Ariel Pink & Winston Marshall Unveil Politically Charged Collaboration ’Rudolph’s Laptop’

Ariel Pink and former Mumford & Sons member Winston Marshall have teamed up for a political new collaboration titled “Rudolph’s Laptop,” which takes aim at Hunter Biden’s 2020 laptop controversy, in which President Joe Biden’s son’s laptop was found abandoned at a Delaware computer shop.

The conservative duo joined Tucker Carlson Tonight this week to promote their new collaboration, which was co-composed by Pink and Marshall along with Two Door Cinema Club’s Alex Trimble. “Rudolph, what have you done?/ They found your laptop, it’s a smoking gun,” Pink sings in the track.

In 2021, Pink’s record label removed him from its roster following his attendance the January 6 insurrection. Mexican Summer announced its decision via Twitter, writing, “Due to recent events, Mexican Summer and its staff have decided to end our working relationship with Ariel Rosenberg AKA Ariel Pink moving forward.”

In June 2021, Marshall left Mumford and Sons in the wake of the controversy over the guitarist-banjo player’s tweet in support of the book Unmasked.  The move came three months after he received backlash after he referred to divisive right-wing provocateur Andy Ngo as a “brave man” for his book Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy.

Listen to “Rudolph’s Laptop” below.

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From Stray Kids to J-Hope, What’s Your Favorite K-Pop Album of 2022? Vote!

There’s been no shortage of excellent K-pop albums in 2022 and Billboard wants to know which full-length has helped define your year.

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Best K Pop Albums

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Though BTS remained on hiatus as the seven members prepare to start their mandatory service in the South Korean military, both RM and J-Hope delivered solo albums to keep ARMY happy. J-Hope’s Jack in the Box came first with its vintage hip-hop sound, colorful cover art by KAWS and concept inspired by Pandora’s Box.

Five months later, RM dropped Indigo, complete with a star-studded guest roster that included Erykah Badu (“Yun”), Anderson .Paak (“Still Life”), Tablo (“All Day”) and more.

BLACKPINK also came raring back with their full-length sophomore effort Born Pink while TOMORROW X TOGETHER dropped Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child and SEVENTEEN repackaged their fourth album, 2022’s Face the Sun, as Sector 17 with new tracks like “Cheers (SVT Leaders)” and “_World.”

As far as solo albums go, Lee Chanhyuk dreamed up Error, a concept album telling the story of someone who’s fallen into a coma and Heize enlisted the likes of Monsta X’s I.M, (G)I-DLE’s Minnie and Giriboy for Undo, her first album in more than three years.

HIGHLIGHT reintroduced themselves with Daydream — their first full-length since changing their name from Beast back in 2017. Lim Young Woong delivered on his potential after winning the 2020 Korean singing competition Mr. Trot with his genre-hopping debut Im Hero. And NewJeans established themselves as one of the genre’s most exciting new girl groups with their self-titled debut.

Vote for your favorite K-pop album of the year below!

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Here Are BTS’ Biggest Accomplishments In 2022

While 2022 was undoubtedly the year BTS shocked the world with their announcements of moving onto a “Chapter Two” and planning their individual military enlistments, there’s still a massive amount of records, achievements and moments that demonstrate why BTS are superstars without precedent in the global music industry.

While the K-pop superstars have been breaking chart and attendance records for years, 2022 saw new triumphs from the septet. From never-before-achieved feats with the Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry to breaking box-office and concert-gross records (not to mention hanging out in the Oval Office), 2022 was literally one for the history books.

Even as the group announced plans to look forward to a new chapter in their career and embark on solo releases, BTS continued to achieve greatness as a septet and as individuals. RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, V and Jung Kook all had major moments to celebrate. From four members making their debuts on the Hot 100 to internationally recognized festival and collaboration moments, the guys were thriving on a global scale.

While 2023 will certainly look different in terms of how BTS operates—and dominates—within the music industry, there’s no denying that this past year was huge for the guys. We already know that solo music, collaborations, documentaries, TV specials, commemorative stamps and more are on the way for next year. But before we look forward to all that, let’s reminiscence and celebrate the band’s 22 most significant achievements from 2022 below.

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Southwest expects nearly normal operations Friday after four days of flight cancellations

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SZA Teases Vengeful ‘Kill Bill’ Music Video: ‘It’s What Y’all Deserve’

SZA dropped a teaser on Thursday (Dec. 29) for the upcoming visual for her new single “Kill Bill.”

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SZA

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In the 20-second clip, the R&B star appears to suit up for revenge, zipping up a red-and-black moto jacket, sheathing a katana and jetting off on a motorcycle before “SZA…Kill Bill…A film by Christian Breslauer” flashes across the screen in bold, red lettering.

After promising the full-length music video is “coming soon,” the teaser ends with a ferocious tag, in which SZA twirls around to decapitate a fighting dummy with her sword. “It’s what y’all deserve,” she tweeted alongside the video using a saluting emoji, SOS sign and white heart.

“Kill Bill” instantly became a fan favorite when the recent Billboard cover star released her long-awaited sophomore album S.O.S in early December and eventually reached No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart (dated Dec. 24). On the murderous psychedelic-tinged bop, she admits, “I might/ I might kill my ex, not the best idea/ His new girlfriend’s next, how’d I get here?/ I might kill my ex, I still love him though/ Rather be in jail than alone.”

The 23-track studio set also contains singles “Good Days,” “I Hate U,” “Shirt” and “Nobody Gets Me” as well as collaborations with the likes of Don Toliver (“Used”), Phoebe Bridgers (“Ghost in the Machine“), Open Arms (“Travis Scott”) and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard (closer “Forgiveless”). Upon its unveiling, S.O.S bowed atop the Billboard 200, becoming the very first No. 1 album of SZA’s career.

Watch SZA’s teaser for “Kill Bill” below.

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Here Are All of Bad Bunny’s Videos With 1 Billion Views (Updated)

Bad Bunny kicked off 2022 with yet another addition to his billion-view videos when his Jhay Cortez-assisted “Dákiti” surpassed the 10-digit mark on Jan. 12. The edgy and carefree music video, which premiered on Oct. 20, 2020, and was filmed at the beach, marked his seventh entry in YouTube’s Billion Views Club. Eight months later, Bad Bunny’s “Amorfoda” entered the list on Sept. 8.

The music video for “Amordofa,” in which he’s seen performing his minimalistic piano ballad around a car in a beach setting while he’s arguing with a girl, was released on Valentine’s Day in 2018 but didn’t surpass a billion views until this year. The entry becomes his eighth video as a lead, featured artist or collaborator to hit the milestone.

Before that, the Puerto Rican artist had earned billion-view videos with “Te Bote (Remix),” “Mayores,” “No Me Conoce (Remix),” “I Like It,” “Mia” and “Tu No Vive Asi.”

Six other of his videos are close to hitting 1 billion views, including “Si Tu Novio te Deja Sola” with J Balvin, “Callaita,” the Karol G-assisted “Ahora me Llama,” “Bailame (Remix)” with Nacho and Yandel, “Diles” alongside Ozuna, Farruko, Arcangel and Ñengo Flow, and “Soy Peor,” all of which have more than 900,000 views.

The artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio currently holds No. 1 on the U.S. Top Artists and reclaimed No. 1 on Global Top Artists thanks to charting videos “Titi Me Pregunto,” “Me Porto Bonito” and “Neverita,” according to YouTube.

Below, see all of his videos to enter the YouTube Billion Views Club.

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Vivienne Westwood’s Most Memorable Looks on Musicians

Beloved British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood died on Thursday (Dec. 29). She was 81 years old.

The style icon’s fashion house shared the news via Twitter, revealing that Westwood died “peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London.” The statement added, “The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better.”

The designer rose to prominence in the fashion world in the 1970s, thanks to her anti-establishment punk styles and controversial, androgynous designs. The new wave style icon was also a passionate activist, and frequently channeled issues like climate change into her runway looks.

Over the years, Westwood has been the go-to designer for a number of stars, who have turned to her funky, daring collections for their red carpet appearances, magazine covers and more.

To honor the late fashion legend, we’ve compiled some of our favorite photos of musicians wearing Vivienne Westwood, from Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo and Halsey to Lady Gaga and Adele. See below.

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