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Save this storySaveSave this storySaveThe staff of Pitchfork listens to a lot of new music. A lot of it. On any given day our writers, editors, and contributors go through an imposing number of new releases, giving recommendations to each other and discovering new favorites along the way. Each Monday, with our Pitchfork Selects playlist, we’re sharing what our writers are playing obsessively and highlighting some of the Pitchfork staff’s favorite new music. The playlist is a grab-bag of tracks: Its only guiding principle is that these are the songs you’d gladly send to a friend.This week’s Pitchfork Selects playlist features Perfume Genius, Benjamin Booker, Marie Davidson, Khadija Al Hanafi, Ex-Vöid, Michael Cera Palin, and more. Listen below and follow our playlists on Apple Music and Spotify. (Pitchfork earns a commission from purchases made through affiliate links on our site.)Pitchfork Selects: January 21, 2025Perfume Genius: “It’s a Mirror”Benjamin Booker: “Slow Dance in a Gay Bar”John Glacier: “Ocean Steppin’” [ft. Sampha]Oklou / Bladee: “Take Me by the Hand”Marie Davidson: “Demolition”Voice Actor / Squu: “Nekk”Khadija Al Hanafi: “!OK!”Teller Bank$ / Wino Willy: “TomFoolery” [ft. Ghais Guevara]Mac Miller: “Do You Have a Destination?”Kinky Friedman: “See You Down the Highway”Ex-Vöid: “In Love Again”Michael Cera Palin: “Wisteria”
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Stefon Diggs is out here having fun and showing love to rapper Sexyy Red’s music. While he and his brother Trevon were doing a photoshoot, Sexyy Red’s song “Get It Sexyy” came on, and they just started vibing to it. Stefon was dancing, and while the photographer flicked him up. Of course, the internet trolls had something to say, calling Stefon’s moves “sassy,” but honestly, who cares? Dude was just living in the moment.
This isn’t the first time Stefon has shown love to Sexyy Red’s tracks. He’s already shouted out her song “SkeeYee” after scoring a touchdown. So clearly, he’s a fan of her music.
Whether he’s dancing during a photoshoot or celebrating a TD, Stefon is just being himself and having a good time. People can talk all they want, but Stefon doesn’t care. He’s just vibing, and we’re here for it.
It’s been a rough season for Stefon Diggs. After tearing his ACL in that tough game against the Colts, he’s had to watch from the sidelines. The Texans also got knocked out by the Chiefs in the Divisional Round. But Texans fans aren’t giving up on him. They’ve been showing love, wishing him a fast recovery, and hoping he comes back next season. Everyone’s ready to see Diggs back on the field, stronger than ever, and ready to help lead the team to bigger wins. The city’s got his back and can’t wait for his return.
In the meantime, Stefon is keeping himself busy dancing to Sexyy’s anthem. Check out some of the reactions to Stefon Diggs dance moves below.
Jason Aldean is mashing the pedal this year, announcing the dates for his 2025 Full Throttle North American tour on Tuesday (Jan. 21). The Live Nation-produced outing is slated to kick off on May 23 at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH and take the “Try That in a Small Town” singer across the country to a mix of arena, amphitheater and stadium shows as he winds his way through an Oct. 4 gig at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL.
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The tour will feature opening acts Nate Smith, RaeLynn and Dee Jay Silver, and a previously announced co-headlining stadium show with Brooks & Dunn at Fenway Park in Boston on May 30. Tickets for the tour will go on sale first with an artist presale beginning on Wednesday (Jan. 22), with additional presales slated to run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale slated for Friday (Jan. 24) at 10 a.m. local time.
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According to the release announcing the tour, Aldean is currently in the studio working on new music. A recent interview with Hook & Barrel magazine revealed that the as-yet-untitled LP will feature 10 new songs, “one of which he promises will be another iconic” one of his anthems.
“We got a new one on the album, it’s just a powerful type of song that people are going to relate to,” he teased, adding, “and it has nothing to do with politics or any of those things.” The latter appeared to be a response to the controversy surrounding the video for “Small Town,” which was yanked by CMT in July 2023 after just a few days of airing. The clip features Aldean performing in front of a courthouse festooned with an American flag; the performance footage is interspersed with images of burning flags and protesters clashing with police and robbing a convenience store.
Some critics labeled the song and video as pro-gun and pro-violence, and akin to a “modern lynching song,” noting that it was filmed in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, TN, the site of the 1927 lynching and hanging of 18-year-old Henry Choate over allegations that he sexually assaulted a white girl, as well as the spot of a 1946 race riot in which two Black men were killed.
Speaking to the magazine, Aldean re-iterated that the song was not meant to stir a national discussion, but was a reflection of what he felt as going on in America at the time. “I don’t think that song came about because we were trying to step out there and do something that really moved the needle,” he said. “It was never intended to go in and specifically write something that was gonna stir the pot. It just came from a place of, this is on our mind. I’m 47 years old now, things change.”
Check out the dates for Aldean’s 2025 Full Throttle tour below.
May 23 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center &May 24 — Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage &May 25 — Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC &May 30 — Boston, MA @ Fenway Park #July 17 — Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center &July 18 — Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP &July 19 — St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre ^July 24 — Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater &July 25 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena ^July 26 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre ^Aug 7 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena &Aug 8 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center ^Aug 9 — Pittsburgh, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake &Aug 14 — Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion &Aug 15 — Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman @Aug 16 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center ^Aug 21 — Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park ^Aug 22 — Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion ^Aug 23 — Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre ^Sept 4 — Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena ^Sept 5 — Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center &Sept 11 — Detroit, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre &Sept 13 — Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre ^Sept 18 — Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena &Sept 19 — Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena &Sept 20 — Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford PREMIER Center &Sept 25 — Lafayette, LA @ CAJUNDOME &Sept 26 — Birmingham, AL @ Coca-Cola Amphitheater &Sept 27 — Charleston, SC @ Credit One Stadium &Oct 3 — Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre &Oct 4 — West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre @
( #) co-headline with Brooks & Dunn
(%) already on-sale
(&) on-sale Jan. 24
(^) on-sale Jan. 31
(@) on-sale Feb. 21
Lady Gaga has been teasing her next era for more nearly a year. And while Little Monsters are well aware that LG7 (as they’ve been referring to her as-yet-untitled seventh studio album) is due out next month, at press time no additional information was available on the LP’s specific release date or track listing.
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The good news is that some news appears to be on the horizon. Over the weekend, Gaga launched a countdown clock on her official website that is slated to run out at 11 a.m. ET on Monday (Jan. 27). While the site update didn’t reveal any actual details, eagle-eyed Monsters noticed that when you swiped the blue crystals on the screen with your mouse they revealed the phrase “LG1” in the signature font from Gaga’s early career The Fame era; in addition, the crystals also called back to the oversized, bejeweled glasses she wore on the cover of her 2008 debut album.
Gaga’s upcoming album will be her first full-length solo LP since 2020’s Chromatica. To date, she’s released several versions of the album’s first single, “Disease,” as well as her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash duet with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile,” which will be included in the new album’s tracklist. In a recent interview, the singer called LG7 a life-spanning project that she promised is “full of [her] love of music,” with “so many different genres, so many different styles, so many different dreams.”
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She also said the collection “leaps around genre in a way that’s almost corrupt. And it ends with love. That’s the answer to all the chaos in my life is that I find peace with love. Every song that I wrote, I just kept getting kind of swept away in these different dreams I was having about the past — almost like a recollection of all these bad decisions that I made in my life.”
The album will drop just before Gaga headlines this year’s Coachella Festival on April 11 and 18.
Gaga will take the stage alongside Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, a reunited No Doubt, Katy Perry, Jelly Roll, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews, Green Day and many more at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles fore the FireAid Benefit Concert on Jan. 30 to support victims of the ongoing wildfire crisis that has devastated the L.A. area over the past two weeks.
BERLIN — In June, the three major labels sued the generative AI music companies Udio and Suno for training their software on copyrighted music without a license. Now, GEMA, the German PRO, is also taking legal action against Suno, in a case filed today (Jan. 21) in the Munich Regional Court.
In an announcement, GEMA said that it documented that the Suno system outputs content that “largely corresponds to world-famous works whose authors GEMA represents,” including “Forever Young” by Alphaville, “Mambo No. 5” by Lou Bega and “Daddy Cool” by Milli Vanilli creator Frank Farian, among others.
“AI providers such as Suno Inc. use our members’ works without their consent and profit financially from them,” said GEMA CEO Tobias Holzmüller in the announcement. “GEMA is endeavoring to find solutions in partnership with the AI companies. But this will not work without adhering to the necessary basic rules of fair cooperation and, above all, it will not work without the acquisition of licenses.”
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This case is very different from the litigation Suno faces in the U.S., which is spearheaded by the RIAA and involves recorded music owned by the major labels. Assuming that Suno has indeed trained its software on copyrighted recordings, as seems likely, that case will involve a determination of whether this would qualify as “fair use” – the legal doctrine that allows the unlicensed use of copyrighted works in some situations, including quotation and criticism. That can be notoriously complicated and it involves both specific facts and case law. It can also involve a great deal of money, since statutory damages for willful copyright infringement can reach $150,000 per work.
GEMA’s case involves the copyrights to songs, which it represents as a PRO, rather than those of recordings. The relevant legislation would be the European Union’s AI and Copyright directives, which allow copyright owners to “opt out” of having their works scanned in order to train AI software, and require “fair remuneration” if they are used. This is one of the first big cases involving this issue in Europe, as well as the first against a big generative music company. Any damages would almost certainly be more modest than they would in the U.S., but the case could establish whether AI companies need to license copyrighted works for software training purposes. Whatever the result, it is easy to imagine it being appealed to higher courts in Germany.
In November, GEMA also sued OpenAI for using lyrics of songs to which GEMA has rights in order to train its AI software. That case, also filed with the Munich Regional Court, only involves lyrics.
In its announcement, GEMA said Suno “outputs content that obviously infringes copyrights.” However, the issue in this case is not this output, but rather the music Suno has scanned during the process of training its software. If Suno has indeed scanned music for training purposes, it would presumably be infringing the rights in the songs as well as the recordings. Although a U.S. court could determine that this is fair use, that doctrine is a feature of Anglo-American law – the UK and British Commonwealth countries have “fair dealing,” which is similar but more limited – European laws are more strict. The EU Copyright Directive lays out “exceptions and limitations” to copyright, but it also provides authors and rightsholders the ability to opt-out of having their work scanned – or, as is more likely, to opt out until a license agreement is reached.
“The lawsuit against Suno Inc. is part of an overall concept of measures taken by GEMA,” said GEMA general counsel Kai Welp in the announcement of the case, “at the end of which there will be fair treatment of authors and their remuneration.”
Among the flurry of executive orders signed by President Trump on his first day in office was one stating that the United States would recognize only two sexes: male and female. The controversial order requires the U.S. government to use the term “sex” rather than “gender” — with Trump explaining during his inaugural address that, “this week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”
He added, “We will forge a society that is color blind and merit-based. … As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”
The order — one of more than 100 signed by Trump on day one — immediately drew backlash from the LGBTQ community and allies, including Ariana Grande, who shared an Instagram Story supporting the trans community following a 2024 election cycle in which the Trump campaign spent more than $21 million on anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ messaging.
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First, Grande re-posted a statement from Advocates for Trans Equality which read: “Today is a tough day for our community. The incoming administration campaigned on attacking trans people’s lives, healthcare and dignity and we’re bracing ourselves for what these extremists will try to do next. No matter what comes, we will protect each other.”
A second post from the organization defiantly predicted that the new administration’s stated agenda to roll-back many of the progressive, inclusive policies of the outgoing Biden administration would not deter them from their mission. “The incoming Trump administration, and the Project 2025 extremists who will staff it, are reacting to decades of progress made by our LGBTQI+ community by trying to drag us backward. But we have fought even harder battles before, and won. We’ll do it again.”
Grande, who has long been a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ community, also included a screenshot from Trump’s inaugural address announcing the “two gender” rule with a re-post from A Bit Fruity podcast host Matt Bernstein, who wrote, “Okay, sure, whatever you say. But let’s be very clear: queer and trans people were here before donald trump and will continue to be here after he’s dead. whether or not you want us to exist is secondary to the simple fact that we do. the sun does not care if you sign an executive order telling it to stop rising each morning. it just continues to rise.”
According to the NIH, sex refers to biological characteristics, while gender refers to characteristics encompassing “gender identity and expression, as well as social and cultural expectations about status, characteristics and behavior as they are associated with certain sex traits.” The new order requires the government to use “sex” rather than “gender,” and mandates that ID documents issued by the government, such as passports and visas, be based on what it describes as “an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female.”
The Human Rights Campaign vowed to fight the Trump administration’s attempt to roll back the rights or trans Americans, with the group’s president Kelly Robinson writing that, “Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect in all areas of their lives. No one should be subjected to ongoing discrimination, harassment and humiliation where they work, go to school, or access healthcare. But today’s executive actions targeting the LGBTQ+ community serve no other purpose than to hurt our families and our communities.”
The post noted that the order will take time to go into effect — while vowing to do “everything possible to protect our communities” — promising that the HRC’s lawyers are analyzing the wording now and will fight back against the executive order in the courts and in Congress. “We are not going anywhere,” the post added. “And we will fight back against these harmful provisions with everything we’ve got.”
The post included an additional encouraging message in the caption: “Let’s love and uplift each other today and every day with open hearts like never before.”
The band Garbage also reacted to Trump’s edict, writing on Instagram: “Queer, trans, intersex and non binary peoples have existed since the dawn of time. They will continue to exist whether you choose to recognize this or not. They will exist long past the current administration and long past all of our lifetimes. An enormous shout out to so many of our beautiful friends who have to wake up this morning feeling pressured and fearful. We stand with you all. You belong in this world as much as anyone else does. Of course you all know this. Only an uneducated person or an unnecessarily cruel person would think otherwise.We send you our love this morning and every morning.”
The post ended with a positive message to the group’s many trans and queer fans. “You go on being beautiful you,” it read. “That’s what you do. Go baby go. We are right behind you.”
GLAAD also reacted to Trump’s comments, writing on Instagram, “When he says Make America Great Again, he clearly doesn’t mean it for all Americans.” That statement drew commentary from a couple of RuPaul’s Drag Race stars, including Niecy Nash, who posted a, “Nuh-uh” gif, while Cynthia Lee Fontaine added, “Trash. But we will continue to ensure we will continued with our rights. We will NOT be silent.”
Drag Race judge Michelle Visage also weighed in, writing in all caps, “YOU WILL NOT ERASE MY CHILD YOU POS.”
FanDuel and Spotify are teaming up for the ultimate Super Bowl bash with an invite-only event in New Orleans featuring performances by Blink-182, Megan Thee Stallion and DJ Pee .Wee (a.k.a Anderson .Paak), Billboard can exclusively announce. The party, powered by in-house music agency Spotify AUX, will take place Friday (Feb. 7), just two days […]
Coldplay’s Chris Martin thanked his Indian audience on Saturday (Jan. 18) for “forgiving” British colonialism, as the band’s Music Of The Spheres dates kicked off in Mumbai. The band performed at DY Patil stadium in Mumbai to 75,000 fans, where Martin expressed his gratitude for a warm welcome, despite Britain’s past colonial rule in India. […]
Green Day delivered a politically charged performance during their Jan. 19 concert at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium, marking their debut in South Africa.
While performing their iconic 2004 hit “American Idiot,” frontman Billie Joe Armstrong swapped the lyric “I’m not a part of the redneck agenda” with “I’m not a part of the Elon agenda,” a direct jab at billionaire Elon Musk, who was born in Pretoria.
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The show in South Africa, part of the Calabash 2025 festival, saw Green Day headlining alongside The Offspring and local punk heroes Fokofpolisiekar.
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The jab at Musk comes amidst controversy surrounding the billionaire’s behavior at Trump’s second inauguration.
During his speech at the celebration, Musk made a hand gesture that sparked widespread online comparisons to a Nazi salute. Critics lambasted the gesture, while Musk dismissed the criticism, calling it a “tired” attack. The Anti-Defamation League ultimately described the gesture as an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm” rather than malicious intent, but the incident added to the polarizing figure’s contentious reputation.
This isn’t the first time Green Day has called out Musk; after their 2023 New Year’s Rockin’ Eve performance, where they altered the lyrics of “American Idiot” to say “I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda,” Musk criticized the band on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Green Day goes from raging against the machine to milquetoastedly raging for it.”
In response, bassist Mike Dirnt quipped as per The Independent, “Elon Musk actually is the machine. I can’t take anything else from that. He’s not shy about saying stupid s**t on the internet. Whatever. The song’s twenty years old, and we’re Green Day. What did you expect?”
Musk is yet to comment on their latest jab.
Green Day has a long history of challenging political figures through their music. The band famously chanted “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” during their performance at the 2016 American Music Awards. In 2023, they released the “Ultimate Nimrod” t-shirt, featuring Trump’s mugshot styled after their Nimrod album cover, with proceeds supporting Maui wildfire relief efforts.
“Good Riddance. The ultimate Nimrod shirt is available for 72 hours only,” Green Day posted at the time. “Limited edition shirt proceeds will be donated to…[Greater Good Music], a charity which is bringing food to those affected by the Maui wildfires.”
Armstrong has also been vocal in urging fans to vote for progressive candidates, recently endorsing Kamala Harris for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
As Green Day continues their tradition of blending music and activism, they’ve also maintained their stature as one of the most influential punk bands on the Billboard charts.
Their Grammy-winning album American Idiot debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2004 and has sold over seven million copies in the U.S. alone. “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” one of the band’s most enduring hits, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Wake Me Up When September Ends” reached No. 6. Their follow-up album, 21st Century Breakdown, also debuted at No. 1 in 2009, continuing their legacy of chart dominance.
Travis Scott appeared at the College Football Playoff National Championship halftime show on Jan. 20, where he debuted his new song “4×4” atop Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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The performance at the Notre Dame and Ohio State game marked Scott’s first solo release since 2023’s Utopia and offered fans a glimpse of what’s to come from the chart-topping rapper.
The single, set to officially release on Jan. 24, will be accompanied by a philanthropic initiative. Scott announced that 100% of the net proceeds from special merchandise—a shirt and zip hoodie honoring Los Angeles’ first responders—will benefit Direct Relief’s California Wildfire Response Fund. You can pre-save at shop.travisscott.com. A CD single for “4×4,” also available for pre-order, will contribute to the same cause.
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Performing on a custom stage built on the roof of Mercedes-Benz Stadium during the game’s halftime show, fans were treated to a preview of “4×4” following Scott’s teasing the debut on social media, in the lead-up to the performance.
In addition to his performance at the College Football Playoff National Championship, Scott previewed “4×4” during an appearance on WWE’s Monday Night Raw, which is set to become the official theme song for Raw.
Scott’s return to the spotlight follows a series of Billboard milestones. Utopia, his fourth consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, delivered some of his biggest hits to date and spent four consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking the first hip-hop release to spend more than a single week atop the chart in over a year. The album’s tracks, including “Meltdown” featuring Drake (No. 3) and “Fe!n” featuring Playboi Carti (No. 5), dominated the Billboard Hot 100.
His previous album Astroworld spent multiple non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, making it one of the longest-running number-one rap albums of its decade. Back in 2020, Scott became the first artist to have three songs debut at number one on the Hot 100 in less than a year.
With “4×4” on the horizon, fans and critics alike are eager to see how the single will perform on the charts and whether it signals the arrival of his highly anticipated fifth studio album.
Scott’s philanthropic efforts join other artists supporting victims of the Los Angeles wildfires, with several participating in the FireAid benefit concert on Jan. 30. The star-studded FireAid lineup includes the likes of Billie Eilish and Finneas, Olivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams, Green Day, Gwen Stefani, Jelly Roll, Joni Mitchell, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Baby, Pink, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rod Stewart, Sting, Stephen Stills, Stevie Nicks, and Tate McRae.