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Kendrick Lamar and SZA land new No. 1s on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart – Lamar his seventh, SZA her third – as “Luther” rises to the top of the March 1-dated ranking.
“Luther” enjoys its coronation in its 13th week on the tally with 45.2 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Feb. 20, a boost of 6%, according to Luminate.
Originally released as part of Lamar’s album GNX on Nov. 22, “Luther” finally climbs to No. 1 on Streaming Songs after it was performed during Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show set on Feb. 9, plus continued success on user-generated content apps such as TikTok.
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Lamar replaces himself atop the survey; “Not Like Us,” also performed during the halftime show, ascended back to the summit on the Feb. 22 list via 49 million streams Feb. 7-13; it ranks at No. 2 on the latest ranking (39.2 million streams, down 20%).
All told, Lamar boasts seven No. 1s on Streaming Songs, which began in 2013. With his seventh ruler, he assumes sole possession of the third-most No. 1s in the chart’s history, breaking out of what had been a three-way tie with Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber.
Most No. 1s, Streaming Songs
20, Drake
9, Taylor Swift
7, Kendrick Lamar
6, Ariana Grande
6, Justin Bieber
5, Travis Scott
Lamar first reigned in 2017 with the four-week rule of “Humble.” Four of his No. 1s have occurred in the past year, beginning with the reign of Future, Metro Boomin and Lamar’s “Like That,” which led for three weeks beginning last April.
As for SZA, “Luther” is her third leader, following four weeks at No. 1 for “Kill Bill” in 2022 and 2023 and one frame atop the survey in 2023 for Drake’s “Slime You Out,” on which she’s featured.
Concurrently, as previously reported, “Luther” rises to No. 1 on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100.
The 2025 Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, KY will feature headliners Slayer, Rob Zombie, Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones and Bring Me the Horizon. The 11th edition of the four-day event (Sept 18-21) at the Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center will welcome more than 160 bands, marking the biggest lineup in the fest’s history, including a number of reunions, anniversaries, farewell shows and runs through classic albums.
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Among the other acts slated to take the six stages are: Lamb of God, Down, Cavalera (performing 1993’s Chaos A.D. in full), Carcass, Municipal Waste, Winds of Plague (reunion), Rob Zombie (playing an exclusive 25th anniversary celebration of White Zombie’s 1995 classic Astro-Creep 2000), Marilyn Manson, Cannibal Corpse, Exodus, the Black Dahlia Murder and Fear Factory (celebrating 30th anniversary of Demanufacture) on night one alongside the reunited Slayer.
Night two will find A7X (in their only U.S. headlining show of 2025) joined by: Breaking Benjamin, Mudvayne, Insane Clown Posse (farewell set), Static-X, Dope (25-year anniversary set), Nonpoint, Sleep Token, Spiritbox, Dayseeker, All Time Low and Hollywood Undead, among others. The third night will feature Deftones along with A Perfect Circle, Stone Temple Pilots, Acid Bath, Failure, Superheaven, Quannic, Bad Omens, I Prevail, Motionless in White, Black Veil Brides, Machine Head, Trivium (playing 20th anniversary celebration of Ascendancy), Chimaira (reunion), August Burns Red, Cypress Hill, Kittie (25th anniversary of Spit) and more.
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The final night pairs Bring Me the Horizon with Evanescence, Knocked Loose, Bilmuri, $uicideboy$, Three Days Grace, Wage War, We Came As Romans, Tech N9ne, Sleep Theory, Flyleaf with Lacey Sturm, Hinder, Crossfade (reunion), Testament, Sebastian Bach, Accept, Yngwie Malmsteen and Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson.
“Louder Than Life has always been about showcasing the future of rock and heavy music while honoring the legends who paved the way. Bands like Bring Me The Horizon, Sleep Token, Bad Omens, $uicideboy$, Motionless In White, Spiritbox, I Prevail, Slaughter To Prevail, Lorna Shore, Wage War, Dayseeker, and Knocked Loose aren’t just performing — they’re defining the next generation of headliners,” said promoter Danny Wimmer in a statement. “At the same time, pioneers like Slayer, Deftones, A Perfect Circle, and Avenged Sevenfold have set the standard, proving that this music is always evolving. This is where the past, present, and future of heavy music collide.”
“We’re coming back to Louder Than Life in Louisville. Get ready f*ckers!” said Slayer bassist/singer Tom Arraya.
Four-day and single-day GA, VIP and Angel’s Envy Top Shelf passes are sale now here.
Check out the full Louder Than Life 2025 poster below.
The All-American Rejects took off like a rocket in the 2000s, reaching No. 25 with its 2003, self-titled debut album and No. 6 with 2005’s Move Along, which sent the pop-punk singalong “Dirty Little Secret” to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Then came the 2010s. As is typical with bands that find success in a particular musical era, The All-American Rejects’ popularity faded.
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“I think any band that sticks together for this long kind of goes through one of those periods,” Nick Wheeler tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast. “I grew up on Def Leppard and Bon Jovi, and I remember bands like that had a hard time in the 1990s. Our version of that was the 2010s. We put out a few songs in that in that era. We did a couple tours in that era. But nobody gave a s–t. And that’s fine. We were very lucky to go on that decade-long ride.”
The When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas in 2022 was a turning point for the band. After years spent playing state fairs and theme parks — “It wasn’t fulfilling,” says Wheeler — When We Were Young, which capitalized on nostalgia for emo and punk bands from the ’00s, let The All-American Rejects know there was still immense interest in the band. “On stage, we had so much fun with each other,” he says. “The crowd actually gave a s—t. I wasn’t just a bunch of people eating hot dogs.”
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That led the band to take a leap of faith and set up, as Wheeler describes it, “an actual tour in real venues where people have to pay to show up.” The quartet wasn’t sure anybody would come. “It might be a complete disaster,” he says.
But the band was energized from their experience at When We Were Young and was looking forward to touring with acts they had befriended earlier in their career. “We’re just gonna have fun, and we’re gonna play some real shows for maybe five people,” Wheeler jokes.
Dubbed the Wet Hot All-American Summer Tour, the first All-American Rejects tour in a decade covered the continental U.S. and featured rotating support from The Get Up Kids, New Found Glory, Motion City Soundtrack and The Starting Line. “It ended up being the most successful tour of our entire career,” says Wheeler. “Never would have guessed. Certainly did not expect it.”
The following year, The All-American Rejects toured heavily in the U.S. and made their first trip to South America to perform on the I Wanna Be tour with such bands as Simple Plan and A Day to Remember. At the end of 2024, the band recorded a cover of the 1997 Harvey Danger song “Flagpole Sitta” and released it through Spin Records. The band is now “inspired and creating new music,” says Wheeler. “It’s kind of been this little baby-step snowball that was set in motion two and a half years [ago].”
Listen to the entire interview with The All-American Rejects’ Nick Wheeler in the embedded Spotify player below, or go to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, Podbean or Everand.
Like millions of Swifties everywhere, Travis Kelce‘s emotional-support artist is Taylor Swift — especially following his recent heartbreak at the 2025 Super Bowl. On the latest episode of their New Heights podcast posted Wednesday (Feb. 26), the tight end and his older brother, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, opened up about the music they […]
Michael Mejía, the winner of a Lamborghini in a giveaway by Shakira, has decided to sell the coveted custom car.
The Colombian-American artist, based in New York City, won the vehicle in December after entering a competition organized by Shakira coinciding with the release of her song “Soltera.” Participants had to create a social media video, and Mejía’s winning TikTok entry featured his illustrations of Shakira mixed with scenes from his life, which was revealed on Univision’s Despierta América.
While snagging the 2022 purple Lamborghini Urus — valued at $280,000 — was a dream come true, the reality of maintaining such a luxury vehicle soon hit home. Mejía received the car just last week and shared his struggles with the ongoing costs. “Not only did she gift me a car, but she also gave me money to maintain it, $90,000!” he explained in an interview on El Gordo y La Flaca. “However, that $90,000 was only enough to cover very little.”
“So far, all the taxes for transferring the car, legal matters and insurance for six months have been paid. And now the federal taxes are due at the end of the year, and yes, that will be about $95,000,” he continued, detailing the financial struggle. “The insurance for the car costs more than $2,000 a month, and that’s just the way it is. So, with the money she gave me, the car is maintainable for a while, but it’s always quite expensive to keep it.”
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Mejía also mentioned that it costs $70 to fill up every two days.
The winner claims he has received offers to sell the car in parts, such as the rearview mirror, the tires and the steering wheel. “Someone offered roughly between $700,000 and $800,000. Can you believe it? That is wonderful. I think it’s anyone’s dream to have their million. A million and one dollar, I’ll be happy,” he added with a chuckle.
Additionally, the show’s host disclosed that Mejía is penning a book about his experience of winning the prize. He also discovered a jacket in the car, purportedly belonging to Shakira, and is exploring the possibility of auctioning it off.
Watch the full interview (which is in Spanish) below.
Pink Floyd‘s beloved 1972 live film, Pink Floyd at Pompeii — MCMLXXII — will return to movie theaters worldwide beginning on April 24. The film directed by Adrian Maben, will also be screened on IMAX in a digitally remastered, 4K version taken from the original 35mm footage, with enhanced audio that has been newly mixed by Steven Wilson, representing what a release said is the “definitive version of this pioneering film.”
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“Since 1994, I have searched for the elusive film rushes of Pink Floyd At Pompeii, so the recent discovery of the 1972 original 35mm cut negative was a very special moment,” said Lana Topham, Floyd’s director of restoration in a statement. “The newly restored version presents the first full 90-minute cut, combining the 60-minute source edit of the performance with the additional Abbey Road Studios documentary segments filmed shortly after.”
The movie’s re-release will be accompanied by a Legacy Recordings release of the live album on CD, digital audio and for the first time in Dolby Atmos and on vinyl on May 2, featuring performances of the songs “Careful With That Axe, Eugene,” “Something Else,” “Syncopated Pandemonium,” “Storm Signals” and “Echoes – Part II,” among others.
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The film preceded the release of the psychedelic warriors’ landmark 1973 Dark Side of the Moon album, with the band setting up in the ruins of the ancient Roman Amphitheatre in Pompeii, Italy in October 1971 for a gig without an audience. It was the first live concert set in one of the oldest surviving amphitheaters in the world, built in 70 B.C.
According to a release, the movie “documents what Pink Floyd did before they became giants of the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic – where their music remains celebrated to this day. Set in the hauntingly beautiful ruins of the ancient Roman Amphitheatre in Pompeii, Italy, this unique and immersive film captures Pink Floyd performing an intimate concert without an audience… The breathtaking visuals of the amphitheatre, captured both day and night, amplify the magic of the performance. Additionally, the film includes rare behind-the-scenes footage of the band beginning work on The Dark Side of the Moon at Abbey Road Studios.”
Former Floyd drummer Nick Mason said in a statement that Live At Pompeii is a “rare and unique document of the band performing live in the period before” Dark Side of the Moon. The original has been hand-restored, frame-by-frame from the original 35mm cut negative, which was discovered in five “dubiously labeled” cans in the band’s archive and scanned in 4K using “advanced techniques to ensure the finest, sharpest detail.”
Detailing the new 5.1 and Dolby Atmos mix — intended to match how the band sounded on those “scorching hot days in 1971” — Wilson said, “Ever since my dad brainwashed me as a kid by playing The Dark Side of the Moon on repeat, Pink Floyd has been my favourite band. They are my ‘Beatles,’ deeply ingrained in my musical DNA. I first saw Pompeii from a grainy print at a local cinema. It made an incredible impression on me with its untethered and exploratory rock music made by four musicians that seemed to epitomise the notion of intellectual cool. It was an honour to remix the soundtrack to accompany Lana Topham’s incredible restoration of the film, which looks like it could’ve been filmed yesterday.”
Tickets for the film will go on sale beginning March 5 at 9 a.m. ET here.
Check out the album tracklist and a preview of the band’s “Echoes – Part 1” performance below.
Side A
1. “Pompeii Intro”
2. “Echoes – Part 1”
3. “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”
Side B
1. “A Saucerful of Secrets”
2. “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”
Side C
1. “One of These Days”
2. “Mademoiselle Nobs”
3. “Echoes – Part 2”
Side D
1. “Careful With that Axe, Eugene – Alternate take”
2. “A Saucerful of Secrets – Unedited”
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Drake and his Anita Max Win world tour in the Oceania region kicked off near the top of the month and was slated to run until March 16. However, reports have emerged that Drake will halt the remaining days of the tour due to scheduling conflicts with a promise of rescheduling those dates.
Drake was scheduled for select show stops in Australia and New Zealand after kicking off the Anita Max Win tour on Feb. 4 in Perth. As seen on Rolling Stone AU/NZ, a rep for the OVO Sound honcho confirmed that the remaining dates will be put on pause and shared a brief statement.
From Rolling Stone AU/NZ:
“Due to a scheduling conflict, four of Drake’s 16 sold-out shows in Australia and New Zealand will be postponed. We are actively working on rescheduling these dates along with adding some additional shows.
All tickets for the affected shows will remain valid for the new dates. Refunds will be available for those who prefer, but please note that as these shows are sold out, any refunded tickets will be released for sale.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Drake and the entire team have had an incredible time doing these shows and are excited to return soon.
We look forward to sharing the rescheduled dates with you as soon as possible.”
Drake was scheduled to play shows on March 4 in Brisbane, then trekking over to Sydney on March 7. The final two shows on March 15 and 16 were slated to take place in Auckland, New Zealand.
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Photo: Cole Burston / Getty
BigXthaPlug (born Xavier Landum) has been arrested on a possession of marijuana charge in Arlington, Texas. The Arlington Police Department tells Billboard BigX was booked into Arlington City Jail early Wednesday (Feb. 26) following a traffic stop shortly after midnight, and was charged with possession of less than two ounces of marijuana. An Arlington Police […]
Artist contract clauses to promote environmentally sustainable touring were highlighted Wednesday (Feb. 26) in London at the 37th annual International Music Conference.
The green initiatives have been put forth by the U.K. live music advocacy group LIVE (Live Music Industry Venues and Entertainment). Its members are a federation of 16 live music industry associations representing some 3,159 businesses, more than 34,000 British artists and 2,000 backstage workers.
Delegates to the ILMC, who hailed from some 60 countries, were greeted Wednesday morning with comments from Chris Bryant, the U.K. minister for creative industries, arts and tourism. “Live music in the U.K. is a really important part of what we have to offer,” said Bryant (while he lamented poor wifi at festivals and “utterly inedible” food at many venues).
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The green contract clauses, initially announced by LIVE last October, are “designed to galvanise industry-wide action and transform the environmental impact of live events,” according to a statement from the organization.
Efforts to reduce the impact of travel-intensive touring on the climate have been promoted in recent years by artists like Coldplay.
When the band announced its Music of the Spheres Tour in 2021, it pledged to reduce its direct carbon emissions—from show production, freight, band and crew travel—by at least 50%. Coldplay subsequently announced that carbon emissions on the first two years of that tour were 59% less than its previous stadium tour (2016-2017) on a show-by-show basis, with its figures verified by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative.
The LIVE environmental proposals come at a time when climate change is acknowledged as the driving cause of catastrophes worldwide, from extreme flooding in Europe last fall to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year.
Within the music industry, it has been estimated that extreme weather had affected at least 30 major concerts in 2023, including evacuations, cancellations and postponements, based on a running tally, “while the total number of affected music events worldwide is surely far higher,” Billboard reported.
The contract clauses result from discussions with representatives from the agencies Wasserman and ATC Live, the global event producer TAIT, the Music Managers Forum and other major players in the touring industry. Leading the process has been the working group LIVE Green, guided by Carol Scott, the Principal Sustainability Advocate at TAIT, and Live Green impact consultant Ross Patel.
“It’s a long road, we’re all on it and we’re going in the right direction,” Patel told an ILMC session Wednesday which he hosted, along with Hilary Walsh, general manager of the U.K.booking agency Pure Represents.
The clauses are intended to help artists, agents, promoters,venues and others to create events with environmental sustainability at the core of planning events, with a focus on energy efficiency; waste reduction; water conservation; local and sustainable food; low carbon emission means of transport to encouraging attendees to travel to the show using lower carbon emission transport; offering sustainable and ethical merch; and much more.
“We’re presented with the evidence of a changing global climate on a daily basis,” said Patel as he opened the ILMC session. “And we also know that we hold the keys to be more resilient.”
Patel made the point that the changes to long-standing practices needed within the live music industry to make touring more sustainable are similar to those in the field of health and safety that are now considered standard.
Patel praised “industry professionals who can pack out an empty room at the drop of a hat, or transport thousands of fans to fields in the middle of nowhere, for life-changing experiences…. So why stop there? Why not create events that fill attendees with hope” in the face of climate challenges.
Environmentally sustainable live events exist, said Patel. “The challenge is how to increase the frequency of that.”
Walsh offered the perspective of Pure Represents, a relatively young booking agency, whose founder, Angus Baskerville, has made sustainability a personal and business priority.
“It’s really important to Angus,” said Walsh, noting the agency founder is the father of two small children and “wanted to leave behind a legacy that was sustainable.”
Walsh notes that the green contract clauses (available online from LIVE) have been easily inserted into touring agreements for Pure clients.
But sometimes those clauses have been deleted in returned contracts. Reducing resistance to change, says Walsh, required “conversations, not just on email, on Power Points, or any of that” with promoters, venues, tour managers, production managers and artist managers.
“It’s about us sharing that information,” says Walsh. “I think slowly everybody is getting onboard.”
Katie Bain provided assistance in this story.
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Virginia Beach continues to be at the forefront of redefining fashion. The Clipse are now starring in the launch campaign for the adidas Superstar 92.
Source: adidas / adidas
As per Sneaker News the legendary Rap group have been tapped by their long time friend and collaborator Pharrell Williams. This week adidas announced the launch of the Virginia Superstar 92; an oversized take on the classic sneaker. As a co-branded effort with Skateboard P’s Humanrace brand, this model sticks to the original’s framework including the signature all leather upper panel, rubber outsole and textile lining. To no surprise this version has a true point of difference in a couple of locations including VIRGINIA featured on the tongue and contrasting lace colors.
Shot in their hometown by another Virginia Beach native Cam Hicks, the duo is captured fully immersed in their element. Malice and Pusha T compliment each other well by sporting coordinated colors but avoid the stereotypical matching outfits that are now synonymous with tacky1990’s Rap group fashion.
The adidas x Humanrace Superstar 92 AKA The Double Wide comes in two colorways. One in a Core Black and Cream White with yellow laces and a Core White with black stripes and pink laces. Priced at $200.00 this release will available in limited quantities starting March 1 via the adidas CONFIRMED app.