD edition arrived on June 18. It previously notched two nonconsecutive weeks on Top Album Sales (Dec. 26, 2020 and July 3, 2021-dated charts).

Inside (The Songs) and The Chosen have now sold 67,000 and 81,000 copies since their original release, across all of their available retail formats (physical and digital combined), in the U.S.

Ahead of both albums on Top Album Sales are Adele’s 30, which is steady at No. 1 for a fifth straight week, selling 180,000 copies (up 23%). Taylor Swift’s former leader, Red (Taylor’s Version), is a non-mover at No. 2 with 47,000 sold (up 40%).

On Billboard’s Vinyl Albums chart, which ranks the top-selling vinyl albums of the week, The Chosen and Inside (The Songs) debut at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Adele’s 30 remains at No. 1 for a fifth straight week on Vinyl Albums, with 59,000 copies sold on vinyl.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now MRC Data. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

NCT’s Universe: The 3rd Album, Neo Culture Technology debuts at No. 5 on Top Album Sales with 37,000 copies sold. It’s the second top 10 – and top five – effort for the ensemble, which previously hit No. 2 with Resonance, Pt. 1 (Oct. 31, 2020-dated chart). Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of the album was issued in two collectible packages, each with randomized internal paper goods (such as photo cards, postcards and stickers). The album was only available on CD and as a digital download – and 99.5% of its sales came from its CDs. The digital album sold a negligible sum for the week.

Olivia Rodrigo’s former No. 1 Sour falls 4-6 with 33,000 sold (though up 21%), Billie Eilish’s chart-topping Happier Than Ever dips 5-7 with 26,000 (up 41%), TWICE’s Formula of Love: O+T=<3 jumps 21-8 with 24,000 (up 118%), Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas slips 7-9 with 24,000 (up 40%) and The Beatles’ Let It Be descends 6-10 with 23,000 (up 34%).

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Kane Brown Teases New Song ‘Whiskey Sour’ in a Home Video: Watch

Kane Brown has new music on the way in 2022, and the singer-songwriter gave fans an early listen to a new song, “Whiskey Sour,” which will release Jan. 14.

“I love getting to sing other people’s stories!” Brown captioned an Instagram video of himself singing the new track on Dec. 26.

The ballad marks one of Brown’s more traditional country-sounding releases, highlighting his smooth baritone over sparse, acoustic guitars. Meanwhile, the lyrics center on a story of a romance gone wrong.

While the first verse focuses on two young lovers hopeful about their future together, that relationship quickly fizzles, with Brown singing, “It only took a month or so to be someone you used to know.”

Longtime fans of Brown know he’s just as capable at delivering a traditional-leaning country song as he is at his more pop-fueled radio hits. Early on in his career, Brown started building his fanbase by recording cover renditions of hits from artists including Randy Travis and George Strait, before earning his own breakout hit “Used to Love You Sober.” During this year’s CMT Artists of the Year ceremony, Brown paid homage to one of his musical heroes, Travis, by performing his hit “Three Wooden Crosses.”

Brown has been hard at work on the followup to his 2018 full-length project Experiment, and his 2020 EP Mixtape, Vol. 1., which included his hit “Worldwide Beautiful.” That song earned Brown his first Academy of Country Music award, for video of the year.

During a recent interview with Apple Music’s Today’s Country Radio, Brown told Kelleigh Bannen that he pushed back the upcoming album’s release date.

“I’m not going to say when, but I did push my album back,” Brown said. “But I think I am going to release songs hopefully once every other month leading up to it.”

He also mentioned that the new album will again find Brown exploring new musical sounds and textures.

“None of them sound the same, which is another thing that I’ve been thinking about,” he said of the songs on the project. “I tried to go the old-school route, but then I got too old school … I like different music.”

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