Music

There’s nothing quite like seeing a child light up at the magic of Christmas. Lady A even released their own holiday song about the joy of being a parent on Christmas, called “Christmas Through Your Eyes.”

They’re not the only country stars who are keeping the focus on the kids this Christmas. Jackson Dean says he’s looking forward to getting to know the younger set of his family this year.

“My sister had a kid, my brother had a kid, and there’s about 11 of us in the immediate family now,” Jackson tells his record label, saying that after a few years of logging long hours on the road, he can’t wait to spend some quality time at home.

“I’m excited this year to see Ophelia and Tom, my niece and nephew, gettin’ and rippin’ open presents, ‘cause they’re knee-high to a stump right now,” he continues. “Probably getting to see that will be a gift enough for me.”

Brantley Gilbert’s also got kids who will be unwrapping presents on Christmas morning, though he says they’ve got simple tastes and would be just as likely to play with a “water bottle” as they would an expensive new toy.

Bikes are a big staple gift in the house: The singer’s daughter, Braylen, got a bike for her third birthday and his son, Barrett, got a four-wheeler for Christmas one year.

But it’s not just human kids who are the star of the show at the holidays. Brian Kelley and his wife, Brittney, may not have any children, but their four dogs are at the center of all their Christmas plans.

“Our dogs are our babies, and it’s always fun to kinda give ‘em some Christmas treats around that time and make it extra special for them,” the singer says.

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As lots of us get ready to enjoy the holiday staples, there’s one food that officially makes it Christmas for Charleston native Darius Rucker. 

“We have it during the year, too,” he says. “But at Christmas, we always have okra soup … It’s my favorite thing and it was just something that the family, you know, we always loved it, and you can make a whole bunch of it and everybody can eat. So okra soup was always our big thing.”

But the South Carolinian likely won’t be at home this holiday to enjoy what he calls his favorite meal.

“I think we’re going to Miami this year,” Darius reveals. “The Dolphins are playing the Packers, and my son’s a Packers fan and they’re playing on Christmas Day. So I think we’re actually gonna go down to Florida and spend Christmas down there.”

Look for Darius’ new album, Carolyn’s Boy — named for his beloved mother — to be released in the new year.

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You’ve probably assumed that Mariah Carey is rolling in the holiday dough as a result of her perennial favorite “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” which this year marked its fourth journey to the top of the charts. But if you’ve ever wondered just how much Mariah takes in from that little ditty each year, the folks over at Billboard have crunched the numbers.

According to Billboard, there are two income streams that Mariah earns money from: publishing — because she co-wrote the song — and master recording revenue. Also, you have to look at things globally to get a full picture of just how much money is involved.

Billboard ran the numbers for 2021, because obviously 2022 isn’t over yet. Globally, there were 94,000 downloads and 823 million streams of “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Billboard estimates that in total, that amounted to $4.5 million in master recording revenue and $1.66 million in publishing royalties. Together, that means the song itself made $6.16 million in 2021 — but Mariah doesn’t get all of that.

For the master recording revenue, Billboard estimates that she gets just $1.55 million; her record company gets the rest. For publishing, Mariah and Walter Afanasieff are the only two writers credited on the song. If she and Walter have a 50-50 split, she’d make $830,000. If she owns her publishing, her take-home would be $747,000 after a 10% administration fee. 

Let’s say Mariah doesn’t own her publishing. That means her actual 2021 net income from the song is $2.4 million, maybe not as much as you thought.

However, as Billboard notes, the estimate doesn’t include cover versions of the song — of which there are many — or income from things like TV specials.

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The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has shared previously unaired footage of Judas Priest‘s performance during the 2022 Induction Ceremony.

The clip captures the metal legends’ rendition of the song “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’,” which didn’t make the HBO cut that premiered in November. You can watch it streaming now via RockHall.com.

Judas Priest was inducted into the Rock Hall with the Musical Excellence Award. For their performance, Rob Halford and company reunited with former members K.K. Downing and Les Binks.

The 2022 Rock Hall Induction Ceremony also featured a surprise appearance from Dave Grohl and Steve Tyler, who performed alongside inductees Lionel Richie and Eminem, respectively.

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Christmas Songs, the 2022 EP David Foster and his wife, Katharine McPhee, released this year, includes holiday favorites like “Jingle Bell Rock” and one modern classic, “Grown Up Christmas List,” which Foster wrote in 1992. But get ready, ’cause the couple’s already planning a deluxe version for Christmas 2023.

“We’re gonna add to this, because there’s only seven songs on this record, so we’re gonna add five more,” David told ABC Audio. “And we’re really gonna think about these five, because as we travel around, I like to ask people what their favorite Christmas song is.”

Foster’s a pro at making successful holiday albums: He produced some of the biggest ones, like Celine Dion‘s These Are Special Times, Josh Groban‘s Noël and Michael Bublé‘s Christmas. Foster says hearing Michael’s version of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” is what marks the start of the holiday season for him.

“That album is so good, if I do say so myself,” Foster laughs, adding, “Bublé reeks of Christmas … he’s built for it.”

But the thing he says will ruin a Christmas album is the inclusion of new, original holiday songs.

“I don’t think people want to hear [them],” he insists. “They said it best 50, 60, 70, 80 years ago. And we can’t do any better.”

“Mariah [Carey] obviously is the exception,” he admits. “I would say that I’m a slight exception with ‘Grown Up Christmas List,’ because it’s been around for 30 years and a lot of people have recorded it, but it’s not really a standard.”

He adds, “The old songs are the ones that even the younger people want to hear, because they’re great, great songs. I don’t wanna hear some new artist do some new song. I just don’t.”

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Flo Rida grew up in the Carol City neighborhood of Miami Gardens, Florida, and the rapper is paying it forward to his community by bringing some holiday cheer.

Flo tapped into his inner Santa Claus and handed out an abundance of toys and bicycles to the local children.  He shared the sweet video of the toy drive to his Instagram with the caption, “To God be the glory thank you and everyone else who came out… to help support and inspire so many understanding being blessed to be a blessing.”

He continued, “This is what the holidays are all about when you have God’s favor, unconditional love.”

Flo also shared a video compilation of the event, complete with an appearance from Santa Claus. The video focused on the hardworking volunteers who offloaded boxes of presents for the local children. He also praised everyone who helped make the event possible.

The rapper noted how much it meant to him to not only visit his old neighborhood, but to bring smiles to so many children. He expressed hope that the event will inspire more people to pay it forward and “spread the love.”

Self-made millionaire Stormy Wellington was also part of the outreach effort and shared just how seriously the rapper took the event, writing he “stayed the whole time” and helped hand out “over 1,000 toys and bikes.”

In addition to handing out presents, the event — titled Christmas at Studio 183 — provided food, a gaming truck, haircuts and more to help the community celebrate the holidays.  

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Trent Renzor and Atticus Ross are among the nominees for the 2023 SCL Awards, given out by the Society of Composers & Lyricists.

The Nine Inch Nails duo will compete in the Outstanding Original Song for a Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production category with their track “(You Made It Feel Like) Home,” which was recorded for the movie Bones and All.

The 2023 SCL Awards will take place February 15.

“(You Made It Feel Like) Home” was among the songs eligible to be nominated for the 2023 Oscars, but ultimately did not make the short list, which was announced Wednesday.

Reznor and Ross previously won Oscars for their scoring work on The Social Network and Soul.

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While credit for breaking the broom-jumping news goes to Wanda Sykes when she was subbing in the closing weeks of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Don Cheadle is opening up to People about his intimate wedding.

The 58-year-old Marvel movie star tied the knot with his longtime partner, 54-year-old interior designer Bridgid Coulter Cheadle, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pair, who have been together for 28 years, already share two grown children: 26-year-old Imani and 28-year-old Tai.

The Oscar-nominated actor tells the magazine of the small big day, “It was just me and her and our kids and our dogs and the pastor in the backyard.”

Cheadle joked to People that the best part of officially being married was “the tax break.”

He adds, “You guys have to do this. Please do this.'”

On a serious note, he added, “I’m fortunate to be in this relationship.”

He also said of his offspring, “I’m very fortunate to be close with my ‘adult-ren’ — I don’t even call them kids anymore. They’re very grounded and un-Hollywood, and I’m glad about that.”

Cheadle will be seen next on Netflix on December 30 in the dark comedy White Noise.

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