Kendrick Lamar is ending 2024 on top of Billboard‘s Greatest Pop Star of the Year list. The publication’s Andrew Unterbergestated this year was the year K. Dot let “people know just what he’s capable of” on his song “Not Like Us,” as well as through other “new releases or revelations that captured headlines and captivated the culture.”
“What made Kendrick Lamar’s 2024 so remarkable was that he didn’t just remind us of all the reasons why he was so big at his commercial and cultural peak – he showed that he could do things we’d never even seen from him before,” Andrew continued. “He showed that he was capable of hitting heights no other rapper had reached this decade…He showed that he was able to create cultural moments of both singular blunt-force impact and massive historical gravity – and then to do it again, and then again. And he showed that at his absolute best and biggest, he could dominate the streets, the charts and everywhere in between with equal sun-blocking vastness, and emerge as the winner not only when pitted against his most direct adversaries, but against any other potential peer in popular music.”
Kendrick was respectively followed by Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Post Malone, Billie Eilish and Jelly Roll, with Drake and Bruno Mars honorable mentions. The mag also named Shaboozey Rookie of the Year, while Hozier was praised for his Comeback of the Year.
K.Dot’s “Not Like Us” was also #1 on Vevo’s Top 10 Hip-Hop Videos chart in the U.S. GloRilla secured four spots on the list, with “TGIF” landing at #2, “Yeah Glo!” at #4, Big Boogie and DJ Drama‘s “BOP” at #5 and “All Dere” featuring Moneybagg Yo at #8.
One of this year’s breakout stars was Dasha, whose song “Austin (Boots Stop Workin’)” was a major hit on country radio. Now that her touring is finished for the year, the singer can focus on the holidays, and on her new house, which she began moving into in November. But she took a look back at Christmases past for ABC Audio.
Asked to name the best gift she ever received, the California native told ABC Audio, “My dad took me hot air ballooning one year [in Albuquerque] … I love adventures or things we can do together as gifts, so that was pretty cool.”
And what about the best gift she ever gave? Well, it was sort of one-sided on her part.
“I gave my mom a really nice purse one year, and I thought it was so kind,” she laughs. “She has not worn it once! So I think we have different styles, so that was kind of a bummer.”
Next up for Dasha, you can see her perform Dec. 31 during the West Coast Party segment of ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. The show will also feature performances from Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Thomas Rhett, Cody Johnson, HARDY, Megan Moroney and ERNEST.
In their Instagram Story, the “Second Chance” rockers have shared of the words “January 1st….” against an otherwise blank page. It’s followed by several photos of the band members in the studio.
Shinedown previously teased they were working on a new album, declaring that it’s “going to sound like everything.”
“We are doubling down on every style that has ever inspired us so that we may be fearless, and be the band that we set out to be from day one,” the band said. “That includes bending genres, flirting with soundscapes and personality, and above all pushing the envelope when it comes to creativity.”
Shinedown’s most recent album is 2022’s Planet Zero, which spawned the singles “A Symptom of Being Human,” “Dead Don’t Die,” “Daylight” and the title track.
Meanwhile, bassist Eric Bass is prepping his debut solo album, I Had a Name, due out Feb. 28.
The Black Crowes are nominated for a Grammy for their latest album Happiness Bastards, and they certainly feel honored by the recognition.
The album, the group’s first collection of new material in 15 years, is nominated for Best Rock Album, and will compete with The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds, Green Day’s Saviors, Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter, JackWhite’s No Name, Fontaines D.C.’s Romance and Idles’ Tangk.
“To be nominated with the Rolling Stones? I mean, that’s pretty cool,” Rich Robinson tells Forbes.
“For me, to be recognized in the industry that we have somehow kept at bay for 35 years? That feels good,” Chris Robinson adds. “And to be included with the Stones and Pearl Jam and Jack White and Green Day? And the younger bands! IDLES is such a f****** strong group. To be included with all of those bands makes me feel really good.”
He adds, “And, yeah – it’s something that I’m not used to.”
The Grammys will take place Feb. 2 in LA, and will air live on CBS and will stream live on Paramount+.
Releasing a holiday record has been a long time coming for Dan + Shay.
Their first Christmas song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” arrived in 2013. And since then, they’ve dropped several standalone tracks, including “It’s Officially Christmas,” the spirited title track of their new, 21-track double album, as well as their current hit, “Pick Out a Christmas Tree.”
“This has been 10 years in the making of actually having a double Christmas album,” Shay Mooney tells ABC Audio. “It’s amazing, man. The reception [to it] has been incredible already.”
“We’ve had some original Christmas songs out the past few years and there’s a few of them that are [RIAA-certified] Platinum, and it’s just like, ‘Man, this is so cool to be able to kind of be in that Christmas world,'” he says.
Shay hopes their record expands beyond this calendar year and truly becomes a multigenerational holiday mainstay.
“I think that, you know, this is going to be a big part of our legacy,” he shares. “I feel like for the next 50 years, our hope is that that’s going to be a part of this next generation, you know, coming [out] of growing up listening to this Christmas album, including my kids.”
“I don’t know, it’s something really, really special that hopefully will continue to build on for the next 50 years.”
Holidays are a little different for Kash Doll now that she’s a mother of two. She’ll be taking a break from her tour and work to eat and celebrate the season, with a renewed excitement thanks to her daughter, Klarity, and son, Kashton.
“When you have kids, it make[s] holidays fun again, you know, now you want to do all the things you were doing that you were coming up. … You just want to give them that experience,” Kash tells ABC Audio. “So I’m [planning] cute little Christmas things.”
Some of that includes wearing matching pajamas and playing the Elf on the Shelf with her son, who is now 2 years old. “Now he finally understands,” she says. “He’s 2 and he talking, it’s like, all right, we get to have some fun. So I’m just ready to have a good time.”
It’s always sad when our favorite musicians pass away, and in 2024 we had to do say goodbye to several artists who made a huge impact on music.
Grateful Dead fans were shocked when it was announced that bassist Phil Lesh died on Oct. 25 at 84. Lesh, who cofounded the iconic jam band with Jerry Garcia, Bobby Weir, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Bill Kreutzmann in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1965, co-wrote several of the band’s iconic tunes, including “Truckin'” and “Box of Rain.”
Another great loss to the music world happened on April 18 when Allman Brothers Band founding member Dickey Betts died at the age of 80.
Betts, who cofounded the group in 1969 along with brothers Duane and Gregg Allman, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson, wrote and sang lead on songs like “Ramblin’ Man,” their only top-10 hit, and “Blue Sky.” He also composed their well-known instrumentals, including “Jessica” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”
And on Nov. 3, legendary music producer Quincy Jones passed away at the age of 91. Jones was the producer behind Michael Jackson’s hit albums Off The Wall and Thriller. He was nominated for 80 Grammy Awards, of which he won 28, during his decadeslong career.
Here’s a list of many of the music figures who died in 2024, in chronological order:
Jan. 4: Actor/musician David Soul, who had a hit with “Don’t Give Up On Us,” 80
Jan. 19: Mary Weiss, lead singer of the Shangri-Las, 75
Jan. 23: Frank Farian, German record producer who founded Milli Vanilli, 82
Jan. 23: Melanie Safka, best known for her breakthrough appearance at Woodstock and her #1 hit “Brand New Key,” 76
Feb. 7: Henry Fambrough, the last surviving original member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame R&B group The Spinners, 85
March 11: Eric Carmen, best known for hits like “Hungry Eyes” and “All By Myself,” 74
April 24: Mike Pinder, keyboardist, vocalist and founding member of The Moody Blues, 82
April 30: Guitar great Duane Eddy, who had 15 top-40 singles throughout the late ’50s and early ’60s, 86
May 1: ELO keyboardist Richard Tandy, who appeared on all of ELO’s records since 1973’s ELO 2, 76
May 12: Saxophonist David Sanborn, who performed and recorded with a whole host of musicians, including David Bowie, James Taylor and Eric Clapton, 78
May 24: Iron Butterfly founder and lead vocalist Doug Ingle, who cowrote their signature song, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” 78
July 22: Duke Fakir, founding member of the Four Tops, 88
July 22: John Mayall, British blues and rock musician, and mentor to Eric Clapton, who was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, 90
Aug. 13: Greg Kihn, best known for hits like “Jeopardy” and “The Breakup Song,” 75
Sept. 6: Will Jennings, writer of such songs as “Up Where We Belong” and “My Heart Will Go On,” 80
Sept. 17: JD Souther, solo artist and co-writer of many hits for the Eagles, like “Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town,” “Heartache Tonight” and “Victim of Love,” 78
Sept. 28: Kris Kristofferson, singer, songwriter and actor, best known for such songs as “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” 88
Oct. 6: Johnny Neel, a member of the Allman Brothers Bandand the Dickey Betts Band, 70
Oct. 7: Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston and a singer in her own right, 91
Nov. 13:Shel Talmy, the producer who oversaw seminal early recordings by The Who and The Kinks, 87
Nov. 14: Peter Sinfield, King Crimson songwriter and lyricist, 80
There are a lot of films related to Christmas and the holidays, including Netflix’s Meet Me Next Christmas. Released earlier this year, the film, starring Christina Milian, Devale Ellis and Pentatonix, follows Layla’s pursuit to reunite with a man she’d met a year prior. Their deal was to attend the Pentatonix Christmas concert if they were both single, but she’s caught in a bind when she realizes the tickets have sold out, prompting her to seek the help of a ticket concierge, Teddy, who she eventually falls in love with.
Devale plays Teddy in the film and tells ABC Audio he had an amazing time working alongside some industry vets.
“It was amazing,” he says of the experience on set. “You know, Kofi [Siriboe] coming from Queen Sugar. Christina Milian, she’s Grammy nominated. She’s done everything, she’s already had a #1 movie on Netflix. The Pentatonix have a star on the Walk of Fame. I just knew I had to come and bring my best to match everyone else’s energy. That’s all I thought about.”
“Kalen Allen, he’s now [in Elf] on Broadway. He just came out with a Christmas album. Like these are all the people that I had to walk in the room and be like, ‘OK, Devale, you know, it’s time to step up and show them that you belong.’ So it felt good,” Devale continues. “You know, iron sharpens iron. I have all these successful people around me. Let’s get it. That’s how I felt.”
Meet Me Next Christmas debuted atop Netflix’s Global Top 10 Movies chart the week of Nov. 4 to Nov. 10.
It’s always sad when our favorite musicians pass away, and we had to say goodbye to several artists in 2024 who made a huge impact on music.
Grateful Dead fans were shocked when it was announced that bassist Phil Lesh died on Oct. 25 at age 84. Lesh, who co-founded the iconic jam band with Jerry Garcia, Bobby Weir, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Bill Kreutzmann in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1965, cowrote several of the band’s iconic tunes, including “Truckin'” and “Box of Rain.”
Another great loss to the music world happened on April 18 when Allman Brothers Band founding member Dickey Betts died at the age of 80.
Betts, who cofounded the group in 1969 along with brothers Duane and Gregg Allman, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson, wrote and sang lead on songs like “Ramblin’ Man,” their only top-10 hit, and “Blue Sky.” He also composed their well-known instrumentals, including “Jessica” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”
Here’s a list of the many other music figures who died in 2024, in chronological order:
Jan. 9: Former Scorpions drummer James Kottak, also a member of the German hard rock band Kingdom Come, 61
Feb. 2: MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, who was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, 75
April 24: Mike Pinder, keyboardist, vocalist and founding member of The Moody Blues, 82
April 30: Guitar great Duane Eddy, who had 15 top-40 singles throughout the late ’50s and early ’60s, 86
May 1: ELO keyboardist Richard Tandy, who appeared on all of ELO’s records since 1973’s ELO 2, 76
May 7: Music producer Steve Albini, who produced Nirvana’s In Utero, 61
May 9: Dennis Thompson, drummer for MC5, who, like his bandmate Wayne Kramer, was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, 75
May 12: Saxophonist David Sanborn, who performed and recorded with a whole host of musicians, including David Bowie, James Taylor and Eric Clapton, 78
May 24: Iron Butterfly founder and lead vocalist Doug Ingle, who co-wrote their signature song, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” 78
July 22: John Mayall, British blues and rock musician and mentor to Eric Clapton,who was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, 90
Aug. 7: Jack Russell, frontman for the band Great White, 63
Aug. 13: Greg Kihn, best known for hits like “Jeopardy” and “The Breakup Song,” 75
Sept. 17: JD Souther, solo artist and co-writer of many hits for the Eagles, like “Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town,” “Heartache Tonight” and “Victim of Love,” 78
Sept. 28: Kris Kristofferson, singer, songwriter and actor, best known for such songs as “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” 88
Oct. 6: Johnny Neel, a member of the Allman Brothers Band and the Dickey Betts Band, 70
Oct. 21: Former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno, who sang on the metal band’s first two albums, 66
Nov. 13: Shel Talmy, the producer who oversaw seminal early recordings by The Who and The Kinks, 87
Nov. 14: Peter Sinfield, King Crimson songwriter and lyricist, 80
Tired of all those year-end “best-of” lists? Well here’s the antidote: Variety has put together a “Worst Songs of 2024” list, and some well-known names are on it.
“Been Like This,” Meghan Trainor‘s collab with one of her musical heroes, T-Pain, is on the list. Variety says that it isn’t “offensively awful,” but that it “lacks depth and soul.”
It’s harder on Jason Derulo and Michael Bublé‘s collab “Spicy Margarita,” writing, “If it seems Jason Derulo has released the same song multiple times for the last 10 years, it’s because he has … comparing a woman you met in Cabo to a spicy margarita is also such a ‘been there, done that.'”
Camila Cabello‘s collab with Playboy Carti, “I Love It,” is criticized for the rapper’s unintelligible mumbling and Camila’s repetition of the title phrase. “The whole track is less terrible than it is just hilarious,” writes Variety.
“I Don’t Wanna Wait” by David Guetta and OneRepublic makes the list for being “generic.” Also, writes Variety, “The year 2010 called and it wants its sound back.”
“Now or Never,” which features Pitbull rhyming over Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life,” is described by Variety as either “a calculated attempt at expanding [the rapper’s] demographic” or “both artists’ attempts at striking soundbite heaven or TikTok gold.”
JoJo Siwa’s attempt to reinvent herself as “edgy” with the song “Karma” is called “tepid” and “2011-sounding.” And Variety takes Ice Spice to task for her “flailing and vapid delivery” on the song “Think U the S*** (Fart).”
And of course, Katy Perry’s “Women’s World” is included. Variety calls it “tone-deaf” and “woefully out of step with the times,” with a “lyrical construct [that’s] about as creative as singing the ABCs.” Ouch.
