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Avicii‘s second album Stories was released on Oct. 2, 2015, generating hits like “The Nights” and “Waiting For Love” and reaching No. 17 on the Billboard 200, where it spent five weeks.
Now, a new documentary mini-series is taking fans into the heart of the LP’s creation process. Stories on Stories, a three-part series screening on YouTube, presents never-before-shared archival footage of the 2014 and 2015 studio sessions that generated some of the music on Stories.
Out today (Nov. 6), the lead episode shows the Swedish producer in a pair of studio sessions with Alex Ebert, the songwriter and musician widely known as the lead singer of Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, as the pair work on the instrumentation, melody and lyrics that would ultimately form “For a Better Day.” (This song spent 17 weeks on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs beginning in September of 2015.)
The clips find a relaxed atmosphere in the studio as the pair hash out music and share some laughs in the process. “What I loved about Tim and was the first thing I really got to understand about him is how meticulous he is about the specifics of a melody,” Ebert says in the doc. “It’s almost like he was really in tune with the harmonics of the universe, where a melody should go, where a melody wants to go.” Watch an exclusive clip from the episode below.
The episode is careful to include an archival clip of Avicii himself saying that “I have every session filmed, we’re going to do something with that so people can see what actually goes on the studio. Maybe like a YouTube series.” The episode also states that since 2019, the family of the late producer born Tim Bergling has been archiving material from his laptop and drives to preserve moments from his life and career as Avicii.”
The other two Stories On Stories episodes will feature artists and producers including Gavin DeGraw, Rami Yacoub and Wyclef Jean, altogether exploring the origins of of songs like “Sunset Jesus” and more. The second and third episodes will premier on Dec. 4 and Jan. 1, respectively.
Bergling died by suicide on April 20, 2018. The seven years following his death have seen a wake of commemorative projects including a 2019 posthumous album, a biography, a photo book, a new track released in May and the Avicii Experience museum in the artist’s hometown of Stockholm.
Stories On Stories is presented by the Avicii Estate and Pophouse, the Swedish entertainment company that acquired 75% of Avicii’s recordings and publishing catalog in 2022.
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This is partner content.
Normani teaches Olympic gymnast, Jordan Chiles her dance routine and what it takes for her to be a star on stage.
Normani
So today I’m swapping spaces. I have a special guest.
Dondraico Johnson
Can they dance though?
Normani
Absolutely.
Jordan Chiles
I mean, the entrance might have seemed I was really hype, but I’m actually really nervous
Normani
Okay I mean, nervous is okay.
Jordan Chiles
Yeah, yeah, I guess.
Dondraico Johnson
You’re in a safe space this is the best place.
Jordan Chiles
I feel. I feel it. I feel the energy.
Normani
And you have a dance background.
Jordan Chiles
I do. I do. I was dancing until I was about five years old, tap, hip hop and ballet, believe it. Then gymnastics took over so.
Normani
Great foundation.
Dondraico Johnson
See the greats across the board. We good. You got this.
Jordan Chiles
Are you sure? I ain’t trying to embarrass myself?
Dondraico Johnson
Trust me
Normani
And you won’t, we wouldn’t have you go out there like that.
Jordan Chiles
Yeah, I do. I do. I did put you on a beam today.
Normani
She did. Had me doing aerials and cartwheels.
Jordan Chiles
So I guess, since I’m in her space, she was in mine.
Dondraico Johnson
You trying to kill my friend?
Jordan Chiles
I didn’t mean too.
Normani
We’re gonna get even.
Jordan Chiles
This is her getting even.
Normani
Let’s do it.
Jordan Chiles
Let’s do it. Let’s go.
Normani
Okay, so I’m gonna call my vocal coach, because we got to get warm vocally to make sure that that aligns with what we’re doing in terms of the movement, okay, okay, okay.
Jordan Chiles
See ya. Thanks. Bye. Don’t leave me, but thanks.
Watch the full video above!
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Outernet London is set to elevate the stories of transgender people from across the U.K. with a new photography exhibition.
“Trans Is Human,” created by trans-rights activists Jake and Hannah Graf MBE, will take over the venue’s large-scale screens on Nov. 17. The free installation will be soundtracked by Yungblud’s “Hello, Heaven, Hello” from the rocker’s recent U.K. chart-topping LP Idols.
The exhibition features portraits of 13 trans people from across the U.K., photographed by Mariano Vivanco. Each image will be accompanied by personal stories exploring themes of identity and resilience.
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Among those highlighted will be Amanda, a refugee and the first Miss Trans Global Uganda; Sarah, who overcame sight loss to support LGBTQ+ people with disabilities while running marathons; and Leo, a speaker and life coach with dyskinetic cerebral palsy.
“The idea for ‘Trans Is Human’ came about following years and years of misinformation and the demonization of the U.K.’s trans community that left us almost entirely dehumanized,” said Jake and Hannah in a press release. “Working with Mariano to allow these very human people to soar was an absolute pleasure and thrill.”
They continued: “Now, at such a pivotal moment for the U.K. trans community, as we face the possible loss of many of our most basic human rights, ‘Trans Is Human’ is more vital than ever. We are supremely grateful to the Outernet team and Yungblud for elevating the campaign and helping to remind the world that trans people are human too.”
Yungblud added: “I’m honored that ‘Hello Heaven, Hello’ will be a part of this exhibition. ‘Trans Is Human’ is all about celebrating truth, identity and the beauty of being yourself, unapologetically. That’s something I’ve always tried to celebrate in everything I do. I’m buzzing to play even a small part in telling these powerful stories.”
Outernet London opened in late 2022, and the following year, was ranked the capital’s most visited attraction by Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, bringing in 6.25 million visitors before hitting its first anniversary. Located near Tottenham Court Road station, its four-story, 360-degree screen surface is the first of its kind in the U.K., while Outernet is also home to two live music venues: The Lower Third and HERE.
Scott Neal, Outernet Creative Director, Culture and Lifestyle said in a statement: “The work being done around trans and broader LGBTQ+ equality is far from over. A recent YouGov poll showed 84% of trans people in Britain feel unsafe in public spaces. ‘Trans Is Human’ showcases the humanity behind individual trans stories to highlight that gender identity is just a part of a person’s story.
“At Outernet, equality, fairness and safety are values we live by every single day,” he concluded. “We thank Hannah and Jake for creating this piece and we’re proud to display it for everyone.”
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Good news! Wicked: For Good is coming soon, and so are the Winter Olympics — as advertised in two new magical videos promoting the biennial event featuring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
In one clip posted by NBC Sports on Thursday (Nov. 5), the Tony-winning actress who portrays Elphaba in Jon M. Chu’s live-action adaptations of the Broadway musical joins the United States curling team for practice. As they struggle with a faulty broom, Erivo holds up her character’s signature mode of travel and says knowingly, “Try this.”
When the gravity-defying broomstick helps the team achieve its desired results, Erivo does the adorable BFF wave that she and the R.E.M. Beauty founder do in the first Wicked film.
Speaking of Grande, a second clip posted Thursday by NBC opens with figure skating champion Alysa Liu performing a breathtaking routine on the ice before something like an earthquake interrupts her. The camera then zooms out to show that the athlete is actually inside of a snow globe, which the pop star has been gazing into and shaking.
The videos come just a few weeks ahead of the Nov. 21 premiere of the Wicked sequel in theaters, almost exactly one year after the first film arrived and shattered box-office records. Less than three months after the saga comes to a close, the Winter Olympics will kick off Feb. 6 on NBC and Peacock.
The partnership between Wicked and the Olympics marks a full-circle moment, as both Erivo and Grande attended the Summer Games in 2024 as part of their mammoth press cycle for the first film. Universal Pictures also arranged for the real-life Emerald City train from the movies to stop through Paris in honor of the event.
For the second film, the promotional blitz has been noticeably more lowkey, with Grande recently confirming that this was an intentional move to keep the film feeling like it was in the hands of true fans. This week, the first international premiere of Wicked: For Good took place in Brazil, although the two-time Grammy winner was forced to miss the event due to a “safety issue” with her flight.
“i am so heartbroken that i’m unable to be there with you all,” she wrote Tuesday (Nov. 4) on her Instagram Story, urging fans not to “wish danger” on her just because they felt upset by her absence. “we sincerely tried everything we could and i apologize from the bottom of my heart.”
Watch Erivo and Grande star in new ads for the Winter Olympics below.
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After more than 50 years on the road, Journey is preparing for one last victory lap.
On Thursday (Nov. 5), the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band announced plans for its Final Frontier Tour, a 60-date North American trek that will kick off Feb. 28 at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and run through July 2 in Laredo, Texas.
Billed as “A Special Evening With Journey,” the tour will feature a new stage production and a career-spanning setlist packed with the band’s biggest hits — including “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Any Way You Want It,” “Faithfully,” “Lights” and more — along with a handful of deeper cuts for longtime fans. All dates are being promoted by AEG Presents.
“This tour is our heartfelt thank-you to the fans who’ve been with us every step of the way,” said founder and guitarist Neal Schon in a statement. “We’re pulling out all the stops — the hits, the deep cuts, the energy, the spectacle. It’s a full-circle celebration of the music that’s brought us all together.”
Schon emphasized that while this marks the final chapter for Journey as a touring act, he has no plans to step away from music entirely. “I want everyone to know I’m not done,” he said. “Music is still burning strong inside me, and there are new creative horizons ahead.”
Keyboardist Jonathan Cain called the farewell run a chance to reconnect with the fans one more time. “We’ve shared our music with millions and this tour is about gratitude, connection and one last chance to feel that magic together,” he said.
Frontman Arnel Pineda, who joined the band in 2007 after being discovered by Schon on YouTube, added: “Every night on stage has been a dream come true. I’m honored to be part of this legacy.”
The current lineup also features Jason Derlatka (keyboards, vocals), Deen Castronovo (drums, vocals) and Todd Jensen (bass).
Since forming in 1973, Journey has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, scored 18 top 40 Billboard Hot 100 singles, and earned RIAA diamond certification for its Greatest Hits album. “Don’t Stop Believin’” passed 1 billion streams on Spotify in 2024 and remains one of the most downloaded songs in the history of digital music.
The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 and received the Billboard Legends of Live award for its blockbuster co-headline tour with Def Leppard in 2018, which sold more than 1 million tickets.
Tickets go on sale to the general public Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. local time. Citi cardmembers will have access to a presale beginning Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. local time through Citi Entertainment. A limited number of VIP packages — including premium seats and exclusive merch — will be available.
Journey’s Final Frontier Tour dates are below:
Feb. 28: Hershey, PA @ GIANT Center
March 1: Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
March 4: Washington, D.C. @ Capital One Arena
March 5: Trenton, NJ @ CURE Insurance Arena
March 7: Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
March 9: Hamilton, ON @ TD Coliseum
March 11: Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
March 12: Quebec City, QC @ Vidéotron Centre
March 14: Hartford, CT @ PeoplesBank Arena
March 16: Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
March 17: Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse
March 19: Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
March 21: Memphis, TN @ FedExForum
March 22: Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena
March 25: N. Little Rock, AR @ Simmons Bank Arena
March 26: Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center
March 28: New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
March 29: Bossier City, LA @ Brookshire Grocery Arena
March 31: Austin, TX @ Moody Center
April 3: Oklahoma City, OK @ Paycom Center
April 4: Wichita, KS @ INTRUST Bank Arena
April 6: Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
April 8: Des Moines, IA @ CASEY’S CENTER
April 9: Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
April 12: Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center
April 14: Boise, ID @ ExtraMile Arena
April 15: Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena
April 17: Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum
April 19: Eugene, OR @ Matthew Knight Arena
April 21: Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
April 22: Bakersfield, CA @ Dignity Health Arena
April 24: Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center at Fresno State
May 15: Tampa, FL @ Benchmark International Arena
May 16: Jacksonville, FL @ VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
May 18: Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
May 20: Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
May 21: Greensboro, NC @ First Horizon Coliseum
May 23: Atlantic City, NJ @ Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall
May 27: State College, PA @ Bryce Jordan Center
May 28: Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena
May 30: Knoxville, TN @ Food City Center
May 31: Savannah, GA @ Enmarket Arena
June 3: Hampton, VA @ Hampton Coliseum
June 4: Roanoke, VA @ Berglund Center Coliseum
June 6: Worcester, MA @ DCU Center
June 7: Manchester, NH @ SNHU Arena
June 10: Buffalo, NY @ KeyBank Center
June 11: Allentown, PA @ PPL Center
June 13: Cincinnati, OH @ Heritage Bank Center
June 14: Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
June 17: Evansville, IN @ Ford Center
June 18: Fort Wayne, IN @ Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
June 20: Champaign, IL @ State Farm Center
June 21: Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center
June 24: Moline, IL @ Vibrant Arena at the MARK
June 25: Springfield, MO @ Great Southern Bank Arena
June 27: Tupelo, MS @ Cadence Bank Arena
June 28: Lafayette, LA @ CAJUNDOME
July 1: Corpus Christi, TX @ Hilliard Center
July 2: Laredo, TX @ Sames Auto Arena
Trending on Billboard SiriusXM is spotlighting the sounds of the season — and Billboard charts — with the Billboard Holiday Countdown. Based on cumulative performance on Billboard’s Holiday 100 chart through last holiday season, the Billboard Holiday Countdown is a festive journey from No. 100 to No. 1 spanning decades and generations of time-honored hits. […]
Trending on Billboard In this episode of Billboard On The Record, director Jon M. Chu and music editor Jack Dolman join host Kristin Robinson to talk about bringing the iconic musical ‘Wicked’ to the big screen. They dive into the process of adapting a beloved story, from working closely with Stephen Schwartz to deciding how […]
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Adolescence can be a trying, sometimes terrifying time for many teens. But on Penn Badgley’s Podcrushed podcast this week, Sam Smith revisited a particularly challenging time they went through as a young teenager struggling with painful physical changes.
“I had surgery on my chest when I was 13 years old, because I had a growing chest,” Smith told Badgley about the procedure they first talked about in a 2019 interview. “There were all sorts of reasons why, but mainly, I was just getting so teased, I couldn’t go swimming in school, and I couldn’t — like, getting changed in the locker room was hell. So I got liposuction when I was 13 years old.”
As a non-binary, queer child trying to find their way in the world, Smith praised their parents for being “hugely supportive of the whole thing, because they just saw how much it was crippling everything about me.” Describing the “brutal” years in a Catholic school at 12 while being “so obviously gay,” Smith said they were popular, “really chubby, round a pink” and totally comfortable with their queerness after coming out to a female friend at 10.
But their weight was always a burden. “My queerness was something that I could handle and could have a grasp on it, but my weight as a kid was the hardest thing for me in school and weirdly the thing I got teased most about,” Smith said.
The singer recalled that it was “just all a struggle with food and stuff. And the liposuction, it worked, but it was also a nightmare because they gave me a bandage,” describing a kind of bra that they were originally meant to wear for a month while healing that turned into a year of binding. “If I wore the bandage, it meant that I would get to the front of the lunch queue,” Smith laughed. “So I just kept this bandage on for nearly a year, and I’d be like, ‘Oh, don’t come close to me,’ and then I’d just get first at lunch and I’d eat more and eat more and eat more… so the surgery never really worked because I just love food.”
Smith has long been open about their history of struggle with body issues, including in a 2019 post in which the singer posed shirtless on a beach and described a reluctance early in their career to take photos without a shirt on. “In the past if I have ever done a photo shoot with so much as a t-shirt on, I have starved myself for weeks in advance and then picked and prodded at every picture and then normally taken the picture down,” Smith said at the time, adding that the near-unanimous support from fans has helped them be open about their struggle.
Smith is gearing up to kick off a 12-show To Be Free residency at the Warsaw in New York City on Nov. 26 before moving on to a 20-night residency at the refurbished Castro Theatre in San Francisco.
Click here to listen to the Podcrushed Smith interview (liposuction discussion begins at 26-minute mark).
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Snoop Dogg will not be ringing in the new year on NBC. After previously announcing that the rapper would host a two-hour musical variety special from Miami titled Snoop Dogg’s New Year Eve as an extension of the hip-hop icon’s larger deal with NBCUniversal, Deadline reported on Wednesday (Nov. 5) that the network has decided not to proceed with the project.
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The show, which was slated to be carried live by the network and stream on Peacock, has reportedly been shelved in order to allow Snoop to focus on his gig as a Winter Olympics correspondent. “Sometimes the calendar gets in the way of the celebration, which is why my NBC family and I decided this winter was time for us all to focus on the Olympics,” Snoop told Deadline in a statement. “But don’t worry, we’ll party together bigger and better later in 2026. Ya dig.”
Though NBCUniversal’s announcement of the NYE special in May promised, “a night packed with unforgettable music, iconic performances and surprise artist collaborations,” up until the cancellation, no lineup or performer details of the planned special were revealed.
Snoop, who delighted audiences with his dispatches from the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, will be back on his ring game next month as a roving correspondent for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. According to the announcement from NBC in September, Snoop will “explore northern Italy, from the vibrant streets of Milan to the breathtaking Dolomites, providing his unique perspective to viewers during NBCUniversal’s Winter Olympic primetime coverage.”
The opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Games will air on Feb. 6 on NBC and Peacock and for the duration of the 17 day games, Snoop will appear alongside NBC Olympics host Mike Tirico and bring primetime audiences his unique perspective on Northern Italy winter games.
“I am excited to be back with my main man Mike Tirico for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina,” said Snoop in a statement when his winter games gig was announced. “The D O double G will be on the scene, and I am looking forward to celebrating with the athletes and their families. The Olympics is the biggest stage in the world and, as everyone knows, I’m all about sports, bringing people together, and unifying while bringing the fun. I’ll be bringing my puffy jackets, snow pants, goggles, skates (and will definitely be iced out).”
Deadline reported that it is currently unclear what NBC will air to replace the Snoop NYE special. Last year, NYE fell on Sunday and NBC carried Sunday Night Football instead of a live variety special after airing Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party live from Miami with Miley Cyrus the previous two years.
