Tag Archives: Mariah Carey

Matthew López Wins Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical for “Some Like it Hot”

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Matthew López is on a hot streak…

The 67th Annual Drama Desk Awards have been announced, with the 46-year-old Puerto Rican playwright and screenwriter taking home an award.

Matthew LopezLopez and Amber Ruffin took home the award for Outstanding Book of a Musical for Some Like it Hot, a musical based on the classic 1959 Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot.

The show — for which Mariah Carey is one of the producers — won eight awards, including outstanding musical and outstanding lyrics for Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman.

Meanwhile, Kevin Del Aguila took home one of the two awards for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical for Some Like it Hot.

The 2023 Drama Desk Awards will take place at Sardi’s Restaurant in New York on Tuesday, June 6, from 3 to 6 p.m. ET.

The Drama Desk Awards will be presented five days before the Tony Awards are broadcast on CBS. The Drama Desk Awards differ from the Tonys in several respects.

All four performance categories are “gender-free” – their term for “gender-neutral.” Each of these categories had twice as many nominees as the former gendered categories; each have two winners.

The Drama Desk Awards are the only major New York City theater awards for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway compete against each other in the same categories.

The Drama Desk Awards are bestowed by critics, journalists, editors and publishers covering theater.

Shows with 21 or more unique live performances were eligible.

The Drama Desk was founded in 1949 to bring together critics and writers in an organization to support the ongoing development of theater in New York. The organization began presenting awards in 1955.

Here are all the winners:

Outstanding musical: Some Like it Hot
Outstanding revival of a musical: Parade
Outstanding lead performance in a musical: Annaleigh Ashford, Sweeney Todd & J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like it Hot
Outstanding featured performance in a musical: Kevin Del Aguila, Some Like it Hot & Alex Newell, Shucked
Outstanding direction of a musical: Thomas Kail, Sweeney Todd
Outstanding choreography: Casey Nicholaw, Some Like it Hot
Outstanding music: Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, Shucked
Outstanding lyrics: Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, Some Like it Hot
Outstanding book of a musical: Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, Some Like it Hot
Outstanding orchestrations: Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter, Some Like it Hot
Outstanding scenic design of a musical: Beowulf Boritt, New York, New York
Outstanding costume design of a musical: Gregg Barnes, Some Like it Hot
Outstanding lighting design of a musical: Natasha Katz, Sweeney Todd
Outstanding sound design of a musical: Scott Lehrer and Alex Neumann, Into the Woods
Outstanding music in a play: Suzan-Lori Parks, Plays for the Plague Year, The Public

Miguel’s “Sure Thing” Rises to No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay Chart 12+ Years After Initial Release

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Miguel has a sure hit on his hands…

More than 12 years after its release and its original chart run, the 37-year-old half-Mexican American singer, songwriter and actor’s single “Sure Thing” has risen to No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart dated May 27.

MiguelThe song, on ByStorm/Black Ice/Jive/Legacy/RCA Records, completes the longest ascent to the Pop Airplay summit from a title’s release, having first hit Billboard’s charts in February 2011, following its November 2010 release on Miguel’s debut LP, All I Want Is You.

An R&B/hip-hop radio hit in its original run, “Sure Thing” crowned the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, as well as R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, for a week in May 2011.

On the all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100, “Sure Thing” reached No. 36 over a 23-week stay in March-August 2011.

In 2022, the song resurged thanks to newfound attention on TikTok, where a sped-up version has soundtracked more than 4 million clips. It debuted on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart this January and ranked at No. 30 on the most recently published, May 20-dated chart with 10.6 million official streams in the United States May 5-11, according to Luminate.

On the May 20-dated all-format Radio Songs survey, “Sure Thing” rose 7-6, up 6% to 51.6 million in audience. On the Hot 100, it pushed 15-14, reaching a new best — as well as a new career high for Miguel, surpassing the No. 15 peak of Mariah Carey’s “#Beautiful,” on which he’s featured, in 2013.

Miguel previously tallied six Pop Airplay hits between 2012-22, rising as high as No. 12 as a featured artist on Kygo’s “Remind Me to Forget” in 2018, his best career rank prior to the revival of “Sure Thing.”

Meanwhile, the comeback to new heights for “Sure Thing” has been historic, as the single broke the record for the most weeks ever spent on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: 78 (through the latest, May 20-dated survey, where it placed at No. 5, marking its first appearance in the chart’s top five since September 2011).

“We were keeping a close eye on the metrics,” says RCA head of promotion Keith Rothschild about the decision to promote the song to pop radio after TikTok sparked new interest in it. It debuted on the Pop Airplay chart dated Feb. 25, at No. 40, and hits No. 1 in its 14th week on the chart, up 7% in plays May 12-18.

While “Sure Thing” is far removed from its original release, “programmers were not hesitant at all,” Rothschild says, especially with other catalog songs recently finding new life on radio, whether from TikTok or synchs, including Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary” and The Weeknd’s “Die for You.”

“We knew the song was a hit, as it was a No. 1 R&B/hip-hop record when it was originally out,” says Rothschild of “Sure Thing.” “It was never worked at pop, so we asked programmers to put it into callout. The numbers came back massive, and we knew it was game on.”

Mariah Carey Among Inaugural BRIT Billion Award Honorees

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It’s a BRIT-ish invasion for Mariah Carey. 

The 52-year-old half-Venezuelan American Grammy-winning singer is among the first recipients of the new BRIT Billion Award, denoting 1 billion career UK streams.

Mariah CareyCarey is among a list of honorees that includes Lewis Capaldi, Whitney Houston, Coldplay and Sam Smith.

The BRIT Billion award, which, like the existing BRIT Certified program and its platinum, silver and gold tiers, is verified using Official Charts data.

Other artists in the inaugural class of recipients are ABBA, AJ Tracey, Anne-Marie, Ellie Goulding, George Ezra, Headie One, RAYE and Rita Ora. More artists who have surpassed the threshold will be announced in due course.

“I’m really honored to be one of the recipients of the BRIT Billion Award,” Carey said in a statement. “I’m so grateful to my fans for their endless and enduring support. I love you UK lambily and cannot wait to come back to your side of the pond and create more magical moments together.”

This is the first time in its five-decade history that the BPI’s certifications program has recognized an artist’s combined success across multiple projects. The One Billion career total will include tracks an artist has appeared on either as the principal performer or as a featured artist, as credited by the Official Charts.

The introduction of BRIT Billion reflects the extent to which streaming has transformed the music landscape for artists and fans alike over the past decade. More than 85% of the UK’s recorded music consumption now takes place through streaming.

Sophie Jones, BPI chief strategy officer and interim chief executive, said in a statement: “For a recording artist, there can be few greater sources of pride than having a Platinum or Gold disc on their wall, but in an era when success in measured in the hundreds of millions and indeed billions of streams, it was clear that we needed a new and additional way to recognize and celebrate outstanding achievement in recorded music, and I feel certain that having a BRIT Billion Award will become equally prized.”

The BRIT Billion award represents the first significant upgrade to the certifications program since April 2018, when it was rebranded from the BPI Awards to the BRIT Certified Awards.

Library of Congress Adds Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” to U.S. National Recording Registry

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Daddy Yankee is gassed about his latest honor…

The 46-year-old retired Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter and actor, considered to be one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre, has earned a place in the U.S. National Recording Registry.

Daddy YankeeThe Library of Congress announced the 25 albums, singles and other recording that have been added to the registry, including Daddy Yankee’s smash single “Gasolina.”

Appearing on Daddy Yankee’s 2004 album Barrio Fino, the track was the first reggaeton song to be nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

But Daddy Yankee isn’t the only Hispanic artist making this year’s list…

Mariah Carey’s modern holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has made the grade.

“I’m honored beyond belief,” wrote Carey on Twitter about the single, which was released in 1994. “I definitely did not even imagine this would happen when writing and recording this song!”

The track became her 19th No. 1 the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2019, 25 years after its initial release, extending her record for the solo artist with the most number ones in the charts history.

Cuarteto Coculense’s album The Very First Mariachi Recordings (1908-1909) has also been added to the registry.

While mariachi music and its imagery are now emblematic of Mexican national identity, it was once a rural style of music played mainly in the state of Jalisco. In 1907, four musicians from the town of Cocula, Jalisco, led by the vihuela player Justo Villa, made the first recordings of it in Mexico City, where two years earlier they had introduced the style to the capitol when they performed for Mexican president Porfirio Diaz. These performances lack the trumpet now inextricably associated with mariachi, but even the early recording technology of the time could not fail to capture the group’s drive and spirit, and the recordings remained in print for many years. Due to the efforts of scholars and record collectors, the group’s work was collected and reissued in 1998 by Arhoolie Records, revisiting and reviving an otherwise lost chapter in mariachi’s history and paying overdue homage to these recording pioneers.

The late Irene Cara’s 1983 single “Flashdance…What a Feeling,” which she co-wrote for the film Flashdance, has also been named to the registry.

The hit single earned Cara the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female and a nomination for Record of the Year. As part of the Flashdance soundtrack, it gave her and all of the songwriters who contributed to the album the Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special, and she was also nominated alongside all of the other performers on the soundtrack for Album of the Year.

“Flashdance…What a Feeling” won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was also nominated in that category at the BAFTA Film Awards.

The 25 recordings were deemed worthy of preservation “based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage,” according to the Library of Congress.

Mariah Carey to Co-Headline This Year’s L.A. Pride in the Park

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Mariah Carey will be livin’ with Pride this summer…

This upcoming Pride Month, the 52-year-old half-Venezuelan American Grammy-winning songstress will serve as a headliner alongside Megan Thee Stallion at L.A. Pride.

Mariah CareyL.A. Pride organizers have announced that the two superstars will serve as the headliners for 2023’s L.A. Pride in the Park event.

 

Taking place at Los Angeles State Historic Park over two days, Pride in the Park will feature the “WAP” rapper leading the show on Friday, June 9, while the Elusive Chanteuse will receive top-billing for Saturday, June 10. Additional artists have yet to be announced for the concert.

In a statement posted to her Instagram, Carey celebrated the news under a poster of herself and Megan. “I’m thrilled and honored to be a part of LA Pride 2023,” she wrote. “I am happy to be back in-person celebrating with the LGBTQIA+ community here in Southern California and throughout all of the lands!!! Let’s come together to celebrate love, inclusion, and Pride.”

The “Savage” rapper also put out a statement, writing, “I can’t wait to headline LA Pride in the Park and celebrate the phenomenal LGBTQIA+ community. This incredible event advocates for diversity, inclusivity and equality, so I’m honored to perform and have a blast with all of the Hotties in attendance.”

Along with announcing the pair of artists as this year’s headliners, L.A. Pride also shared that the official theme of the festivities this year is “All Out With Pride,” aiming to celebrate “the LGBTQIA+ community’s diversity, resilience, and joy,” according to a statement.

“Mariah Carey and Megan Thee Stallion are the perfect artists to headline L.A. Pride in the Park this year as we expand to two days,” L.A. Pride’s board president Gerald Garth said in a statement. “These empowering and iconic women are sure to take the stage by storm to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and will undoubtedly make this year’s L.A. Pride in the Park an unforgettable experience.”

Last year’s L.A. Pride festivities culminated in a headlining Pride in the Park set from Christina Aguilera, which featured guest appearances from stars like Mya, Kim Petras and Paris Hilton. “I’m so proud to call you my family,” Xtina said during her set last year. “You are a part of me and I’m so happy to bring this to you.”

Tickets for 2023’s L.A. Pride in the Park are now available to purchase on the L.A.Pride website.

Mariah Carey’s Music to Be Featured as Part of Apple Fitness+’s ‘Artist Spotlight’ Workout Series

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Ready to get fit with Mariah Carey?

Apple Fitness+ has added the music of the 52-year-old half-Venezuelan Grammy-winning singer to its newly added workouts.

Mariah CareyIn honor of Women’s History Month, Carey, Miley Cyrus and Shania Twain will be highlighted as part of the program’s Artist Spotlight series, which dedicates an entire set of workouts to a single artist and their discography.

Starting Monday, March 6, Fitness+ users can pedal to the beat of the “Flowers” singer’s music in a cycling workout, return to heart center when it’s a wrap on the Carey-inspired yoga workout and feel like a powerful woman post-strength workout featuring Twain’s tunes.

New workouts will roll out every Monday throughout the month of March.

The Lambily will need to stretch as far and wide as Mimi’s vocal range — which spans across five octaves and goes all the way up to those whistle tones we all try reaching when belting out her 1991 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash “Emotions” — ahead of her cycling, dance, HIIT and yoga workouts.

“You’ve got to make working out fun, do what you love, so it feels like burning energy instead of a job! I hear lots of people like listening to my music in the gym and it makes me so happy – it means it’s energetic and inspirational,” Twain said in a press statement. “That’s why I’m so excited for this Artist Spotlight series on Fitness+. So Giddy Up! And do what makes you happy!”

Other musicians who’ve had sets of Apple Fitness+ workouts dedicated to them include Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, BTS, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Lopez, Pharrell Williams, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, ABBA, Prince, Shakira, The Beatles, Nicki Minaj and many more.

According to the Apple Fitness+ website, anyone who purchases a new iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad or Apple TV (and hasn’t previously subscribed to Apple Fitness+) will have free access to Apple Fitness+ for three months before paying $9.99 monthly, or $79.99 annually. New subscribers who already have the aforementioned Apple products can get free access to Apple Fitness+ for one month. Apple Fitness+ can be shared with up to five family members.

Mariah Carey Releases EP Celebrating Her 2009 Single “It’s a Wrap”

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It’s a wrap for Mariah Carey…

The 53-year-old half-Venezuelan American Grammy-winning singer has released a new EP celebrating her 2009 deep cut “It’s a Wrap.”

Mariah Carey“IT’S A WRAP!!” Carey shared on Instagram announcing the release, “by popular lamb demand, EP out now!”

The four-track project contains the original album cut from 2009’s Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel and the Mary J. Blige-assisted remix originally included as a bonus track on 2014’s Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse, as well as a TikTok-friendly sped-up version and a new three-minute edit of the song.

The EP’s arrival comes on the heels of Mimi turning the fan favorite into a viral hit thanks to the “It’s a Wrap” TikTok challenge she launched after the start of the new year.

In addition to giving Carey a dose of post-holiday glee as she watched thousands of Lambs lip-synch to the song, the challenge also gave “It’s a Wrap” a massive streaming bump, earning more than one million weekly streams as of the start of February.

Prior to the kiss-off’s unexpected revival, Carey wrapped up her absolute domination of yet another holiday season with “All I Want for Christmas Is You” returning to the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks from the middle of December through the beginning of January.

The chart achievement marked the modern holiday classic’s fourth year topping the chart since it first became Carey’s nineteenth career No. 1 in 2019.

Mariah Carey to Perform at This Year’s Lovers & Friends Fest in Las Vegas

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Mariah Carey will be celebrating with lovers and friends…

The 52-year-old half-Venezuelan American Grammy-winning singer will perform at this year’s Lovers & Friends Fest, presented by Usher.

Mariah CareyThe one-day only festival will take place on May 6 at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds; and it’s proving to be a star-studded smörgåsbord of nostalgia for Y2K natives and newcomers alike. The festival also recruited some 2010s and 2020s favorites for their 45-act festival.

In addition to Carey and Usher, featured artists and groups will include Christina Aguilera, Frankie J, Missy Elliott, Chris Brown, Nelly, Busta Rhymes, Flo Rida, Master P and No Limit Soldiers, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Beenie Man, Chris Brown, Ginuwine, Remy Ma, JoJo, En Vogue, Blackstreet, Jagged Edge, Next, Wayne Wonder, Kevin Lyttle, 702, Lumidee and many, many more.

The festival is perfectly positioned amidst the ongoing early 2000s obsession in popular culture, with TikTokers promoting over-the-ear headphones, low rise jeans, rhinestones and paper-thin brows–in other words, the Y2K starter pack.

This year’s Lovers & Friends will be promoted by C3 (Austin City Limits Music Festival and Lollapalooza), with general ticket sales available on loversandfriendsfest.com. Individual ticket prices range from $250 to $585.

Mariah Carey Crowns First 2023 Billboard Hot 100 Chart with “All I Want for Christmas Is You”

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It’s Christmas in January for Mariah Carey…

The 52-year-old half-Venezuelan American singer’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” holds at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, despite the latest data tracking week reflecting four days after Christmas Day (Dec. 23-29).

Mariah CareyThe track now extends its lifetime reign for a 12th total week.

It leads for a fourth week this holiday season – the most over any Yuletide season since it began topping the tally annually over the holidays in December 2019.

The song also becomes the second holiday hit to reign for four consecutive weeks, and the first in 64 years, after “The Chipmunk Song,” by David Seville & the Chipmunks, spent four frames at No. 1 beginning in December 1958.

Carey’s “Christmas,” on Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings, was first released on her album Merry Christmas in 1994. As streaming has grown and holiday music has become more prominent on streaming services’ playlists, the song first reached the Hot 100’s top 10 in December 2017 and first hit the top five in the 2018 holiday season, before leading over the holidays in 2019 (for three weeks), 2020 (two), 2021 (three) and this season (a single-season-best four).

Carey’s “Christmas” drew 46.9 million streams (down 4%) and 24.6 million radio airplay audience impressions (down 38%) and sold 6,000 downloads (down 47%) in the U.S. Dec. 23-29, according to Luminate.

Up to 12 total weeks, Carey’s “Christmas” expands its record for the most time atop the Hot 100 for a holiday song. The only other seasonal single to lead, “The Chipmunk Song,” by David Seville & the Chipmunks, spent, as noted above, four weeks at No. 1 beginning in December 1958.

The two songs now share the mark for the most consecutive frames atop the Hot 100 – four each – for a Yuletide title, as well as the most in any singular holiday season.

With this week’s Hot 100 dated January 7, 2023, Carey’s “Christmas” is the first song to lead Hot 100 charts dated in five distinct years (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and now 2023). No other song has reigned in more than two individual years.

Carey has now placed at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in a record-extending 19 distinct years (per Hot 100 chart dates): 1990-2000, 2005-06, 2008 and, thanks to “Christmas,” 2019-23.

Carey becomes the second artist, and first woman, with three songs that have topped the Hot 100 for 12 or more weeks each. She joins Boyz II Men for the honor – with Carey and the group having teamed for one song contributing to the feat.

Carey’s “Christmas” extends the longest span from a song’s first week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 to its latest, to over three years and two weeks (Dec. 21, 2019-Jan. 7, 2023).

Plus, the latest week atop the Hot 100 for “Christmas” stretches Carey’s record for the longest span of an artist ranking at No. 1 on the chart to 32 years and five months, dating to her first week atop the list dated Aug. 4, 1990, with her debut single “Vision of Love.”

With “Christmas,” Carey adds her record-extending 91st week at No. 1 on the Hot 100, dating to the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception.

“Christmas” became Carey’s 19th Hot 100 No. 1, the most among soloists and one away from The Beatles’ overall record 20. It also made Carey the first artist to have ranked at No. 1 on the chart in four distinct decades, dating to her first week on top with “Vision of Love.” “Christmas” is additionally the only title to have led in four separate runs on the survey.

She concurrently crowns the multi-metric Holiday 100 chart for a 57th week, of the chart’s 62 total weeks since the list originated in 2011. It has led the list for 42 consecutive weeks, dating to the start of the 2015-16 holiday season, and rules as the top title on the Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs chart.

 

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data.

Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” Tops Billboard Global Charts in First 2023 List

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The world is still Mariah Carey‘s (holiday) stage…

The 52-year-old half-Venezuelan American Grammy-winning singer’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” leads the first all-holiday top 10 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and tops the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. survey.

Mariah CareyCarey’s insta-classic holiday song adds a 13th total week at No. 1 on the former and an eighth week atop the latter, dating to the charts’ inceptions two years ago.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” holds at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 with 124.9 million streams (up 16%) and 12,000 sold (down 31%) worldwide in the December 23-29 tracking week.

The modern holiday classic, released in 1994, adds a 13th week at the summit, and a single-season-best fifth frame this holiday season, after it led for four weeks each over the 2021 and 2020 holidays.

Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” keeps atop the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 82.8 million streams (up 27%) and 6,000 downloads sold (essentially even week-over-week) in territories outside the U.S. Dec.ember 23-29.

The song scores an eighth total week at No. 1, and a single-season-high fourth frame this Yuletide season, after it ruled for three weeks over last year’s holidays and for a week during the 2020 holiday season.

The two global charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Billboard Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.