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Kelsea Ballerini is opening up about her close bond with Noah Kahan following their emotional duet at CMA Fest, and she has nothing but praise for her friend and collaborator.
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In a new interview with People, Ballerini shared how her friendship with the Stick Season singer has blossomed beyond music. “I adore Noah,” she said. “I got to know him as an artist and a collaborator, but now we’re dear friends and I just can’t say enough about the human being that he is. He’s a good human.”
The two artists performed together on the main stage at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest 2025, singing their 2024 duet “Cowboys Cry Too” as well as Kahan’s breakout hit “Stick Season.”
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Ballerini recalled texting Kahan just days before the show. “I was like, ‘I’m sure the answer is you want to be a hermit right now, but just in case, do you want to come play CMA Fest?’” His response? “‘I’ve never done CMA Fest. I’ve never played a stadium.’ I was like, ‘Didn’t you headline Fenway?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, but a proper football stadium.’”
According to Ballerini, Kahan said yes at the very last minute. Even after her set was cut short due to rain, she insisted on performing “Stick Season” with him. “You came all the way down here with your friends and your family,” she said. “We have to do ‘Stick Season.’”
“[Noah] is just a joy to be on stage with,” Ballerini added. “He has that ‘I’m just happy to be here’ mentality, which I love.”
The pair first teamed up for “Cowboys Cry Too,” released in April 2024, which Ballerini previously called a career highlight. “Thank you @noahkahanmusic for adding your uninhibited perspective and songwriting brilliance into this song,” she wrote at the time. “I couldn’t be more proud to put this music and message out alongside such a lovely artist and friend.”
Both artists have had busy years. Kahan’s Stick Season (Forever) reissue debuted in the top five of the Billboard 200 in February, while Ballerini made a return to the main stage at CMA Fest and is now a brand ambassador for energy drink Celsius, which she affectionately calls “Kelsius.”
Pop-punk icons Avril Lavigne and Deryck Whibley reunited onstage over the weekend for a surprise performance of Sum 41’s “In Too Deep” during Lavigne’s headlining set at the Vans Warped Tour stop in Washington, D.C. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Eight songs into her June 15 set, […]
The U.K.’s Association of Independent Music (AIM) has announced its Independent Music Awards will return to London this fall (Sept. 23).
Celebrating its 15th year, the event will take place at the capital’s iconic Roundhouse venue and spotlight a wealth of artists, labels and entrepreneurs in the independent music community — which makes up a third of the U.K.’s recorded music market.
Categories include U.K. independent breakthrough, best independent EP/mixtape and best independent remix, as well as other artist-focused awards such as best live performer. See a full list of categories below.
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AIM Rightsholder members can submit entrants for free. Submissions are now open via the organization’s official website and close at 11:59 p.m. GMT on July 9. For non-members, there are submission costs – albeit discounts are available to organizations connected with AIM, such as those who focus on encouraging further diversity in the industry.
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The one to watch, EDI (equity, diversity inclusion) champion, independent music champion and music entrepreneur of the year categories, however, are free for anyone to enter. The full list of categories and submission guidance can be found via the AIM website.
The only categories that are not open for submissions are outstanding contribution to music, the innovator award and PPL award for most played new independent artist, as these are decided in-house by AIM.
Tickets for the show will go on sale later in the summer. Last year’s ceremony saw legendary pop duo Sparks receive the outstanding contribution to music award in honor of its illustrious five-decade career, while Neneh Cherry collected the innovator award. Music Venue Trust was named independent music champion and Totnes’ Drift Records was honored with the best independent record store award.
The 2025 event will see the reintroduction of AIM’s local music champions (previously known as Local Heroes, debuted in 2019), in collaboration with BBC Introducing. The accolade will honor those who have “demonstrated unwavering support for their local music community or used their position to improve the wider ecosystem,” according to a press release.
Gee Davy, CEO of AIM, said in a statement: “We are delighted to bring the U.K.’s most vibrant music community awards back to the Roundhouse, celebrating the breadth of talent and innovation across independent music.“The Independent Music Awards is the best place to celebrate and recognise those who often go unsung, creating the most culturally impactful music coming out of the U.K., as well as an opportunity for us to honour some of our heroes and champions who make a wider impact.”
The Independent Music Awards will round out AIM’s wider programme of events for 2025. It will follow shortly after AIM Connected, a conference for business leaders and senior managers in the independent music sector, which will take place on Sept. 9 at Rich Mix in Shoreditch.
Warner Music Australia are currently in the midst of a purple patch in their home country, with Warner Music Group’s Down Under division recently clocking up a “historic” showing on the ARIA Singles chart.
The success in question relates to the two recent ARIA charts – dated Monday, June 9 and June 16 – which sees nine of the positions across the fortnight’s top fives held by WMA artists.
While Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” sits in the top spot on the June 9 chart, it’s joined by a double-header from sombr by way of “Undressed” and “Back to Friends,” with Ravyn Lenae’s “Love Me Not” and Tate McRae’s “Just Keep Watching” rounding out the top five.
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The tune is largely the same in the June 16 chart, with the only difference being the insertion of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” in the No. 2 spot. The remainder of both charts’ top ends are filled out by familiar contemporaries, including Benson Bone, Bruno Mars (both with Lady Gaga and Rosé), Teddy Swims, and perennial favorites Fleetwood Mac and the Goo Goo Dolls.
All told, the first week hosts a total of 11 WMA acts in the top 20, with that number dropping by just one for the following chart, resulting in a majority representation.
Reflecting on the success of the recent achievement, Dan Rosen, President of Records And Publishing, Australasia, Warner Music Group, explains that it’s a “phenomenal effort” to achieve these “historic levels of chart share.”
“These things are built up on years of hard work from teams around the world, in terms of artist development, A&R, and connecting with culture,” he explains. “We’ve been able to cement that here in Australia.
“Our mission is to make our global artists local, and local artists global,” he adds. “It has been amazing to see, in terms of making this next generation of great Warner acts feel part of our local culture and getting them on ground and building them up.”
Rosen – who was recently named as one of Billboard’s 2025 Global Power Players – also focused on some of the specific artists that fall under his purview, specifically looking at the success of Australian and New Zealand artists on the global stage.
“We’ve always known that Aussies and Kiwis are as good as anyone else in the world, and I think the global platforms now give us the opportunity to really showcase that,” he explains. “Building that next generation of Aussie and Kiwi acts on the global stage has been a big job and a heavy lift, but we’re really starting to see results.”
Among the successes that Rosen looks at fondly are the likes of Auckland alternative pop outfit Balu Brigada,who topped the Alternative Airplay chart with their debut single “So Cold,” with latest single “Backseat” also making impressive moves globally.
CYRIL also scores a mention from Rosen, with the Darwin DJ having seen plenty of success on the radio charts, while his recent track “There She Goes” has topped the TikTok charts.
“We’ve always had wonderful export artists and are really excited seeing this next generation come through in both the indie rock and dance genres, which we’ve traditionally been very strong in,” he adds.
Notably, the recent chart success from WMA also comes accompanied by some less-than-stellar news of the Australian industry as a whole, with the entirety of the Singles chart’s top 50 being devoid of any local acts.
The only Australian influence that can be found is within Doechii’s “Anxiety,” which prominently samples Gotye’s 2011 single “Somebody That I Used to Know.” The Albums chart is slightly more promising, with Jimmy Barnes’ Defiant album in the top spot for June 16, though the rest of the top 20 lacks any locals.
This lack of Australian artists isn’t new, however, with ARIA’s 2024 end-of-year charts comprising just 5% local content.
“It’s tough out there,” Rosen agrees, referencing a need for local acts to be visible in order to make an impact on the charts. “There’s no doubt we can’t shy away from that impact on the chart here, but I think these things are cyclical and I’m incredibly optimistic of this next generation of Aussie acts that will impact the charts, both here and overseas.
“It’s definitely a moment in time. We can’t pretend it’s not happening, but we need to set ourselves up for what success looks like in the future and to me, that’s very much around the acts that can impact globally.”
The recent chart successes from WMA can also be traced back to the importance of having artists performing in the local market – a necessity which Rosen labels as “fundamental.”
“Look at Benson Boone and Teddy Swims, we brought both artists out to market really, really early,” Rosen recalls. “Benson Boone played a small sold-out show at the Lansdowne [in Sydney]. Teddy Swims’ first great, Hot Hits was in New Zealand with ‘Lose Control,’ and New Zealand and Australia are still his top two markets anywhere in the world.
“I think the number one most important thing is to get artists to market,” he continues. “So you see how great they are, Aussie fans can fall in love with them and we can connect them with local culture. And that’s really our job here, to work with our partners.
“We’ve got incredible partnerships with Atlantic Records and Warner Records and we’ve worked with them from early days about ‘How do we help you break this artist in the market?’ We value those partnerships, we work incredibly hard with them, and we bring those artists as early as we can and start seeding them into the local culture and building their fanbase.”
In addition to his current role with WMA, Rosen took on new duties this year with publishing, with the recent good news of a strong showing in the charts undoubtedly leaving the entire team feeling content.
“I’m just the figurehead at the top and it’s a lot of hard work from the teams,” he explains. “I think we’ve got the most passionate and hardworking team across both records and publishing in the market and I feel very proud to lead them.
“We’re not going to rest on our laurels,” he adds. “Lots more to achieve, lots more to do, but I think you have to celebrate the wins. We all know how hard we work in this business, so it’s good to celebrate the wins, but we’re off to work out what comes next.”
Sabrina Carpenter concerts could look a little different in the future, with the star revealing she’s open to the idea of banning phones at her shows.
Carpenter’s comments appeared in a recent article from Rolling Stone, who shared quotes that didn’t make it into their recent cover story with the singer. One of the previously-unpublished revelations was that Carpenter indeed open to asking fans to pocket their devices at her gigs.
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“This will honestly p–s off my fans, but absolutely,” she explained, noting she was inspired by a Las Vegas show from Silk Sonic which required her to lock her phone up.”
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“I’ve never had a better experience at a concert,” Carpenter explained. “I genuinely felt like I was back in the Seventies — wasn’t alive. Genuinely felt like I was there. Everyone’s singing, dancing, looking at each other, and laughing. It really, really just felt so beautiful.”
Notably, Silk Sonic’s 2022 Las Vegas residency even featured Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak crafting a song to underline the lack of devices. “We took your phones away,” they sang. “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
“I’ve grown up in the age of people having iPhones at shows,” Carpenter continued. “It unfortunately feels super normal to me. I can’t blame people for wanting to have memories. But depending on how long I want to be touring, and what age I am, girl, take those phones away. You cannot zoom in on my face. Right now, my skin is soft and supple. It’s fine. Do not zoom in on me when I’m 80 years old up there.”
The topic of banning phones at gigs has been a contentious one over the years, with artists wishing for fans to live in the moment, and fans desiring a chance to memorialize their concert experiences.
In 2015, Jack White shared a verbal plea for no phones during his Lazaretto tour, and by the time The Raconteurs toured in 2019, attendees were told to put their devices in locked Yondr pouches.
“We think you’ll enjoy looking up from your gadgets for a little while and experience music and our shared love of it in person,” a note from the band read at the time.
Other acts, such as Tool and A Perfect Circle have been noted for asking fans to observe such a practice, with the latter having made headlines for reportedly ejecting concert attendees who violated the request.
“You ever go to a play or a movie?” A Perfect Circle guitarist Billy Howerdel asked in 2018. “If you’ve ever been to a play or a movie, it’s kind of similar: you don’t take out your phone and start filming, and let the people behind you stare into your screen.”
More recently, Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood put out a request to fans to put down their phones during the band’s Run for Your Lives World Tour. “We really want fans to enjoy the shows first hand, rather than on their small screens,” Smallwood explained.
“The amount of phone use nowadays diminishes enjoyment, particularly for the band who are on stage looking out at rows of phones, but also for other concertgoers,” he added. “We feel that the passion and involvement of our fans at shows really makes them special, but the phone obsession has now got so out of hand that it has become unnecessarily distracting especially to the band.”
As fortunate fans spilled into the intimate and sweaty Maxim’s de Paris on Wednesday night (June 18), no one knew exactly what to expect. Vocals? For sure. Fashion? Absolutely. This is Miley Cyrus, after all.
But when the superstar combined two of her biggest hits – none other than “The Climb” and “We Can’t Stop” – into a special one-off medley, fans were floored. “We put this together just for all of you tonight,” shared Cyrus, in her first of two Mugler looks.
The special and career-spanning fusion – reminiscent of two distinct times in the pop star’s life – was fitting for an equally special evening. Cyrus hadn’t performed in Paris for over 10 years, and she made sure her grand return was well worth the wait. The evening’s set was for Spotify’s Billions Club Live, making Cyrus only the second artist, after The Weeknd, to ever earn a Billions Club concert. (As Spotify previously confirmed to Billboard, Cyrus’ Billions Club Live show was filmed to be released later this summer.)
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Despite such a massive milestone, Cyrus stayed true to form and kept the setting and guest list rather intimate, with only a few hundred fans packed into Maxim’s downstairs venue. But unlike her famed Chateau Marmont sets in Los Angeles or her recent performance at an equally intimate New York space — all in support of her latest album, Something Beautiful — Wednesday night was perhaps the most wide-ranging setlist fans have enjoyed for some time.
Thanks to the nature of Spotify’s Billions Club Live, Cyrus’ set was a tight hour (including an outfit change) of her biggest hits on the platform — all of which, yes, have reached more than 1 billion streams. (On the pre-show playlist, deep cuts including “Cattitude” off her She Is Coming EP satiated superfans.)
“Being a part of the Billions Club is only a part of me – it’s an honor, but in no means is it holistic,” Cyrus said. “Each of you are a piece of a billion, and without each of you, the billion doesn’t even exist. That’s how important and crucial you are to the success in my life. The confidence and goals that I have achieved [is] because of you and your support. And I’ve never really been too interested in numbers because math is done from the mind, but true authentic beauty is from the heart.”
During her set, Cyrus demonstrated just how much of her heart has always been in her hits – and is likely what has pushed these in particular to become some of her biggest. During opener “Flowers,” she emphasized and riffed on the line “no regrets, baby” while holding up a bouquet of flowers gifted by a fan. And while introducing “The Climb,” she shared that the song is “inspired by the effort and the struggles that it takes to become the person you want to be. … I truly believe the most authentic version of yourself is deep within the struggle. … Everything in my life that I can stand here and be proud of at one point was towering over me like a mountain.” (The mere mention of a mountain elicited emphatic cheering.)
And before performing her Plastic Hearts hit “Angels Like You” accompanied by nothing more than a piano, Cyrus told her fans: “You are the earth angels that make my life heaven.” And in another unexpected twist, she performed the impassioned “Wrecking Ball” next while still backed by only keys.
After an outfit and hairdo change – from teased waves and a Mugler dress dripping with crystals to an updo with a Mugler crystal corset and suit jacket – Cyrus returned to the stage alongside her full backing band, which included a four-person string section and guitarist Maxx Morando. A front-row fan declared that Cyrus looked “super French,” to which Cyrus replied that they’ve actually been discussing what to name her current backing band, before concluding that “Super French” was the best idea they’ve heard yet.
Cyrus then closed the show with a one-two punch of Something Beautiful standouts: “End of the World” and “More to Lose.” Before performing the latter, she said, “A lot of my songs are about resilience, and I’m very proud of that,” noting that the theme of resilience is one not only personal to her and her music, but that is universally felt – and desperately needed right now.
Halfway through “More to Lose,” she turned to Morando and said she’s tired of crying and wanted to do something a bit more fun. The solution? “Easy Lover.” Cyrus performed the song with an extended outro, during which she strutted from one side of the small stage to the other, blowing kisses to fans who were within arm’s length before returning to its center to take a bow.
And after showing off her outfit one last time, Cyrus seamlessly disappeared behind thick red velvet curtains, as if bringing her “End of the World” lyric to life: “Let’s go to Paris, I don’t care if we get lost in the scene.”
As the wide-eyed expressions across the room proved, there’s hardly a better scene to get lost in.
Fans of Snoop Dogg‘s Doggyland have a new song to sing along to. This time, Snoop’s lovable character Bow Wizzle linked with social media sensation VanVan — who also happens to voice Doggyland‘s Vancy the Dalmatian character — for a new video for a remix of the “Clean Up Song,” which interpolates the classic children’s […]
Bad Bunny is set to kick off his all-stadium world tour on Nov. 21 in the Dominican Republic, in support of his sixth studio album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, which topped the Billboard 200 in January. The Live Nation-produced trek will make pit stops in Costa Rica and Mexico in December, before resuming in January […]
Muni Long is set to perform at Megan Thee Stallion’s inaugural Pete & Thomas Foundation Gala in New York City next month. The gala is scheduled for July 16 at Gotham Hall in the Big Apple, as the Houston rapper took it upon herself to completely organize the inaugural event. Taraji P. Henson will play […]
The Women Songwriters Hall of Fame will celebrate its fifth anniversary over two days this week at the Mead Center for American Theatre in Washington, D.C. There will be workshops and panel discussions on Friday June 20, followed by an awards ceremony on Saturday, June 21.
Hosted by Claudia Jordan, this year’s awards ceremony will honor 13 women – not all songwriters – from a wide range of genres. The 2025 honorees include two-time Grammy winner Janis Ian; Grammy winner Regina Belle; Grammy nominees Melba Moore, Brenda Russell and Janiva Magness; as well as Julie Giroux, Vicki Peterson (best known for her work in The Bangles), YoYo (aka Yolanda Whitaker), Christina Shusho, Asha Puthli and Dr. Stacy L. Smith, who spearheaded the USC Annenberg Study. Dr. Smith was set to be honored last year but became ill and was forced to drop out.
Two women will be honored posthumously – Motown songwriter Sylvia Moy (who died in 2017 at age 78) and country singer/singer Lari White (who died in 2018 at age 52).
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Ian and Russell have both received Grammy nods for song of the year – Ian for “At Seventeen” (1976) and Russell for “Piano in the Dark” (1989).
The event will include musical performances by Nes Powers, Evelyn Rubio, Robert Cristian Jordan and Mallow Hill plus entertainment by Adam Stone and Women on Fire. Other participants include presenters Andree Harris and Telishia Berry, DJ Supreme Da Barber, and Versie Jean and musical director Christopher Valentine.
On Friday, the organization will host its annual songwriting contest and mixer. Ten emerging songwriters will be invited to perform their original songs for a panel of industry judges. The winner receives studio time at Omega Recording Studios in Rockville, MD and a guitar, in addition to the opportunity to perform at Saturday’s awards ceremony. The mixer is designed as an opportunity for up-and-coming songwriters and performers to meet veterans who can help them in their careers. Montanique “Monei” Sutton will serve as host/songwriting mixer for Saturday’s events.
“In the research I conducted before deciding to launch the organization, I found that there are not many programs exclusively honoring women in entertainment at this level,” says Dr. Janice McLean DeLoatch, the organization’s founder, chief executive and chairman. “We’re all about achieving parity and recognition for girls and women in music, opening doors a bit more for those whose talents will bring us joy, inspiration and their songs on the radio for the next 50 years.”
Previous Women Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees include Roberta Flack, Valerie Simpson, Klymaxx, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Deniece Williams, The Go-Go’s and the late Naomi Judd (2021); Marilyn Bergman, Gloria Estefan, Siedah Garrett, Indigo Girls, Loretta Lynn and Jody Watley (2022); Ann Hampton Calloway, Jan Daley, Scherrie Payne, Toni Basil, Angela Bofill, Pam Sawyer and the late Cynthia Weil and Olivia Newton-John (2023); and Crystal Waters, Soon Hee Newbold and the late Angie Stone and Allie Willis (2024).
For more information, visit this page on the organization’s website.
