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Garth Brooks’ comeback era is often remembered for its stadium-level noise, but the mechanics behind it are just as compelling. And in a new livestream special, titled, Garth Brooks Backstage & Behind-the-Scenes, the country artist examines the stories and setbacks behind his last tour that went on to inspire his latest release, The Anthology Part VI: The Comeback, The Next Five Years, a new book and music project that offers a rare look at the working engine behind major-scale touring.
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Garth Brooks Backstage & Behind-the-Scenes airs Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. ET right here on Billboard.com powered by TalkShopLive. Fresh off performing at the 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, where he paid tribute to the Doobie Brothers, Brooks will share stories from his tour and anecdotes from the new book, while answering viewer questions about his favorite albums and upcoming projects.
Viewers will also have a chance to purchase limited-edition copies of The Anthology, Part VI in real-time, as well as pick-up the full Anthology set of parts I-VI.
The special approaches the anthology from an industry perspective, focusing on the operations that carried Brooks through a three-year stadium run, a national dive-bar series, and the unpredictable stops and starts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Those moments are paired with more than 150 behind-the-scenes photographs that trace how crews navigated weather, safety, cancellations, reopenings, and the pressure of performing for more than 80,000 people each night.
Brooks emphasizes that these images are more than documentation: “Sometimes photography says a billion things that words can’t even capture,” he says.
The special also includes commentary on Brooks’ most recent albums, 2020’s FUN! and 2024’s Time Traveler, and the singer will play audio clips from stadium and arena shows on his last tour. He’ll also draw insight from the band and crew who held the tour together, to offer what TalkShopLive describes as “a close-up examination of how a modern touring operation evolves under extreme conditions — and how an artist adapts right alongside it.”
Watch the Garth Brooks special right here on Billboard.com at 7 p.m. ET on December 1. Orders placed for The Anthology, Part VI: The Comeback, The Next Five Years from TalkShopLive will ship on December 5, right in time for the holidays.
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Ths new livestream marks Brooks’ return to Billboard after the artist helped to kick off Billboard Live Shopping Week with TalkShopLive in 2023.
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It was no surprise that Jack White performed The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” a sporting anthem, during his halftime set on Thursday (Nov. 27) at the Detroit Lions’ annual Thanksgiving Day Classic at Ford Field.
The real surprise came with a guest appearance by fellow Detroit icon Eminem, who co-executive produced the event alongside his manager, Paul Rosenberg.
The superstar rapper, decked out in a hoodie and custom-made Lions jacket, electrified the sold-out crowd by joining White and his band halfway through their seven-minute set for a mashup of Em’s “Till I Collapse” with the White Stripes’ “Hello Operator,” a pairing that was sandwiched between White’s “That’s How I’m Feeling” and “Seven Nation Army.”
It was a first-ever onstage meeting between the two Detroit music standard bearers. It came in the wake of the White Stripes’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Nov. 8, and also coincided with the 10th anniversary of the opening of White’s Third Man Records location in his hometown. Eminem was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2022.
White played a blue guitar for the occasion, while his rhythm section sported Lions attire. “I love you Detroit,” the rocker shouted as the performance came to a feedback-drenched conclusion. More than 400 Lions season ticket holders who volunteered to be part of the show rocked along in front of the stage.
Eminem and White — who each created special limited edition merchandise related to the game and halftime show — were well represented before the performance as well. The Ford Field PA blasted “Seven Nation Army” shortly before the Lions took the field, and White’s “Taking Me Back” during the time-out music in the first quarter. “Till I Collapse” was featured as hype music prior to kickoff.
The show marked the first event in a new three-year partnership between the Detroit Lions, Burbank-based Jesse Collins Entertainment — known for producing previous Super Bowl halftime shows — and Eminem and Paul Rosenberg. Eminem and Rosenberg also collaborated with the Collins organization on the June 2024 concert celebrating the opening of Michigan Central, which also featured a performance by White.
JCE executive VP Seth Dudowsky told Billboard that conversations about Eminem and Rosenberg joining the production team began near the start of the NFL season, and once on board White quickly became a focal point of the Thanksgiving halftime discussion.
“We talked about how do we put on a show that really represents the attributes and values of the city and are true to the Lions and true to what Eminem and Paul had established there,” Dudowsky said. “When you talk about those elements and those values, Jack White was a perfect artist to… represent rock ‘n’ roll and be on that stage and somebody who not only spans Detroit, but anybody who’s been in stadiums and at sports events has heard [‘Seven Nation Army’] at some point.”
The Lions also launched a new initiative with Feeding America with Thursday’s game.
Adding to the day’s hometown flavor was Grammy-winning gospel singer CeCe Winans, a Detroit native who flew in that morning from Nashville to perform the National Anthem.
“It’s an honor,” Winans told Billboard at Ford Field. “I grew up with seven brothers and a dad, so the Lions game was on every year. There were 10 of us so we couldn’t get all those tickets, so we watched on TV. To be able to be here to do the anthem is a lot of fun, and honor and amazing.”
The Lions game against NFC North division rival Green Bay Packers was the first of three NFL Thanksgiving Day games.
Trending on Billboard Cynthia Erivo opened the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with a breathtaking performance of “Feeling Good.” Standing on a small circular stage accompanied by a pianist, the 38-year-old Wicked: For Good star launched the annual New York City event on Thursday (Nov. 27) with a moving rendition of the classic song, made […]
Source: Julia Beverly / Getty
Ray J just can’t get out of his own way. Brandy’s brother was arrested on Thanksgiving Day after he allegedly pulled a gun on his ex-wife, Princess Love.
Trigger Warning.
But here’s the real kicker, it all went down while they were on a live stream.
Bruh…
The singer and reality star apparently crashed all the way out on Thursday morning (Nov. 27) and it was due to his Turkey Day getting off to a rough start.
Per TMZ:
The chaos erupted early Thursday morning, when Ray went live from inside his home — immediately ranting that he was having “the worst Thanksgiving in the f***ing world,” claiming someone was trying to take his kids and that he was also being threatened.
Things spiral instantly … with Ray J appearing to snatch a handgun off the table and load the pistol, saying, “If these n***as step foot close to this door I’m going to blow this f***ing sh*t away, bro.”
This is when the gravity of the situation was made clear because after some arguing is heard off camera, Princess Love is heard repeatedly saying, “you pointed a gun at us.”
Ray J dismissed the claims as her and a cousin being drunk.
Soon enough another couple enters and things escalate with the “Wait A Minute” artist making threats, noting that he has a gun. The authorities eventually arrived and, as you can probably have guessed, the crooner got pinched. According to TMZ, the authorities were called around 4 a.m. and were told of a possible domestic violence incident.
The court of social media has already accused Ray J of being abusive and his cancellation papers are essentially being drawn up. See for yourself below.
This story is developing.
Trending on Billboard HUNTR/X brought KPop Demon Hunters to the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The fictional K-pop girl group — voiced by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI — made its daytime television debut during the annual celebration in New York City on Thursday (Nov. 27). Accompanied by a giant balloon of the blue […]
Prosecutors charged three men Wednesday (Nov. 26) with murder in the death of 22-year-old Maria De La Rosa, who was shot over the weekend while sitting in a parked car in Los Angeles.
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De La Rosa, a Latin artist who performs under the name DELAROSA, was with two other people Saturday morning in the neighborhood of Northridge when three men came up to the car and demanded money, prosecutors said. Then, prosecutors said, they fired multiple rounds, hitting all three occupants.
De La Rosa later died at a hospital. The two other victims suffered critical injuries, prosecutors said.
“This was a ruthless and targeted attack that stole the life of a young woman and artist and inflicted profound lifelong trauma on her family and the two survivors,” LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a news release Wednesday.
A 27-year-old man was arrested the same day, and another 27-year-old man was arrested the next day. An arrest warrant has been issued for the third man, a 21-year-old. Attorneys for the first two could not be reached for comment.
All are from Northridge and were charged with one felony count of murder and two felony counts of attempted second-degree robbery.
DELAROSA has more than 40,000 followers on Instagram and released a single in August called, “No Me Llames,” which in English translates to “Don’t Call Me.” Under her most recent post on Instagram, many people acknowledged and commented on her death, including Jimmy Humilde, a founder of record label Rancho Humilde.
Her final Instagram post also teased new music. “Ocupada cocinando en el Stu 🎶👩🏻🍳no me llames 🪄🪞🐩 Ya es tiempo… GAME TIME BABY,” she wrote in Spanish, which translates to “Busy cookin in the Stu. don’t call me. It’s about that time.”
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Global talent agency Wasserman Music has expanded its flourishing U.K. operation with a trio of new leadership hires across tour marketing, artist services, and artist representation.
The company has enlisted Paul Ryan as senior vice president and agent. Ryan is renowned in the U.K. rock and metal space, having worked across artist management and promotion for scene-leaders Bring Me the Horizon and Architects, among others.
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He will continue to work with those acts, alongside Cradle of Filth, Lamb of God, Malevolence and Sleep Token, as well as newly signed names TesseracT and Currents.
Rebecca Laurie joins Wasserman as a manager on the tour marketing team, overseeing domestic and global tour marketing for U.K. agents. Laurie brings over a decade of experience, having spent five years in festival and tour marketing at AEG, as well as stints with UROK and DICE.
Chris Lander has been appointed as vice president within Wasserman’s artist services team. Having held senior roles across podcast production at Global Media, he has contributed to popular U.K. shows including My Therapist Ghosted Me, LuAnna: The Podcast and Take That: This Life.
Lander has also worked in talent development, with a previous roster of leading British comedians and podcast hosts such as James Acaster, Nish Kumar and Deborah Frances-White. His new role will see him identify and execute opportunities for artists in film and television, digital media, gaming, literary, content and IP development, social impact, and more.
Back in September, meanwhile, Wasserman’s Laura Flynn was promoted to a management position on the tour marketing team. She has since worked across successful U.K. arena tour launches for RAYE, Louis Tomlinson, D-Block Europe and The Neighbourhood.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Paul, Chris, and Rebecca to our team, and to have Laura join our tour marketing division,” Alex Hardee, Wasserman Music executive vice president and managing executive, said in a statement.
“Each brings a unique skill set that strengthens our presence in the U.K. and broadens the opportunities we can deliver for our artists. Their passion, experience, and vision will be invaluable as we continue to grow.”
Source: Julia Beverly / Getty
While the culture is happy that we got a new De La Soul album, the bonus has been all the interviews to support its release. In a new Q&A, the group details what sparked their problems with 2Pac.
As per Complex, De La Soul has been on a promotional run to support the release of their newest effort Cabin In The Sky. During an interview with Ambrosia For Heads, Pos and Maseo spoke about their early days, how Dave’s spirit was with them throughout the process and more. Midway through the in-depth conversation, they were asked about their rift with 2Pac. To hear Pos tell it, the beef was a big misunderstanding.
“2Pac we had an issue with [us] because when we did the ‘Ego Trippin’ video, he unfortunately thought we were mimicking and trying to make fun of the ‘I Get Around’ video,” Posdnuos recalled. “He was very disappointed. He reached out to his manager and the people at Tommy Boy [Records] at the time and was like, ‘Yo, man, I love those dudes. I didn’t know they had an issue.’”
Pos went on to say that he personally reached out to Pac to resolve the issue, but wasn’t able to get in contact with him. Years later, De La Soul released Stakes Is High, an album that criticized the commercialization of Hip-Hop and Gangster Rap. That led to Pac directly dissing De La Soul on an unreleased song “Watch Ya Mouth,” which was during the The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory album sessions.You can see De La Soul discuss 2Pac at the 42-minute mark below.
Source: @WesoToldMe / iOne
Baby Kia recently pulled up on us at Hip-Hop Wired for an exclusive interview.
The rising ATL rapper has been the face of “crash out” music for a minute. After spending time in juvenile detention in 2024, he vowed to turn things around., “My first day out moment was OD Crashin’ and nobody even knew that. I was just getting out of juvenile. I was saying so much sh*t at the time like I wasn’t gonna be hanging with this person and that person.”
From juvenile detention to selling out shows from state to state, BK started building his name during his second run at freedom. His Raleigh show even went viral after fans in the crowd broke into a full-on boxing match., “I’m trying to change my whole sh*t on some mosh pit sh*t. I told one of my supporters to bring some gloves, and they brought them. I was just on some turn up, mosh pit sh*t.”
With it being Thanksgiving, the Crash Out king tells us what he’s thankful for and how his girlfriend, Bunna B has made him change his persepticve on the holiday season:
“I’m thankful for my freedom and for my life in general. Everything I been receiving. My girl too, that was sh*t was a big blessing. Without shawty, I would be in the box right now.”
Check out the ful interview with Baby Kia on Hip-Hop Wired now.
Trending on Billboard Training season’s not over just yet. Dua Lipa stars in the latest campaign for NBCUniversal as she hypes the women of Team USA ahead of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games. The British pop star struts through a winter wonderland in the snowy streets of Milan and shows off her polyglot […]
