• Eric Church Joins Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Ariana Grande; 'Outsiders' Goes Platinum

    Move over, Jason Aldean, because Eric Church is joining the platinum party. The singer recently became the second country artist to reach the 1-million mark for albums sold in 2014 with "The Outsiders." Church is only the fifth artist this year to hit the milestone. Aldean, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Sam Smith were all certified platinum previously and the soundtrack for Disney's "Frozen" received the honor as well. As Church's website notes, "The Outsiders," released Feb. 11, sold 288,000 copies in its first week. It went straight to No. 1 on the "Billboard" 200 and Top Country Albums charts. Church received four Grammy nods, including Country Album of the Year, Country Song of the Year, Country Solo Performance of the Year and Country Group/Duo of the Year. The Outsiders also won the Album of the Year honor at the inaugural American Country Countdown Awards recently. He stressed the importance of albums during his acceptance speech.
  • 'Billboard' Women in Music: Ariana Grande Wins Rising Star Award, Brother Frankie Ruins It [WINNERS]

    Some of the music industry's most powerful women gathered last week for "Billboard's" Women in Music Awards. Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Aretha Franklin attended the ceremony while some of 2014's standout ladies took home awards. Ariana Grande's speech for her Rising Star Award was a talking point from the night, but mostly due to her brother Frankie. The most confusing part of the speech was Frankie's involvement. Why wouldn't a female artist present the award to her? And if there is going to be a family member involved, why not ask two of the women Grande mentions in her speech: her mother and grandmother? It was nice that Frankie was excited about the win, but tone it down a bit. Your sister can handle this by herself. Check out the awkward moment below and head to the 2:25 mark to see the Queen of Soul's reaction.
  • Nicki Minaj Drops 'Pinkprint': Full Album Available to Stream on Spotify [LISTEN]

    A few songs from Nicki Minaj's "The Pinkprint" leaked recently, but now the entire album is available to stream via Spotify since it officially dropped today, Dec. 15. Minaj is joined by a star-studded lineup on the 16-track album that includes Beyoncé, Chris Brown, Ariana Grande, Meek Mill and Jeremih. A 20-track deluxe version is also available on iTunes, "Consequence of Sound" reports. Minaj's collaborations with Bey and Grande leaked last week following singles like "Anaconda," "Bed of Lies" featuring Skylar Grey and "Only" featuring Brown, Drake and Lil Wayne. The latter's music video came out recently as well. Check out the full tracklist below.
  • 'Frozen' 'Let It Go' Synced to Christmas Lights: Performance Would Make Clark Griswold Proud [WATCH]

    For years, Chevy Chase's Clark Griswold was the champion of holiday exterior illumination when he wrapped his home in thousands of Christmas lights for "Christmas Vacation." Since the 1980s, though, we have had a few technological advances in the area of Christmas lights. A few years ago, Miller Brewing Co. synced some lights to Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizards of Winter" and people have been beefing up their displays ever since. The most recent home display features a marvelous performance of "Let It Go" from Disney's "Frozen." The video comes from listentoourlights.com, and it is one of the better light performances around. The centerpiece is the front yard that contains two large trees and some smaller decorations. Huge snowflakes on the house illustrate a "storm" backdrop as they "fall" to the ground. The cactus in the window kind of threw me off, though. Either way, it is a terrific display for fans of the movie or those fond of Christmas lights. Check it out below. Frozen's soundtrack was recently named the best-selling album on the "Billboard" 200 chart for 2014. It beat out releases by Sam Smith, Taylor Swift and Jason Aldean. The effort spent 13 weeks at the No. 1 spot, making it Disney's longest, best-selling soundtrack ahead of "The Lion King." This year has not been great for record sales, but Frozen was the first album to hit the platinum mark for 2014. Swift's "1989," Ariana Grande's "My Everything" and Aldean's "Old Boots, New Dirt" also surpassed 1 million sales. Smith's "In the Lonely Hour" is expected to join the club before year's end.
  • Jessie J Shares 'Masterpiece' Music Video From Latest Album 'Sweet Talker' [WATCH]

    British pop star Jessie J has shared the music video for her single "Masterpiece," which you can check out below. The video opens with Jessie waking up in her bedroom (complete with some hilariously unsubtle Beats product placement, because this is 2014) and follows her over to a photoshoot in Los Angeles. By the video's end, however, Jessie is partying out in the streets with a huge crowd of her fans, who are all singing along to the song with her.
  • Ariana Grande is Finally Being Taken Seriously and She's Pumped

    If you think Ariana Grande doesn't realize how quickly she ascended to the top of the pop game, you're mistaken. The 21-year-old former Disney Channel star was recently named a Billboard Women In Music Honoree, and she spoke about her meteoric rise and how it has "blown her mind."
  • GRAMMYs 2015 Nominations: Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, Pharrell Williams Among Early Nominees

    The biggest night in music is just around the corner, even if it's hard to believe that yet another year has passed. Today (Dec. 5), the nominations for the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards are being rolled out via Twitter and various television appearances. Early on, predicted favorites lead the nominations with Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea, Sia, Taylor Swift and Pharrell Williams all racking up multiple nods.
  • DJ Earworm Releases "United State of Pop 2014" Featuring Taylor Swift, Hozier, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea & More [LISTEN]

    2014 is coming to a close, and you know what that means...year-end music wrap ups! In the world of mashups, there is no better summation of any given year than DJ Earworm's "United State of Pop" series. Yesterday (Dec. 3), Earworm released "United State of Pop 2014," featuring 25 of this year's biggest hits from the likes of Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Iggy Azalea and Ariana Grande in one four-minute extravaganza.
  • Taylor Swift "Blank Space" Crowns Hot 100: Selena Gomez "The Heart Wants What It Wants" & Mark Ronson "Uptown Funk" Crack Top 10

    Be assured, there is no "Blank Space" available at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. For the third week in a row, Taylor Swift's new single from 1989 tops the charts. While she sits snuggly atop the U.S. music radar, two new songs have cracked the top 10, with Selena Gomez's "The Heart Wants What It Wants" and Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" (feat. Bruno Mars) vaulting up the charts.
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