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The producers of SNL50: The Anniversary Special, the three-and-a-half-hour salute to Saturday Night Live, which aired on NBC on Sunday (Feb. 16), had five decades of music to draw on for the handful of music performance spots on the show, but chose music from the 1960s to both open and close the show. Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter opened the show with Simon & Garfunkel’s 1966 classic “Homeward Bound.” Paul McCartney closed the show with the prized closing medley from The Beatles’ 1969 album, Abbey Road.
On the Grammy Awards two weeks earlier, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars bypassed their own Grammy-nominated (and ultimately, Grammy-winning) smash “Die With a Smile” to perform the Mamas and the Papas’ 1966 smash “California Dreamin’” as a tribute to Los Angeles, which was battered by wind-whipped fires in January.
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On the upcoming Oscars, A Complete Unknown, the hit biopic about Bob Dylan which focuses on the period between 1961-65, is nominated for eight awards, including best picture. It’s the first biopic where three actors received Oscar nominations for playing real-life musicians — Timothée Chalamet as Dylan, Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez.
It is not known if Chalamet or Dylan (or in the best of all possible worlds, both of them together) will perform on the Oscars, but you can bet the producers have made the calls.
On the Tonys last June, The Who’s Pete Townshend joined the cast of the revival of The Who’s Tommy to perform “See Me, Feel Me”/”Pinball Wizard” from the band’s classic 1969 album. The show was nominated for best revival of a musical.
On that same show, the cast of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club performed “Wilkommen” from Kander & Ebb’s landmark 1966 musical Cabaret. Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club was also nominated for best revival of a musical.
So, what do we make of all this? Part of it is that smart TV producers, going back to Ed Sullivan on his long-running variety show, like to have something for viewers of all ages.
But another reason is simply the greatness of 1960s music, an era when The Beatles, Dylan, The Brill Building, Motown, Stax, Bacharach & David, Aretha Franklin, Simon & Garfunkel, The Who, The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones, among many others, were at their peaks, spurring each other on to greatness.
Every generation likes to think their generation’s music was the best ever. But people who came of age in the 1960s can simply point to the above-named artists and hit factories to make a pretty compelling case.
Incidentally, this wasn’t the first time McCartney has closed a high-profile TV show by performing the closing medley (“Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End”) from Abbey Road. He closed the 2012 Grammy ceremony with that same medley, joined by such guest musicians as Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and Joe Walsh.
Carpenter and Simon engaged in some light banter on SNL50 before their performance of “Homeward Bound.”
“I sang this song with George Harrison on Saturday Night Live in 1976,” recalled Simon. “I was not born then, and neither were my parents,” replied Carpenter, who was born in May 1999.
Simon probably could have lived without the zinger about her parents, but it points to the staying power of his songs. “Homeward Bound,” like “California Dreamin’” and the Abbey Road medley, is nearly 60 years old, but its magic holds up.
Post Malone has announced that his Big Ass Tour will head to the United Kingdom later this summer as part of a new European leg of shows.
The Texas-raised star will perform at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sep. 7, his largest-ever show in the U.K.
The Big A– Tour kicks off in North America on Apr. 29 at Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium, before heading through major stadiums in Dallas, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami and concluding at San Francisco’s Oracle Park on July 1. In April he’ll headline California’s Coachella Festival for the first time alongside Lady Gaga and Green Day.
Posty’s European tour dates will kick off in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, at Untold Festival on Aug. 8, the first of many festival appearances scattered among his own headline shows. There’ll also be shows in Berlin, Paris, Barcelona and Milan, alongside his appearance in London.
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Tickets for the tour and the London show go on sale at 12 p.m. (GMT) from Live Nation’s website. Support throughout the tour will come from Jelly Roll and Sierra Farrell, though Jelly Roll will not appear at his London show. See the full dates below.
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F-1 Trillion, his sixth studio LP, hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 upon release in August 2024 and on the U.K. Albums Chart. Lead single “I Had Some Help” earned six non-consecutive weeks at the summit of the Hot 100, and the album was nominated for best country album at the 2025 Grammys.
Post Malone last performed in the U.K. in 2023 during an arena tour with stops in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. He also headlined Reading & Leeds Festivals in 2019 and 2021.
Post Malone Big Ass World Tour 2025 dates:
Aug. 8: Cluj-Napoca, Romania (Untold Festival)Aug. 10: Budapest, Hungary (Sziget Festival)Aug. 12: Prague, Czech Republic (Airport Letnany)Aug. 13: St. Pölten, Austria (Frequency Festival)Aug. 15: Poznań, Poland (Bittersweet Festival)Aug. 16: Bratislava, Slovakia (Lovestream Festival)Aug. 18: Berlin (Parkbühne Wuhlheide)Aug. 21: Kaunas, Lithuania (Darius and Girenas Stadium)Aug. 23: Horsens, Denmark (Horsens & Friends at Nordstern Arena)Aug. 27: Milan, Italy (IDays Milano)Aug. 29: Zürich, Switzerland (Zürich Openair)Aug. 30: Munich (Superbloom)Sep. 3: Paris (Paris La Défense Arena)Sep. 5: Hanover, Germany (Heinz von Heiden Arena)Sep. 7: London (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)Sep. 9: Arnhem, Netherlands (GelreDome)Sep. 12: Barcelona (Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys)Sep. 14: Lisbon, Portugal (Estadio do Restelo)
Miley Cyrus teamed up with Brittany Howard to cover “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the Prince-written hit made famous by Sinéad O’Connor, on Sunday night’s (Feb. 16) SNL50: The Anniversary Special. Cyrus and Howard belted the song, with the Alabama Shakes frontwoman offering some extra soulfulness on the guitar for the powerful cover. O’Connor famously brought […]
Sabrina Carpenter not only opened SNL50, but was a guest star in the newest SNL sketch to feature Domingo, a recurring character that cast member Marcello Hernandez has become known for on the comedy show.
After singing “Homeward Bound” beautifully in a duet with Paul Simon at the start of Sunday night’s (Feb. 16) special, Carpenter sang … not as beautifully at her friend Kelsey’s (Chloe Fineman) less-than-one-year vow renewal celebration with Matt (Andrew Dismukes).
Martin Short and Molly Shannon started the bit with a speech from the bride’s parents, welcoming all to their $70,000 party with an open bar at the Best Western.
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“Kelsey and Matt, may you have a marriage as loving and passionate as Daddy and me,” Shannon drunkenly said before making out with Short.
Carpenter, whose “Espresso” was actually featured in the very first sketch that introduced Domingo (on the Oct. 12, 2024 episode) then cut in: “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Sophie, the bride’s childhood bestie. I couldn’t make it to the wedding because I was unfortunately in prison.”
Then she invited up the rest of the bride’s squad to sing, instead of doing a speech, as these ladies do.
Apparently Kelsey and her friends went to New York, got blackout drunk and saw Wicked, so of course their first song was to the tune of “Defying Gravity,” just with replacement lyrics about finally learning to try monogamy.
The next parody to make their set was to the tune of Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me,” except with lyrics all about the beloved Domingo, who suddenly showed up and joined in.
“What she’s looking for/ Is the hung Latin guy,” he sang, even getting a shoutout from Kelsey’s mom and dad.
Matt’s groomsmen took the floor next, and bringing the tune of Carpenter’s “Espresso” back to the sketch series, they sang about a local staycation in Scottsdale and a secret new flame in Matt’s life: Ronaldo (Pedro Pascal), who turns out to be Domingo’s brother. And Bad Bunny is also their brother — the “hot” one, Santiago!
The three-hour SNL anniversary special aired live from New York City on NBC and Peacock beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Sunday. Watch the latest Domingo sketch below.
Sabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon performed a duet of “Homeward Bound” to kick off SNL50: The Anniversary Special on Sunday night (Feb. 16). The song reached No. 5 on the Hot 100 in 1966, when it was originally recorded by Simon & Garfunkel and released on the duo’s Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme album — but Simon once sang it with George Harrison on an episode of Saturday Night Live.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Sabrina,” Simon said, introducing the Short n’ Sweet pop star to the live audience in Studio 8H.
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“This is the one and only Paul Simon,” Carpenter said.
“I sang this song with George Harrison on Saturday night live in 1976,” recalled Simon.
“I was not born then, and neither were my parents,” Carpenter, who would later appear in a sketch, quipped. (The 25-year-old singer was born in May 1999.)
Simon started the song, with Carpenter coming in at the end of verse one, harmonizing at the lyric “My suitcase and guitar in hand/ And every stop is neatly planned/ For a poet and a one-man band.” They continued to sing together through the chorus. Carpenter took lead on verse two, but swapped the line “cigarettes and magazines” for a rewrite: “airport lounges and magazines.”
Steve Martin, following their performance with a short opening monologue that Martin Short popped in to join, joked that SNL50 had front-loaded the show — featuring cast members past and present, a long list of famous past hosts and unannounced cameos — with all the night’s big talent.
The three-hour special with SNL alumni celebrating 50 years of sketch comedy aired live from New York City on NBC and Peacock beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Ahead of the SNL50 television program was Friday night’s SNL50: The Homecoming Concert at Radio City Music Hall, hosted by Jimmy Fallon. Cher, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Miley Cyrus, Robyn, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Jack White, Backstreet Boys, Jelly Roll, Bonnie Raitt and more were on the lineup, with Questlove and The Roots backing up multiple acts.
Watch a clip of the “Simon & Carpenter” version of “Homeward Bound” below, courtesy of SNL’s Instagram.
The red carpet was filled with glamor at the 2025 BAFTA Awards, where music stars including Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Camilla Cabello were in attendance at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday (Feb. 16).
Gomez was a nominee for her work in the film Emilia Pérez, and Grande and Erivo were both nominees with Wicked. Meanwhile, Cabello appeared at the BAFTAs to present the children’s and family film award, which went to Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
Emilia Pérez and Wicked were both honored with two awards at Sunday night’s ceremony in London. Director Jacques Audiard won the film not in the English language award for Emilia Pérez, and Zoe Saldaña won supporting actress for her role in the film; Gomez and Grande had also been nominated in the same supporting actress category.
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Wicked costume designer Paul Tazewell took home the costume design award, and the film’s production designers were honored with the production design award. Erivo was nominated for leading actress, but Anora‘s Mikey Madison was honored with the award.
Gomez sparkled in a form-fitting, custom Schiaparelli gown along with jewels from Tiffany & Co., according to stylist Erin Walsh. Tiffany & Co. shared further details: the singer-actress wore designs from the Tiffany Archives, including drop earrings with pear-shaped diamonds, diamond bracelets and a “Tiffany High Jewelry ring in 18k white gold set with a round brilliant diamond of over 10 carats and over total 8 carats of diamond accents, as well as a Tiffany Victoria diamond vine band ring in platinum.”
Grande wore Louis Vuitton, says stylist Mimi Cuttrell. She accessorized her pink and black dress, with its sleek top and voluminous skirt, with Chaumet jewelry. Wicked co-star Erivo also graced the red carpet in custom Louis Vuitton — a white gown with a structural, lace bodice — paired with Tiffany & Co jewels, according to creative director Jason Bolden.
Cabello wore a Sabina Bilenko design and Tasaki jewlery, according to stylist Katie Qian. The singer’s dress, consisting of a bodysuit topped with an intricate, embellished overlay, is from the SS25 couture collection.
See photos of the music (and musical) stars’ dresses at the 2025 BAFTA Awards below, and catch up with the full list of winners from the BAFTA Awards here.
Selena Gomez attends the BAFTA Film Awards 2025 at the Royal Festival Hall on Feb. 16, 2025 in London, England.
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Ariana Grande attends the BAFTA Film Awards 2025 at the Royal Festival Hall on Feb. 16, 2025 in London, England
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Cynthia Erivo attends the 2025 BAFTA Film Awards at The Royal Festival Hall on Feb. 16, 2025 in London, England.
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Camila Cabello attends the BAFTA Film Awards 2025 at the Royal Festival Hall on Feb. 16, 2025 in London, England.
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JISOO’s AMORTAGE has topped this week’s new music poll, which highlights artists across various genres.
Published on Friday (Feb. 14) by Billboard, the poll saw music fans vote for the BLACKPINK member’s debut solo mini-album as their favorite new music release of the past week.
AMORTAGE received 88% of the vote, securing a strong lead over other major new releases, including Sabrina Carpenter‘s Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe), Drake and PartyNextDoor‘s $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s “Scared of Loving You,” Bon Iver’s “Everything is Peaceful Love,” and others.
The four-song mini-album arrived on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) and includes the tracks “Earthquake,” “Your Love,” “Tears” and “Hugs & Kisses.” Blissoo and The Wavys produced all of the songs, while JISOO co-wrote each track with Jordan Roman and a team of collaborators. The K-pop superstar previously shared that the album’s unique title represents “a montage of love.”
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JISOO made her solo debut in 2023 with the singles “FLOWER” and “All Eyes on Me,” but AMORTAGE marks her first full project outside of BLACKPINK, following solo efforts from members LISA, JENNIE and ROSÉ. As part of BLACKPINK, JISOO has charted nine songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the third South Korean act ever to top the Billboard 200 with Born Pink.
AMORTAGE is also JISOO’s first project since signing a global label deal with Warner Records for her solo music in January.
“I’m excited about this new era and the continuation of my musical journey,” she said when the deal was announced. “I feel like I’m just getting started and I’d like to thank the BLINKs for all of their love and support. This is just the beginning and I’m thrilled to kick off this seismic moment with Warner Records.”
Trailing behind AMORTAGE on this week’s poll is the deluxe edition of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, which earned nearly 6% of the vote. The expanded version features a new rendition of “Please Please Please” with Dolly Parton, along with bonus tracks like “15 Minutes,” “Couldn’t Make It Any Harder,” “Busy Woman” and “Bad Reviews.”
Check out the full results of this week’s poll below and visit Billboard’s Friday Music Guide for more must-hear releases.
Adele was clearly enjoying herself during NBC’s SNL50: The Homecoming Concert.
On Saturday (Feb. 15), the 36-year-old British superstar shared a video of herself joyfully singing and dancing along to Ms. Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean performing the Fugees classic “Killing Me Softly.”
“Wow @nbcsnl just wow. Incredible! I can’t believe what I’m watching,” Adele captioned an Instagram Stories clip, clearly blown away by the duo’s performance.
In the short video, the “Easy on Me” hitmaker, dressed in cozy clothes, stands in front of a fireplace with her arms raised, swaying to the music as she sings along to the performance on her TV screen.
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The SNL50 concert, which streamed live to viewers through Peacock on Friday from New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, featured Hill and Jean performing a medley of hits, including “Lost Ones” and “911.” The three-hour event, hosted by former SNL cast member Jimmy Fallon, also featured performances by Cher, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Miley Cyrus and many others. Check out the best moments from the SNL50 concert here.
In September 2018, Adele penned an emotional tribute to Hill after attending the Fugees member’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The show was part of a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hill’s debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
“I saw Lauryn Hill in 1999 at Brixton Academy when I was 10 years old. Tonight I saw her play at the Hollywood Bowl. I’ve just turned 30! What a woman what a record, by far Miseducation is my favorite record of all time,” Adele wrote on Instagram at the time.
She continued, “Such an honest representation of love and life, I feel I can relate too but also I know there’s elements and levels I never will be able to. Ms. Lauryn Hill was on form in every way possible. Thank you for the record of a lifetime, thank you for your wisdom! Thank you for existing. Happy 20th.”
Adele wrapped up her two-year Las Vegas residency in November 2024. After her 100-show Weekends With Adele extravaganza at Caesars Palace’s Colosseum, she hinted at taking a “big break” from music.
The singer, who has not gone on a world tour since her 2016-2017 run in support of her 25 album, is known for taking extended breaks between albums and tours. These gaps have grown longer over time, from three years between her debut album 19 (2008) and 21 (2011), to four years until 25 (2015), and six years between 25 and 30 (2021).
It’s about damn time for some new Lizzo music! The superstar went live on Twitch on Friday (Feb. 14), and after navigating some technical difficulties with her muted microphone, she gave her fans a Valentine’s Day gift with a new teaser. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news […]
The first Top Gabb Music Songs chart of 2025 continues a trend that started with the inaugural ranking for October 2024: a new No. 1 each month.
This time around, it’s Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” that tops the tally, debuting at No. 1 on the January 2025 survey as the most-played songs on Gabb Wireless phones that month.
Billboard has partnered with Gabb Wireless, a phone company for kids and teens, to present a monthly chart tracking on-demand streams via its Gabb Music platform. Gabb Music offers a vast catalog of songs, all of which are selected by the Gabb team to include only kid- and teen-appropriate content. Gabb Music streams are not currently factored into any other Billboard charts.
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Despite premiering in August 2024, “Die With a Smile” had not taken off on Gabb until January, becoming both acts’ first No. 1 on the monthly tally. The previous rulers include Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” KSI’s Trippie Redd-featuring “Thick of It” and Jelly Roll’s “Run It.”
Concurrently, “Die With a Smile” rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in January and has reigned for five weeks total, including on the most recent (Feb. 15-dated) list.
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It assumes the lead over former No. 1s “Thick of It,” “Run It” and “Beautiful Things” at Nos. 2-4, respectively. Juice WRLD’s “Face 2 Face” rounds out the top five at a new peak, rising 6-5.
Mars appears in the top 10 of Top Gabb Music Songs twice, as his ROSE collaboration “APT.” appears at No. 6, while Myles Smith’s “Stargazing” is the only other new entrant in the top 10, rising 12-9.
Other debuts aside from “Die With a Smile,” meanwhile, include “I Always Wanted a Brother” from the 2024 Disney film Mufasa: The Lion King (No. 22), Paul Russell’s “Lil Boo Thang (No. 24) and SZA’s “Saturn” (No. 25).
See the full top 25 below.
Top Gabb Music Songs
“Die With a Smile,” Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (debut)
“Thick of It,” KSI feat. Trippie Redd (=)
“Run It,” Jelly Roll (-2)
“Beautiful Things,” Benson Boone (=)
“Face 2 Face,” Juice WRLD (+1)
“APT.,” ROSE & Bruno Mars (-3)
“Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” Luke Combs (-2)
“Slow It Down,” Benson Boone (+2)
“Stargazing,” Myles Smith (+3)
“Please Please Please,” Sabrina Carpenter (-1)
“Deja Vu,” Olivia Rodrigo (-3)
“God’s Plan,” Drake (+2)
“Popular,” Ariana Grande (-6)
“Too Sweet,” Hozier (+4)
“Love Somebody,” Morgan Wallen (+1)
“Butterfly Effect,” Travis Scott (-1)
“Bones,” Imagine Dragons (+5)
“Let You Down,” NF (+3)
“Defying Gravity,” Ariana Grande feat. Cynthia Erivo (-8)
“Wildflower,” Billie Eilish (=)
“Enemy,” Imagine Dragons (+2)
“I Always Wanted a Brother,” Braelyn Rankins, Theo Somolu, Aaron Pierre & Kelvin Harrison Jr. (debut)
“Stressed Out,” Twenty One Pilots (-4)
“Lil Boo Thang,” Paul Russell (debut)
“Saturn,” SZA (debut)
DROPS FROM DECEMBER 2024: JVKE, “Golden Hour”; “What Is This Feeling,” Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo; “Eyes Closed,” Imagine Dragons; “Jealousy, Jealousy,” Olivia Rodrigo