During Variety’s 8th annual Hitmakers Brunch in Los Angeles on Saturday (December 7), industry insiders responsible for the biggest songs of the year were celebrated. Charli XCX was awarded Hitmaker of the Year, with the Brat star taking time to praise The Velvet Underground & Nico during her speech. “This record is one of the most influential and groundbreaking records of our time,” Charli said. “It’s the apex of fine art and dirty culture.” Lana Del Rey presented her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff with Producer of the Decade, joking that he will “be richer than all of us with your 50% on everything.” Antonoff praised his new wife, the actress Margaret Qualley, while saying, “We all make our best work when we’re being decent.”

Lainey Wilson was recognized as Storyteller of the Year, presented the award by Reba McEntire. “The cool thing about storytelling is, it outlives us,” Wilson said. Olivia Rodrigo presented her Guts collaborator Dan Nigro with Producer of the Year, Shaboozey and Benson Boone were both awarded Newcomers of the Year, while Quavo received Humanitarian of the Year for his work to stop gun violence following the 2022 shooting death of his Migos bandmate Takeoff. (Variety)

On a recent appearance on the Politickin podcast, Lance Bass revealed that after he came out as gay in 2006, creative opportunities that were once available to him started to be taken away. Bass was in talks at the time to film a pilot episode of a new sitcom for the CW, but once the former *NSYNC singer announced he was gay, the network scrapped their plans for the show. “They were like, ‘We can’t do the show anymore. They have to believe that you’re straight to play a straight character,’” Bass said. That prejudicial treatment shocked Bass, who only knew the runaway success of his boy band career. “I was confused for sure. I was such a young person. And all I knew was NSYNC,” Bass recalled. “When we decided that the group was no longer, it was very confusing for me because I didn’t know where I belonged. It took awhile to figure out who I was and where I needed to go.” (Rolling Stone)

Sabrina Carpenter's A Nonsense Christmas premiered on December 7 on Netflix. One of the highlights of the holiday special is Carpenter’s duet with Chappell Roan on the Wham! classic, “Last Christmas.” The retro-themed performance was set in the aftermath of a rowdy holiday party, with wine bottles and empty red solo cups discarded on the floor. The two pop superstars delivered the 1984 holiday hit while reading the lyrics of the song karaoke-style off of a vintage TV. Wham!’s “Last Christmas” was written and produced by George Michael, and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2023.

The premiere of Carpenter’s holiday special follows the recent news that she and former boyfriend Barry Keoghan have broken up. The couple’s relationship came to an end after a year of dating, with an insider claiming, "They are both young and career-focused, so they've decided to take a break.” After Keoghan received online harassment for the break-up, the actor deactivated his Instagram “because I can no longer let this stuff distract me from my family and my work.” (Billboard)

Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, boosted by the first physical release of the album’s Anthology edition sold exclusively at Target beginning on Black Friday. TTPD jumps from No. 8 to No. 1, topping the charts for the 16th week overall. TTPD Anthology sold 405,000 equivalent album units, the biggest sales week for any album since Poets’ second week of release when it moved 439,000 units.

Elsewhere in the Billboard 200 Top 10, Juice WRLD’s The Party Never Ends debuts at No. 4, while two holiday albums reached the charts, as Michael Bublé’s Christmas jumps to No. 7 and Bing Crosby’s Ultimate Christmas reaches No. 9, Crosby’s first top 10 album in nearly 64 years. Kendrick Lamar’s GNX falls a spot to No. 2, the Wicked film soundtrack slips a spot to No. 3, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet falls two spots to No. 5,  Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft slides down a spot to No. 6, Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess moves up two spots to No. 8, and Tyler, The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA drops six spots to No. 10. (Billboard)

JAY-Z has dismissed a newly-filed lawsuit alleging he raped a 13-year-old girl in 2000 as a "blackmail" attempt by attorney Tony Buzbee, citing a "terrible error in judgment." The lawsuit, originally against Sean "Diddy" Combs, was refiled to include JAY-Z as a co-defendant, accusing both musicians of the assault at an MTV afterparty. JAY-Z preempted the lawsuit by filing a legal action against Buzbee for extortion. In a statement, JAY-Z vehemently denied the claims and refused a settlement, seeking to publicly expose Buzbee as a "fraud." Buzbee responded, asserting the facts will be litigated in court, "not in the media." (Rolling Stone)

Taylor Swift wrapped up her record-setting The Eras Tour with a celebratory, emotional final show in Vancouver on Sunday night (December 8). Fans from all over the world flocked to the city to see the final Eras Tour shows, with officials claiming that up to 70 percent of ticket holders were not from the Vancouver area, including about 40 percent of international travelers. The Eras Tour – which began in Glendale, Arizona, on March 17, 2023 – is the highest grossing concert tour of all time, with an estimated $2.2 billion earned. Merchandise sales alone totaled over $440 million.

Swift performed 149 total shows over the course of 21 months to an estimated 10 million fans, with each of her shows featuring over 40 songs during the 3.5-hour sets. The Eras Tour featured live dates held in five different continents throughout the world during its historic run, with estimates that between tickets, travel, outfits and lodging, the average Swiftie spent $1,300 per show. The Eras Tour movie also set a record for a concert film by bringing in more than $261 million worldwide. (Today)

Carrie Underwood has been announced as the headlining performer for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2025. Underwood joins the other newly announced performers – CMA Awards Best New Artist Megan Moroney and Saltburn’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” viral sensation Sophie Ellis-Bextor – who will all perform during the holiday TV broadcast. The trio of music stars join the previously announced performers Lenny Kravitz, Teddy Swims, Tinashe, Cody Johnson, and Thomas Rhett, along with Rita Ora, who will co-host the event with Ryan Seacrest. “I have such fun memories of performing on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve in Times Square in both 2007 and 2015, and I’m so excited to perform just before the ball drops again this year,” said Underwood. “I’m thrilled to celebrate 20 years since winning American Idol by joining Ryan as he hosts his 20th New Year’s Eve in Times Square.” Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest will air on ABC on December 31 beginning at 8 p.m. ET. (Billboard)

“Rich Men North of Richmond” singer Oliver Anthony posted a video on YouTube on Wednesday (December 4) where he didn’t hold back his intense dislike of Beyoncé’s multiple-Grammy nominated album, Cowboy Carter. Anthony shared insight into a music industry executive’s plan to try and make the singer “cool.” “One of the guys I worked with, he wanted me to make some stupid f**king post about Beyoncé’s country album, about how it was good, even though it was complete trash," Anthony ranted. "It makes me just want to throw up.” He went on to express his criticism of Beyoncé’s reworking of Dolly Parton’s country classic “Jolene,” calling it “total cringe.” “It represents how degenerative our society has become,” Anthony continued. “That a song like a Beyoncé version of ‘Jolene’ can come out and anybody actually listen to it and think it’s not just complete trash.” (Billboard)

Reading & Leeds Festival announced the first round of artists set to appear at their 2025 joint events. The headliners for these celebrated English music festivals will be Travis Scott, Chappell Roan, Hozier, and Bring Me the Horizon. Those artists will top the bill at the dual-festivals held in Reading, Berkshire, and Leeds, Yorkshire, on August 21-24. The festivals will take place at Little John's Farm in Reading and Bramham Park in Leeds, with the same lineups performing at both locations throughout the course of the weekend. Scott’s appearance is being touted as a European festival exclusive, while Hozier and Bring Me the Horizon will be U.K. exclusive performances. Roan’s high-profile set will be an English headlining exclusive, as well as her first ever performance at Reading & Leeds. Bloc Party will also be performing the inaugural Icon Set at Reading & Leeds, which the festival said in a press release “will celebrate the defining acts synonymous with the festival.” (Billboard)

In a new cover story interview with Complex, Billie Eilish returned the praise that Rihanna said about her back in October. “If I could only do a song with Billie Eilish, she’s so good,” RiRi gushed during a recent Fenty launch event, an interview clip that Eilish said she “literally thought … was AI.” The two-time Oscar winner was quick to return the compliments to the “We Found Love” singer and fashion mogul. “I’ve never met Rihanna,” Eilish admits. “She’s literally my idol. She’s the greatest of all time. She’s my complete dream collab.” Eilish says she typically doesn’t answer questions about who she’d like to collaborate with, but she secretly had RiRi in the back of her mind. “I always think Rihanna,” Eilish says, before modestly continuing. “I’m not going to say that, though! Why would I say that?! It’s not real. I’ve never heard from her, and I’ve never had any interaction with her, so why would I have ever even thought about it?” (Billboard)

Chappell Roan took to Instagram on Wednesday (December 4) to share an awesome throwback photo of the future pop superstar, as well as the results of her Spotify Wrapped year-end round-up. Her most-listened to artists shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, though one classic band stood out from the rest. Chappell shared her personal results in the caption of her post, “Ps My Spotify wrapped most listened to artists were 1. Ariana 2. Charli 3. Heart 4. Justice 5. Kacey Musgraves.” Heart sits prominently in the third spot surrounded by a series of contemporary artists, with Chappell reinforcing her love of the Seattle classic rock band by also disclosing, “Top song was barracuda ofc,” giving love to Heart’s 1977 Billboard No. 11 hit single. Charli XCX was quick to show her appreciation to the Grammy-nominated “Good Luck, Babe!” hitmaker, commenting “<3 <3 <3,” while Ariana Grande shared the love by commenting “🥲 ♡” on her post. (People)

In a new video interview with Variety, Charli XCX disclosed that she suffers nerve damage due to her intense performances, and that touring takes a mental and physical toll on the 32-year-old pop superstar. “I find touring really hard emotionally,” Charli shared. “I find the stage — especially these days — to be a very angry place for me. I’ve done a lot of physical damage to my body from performing, and I’m often in a lot of pain when I perform. Physically, I have nerve damage in my neck from things I’ve done on the stage.” Charli just finished up a short run of U.K. arena shows supporting her Grammy-nominated Brat album, and earlier this year played a co-headlining series of sold-out shows in North America with Troye Sivan as part of their Sweat Tour. Charli said those shows with her friend/collaborator were “a lot easier and less of an emotional battle for me.” Touring still feels like “kind of this hellhole” Charli admits, “but being with Troye softens that a lot.” (Billboard)

While The Eras Tour is coming to an end, Taylor Swift gave her fans something special to help them remember these shows forever. The Eras Tour Book was released exclusively at Target on Black Friday, and Swifties snatched up the 256-page coffee table book in record numbers. According to Circana BookScan, The Eras Tour Book sold 814,000 copies in only its first two days of release. Those sales totals mark the second-highest number of books sold in a single week since BookScan began tracking sales in 2001, with the biggest nonfiction launch being Barack Obama's memoir, A Promised Land. But his figures reflected an entire week of sales with books available at all outlets, while Swift’s sales were recorded over only two days while limited to one retailer. Swift has only three shows left on her record-setting Eras Tour, with dates in Vancouver on Friday through Sunday (December 6-8). “Our next city will be the last one of the Eras Tour, and the closing of the most extraordinary chapter of my life so far,” Swift said in Toronto. (Rolling Stone) 

Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” tied a record last month by spending 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The universal appeal of the song propelled the Virginia native into music stardom, and Shaboozey loves seeing everyone come together while enjoying his big hit. “It has an American feeling to it, that feeling when you think of apple pie,” Shaboozey shared. “Everybody just holding their drink up, arms around each other’s shoulders, having a damn ball. That’s America.” Producers Sean Cook and Nevin Sastry reworked J-Kwon’s 2004 debut single, “Tipsy,” with Shaboozey saying the track came together naturally.

“My two producers picked up the guitar, started playing the chords and then we started writing it,” he recalls. “I sang, ‘They know me and Jack Daniels got a history,’ and everyone was just like, ‘F**k.’” The rest is chart – and music – history, and Shaboozey’s career will never be the same, as evidenced by his high-profile performance of the song during halftime of the Detroit Lions annual Thanksgiving Day football game. (Variety)

In a new interview with Variety, Charli XCX shared details about her recent collaboration with Ariana Grande on the “Sympathy Is A Knife” remix, and the advice that the Wicked star gave her. “She had a lot to say,” Charli recalls. “We went back and forth on the lyrics, talking about all the knives that we both felt in this industry.” Grande had hosted Saturday Night Live back in September, and gave Charli some tips before she served as host and musical guest during a November episode of the sketch comedy show. “She’d obviously just done [‘SNL’] and killed it, so I was getting tips,” Charli reveals. “She was just like, ‘You’re gonna be amazing, just relax, it’s so fun.'” Grande and Charli’s reworking of “Sympathy Is a Knife” is featured on Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat, a remix companion to Charli’s Grammy-nominated sixth studio album, Brat. (Billboard)

Azealia Banks and the 1975 frontman Matty Healy got into a war of words on X that might lead to the provocative rapper suing the outspoken pop singer. Healy came to the defense of Charli XCX, who is engaged to his 1975 bandmate George Daniel, and Matty’s fiancée, Gabbriette, both of whom Banks was harshly criticizing on X. Healy took things too far with a response to Banks in a since deleted tweet where he threatened to “f**king slap you so hard I’ll get a Guinness world record.” Banks previously tweeted her opinion that Charli “used to be” pretty and that Los Angeles was “destroying” her. After Healy’s offensive tweet, they took their fight private, with Banks eventually posting screen shots of their DMs and writing, “He’s been in my DM apologizing and begging me not to sue but I’m f**king tired. And people are gonna learn some f**king respect.” (Rolling Stone) 

Zayn Malik waited until the last possible moment to cancel his scheduled show in Newcastle, England on Tuesday night (December 3). Fans were already inside the O2 City Hall when the former One Direction singer made the decision to cancel the show due to his vocal issues. “I’m so sorry to do this but my voice just isn’t there at all tonight and without it there’s no show,” Malik wrote on Instagram. “I’m truly sorry to let you down, especially at such short notice. I held onto hope until the very last moment. I’m hopeful with some rest tonight I’ll be back on stage tomorrow. My deepest apologies Newcastle.” Fans were informed of the cancellation with an announcement in the venue: “The show will no longer go ahead tonight. We apologize for the late notice, it was his hope that he would be able to continue with the show. But this is no longer possible.” Malik’s next stop on his Stairway to the Sky Tour went on as scheduled on Wednesday night (December 4) in Manchester. (Rolling Stone)

As the first quarter of the 21st Century draws to a close, Billboard counted down the 25 greatest pop stars of the past 25 years as chosen by their staff. On Tuesday (December 3), the publication revealed that Beyoncé topped their list as the greatest pop star of the 21st Century. Billboard said Beyoncé was selected “based on her full 25 years of influence, evolution and impact.” On March 2, 2024, Beyoncé topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the 12th time this century with “Texas Hold ‘Em.” While her second career No. 1 hit came at the start of the century on March 18, 2000, when Destiny’s Child topped the Hot 100 with “Say My Name.” Beyoncé has dominated the charts and the music headlines over the past 25 years, always remaining culturally and commercially relevant while staying a step ahead of her contemporaries and critics. “There are no flop eras for Bey, no periods where she disappeared for a half-decade,” Billboard wrote. “There are only varying degrees of winning for over two decades.” (Billboard)

On Wednesday (December 4), Spotify revealed its year-end Spotify Wrapped data, which featured its ranking of the most-streamed albums in the world over the past 12 months. According to those figures, the Top Eight most-streamed albums of 2024 were all released by women. Taylor Swift is featured three times in the Top Eight, with The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology topping the list of the most-streamed albums of the year, while 2023’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is at Number Six, and 2019’s Lover reached Number Eight. Billie Eilish‘s Hit Me Hard and Soft came in at Number Two on the most-streamed albums of 2024, while Sabrina Carpenter‘s Short n’ Sweet is third, Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito is Number Four, Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine is Number Five. and SZA’s 2022 album SOS landed at Number Seven. Swift was also crowned Spotify’s most-streamed artist globally for the second consecutive year, with the pop superstar racking up 26.6 billion worldwide streams. (Rolling Stone)

On Tuesday (December 3), Variety announced six additional honorees for their upcoming eighth annual Hitmakers celebration. Lainey Wilson will be awarded Storyteller of the Year, while Laufey will receive the Crossover Award. Young Miko is set to be recognized with the Trailblazer Award, while Grace Bowers will receive the Next Gen Award. The event also honors the record labels and executives that helped shape today’s hit music, with REPUBLIC Corps Collective to be recognized as Label of the Year, and Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson celebrated as Executives of the Year. These new honorees join previously announced recipients Hitmaker of the Year Charli XCX, Humanitarian of the Year Quavo, Changemaker of the Year Jelly Roll, Newcomers Award recipients Shaboozey and Benson Boone, Songwriter of the Year Amy Allen, Producer of the Year Daniel Nigro, and Producer of the Decade Jack Antonoff. The private event will be held on Saturday, December 7, in Los Angeles. (Variety)