Jim Nantz and Tony Romo are two of the best in the business when it comes to football broadcasting, which is why they were tasked with calling Super Bowl LVIII for CBS this weekend. So, all due respect to them and everybody else involved in the CBS broadcast, but Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl coverage was so clearly the most fun way to watch the big game.
Need proof? Take a look at the celebrities who were in attendance on the Nick broadcast. Offering some shots of CGI fish characters made to look like famous folks, Nick showed off aquatic music stars like Billie Eelish, Doja Catfish, and Herring Styles in the Bikini Bottom stands, along with other celebs like LePrawn James, Clamuel L. Jackson, and Fin Diesel.
Nick had a ton of fun beyond that, too. “Sweet Victory” finally made its first appearance at the big game. On top of that, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star were on hand to provide in-game commentary, alongside Noah Eagle and Nate Burleson. At one point during the game, the camera cut to Leonardi DiCaprio in attendance, and Tom Kenny (voicing SpongeBob as he has since 1999) had a great quip: “Leonardo DiCaprio, 25. That was about his dating history,” a perfect reference to this classic SpongeBob scene.
Today (November 29) is Spotify Wrapped day, as the world’s leading music streaming platform has unveiled its year-end lists of what artists, songs, albums, and more enjoyed the most streaming activity in 2023. As for what songs were the biggest this year, it depends on where you look.
On the global list, Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” wound up on top. If you focus in on just the US, though, Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” takes home the crown. SZA crushed it on both lists, and both ranks have her at No. 2 with “Kill Bill.”
Check out the top 10 songs lists for both the world and just the US below, and find more of Spotify’s year-end data here.
Spotify’s Most-Streamed Songs Globally For 2023
1. Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
2. SZA — “Kill Bill”
3. Harry Styles — “As It Was”
4. Jung Kook — “Seven” Feat. Latto
5. Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma — “Ella Baila Sola”
6. Taylor Swift — “Cruel Summer”
7. Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, and 21 Savage — “Creepin’”
8. Rema and Selena Gomez — “Calm Down”
9. Bizarrap and Shakira — “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”
10. Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero”
Spotify’s Most-Streamed Songs In The US For 2023
1. Morgan Wallen — “Last Night”
2. SZA — “Kill Bill”
3. Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
4. Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma — “Ella Baila Sola”
5. PinkPantheress and Ice Spice — “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2”
6. Taylor Swift — “Cruel Summer”
7. Zach Bryan — “Something in the Orange”
8. Morgan Wallen — “You Proof”
9. Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, and 21 Savage — “Creepin’”
10. Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
As a member of the ultra-famous boy band One Direction, Harry Styles was already used to releasing commercially successful albums. However, solo success is rarely ever assured once a popular musical group splits up. Nonetheless, Styles maintained his universal appeal as a solo act and has so far released three commercially acclaimed LPs. His sophomore album, Fine Line, released in 2019, became a global smash hit and has remained the best-selling album of his solo career.
Regarding critical reception, his third album, Harry’s House, takes the crown. However, in terms of sales, there’s still quite a ways to go before Fine Line is trumped. Embracing a more mature, sexy pop-rock style, Fine Line showcased his musical evolution perfectly. The album also arrived when he started to be taken seriously as a fashion star on the rise. As a result, of all his albums, Harry Styles brewed up significant buzz before his second LP dropped.
With Fine Line, Styles became a certified record-breaker. The album became the biggest debut from a British male artist since the emergence of the Nielsen Soundscan era. It sold a mouthwatering 478,000 units in its first week, of which 393,000 were pure sales. As a result, Fine Line debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, making Harry Styles the first British male artist to debut at No. 1 with his first two albums. Naturally, with such a strong debut,the album sold millions of copies overall.
In the United States, Fine Line has been certified 3x Platinum for sales of over three million units. In the UK, it has achieved a 2x Platinum, selling over 600,000 copies. Regarding numbers, Brazil and Canada boast over 320,000 units sold, resulting in a 2x Diamond certification in the former and a 4x Platinum certification in the latter. Right behind is Mexico, where Fine Line has been certified Diamond for selling over 300,000 units. In Australia, the LP achieved a 3x Platinum, with over 210,000 copies sold. Notably, Singapore is the only Asian country to have certifications for Fine Line, as the album went Platinum there with over 10,000 sales.
Styles’ eponymous debut album had begun to shed off his boy band persona. However, it was Fine Line that signified an even more musically confident artist. Harry Styles also re-enlisted Tyler Johnson, Jeff Bhasker, and Kid Harpoon to work on his sophomore LP, which is why his first two albums have a similar feel. Nonetheless, the growth was evident.
The singles released were also successful. However, it was the funk-pop track “Watermelon Sugar” that propelled Styles to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Overall, Fine Line was a sultry project filled with memoir-esque tracks about joy, tears, and sex. It was also the project that made Styles a musical force to be reckoned with. Perfectly balancing his newfound fashionista persona with his eclectic music style, the former One Direction member had become a fully-fledged pop star.
Last week, Jorja Smith released her highly-anticipated sophomore albumFalling or Flying. The 16-track project had features from J Hus and Lila Ike across its nearly 45-minute runtime. The project already has a few hits under its belt like “Little Things,” “Try Me,” and “GO GO GO.” The album is her second project and her first in five years following 2018’s Lost & Found. Clearly, despite her time her fans still have an unwavering dedication to her music.
They came to her defense at large recently when she shared a music video for a remix she made with Nia Archives. Despite fans praising the song, she faced plenty of body-shaming comments online. Thankfully though her fans had her back shutting down negative comments and praising the song. Now, she’s released yet another video playing some of her songs live from the BBC 1 Live Lounge. There’s one performance in particular that fans are honing in on, a cover of Harry Styles’ smash hit “As It Was.” The song, which was at the top spot on the charts for months in the summer of 2022, sounded great translated through Jorja’s incredible vocals. Check out the full video of the performance below.
The BBC Live Lounge has been on a hot streak with great covers recently. Just this week they’ve already shared videos of some major pop crossovers. They had Troye Sivan in to give his version of Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For.” They also got Olivia Rodrigo to cover another burgeoning superstars song with her take on Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season.”
Even Harry Styles himself has taken to the stage in the past. Back in 2017 he delivered an extremely memorable cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.” Jorja Smith’s new album is already racking up million of streams and will make its debut on the Billboard 200 next week. What do you think of Jorja Smith’s cover of Harry Styles hit “As It Was”? Let us know in the comment section below.
With just a couple of months yet, it seems like both the industry and the fans are gearing up for Super Bowl LVIII in 2024. Moreover, new reports from HITS Daily Double suggest rumors for its halftime show’s shortlist of performers, and they might surprise you. Included in this speculation are the following artists as of writing this article: Jack Harlow, Miley Cyrus, Bad Bunny, and Harry Styles. Interestingly enough, buzz around this performance lines up with the recent announcement of Harlow’s new tour. Of course, despite this connection, fans had a lot to say about these potential picks.
To start off with the Kentucky MC, fans online got him trending amid discussions that it would be a poor move in many’s eyes. Furthermore, detractors’ main reasoning is that he doesn’t have enough massive mainstream hits to carry a whole Super Bowl performance. Instead, many seemed to favor Miley Cyrus in comparison, as she has a lot of different hits across her many different eras. While these discussions can turn negative quick, it’s worth noting that these are all huge artists, and picking at straws leads to some important judgement calls.
On that note of big hits, Bad Bunny certainly has them in spades, as the Puerto Rican superstar already fills out three-hour performances of his best songs. However, some questioned how this would translate for a U.S. audience, while others reveled in the idea of boomers getting mad at the Latino artist gracing the country’s biggest stage (which he was already on). Finally, Harry Styles is another industry titan with a lot of beloved songs to share. Maybe it sounds like the safe pick, but consider that there are always special guests at the Super Bowl to make the show that much more monumental.
Meanwhile, this news follows other rumored reports that the higher-ups removed Lizzo from this shortlist due to recent accusations of harassment and toxic workplace environments against her. If anything, the proximity of these reports suggests that they’re really narrowing things down. We will have to wait and see if it results in an official announcement anytime soon. On that note, check back in with HNHH for the latest news and updates on these artists and the next Super Bowl halftime show.
Talk about a big week for Brian Cox cameos. After giving Succession fans a “jumpscare” with a surprise Logan Roy appearance in the sixth episode of Season 4, the prolific actor’s voice randomly appeared in the new Harry Styles video for “Satellite.”
In the video, which acts as a tribute to the hard-working crew behind Styles’ latest tour, a little robot by the name of Stompers can be seen backstage where he’s mesmerized by Mars footage featuring the distinctive voice of a certain HBO star.
Backstage before one of the 15 residency shows Styles played at the Forum in Los Angeles, Stomper blinks away non-existent robot tears watching a Brian Cox-narrated broadcast of the Curiosity rover roaming around Mars all alone for over a decade. But before it can get too emotional, it’s showtime. Stomper watches as the Love on Tour band huddles together, then joins them on stage during a chilling sing-along where Styles’ own vocals blend with thousands in the audience.
Given Styles’ massive fanbase, it didn’t take long for Cox’s cameo to go viral on Twitter where people had no idea how to react to the unusual pairing of Harry Styles’ music and the gruff CEO of Waystar Royco who, sadly, did not tell anyone to “F*ck off” during the video.
I just know that Kendall Roy and Cousin Greg are responsible for the brief Brian Cox voice appearance in Harry Styles’ new music video. https://t.co/YPY8px9Cl9
The relationship between a fan and an artist is always evolving. Before social media and the internet, that relationship was mostly made up of live performances and interviews in magazines or on the radio. But now in the digital world there are endless avenues to connect with your favorite musicians. While the relationship between fans and artists has always been special, there is something more personal about fan interactions than ever before, and that is due in large part to the intimate nature of today’s content. The Calm app has only elevated this idea. Initially known for its sleep and meditation content, Calm has more recently started collaborating with artists, creating a new way for fans to experience their favorite musicians.
In many ways, an interaction with your favorite musician on social media elicits a similar feeling to making eye contact at a concert. Fans just want to feel like the artist knows and sees only them in a crowd of thousands of other people and posts. The intimate nature of Calm’s content fosters that same feeling. Drifting off to sleep while listening to Harry Styles’ Sleep Story, “Dream With Me,” feels like a very singular and unique experience, regardless of how many others have or will listen to it. Perhaps a bit differently than other fan experiences, Calm’s content is specifically made with mental health in mind. The addition of music has only supported that. Calm’s Chief Content Officer, Greg Justice, explains that they’re, “on a mission at Calm to support everyone on every step of their mental health journey, and we’re mindful of the transformative effect music often has on one’s mood and mindset. Thus, it made perfect sense to complement our existing library of meditations and Sleep Stories with music to help users focus, fall asleep, or simply relax.”
While this is something that users of Calm have benefited from, Justice says that, “many musicians often have these same goals in mind. The addition of music to Calm has afforded us the unique opportunity to align with artists on authentic collaborations across a range of genres and formats, whether that be an ambient album with Moby – our first-ever release in March of 2019 – or, more recently, an ASMR-themed Sleep Story with Camila Cabello.”
Calm’s most recent collaboration with Cabello falls directly in line with that sentiment as her ASMR-themed Sleep Story “The Beauty Of Winding Down,” was inspired by her love for it. ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, is meant to trigger a tingling sensation in your body that sparks relaxation or sleepiness, and that is the intended goal with Cabello’s Sleep Story. “While we’ve dabbled with ASMR in the past, this is the first time we’ve partnered with an artist on such an experience,” Justice says. “Camila Cabello often uses ASMR as a tool to fall asleep, so it was natural to collaborate with her on *whisper this next part* her very own…ASMR…Sleep Story…’The Beauty of Winding Down.’” For fans of Cabello not only do they now have a new way of connecting with her, but also a tool to help them calm down and achieve deep rest.
I know when I was a teenager I would often fall asleep listening to music, though One Direction’s song “Moments” wasn’t necessarily created for that purpose, as it would play the next, more upbeat song as soon as it was over. Calm’s Sleep Remix series — created in collaboration with Universal Music Group — ensures that won’t happen. The meditation and sleep company partnered with UMG during the pandemic for a first-of-its-kind reimagining of well-known pop songs for bedtime. The series includes Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour,” Ariana Grande’s “breathin,” and Post Malone’s “Circles” among many others. “Rather than the standard radio edit, the series includes hour-long, dreamlike compositions designed to help listeners fall and stay asleep,” explains Justice. This collaboration provides fans with a new take on some of their favorite songs, that also just so happen to be great to listen to as you fall asleep.
Calm’s Sleep Story collaborations are another subset of their sleep content that has both helped the app garner a new audience, and provided fans with an entry point into bettering their mental health and sleep. “For example, many fans of Harry Styles shared that his Calm Sleep Story served as the perfect entry into our wider set of mental health solutions that genuinely benefited their wellbeing,” Justice says. “Prior to our partnership in 2020, Harry had opened up about his personal experience seeking therapy – sharing the positive impact it had on his own well-being as well as encouraging his fans to seek mental health practices of their own.” So when it came time to launch his Sleep Story, “Dream With Me,” the response from fans was so overwhelming that the app crashed for several hours.
Similarly Rosé from BLACKPINK collaborated on a Sleep Story with Calm that had major success. Rosé has also “helped destigmatize the mental health conversation by opening up about her own mental health journey and daily commitment to reconnect with herself through rest and relaxation,” Justice says. “Last December, we released ‘Grounded with Rosé,’ a 30-minute Sleep Story that includes breathing exercises and meditative guidance from Rosé intended to help superfans and everyday listeners alike drift off to dreamland.” Fans are receptive to these collaborations because of how honest the artists are willing to be.
That notion seems to ring true across all of their collaborations. One in particular is Kehlani’s soundscape that was specifically created for people with tinnitus – a condition in which people experience ringing or other sounds in one or both ears, that have no external source. Kehlani found the recommended treatment of ambient noise to be helpful and thus collaborated with Calm on curating, “Ocean Waves For Tinnitus,” a soundscape specifically designed to help others with the condition. While Calm’s soundscapes help Kehlani with her tinnitus, they prove to be beneficial in other areas of her life, as well. “Soundscapes especially help me with my tinnitus, but also helps me when I need to soothe my child, when she needs to go to sleep, when I need to cool the energy down of the house, when I need to take a drive,” says Kehlani. From a fan’s perspective though Kehlani’s curated soundscape is a way to connect with her on a deeper level, regardless of whether or not they have the same condition.
In a sense, consuming Calm’s content is an immersive experience. In an online or print interview, fans would only be able to read about Kehlani’s tinnitus, but with Calm, not only can you read about it in their interview with her, but you can then have a sonic experience that helps you to understand what she goes through while also achieving a level of mindfulness apart from that. Fans are able to connect with her while also taking care of their own mental health.
At the core of Calm is the mission to support people in bettering their mental health through achieving restful meditation and sleep. Through their artist collaborations, they’ve been able to both attract a new audience within different fandoms, and also open up the conversation surrounding mental health through a vast catalog. Calm sleep expert, Dr. Shelby Harris, says, “There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. If you find something that helps improve your sleep and doesn’t negatively impact any sleep quality or quantity, then go for it.” So whether you’re Camila Cabello’s biggest fan or you just need some help getting more rest, Calm’s artist collaborations will both help you connect with your favorite artist in a more personal way, while also supporting your mental health. Seems like a win-win.
Harry Styles hasn’t been in the spotlight as much recently for his music. In fact, he’s been in the headlines more for things that have very little to do with him than things that do. During the first weekend of Coachella, Bad Bunny, or rather his team, seems to have started a war with Harry Styles fans. During the performance, the screen behind the singer was displaying various pictures and tweets, many of them from fans. Unfortunately for Bad Bunny, this included one tweet that threw shade at Harry. It read, “Good night, Benito could do ‘As It Was’, but Harry could never do ‘El Apagon’.” Of course, Harry fans took this and ran with is, as they often do, leading to a firestorm. Bad Bunny apologized, and nothing was ever heard about it from Harry’s camp.
Harry has also been in the headlines for his recent dating excursions. The pop star may be in a situationship with Emily Ratajkowski. The two were allegedly seen kissing in a video, though Harry’s face is not shown. In an interview on the podcastGoing Mental With Eileen Kelly, Ratajkowski spoke about a new man in her life. She may not be naming names, but anyone who has been paying attention knows that she is referring to Harry. Interestingly, both Ratajkowski and Styles have been romantically linked with others recently. Still, the chemistry in the steamy clip is palpable. It seems like Harry has that effect on a lot of people – including his fans.
Harry Fans Can’t Hang
A fan is going viral for her reaction after Harry Styles fist bumped her on The Late Late Show. pic.twitter.com/mP8UnT9dOi
Harry Styles may be making Emily Ratajkowski swoon with their steamy makeup sessions, but he’s giving his fans similar reactions just by looking at them. The pop star recently appeared on the final episode of James Corden’s talk show, The Late Late Show. During the farewell episode, Harry Styles became the subject of headlines when a fan fainted, seemingly due to his simple gesture. As he made his entrance, the singer greeted the cheering fans. With one fan, he opted for a fist bump instead of a handshake. While Harry continued toward the stage, the fan collapsed. Fortunately, she quickly recovered and was back on her feet a few minutes later when Will Ferrell took the stage. Footage of the incident showed the singer’s introduction and the fan’s reaction.
The fan, named Cyndi, took to social media to talk about the event afterward. “THIS WAS ME AND I DID NOT FAINT,” she wrote. “I simply gracefully melted into my seat after the man locked eyes w me.” Regardless of whether or not she actually fainted, it was still quite an entertaining reaction. What do you think of Harry’s interaction with his fan? Let us know in the comments!
Bad Bunny just headlined both weekends of Coachella to tens of thousands of screaming fans. The singer is still fairly new to the scene, but he has taken the world by storm. Bad Bunny, or “Benito” as he is often referred to, is known for his unique blend of reggaeton, trap, and Latin pop. He first gained popularity with his debut single “Soy Peor” in 2017 and has since released multiple chart-topping albums and collaborated with various successful artists, including Cardi B, J Balvin, and Drake. As one can imagine, headlining Coachella was a huge gig for the Grammy-winning Latin pop star. Unfortunately, the first weekend was marked by some unintentional beef.
During Benito’s performance on the first night of the festival, fan tweets and pictures were displayed on screen behind the singer. Most of them were heartwarming, but one in particular caught the attention of the fans of another pop singer: Harry Styles. One of the tweets that was displayed behind Benito read, “Goodnight Benito could do ‘As It Was’ but Harry could never do ‘El Apagon’.” Obviously, this caused quite a stir because it appeared that the Latin pop star was shading Harry Styles. As is always the case with things like this, the incident immediately started a Twitter firestorm.
Bad Bunny: “Sorry Harry, We Love You”
Bad Bunny’s team apologizes tonight to Harry Styles for the tweet displayed during Coachella last Friday pic.twitter.com/9AebNKeXa6
Of course, Benito and his team were quick to respond to the backlash. “Our intention is to create light hearted designs that embody Bad Bunny’s personality and amplify the experience he presents as a performer,” his team said of the incident. “The request from the artist during the visuals for ‘El Apagón’ performance was to use the image only and not text from the tweet, which we take responsibility for and correct it for Friday’s performance.” However, Benito took it one step further last weekend.
When Bad Bunny returned to Coachella this past weekend to headline again, he had a special message for Harry Styles. The artist performed on a platform on the huge stage, flanked by dancers and surrounded by massive screens displaying a backdrop of a sky full of stars. At one point, during the the song “El Apagón,” fan messages were once again displayed. At first glance, it looked as though Benito’s team included the exact same tweet from last week. However, upon closer inspection, they had replaced the text. “Sorry Harry. It was a mistake from my team,” the message read. “We love you. <3.” What do you think of Benito’s apology? Sound off in the comments!
: #SBLVIII on Nickelodeon pic.twitter.com/XAjUMNH7Mg
(@isabelle_gm12) 
