Music News

19 Mar 2025

Travis Barker Is Working on a New Album With These Fellow Pop Punk Legends

Travis Barker teased a new musical era for Yellowcard while giving a tour of his studio.

The Blink-182 drummer showed off all his equipment with Reverb in a video shared this week, where he shared his favorite drum kit. “This is my main kit. I’ve tried all different variations; nothing beats this stainless steel DW. It’s ridiculous,” he said, showing off the DW drum kit, which he said he used for several albums including Blink-182’s most recent One More Time… album and Machine Gun Kelly’s Lonely Road.

“I just did the entire new Yellowcard album on this,” he casually added.

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Yellowcard’s last album was their 2016 self-titled project, which hit the top 10 of Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart. The band has yet to announce details of their upcoming album, but frontman Ryan Key recently told Wall of Sound that the group is in a “very secretive stage of making new music right now,” but they’re “close [to] something happening.”

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Key said that the upcoming musical era is it “so much more than just an album,” adding, “I just mean that the news around it; how it was made, who we made it with, it’s surreal. I’m pinching myself every day, since April of last year when we started working on it. We’ve really poured ourselves into this thing.”

Blink-182, meanwhile, is scheduled for several music festival appearances this year, including Sea.Hear.Now on Sept. 14, Shaky Knees on Sept. 21, Aftershock on Oct. 2 and, of course, When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 18 and 19. Get tickets here.

Watch Barker’s full studio tour with Reverb below.

19 Mar 2025

Ed Sheeran Reveals His New Album Is ‘Done’ While Premiering Snippet of Lead Single ‘Azizam’

Ed Sheeran‘s next era is locked and loaded, with the pop star revealing Wednesday (March 19) that his new album and its lead single — a snippet of which he also premiered on Instagram — are ready to go.

In a video, Sheeran hangs out in the studio with his producer, Ilya Salmanzadeh, as they listen to a mix of unreleased track “Azizam.” The English singer-songwriter can’t contain his enthusiasm as he sings and dances along, moving all around the room and bopping his head.

“And if love’s just a game, come and play,” Sheeran sings over a carefree dance beat on the track. “Azizam/ Meet me on the floor tonight/ Show me how to move like the water/ In between the dancing lights/ Be my, be my Azizam.”

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The musician captioned the clip, “Album done. Single soon. I’m very excited as you can tell.”

The update comes just days after Sheeran gave “Azizam” its live debut during a pop-up show on the streets of New Orleans. Joined by The Soul Rebels brass band, the star toted his own speaker down the road as a pedestrians followed.

The NOLA showing marked one of a few surprise performances Sheeran has orchestrated in recent weeks, with the “Shape of You” artist most recently showing up at an Irish pub in Boston for an impromptu St. Patrick’s Day concert. Before that, he appeared at Nashville bar Tootsies and sang songs for a crowd of unsuspecting guests.

Sheeran hasn’t dropped an album since 2023’s Autumn Variations, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200. He’s currently taking a break from his yearslong Mathematics Tour, which will resume late April in Qatar.

See Sheeran’s post featuring a snippet of “Azizam” below.

19 Mar 2025

Lil’ Kim Pays Heartfelt Tribute to Her ‘Second Mom,’ The Notorious B.I.G.’s Mother Voletta Wallace

Lil’ Kim is paying tribute to The Notorious B.I.G.’s mother, Voletta Wallace, who died in February at age 78.

Kim posted a carousel of pictures, text message screenshots, and videos along with a lengthy caption where she spoke on how they became closer over the last decade. “We spent the last nine-10 years strengthening our relationship which if you know our history, that is God’s work,” the Queen Bee wrote.

“But the last four-five years were really special because we started to talk at least once a month. Then eventually once a week then two-three times a week. You would send me beautiful photos of yourself and an update of your garden which had become your life. The flowers and crop you planted would come along nicely except some times those damn peonies”

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Kim added that they eventually started referring to each other as mother and daughter.

“Everyone who was close to you called you Meema but I called you mommy like a second mom,” she continued. “Which is why the 11th photo is very special to me because that was the day you showed me your phone and you said ‘look what I have you saved as,’ I said, ‘what?’ You said, ‘daughter.’ I smiled so big it warmed my heart and you began to call me daughter all the time after that.”

However, Kim expressed regret that their schedules wouldn’t allow them to link up in person during Ms. Wallace’s last few months, writing, “This hits different because there’s no hurt and sadness like the hurt and sadness when you crave conversation from someone who is no longer here.”

She ended her tribute by saying she’s finding solace in the fact that Voletta will finally be with her son again. “I’m smiling to myself because I can hear you saying, ‘MY GOD CHRISTOPHER!! Put that smoke down!!’ It makes the sadness a little better knowing that you’re reunited with the other half of ur heart.”

Kim ended her post with: “Rest in heaven Meema. We lost a phenomenal strong Queen but we gained a beautiful warrior angel.”

19 Mar 2025

Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars’ ‘Die With a Smile’ Becomes First Multi-Month Top Gabb Music Songs No. 1

For the first time in the five-month span of the Top Gabb Music Songs chart, a song stays at No. 1 for more than one month.

Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” crowns the February 2025 tally as the most-played song on Gabb Wireless phones that month, reigning for a second month in a row after debuting atop the January 2025 tally.

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.

“Die With a Smile” reigns after rules on the monthly chart for Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” KSI’s “Thick of It” (featuring Trippie Redd) and Jelly Roll’s “Run It” in October-December 2024, respectively.

The Gaga/Mars duet concurrently reigned on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in February 2025, ruling the Feb. 1- and Feb. 15-dated lists, and appears at No. 2 on the most recent tally, dated March 22.

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Mars makes it a sweep of Top Gabb Music Songs’ top two, as his and ROSE’s “APT.” jumps 7-2 – a new peak after previously reaching No. 3 on the December 2024 ranking.

No song hits the chart’s top 10 for the first time, though Drake’s “God’s Plan” returns to the region, rising five spots to No. 7 (the song’s peak so far remains No. 4, achieved on the November 2024 tally).

In fact, though all but four songs make some sort of movement on the 25-song February 2025 list versus their January 2025 ordering, just one is a debut: Forrest Frank’s “Drop!,” which bows at No. 19. It’s the first song to appear on the chart that was released in 2025, as it premiered on Jan. 24. The tune started at No. 18 on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs survey dated Feb. 8 and appears at No. 33 on the most recent ranking.

See the full top 25 below.

Top Gabb Music Songs

  1. “Die With a Smile,” Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (=)
  2. “APT.,” ROSE & Bruno Mars (+4)
  3. “Beautiful Things,” Benson Boone (+1)
  4. “Thick of It,” KSI feat. Trippie Redd (-2)
  5. “Face 2 Face,” Juice WRLD (=)
  6. “Run It,” Jelly Roll (-3)
  7. “God’s Plan,” Drake (+5)
  8. “Slow It Down,” Benson Boone (=)
  9. “Please Please Please,” Sabrina Carpenter (+1)
  10. “Stargazing,” Myles Smith (-1)
  11. “Golden Hour,” JVKE (re-entry)
  12. “Deja Vu,” Olivia Rodrigo (-1)
  13. “Butterfly Effect,” Travis Scott (+3)
  14. “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” Luke Combs (-7)
  15. “Too Sweet,” Hozier (-1)
  16. “Love Somebody,” Morgan Wallen (-1)
  17. “Heat Waves,” Glass Animals (re-entry)
  18. “Let You Down,” NF (=)
  19. “DROP!,” Forrest Frank (debut)
  20. “Stressed Out,” Twenty One Pilots (+3)
  21. “Bones,” Imagine Dragons (-4)
  22. “Enemy,” Imagine Dragons (-1)
  23. “Saturn,” SZA (+2)
  24. “Wildflower,” Billie Eilish (-4)
  25. “Hope,” NF (re-entry)

DROPS FROM JANUARY 2025: “Popular,” Ariana Grande; “Defying Gravity,” Ariana Grande feat. Cynthia Erivo; “I Always Wanted a Brother,” Braelyn Rankins, Theo Somolu, Aaron Pierre & Kelvin Harrison Jr.; “Lil Boo Thang,” Paul Russell

19 Mar 2025

Jack Harlow Announces the Release Date for Long-Awaited Doja Cat Collaboration ‘Just Us’

Jack Harlow announced his first collaboration of 2025 — he’s teaming up with Doja Cat for their new duet, “Just Us.” The Louisville native revealed on Wednesday (March 19) that the single will hit streaming services this Friday (March 21).

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“Just us in this b—h,” Doja captioned a photo with Harlow to Instagram.

There had been rumors of a Harlow and Doja union as snippets surfaced on social media, as well as clips of the duo on what appears to be a possible music video set. “I wish it was just us in this b—h/ But they can’t trust us in this b—h,” Harlow raps in the teaser. “Because I’m tryna bust nuts in this, huh/ Let’s keep it on the hush-hush in this b—h.”

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Fans of both artists were excited to see them finally join forces with Doja in her rapping bag. “Excuse me???? Doja and Jack Harlow?? I’m SEATED,” one person wrote to IG. Another said: “I KNOW YOU BODIED YOUR VERSE. can’t wait for the video!!”

It’s been years of manifestation for Harlow after admitting he was infatuated with the “Kiss Me More” rapper during a hilarious 2020 Instagram Live between the two. “I need to talk to you for a second though,” he said. “People thought we were dating because your man apparently looks like me.”

Doja gave Jack his flowers: “You’re great.” After she dipped from his IG Live, Harlow admitted to his followers, “I’ve had a crush on her for months.”

Starting back to November, Harlow has slowly released a string of new singles, including “Tranquility,” “Hello Miss Johnson” and “Set You Free.” His upcoming album will serve as his first since 2023’s Jackman.

See Harlow’s post announcing “Just Us” with Doja Cat below:

19 Mar 2025

Benny Blanco & Selena Gomez Reminisce on Feeling ‘Like a Teenager Again’ on Their First Date

Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez captured a retro feel with their new “Sunset Blvd” music video, and song was inspired by the newly engaged couple’s first date.

“This song felt like such a moment in time where you’re just fully lost in someone and you’re past that point and you’re like, ‘OK, I’m not scared anymore. F— it, I’m just going to dive into this. Let myself fall into a new world,” Blanco explained in a new behind-the-scenes clip of the music video shared on Wednesday (March 19).

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“I remember us in real life, we were driving in a convertible,” he continued. “I felt like a teenager again and our hair’s blowing in the wind. I made a playlist for the ride and we were dancing and singing. Just to see her face and laugh and smile. I didn’t even know we were on a date. I thought we were just hanging out as friends.”

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Gomez then hilariously interjected, “I thought it was a date,” to which Blanco replied, “I’m happy I didn’t think it was a date, because I’d be so much more nervous.”

When Gomez didn’t believe him, the Grammy-winning producer sweetly told his fiancée, “Yeah, look at you! You’re beautiful.”

“Sunset Blvd” is set to be featured on the duo’s upcoming album, I Said I Love You First, which will be released on Friday (March 21). Watch the behind-the-scenes video of “Sunset Blvd” below.

19 Mar 2025

Shaboozey, Waxahatchee & More Lead 2025 Libera Awards Nominations: Full List

Shaboozey, MJ Lenderman, Waxahatchee, Jessica Pratt and Kim Gordon are among the leading artist nominees for the 2025 Libera Awards, which honor the best in independent music across 28 categories. This 14th annual awards ceremony will take place on Monday, June 9 at the historic Gotham Hall in New York City.

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The nominees for record of the year include Pratt’s Here in the Pitch (Mexican Summer), Gordon’s The Collective (Matador Records), Lenderman’s Manning Fireworks (ANTI-), Mk.gee’s “Rockman” (R&R Digital) and Waxahatchee’s Tigers Blood (ANTI-).

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Pratt, Lenderman and Mk.gee are also nominated for the breakthrough artist award, where they face Magdalena Bay (Mom+Pop), Mannequin Pussy (Epitaph) and Shaboozey (American Dogwood/EMPIRE). Shaboozey, whose “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 19 weeks, was nominated for best new artist at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 2 and new artist of the year at the Country Music Association Awards on Nov. 20.

The nominations were announced on Wednesday (March 19) by FIM (The Foundation for Independent Music) and A2IM (The American Association of Independent Music, Inc.).

“Huge congratulations to all the incredibly talented nominees for the 14th annual Libera Awards,” Dr. Richard James Burgess, president and CEO of A2IM, said in a statement. “As the world’s largest awards show dedicated to the diverse and vibrant world of independent music, the Libera Awards honor both the artists and the industry that champion them. This year’s event promises to be our biggest and best yet, as A2IM proudly celebrates its 20th anniversary.”

The Libera Awards Presented by Merlin – the official name of the awards – will kick off the Indie Week conference, which will run from Tuesday, June 10 through Thursday, June 12 at the InterContinental New York Times Square.

A2IM is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization headquartered in New York City that exists to support and strengthen the independent recorded music sector. Membership currently includes a broad coalition of over 600 independently-owned American music labels.

Here’s a complete list of nominees for the 2025 Libera Awards Presented by Merlin.

Record of the Year

Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch (Mexican Summer)

Kim Gordon – The Collective (Matador Records)

MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks (ANTI-)

Mk.gee – “Rockman” (R&R Digital)

Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood (ANTI-)

Breakthrough Artist

Jessica Pratt (Mexican Summer)

Magdalena Bay (Mom+Pop)

Mannequin Pussy (Epitaph)

MJ Lenderman (ANTI-)

Mk.gee (R&R Digital)

Shaboozey (American Dogwood/EMPIRE)

Music Video of the Year

Caravan Palace – “Mirrors” (Le Plan Recordings)

Fontaines D.C. – “Starburster” (XL Recordings)

Justice – “Neverender (starring Tame Impala)” (Because Music)

Porter Robinson – “Cheerleader” (Mom+Pop)

Waxahatchee feat. MJ Lenderman – “Right Back to It” (ANTI-)

Yaeji – “booboo” (XL Recordings)

Reissue

Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock: The Album (Tommy Boy Records)

American Football – American Football LP1 (25th Anniversary Edition) (Polyvinyl Record Co.)

Cocteau Twins & Harold Budd – The Moon and the Melodies (4AD)

John Cale – Paris 1919 (Deluxe Edition) (Domino Recording Company)

MF DOOM – MM..FOOD (20th Anniversary Edition) (Rhymesayers Entertainment)

Ray Charles – Crying Time (Tangerine Records)

Sylvan Esso – Sylvan Esso (10 Year Anniversary Edition) (Psychic Hotline)

Remix

Fcukers – “Bon Bon (Confidence Man Remix)” (Technicolour/Ninja Tune)

Kelela – RAVE:N, The Remixes (Warp Records)

MF DOOM – “One Beer (Madlib Remix)” (Rhymesayers Entertainment)

Shygirl – “mr useless – MK remix” (Because Music)

Slowdive – “kisses (grouper remix)” (Dead Oceans)

Alternative Rock Record

Being Dead – EELS (Bayonet Records)

Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More (4AD)

Kim Gordon – The Collective (Matador Records)

Nada Surf – Moon Mirror (New West Records)

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Wild God (Play It Again Sam)

American Roots Record

Dave Alvin + Jimmie Dale Gilmore – TexiCali (Yep Roc Records)

Fantastic Negrito – Son of a Broken Man (Storefront Records)

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Woodland (Acony Records)

Joe Ely – Driven to Drive (Rack ’Em Records)

MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks (ANTI-)

Swamp Dogg – Blackgrass (Oh Boy Records)

Blues Record

Cedric Burnside – Hill Country Love (Provogue Records)

Little Feat – Sam’s Place (Hot Tomato Records)

Ruthie Foster – Mileage (Sun Records)

Shemekia Copeland – Blame It on Eve (Alligator Records)

The Taj Mahal Sextet – Swingin’ Live at the Church in Tulsa (Lightning Rod Records)

 Classical Record

Ensemble Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem (harmonia mundi)

II Divo – XX: 20th Anniversary Album (Il Divo Music)

Isabelle Faust – Britten: Violin Concerto and Chamber Works (harmonia mundi)

Ju-Ping Song – Monad (Starkland)

Kelly Moran – Moves in the Field (Warp Records)

Marc-André Hamelin, Nathalie Forget, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Gustavo Gimeno – Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie (harmonia mundi)

Michael Torke – Bloom (Ecstatic Records)

Country Record

Corb Lund – El Viejo (New West Records)

Fancy Hagood – American Spirit (Fancy Hagood Enterprises)

Johnny Blue Skies – Passage du Desir (High Top Mountain Records)

Shaboozey – Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going (American Dogwood/EMPIRE)

Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood (ANTI-)

Zach Top – Cold Beer & Country Music (Leo33)

Dance Record

A.G. Cook – “Britpop” (New Alias)

Fcukers – Baggy$$ (Technicolour / Ninja Tune)

Peggy Gou – I Hear You (XL Recordings)

Shygirl – Club Shy (Because Music)

SOPHIE – SOPHIE (Future Classic)

Electronic Record

Caribou – Honey (Merge Records)

Floating Points – Cascade (Ninja Tune)

Flying Lotus – Spirit Box (Warp Records)

Jamie xx – In Waves (Young)

Justice – Hyperdrama (Because Music)

Photay – Windswept (Mexican Summer)

Folk Record

Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future (4AD)

Aoife O’Donovan – All My Friends (Yep Roc Records)

Bonny Light Horseman – Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free (Jagjaguwar)

Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch (Mexican Summer)

Madi Diaz – Weird Faith (ANTI-)

Global Record

Altin Gun – “Vallahi Yok” (ATO Records)

Asake – Lungu Boy (YBNL Nation/EMPIRE)

BALTHVS – Harvest (Mixto Records)

Glass Beams – Mahal (Ninja Tune)

Hermanos Gutiérrez – Sonido Cósmico (Easy Eye Sound)

Manu Chao – Viva Tu (Because Music)

Mdou Moctar – Funeral for Justice (Matador Records)

Heavy Record

Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She (Loma Vista Recordings)

High On Fire – Cometh the Storm (MNRK Music Group)

METZ – Up on Gravity Hill (Sub Pop Records)

Scene Queen – Hot Singles in Your Area (Hopeless Records)

Speed – “Only One Mode” (FLATSPOT)

Hip-Hop/Rap Record

BigXthaPlug – Take Care (UnitedMasters)

Cash Cobain – PLAY CASH COBAIN (Giant Music)

Common & Pete Rock – The Auditorium Vol. 1 (Loma Vista Recordings)

Denzel Curry – King of the Mischievous South (Loma Vista Recordings)

E L U C I D – REVELATOR (Fat Possum Records)

Shygirl – “Immaculate” (feat. Saweetie) (Because Music)

Jazz Record

BADBADNOTGOOD – Mid Spiral (XL Recordings)

Ezra Collective – Dance, No One’s Watching (Partisan Records)

Kamasi Washington – Fearless Movement (Young)

Lakecia Benjamin – Phoenix Reimagined (Live) (Ropeadope Records)

Morgan Guerin – Tales of the Facade (Candid Records)

Nala Sinephro – Endlessness (Warp Records)

Nubya Garcia – Odyssey (Concord Jazz)

Latin Record

Angélica Garcia – Gemelo (Partisan Records)

Buscabulla – “11:11” (Domino Recording Company)

Chicano Batman – “Era Primavera” (ATO Records)

Dayme Arocena – Alkemi (Brownswood Recordings)

Gaby Moreno and La Lom – “Alma Florecida” (Cosmica Artists)

Girl Ultra – blush (Big Dada/Ninja Tune)

Reyna Tropical – Malegría (Psychic Hotline)

Outlier Record

Chanel Beads – Your Day Will Come (Jagjaguwar)

Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn – Quiet in a World Full of Noise (Merge Records)

Hakushi Hasegawa – Mahōgakkō (Brainfeeder)

Helado Negro – PHASOR (4AD)

Khruangbin – A LA SALA (Dead Oceans)

Moor Mother – The Great Bailout (ANTI-)

SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE – YOU’LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING (Saddle Creek)

urika’s bedroom – Big Smile, Black Mire (True Panther)

Pop Record

Kate Nash – 9 Sad Symphonies (Kill Rock Stars)

Kesha – “Joyride” (Kesha Records)

Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk (Mom+Pop)

Sofie Royer – Young-Girl Forever (Stones Throw Records)

SOPHIE – SOPHIE (Future Classic)

Suki Waterhouse – Memoir of a Sparklemuffin (Sub Pop Records)

Punk Record

A Place To Bury Strangers – Synthesizer (Dedstrange)

Chubby And the Gang – And Then There Was… (FLATSPOT)

Ekko Astral – pink balloons (Topshelf Records)

Laura Jane Grace – Hole in My Head (Polyvinyl Record Co.)

Pissed Jeans – Half Divorced (Sub Pop Records)

SPRINTS – Letter to Self (City Slang)

R&B Record

Erika de Casier – Still (4AD)

Fana Hues – Moth (Bright Antenna Records)

Mavis Staples – “Worthy” (ANTI-)

NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge) – Why Lawd? (Stones Throw Records)

serpentwithfeet – GRIP (Secretly Canadian)

Yaya Bey – Ten Fold (Big Dada/Ninja Tune)

Rock Record

Fontaines D.C. – Romance (XL Recordings)

IDLES – TANGK (Partisan Records)

Jack White – No Name (Third Man Records)

Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven (Epitaph)

The Lemon Twigs – A Dream Is All We Know (Captured Tracks)

The Linda Lindas – No Obligation (Epitaph)

Singer Songwriter Record

Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future (4AD)

Christian Lee Hutson – Paradise Pop. 10 (ANTI-)

Faye Webster – Underdressed at the Symphony (Secretly Canadian)

Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch (Mexican Summer)

Katie Gavin – “As Good as It Gets” (Saddest Factory Records)

Laura Marling – Patterns in Repeat (Partisan Records/Chrysalis Records)

Soul/Funk Record

Angela Muñoz – Descanso (Stones Throw Records)

Neal Francis – “Back It Up” (ATO Records)

The Dip – Love Direction (Dualtone)

Thee Sacred Souls – Got a Story to Tell (Daptone Records)

Thee Sinseers – Sinseerly Yours (Colemine Records)

Spiritual Record

Brother John – Brother John & The GFT Collective (The Blues Preachers/The Orchard)

Flock – Flock II (Strut)

Lauren Daigle – “Then I Will (from Boenhoffer)” (Centricity Music)

Lecrae – “Die for the Party” (Reach Records)

The Harlem Gospel Travelers – Rhapsody (Colemine Records)

The Nelons – Loving You (Daywind Records)

Sync Record

Cigarettes After Sex – “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” (It Ends With Us) (Partisan Records)

De La Soul – “Say No Go” (Civil War) (A.O.I./Chrysalis/Reservoir)

Jamie xx & The Avalanches – “All You Children” (Apple) (Young)

Spoon – “The Way We Get By” (’A Real Pain’ Trailer) (Matador Records)

Waxahatchee feat. MJ Lenderman – “Right Back to It” (Tracker S1 E6) (ANTI-)

Label of the Year (15+ Employees)

ANTI- Records

Dead Oceans

Mom+Pop

Ninja Tune

Partisan Records

Stones Throw Records

Sub Pop Records

Warp Records

Label of the Year (6-14 Employees)

Captured Tracks

City Slang

Fat Possum

Light in the Attic

Mexican Summer

Secret City Records

Label of the Year (5 Or Fewer Employees)

Bayonet Records

Daptone Records

Oh Boy Records

Psychic Hotline

Topshelf Records

True Panther

Distributor of the Year

FUGA

IDOL

Redeye

Secretly Distribution

Symphonic Distribution

The Orchard

Independent Champion

Bandcamp

Infinite Catalog

Marauder

Qobuz

The Bloom Effect

Publisher of the Year

Beggars Music

Downtown Music Publishing

Reservoir

Secret City Publishing

Warp Publishing

Marketing Genius

IDLES – TANGK (Partisan Records)

Khruangbin – A LA SALA (Dead Oceans)

MF DOOM – MM..FOOD (20 Year Anniversary Edition) (Rhymesayers Entertainment)

MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks (ANTI-)

Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood (ANTI-)

Self-Released Record of the Year

Cheekface – It’s Sorted (Cheekface)

Fancy Hagood – American Spirit (Fancy Hagood Enterprises)

Los Campesinos! – All Hell (Heart Swells)

Orla Gartland – Everybody Needs a Hero (New Friends Music)

RAYE – “Genesis.” (Human Re Sources)

TV Girl & George Clanton – Fauxllennium (Blissful Serenity Industries, LLC)

Creative Packaging

Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works Volume II (Expanded Edition) (Warp Records)

Khruangbin – A LA SALA (Dead Oceans)

Mac DeMarco – Salad Days 10 Year Anniversary Edition (Captured Tracks)

MF DOOM – MM..FOOD (20 Year Anniversary Edition) (Rhymesayers Entertainment)

The Go Betweens – G Stands for Go-Betweens: Volume 3 (Domino Recording Company)

Various Artists – Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 8 (Sub Pop Records)

19 Mar 2025

Tina Knowles Announces Book Tour for Her New Memoir ‘Matriarch’

Beyoncé isn’t the only Knowles family member going on tour this year. Her mother Tina Knowles — a businesswoman, fashion designer, art collector and activist in her own right — will be traveling the country and overseas on behalf of her upcoming memoir, Matriarch (out April 22).

The nine-city book tour launches in Washington, D.C. on April 30 with special guest and former First Lady Michelle Obama joining Knowles as the evening’s moderator. The press tour will conclude on June 4 in London.

“Matriarch: An Evening with Tina Knowles, Family and Friends” will feature the author conversing with Obama as well as other icons, legends and friends as she shares the relationships, experiences and influences that have shaped her life. A full list of moderators will be announced at a later date. The tour is produced by Live Nation; Matriarch is being published by One World, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. Additional information about the memoir  is available at the book’s website.

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“I’m so excited to take Matriarch on the road and extend the conversation beyond the pages,” Knowles said in a statement. “Storytelling has always been a part of who I am — something I learned from my mother — and now, at 71, I finally understand who I truly am. This journey has been about strength, motherhood, family pride and identity; I hope these conversations help others embrace their own stories and celebrate the power of knowing what we deserve.”

Presale for Knowles’s London appearance begins March 20 (2pm GMT) for Southbank Centre members at the venue’s website. Tickets go on general sale on March 21 at 2pm (GMT) at the book’s website and at LiveNation’s site.. The tour is also offering a VIP package and experience for fans, which include premium tickets, individual meet & greet and photo op with Knowles, an autographed copy of Matriarch and early entry into the venue.

Check out the full list of dates for “Matriarch: An Evening with Tina Knowles, Family and Friends” below:

  • April 30 – Washington, D.C.– The Theater at MGM National Harbor
  • May 2 – Los Angeles – The Wiltern
  • May 5 – Houston – Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
  • May 8 – Atlanta – Tabernacle
  • May 10 – New Orleans – The Fillmore
  • May 14 – Toronto, Ontario – Danforth Music Hall
  • May 16 – Chicago – Athenaeum Center
  • May 19 – Brooklyn, N.Y. – Brooklyn Paramount
  • June 4 – London – Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall

19 Mar 2025

In Limp Bizkit’s $200M Lawsuit Against UMG, Judge Brings Key Claims Back Into Play

A federal judge is shaking up Limp Bizkit’s $200 million lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG), issuing a procedural ruling that sends much of the contentious legal battle to state court but allows copyright claims to move ahead toward trial.

In a decision issued Tuesday (March 19), Judge Percy Anderson said he would decline to exercise jurisdiction over the majority of the lawsuit’s accusations against UMG, including its core claim that the band is entitled to a ruling of “rescission” that voids its deals with the label and allows it to take back copyrights to its music.

Citing concerns about “economy, convenience [and] fairness,” the judge ruled that those claims must instead be handled by state courts in New York or California. But he denied UMG’s motion to dismiss the band’s claim of copyright infringement, allowing those claims to proceed in his court.

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Though hardly a slam dunk, the ruling is a positive development for Limp Bizkit. In an earlier ruling, Judge Anderson had outright rejected the rescission claim — a holding that also meant the band couldn’t sue the label for copyright infringement. In the new decision, the judge left the question of rescission open for a future ruling by a state court, meaning that claim — and the lucrative copyright claims — are back in play.

Though the copyright claims will now move forward in his court, the judge has repeatedly stressed that those allegations can only succeed if the band’s contracts with UMG are rescinded and it regains its ownership of the copyrights. The judge could potentially pause the case while the rescission issue is litigated in state court, but he gave no indication that he would do so in Tuesday’s decision.

Frontman Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit sued in October, claiming the band had “never received any royalties from UMG” despite its huge success over the years: “The band had still not been paid a single cent by UMG in any royalties until taking action.” The band argued that the damages total owed by UMG would “easily surpass $200 million” when the case was over.

But in January, Judge Anderson sided with UMG on the core question of rescission. He ruled that the band had in fact been “paid millions in advances” and that UMG had fronted “substantial sums” to record and distribute Limp Bizkit’s albums — meaning the band didn’t deserve the drastic remedy of terminating the decades-old deals in their entirety.

“Plaintiffs seek rescission of contracts that have governed the parties’ relationship beginning in 1996 — nearly 30 years — because the agreements should be rescinded as fraudulently induced,” the judge wrote. “Plaintiffs have not plausibly alleged the type of ‘substantial’ or ‘total failure’ in the performance of the contracts that could support rescission of the parties’ agreements.”

Following that ruling, Limp Bizkit responded by filing an updated version of the lawsuit. In it, the band added new factual allegations to support their demand for rescission, including that its former manager had fraudulently induced them to sign agreements, engaging in “wrongful self-dealing” while the band was “paid nothing.”

In Tuesday’s decision, Judge Anderson said those new allegations would require the kind of detailed analysis of novel state-law issues that a state-level court was better suited to address.

“The rescission claims, on which the copyright claims depend, … require an analysis of state law of both New York and California law involving facts and law that are distinct from those necessary to adjudicate the copyright claim,” the judge wrote. “Plaintiffs’ effort to rescind the agreements as a result of the alleged fraud committed by their former business manager appears to also raise complex and novel theories for which there is limited controlling legal precedent.”

19 Mar 2025

Morgan Wallen, Lizzo & More to Be Musical Guests for ‘Saturday Night Live’ This Spring

It’s been a big month for Saturday Night Live between celebrating its 50th anniversary and featuring headline-making guests such as Lady Gaga, Timothée Chalamet and others. Now, the show is ready to look to the future.

On Wednesday (March 19), the long-running sketch comedy series announced its next three back-to-back shows, featuring musical guests Morgan Wallen, Lizzo, Elton John and Brandi Carlile. The stars will join hosts Mikey Madison, Jack Black and Jon Hamm, respectively, for their appearances on the show.

Wallen, who is set to appear alongside Madison for the show’s March 29 return, will make his second appearance on the program following his December 2020 stint as a musical guest. While the country star has yet to announce an official release date for his new album I’m the Problem, he did tease fans with a new snippet from a song titled “Just in Case” on Friday (March 14), while promising that there would be “more news for y’all next week.”

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Lizzo, meanwhile, will make her fourth appearance on the show alongside Hamm for the April 12 show. The singer recently released her new single “Still Bad,” while continuing to tease fans with the release of her forthcoming studio album Love in Real Life.

The singer’s return comes after she took a hiatus from making new music when some of her former dancers sued her in 2023 for sexual harassment and hostile work environment. Seemingly responding to the criticism, Lizzo posted to X on Tuesday (March 18) saying that “what happened to me was supposed to destroy me but it has only set me free,” while criticizing the music industry’s broader treatment of Black women.

Elton John and Brandi Carlile will round out the new lineup with their April 5-slated appearance on the show with host Jack Black, just one day after the release of their new duets album, Who Believes in Angels? This will mark the first time the duo have appeared together on the show, and the third time that both of them have appeared as musical guests.

Check out SNL’s official announcement below: