Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” Returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s Holiday 100 Chart

Posted on November 28, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Mariah Carey’s Christmas hit is back on top…

The 52-year-old half-Venezuelan American Grammy-winning singer, the self-proclaimed Queen of Christmas, rules Billboard’s Holiday 100 with “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

Carey’s insta-classic holiday single notches its 52nd week at the top of the chart, which ranks the top seasonal songs of all eras via the same formula used for the Billboard 100, blending streaming, airplay and sales data.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” has appeared on the chart for a total of 57 weeks since the list launched in 2011; it has topped the seasonal survey for 37 consecutive weeks, dating to the start of the 2015-16 holiday season.

The holiday single also surges from No. 25 to No. 5 on the Hot 100.

The only other Holiday 100 No. 1s to date: Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe,” for a week in the 2011-12 holiday season; Pentatonix’s “Little Drummer Boy” (one, 2013-14) and “Mary, Did You Know?” (two, 2014-15); and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” (one, 2014-15).

Carey’s 1994 carol crowns all three Holiday 100 component charts (with all surveys dated December 3): Holiday Streaming Songs (21.5 million streams, up 54%, in the Nov. 18-24 tracking week, according to Luminate); Holiday Airplay (20.6 million airplay audience impressions, up 80%); and Holiday Digital Song Sales (3,000 sold, up 57%).

The song also boasts top honors on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs chart.

“When I wrote [it], I had absolutely no idea the impact the song would eventually have worldwide,” Carey marveled of “Christmas” last year. “I’m so full of gratitude that so many people enjoy it with me every year.”

Kirstin Maldonado & Pentatonix to Star in Disney+’s Holiday Special “Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays”

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado has special plans this holiday season…

The 30-year-old half-Mexican, part-Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates will star in a new unscripted holiday special for Disney+.

Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays follows the a cappella group, which is struggling to find inspiration for their annual holiday album, and the clock is ticking. To make matters worse, their well-intentioned but misguided manager mistakenly locks them in a magic mailroom.

It is produced by Done+Dusted and executive-produced by Ashley Edens, David Jammy and Katy Mullan.

Pentatonix was formed in 2011 and subsequently won the third season of NBC‘s The Sing-Off, receiving $200,000 and a recording contract.

Pentatonix have won three Grammy Awards: they were the first a cappella act to win Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella, doing so in 2015 and 2016 and Best Country Duo/Group Performance in 2017.

Sheila E to Receive Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Sheila E’s star is shining brighter than ever…

The 64-year-old half-Mexican American percussionist and singer will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.

Sheila E began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving the group in 1983, she began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album, which included the career-defining song, “The Glamorous Life“.

Commonly referred to as The Queen of Percussion, she became a mainstream solo star in 1985 following the success of the singles “The Belle of St. Mark“, “Sister Fate“, and “A Love Bizarre” with the last becoming one of her signature songs. She is.

Prince joined forces during the Purple Rain recording sessions. She provided vocals on the B-side to “Let’s Go Crazy“, “Erotic City” in 1984. Though taken under Prince’s wing, she proved to be a successful artist in her own right.

But Sheila E isn’t the only Latinx artist getting their star…

Marc Anthony, the late Jenni Rivera, Kirstin Maldonado and her fellow Pentatonix members.

The honorees are chosen by the Walk of Fame selection panel of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Ellen K, chair of the selection panel and a top radio personality, announced the new honorees on www.walkoffame.com.

Camila Cabello Performs Mariachi-fied Version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” at White House

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Camila Cabello is bringing a little sabor to the White House this holiday season…

The 24-year-old half-Mexican Cuban-born singer joined a star-studded list of performers for PBS‘ In Performance at The White House: Spirit of the Season on Tuesday — and brought along a full mariachi group for her rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

Julia Garner and Jill Biden introduced for her performance from the Grand Foyer as Cabello rocked an all-red jumpsuit and matching gloves.

“Such an incredible honor to perform again at the white house,” Cabello tweeted with a clip for her performance of the Bing Crosby 1943 classic. “Wishing you all a wonderful holiday with your loved ones.”

Among the other performers were Eric Church, Jonas Brothers, Pentatonix, Billy Porter, along with Andrea Bocelli and his children Matteo and Virginia.

This isn’t the first time Cabello has visited the White House. During her time in Fifth Harmony, the group performed “All I Want for Christmas” for Barack Obama‘s National Tree Lighting in 2016, and also sang “Happy Birthday” to Michelle Obama‘s Let’s Move campaign during the White House Easter Egg Roll in 2015.

Cabello previously performed the song (alongside a mariachi) during NBC‘s Michael Bublé’s Christmas in the City earlier this month.

“I wanted to pay tribute to my Mexican heritage with this Christmas cover of I’ll be home for Christmas,” she wrote on Instagram about the tribute. “Luis [Miguel] did it first and in Spanish, but I wanted to bring it to an audience that normally doesn’t get to hear the beauty of Mariachi music.”

In Spanish, she added: “Much love to Mexico and to the beautiful music of my country. Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy this cover that’s now available on Amazon Music.”

Cabello first introduced a mariachi to her music during Latinx Heritage Month for her NPR Tiny Desk performance, when she performed a track called “La Buena Vida.”

“I’m gonna sing a song called ‘La Buena Vida’ which is part of my upcoming album Familia and this is one of my favorite songs on the album so thanks for having me and I hope you guys enjoy it, let’s get it,” she said as she was joined by the band.

https://twitter.com/Camila_Cabello/status/1473675680424542217

Earlier this month, during a conversation with Kid Cudi, Anderson .Paak and the Sparks Brothers for The Hollywood Reporter‘s Songwriter Roundtable, the Fifth Harmony alum opened up about how writing a song for her Cinderella film helped her with her mental health.

“I don’t think I know how to write in any way that isn’t personal to me,” she said. “When I was working on ‘Million to One‘ for Cinderella, to be totally honest, I was going through a really hard time with my mental health.”

“It was just a period of a lot of anxiety and sadness for me, and that song had me feeling like, ‘I can overcome this. I know that I can make my life better.’ I feel like I channeled my personal journey into the one of the character. The character was super confident — everybody was telling her no, but she knew,” Cabello added.

Camila Cabello to Perform on PBS’ “In Performance at the White House” Special

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Camila Cabello is headed to the White House…

The 24-year-old Cuban Mexican is set to take part in PBS’ In Performance at the White House, which will return with a holiday season special to air on network on December 21.

But Cabello isn’t the only Latina to participate.

Kirstin Maldonado and her Pentatonix group mates will also perform during the special.

The program will be taped from December 11-14.

Jennifer Garner will host the special, with performances by Andrea Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli, Virginia Bocelli, Eric Church, the Jonas Brothers, Norah Jones, Billy Porter, Northwell Health Nurse Choir, Voices of Service and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will deliver remarks, and the event, titled Spirit of the Season, will highlight the holiday decor of the White House.

This will be the first In Performance since 2016, as none were held during the presidency of Donald Trump. The special also will be different in that the performances will be taped over a span of a few days, rather than a concert in the East Room, as has been tradition. That is because of Covid-19 protocols.

“We look forward to sharing more special performances recorded at the White House to capture the essence of our nation at its best,” Sharon Percy Rockefeller, president and chief executive officer of WETA-TV, said in a statement.

The Northwell Nurse Choir is a group of frontline nurses that formed last year as their profession faced the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic. Voices of Service is a quartet that has used their platform to show the impact that music can have on service members recovering from post traumatic stress disorder.

The In Performance specials began in 1978 with an East Room recital by pianist Vladimir Horowitz.

The special is produced by WETA, in association with Ken Ehrlich Productions. Executive producers are John F. Wilson and Ehrlich, with producer Renato Basile and director Toré Livia.

Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” Tops Billboard’s Holiday 100 Chart

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Mariah Carey is back in familiar territory…

Billboard’s Holiday 100 has returned to the charts menu, with the half-Venezuelan American Grammy-winning singer back at the summit.

Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” rules the Holiday 100 for a 46th week of the chart’s 51 total weeks since the list launched in 2011; it has topped the tally for 31 consecutive weeks, dating to the start of the 2015-16 holiday season.

The Holiday 100 ranks the top seasonal songs of all eras via the same formula used for the Billboard Hot 100, blending streaming, airplay and sales data.

The only other Holiday 100 No. 1s to date are Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe,” for a week in the 2011-12 holiday season; Pentatonix’s “Little Drummer Boy” (one, 2013-14) and “Mary, Did You Know?” (two, 2014-15); and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” (one, 2014-15).

Carey’s 1994 carol crowns all three Holiday 100 component charts (with all surveys dated Dec. 4): Holiday Streaming Songs (17.5 million U.S. streams, up 57%, in the Nov. 19-25 tracking week, according to MRC Data), Holiday Airplay (15.2 million audience impressions, up 87%) and Holiday Digital Song Sales (3,800 sold, up 42%).

Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Group Mates to Perform at iHeartRadio Holiday Special

Posted on November 6, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is helping people get into the holiday spirit…

The 29-year-old half-Mexican, part-Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates will perform Christmas classics at the second annual iHeartRadio Holiday Special later this month.

Pentatonix is part of a lineup that includes Kelly Clarkson, Michael Bublé and Train.

Hosted by Mario Lopez, the virtual concert will take place on November 24 at 7:00 pm ET.

It will be broadcast across iHeart AC, Hot AC and Classic Hits stations and on the iHeartRadio app, with a video stream on the company’s YouTube and Facebook pages. Fans can also watch the concert in VR through the Horizon Venues app on Meta Quest.

The concert will mark the annual switch to exclusively holiday music through Christmas Day on more than 80 stations in key markets nationwide.

According to iHeartMedia, that switch sometimes doubles the audience size for a station from typical non-holiday programming.

“Our listeners always anxiously await the day our stations flip to Christmas music,” said Tom Poleman, chief programming officer for iHeartMedia. “Kelly Clarkson, Michael Bublé, Train and Pentatonix have some of the best songs of the holiday season, and we’re excited to have them perform on our show.”

Pentatonix dropped their sixth holiday-themed project Evergreen, which features collabs with Alessia Cara and Lindsey Stirling, on October 29; the a cappella group also kicks off a Christmas tour on November 27 in Baltimore.

In addition to local stations, listeners can head to the iHeartRadio Holiday page to see all the dedicated Christmas stations across the iHeartRadio app and beyond.

Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Mates to Perform on ABC’s “The Queen Family Singalong”

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is bringing some Love to ABC…

The 29-year-old half-Mexican, part-Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates will take part in the fourth installment of the network’s successful Singalong franchise with The Queen Family Singalong.

Hosted by Darren Criss, the special one-hour, one-night-only event will air at 8:00 pm on Thursday, November 4.

The special will feature an hour of killer Queen hits, performed by musical artists including Pentatonix performing “Somebody to Love.”

Other performers include Adam Lambert (“The Show Must Go On”), Derek Hough and Alexander Jean (“Another One Bites the Dust”), Fall Out Boy (“Under Pressure”), Jimmie Allen with Miss Piggy (“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”), JoJo Siwa and Orianthi (“We Will Rock You”) and OneRepublic (“We Are the Champions”).

Additional performances will be announced at a later date.

In a celebration of Broadway’s reopening, Disney Theatrical Production’s Broadway cast members from The Lion King and Aladdin will come together to perform a showstopping version of “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Performers include Milo Alosi, Tia Altinay, Lissa DeGuzman, Bonita Hamilton, Mduduzi Madela, Brandon McCall, Michael James Scott and Adrienne Walker.

The Disney Family Singalong premiered in April 2020 as TV’s highest-rated show among Adults 18-49 on any network on any night since ABC’s 2020 broadcast of The Oscars. The three editions of The Disney Family Singalong drew in a combined 29.9 million Total Viewers after 35 days of delayed viewing on linear and digital platforms.

The Queen Family Singalong is produced by Done+Dusted.

Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Group Mates Taking on Wilson Phillips on This Week’s “Celebrity Family Feud”

Posted on September 18, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is feudin’ for a cause…

The 29-year-old half-Mexican, part-Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates are facing off against Wilson Phillips on Sunday night’s new episode of Celebrity Family Feud.

In a clip from the upcoming episode of the primetime ABC game show, premiering exclusively on Billboard, host Steve Harvey introduces the Grammy-winning a cappella group.

“Y’all can sing,” Harvey tells the quintet.

Harvey introduces each individual member — Scott Hoying, Maldonado, Matt Sallee, Mitch Grassi and Kevin Olusola — and pays special attention to the “smooth” pronunciation of beatboxer Olusola’s last name.

Pentatonix recently released a deluxe edition of their latest album The Lucky Ones on September 10, via RCA Records, following up the album’s initial February 12 release with seven additional songs.

One of those new tracks is “Midnight in Tokyo,” for which PTX joined forces with all-female Japanese vocal group Little Glee Monster and released a music video along with the deluxe edition.

Tune in to Celebrity Family Feud at 8:00 pm ET on Sunday night on ABC to see Pentatonix take on Wilson Phillips for harmonic supremacy.

Gina Brillon Among the 10 “America’s Got Talent” Finalists Vying for $1M Grand Prize

Posted on September 14, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Brillon’s got Talent-ed plans…

America’s Got Talent’s 16th season will end this week with the 41-year-old Latina comedian among the finalists who could walk away with the $1M grand prize.

In addition to Brillon, the 10 finalists include aerialist Aidan Bryant, singers Brooke Simpson, Jimmie Herrod and Victory Brinker, magician Dustin Tavella, comedian Josh Blue, quick change artist Lea Kyle, Northwell Health Nurse Choir, and the World Taekwondo Demonstration Team.

The show’s top ten finalists will be joined by a swathe of celebrity guests on the show on Wednesday September 15 including Idina Menzel, Pentatonix, Bishop Briggs, George Lopez, Rico Rodriguez, Olympic Silver Medal gymnasts Jordan Chiles and MyKayla Skinner and AGT season nine winner and Las Vegas headliner Mat Franco/

In addition to the grand prize, the winner join America’s Got Talent Las Vegas Live at Luxor Hotel and Casino this fall.

It comes as the show, which was created by Simon Cowell and is produced by his Syco Entertainment and Fremantle, remains the most-watched summer program for the eighth consecutive year and the most-watched summer broadcast unscripted program for the 16th consecutive year.

NBC said that the show had reached more than 60M viewers across linear and digital platforms.

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