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Ed Sheeran has seemingly just revealed the name of his upcoming LP in a social media comment. The Suffolk-based pop star has been teasing his return for 2025 and shared a few hints about what the record may sound like.
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Now, in a comment on an Instagram post, Sheeran appeared to reveal that the record would be called Play.
The “Shape of You” singer was responding to a post on the page of @memezar, which noted that Sheeran had changed his profile picture in anticipation of the return. “Ed Sheeran recently changed his profile picture guys! What math is he gonna do next?” a fan wrote. This referred to the Sheeran’s Mathematics album series, which included five studio records: + (2011), x (2014), ÷ (2017), = (2021) and – (2023).
In response, Sheeran wrote: “Irony is if you ask me anything maths related I would fail the question, I never finished high school.” He then signed off by appearing to reveal the title of his next LP. “Play coming soon though,” he added.
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In another comment to a fan who wrote theorised that the next series of records would be called “Play, Pause, Stop, Rewind, Skip,” Sheeran responded: “might skip Skip tbf.”
It’s not the first time he’s referred to the title. In 2023, Sheeran posted: “See you sometime next year when we press Play again on pop, and have a good holiday season x.” In 2022, he confirmed that he would be making “10 symbol records,” but said that “the next five won’t be maths.” Billboard U.K. has reached out to Sheeran’s representatives for comment.
His upcoming record would be Sheeran’s eighth studio LP, and would follow 2023’s Autumn Variations. In December, Sheeran teased that his new album would be a return to bigger sounds. “It feels like I’m getting back into big pop for the first time in a long time,” he told Variety. “It’s quite exciting.”
Earlier this week an impromptu performance by Sheeran was shut down by police in Bengaluru, India due to an alleged lack of permissions. In footage of the incident police can be seen interrupting Sheeran’s performance of “Shape of You” and unplugging his instruments. “We have permission to be here, but this policeman is shutting it down,” Sheeran can be heard telling the crowd. “See you later!”
Sheeran is in the midst of his Mathematics tour and will perform on Saturday (Feb. 15) in Delhi before a run of dates in China.
Mariah Carey is hoping that the this time it’s for real. The singer celebrated her second nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Thursday (Feb. 13), writing on Instagram that she was “so grateful” to be given a nod two years running; Carey has been eligible for induction into the HOF since 2016, but was not nominated until last year.
“It’s always an incredible honor to be recognized alongside so many legendary artists I admire. Thank you to the @rockhall and, of course, to my amazing fans— you are the heart of everything I do. This means so much! ❤️🎶,” Carey added alongside a vintage shot of herself and a second slide featuring the full list of this year’s other nominees.
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Carey is once again in good company among the 2025 roster of nominees, which also includes Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, Oasis, Outkast, Phish, Soundgarden and The White Stripes.
Though she is the Christmas queen and a pop icon, Carey fell just short of the Rock Hall in 2024, when she was a first-time nominee alongside now Hall of Famers Cher, Jimmy Buffett, Mary J. Blige, Dave Matthews, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Frampton, Dionne Warwick, Kool & the Gang, MC5, Foreigner and A Tribe Called Quest.
In the meantime, Carey will wrap her current run of The Celebration of Mimi residency shows at the Dolby Live at Park MGM with a pair of shows on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) and Saturday (Feb. 15).
The Class of 2025 will be revealed in late April with an announcement typically details which artists are inducted as performers and which names are entering the Rock Hall in the musical influence or musical excellence categories. The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Los Angeles this fall.
Halsey made a return to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday (Feb. 13), opening up about their upcoming tour, recent engagement, and the personal struggles that shaped their latest album, The Great Impersonator.
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During the interview, the singer—who recently announced the For My Last Trick tour—reflected on their love for performing and the challenges that kept them off the road in recent years.
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“I love touring,” they told Fallon of her impending return to the stage. “It’s hard to get me home, to be honest.” It’s just part of your brain, you have to be out there performing.”
“I toured for, like, eight years straight,” Halsey said. “And then, you know, there was COVID, and then I got pregnant, and then I got sick, and I was home for a while, and I was just like, ‘Can I go back?’”
Fallon also congratulated Halsey on their engagement to actor Avan Jogia, which they revealed in casually via social media by subtly editing a headline about their relationship. When asked about the proposal, Halsey shared that Jogia orchestrated a surprise trip to Barcelona—after a layover in his native Canada—before popping the question on a boat.
“We were out in the water, and I was thinking, like, ‘I think I’m going to get proposed to this week.’ But I didn’t think it was going to happen at this moment ’cause we were both like sun-drunk and like, you know, it was that stage where you’re like in your bathing suit, your belly is out and you’re like eating food. It wasn’t a sexy thing.”
“And we were sitting next to each other and he was like, ‘Come down on the floor.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’ So I got down on the floor of this boat and he pulled out the ring and he showed it to me.”
When Jogia pulled out the ring and asked, “What’s a little bit of marriage between friends?” Halsey responded, “Yeah, I’ll do a little bit of marriage with you. I would prefer to do a lot of it.”
The singer also reflected on their unexpected connection to Jogia’s past as a child star on Victorious.
“I have two little brothers, so I would come home every day after school, babysit, and the show was on,” Halsey recalled. “Sometimes my brothers would not be in the room and I would be watching the show, and they’d walk in and catch me and they’d be like, ‘You just think Beck is cute.’” They laughed before adding, “I did just think Beck was cute.”
Halsey’s new album, The Great Impersonator, marked their first No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums since the chart in 2022 became inclusive of releases that are alternative-leaning but not firmly within the rock genre. They revealed that much of the album was written during a difficult period after being diagnosed with lupus and chronic leukemia.
“I had a one-year-old baby at home, and I was like, ‘Whoa, this is a lot,’” they said. After stepping away to focus on their health, Halsey is now in a much better place. “I’m really, really doing so much better. I’m healthy now. Both conditions are, like, under control. And I’m just really excited to get back out and have fun again.”
That excitement extends to the For My Last Trick tour, which kicks off later this year. Fallon asked what fans can expect from the show, and Halsey didn’t hold back.
“I really like putting on a big show,” they said. “I think people are usually pretty surprised when they come to see me in concert, especially if they only know me for the songs on the radio. The show can be quite, like, aggressive. Like, I’m like a little demon,” they joked. “I get out there and have to exorcise some stuff.” The tour also leans into a magic theme, but Halsey sees themselves as more of “a magician’s assistant. You can cut me in half, and I get to wear the cute outfits.”
Before wrapping up the conversation, Fallon challenged Halsey to return with an actual magic trick next time. “Just because you said this to me now, I’m going to learn a magic trick so I can do it on the show,” they promised.
Yesterday, dates for her upcoming spring/summer 2025 Halsey: For My Last Trick tour were announced. The 32-city Live Nation-promoted outing in support of last year’s The Great Impersonator album is slated to kick off on May 10 at the Toyota Pavilion at Concord in Concord, CA and criss-cross the country for shows in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Dallas, Nashville, Tampa, Charlotte, Toronto, Chicago and St. Louis, before winding down on July 6 at the Yaamava’ Theater in Highland, CA.
They’ll have plenty of friends along as well, with Del Water Gap, The Warning, Evanescence, Alvvays, Hope Tala, Royel Otis, Sir Chloe, flowerlove, Magdalena Bay and Alemeda joining on select dates. On Thursday morning (Feb. 13), the singer released a playful, minute-long trailer for her first headlining tour in three years.
Fans can sign up for the artist presale now through Monday (Feb. 17) at 11:59 p.m. ET here, with an artist presale kicking off on Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. through 10 p.m. local that day. More presales will run throughout the week in the lead-up to the general on-sale beginning on Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. local time here.
Kendrick Lamar has officially dominated the ARIA Charts this week, reclaiming the No. 1 spot on both the Albums and Singles rankings.
Following his GRAMMY wins and a high-profile Super Bowl LIX performance, GNX vaults from No. 15 back to the top, while “Not Like Us” returns to No. 1 on the Singles Chart. This marks the first time Lamar has held both positions simultaneously in Australia.
The Compton rapper now boasts three No. 1 albums in the country, with To Pimp A Butterfly (2015) and Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (2022) also reaching the top.
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Meanwhile, Taylor Swift makes her presence known with the debut of Lover – Live From Paris at No. 14. The concert recording, initially released as a Valentine’s Day vinyl exclusive in 2023, gets a fresh boost with its reissue on heart-shaped vinyl this month. With 18 albums making the ARIA Charts throughout her career, Swift has landed at No. 1 an impressive 13 times.
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On the Singles Chart, Australian DJ Dom Dolla scores a Top 40 debut at No. 33 with “Dreamin,” featuring Daya. The ARIA Award-winning producer last cracked the Top 10 with “Saving Up” in 2023. Daya, known for her breakout hit “Hide Away” (No. 6 in 2015) and The Chainsmokers collab “Don’t Let Me Down” (No. 3 in 2016), returns to the Australian charts after nearly a decade.
Bruno Mars continues to rewrite streaming records, becoming the first artist to hit 150 million monthly listeners on Spotify. His collaboration with Rosé, “APT.,” holds steady at No. 2, while his Lady Gaga-assisted track “Die With A Smile” lands at No. 6 this week.
Speaking of Lady Gaga, the pop icon makes magic as “Abracadabra” shoots from No. 50 to No. 12. The track is the latest preview of her upcoming album Mayhem, set to drop next month. If it reaches the Top 10, it will be Gaga’s 15th ARIA Top 10 single.
GRAMMY momentum continues to propel Chappell Roan, who now holds two Top 10 ARIA singles. “Pink Pony Club” gallops from No. 22 to No. 7, while “Good Luck, Babe!”—a former No. 4 hit—remains strong at No. 10.
Tyla tapped Sean Paul for the “Push 2 Start” remix that dropped Friday (Feb. 14). “Everyone loves Sean Paul, there’s so many songs of his that I absolutely loved growing up,” she tells Billboard while singing the hook from his 2003 hit “I’m Still in Love With You.” “All those songs are so nostalgic and […]
Sabrina Carpenter‘s Short n’ Sweet era just got even sweeter. The 25-year-old pop star unveiled the deluxe edition of her Billboard 200 chart-topping album on Friday (Feb. 14) as the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift to her fans. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news She announced the expanded […]
Plans for New York City’s iconic Blue Note Jazz Club to expand to the U.K. could be at risk, with London’s Metropolitan Police Service expressing fears of a potential “uptick in crime”.
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According to The Standard, plans are in place for a 350-seat venue to be established in the basement of the St Martins Lane hotel in Covent Garden. If the application is approved, the venue would be open until 1am, seven days a week.
However, a Licensing Sub-Committee Report from the City of Westminster has outlined a number of objections from the local police enforcement, who have objected to the venue’s construction on the grounds it would undermine the licensing objective of “prevention of crime and disorder”.
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Airing their fears at a hearing with the Council on Thursday (Feb. 13), officers claimed that granting the application for the venue would “expose more people to crime and disorder in the immediate area and further afield”. The report issued by the City of Westminster also included diagrams outlining antisocial behavior, robbery, theft, and violence in the immediate area, with the Metropolitan Police Service stating their belief that the addition of the new venue “could add to crime, disorder and public nuisance within the immediate area”.
“Police are concerned that if the LSC grant this application within the CIZ [the West End Cumulative Impact Zone], there would be an increase in demand on an already overstretched police service and other emergency services,” the report added, noting that despite their objections, police have however met with the applicant to discuss matters.
The report and hearing also included statements from unnamed local residents who shared their concerns and suggestions for the potential venue. These included recommendations that the venue’s operating hours be limited to 11pm in order to limit the “potential for crime and exploitation of vulnerable jazz lovers“
“It is suggested that it is extremely likely that some of the dispersing jazz lovers may be inebriated to a greater [or] lesser extent [or] perhaps slightly disorientated by their emergence in to the cool night air,” one resident wrote. “They will be immediately vulnerable to the gangs of criminals who already prey on similar groups of people in the Soho area. The 1:00 am exit could become a crime hot spot.”
The applicant has however responded to these concerns in the report, noting that a 1am closing time is “integral to the music scheduling in the basement and the viability of the cultural use” of the venue.
If the application for the venue is approved, it would become the latest iteration of the Blue Note Jazz Club to open around the world, and the first in the U.K.. Founded in New York City in 1981, the club has since expanded to other locations throughout the U.S. (including venues in California and Hawaii), and internationally (including Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Milan, Beijing, and Shanghai).
Offset is spending his Valentine’s Day loving his deep pockets on his new single “Ten,” which he dropped on Friday (Feb. 14) via Motown Records. “I don’t need you, I got money/ I don’t miss you, I got money/ Love you, but not like money,” he raps with a mischievous, sing-song cadence. “Ten” arrives two […]
After winning performer of the year (dancehall) at last year’s Caribbean Music Awards, Jamaican reggae sensation Dexta Daps is set on securing the next Valentine’s Day anthem with his new “Lockdown” single. Over waltz-evoking guitars, Dexta forgoes the fete to spend some intimate one-on-one time with his special lady singing, “I’ve been staying home lately […]
The long-awaited joint album from Drake and PartyNextDoor is finally here. The years-in-the-making project, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U hit streaming services on Friday (Feb. 14) to spice up Valentine’s Day for the lovers and hopeless romantics out there. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news $ome $exy $ongs […]