I talk to Mickey like every day. I was just answering the phone, but I didn’t know that she was going to ask me this life-altering question. It was definitely a moment that blew my mind and just being on that stage…getting to sing such a vulnerable song next to one of the most vulnerable people in music, I think, in the last few years. I can’t name an artist who has been more vulnerable, more honest, and has met every challenge as well as Mickey has. Aside from being my friend, I have the utmost respect for her. Standing next to her and Madeline and performing this song about our Blackness was country as hell. It was Black as hell. It was everything to me. When people look back on what happened in country music in 2021, what we were able to do on that stage together is definitely one of the highlights.

How has your fashion evolved over the years as a country artist?

I love fashion, and I’ve been experimenting more. I love style, and I’m learning so much about what translates on stage, in person and on camera. It’s a whole process. I feel like so many times people get the perspective of an artist who already has everything together and it’s been tested and tried. But I’m a new artist and I’m still just trying things out. I’m still testing the waters and saying, “Maybe I like denim right now. Maybe I like fringe. Maybe I like a coat that goes all the way down to the floor. Maybe I should wear a coat on stage. Maybe coats aren’t just for outside.”

It’s hard as an artist, though, because you’re doing it all in public. So if you fail, you fail in public. If it succeeds, people remember it because it worked. In the age of branding, not being afraid to be known for trying things out is so dope to me. I never wanted to be the artist that had the same hairstyle all the time. I never wanted to be the artist that was known for always wearing the same kind of dress or the same kind of outfit or having the same makeup all the time. It’s so easy to fall into that. Being an artist where people recognize your style without it always having to be so singular has been really important and really fun.

With such a busy schedule, how do you carve out time for self-care?

Honestly, I’m very introverted and a borderline recluse so any chance that I get to be by myself is very helpful. If I don’t have to be on the road, I stay to myself and I try to do things that pull my mind away from anything that actually really matters in life. I’ll watch a TV show or I’ll meet up with friends…people who are easy to be around. I like hiking a whole lot. I hate driving, but there is a place that I like to go to in East Nashville and spend some time out there. I love the woods, so I’ll go out there. I talk to my family a whole lot. I have simple pleasures. I love buttons and stickers and right now I’m enjoying getting new ones for my new guitar. It’s all weird stuff. It sounds so stupid when I say it out loud [Laughs]. But those are things that genuinely make me happy.

Debbie Sledge swears she never gets tired of talking about “We Are Family,” the glittering 1979 disco phenomenon that’s been played at countless weddings, bar mitzvahs, sporting events, political conventions, and social-justice rallies since, well, 1979. Kelly Clarkson has sung it. Eddie Murphy has sung it. Sponge Bob has (controversially) sung it. In 2017 the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant.” Yet Debbie Sledge—one of the four founding members of gold-and-platinum-selling group Sister Sledge—says it’s joyfully impossible to move on from the track’s unfathomable legacy. “The song goes beyond us. It really does,” she says. 

General everywhere-ness and lyrical earnestness aside, “We Are Family” is a pretty heavenly 3 minutes and 37 seconds that’s sonically complex and encapsulates the sound of pure, uncut disco. Go to your Spotify right now and listen to the iconic opening notes, the funk-driven backing bass line, the inherently danceable four-on-the-floor tempo, and the deceptively airy vocals that are tinged with surprising grit. I’ll wait. 

As a band, Sister Sledge got its start in the early 1970s, a family outfit from Philadelphia that had some mild success throughout the decade but didn’t hit it big until 1979 when the singers were paired with two members of formative disco band Chic—Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards—who were trying to make it as producers. Before they were famously crooning about the importance of family, the Sledge band lived by the message: its members—Debbie, Kim, Joni, and Kathy—were trained by their grandmother, Viola Williams, a former opera singer and protégé of civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune, “The First Lady of the Struggle.”

“We always sang,” Sledge says, “but my grandmother taught us about breath control, vocal ability, being able to build, and diction.”

Grandma might have educated them about the fundamentals of their craft, but it was their mother, Florez, who navigated the murky waters of the entertainment industry to make sure her daughters got a shot once the sisters—still teenagers—starting playing paid gigs. “My mom took it very seriously at the time because she was struggling,” says Sledge. “She was rotating three jobs at a time. She learned how to maneuver agents, record execs, tour managers.” The word momager inevitably comes up, but Sledge uses it proudly, not bitterly. 

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Almost five decades after getting their start in Philly, the remaining Sledge sisters are taking cues from their grandmother and mother. Led by Debbie, 67, Sister Sledge ft. Sledgendary is a new iteration of the original group that includes her daughter Camille; son David; nephew Thaddeus, son of original Sledge member Joni, who died in 2017; and friend and vocalist Miss Tanya Ti-et. Their first single, “Free,” is out today, a disco-flavored dance song Debbie says lives up to its name. “There’s complete freedom in the track. Nobody is holding back at all. It’s not allowed.”

Mickey Guyton just performed a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem and we couldn’t be more in awe.

After a smashing debut in 2020, the four-time Grammy-nominated singer took the field in a stunning rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner, following in the footsteps of stars like Demi Lovato, as well as Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church. 

You can watch the performance below!

The celebrated country star first gained a legion of fans after she performed her lead single at the American Country Music Awards,  “What Are You Gonna Tell Her,” inspired by her experiences as a Black woman in a male-dominated industry and genre. The singer is known for her powerful ballads like, “Black Like Me,” an homage to George Floyd released one week after his death. 

The singer announced the news just two weeks before the Super Bowl to the excitement of her diehard fans on Twitter. It’s a big moment for the Super Bowl in general—the national anthem during the biggest game of the year is an honored position, and for a genre that’s so dominated by white musicians, Guyton is creating her legacy and rising up to the moment. 

“We’re used to being unseen. We’re used to the microaggressions, we’re used to the constant battles of trying to just be who you are,” she told Billboard after receiving hate for speaking up about her struggles with trying to make it in the business. 

“Finally, the veil has been lifted, and we’re like, ‘Oh my god, how did we survive for so long?’ And that’s the point, we were just surviving. But now we’re thriving.”

While Guyton’s country twang kicked off the event, the Super Bowl halftime show performers Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem will hit the stage with a hip-hop and rap medley of West Coast bangers. She also joined Jhené Aiko, Mary Mary, and Zedd for the pre-show festivities.

Onstage she is wearing an all-black suit, topped with a black fur and sunglasses to further the dramatic flair. The most memorable part of the video? Rows of Blige duplicates walking down a white staircase. My Life, which sold more than 3 million copies, also documented a tough time of depression for Blige. In her Amazon documentary released last year, My Life, she confessed her inner turmoil she while making the project. “It was still heavy for me when everyone else was like, ‘Oh my God, this album did so much for me. This album saved my life.’ When I was still stuck in hell.”

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“I Can Love You” feat. Lil’ Kim (1997)

The second single from Blige’s third album, Share My World, reached number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 while the album itself debuted as number one on the Billboard 200. “I Can Love You” features an appearance from the legendary queen bee Lil’ Kim and lyrically displays the duo trying to persuade a potential lover into loving them back. 

Despite the intense nature of the song, we see Blige–in a cascade of blonde curls–still enjoy a party with Kim. While love and heartache has been at the center of much of Blige’s music, the star has been open about the double standard between famous women and men when it comes to dating. In a 1997 interview with Rolling Stone, Blige remarked, “Men can sleep with 30 women and get away with it. I can’t.”

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“All That I Can Say” (1999)

In the visuals for “All That I Can Say,” from 1999’s Mary, we see the artist knee-deep in a surreal dream sequence. From bluer-than-blue skies to horses walking in streets, it was a palpable departure from her previous video treatments. The love that she sings of has her feeling airy and light. Lyrically, Blige ventures into more poetic territory–which is a result of Lauryn Hill writing, producing, and arranging the track herself.

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“Family Affair” (2001)

This renowned 2001 club banger was Blige’s lead single from her fifth studio album, No More Drama. “Family Affair” was also her first Hot 100 number one hit. Not only did it add the terms hateration and holleration into the modern-day lexicon (dancery is an actual word), its video inspired a bevy of fashions. From Blige’s denim patchwork shorts set to her asymmetrical bob, it was clear she was embracing this lighter persona. A cameo from Dr. Dre–who will be performing alongside Blige at this year’s Super Bowl—isn’t a friendly coincidence though; he cowrote and produced the song. 

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“Not Today” feat. Eve (2003)

The first moments of “Not Today,” which serves as the third single from 2003’s Love & Life, show clips from a scene from the movie Barbershop 2: Back in Business, which was also released that same year. (The song was a promotional soundtrack for the motion picture.) 

Glamour: There is such rising population of young Latinas here in the United States, but we didn’t really grow up seeing ourselves in media. As a part of Encanto, you’re giving back to those younger girls who never really saw themselves—how is that? 

Carolina Gaitán: I love that we’re talking about this. We’re talking about representation. We’re talking about identification. We’re talking about finally telling a different story about our Latino community, but specifically, our Colombian community. In the movie it’s about multiracial issues and families. It’s a really good moment for Latinos to express what we really are, and Encanto does this beautifully. We’re talking about our stories, our gastronomy, our strong women leading our society. Being a part of that and exposing that side to people is so important.

What was the story behind your audition?

It was crazy. There’s so many crazy stories behind my audition, I don’t know where to start. I was in L.A. to go to the Disney studios in Burbank, and I was so nervous. I still have the parking ticket because I couldn’t believe that I was actually there, doing a casting for an audition for a Disney movie. That alone was a dream come true. After my audition went well, I had the chance to meet Lin-Manuel, who I actually asked for a selfie four years earlier when I went to New York because I wanted to see Hamilton. Four years after, in my callback, the directors told me that Lin-Manuel was going to be a part of the movie to do the music, and they were telling me that he did research and went to Colombia to visit—and we were on the same flight from Bogotá to New York. 

Oh, my gosh, that’s crazy! It’s fate.

So when I had my callback, I had the chance to meet Lin-Manuel, and he was like, “I cannot believe that. Let me see the picture.” I showed him the picture and was like, “Oh, my god, this was so meant to be!” So I had the chance to talk about the movie with him over coffee in a drama book store in New York. There’s so much magic behind all of this. 

Let’s talk about “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” I mean, it’s everywhere. For people who may have been born in the United States or had no idea about Latin culture, they’re singing your song at the gym or walking down the street right now. 

I know, it’’ crazy. When I was in L.A., I remember saying I was Colombian and people were like, “Mexico? Is it the same?” It was like that. For me, there’s two things that have been really important and beautiful: Finally, we can talk about Colombia and that the world knows our story—our music, our names, our country, our food. I will always remember when I was living in L.A., someone told me, “Caro, it’s going to be really difficult here for you.” I didn’t understand why. It’s because I had an accent and because I didn’t look like a Latina—I’m white. I didn’t understand, because, how am I supposed to look? We’re all so different and multiracial. We’re not a stereotype. With Encanto, it’s beautiful to finally express that in the best way.

Billie Eilish is known for having an especially deep connection with her fans, a trait that is naturally most visible during her live shows. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that Eilish’s Happier Than Ever tour, which kicked off less than a week ago, is already making headlines for how the artist has prioritized her fans’ safety. 

According to TMZ, the singer paused a show in Atlanta on Saturday, February 5, after she noticed a fan was struggling to breathe. The 20-year-old reportedly asked for the music to stop and then requested help from the stage crew and offered an inhaler to the person in need. In video taken of the event, she is seen instructing the staff and crowd on the fan’s care: “Guys, give her some time. Don’t crowd.”

After help arrived, Eilish seemingly took aim at Travis Scott, who has been under fire for continuing to perform despite a crowd surge that turned deadly at the Astroworld Festival. (Eight attendees reportedly died, while countless more were injured.) 

“I wait for people to be okay before I keep going,” Eilish told the crowd at her show on Saturday. According to reports, the crowd cheered loudly after her comment. 

This isn’t the first time Billie Eilish has paused a performance in order to make sure her fans were safe. In one video posted in 2018, the singer stops her hit single “Ocean Eyes” to give water to someone who was about to pass out. In another, taken at a show in Milan, Eilish checks in with the crowd before continuing on with her show. 

  

You’ve probably noticed your friends starting to share their top Spotify songs of 2021, along with their other streaming habits, courtesy of Spotify Wrapped. It is, after all, the time of year when your feed is inundated with “best of” lists, summing up the last 12 months of entertainment and culture. And given the extremely strange year we’ve all lived through, the 2021 lists are definitely going to capture a real moment in time for the history books. 

We all remember that 2020 was a big mood, and unfortunately 2021 was definitely a big mood as well—albeit with a little more hope and happy times than last year. The most streamed artist of the year, with 9.1 billion streams, is rapper Bad Bunny. Taylor Swift is the second-most streamed artist as well as the most streamed female artist. Close behind are BTS, Drake, and Justin Bieber.

The most streamed song of 2021 was, of course, Olivia Rodrigo’s smash hit “Driver’s License” with more than 1.1 billion streams. 

These lists are certainly fun to read (and argue about), but what we love even more is looking back at our own lives over the course of the past year. 

So how are your friends finding these fun facts and graphics about their music stats?

This year you can view your Spotify Wrapped data exclusively on the Spotify app. Once there, you’ll discover your top artist, top songs, top podcasts, genres, and total minutes streamed in 2021. Plus the results are easily shareable to your social media feeds, including Instagram Stories, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter. You can also instantly add your most played songs to your library, if for some reason they’re not already there. You’ll be greeted with all your streaming trends from the past year and more. 

“If 2020 was the year that flipped the world on its head, 2021 was the year that we got used to seeing things upside down. With ‘normal’ thrown out the window, we embraced the unknown and championed all of the things that make each of us unique. Spotify’s 2021 Wrapped is a celebration of this—the millions of weird and wonderful ways to listen and live in a world that continues to keep us on our toes,” Spotify said in a statement.

This year’s personalized Spotify Wrapped experience is full of familiar favorites, mixed with surprising new ones that connect fans with each other and creators. Enjoy!

I think “Sin Pijama” and “Ram Pam Pam” really showed that we only shine brighter if we come together, and that was my intention. You know, a lot of people told me not to do the song with anyone. I had “Sin Pijama” in my phone recorded, ready to go for over a year before I sent it to Natti to get on it and it is because a lot of people didn’t believe in the song and said, “If you think it’s such a hit, then why would you want to share it?” I said, “Because hit songs happen every day, and I don’t want a hit song. I want a moment in history, and I think this is it.” And we were right.

It’s that gut instinct that I had. When we did our first pass of “Sin Pijama” together and they yelled “cut,” we were jumping up and down so giddy. We hugged each other and were shaking because we’re like, “This is it, something is big here.” We felt like it was going to be a game changer.

Even if I’m saying no to something, it’s important to express the why to whoever is bringing the opportunity my way. Knowing that my voice is worthy of being heard in those spaces, and I don’t want to just be the pretty face of a show. I want to also be an executive producer, and I want to have a say in the meetings when it comes down to what topics we’re going to be talking about, and who we’re going to be hiring and empowering in some of those power positions. I can give Treslúce as a great example as well. It’s a female-forward-driven company. Although we have some men that are a part of the team, they are full feminists and are all about empowering us. It’s really about having the conversations and saying, “Hey, why is it that this doesn’t feel right? Why is it that I’m the Latina face of something, but everyone that is not me is not Latinx or not representative of these topics or these communities that we’re going to be trying to connect with?” It’s important to be a reflection of your audience, and you can’t fake that. Especially nowadays—we’re too smart to be able to see something and consume it without feeling like it’s a little performative. My responsibility is to call people out on it behind closed doors too.

“Mala Santa”

The lead single off Becky G’s debut album of the same name, “Mala Santa” set the tone for the rising star’s reggaeton-forward music with lyrics that contain double meanings and emphasize a woman’s right to express her own sexuality.

“Mala Santa” was the lead single off of my first album. It’s kind of hard to look back at because soon after I released the album, I was gonna be on a Mala Santa–themed tour and then the pandemic happened. Sadly, I don’t know if that tour will ever get to really see a stage again because you evolve as an artist…. As time goes by, it doesn’t feel relevant anymore. But to go back to “Mala Santa” feels really special because I remember what a huge accomplishment this album, this song, was for me, and I feel like it really embraced my duality. As a young woman, I have very strong, masculine energy as well as a feminine energy; it’s embracing the two that has really allowed me to flourish in an industry like the one that I work in. Within my personal relationships, that duality to be dorky and goofy and then also feel like an empowered boss bitch…. I can be both. Women can be both. We can be the angel who’s bad sometimes. That duality was so fascinating for me, and that’s what the album represented.

“Shower”

The Radio Disney Music Award–winning song that put Becky G on the map, “Shower” recently had a revival as a TikTok trend with her sound being used by Bella Poarch and Addison Rae.

I was not expecting “Shower” to have a revival on TikTok. I remember “Shower” started charting again and I was like, “What is going on?” Then my siblings were like, “There’s, like, a shower challenge on TikTok.” It was so funny to me because it’s an era in my career that happened very early on. I was 16, 17 years old when “Shower” came out. That song will always be so special to me because it taught me so many things. It really taught me a hard lesson more than anything, which is that artistic identity is so important. Anyone could have sang that song. The song was a catchy song that I love so much, but it was bigger than me, and it didn’t really say much. It was just a catchy tune. It was what it was and it did what it did and it took me to so many amazing places. I got to be an opening act on so many tours for big artists, because the song was doing so well. 

And on the song’s origins, she said, “I wrote the beginning and the middle on the keyboard in a little house in Upstate New York, in a room by myself. I just started thinking about all things Christmas and growing up as a kid that loves Christmas. I think that’s why it’s such a festive record. Somebody said the other day, ‘It’s the saddest Christmas song ever, because you’re like, I don’t care about all these things. I just want this other person.’ And I guess that was my thing. I wanted to put a love twist onto a Christmas song, two of my favorite things in the world…. So when I got with [cowriter Walter Afanasieff]…I recently read something he spoke about in, I don’t [know], 2014 or something, where he said when I brought the song to him, he didn’t like the melody and it was very simplistic. And you know what? That is true, because I don’t usually start writing songs on the piano. I’m a terrible piano player, but sometimes the biggest songs for come [from] just sitting down at the piano and messing around. So I brought it to Walter. I had already written most of the song, and we worked on the bridge and produced it together.”

2. “Last Christmas” by Wham! (1986) 

I’m partial to the Glee version of this song (don’t judge!), but either way, it’s an earworm. 

3. “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande (2014) 

You’ll be humming this one for hours. One of the best pop Christmas songs to exist. 

4. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee (1958) 

I can’t hear this song without thinking of a classic Christmas movie like Home Alone or The Holiday. Talk about one of the ultimate classic Christmas songs. 

5. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas” by Michael Bublé (2011)  

Say what you want about Michael Bublé, but he has a voice that transports you to a speakeasy in the 1940s. And that’s exactly the vibe you want in Christmas music. 

6. “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms (1970)

Remember when The Plastics danced to this in Mean Girls? History! 

7. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams (1963)

This song specifically brings up in my mind the scene in Just Friends where all the Christmas decorations get ruined. 

8. “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” by Andy Williams (1965)

But real talk: Please don’t snow. Snow makes everything hard! 

9. “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson (2013)

I need Kelly Clarkson to do a Christmas residency in the post-vaccine world. 

10. “Sleigh Ride” by The Ronettes (1963)

Wish I had someone to go on a sleigh ride with, but nope: I’m hopelessly single. 

11. “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano (1970) 

It’s not Christmas until my Puerto Rican father drinks three glasses of spiked eggnog and starts singing this. 

12. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor (2016)

We’re all in agreement that the message of this song is problematic, right?

13. “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Michael Bublé (2011)

I just want to snap my fingers to this song like I’m at a sock hop! 

14. “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber (2011) 

Awww. baby Biebs! 

15. “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney (1979)

This song is just deliriously happy. 

16. “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow” by Frank Sinatra and B. Swanson Quartet 

Again, I’ll listen to songs about snow. But please don’t let it actually snow. 

17. “Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band Aid (1984)

But wait…do they know? 

18. “Driving Home for Christmas” by Chris Rea (1989) 

Careful! The roads may be icy. 

19. “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” (1973) by Wizzard 

Honestly, a relatable song title. 

20. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Stevie Mackey, Jennifer Lopez, and The Eleven (2020)

J.Lo on a Christmas song? A serve! A win! A Grammy! 

21. “The First Noël” by Faith Hill and Josh Groban (2007) 

And while you’re on a Faith Hill kick, listen to her 1999 hit “The Way You Love Me,” one of the best songs on the planet. 

22. “Christmas C’mon” by Lindsey Stirling and Becky G (2017) 

Have a holly, boppy Christmas. 

23. “Merry Christmas Baby” by Otis Redding (1968) 

Thanks, Otis! You too! 

24. “Take Me Home for Christmas” by Dan + Shay (2020)

Sorry, Dan + Shay. Wish I could, but there’s a pandemic. 

25. “Under the Mistletoe” by Kelly Clarkson and Brett Eldredge (2020)

Actually, I have an updated request for my Kelly Clarkson Christmas residency: A joint Kelly Clarkson–Mariah Carey residency!

26. “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)” by Pentatonix (2020) 

Okay, I stan them and I won’t be judged! 

27. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé (2014) 

Again, amazing singers. Problematic song. Moving on! 

28. “Holidays” (feat. Earth, Wind & Fire) by Meghan Trainor (2020) 

Low-key obsessed with Meghan Trainor’s look in this video. I want to be covered in Christmas ornaments! 

29. “Mistletoe and Wine” by Cliff Richard (1988)

Honestly, a great combination. 

30. “Naughty List” (with Dixie D’Amelio) by Liam Payne (2020)

I guess the TikTok generation deserves a Christmas song too. 

31. “Christmas Without You” by Ava Max (2020)

Ava Max is bringing back Christmas pop, and I’m forever grateful. 

32. “2000 Miles” by Pretenders (1983)

Follow this up with Vanessa Carlton’s seminal classic “A Thousand Miles.”

33. “My Kind of Present” by Meghan Trainor (2020)

Okay, why do I want to steal all of Meghan Trainor’s holiday looks?! This should be entered into a book of Christmas hymns. 

34. “Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas” by Dolly Parton and Michael Bublé (2020)

A Holly Dolly Christmas is the greatest album name of all time, and I won’t be challenged. 

35. “Lonely This Christmas” by Mud (1974)

If this title doesn’t reflect the 2021 holiday season, then what does? 

36. “Please Come Home for Christmas” by Eagles (1978)

Ooof, another title that feels all too real this year. 

37. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Mariah Carey (1994)

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” gets all the shine, but this is a classic too. 

38. “Let It Snow” by Tori Kelly and Babyface 

No! More! Snow! 

39. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love (1963)

Carey’s version of this song may be more popular, but let’s not forget the queen who first gave it life. 

40. “I Need You Christmas” by Jonas Brothers (2020)

A JoBros Christmas! 

41. “Jingle Bell Rock” by Daryl Hall and John Oates (1983)

So much rocking to jingle bells on this Christmas songs list! 

42. “My Only Wish (This Year)” by Britney Spears (2000)

This Britney Spears Christmas song is a sacred text. It’s easily one of the best Christmas songs of all time. Yup!

43. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Sam Smith (2014) 

And when you’re done sobbing to Sam Smith, you can dance to their bop “Diamonds.”

44. “Santa Baby” by Ariana Grande and Liz Gillies (2013)

Two Ariana Grande holiday songs on this list but none from her EP, Christmas & Chill? A travesty!

45. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Perry Como and The Fontane Sisters with Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra (1951)

The perfect first song of the holiday season! 

46. “A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives (1965)

Give the original a spin after you’ve exhausted Michael Bublé’s version.

47. “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” by Michael Bublé (2011)

Speaking of Bublé, here he is again! 

48. “Winter Wonderland” by Tony Bennett (1968)

Fun fact: He rerecorded this song with Lady Gaga in 2014! One of the best Christmas songs ever.

49. “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono (1971)

The only Christmas song on this list that doubles as a protest anthem against the Vietnam War. 

50. “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)” by Nat King Cole (1946)

Nothing more on point than something literally called “The Christmas Song.” 

51. “Santa Baby” by Kylie Minogue (2015)

After this, go stream Minogue’s new album, Disco. Yes, this is shameless promo!

Want more holiday content?

Click here for a list of romantic Christmas movies to watch right now. 

And go here for our list of the best Christmas movies on Netflix. 

If there was one woman you looked up to coming of age as a young Black girl in the 2000s, it was Eve. With divine bone structure, a powerful short blonde haircut, and bars for days, Eve was like the beautiful, tough older sister we all wish we had.

She dropped her debut album, Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, in 1999. It charted number one on the Billboard 200, making the Philly native the third female rapper to achieve the accolade. What followed was a career that places Eve as an undeniable icon in the rap game. “Who’s That Girl,” the first single from her 2001 album, Scorpion, was listed number 97 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop; in that same year she won the BET award for best female hip-hop artist. Eve also took home a Grammy in 2002 for her song featuring Gwen Stefani, “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” for best rap/sung collaboration.

But Eve didn’t just stop at music. After starring in hits like Barbershop and appearing in other movies like Charlie’s Angels, she dropped her namesake comedy sitcom, Eve, on UPN. In 2014, Eve became a cohost on talk show The Talk and just last year received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination along with her Talk costars.

Now married with four stepchildren, Eve is living in the U.K. and still doing what she does best: living her life to the fullest. The rap queen returned to the screen on October 19 in Queens, a new ABC series starring Eve, Naturi Naughton, Brandy, and Nadine Velazquez as former girl group members trying to recapture the height of their glory days.

And 20 years after the release of Scorpion, Eve spoke with Glamour about some of her most memorable rap moments. For the latest edition of 5 Songs, 5 Stories, the rapper talks about how some of her favorite songs came to be.

“Let Me Blow Ya Mind” featuring Gwen Stefani

Considered one of the most successful rap/pop collaborations of all time, “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” propelled Eve into an entirely new musical orbit. Her lyrics tackle what it means to be mainstream and the longevity of her rap career. Eve took home a Grammy for the song, and the music video won an MTV Video Award.

It’s the one song that I wrote fully—like, literally every single thing, every word. I write my own stuff, but usually I get lazy after I write verses. I don’t want to write the chords, and Dre was like, “You’re not leaving the studio until this song is done.” I hated him that day, but I’m so happy he made me stay.