Author: Rap Hooks

There are a record seven holiday albums in the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200 chart (dated Jan. 3, 2026), led by Bing Crosby’s Ultimate Christmas, which hits a new peak with a 6-2 climb. The holiday takeover is likely sparked by how, for the first time since 2014, the chart’s tracking week ended on Christmas Day.

Previously, the most holiday titles to populate the top 10 was six — which happened multiple times, most recently just last week, on the Dec. 27-dated chart. The first time there were six holiday albums in the top 10 was on the Jan. 5, 1959, chart, when holiday sets by Mitch Miller, Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Mantovani and Perry Como dotted the region.

Crosby’s Ultimate Christmas earned 110,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending Dec. 25, according to Luminate. Streaming activity largely fueled that number, with the album’s songs generating 140.71 million on-demand official streams. That’s Crosby’s best streaming week ever for an album, and the biggest streaming week for any holiday album. Ultimate Christmas beats its own record, as it previously had the biggest streaming week ever for both a Crosby album, and any holiday title, with 125.77 million on the Jan. 4, 2025-dated chart (the same week it had reached its previous high of No. 3 on the Billboard 200).

Ultimate Christmas also hits No. 1 on the Top Streaming Albums chart for the first time, rising 2-1.

Ultimate Christmas contains such classic Holiday 100-charting tunes from Crosby as “White Christmas” (featuring The Ken Darby Singers and John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra), “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and “Mele Kalikimaka” (with The Andrews Sisters).

As for the other six holiday sets in the top 10: Michael Bublé’s former No. 1 Christmas climbs 5-3, Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song rises 5-4, the various artists project A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector hits a new best as it jumps 9-5 (surpassing its No. 7 peak achieved on the Jan. 6, 2024, chart), Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas is up a spot to No. 7, Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas jingles 10-8, and Frank Sinatra’s Ultimate Christmas hits a new high as it rises 12-9 (besting its No. 10 peak on the Jan. 4-dated chart).

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Jan. 3, 2026-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Dec. 30. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Just ahead of the new year, Harry Styles has released new music content for the first time in more than two years. On Saturday (Dec. 27), the pop superstar and former member of One Direction gifted fans with an official video for “Forever, Forever” — an instrumental song he debuted live on piano in Reggio Emilia, Italy, on July 22, 2023, his last concert on the Love On Tour.

The video embraces nostalgia for the tour and the community Styles has built. It opens with two-and-a-half minutes of artful footage of fans queued outside RCF Arena, where they’d get to experience Styles’ final show of the tour, a two-year trek that grossed $617 million and sold more than 5 million tickets.

Moments captured: friends braiding each other’s hair, reveling in securing tickets, dancing together with synchronized footwork, and admitting they feel “some sadness because it is the last show… then he will disappear.”

They debate what Styles should wear, whether it be dungarees or a suit with jacket — something “a little bit elegant.” One fan chimes in, “Better shirtless, sorry.”

And finally, they’re in, they’re having the time of their lives, and they’re unaware of what’s to come as the piano Styles would play “Forever, Forever” on is wheeled out on stage. Styles tells the crowd he wrote this song for them. It’s a song never before heard, an extra encore just for this audience.

The video ends with a message displayed on screen: “WE BELONG TOGETHER.”

Though it’s not a part of the “Forever, Forever” video release, that July night in Italy, Styles gave a heartfelt speech to his fans.

“I don’t get to do this if you guys don’t come,” he said. “I know that more than anyone else. You guys being here tonight, I know you wanted to make it special for me. You make it special for me every single night.”

“The atmosphere that you have created, the family that you have created, this safe space that you have created. I want to thank you for everything,” Styles added.

“I know feeling so incredibly small in this world it can be really, really difficult to feel like anything you can do can make a difference. I promise you, I see it all the time in the little things that you do and the way that you treat each other. How it has affected all the people around me, how it has affected people out there, it is so much bigger. It does not end when this tour ends. I want you to continue it. Put love out into the world. It needs it a bit right now,” Styles said at the time.

His last music video release came in the spring of 2023, when he dropped the visual for the fourth and final Harry’s House single, “Satellite.” Studio album Harry’s House had arrived a year prior, in 2022, and held two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Watch the “Forever, Forever” video below.

The president of the Kennedy Center on Friday (Dec. 26) fiercely criticized a musician’s sudden decision to cancel a Christmas Eve performance at the venue days after the White House announced that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the facility.

“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” the venue’s president, Richard Grenell, wrote in a letter to musician Chuck Redd that was shared with The Associated Press.

In the letter, Grenell said he would seek $1 million in damages “for this political stunt.”

Redd did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A drummer and vibraphone player, Redd has presided over holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006, succeeding bassist William “Keter” Betts. In an email Wednesday to The Associated Press, Redd said he pulled out of the concert in the wake of the renaming.

“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd said. He added Wednesday that the event has been a “very popular holiday tradition” and that he often featured at least one student musician.

“One of the many reasons that it was very sad to have had to cancel,” he told the AP.

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the center as a living memorial to him.

Grenell is a Trump ally whom the president chose to head the Kennedy Center after he forced out the previous leadership. According to the White House, Trump’s handpicked board approved the renaming, which scholars have said violates the law. Kennedy niece Kerry Kennedy has vowed to remove Trump’s name from the building once he leaves office, and former House historian Ray Smock is among those who say any changes would have to be approved by Congress.

The law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.

From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.

DY & More Stars to Ring 2026 with ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’

Daddy Yankee will join Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2026 for a live celebration from Puerto Rico. The reggaetón superstar will be joined by host Roselyn Sánchez. The event — which airs live Wednesday (Dec. 31) at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, Hulu (next-day streaming), and iHeartRadio stations — will feature performances from various iconic locations.

Ryan Seacrest and Rita Ora will host from Times Square, with a headlining performance by legend Diana Ross. Additional artists include Ciara, LE SSERAFIM, Little Big Town, and Maren Morris. Chance the Rapper will co-host and perform from Chicago alongside Jamila Woods. Rob Gronkowski and Julianne Hough will handle hosting duties in Las Vegas, with performances by artists like 50 Cent, Demi Lovato and Charlie Puth.

The west coast lineup features stars including Mariah Carey, Zara Larsson, New Kids on the Block and DJ Cassidy’s Pass the Mic Live! featuring artists like Busta Rhymes and Wyclef Jean. Other notable artists include Post Malone in Nashville and Chappell Roan in Kansas City. Pitbull, 4 Non Blondes and many more are also set to take the mic. Check out the full lineup here.

Elena Rose Spreads Holiday Cheer to Migrant Families

Elena Rose visited the Redland Center of Homestead Housing to support Harvesting Hope in their mission to assist more than 1,500 diverse migrant families across four agricultural camps. The organization provides resources for children and their families, including school supplies, health services, scholarships and opportunities for academic growth and post-secondary education. Her contribution helps amplify these efforts, spreading holiday joy and making a difference in these communities. “We collected 300 gifts. Join us in delivering them to children from immigrant families in need,” she wrote on her Instagram.

Fuerza Regida Organize Massive Toy Drive for Kids

Fuerza Regida gave back to their hometown of San Bernardino by organizing a massive toy drive for children in need. The band showed up at El Super grocery store on Mount Vernon Ave. to personally deliver a semi-truck full of toys, reportedly valued at over $250,000. Hundreds of children, ages 3 and up, lined up to receive the gifts. The band shared a video of the heartwarming event on social media, capturing the joy of the families and children who attended.

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

The 2025 Pop-Tarts Bowl is here and bringing with a hard-hitting match up between No. 12 BYU Cougars vs. No. 22 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. While missing their chance to make College Football Playoffs after losing in the Big 12 championship game earlier this month, the Cougars could still clinch their first 12-win season since 2001 with a victory this Saturday, Dec. 27. The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, are fighting for their first 10-win season since 2011.

How to Watch the BYU vs. Georgia Tech Pop-Tarts Bowl, at a Glance:

Want to stream the Pop-Tarts Bowl online for free and without cable? Keep reading our guide below.

Where to Watch NCAA Football for Free

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NLE Choppa has announced his engagement to Erica Ravén, sharing proposal photos on Instagram during the holiday season following months of public attention.

NLE Choppa has announced his engagement to Erica Ravén, sharing the news via Instagram during the holiday period and shifting the spotlight from recent rap headlines to a major personal milestone.

The Memphis rapper revealed the proposal through a short series of photos posted to his Instagram account, showing him down on one knee presenting a diamond engagement ring. In the opening image, Ravén appears visibly surprised as the proposal unfolds, while a subsequent photo shows her holding up the ring.

Choppa captioned the post simply, “Now That’s Gangsta,” removing all other images from his feed shortly afterward.

The announcement quickly spread across social media, with fans and peers offering congratulations as the images circulated. While Choppa has not shared further details about the proposal, the understated post marked a clear pivot in tone for the artist as the year comes to a close.

Rumors that Choppa and Ravén were romantically involved only began circulating publicly in recent months. In October, the pair shared affectionate posts online, including a photo together that fueled speculation about their relationship.

Weeks earlier, Choppa reposted an Instagram Story originally shared by Ravén showing the two kissing, though neither addressed the attention at the time.

The engagement news arrives following a period where Choppa’s name was frequently in headlines for reasons unrelated to his personal life.

In recent months, the rapper had been engaged in a public back-and-forth with NBA YoungBoy, releasing tracks including “KO” and “Hello Revenge” that referenced concerns about influence and accountability within hip-hop. The tension escalated into a brief confrontation involving members of YoungBoy’s camp in Houston, though no further incidents have been reported.