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SYDNEY — Australia’s federal parliament has passed legislation that will enforce content quotas for popular streaming video on-demand platforms.
Earlier this month, the national government announced it would push ahead with quotas, that would require those services with over 1 million domestic subscribers to invest 10% of total program expenditure for Australia, or 7.5% of their total Australian revenue, to support local storytelling.
Now those points become law.
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There’s a strong incentive to play by the rules. The Bill provides the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) with “substantial powers” to determine compliance. Failure to do so would see the streaming businesses face large civil penalties, with fines of up to ten times their annual Australian revenues.
“We have Australian content requirements on free-to-air television and pay television, but until now, there has been no guarantee that we could see our own stories on streaming services,” comments Australia’s arts minister Tony Burke. “Streaming services create extraordinary shows, and this legislation ensures Australian voices are now front and centre. Now, no matter which remote control you’re holding, Australian stories will be at your fingertips.”
With that investment, the likes of Netflix, Disney, Amazon and other SVOD services operating in these parts will be compelled to create more local content, from drama, children’s programming, documentaries, arts programs and educational shows.
“Today marks a watershed moment for Australian storytelling and the music that brings screen stories to life,” reads a statement from Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS. “This legislation means local composers will have unprecedented opportunities to contribute to the next era of local screen creation.”
Passing in parliament on Thursday night, Nov. 27, the Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill 2025 should create “substantial new opportunities” for Australian screen composers and music creators, according to APRA AMCOS.
Eligible programs must pass the scrutiny of the Australian Content Test Standards (ACTTS), which sets the bar applied to commercial and subscription television services, including post-production in Australia.
Additionally, the legislation has been supported by the Greens and includes an extra A$50 million ($32 million) in funding for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) to invest in homemade children’s and drama content.
“Screen music is fundamental to storytelling – it drives emotional connection and defines the cultural fingerprint of Australian productions,” adds Ormston. “The IP developed by our screen composers represents valuable cultural and economic assets that resonate with audiences both here and around the world.”
Screen Producers Australia welcomed the development. “Today is a landmark day for Australian screen storytelling,” remarks SPA CEO Matthew Deaner, nothing the organization’s members had worked “patiently and tirelessly” on the issue for more than 10 years, roughly the time when Netflix switched on. “It finally puts in place a strong starting point for a regulatory framework that responds to the enormous changes that digital streaming platforms have made to our industry dynamics and viewing habits.
Adds Australian Writers’ Guild CEO Claire Pullen: “This is a watershed moment for Australia’s screen industry. This will give our members and the entire creative community more certainty around their careers, and the industry here at home.”
The new rules should’ve been implemented in 2024 but were delayed over concerns on how they might create a stumbling block for Australia’s trade agreement with the United States.
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Like magic, the soundtrack for Wicked: For Good materializes at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
For Good is, of course, the sequel to Wicked, the soundtrack for which peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Chart in December 2024, and bounces on the latest frame, up 30-15.
Co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo contribute vocals to many of the 11 new tracks, including “Every Day More Wicked,” “Wonderful” and the closer, “For Good”. Although not a Grande solo effort, Wicked: For Good marks the sixth time she has appeared at No. 1 on the ARIA Chart, following My Everything (from 2014), Dangerous Woman (2016), Sweetener (2018), Thank U, Next (2019) and Eternal Sunshine (2024), which holds at No. 29 on the current chart. For Erivo, it’s her first stint in the Australian chart penthouse.
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Also new to the tally, published Friday, Nov. 28, is Australian pop-punk band SoSo’s So Much For Second Chances, new at No. 4. “We are absolutely blown away,” reads a statement from the band. “This is something we are incredibly proud of and we owe it all to our SoSo Crew: you know who you are!”
Produced by Stevie Knight (Yours Truly, Stand Atlantic, Between You & Me), Second Chances could be closely followed by new music. “This means so much to us as an independent band,” the statement continues, “we can’t wait to share what we have cooking up next.”
Melbourne rockers The Smith Street Band bag a ninth top 50 album with Once I Was Wild, new at No. 14, while Midnight Til Morning are close behind with their debut EP, Afterglow, new at No. 16. The pop-punk outfit was formed during the Netflix competition series Building The Band. Despite being eliminated in the semis, the group has enjoyed international success, including sold-out shows in North America, the U.K. and Europe, and in Australia, the homeland of bandmates Conor Smith and Mason Watts. Midnight Til Morning are signed to and managed by Michael Chugg’s Chugg Music.
The Fab Four make another impression on the Australian chart as the fourth and latest instalment of the Beatles‘ Anthology series starts at No. 20. The first, Anthology 1, led the chart for two weeks in 1995, the year in which the original eight-part TV series aired. Anthology 2 hit No. 2 the following year and Anthology 3 peaked at No. 3 later in 1996. All four of the albums are packaged as the Anthology Collection, new at No. 32. According to ARIA, the Beatles have notched 14 No. 1s on the national albums chart.
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Olivia Dean retains top spot for a second week with “Man I Need,” which she performed at the 2025 ARIA Awards in Sydney, and again for a special open-air concert at Fleet Steps. The English singer’s former No. 1 album, The Art of Loving, enjoys a lot of love in these parts, lifting 4-2. Also, Dean’s “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” (up 5-4 ), “Nice To Each Other” (up 9-8) and “Let Alone The One You Love” (up 36-25) are all on the move, each improving to new peak positions.
The top debut this week belongs to K-pop boyband Stray Kids, with Do It. It’s new at No. 10, the group’s best chart performance in Australia, easily eclipsing the No. 64 peak for 2023’s Lalalala. Stray Kids have an Aussie connection: Felix was born in Sydney and Bangchan was born in Seoul, raised in Sydney.
Canadian singer and writer Tate McRae lands another top 20 start with “Nobody’s Girl,” at No. 19.
And finally, Tame Impala is, once again, the only homegrown artist with a single in the top 50, as “Dracula” dips 28-33.
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Richard Branson has remembered his late wife Joan Templeman as the “shining star” around which the Branson “family’s universe has always orbited.”
In a pair of posts on Instagram, Branson, the British businessman who founded the Virgin Group and launched scores of recording careers through his labels Virgin Records and V2, said he was “devastated” at the death of Templeman, aged 80.
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“Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away,” he writes. “She was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for. She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world. Love you forever, Joan.”
The pair married on Necker island in 1989, owned by Branson, and had three children three children — Holly, Sam, and Clare Sarah, who died after four days — and five grandchildren.
In a followup post, Branson writes of her “radiant smile,” her joyfulness, kindness and her nurturing instincts. “Life will never be the same without her. But we have fifty incredible years of memories – years filled with tears and laughter, kindness, and a love that shaped our family more than words could ever capture. It was a relationship that worked. We just had lots of laughs. We were very lucky.”
Branson met his wife back in 1976 at the Manor, Virgin Records’ live-in recording studio. He fell for her “almost from the moment I saw her,” he wrote on his blog in 2020. “Joan was a down-to-earth Scottish lady and I quickly realized she wouldn’t be impressed by my usual antics.”
Templeman was, in his mind, Branson’s better half. “Joan has always been a steady source of wisdom and has played no small part in some of my better life decisions.” It was Templeman who convinced Branson to buy Necker island, for a knockdown price, which he went on to describe as “one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Although the cause of death has yet to be announced, Branson confirms he was by Templeman’s side when she passed “quickly and painlessly”.
Joan’s “light is not gone,” he continues. “It’s just taken on a new shape. It will guide us forward. And we will carry her with us, always.”
Branson is considered one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs. He founded the Virgin brand with Nik Powell in the early 1970s, initially with Virgin Records, before expanding into other industries including air travel, record stores, hotels, wines, space tourism and more. He sold Virgin Records to Thorn EMI in 1992 for £560 million ($804 million), and continued to own the Virgin Megastores music retail chain until 2007, when the market for CDs was in a state of collapse.
Branson and Virgin Group returned to the record business in November 1996 with the launch of the indie label V2. Virgin Group sold a chunk in V2 Records to Morgan Stanley in 2002, and disposed its remaining stake to the U.S. investment bank in May 2006. UMG reached an agreement to buy V2 from Morgan Stanley later that year.
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Eleven, Steve Harrington, Max Mayfield and all the favorites from Stranger Things are back in our lives, as the beloved sci-fi series rolls out for a fifth season.
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From today, Nov. 28, fans everywhere can also soak up tunes from the latest episodes.
The digital edition of Season 5, Volume 1 premieres today, and includes pop and rock classics by ABBA, Michael Jackson, The Psychedelic Furs, Tiffany and others.
Volume 2 will drop online Dec. 26, and Volume 3 will arrive Jan. 1, 2026, collecting all three volumes with additional material.
Then, on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, the complete Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 5 will be available on CD, vinyl and red cassette configurations, through Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment. Colored vinyl formats include standard black, Amazon’s exclusive red smoke, Target’s exclusive blue smoke, Walmart’s exclusive orange marble, and the Sony Music Store’s marble yellow exclusive.
The three-stage release mirrors the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, which is staggered with three volumes, led off by the first four episodes which premiered Wednesday, Nov. 26.
Netflix gave fans a taste of things to come with the engrossing official trailer that debuted in October, and features a remix of Queen’s “Who Wants To Live Forever,” a tear-jerker that originally appeared in Russell Mulcahy’s ‘80s sci-fi action film Highlander.
The Duffer Brothers and two-time Grammy nominee and Emmy winner Nora Felder conceptualized and produced the soundtrack album, which can be pre-ordered here.
Since its first season in 2016, Stranger Things has taken millions back to the ‘80s, into the Upside Down, and, along the way, flourished as a cultural phenomenon.
Where the show has launched the careers of its young actors, and pushed several of its veteran cast into the spotlight, its creators have also found a sweet spot with its soundtrack. Season Four reenergized Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” into a global, chart-topping smash, and the use of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in a pivotal scene during the season finale powered the rock song into the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.
Tracklist – Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 5, Vol. 1
1. “Rockin’ Robin” — Michael Jackson
2. “I Think We’re Alone Now” -– Tiffany
3. “Fernando” -– ABBA
4. “Mr. Sandman” — The Chordettes
5. “Pretty In Pink” — The Psychedelic Furs
6. “Sh-Boom” — The Chords
7. “Oh Yeah” — Yello
8. “To Each His Own” (Inspired by the Paramount Picture To Each His Own) — Freddy Martin & His Orchestra *
* Not included in Vinyl & cassette configurations
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Post Malone used his halftime spot at the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving home game Thursday night (Nov. 27) to pay tribute to Marshawn Kneeland, the late Cowboys defensive end.
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“We love you, 94,” Posty said near the end of his three-song medley at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, referencing the number Kneeland wore during his two seasons with the Cowboys. “We love you.”
The “Rockstar” singer also sported a No. 94 pin on his blue and white satin jacket for the Cowboys’ duel with Kansas City Chiefs.
Kneeland died by a gunshot to the head earlier this month, at the age of just 24. His death is being investigated as a suicide.
A product of Western Michigan Broncos, the footballer earned second-team Mid-American Conference (MAC) honors in 2023, and, the following year, was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the NFL draft.
For Posty, the high-profile gig was a triumphant homecoming. The celebrated hip-hop artist (real name: Austin Post) was raised in Grapevine, Texas, and his dad, Rich Post, was assistant director of food and beverage at the stadium from 2005 to 2019.
“I’m from Texas. I grew up a Cowboys fan and have been watching this halftime show for years,” Malone commented in a statement published on the Cowboys’ official site. “It’s a real honor to be part of the Red Kettle Kickoff with The Salvation Army and the Dallas Cowboys and help bring hope to so many people.”
For the big show, Posty powered through “Wrong Ones,” “Wow” and “I Had Some Help.”
Malone’s Thanksgiving thank-you might’ve done enough to lifted his beloved franchise, as the Cowboys ran out winners 31-28.
Post doesn’t pass on the opportunity to perform under the bright lights of the NFL. His previous football gigs include the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans’ Christmas Day show last year; he performed before the 2024 Super Bowl when he sang “America the Beautiful,” and earlier in the year he headlined the Super Bowl 59 YouTube tailgate concert.
See clips from Post Malone’s halftime performance below.
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Franz Ferdinand and Donald Trump share almost nothing in common, apart from their Scottish heritage, and an unexpected interaction on social media.
The alternative rock outfit is currently in Australia for a national tour, kicking Wednesday, Nov. 26 at Red Hill Auditorium in Perth, Western Australia, and visiting Brisbane, Thirroul and Melbourne, before wrapping up in Sydney.
As the “Take Me Out” singers bang the drum for those dates, frontman Alex Kapronos stopped by Triple M for a chat with WA-based breakfast show hosts Robbie & Carly.
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Conversation, naturally, turned to the weather — where the band has come from, and the blazing heat they’ve arrived in — and the political climate.
The band penned the 2016 track “Demagogue” when Trump was still a candidate for the presidential election, which he went on to win, against most political observers’ predictions.
With “Demagogue,” Franz Ferdinand proved once more that Scots don’t mince their words.
“From the wall straight to la cuenta/Those pussy grabbing fingers won’t let go of me now,” the sing early on. And later, “From the mob to chapter eleven/Those tiny vulgar fingers on the nuclear bomb.”
When asked the band had heard from Trump’s camp, Kapronos quipped: “He’s a sensitive chap, isn’t he? When we wrote that song, he was only just going forward as a candidate. We were writing from the perspective of, ‘Oh God, imagine if…’ And here we are… we don’t need to imagine anymore.”
Kapronos “didn’t hear anything back from him personally, although years ago he replied to a tweet of mine, which was bizarre,” he reveals. Also, one of Trump’s daughters “crashed backstage at one of our shows back in 2004,” he recounts. “It was like, ‘Who’s this woman in our dressing room?’”
The band has begun their tour down under at the best possible time. “We left a very rainy, cold, dark Europe to come to a beautiful springtime Australia — and you feel that energy,” Kapronos remarks. “It lifts you up. Even if you’re hungover or jet-lagged, the energy of the crowd is transformative.”
Also, Kapranos notes, the group’s Perth show will something of a family affair. “My sister’s husband is a Perth boy, so we know quite a few folk here. I think we’ve got a guest list of 60! Perth feels like nowhere else on earth: the trees, the plants, the wildlife, it’s so unique.”
Formed in Glasgow in 2002, Franz Ferdinand has landed seven U.K. top 10 albums, including a No. 1 with 2005’s You Could Have It So Much Better, and scooped best British group and best rock act at the BRIT Award in the same year.
Their U.S. chart story includes two hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and five appearances on the Billboard 200, including two top 10s.
Stream the Triple M interview here.
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Olivia Dean spoke, Ticketmaster has taken action.
Last Friday, Nov. 21, the English artist took a moment out of her busy scheduled to lay one on Ticketmaster, Live Nation and AEG Presents for the resale ticket prices to her 2026 North American tour.
Tickets to her The Art of Loving Tour went on sale to the general public that day, and sold out in minutes. Though, with some resale prices climbing into the thousands of dollars, Dean had some harsh words.
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“@Ticketmaster @Livenation @AEGPresents you are providing a disgusting service,” she wrote on Instagram Stories. “The prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes. Live music should be affordable and accessible and we need to find a new way of making that possible. BE BETTER.”
Ticketmaster is trying to “do better,” by capping all future ticket resale prices for the tour on its platform and refunding fans for any markup they already paid to resellers on Ticketmaster.
According to a statement from Ticketmaster, which merged with Live Nation in 2010, Ticketmaster has activated its Face Value Exchange for the tour, with immediately effect, and without transfer restrictions. That move should ensure that any future ticket sales on its site are capped at the original price paid — with no added fees, the message continues.
Refunds will be processed by Dec. 10, the company insists, though may take additional days to post, depending on individual banks.
“We share Olivia’s desire to keep live music accessible and ensure fans have the best access to affordable tickets,” comments Michael Rapino, CEO, Live Nation Entertainment. “While we can’t require other marketplaces to honor artists’ resale preferences,” Rapino adds, “we echo Olivia’s call to ‘Do Better’ and have taken steps to lead by example. We hope efforts like this help fans afford another show they’ve been considering—or discover someone new.”
The ticketing giant shared some insights into sales for the tour, for which demand was so “high,” the artist added three additional nights at the Madison Square Garden.
After reviewing all sales, reads Ticketmaster’s message, less than 20% of primary tickets were listed for resale –“showing that Olivia’s demand was driven by genuine fans who intend to go to the show rather than resellers out for profit.”
Dean had been opening for Sabrina Carpenter on the final leg of the U.S. singer’s Short n’ Sweet Tour, and announced her own North American headlining trek earlier in November.
A London native, Dean’s star has been on the rise of late, thanks in part to her Saturday Night Live debut Nov. 15, and her subsequent trip to Australia, where she performed an exclusive open-air show in Sydney and at the 2025 ARIA Awards.
That whistlestop trip down under translated immediately into a No. 1 on the ARIA Chart, as “Man I Need,” lifted 2-1 for the very first time. Dean currently has four tracks on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Man I Need” at No. 5. The 26-year-old’s The Art of Loving album is also slotted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 dated Nov. 22.
Dean’s 2026 tour kicks off in the U.K. and Europe, beginning with Glasgow, Scotland, in April, and wraps June 20 in Dublin. Her U.S. summer trek is slated to kick off in San Francisco on July 10, and she’ll be making stops in Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Toronto, Las Vegas, Boston, Houston and finish up in Austin on Aug. 28.
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Sydney hardcore punk band SPEED has collected the NSW Music Prize, Australia’s most lucrative music awards, presented for the first time this week, while BARKAA and Ninajirachi continued their respective winning streaks.
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Established by the Minns Labor government of New South Wales to “celebrate and inspire local musicians” and strengthen the music industry “in the face of increasing competition from overseas,” the A$160,000 ($104,000) prize pool is split among three categories.
SPEED nabbed top honors for Only One Mode via Last Ride Records (AANZ) and Flatspot Records (worldwide), their debut album from 2024, which impacted the top 10 on the ARIA Albums Chart, debuting at No. 10.
The group, led by Jem Siow (vocals), Aaron Siow (bass), Josh Clayton (guitar), Dennis Vichidvongsa (guitar), and Kane Vardon (drums), has since released the three-track EP All My Angles, with live shows rocking across Australia this December.
An expert panel decided Only One Mode was the release that had “the most significant impact” during the voting period.
“Respectfully,” reads a statement from the band, which bags the A$80,000 ($52,000) winner’s check, “our culture has never been a game nor a competition. But we are honored to receive this recognition and see this as acknowledgment of the values cultivated by the passionate souls around us.”
Meanwhile, BARKAA was awarded the NSW First Nations Music Prize for Big Tidda (Big Apples Music/Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia). Just last week, BARKAA scooped best hip hop/rap release at the 2025 ARIA Awards, becoming the first Indigenous female artist to do so.
After bagging a hattrick of pointy trophies last week at the ARIAs, Ninajirachi backed it up with the NSW breakthrough artist of the year award for “girl EDM” (NLV Records), a salute to an emerging NSW-based artist or act who has had “a groundbreaking 12 months”. The homegrown EDM producer, songwriter and artist has been shining on the awards circuit in recent weeks and months, winning the Australian Music Prize, triple j’s J Award for album of the year, and more.
Recipients of the First Nations and breakthrough artist prizes are each awarded A$40,000 ($26,000).
“These talented and hard-working NSW musicians deserve this recognition,” comments NSW Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham. “These awards are about putting the spotlight on NSW, so fans have a chance to celebrate the local music scene. This will give these artists a big career boost, and I also hope it will inspire the next generation to aim high.”
Adds Graham, “the streaming revolution is pushing more American music to Australian listeners. This award is part of our effort support local musicians to cut through and build a fan base.”
All told, 15 acts were nominated for the prize, delivered by Sound NSW, with winners announced Monday, Nov. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney.
NSW Music Prize 2025 finalists and winners:
3% – Kill the Dead
BARKAA – Big Tidda
Kobie Dee – Chapter 26
Ninajirachi- girl EDM
ONEFOUR- Look At Me Now
Party Dozen- Crime in Australia
RÜFÜS DU SOL – Inhale / Exhale
Shady Nasty – Trek
SPEED – Only One Mode (WINNER)
Vv Pete & Utility – Varvie World
NSW Breakthrough Artist of Year 2025
Don West
Ninajirachi (WINNER)
Royel Otis
Shady Nasty
SPEED
NSW First Nations Music Prize 2025
3% – Kill the Dead
BARKAA – Big Tidda (WINNER)
Djanaba – Did I Stutter?
Stiff Gins – Crossroads
Ziggy Ramo – Human?
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While many of us are kicking back, feet up and chomping down on roast turkey with all the trimmings, Bunnie Xo is on a different type of mission this Thanksgiving.
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Bunnie is knuckling down to help women escaping domestic violence.
The podcaster and her team are providing Thanksgiving dinner and care packages for women in transitional housing at the Mary Parrish Center, in search of a fresh start, a safer life.
“Thanksgiving is about giving back. And that’s exactly what we’re doing today,” Bunnie tells Extra.
Bunnie tells Extra she knows from experience how tough it can be out there. “Going through a situation personally around 2013 to 2016 with my own domestic violence relationship has just made this mission for myself,” she remarks, “even more of wanting to give back and wanting to be there for the women and the children that are going through this because I know how hard it is to get out.”
Now happily married now to country star Jelly Roll, Bunnie hasn’t forgotten those harrowing days, which she recounts in her new book “Stripped Down.”
As Thanksgiving approaches, Bunnie shared a stark image of spousal abuse — a photo of her with a swollen black eye. The intention of posting the shocking photo, she says, is “that women could see like, ‘Okay, she’s been where I’m at and she gets it.’ I want somebody that I can relate to, and I hope that these women know that I have been exactly where they are and I just want to lift them up and just make them feel so good and loved and know that they’re doing the right thing.”
She adds, “I just want them to keep going. Don’t ever look back. Smash the rearview mirror.”
Just a week ago, Bunnie put up her hand and confessed to some past errors of her own, which could result in jail time. Speaking on her Dumb Blonde podcast, the host admitted that she has to turn herself in to serve time for unknowingly driving for years with a suspended license, those issues apparently tying back to a minor driving incident from half a decade ago.
“I got my lawyer on it, whatever,” she explained. “It looks like your girl is gonna have to go book herself in. If I do — you guys have seen all my past mug shots — I’m going in glammed the f–k up, baby, and I’m going to vlog it.”
Watch the full piece on Bunnie’s Thanksgiving mission below on Extra, now in its 32nd with host Derek Hough.
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The world’s not all bad. Consider, the holiday season is approaching. A brand new year is coming soon. And De La Soul have a new album out.
Cabin in the Sky is the U.S. hip-hop veterans’ ninth studio album, and their first since the death of David “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur, who passed away unexpectedly in 2023, and features previously unreleased vocals from the rapper.
On Tuesday night, Nov. 25, De La Soul stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live for a medley of cuts from Cabin in the Sky, the followup to 2016’s And the Anonymous Nobody, which opened and peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200.
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Kelvin “Posdnuos” Mercer and Vincent “Maseo” Mason were in the house for a bouncing one-two hit of “Run It Back” and “The Package,” the latter complemented by a swinging brass section and visuals inspired by the LP’s heavenly cover art.
Pos and Maseo recently dropped by Billboard’s offices for a photo shoot, an interview and their thoughts on losing their bandmate.
“I’m feeling absolutely beautiful. I’m really happy and proud of this album, proud of all we’ve accomplished,” remarked Pos. “When you get to that finish line and you’ve realized things that you’ve had in your mind are now manifested — and I feel strongly about this album obviously because it’s the first album we’ve done without Dave — but it’s here in the physical and I can say without question [Dave] is here, his spirit, his energy, it’s very much a part of this album.”
Pos continued, “anything that he had placed in certain songs that we chose to use, all of that is felt. In that regard alone, that’s a success. But I really, really feel like De La fans are going to love this album.”
De La Soul will head out on the road next year, including a headline performance Feb. 27, 2026 at Droppin’ Science hip-hop night in Melbourne, Australia and a spot at Hamburg, Germany’s Old But Gold Festival July 26.
Watch the late-night performance in full below.
