Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey Refuses To Say Whether She’d Challenge Beyonce To A Verzuz Battle

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Mariah Carey is the undisputed Queen of Christmas. And in case there was any doubt, “All I Want For Christmas” is breaking what seems like every holiday music streaming record with over a billion spins. Heck, she even has an all “Mariah Menu” available now until Christmas at McDonald’s. So when Carey sits for a video interview from her immaculately decorated Christmas set, alongside a cheerily placed McCafe and brown McDonald’s bag with the words “The Mariah Menu” printed on it, surely any questions seems fair game, right? Well, maybe not all of them…

In a conversation with E!’s Rebecca Ray, Carey spoke about everything from ’90s nostalgia to what it is that she specifically loves about Christmas. While Carey admits that she was too busy in the ’90s to know Seinfeld the show, she adds that “I love Jerry Seinfeld now!” and that her favorite part of Christmas is “The actual feeling that I have during the holiday season.” These were fairly innocuous answers, but when Ray asked Carey about music executive LA Reid’s suggestion that she and Beyonce should do a Verzuz battle and whether she would A) Be open to it? and B) Who would win? Carey got serious with her answer:

“Oh stop. That’s the worst… I’m sorry, I love you Rebecca. We can’t ask that question. First of all, I love Beyonce and I admire her so much as a performer, for what she’s done for the world, and everything else. So I ain’t answering that question. ‘Cause I’d be disrespecting myself and I’m not gonna do ’cause [singing in perfect tone] it’s Christmastime!”

She also took advantage of the opportunity to address anyone who thinks that her love of Christmas isn’t authentic: “Whatever Scrooges! I don’t care what you say. This is the truth. I DO love the holidays. And what?!”

The one and only Christmas Queen is a very powerful one. But we already knew that.

Adele Continues To Command The Hot 100 Chart As ‘Easy On Me’ Is No. 1 For A Seventh Week

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We’re firmly in the midst of the holiday season, but this year, December is doubling as Adele season. It was revealed yesterday that 30 is on top of the Billboard 200 chart for the third straight week, and now the album’s hit single “Easy On Me” remains on top, too, as it’s No. 1 on the new Hot 100 chart dated December 18 for a seventh week.

It’s possible the song won’t stay on top for much longer, though. Over the past few weeks, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is Now” has been making its now-annual climb back up the Hot 100. It was No. 3 on last week’s chart, and now it’s up to No. 2. If the song does make it to No. 1 on the chart dated December 25 (the final Hot 100 of 2021), it would have topped the chart in three consecutive years and become the only song to ever go No. 1 in four separate years.

As far as Christmas music, Carey’s hit isn’t alone in the top 10. Returning to the space from last week are Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” at No. 3, Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” at No. 5, and Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” at No. 6. Andy Williams’ “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” is new to the top 10 this week at No. 10, rounding out the five holiday songs in the region this week.

Historical precedent says it wouldn’t be surprising to see next week’s Hot 100 flooded with Christmas music: On the chart dated December 26, 2020, six of the top 10 songs were holiday tunes. The next week, that number jumped up to nine.

LA Reid Thinks Beyonce And Mariah Carey Should Have A Verzuz Battle But Fans Disagree — A Lot

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Verzuz battles have become a great way to salute and pay homage to the legacies of artists who probably don’t get as much recognition as they should — or at least, give them their flowers while they’re still around to appreciate it — but as the series continues, there are some who want to see even bigger stars hit the stage to play their hits.

One of those who do is LA Reid, who stated during an interview on The Real that his dream matchup would be between two megastars in Beyonce and Mariah Carey. While both are vocal powerhouses who have sold millions of records and become nearly ubiquitous household names — especially now that it’s December, which is slowly but surely becoming more of a celebration of Mariah than yuletide cheer — many fans, upon hearing the suggestion, voiced their disapproval on Twitter.

While much of the chatter was the typical stan war stuff (“Beyoncé is the Queen of what exactly?” one user questioned), there were others who pointed out that the two aren’t exactly peers, since Mariah debuted a solid decade before Beyonce’s solo career took off. The best Verzuz battles so far have been those between artists from similar generations, such as The Lox and The Diplomats, or the recent showdown between Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Three 6 Mafia.

Meanwhile, still, others pointed out, simply, that neither artist seems particularly interested in doing Verzuz, which has always seemed to book artists who are perhaps slightly past their commercial prime or who flew under the radar as songwriters and producers. Beyonce and Mariah Carey are both still selling millions of records — even if it’s just “All I Want For Christmas,” Mariah’s pull is enough to warrant a month-long McDonald’s menu — and thus, Verzuz “couldn’t afford” them.

And others wondered why LA Reid was being given a platform at all, considering he was recently accused of sexual harassment by multiple women, leading to his ouster from Epic Records, and a huge settlement payment from Sony.

Check out more responses to LA Reid’s dream matchup below, and watch the full interview above.

Rihanna Is The Only 2000s Artist In The ‘Billboard’ Greatest Of All Time Hot 100 Artists Chart Top 10

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Although it’s been a few years since since Rihanna dropped a new single, don’t forget that she’s one of the biggest artists ever in terms of chart performance. Billboard has actually confirmed that: On their new Greatest Of All-Time Hot 100 Artists chart, Rihanna finds herself in the top 10.

The list is as follows:

  1. The Beatles
  2. Madonna
  3. Elton John
  4. Elvis Presley
  5. Mariah Carey
  6. Stevie Wonder
  7. Janet Jackson
  8. Michael Jackson
  9. Whitney Houston
  10. Rihanna

Of those, Rihanna is the only artist whose first single — 2005’s “Pon De Replay” — was released in the 2000s. Billboard notes that Drake was really close to also making the top 10, as he ranks No. 11 (compared to No. 22 on the 2018 chart). Also making the top 100 list are Taylor Swift (No. 21), Maroon 5 (24), Bruno Mars (29), and Justin Bieber (38). Additionally, a handful of artists who made their Hot 100 debut in the 2010s are also appearing on the chart for the first time: The Weeknd (No. 43), Post Malone (77), Ariana Grande (78), and Ed Sheeran (87).

As for how this chart was put together, Billboard notes, “Billboard‘s Greatest Of All-Time Hot 100 Songs and Artists rankings are based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 (from its inception on Aug. 4, 1958, through Nov. 6, 2021). Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods. Artists are ranked based on a formula blending performance, as outlined above, of all their Hot 100 chart entries.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It’s Nearly Christmas, So Of Course, Mariah Carey Is The Latest Star To Get Her Own McDonald’s Menu

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Complain about Christmas creep all you want, but you know you can already hear those sleigh bells ringing — which means that it’s the perfect time for McDonald’s to announce its latest season-appropriate recording artist collaboration with Ms. “All I Want For Christmas” herself, Mariah Carey.

That’s right, this December, the Mariah Menu comes to McDonald’s from the 13th to Christmas Eve. The menu will include daily deals — advent calendar style — on one free menu item each day (so long as customers spend at least $1). For instance, when the special kicks off on the 13th, they’ll be able to get a free Big Mac. Later on in the month, the free item is an apple pie, and on the final day of the promotion, you can get free cookies.

In the press release for the new menu, Mariah gives the following quote: “Some of my favorite memories with my kids are our family trips to McDonald’s, and of course, each of us has our go-to order,” she explains. “Mine is the cheeseburger, and I get it with extra pickles.”

The celebrity-branded meals McDonald’s has been pushing over the past two years have been incredibly successful, with the Travis Scott deal lifting the company out of a pandemic-fueled sales slump. Most recently, the company partnered with Bay Area star Saweetie, and now, even competitors like Popeyes have begun their own promotions with collaborators like Megan Thee Stallion.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lizzo Picked The Best Artists In R&B, Pop, And More, But She Intentionally Skipped Hip-Hop

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If there is one thing that will never change about music, it’s that people will spend non-trivial amounts of time ranking the best artists, albums, and songs and then debating those rankings. It seems like every other day, somebody makes headlines because they ranked the best rappers or the best artists in another style. Now Lizzo has decided to enter the conversation, doing so by declaring the “king,” “queen,” “prince,” and “princess” of various genres.

She began by declaring in a tweet that Usher is the “king of R&B,” and from there, she decided to hand out similar superlatives in subsequent tweets. Her picks include Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and others:

“King of Pop- Michael Jackson
Queen of Pop- Janet Jackson
Prince of pop- Bieber
Princess of Pop- Britney Spears
The Pop princess- Rihanna
Queen of music- Beyonce
Queen of soul- Aretha
Queen of R&B- Mariah
Queen of hip hop soul- Mary J
Queen of rock & roll- Tina Turner.”

Notably, she didn’t touch on rap. She responded to a fan asking why she did that, writing, “Pop is easier to speak on rap got too many variables– I have my opinions tho…. But Ima mind my business.”

Find Lizzo’s tweets below.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Mariah Carey Leaves Roc Nation After Shutting Down Rumors Of A Split With Jay-Z

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Although Mariah Carey denied a report that she’d had an “explosive” falling out with longtime business partner Jay-Z over her Roc Nation management, it appears that she has indeed decided to part ways with Roc Nation. Billboard and Variety report Carey has moved from Roc Nation to Range Media Partners, following her former Roc Nation manager Melissa Ruderman, who switched companies in January.

Ruderman was Carey’s day-to-day manager in 2005 when the star was managed by Benny Medina, handling the rollout for the 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi. At Roc Nation, Ruderman helped put together deals for Carey’s Las Vegas residencies, the publishing contract that led to the bestselling memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, and a TV deal with Apple. Ruderman joined the recently formed Range Media Partners just a few short months after its launch in September last year.

The rumor that Mariah had switched management was first hinted at in a report in British tabloid The Sun, which wrote that a meeting between Carey and Jay-Z “did not go well at all” after the two disagreed on rollout plans for a more R&B-centered album. However, Mariah took the tabloid to task in a tweet recalling the success of Mariah and Jay’s no.1 hit “Heartbreaker.”

“The only ‘explosive’ situation I’d ever ‘get into’ with Hov is a creative tangent, such as our #1 song ‘Heartbreaker!!’” she wrote. “To the people who make up these lies I say ‘Poof! —Vamoose, sonofa*****”!’”