King & Prince’s ‘I Promise’ Bows at No. 1 on Japan Hot 100

J-pop boy band King & Prince’s “I Promise” debuts at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Dec. 14 to 20. The rising Johnny’s group’s sixth single sold 578,092 copies in its first week, topping the first-week figures for its previous single “Mazy Night” (531,162 copies). “I Promise” dominates three metrics of the chart’s methodology this week, coming in at No. 1 for physical sales, look-ups, and Twitter mentions.

LiSA’s “Homura” and BTS’s “Dynamite” both hold at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. The two songs have been in close competition for weeks now, with the former leading downloads for the tenth week and karaoke for the fifth (both in a row), while the latter tops streaming for the eighth non-consecutive week and video views for the third straight week.

Looking at figures, BTS’s advantage over LiSA in streaming and video is both pretty close, with “Dynamite” at 11,819,614 weekly streams and 4,824,661 views and “Homura” at 11,271,882 streams and 4,290,040 views. With the annual year-end media blitz for musicians coming up, how these and other songs on the list perform in the new year is something to keep an eye on.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, Twitter mentions, YouTube and GYAO! video views, Gracenote look-ups and karaoke data.

Check out the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, dated Dec. 14 to 20, here.

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Kayne West Surprise Releases New Project ‘Emmanuel’

Last year, on Christmas Day, the Kanye West-led gospel group, Sunday Service Choir, released its debut album Jesus Is Born. Today, Dec. 25, West is keeping with the tradition thanks to a surprise EP of compositions titled Emmanuel performed by Sunday Service.

Much like Jesus Is Born — which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart (dated Jan. 4, 2020) — the new project arrives as a “celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ,” according to the release. West executive produced and composed the sweeping and emotive Emmanuel, which includes five tracks of ancient and Latin-inspired new compositions.

West cemented his recommitment to Christianity with the launch of his Sunday Service gatherings, which delivered its first public performance during the second weekend of Coachella in 2019 (on Easter, April 21). Six months later, West dropped Jesus Is King, which summited the Top Gospel Albums and Top Christian Albums charts.

See the Emmanuel track list below:

1. REQUIEM AETERNAM

2. O MIRA NOX

3. O MAGNUM MYSTERIUM

4. PUER

5. GLORIA

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Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch is sold for $22 million to former pal Ron Burkle

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Dolly Parton & Willie Nelson Get the Animated Treatment in Christmas-Themed ‘Pretty Paper’ Video: Watch

Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson take a Christmas-themed trip through Fort Worth, Texas, in the new animated music video for “Pretty Paper.”

The holiday duet appears on Parton’s latest album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, her first holiday release in 30 years. The track was originally penned by Nelson in 1963 after the country music icon saw a disabled man selling pencils and wrapping paper outside of a department store.

In the new animated video for “Pretty Paper,” Parton sings on the back of a wagon, with Nelson strumming his guitar alongside her, as they take a journey through the packed streets of Fort Worth, which are filled with holiday cheer.

Released through Parton’s Butterfly Records in partnership with 12Tone Music Group, A Holly Dolly Christmas includes a mix of originals and holiday standards. In addition to Nelson, the set features Parton duetting with such famous friends as Michael Bublé, Billy Ray Cyrus, goddaughter Miley Cyrus and Jimmy Fallon.

In early December, Parton accepted the hitmaker award from Miley Cyrus during the 2020 Billboard Women in Music event.

Watch Parton and Nelson’s “Pretty Paper” animated video below.

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Grace VanderWaal Shows Off Edgy Pink Buzz Cut in Jaw-Dropping Makeover

Think pink! Grace VanderWaal recently debuted a drastic new look and the result is nothing short of stunningly rosy.

In early December, the teen singer traded in her signature bob for an ultra-short pixie chop, writing “I did it” alongside a video and photo of the big reveal. The following day, it appears she took her new look even further by going full buzz cut.

Then, on Tuesday (Dec. 22), the star revealed she’d dyed her hair bright pink, showing off her latest transformation as she lip synched to K.Flay’s 2019 single “This Baby Don’t Cry” on her new TikTok channel.

“I used to think about the way that I dressed/ Like was I pretty enough? And am I good at sex?/ I used to want to say an early goodbye/ But I’m a disco queen, I just keep staying alive/ I try to tell ‘em, ‘See ya later!’/ But they don’t wanna let me go/ I blow a kiss to all the haters/ Yeah, I just wanna let ‘em know/ This baby don’t cry,” a pink-haired VanderWaal mouths for the camera, wearing an oversized black varsity jacket and nude, corset-inspired top as she claps along to the track.

In the clip, the America’s Got Talent champ complements her new hair color with cerise lipstick, a single earring and a large, locket-style necklace as an unnamed pal dances along in the background.

While VanderWaal dropped her most recent EP, Letters: Vol. 1, back in Nov. 2019, she made her feature film debut earlier this year as the titular character in Disney+’s Stargirl. The singer also recorded ukulele-strewn track “Today and Tomorrow” for the movie’s soundtrack.

Check out VanderWaal’s bold pink hair makeover here.

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Christmas Eve Concert Held in Paris’ Fire-Wrecked Notre Dame

Wearing hard hats and protective suits, the choir of Notre Dame Cathedral sang inside the medieval Paris landmark for the first time since last year’s devastating fire for a special Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) concert.

Accompanied by an acclaimed violinist, a rented organ and a soprano soloist, 20 singers performed beneath the cathedral’s stained-glass windows amid the darkened church, which is transitioning from being a precarious hazardous clean-up operation to becoming a massive reconstruction site.

The singers stood socially distanced to be able to take off their masks — which is required indoors in France to stem the spread of the virus — and sing.

The concert was recorded Saturday and will be broadcast Thursday night. The public was not allowed and isn’t expected to see the insides of Notre Dame until at least 2024.

The diocese called it a “highly symbolic concert … marked with emotion and hope,” and a celebration of a “musical heritage that dates to the Middle Ages.”

The archbishop of Paris, Monsignor Michel Aupetit, will hold Thursday’s Christmas Eve services in Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois Church across from the Louvre Museum instead of Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame choir used to give 60 concerts a year inside the cathedral but has been itinerant ever since, moving among other Paris churches.

The April 2019 fire consumed the cathedral’s lead roof and destroyed its spire, and only earlier this month did workers finally stabilize the site enough to begin rebuilding.

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