Kevin Mazur/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation
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.
Kevin Winter/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Just call her Swiftie Claus. Ahead of Christmas, Taylor Swift distributed some generous gifts to some very deserving people.
First up was Naya, a young patient who Taylor spent time with when she visited Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, on Dec. 12. In a TikTok video, Taylor was seen signing a copy of her Eras Tour book for Naya and thanking her for saying her outfit was “tea” — which is a compliment, by the way. “You made my day with that,” said Taylor.
And then Taylor made Naya’s day in a big way. On Dec. 22, Naya posted a TikTok revealing that Taylor had sent her the same outfit that she’d complimented: A plaid ensemble by Miu Miu that costs around $4500. She also showed that Taylor had written her a note that said, “when you asked where I got it, I purposely didn’t tell you because I had a plan 🙂 Picked you up a few things I hope you’ll think are tea. Ha.…Merry Christmas! Love, Taylor.”
Naya captioned the video, “She is soo amazing im soo blessed, i love you Tay Swizzle you’re literally the Best.”
Meanwhile, on Dec. 21, Operation Breakthrough, an education center for children in need, announced on social media platform X that Taylor had given them $250,000.
“Thank you, @taylorswift13, for making our holiday season shine even brighter! Your kindness and thoughtful 250K donation means the world to our children and families,” read the message. There was also a video featuring some of the center’s children personally thanking Taylor for her support.
The video ends with an adorable little girl saying, “Thank you Taylor for making our wildest dreams come true!”
It was a monumental year for The Beatles, as they celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first time they arrived in the U.S.
In February 1964 The Beatles — Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — made their first visit to the U.S. to play The Ed Sullivan Show, which was seen by a then-record 73 million viewers, a moment that launched Beatlemania in America.
The moment in history was highlighted in 2024 with the documentary Beatles ’64, directed by David Tedeschi and produced by Martin Scorsese, which debuted on Disney+ in November. It featured never-before-seen footage of the legendary group and their fans during the height of Beatlemania.
The anniversary was one of many Beatles-related highlights of 2024. Among the others:
Sam Mendes announced he’ll be directing four movies about The Beatles, each one told from the point of view of a different band member. So far no casting has officially been announced, but Ringo let it slip that Saltburn’s Barry Keoghan would be playing him.
McCartney’s original backing track for “Blackbird” was used for Beyoncé‘s interpretation of the song, retitled “Blackbiird,” which appeared on her album Cowboy Carter. He called it a “killer version” of the song.
Ringo dropped the EP Crooked Boy, produced by Linda Perry,and announced he’ll release the country album Look Up, co-written and produced by T Bone Burnett, on Jan. 10.
The Beatles’ 1970 documentary Let It Be debuted on Disney+ in May, marking the first time it had been available in over 50 years. The film was restored from the original 16mm negative by Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production.
Lennon’s 1973 solo album, Mind Games, was reissued, including an Ultimate Collection that featured unreleased outtakes, stripped down mixes, instrumentals, demos, rehearsals and even what was described as “studio chatter.” It earned a Grammy nomination for Best Boxed or Limited Edition Package.
Paul McCartney and Wings’often bootlegged album One Hand Clapping got an official release in June, 50 years after it was recorded. The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1974 as a video documentary and possible live album, although it didn’t officially come out until now.
Harrison’s first sitar, used during the recording sessions for the song “Norwegian Wood,” sold at auction for $66,993, while one of Lennon’s 12-string guitars, used to record several Beatles classics, sold for $2.9 million, making it the most expensive Beatles guitar ever to sell at auction. Harrison’s Resonet Futurama, a Czechoslovakian-made electric guitar, sold for $1.27 million, a world record for a Harrison guitar sold at auction.
The 50th anniversary of Harrison’s solo album Living in the Material World was celebrated with a series of new reissues, including a super deluxe edition featuring 12 previously unreleased recordings.
Two new Lennon documentaries debuted: One to One: John & Yoko, which focused on Lennon and wife Yoko Ono’s 1972 One to One concerts in New York City, and Daytime Revolution, about the time in February 1972 when John and Yoko co-hosted The Mike Douglas Show for a week.
In October, McCartney launched a new leg of his Got Back tour in Montevideo, Uruguay, and added the band’s 2023 song “Now and Then,” which was billed as the final Beatles single, to the set list.
“Now and Then” went on to receive a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year.
The massive vinyl box set The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums In Mono was released featuring seven albums the band released in the U.S. from January 1964 and March 1965. It marked the first time these albums have been available on vinyl since 1995.
And to close out the year, there was a Beatles reunion at McCartney’s final night at the O2 in London on Dec. 19, with Ringo coming out to join his former bandmate on two songs, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” and “Helter Skelter.”
It may be Cole Swindell‘s first Christmas as a married man, but he’s not feeling the pressure of coming up with plans and traditions.
After all, this isn’t his first holiday with his wife Courtney.
“[I] have spent every one of them with her since we started dating. I mean, from, we were pretty newly dating when I went to Thanksgiving and Christmas the first year. So that was a little uncomfortable,” Cole tells ABC Audio. “But her family’s so great.”
“I mean, that’s part of it all for me,” he says. “Just to have another side of the family almost, it’s just amazing, you know? And to see who raised her and her siblings. I mean, everybody’s so cool, so [I’m] looking forward to that.”
Since Cole’s already familiar with the family gatherings and traditions, he’s not planning to shake things up.
“Probably not a whole lot of change,” the “Forever to Me” singer says. “We’ll probably have some first-year married ornament or something on the tree. Other than that, I don’t know. I’m here to see where it takes us.”
“Forever to Me” is currently in the top 20 and ascending the country charts. It’s the lead single from Cole’s forthcoming as-yet-untitled new album.
for KING + COUNTRY‘s Christmas single this year is “Silent Night (Rewrapped),” a version of the classic carol with some percussion and other instrumentation added to give what is normally a very sleepy song some energy. The duo’s Luke Smallbone says they were looking for a way to make the super-traditional religious song sound fresh.
“That was one of the things that we talked about … is there a way to give it a little bit more life?” Luke tells ABC Audio. “You know, when I think of the most Christmassy Christmas songs, you probably think of ‘Silent Night,’ ‘O Holy Night’… so for us to figure out a way to have a little bit of tempo, a little bit of rhythm on it, was actually one of the goals.”
Like many Christmas carols, “Silent Night” was written in the 1800s — 1818, to be exact. Since then, it’s been covered hundreds of times, but no matter what you do to it, Luke notes, it still holds up.
“C.S. Lewis used to say, the only books really worth reading are the ones that are 50 years old,” says Luke, referring to the author of The Chronicles of Narnia. “And obviously he’s saying that about classic books: if they’ve been around and are still in print, you know they’re good.”
“Well, [with] music, it’s probably around 30 years old,” he adds. “But with Christmas, some of these songs are 150 years old. Some of these songs are 250 years old! These are old songs! And I think that tells you how wonderful they really are.”
for KING + COUNTRY wrapped up their holiday tour Dec. 20 in their hometown of Nashville. As previously reported, early next year, the duo will release their cover of the U2 song “40,” in connection with a new Prime Video series called House of David.
You’ve heard of an elderly woman behind the counter in a small town, but what about a 60-year-old man behind the microphone in a hugely successful rock band?
Eddie Vedder hits the big 6-0 on Monday. The Pearl Jam frontman was born Edward Louis Severson III on Dec. 23, 1964, in Evanston, Illinois.
While living in San Diego in the ’80s, Vedder recorded a demo for Seattle musicians Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Mike McCready, who were forming a band called Mookie Blaylock after the NBA player of the same name. The trio was also in a group called Temple of the Dog alongside Soundgarden‘s Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron.
Vedder was hired as Mookie Blaylock’s vocalist, and he also sang on Temple of the Dog’s debut album, contributing co-lead vocals to the song “Hunger Strike” alongside Cornell. Meanwhile, Mookie Blaylock changed their name to Pearl Jam and started recording their debut album, Ten, named after the player’s jersey number.
Alongside Nirvana‘s Nevermind, Ten helped make “grunge” a household term with songs including “Even Flow” and “Alive,” that latter of which was inspired by Vedder learning that his dad was not his biological father.
Pearl Jam followed Ten with the albums Vs. and Vitalogy while also making headlines for boycotting Ticketmaster, which would last until 1998. Subsequent albums would take more experimental turns, but PJ’s devoted fanbase stayed with them as they built their status into one of rock’s biggest and most enduring bands.
All told, Pearl Jam’s sold over 85 million albums worldwide and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. Vedder’s also put out a trio of solo records, the most recent of which being 2022’s Earthling.
Hozier covered The Pogues‘ holiday classic “Fairytale of New York” during his performance on Saturday Night Live.
The Irish artist took on the role of late frontman Shane MacGowan, while a trio of vocalists sang the late Kristy MacColl‘s parts.
Hozier’s SNL set also included a rendition of his #1 hit “Too Sweet.”
The Pogues, meanwhile, recently announced a U.K. tour for 2025, marking the surviving members’ first multidate run since MacGowan’s death in November 2023. They also just played a show in Dublin on Dec. 17 celebrating the 40th anniversary of their 1984 debut album, Red Roses for Me.
Brittany Howard has shared a new live album, Live from Austin City Limits.
As its title suggests, the set was recorded during the Alabama Shakes frontwoman’s performance on the Austin City Limits series during its milestone 50th season.
“So proud of what we’ve accomplished as a band this year,” Howard says. “Here are 8 live songs to enjoy through the holidays.”
You can listen to Live from Austin City Limits now via digital outlets.
Howard released her sophomore solo album, What Now, in February. Her year also included a surprise Alabama Shakes reunion, playing their first show in over seven years on Wednesday.
Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann has shared a new solo song called “Meine Welt.”
The track, which translates to “My World,” follows Lindemann’s debut solo album, Zunge, which dropped in 2023. You can listen to “Meine Welt” now via digital outlets.
Lindemann spent the fall on his first-ever solo U.S. tour. He’ll launch an international tour in 2025.
Usher‘s Past Present Future tour has officially come to an end…at least in North America. His final show was on Thursday in Miami’s Kaseya Center, where he brought out special guests Uncle Luke, Jermaine Dupri, DJ Khaled and JT Money. The North American trek sold over 800,000 tickets for 62 sold-out shows, with a lineup of surprise guest including SWV, Keyshia Cole, Lil Jon, and more. His international run starts in March of 2025.
Following its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Questlove‘s documentary about funk legend Sly Stone will make its way to Hulu on Feb. 13, Variety reports. Sly Lives! will feature guests André 3000, D’Angelo, Chaka Khan, Q-Tip, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Sly and the Family Stone bandmates Jerry Martini, Greg Errico, Larry Graham and the late Cynthia Robinson, some of his family members and more.
As promised, SZA‘s long-awaited SOS deluxe album, Lana, has dropped, complete with 16 tracks and features from KendrickLamar on the song “30 for 30,” with Lil Yachty and Benny Blanco each helping to produce one song. Fan bundles including some exclusive merchandise are available for purchase at shop.szasos.com.
Both Tyga and Redman have announced new albums on the way. Tyga’s NFSW will arrive Jan. 31, marking his first album in six years. As for Redman, Muddy Waters Too, a sequel to his classic 1996 album Muddy Waters, will come out on Tuesday, as revealed in a trailer shared to his Instagram.
