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If you watched Jimmy Kimmel’s moving, 22-minute tribute to his longtime bandleader and lifelong best friend, saxophonist Cleto Escobedo III last week following the musician’s death at age 59, you know how crushing the loss was for the late night host.
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Now, following his tearful tribute to Escobedo, Kimmel is looking to raise funds for two organizations in his friend’s honor. In an Instagram post over the weekend, Kimmel shared a picture of Escobedo smiling with his wife, two children and their dog and another of the two pals laughing as they cradle their instruments in a parking lot.
“Cleto was always kind and eager to help others. As we mourn his loss, we have started two fundraisers to celebrate his life and give back,” wrote Kimmel. “The first is for UCLA Medical Center where he received such incredible care. Together we can help vulnerable patients and families in need of financial assistance during hard times. @UCLAHealth.
“In memory of our friend Cleto, we’d like to thank all the hardworking specialists, doctors, and nurses at UCLA. They worked tirelessly and generously to give him the best care,” reads a note on the fundraising page. “Cleto was always kind and eager to help others. To honor his generous spirit, we’d like to help vulnerable patients and families in need of financial assistance during hard times. Let’s help others in Cleto’s name.”
The second, he said was an effort to “honor his love of animals,” via fundraising links to @TheAnimalFoundation in the men’s former hometown of Las Vegas. “Cleto was a beloved friend, father, and animal lover whose heart was always open to pets in need,” reads a message on the organization’s home page, alongside a note from Escobedo’s family.
“Cleto was a compassionate animal lover. He loved each of his rescue dogs like they were family,” it read. “Please consider making a donation to The Animal Foundation in his hometown of Las Vegas. Cleto would have loved his friends and family helping to provide safety, healing and homes for pets in need.”
Kimmel announced Escobedo’s death last Tuesday, writing, “we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III. To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement. Cleto and I have been inseparable since I was nine years old. The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true. Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto’s wife, children and parents in your prayer.”
Escobedo led Kimmel’s late night house band, Cleto and the Cletones — which also included his sax-playing dad — since the show’s debut in 2003. On last Tuesday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host fought through tears to pay tribute to the man he called his best friend since the day they first met in 1977.
“We loved all the same things. Baseball, fishing, boxing, [Muhammad] Ali, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Woody Allen, Michael McDonald, Huey Lewis, Stevie Wonder, and most of all, we loved David Letterman,” Kimmel said. “Cherish your friends, we’re not here forever.”
Trending on Billboard As we learned this weekend during his stint hosting Saturday Night Live, The Running Man star Glen Powell contains multitudes. In the promos for Saturday’s (Nov. 15) episode Powell showed off his considerable dancing skills, and during the episode he proved he can handle accents, suit up as a member of the […]
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Trending on Billboard Rosalía appeared on The Tonight Show on Sunday night (Nov. 16) to deliver a captivating performance of “La Perla,” drawn from her latest album, LUX, originally featuring Yahritza y Su Esencia, who were not present for the performance. Explore See latest videos, charts and news The Spanish superstar stunned as she brought […]
Dolly Parton didn’t make it to the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles on Sunday (Nov. 16) for this year’s Governors Awards, but that wasn’t a surprise. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which puts on the awards, had already said that her acceptance would be by video.
The entertainer announced on Sept. 28 that she was postponing an upcoming concert residency in Las Vegas to address health concerns. Her announcement became national news. Ten days later, she released a video attempting to clarify the situation and allay people’s fears.
But even though Parton wasn’t present at the event, her presence was strongly felt. Lily Tomlin, her co-star in the 1980 film Nine to Five, presented the award. Andra Day sang a soulful version of one of Parton’s most prized songs, “Jolene.” Fellow honoree Tom Cruise paid tribute to all of the night’s other honorees. Of Parton, he said: “American original, legendary singer/songwriter, actress, storyteller, humanitarian, your performances, your songs, your work, your soul, you’re part of the very fabric of all of our lives, and you show that compassion and creativity are not separate. They are the same burning light.”
Parton received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, “for her deep commitment to charitable efforts throughout her extraordinary career,” in the words of a keepsake handed out at the event. Other music stars who have received this award include Frank Sinatra (1970), Danny Kaye (1981), Quincy Jones (1994), Harry Belafonte (2014) and Debbie Reynolds (2015).
Cruise, choreographer Debbie Allen and production designer Wynn Thomas received honorary Oscar. Cruise’s award was presented “for his unwavering commitment to our filmmaking community, his vital support of the theatrical experience, and his unmatched body of work.” Allen’s was given “for her career as a trailblazing choreographer and actor. Her work across multiple disciplines has captivated and inspired generations.” Thomas’ award was “in recognition of artistic innovation, visionary eye and lasting influence in the field of production design.”
Here are seven highlights from the 2025 Governors Awards.
Will Arnett Tweaks the Event
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Paul McCartney will contribute a ‘silent’ track to a compilation album that is protesting the U.K. government’s recent changes to copyright law.
The LP Is This What We Want? was first released digitally in February and was co-signed by over a thousand U.K. artists. The LP runs for 47 minutes, and features the silence of an empty recording studio in order to highlight the need for human musicians in the age of artificial intelligence. The album’s track listing spells out the message: “The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies.”
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Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, Billy Ocean, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, and more were all credited as ‘co-writers’ of the LP. Upon release, it reached No. 38 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart.
McCartney’s contribution will appear as a bonus track to the physical edition of the LP, which will be released on Dec. 8 via record label The state51 Conspiracy. The vinyl is available for pre-order here, with all profits from sales to be donated to the musicians’ charity Help Musicians.
It’s not the first time that McCartney has protested against the U.K. government’s controversial approach to copyright law in the era of artificial intelligence. In May, McCartney was among 400 British musicians alongside Elton John, Dua Lipa, and Coldplay, to sign an open letter calling on U.K. prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to update copyright laws to protect their work from AI training models. They were backed by industry heavyweights Sir Lucian Grainge (Universal Music Group CEO), Jason Iley MBE (Sony Music UK CEO), and Dickon Stainer (Universal Music UK CEO) who also signed the letter.
The U.K. government proposed an ‘opt out’ approach for rightsholders in relation to their work being used to train artificial intelligence models. Critics say that the burden should not fall on artists to approve or deny tech companies the use their material, and that ‘opt out’ models are unenforceable.
During the summer, the U.K. government was involved in a ‘ping pong’ debacle whereby amendments to the Data (Use and Access) Bill proposed by the House of Lords were rejected five times. The amendments would have given rightsholders visibility over when their work was being used against their wishes by AI companies. The bill eventually passed and received Royal Assent in late June, and is expected to be be phased into law by mid-2026.
Ed Newton-Rex, the organizer of the album, said: “The government must commit to not handing the life’s work of the country’s musicians to AI companies for free. Doing so would be hugely damaging to our world-leading creative industries, and is totally unnecessary, only benefiting overseas tech giants. It should listen to Paul McCartney and the 1,000 other musicians who took part in this album, and resist calls to legalize music theft from the big tech lobby.”
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Deftones will return to Australia and New Zealand in 2026 for their first arena tour in nearly a decade, bringing Interpol and Ecca Vandal along for the ride.
The alt-rock band will hit the region in May for a run of five arena shows. The tour kicks off with back-to-back nights at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on May 2–3, then heads to Brisbane Entertainment Centre on May 6 and Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on May 9–10, before wrapping at Auckland’s Spark Arena on May 13.
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It marks Deftones’ first Australia and New Zealand tour in almost 10 years, underlining how rare a full-scale run from the band has become in the region. All shows will feature Interpol as special guests, with Melbourne artist Ecca Vandal opening.
Interpol’s inclusion brings a stack of indie-rock staples — from 2000s breakthrough “Obstacle 1” and “Evil” to songs from more recent albums — while Ecca Vandal has earned a reputation at home for fusing punk, hip-hop and electronic influences into high-energy sets.
The tour comes on the heels of Private Music, Deftones’ 10th studio album, released earlier this year. The set debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and bowed at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart, according to Billboard’s Chart Beat coverage, giving the band another top-tier rock debut after Diamond Eyes, Gore and Ohms all opened in the top 10.
Private Music also extended their streak on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, where the band has now logged multiple No. 1 entries. Across their career, Deftones have become one of heavy music’s most enduring crossover acts, with 2000’s White Pony earning a Grammy win and later albums like Diamond Eyes (No. 6), Koi No Yokan (No. 11), Gore (No. 2) and Ohms (No. 5) all landing high on the Billboard 200.
The general on-sale tickets go live Nov. 21, with various presales — including artist, promoter and venue offers — rolling out earlier that week.
Deftones 2026 Australia & New Zealand Tour DatesWith Interpol and Ecca Vandal
May 2 – Sydney, Qudos Bank Arena
May 3 – Sydney, Qudos Bank Arena
May 6 – Brisbane, Brisbane Entertainment Centre
May 9 – Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
May 10 – Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
May 13 – Auckland, Spark Arena
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Reneé Rapp is bringing her Bite Me era to Australia, locking in her first headline shows down under to bookend her AO Live debut at the Australian Open 2026.
Before her AO Live debut in Melbourne, Rapp will headline two exclusive Australian dates on her Bite Me Tour. She’ll play Brisbane’s Riverstage on Jan. 27, 2026, then Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Jan. 29, marking her first standalone shows in the country, ahead of her AO Live Presents: Reneé Rapp at Melbourne Park’s John Cain Arena on Jan. 31, prior to the Australian Open women’s final.
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The set is part of the AO Live concert series, where she joins a 2026 bill that also features The Kid LAROI, Spacey Jane, The Veronicas, SOFI TUKKER and Peggy Gou.
According to Ticketmaster, Mastercard cardholders and fans with access to the artist presale can jump in from Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 9 a.m. local time, followed by a Live Nation presale on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 10 a.m. General on-sale begins Friday, Nov. 21, at 10 a.m. All shows are mobile-ticket only, with a limit of 10 tickets per customer per show.
The Australian run extends Rapp’s busy Bite Me campaign. The album, released Aug. 1, 2025, became her first top 10 entry on the Billboard 200, where it debuted in the top three, and earned her first U.K. No. 1 album on the Official Albums Chart.
The project followed her 2023 debut Snow Angel, which reached No. 44 on the Billboard 200 and scored the biggest first week for a debut album by a female artist that year, helping establish Rapp as a rising pop force beyond her theater and TV fanbase.
Rapp has been touring heavily behind Bite Me across North America in 2025, with the trek scheduled to continue through Europe in March 2026 following her rescheduled U.S. dates this November after a short illness-related postponement.
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Dom Dolla has made history as the inaugural recipient of ARIA’s new Global Impact Award presented by Spotify, recognising his breakout success on the global dance circuit and his role in flying the flag for Australian electronic music abroad.
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The Australian Recording Industry Association announced the new category on Nov. 17, ahead of the 2025 ARIA Awards, where the Melbourne-raised DJ, producer and songwriter will receive the honor.
Announced Monday (Nov. 17), the new prize will debut at the 2025 ARIA Awards in partnership with Spotify, where the Australian DJ, producer and songwriter will be formally celebrated for a breakout period that’s pushed Australian dance music to new heights. The award is designed to sit alongside the ARIA Hall of Fame and is decided at the discretion of the ARIA board, spotlighting artists whose international achievements and cultural influence extend far beyond home soil. Aria
Over the past 12 months, Dom has stacked milestones across touring, charts and streaming. He earned his first Grammy nomination for best remixed recording at the 66th annual Grammy Awards for his rework of Gorillaz’s “New Gold,” featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown.
His 2024 national homecoming tour sold more than 170,000 tickets across four cities, marking the largest-ever run by an Australian electronic artist.
On the festival circuit, Dom has moved from late-night club slots to top lines at major global events, including Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza Chicago, Bonnaroo, Reading & Leeds and Creamfields, alongside a 10-week residency at Hï Ibiza, which has been billed as the world’s No. 1 club. He’s also set to take another leap at home with a headline show at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on Dec. 20 — his first Australian stadium date and another first for a local electronic artist.
Streaming metrics tell a similar story. According to ARIA, Dom has amassed more than 1.5 billion streams globally, including over 450 million Spotify streams this year alone, and regularly pulls in eight-figure monthly listeners on the platform. On Billboard’s dance charts, his recent collaboration with Kid Cudi, “Forever,” debuted in the top 10 of Hot Dance/Electronic Songs in April, underlining his growing footprint in the U.S. market.
The ARIA Global Impact Award presented by Spotify will be handed out during the 2025 ARIA Awards ceremony, which streams live from 5 p.m. AEDT on Nov. 19 via Paramount+, with additional coverage across ARIA’s official social channels.
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SNL has a country hit in the making with “I Miss My Ex’s Dad,” a musical parody starring new cast members Ben Marshall and Tommy Brennan as a convincing country duo. The pair reminisce about relationships lost in a pre-taped sketch that aired Saturday night (Nov. 15) on the late-night comedy show’s latest episode, hosted by actor Glen Powell.
“You ever miss someone much you lose sight of yourself?” Brennan asks at the bar.
“You think about them all the time and you wonder if life will ever seem normal again,” adds Marshall, sitting on the hood of a pickup truck.
“Haven’t felt the same since you’ve been gone/ Everyone else just feels so wrong/ By now I thought I’d be over you/ At the bottom of this bottle, I’ll know what to do/ I don’t know what else to say/ I just wanna hear about your day/ I can’t stop thinking ‘bout what we had,” they sing, and then comes the kicker comes in: “Oh man, I miss my ex’s dad.”
Glen Powell and Kenan Thompson play the beloved dads who’ve inspired the country duet.
“Your socks, your Crocs/ You’re the ideal male with your ponytail,” vocalists Marshall and Brennan lament on the chorus, which has the guys admitting, “I don’t miss his daughter at all, which I know is bad/ I just miss my ex’s dad.”
“Your grill, your Buick/ You’re the ideal man with your cardigans,” they sing later on. “Don’t remember his daughter’s name, which I know is bad/ I just miss my ex’s dad.”
As it turns out, the feeling is mutual. “I wish her new boyfriend was dead,” the dads (Powell and Thompson) sing.
Watch SNL‘s “I Miss My Ex’s Dad” music sketch below. Making her Saturday Night Live debut, Olivia Dean appeared as the actual musical guest on this weekend’s episode, performing “Man I Need” and “Let Alone the One You Love.”
