Music

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 21-track double album.

“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,” says Shay.

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Thirty Seconds to Mars calls their Seasons world tour the “best tour of our lives.”

The international outing, which launched in March, supported the Jared Leto-fronted band’s latest album, It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day. Leto memorably climbed New York City’s Empire State Building to announce the tour’s U.S. leg.

“From the very first stop to the 78th city, your energy, passion, and love carried us through every moment,” Thirty Seconds to Mars writes to their fans. “Thank you for screaming your lungs out, for your signs, your stories, your support, and your endless love.”

They add, “Here’s to the memories we’ve made and the ones still to come.”

Thirty Seconds to Mars’ 2025 plans so far include a summer tour of Europe.

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Is 2025 the year Charlie Puth becomes a bigger artist?

In a TikTok video, a fan asked Charlie when his next album was coming out.  “The top of next year,” he replied. And then, referring to the fact that he takes a long time between projects, he added, ” So, not five years, not four years, next year. Contractually obligated to release something next year.”

But now he says he was just joking. He wrote on his Instagram Story Monday, “Guys, it was a joke. I’m releasing this album because I’m really excited with what I’ve been working on ….no one is forcing me.”

This past year, Charlie released two songs: “Hero” and “December 25.” He put out “Hero” after Taylor Swift name-checked him in the lyrics of her song “The Tortured Poets Department.” In case you don’t recall, she sang, “You smoked, then ate seven bars of chocolate/ We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.”

“I’d say if it weren’t for Taylor, and her mentioning me, I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to put this out, which is a big statement,” he told Rolling Stone.

In 2024, Charlie also married his longtime girlfriend Brooke Sansone and appeared in a comedy series on The Roku Channel.

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Talk about a down-to-the-wire Christmas present: Mariah Carey has unwrapped a brand-new Billboard Hot 100 record.

Her song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is spending another week at #1 on the Hot 100, bringing its collective run on top of that tally to 17 weeks. That’s longer than Mariah’s previous longest-running #1 hit, “One Sweet Day,” her collab with Boyz II Men, which spent 16 weeks on top from 1995 to 1996.

Released in 1994, Mariah’s song first topped the chart in 2019 thanks to streaming. It was #1 for three weeks in 2019, two in 2020, three in 2021, four in 2022, two in 2023 and now three, and counting, this year.

Mariah now holds the record for the second-longest run at #1 of all time. The record of 19 weeks is shared by Shaboozey‘s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus.

And Mariah is now the sole owner of the record for the longest-running #1 on Billboard‘s Streaming Songs chart. It’s been on top of that tally for 21 weeks, breaking “Old Town Road’s record of 20 weeks.

And in non-Mariah Christmas chart news, Ariana Grande‘s “Santa Tell Me” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” have both hit the top 10 for the first time this year. Ariana’s at #9 and Kelly’s at #10. Ariana now sets the record as the most recently released holiday song to make the top 10 — it came out in 2014.

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Christmas came early for Koe Wetzel and Jessie Murph.

The genre-bending newcomers scored their first #1 on the country charts with “High Road.” 

“#1 on Country Radio.. [rock on emoji] @jessiemurphhh,” Koe shares with fans on Instagram.

George Birge, who earned his second #1 with “Cowboy Songs” earlier this month, commented, “TX boys on top, congrats bubba.”

Jessie also shared an Instagram carousel to celebrate her latest achievement. One of the slides featured a screenshot of a Billboard story, which underscored that “Murph is the first woman in a lead role to top the list with a rookie entry since Gabby Barrett with ‘I Hope in 2020.”

You can find “High Road” on Koe’s latest album, 9 Lives, out now.

If you’re looking to expand your Christmas playlist, check out Koe’s recently released seven-track holiday project, Koe Wetzel Presents…Wetzel’s Wonderland Chapter 2.

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Travis Barker is keeping up with the Kardashians with his latest collaboration.

The blink-182 drummer has produced a cover of Eartha Kitt‘s holiday staple “Santa Baby,” recorded by his sister-in-law, Kim Kardashian. According to the Apple Music credits, Barker also played drums on the recording.

The cover is accompanied by a truly strange video featuring Kardashian crawling across the floor of a house, while what feels like a deleted scene from a David Lynch movie unfolds around her. The end features a cameo from Macaulay Culkin as Santa.

You can listen to Kardashian’s “Santa Baby” now via digital outlets, and watch its video streaming now on YouTube.

Barker, who’s married to Kim’s sister Kourtney Kardashian, spent much of the year touring with blink in support of their 2023 album, ONE MORE TIME… He also recently teased some upcoming musical projects, writing in a November Instagram post, “Recorded two albums over October/November with some great people.”

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 



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Meghan Trainor and her husband Daryl Sabara celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary on Sunday, which was also Meghan’s 31st birthday. She commemorated the events with a sweet Instagram post.

“8 years of love, 6 years of magic, 4 years of making perfect, beautiful babies,” Meghan captioned a carousel of photos and video. “This life we’ve built together is truly unbelievable. And we’ve only just begun. You were made for me and I know it when I look at our boys Riley and Barry.”

“You make me laugh harder than I’ve ever laughed. You take care of me. You give me all of your love and energy and light,” she continued. “You are so special and rare in this world and I can’t believe I GET TO LIVE LIFE WITH YOU AS MY SOULMATE/PARTNER/BESTIE. IT IS AN ABSOLUTE HONOR AND A PRIVILEGE LIVING LIFE WITH MY HAND IN YOURS.”

“I love you @darylsabara too much it’s aggressive,” she concluded. “Happy 6 year anniversary my love.”

In the post, there was also a “Happy Birthday” video for Meghan along with footage of the couple having fun in a “rage room,” where you can smash and destroy things to your heart’s content. Also included was footage of Daryl crying as he read an article about Meghan. “You’ve worked so hard for this,” he sobbed.

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