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50 Cent is sick and tired of airports in the United States being outta control. In recent posts on Instagram, the rapper shared his frustration with major delays and flight cancelations happening across the country due to the government shutdown.
His first post on Sunday (Nov. 9) was of a news montage of clips filmed at airports overrun with frustrated travelers, helplessly packing in like sardines. A headline attached to the video reads, “More Than 700 Flights Cancelled Across the Nation Due to Shutdown.”
“Man the airport is f–ked up, for get about traveling right now!” 50 wrote in his caption.
The G-Unit icon then followed up with a video showing his own POV on the situation, filmed as he deplanes a private jet that wasn’t allowed to take off — possibly due to the lack of air traffic controllers showing up for work as a result of President Donald Trump’s shutdown-mandated cuts to U.S. air travel. “It’s a wrap, man,” says 50, wearing a furry jacket and New York Yankees cap. “Can’t even take off in jets no more, they just said they’re not even letting the jets go.”
“Im headed back to Shreveport this ain’t it,” he captioned the clip. “Bad Travel day!”
Over the past few days, thousands of flights have been canceled across some of the biggest metropolitan airports in America. CNN reports that more than 1,000 departures were canceled on Friday (Nov. 7) alone, while 4,500 others were delayed.
The disarray comes amid the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which began on Oct. 1. One of the many effects of this pause has been a 4% reduction in trips flying to and from the 40 busiest airports in America, as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
With his travel plans on hold, it sounds like 50 is going to spend more quality time in Shreveport, La., where he opened his G-Unit Studios in April 2024. A New York native, the hip-hop legend also recently criticized another governmental change, taking issue with the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of the city earlier in November.
“I think his intentions are good,” 50 wrote on Instagram of the politician, sharing and deleting memes indicating his disappointment with the election results. “But his Tax plan is gonna run the big money out of the city and if he defunds the police they are gonna purge. @50centaction All Roads lead to SHREVEPORT !”
See 50 Cent’s video from his recent negative experience with air travel below.
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Iceland Airwaves managing director Ísleifur Thorhallsson, beaming in a festival-branded baseball cap, radiates enthusiasm as you enter NASA, a postcard-pretty conference hall in downtown Reykjavík, Iceland. “You can already feel the energy everywhere in the city,” he says on the eve of the festival’s 2025 edition. “This festival is built purely off passion.”
For four bustling days (Nov. 5-8), that sentiment rings true across nearly every corner of the city. Step inside the lobby of Center Hotels Laugavegur – where dozens of international industry figures congregate for the week – and you’re greeted by a 4K TV screen, playing music videos from Icelandic artists on loop. Festival posters transform Nordic-style buildings with bold splashes of colour. “Reykjavík Music City” tote bags swing on the shoulders of conference attendees, who exchange ideas over black coffee and thick slabs of hjónabandssaela – or “happy marriage cake,” a traditional rhubarb jam tart.
Launching in 1999 as a one-off weekender in an airplane hangar, Iceland Airwaves is now recognised as a premier event in the European festival calendar. Its guiding philosophy stems from how Reykjavík makes a lot of noise on the global stage, despite having a population of only 139,000; it’s a city that, through government grants and a cluster of marketing agencies focused on promoting music abroad, invests deeply in culture and empowers its artists.
Over the years, Iceland Airwaves has played host to acts that have gone on to become global stars, including Fontaines D.C. and Florence + The Machine, while also consistently showcasing a wide array of Icelandic talent. As with any new music festival, the trick is to come with an open mind and get ready to uncover acts ready to make a name for themselves.
Homegrown success stories that have come up through the festival in recent years include jazz-pop maestro Laufey, who played two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in October, and Grammy-nominated pianist Ólafur Arnalds. The international profile of Iceland’s music shows that locals already know that a prominent slot can be a key next step for a local artist’s success, but as has become the norm with this festival, delegates from across the U.K., US and Europe were invited to listen in and watch the magic unfold, too.
To that end, Iceland Airwaves holds its place as a tastemaker event, platforming breakthrough acts from both sides of the Atlantic as well as giving a boost to the future stars of its country. These were the biggest takeaways from 2025’s edition.
Gen Z Is Redefining the Festival Experience…
Sean “Diddy” Combs was recently transferred to the FCI Fort Dix to serve out his time in connection with his recent conviction in his interstate prostitution case. With reports going wide late last week that Sean “Diddy” Combs was drinking behind bars, the mogul’s family has issued a statement shooting down the claim.
TMZ broke a report last Friday (November 7) stating that Diddy was seen guzzling an alcoholic beverage at FCI Fort Dix, which is said to be a low-security facility. Based on sources, the outlet reported that Combs was caught drinking makeshift moonshine made with pieces of fruit, sugar, and soda. In the initial report, it was written that Combs would be transferred to a new unit, but those sources confirmed that they’ve reversed that decision.
In an update to the story, Combs’ family spokesperson Juda Engelmayer had this to share with readers:
“Mr. Combs is in his first week at FCI Fort Dix and is focused on adjusting, working on himself, and doing better each day. As with any high-profile individual in a new environment, there will be many rumors and exaggerated stories throughout his time there—most of them untrue. We ask that people give him the benefit of the doubt, the privacy to focus on his personal growth with grace and purpose.”
In an additional update, Diddy’s X account, which is run by the family, also shared a message that appears to have been deleted.
“The rumors claiming Mr. Combs was caught with alcohol are completely false. His only focus is becoming the best version of himself and returning to his family,” read the tweet.
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Photo: Getty
Trending on Billboard Travis Scott has been shut out at the Grammy Awards for his 10 nominations throughout his career, but he’s not going to give up the chance to hoist a Grammy trophy on stage anytime soon. Explore See latest videos, charts and news The Houston native responded to a Nov. 7 post on […]
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Fifty years ago on Nov. 10, 1975, massive freighter the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior, amid 50-foot waves and 100-mile-an-hour winds. All 29 men aboard the ship died.
The loss was commemorated in folk-rocker Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 a little more than a year later, on the chart dated Nov. 20, 1976.
The haunting ballad reenters Billboard’s Nov. 15-dated Rock Digital Song Sales chart at No. 5 and Country Digital Song Sales at No. 7, up 160% to 1,000 sold Oct. 31-Nov. 6, according to Luminate.
The song also gained by 77% to 1.4 million on-demand U.S. streams in the tracking week.
In 2015, Lightfoot discussed the origins of the single, which he solely wrote, in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The story of the sinking of the Fitzgerald stayed with me in a funny kind of a way, all by itself,” he shared at the time. “I wasn’t forgetting about it. I knew everyone had forgotten about it, but I knew I hadn’t forgotten it.”
Lightfoot, who died in May 2023 in his native Ontario, recalled that he “had some chords and a melody I had been thinking about and didn’t know where to direct it.
“It is a very good piece of work, I do believe,” he said of the track, which also went top 10 on Adult Contemporary. “It’s one of those songs that just stands the test of time and it’s about something that, of course, would be forgotten very shortly thereafter, which is one of the reasons I wrote the song in the first place. I didn’t want it to be forgotten.”
Lightfoot went on to befriend family members of victims of the ship’s sinking, remaining aware that the song was at its core a tribute to an actual tragedy.
Of it, he said, “There is a responsibility.”
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Music tourism, a growing sector, is in the spotlight more than ever after Puerto Rico’s tourism and economic boom following Bad Bunny’s residency.
The ripple effects were among the topics of discussion during the annual Music Tourism Convention, which has been taking place for a decade and, for the first time, was held in the Caribbean, specifically on the island of Anguilla from Nov. 4 to 7.
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Governmental delegates, entrepreneurs and businesses from Canada, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Barbados, Saint Vincent, St. Maarten, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, the Grenadines, the Virgin Islands, Panama, and the Dominican Republic traveled to this British territory known for its pristine beaches, with the aim of sharing and exchanging ideas about the development of events and how to maximize entertainment resources.
The great success of Bad Bunny in attracting tourists to Puerto Rico and boosting the island’s economy sparked interest among neighboring countries and brought to mind Jamaica, which at one point did something similar with the Marley dynasty.
Although local summer carnivals and festivals attract tourists to the Caribbean, the rest of the year remains underutilized.
“The cultural heritage of the Caribbean is very extensive, but it has not been utilized as it should be,” explained Davon Carty, CEO of Anguilla Music Production and Publishing, speaking about the host island, during one of the panels. “We have great musicians on the island besides our legendary star, Bankie Banks, so we want to showcase them to the world,” he added.
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Another important point discussed by attendees was the need to not only rely on their international stars to promote and publicize their territories but also to make venues and public spaces available to interested artists, equipped with the facilities needed for their performances or content creation.
“In Miami, it seems like everything is Latin music, but it’s not; we have many more musical movements that we want to promote,” explained Connie Kinnard, senior vp of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We want to broaden the musical horizon. For example, electronic music, which is very strong,” she added. Meanwhile, John Copeland, director of arts and cultural tourism in Miami, spoke about various attractions that can be offered to tourists. “Now in Miami, we have tours to places where music videos have been filmed. Not just the homes of celebrities are attractive; there’s so much to show people,” he said.
From Canada, Allegra Swanson of Music Nova Scotia, a territory where the renowned Juno Awards take place, shared advice based on her experience: “Hosting an awards ceremony definitely boosts tourism and the economic development of a place, but it also allows talents to be showcased and important partnerships with sponsors to be formed,” she said.
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From Saudi Arabia, Hala Alhedeithy, general manager of strategies at the Saudi Music Commission, led another interesting panel in which she spoke about integrating local talent into important activities in cities like Riyadh, where efforts are underway to make it an attractive destination. Lastly, Mexican Pablo Borchi Klapp, director of events and sponsorships at Sound Diplomacy — a company that not only produces the convention but also provides consultancy on the economic and social value of creative industries — shared his experience in organizing tours for tourists with a musical emphasis, which include visits to restaurants and venues showcasing various types of music.
In 2026, Sound Diplomacy will produce the Music Cities Conventions in Kingston upon Hull in the United Kingdom and in Alberta, Canada.
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This week, Kelsea Ballerini offers a glimpse into an upcoming project with her new song “I Sit in Parks,” while Cody Johnson gives fans a long-awaited official studio version of his rendition of The Chicks’ “Travelin’ Soldier.” Meanwhile, Vincent Mason takes a chance on mixing alcohol and heartbreak, while The Jack Wharff Band and Dylan Conrique also bring new music.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of some of the best country, bluegrass and/or Americana songs of the week below.
Kelsea Ballerini, “I Sit In Parks”
After wrapping a headlining arena tour and earning an ACM entertainer of the year nomination earlier this year, Ballerini previews her new project Mount Pleasant (out Nov. 14) with this introspective ballad. This track finds her balancing the pursuit of her musical ambitions with an ache of pondering whether she’s “missed the mark” on motherhood. She captures a scene of a woman in her thirties sitting alone in a park and watching families spend time together, while reflecting on how choices have shaped her life. “I wonder if she wants my freedom / Like I want to be a mother,” Ballerini muses. This is Ballerini doing what she does best—crafting vulnerable, self-aware songs that explore her hopes, dreams, doubts and insecurities in real time, while mirroring the experiences of those who share similar longings.
Cody Johnson, “Travelin’ Soldier”
After years of hearing fans request his version of this song in concert, and previously recording an acoustic rendition of it, Johnson has finally released his own studio version of “Travelin’ Soldier,” which The Chicks previously made a hit in 2003. His studio version slightly speeds up the tempo, which does seem to moderately soften some of the song’s melancholy, but Johnson’s superb vocal brings just the right mix of grit and tenderness to convey the song’s heartbreaking, bittersweet nature. It also showcases the depth of Johnson’s talents as a musical interpreter, one who brings respect to the song, while also refining it with his own unmistakable voice.
Vincent Mason, “Sink or Swim”
Georgia native Mason, known for songs such as “Hell Is a Dance Floor,” issues his debut album, There I Go, including this churning new track. Here, he’s drowning his sorrows in alcohol after a relationship has collapsed and he’s intent on finding out if his ex’s memory is stronger than the drink in his hand. The song’s downtrodden lyrics sharply contrast with a toe-tapping rhythm, creating a dynamic that encapsulates the reckless thrill of surrendering to the bottle and the heartbreak, and seeing where it leads.
Dylan Conrique, “How to Lose the Girl”
Over tenderly-plucked guitar, California native Conrique catalogs the copious missteps and selfish habits that fray, and then sever, a relationship’s emotional ties, from broken promises to failing to show up in the small, everyday moments. Conrique’s dusky voice effortlessly conveys the emotional distress, before turning the song into one of bravery, as the protagonist leaves the unfaithful lover and then reminds the ex of all the ways those ongoing habits will lead to heartbreak in future relationships. Conrique wrote the song with Jackson Foote, Alma Goodman, and Brooke Tomlinson.
The Jack Wharff Band, “Saved”
Country/Americana group The Jack Wharff Band blends rustic, earthy instrumental tones with a message of spiritual redemption their latest, “Saved.” “Been broke a million times/ Trying to stop the hurtin’ inside, some things you just can’t afford,” lead singer Jack Wharff sings, bolstered by churning guitars. Written by bandmembers Wharff, Ryan Atchison and Garrett Howell, this song makes a stark reflection on the futility of self-reliance, while expressing gratefulness to a higher power for renewal.
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KPop Demon Hunters may very well be taking home some golden gramophones soon, and Lizzo is celebrating with a “Golden” cover of the film’s biggest hit — flute style, of course.
On Saturday (Nov. 8), the hitmaker shared an Instagram video of herself playing a lively classical rendition of eight-week Billboard Hot 100-topper “Golden” on her signature instrument, the trilling melody soaring over a lush string accompaniment provided by the Australian Pop Quartet. “‘GOLDEN’ (Sasha’s version),” Lizzo wrote in her caption, referencing the Beyoncé-inspired name she gave her trusty woodwind long ago (Sasha Flute).
She added, “congrats to @kpopdemonhuntersnetflix on all ur Grammy noms!”
The post came just one day after the Recording Academy unveiled nominations for next year’s awards, revealing that KPop Demon Hunters is up for a total of four prizes. “Golden” accounts for three of those nods, earning recognition in the song of the year, best pop duo/group performance and best song written for visual media categories.
In an interview with Billboard shortly after the nominations went live, Audrey Nuna — one of three women who provided the singing voices for fictional KPop Demon Hunters girl group HUNTR/X — said that she and her costars’ “hearts [were] being pulled in so many different directions.”
“Above all, I think we’re just very, very, very grateful to be a part of what feels like a very cultural and historic moment, and something that, as kids, we would have we craved so bad to see,” she shared. “Being a part of it is just really surreal.”
Lizzo herself is a decorated Grammy veteran, earning her first three wins in 2019 — including for best pop solo performance for breakthrough hit “Truth Hurts.” In 2023, she took home record of the year for No. 1 Hot 100 hit “About Damn Time.”
The Yitty founder is now on her way to a new music era, dropping rap mixtape My Face Hurts From Smiling in June. She’d originally been planning to release an album called Love in Real Life, but recently explained why she’s since shelved the project. “I’ve changed, the world has changed so much, and so much has happened,” she told New York magazine in September. “It just wasn’t what I was feeling right now. I was like, ‘I need to do s–t differently and I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to just start following my instincts.’”
Check out Lizzo and Sasha Flute’s cover of “Golden” below.
From “Yo Perreo Sola” to “La Romana” and “Mía,” here are Best Bunny’s best songs (so far).
11/10/2025
Trending on Billboard Hilary Duff continued her return to music on Monday morning (Nov. 10) with the announcement of her first run of live performances in more than a decade. After dropping her new single, “Mature,” last week, Duff expanded her comeback with the roll-out of a quartet of intimate January 2026 shows under the […]
