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Corridos bélicos pioneer Luis R Conriquez is set to hit the road with his Trakas HDSPM U.S. Tour, Billboard can announce. The Live Nation-produced stint will kick off April 25 in New York at the UBS Arena and will visit major cities across the country, including San Antonio and Las Vegas before wrapping up Oct. […]
Stephen Schwartz, who wrote both music and lyrics to all the songs in Wicked, is about to become even more “Popular.” The veteran songwriter is set to receive the 2025 Johnny Mercer Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala on Thursday, June 12, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
The award presentation will come near the midpoint between the November 2024 release of Wicked, which quickly became the highest-grossing film ever based on a Broadway musical, and the November 2025 release of a sequel, Wicked: For Good. Both films are based on the 2003 stage musical Wicked.
Schwartz, 76, has won three Oscars, four Grammys, four Drama Desk Awards and a Golden Globe. He has received six Tony nominations, in addition to receiving their Isabelle Stevenson Award in 2015 for his support of young artists.
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The Mercer Award, the highest honor bestowed by the SHOF, is reserved for a songwriter or songwriting team who has already been inducted into the SHOF and whose body of work upholds the high standards set by Mercer, wrote dozens of hits from the 1930s through the 1960s. (Learn more about Mercer here.) Schwartz was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.
“With every lyric and melody, Stephen invites us on an unforgettable journey,” SHOF chairman Nile Rodgers said in a statement. “From his iconic list of award-winning musicals, including Godspell, Wicked and Pippin, Stephen continually proves that he is the only person who can turn a simple story into a Broadway musical masterpiece, one catchy chorus at a time!”
Schwartz won his first two Oscars – best original song for “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas and best original musical or comedy score for that same film, in tandem with Alan Menken, who received the Johnny Mercer Award in 2017. Schwartz won his third Oscar – best original song for “When You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt – by himself.
Schwartz is the second Mercer recipient in the past three years who is largely known for his work in theater. Tim Rice, who teamed with Andrew Lloyd Webber to write such classics as Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, won the award in 2023.
Schwartz has been a major force in the American musical theater since the early 1970’s, when he had three hit shows running on Broadway – Godspell, Pippin, and The Magic Show.
Four of Schwartz’s songs – two from stage musicals and two from films – have become top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. “Day by Day” from Godspell (credited to Godspell) reached No. 13 in 1972. The Jackson 5’s cover version of “Corner of the Sky” from Pippin reached No. 18 in 1972, Vanessa Williams’ “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas hit No. 4 in 1995, and Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey’s “When You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt reached No. 15 in 1999. The latter film was DreamWorks’ first animated feature.
Schwartz’s other musicals, in addition to those already named, include The Magic Show, The Baker’s Wife, Working, Rags, Children of Eden, and the upcoming The Queen of Versailles, which is slated to open on Broadway this fall. His other films, in addition to those already named, include The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enchanted.
In the classical field, Schwartz collaborated with Leonard Bernstein on Mass and composed the opera, Seance on a Wet Afternoon. He has also released two singer/songwriter albums, Reluctant Pilgrim and Uncharted Territory.
Under the auspices of The ASCAP Foundation, Schwartz runs musical theater workshops in New York and Los Angeles, and serves on the ASCAP Foundation board. He is also a member of the Council of the Dramatists’ Guild.
Gracie Abrams, 25, was announced two weeks ago as the recipient of the SHOF’s other major honorary award, the Hal David Starlight Award. That award, named after the Oscar- and Grammy-winning lyricist, is presented to young songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry with their original songs.
Previously announced 2025 SHOF inductees are George Clinton, Ashley Gorley, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Mike Love, Tony Macaulay and three members of The Doobie Brothers (Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons).
A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction into the SHOF 20 years after the first commercial release of a song.
You know how you know you’re a huge pop star? When the mere mention of your name, or a brief, dance-y cameo during the host’s monologue drive the studio audience into uncontrollable shrieking. BTS‘ j-hope knows this feeling.
The singer got ARMY in formation early on Monday night (March 10) during his appearance on The Tonight Show when he snuck out during Jimmy Fallon’s monologue for a bit making fun of the host’s lame dance moves. “I wish I could dance even a 10th as good as he can,” Fallon lamented of his skills compared to his guest, as Roots drummer Questlove assured Jimmy that he indeed had smooth moves. Busting into some seriously cringe dad choreo, Jimmy gyrated to massive screams as a smiling Hobi slipped on stage to show him how it’s done, leaving Fallon thinking that he’d killed it. “You love my dancing!” Fallon blushed.
The singer came back for a sit-down chat, beginning with his favorite things to do when he visits the U.S. Fallon noted that the K-pop superstar recently made his first visit to In-N-Out Burger and he asked how it went. Switching from Korean to English, j-hope said he ordered a cheeseburger, animal-style, a vanilla milkshake and fries. “It was good…. very salty and cheesy and sweety… but not healthy,” he smiled.
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After Fallon shared a recent Instagram post in which Hobi busted out his best Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us” shuffle dance, the singer confirmed that he’s never met K-Dot, but is definitely down for a collab. “I’m ready for work with you, Kendrick,” he said to screeches from the studio audience as he did a command performance of the signature dance from Lamar’s Drake-destroying single.
In addition to talking about his early days in the underground dance crew Neuron — which was inspired by the first time he heard the clothes-to-the-back kid rap duo Kriss Kross — j-hope said that, like Fallon’s pal Justin Timberlake, when he’s in the studio he can’t help dancing to his own songs and dreaming about what it will be like to perform them live.
“Whenever I listen to music, something come up in my mind,” he said. “And I think of how I want to express that on stage.”
The singer also came back to close the show with a performance of his new solo single, “Sweet Dreams,” with Miguel. Standing on a platform on a fog-shrouded set, Hobi harmonized with the soul singer on the song’s love-filled chorus in his first-ever solo spot on the show, before busting out his melodic rap on the verse while rocking the stage in baggy jeans and fuzzy bunny slippers.
Watch j-hope on The Tonight Show below.
Continuing his ascent as one of the U.K.’s most in-demand electronic acts, Barry Can’t Swim has returned with a intense new single. Listen to “The Person You’d Like To Be” below.
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Offering direct spoken-word vocals that cut through discordant arrangements, the track marks the first preview of a forthcoming project from the Scottish artist. More details of the release are expected to arrive soon.
Born Joshua Mainnie, the DJ and producer has had a stratospheric rise over the past 18 months. Following the release of his debut album, When Will We Land?, in October 2023 – which peaked at No. 12 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart – Mainnie has gone on to perform at major festivals across the globe, including Coachella and Australia’s Laneway.
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In September 2024, the record was shortlisted for the prestigious Mercury Prize. His nomination puts him alongside Aphex Twin, Nia Archives, Burial, Jamie xx, Fred Again.. and Jon Hopkins as the only solo British electronic acts to be nominated for the award. Leeds band English Teacher would go on to be named as the winner of last year’s award.
Later that month, Mainnie released “Still Riding,” a dancefloor cut that features a sample of Kali Uchis’ 2015 single “Ridin Round.” It was first aired at one of his sets in 2022, before he released the track – which samples the Colombian-American artist’s vocals – to streaming two years later.
When Will We Land? also led Mainnie to a BRIT Awards 2024 nomination in the dance act category, as well as making the shortlist for the Scottish Album of the Year awards. He performed three sold-out shows at London’s iconic O2 Academy Brixton last October, following a much talked-about slot on The Park stage at Glastonbury earlier in the year.
Mainnie will headline London’s All Points East series on Aug. 22. He will be supported by special guests Confidence Man and Shygirl. Elsewhere, there will be appearances from a bevy of dance acts including DJ Heartstring, Interplanetary Criminal, Salute, Leon Vynehall and ATRIP, among others. The four-night festival will also see RAYE, The Maccabees, and Chase & Status top the bill at their respective all-dayers.
On Aug. 24, Mainnie will appear at Bristol’s Forwards Festival alongside Doechii, Ezra Collective, and Jorja Smith. He is also scheduled to headline Lost Village Festival in Lincolnshire across the same weekend.
He is currently gearing up for a U.S. tour through the spring, which will see him perform in major cities including Boston and New York. The run of dates will culminate with two nights at Los Angeles’ Shrine Expo Hall (May 2-3).
Lil Nas X took some time off, but clearly it was no vacation. The rapper has dropped back-to-back new singles this week and on his latest he’s warning that no games will be played this year. “B–ch, I’m in my prime like a paintbrush/ Big s–t poppin’, walkin’ ’round in a mink vest/ Whoop-whoop, talkin’ […]
The Voice season 27 turned up the heat Monday night (March 10) as the Battle Rounds began, pitting the Top 48 contestants against each other in unforgettable duets to secure their place in the Knockouts.
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Coaches Adam Levine, John Legend, Michael Bublé, and Kelsea Ballerini each paired their artists strategically, but it was Team Adam’s matchup between Fran Posla and Ethan Eckenroad that sparked one of the evening’s most memorable performances.
Performing Noah Cyrus’s emotional hit “July,” Posla and Eckenroad showcased distinctly different vocal strengths on the soulful track.
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Posla, who Levine encouraged to sing slightly sharp to maintain pitch—advice he insisted “makes sense” despite the initial confusion—captivated the audience immediately with her crisp tone and confident phrasing. Her cool, laid-back delivery earned her praise across the board, with Kelsea Ballerini enthusiastically describing Posla as the “ultimate cool girl,” jokingly adding, “I want to go drink a bourbon with you, and I don’t even drink bourbon, ’cause that scares me.”
Meanwhile, Ethan Eckenroad, who has spent considerable time away from his wife and infant daughter during the competition, brought a softer, emotionally charged vocal style that gained momentum throughout the performance.
While he initially struggled to find his footing, Eckenroad eventually won over the coaches with a soulful climax that highlighted his vocal warmth. Michael Bublé particularly praised Eckenroad’s voice as “soft and beautiful,” recognizing the hidden power beneath his gentle delivery.
However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Eckenroad from the start, as both Legend and Levine acknowledged he took some time to find his groove.
Legend noted that while Posla appeared effortlessly comfortable with Noah Cyrus’s track “July,” Eckenroad’s initial uncertainty was apparent. Ultimately, Adam surprised viewers with his decision, advancing Ethan Eckenroad to the Knockouts while eliminating Fran Posla, despite universal acclaim for her standout performance.
Levine appeared conflicted, reflecting openly: “Fran, you really did thrive singing this song. Ethan, it’s not that you didn’t thrive, because you did…but it took a little time.” Despite second-guessing the song choice, Levine placed his bets on Eckenroad’s growth potential moving forward.
The Voice Season 27 continues next week as coaches Legend, Levine, Bublé, and Ballerini guide their artists into the Knockout rounds, inching closer to crowning the next vocal star.
Luke Combs has revealed the intense nature of his struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), describing the condition as “particularly wicked” during a candid conversation on 60 Minutes Australia.
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The country star shared that unlike common perceptions of OCD—such as compulsive behaviors like flicking light switches—his form, purely obsessional OCD, manifests internally with relentless anxiety and intrusive thoughts rather than outward rituals.
“Probably the worst flare-up of it I’ve had in, I would say three or four years, started about two days before this trip,” Combs told the program prior to his show at Sydney’s Accor Stadium last month.
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“It’s something that in some way I at least think about every day. There’s some tinge of it to some extent every day … The craziness of the particular disorder that I have, it’s the way to get out of it,” Combs told interviewer Adam Hegarty.
“There’s no outward manifestation of it, right? Like you’re talking about the flicking of a light switch, but for me, it’s all going on in here,” Combs explained, adding. “When someone else flicks a light switch, you can see it happening. But for someone like myself, you wouldn’t even know what’s going on—it could be happening right now and you wouldn’t even realise it.”
“It’s thoughts, essentially, that you don’t want to have… and then they cause you stress, and then you’re stressed out, and then the stress causes you to have more of the thoughts, and then you don’t understand why you’re having them, and you’re trying to get rid of them, but trying to get rid of them makes you have more of them.”
He continued, “I’m lucky to be an expert in how to get out of it now… I’m probably 90 per cent out of my flare-up now … and in the midst of doing a world tour, right?”
Combs, known for hits like “Forever After All,” described recent anxiety flare-ups as among the most severe he’s experienced in years, noting periods where obsessive thoughts consumed him for “45 seconds of every minute for weeks.” The intrusive thoughts ranged from unsettling violent images to existential concerns about his identity.
The country star admitted that his OCD significantly impacted his life, explaining, “It held me back so many times in my life where you’re trying to accomplish something, you’re doing really great, and then you have a flare-up, and it just like ruins your whole life for six months.”
Yet, Combs has gradually learned to manage the disorder more effectively by acknowledging these intrusive thoughts without fear.
“When it happens now, I’m not afraid of it because I’m not like, ‘What if I’m like this forever?’ I know I’m not going to be like this forever now.”
Previously, Combs had opened up about first experiencing OCD-related anxiety in middle school during a 2021 interview on AXS TV’s The Big Interview, likening his obsessive thoughts to “fixing the blinds or straightening the carpet,” but occurring entirely in his mind.
Luke Combs has landed four No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart: This One’s For You (2017), What You See Is What You Get (2019), Growin’ Up (2022), and The Prequel (EP) (2019). His albums Gettin’ Old (2023) and Fathers & Sons (2024) both peaked at No. 2.
Drake appears to be working on his next era, though he’s taken to social media to warn that it might not be for everyone.
The Canadian musician shared a post on Instagram on Monday (March 10), with its cryptic content swiftly generating much speculation as to what it might be referring to. “U know I grew up non confrontational and always treated this game as a sport where my pen won gold, but my these days the podium has been hard for all of us to ignore,” the post began.
Presumably, this could be in reference to the OVO rapper’s high-profile beef with Kendrick Lamar, which recently saw Lamar performing the incendiary “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, only days after it won record and song of the year, best rap performance and song, and best music video at the Grammys.
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Drake had previously promised another round in their ongoing feud was on the horizon, with Lamar later addressing the 6 God’s claim while announcing his halftime performance. “You know there’s only one opportunity to win a championship,” Lamar said. “No round twos.”
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As Drake continues his post though, he hints that whatever comes next may be uncomfortable for some, adding that an unidentified individual has been sending him texts. “I understand that this next chapter may leave you feeling uneasy, but I hope you see my honesty as clarity not charity that answers some questions especially about the unanswered texts you’ve been sending me,” the post concludes.
The cryptic nature of Drake’s latest message is continued in the choice of photos used in the post, which – alongside selfies, live footage, and a screengrab from the 2017 film Phantom Thread – also includes an image of two Zofran pills, which the Mayo Clinic notes are “to prevent nausea and vomiting that is caused by cancer medicines (chemotherapy) or radiation therapy.”
Specifics relating to Drake’s upcoming plans remain unclear currently, but his update follows the release of his $ome $exy $ongs 4 U collaborative album with PartyNextDoor on Feb. 14, and the postponement of a number of Australian and New Zealand tour dates due to a “scheduling conflict.”
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are plotting a global live stream of their Bob Dylan-approved performance at Paris’ Accor Arena in November.
The performance, titled Wild God – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Live in Paris, captures Cave and his bandmates as they perform the final date of their U.K. and European tour in support of 2024’s Wild God. Taking place on Nov. 17, the 22-song show largely leaned upon the nascent Wild God album, peppered with tracks from the band’s extensive back catalog.
“With Cave’s electrifying stage presence and a powerful band featuring Warren Ellis, George Vjestica, Colin Greenwood, Jim Sclavunos, Carly Paradis and Larry Mullins, plus a four-piece gospel-inspired vocal section (Wendi Rose, T Jae Cole, Miça Townsend and Janet Ramus), Nick Cave led a high-intensity, emotionally charged performance in front of 20,000 fans,” a description of the stream reads.
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Notably, the November concert saw the band gaining a high-profile blessing when Bob Dylan took to his sporadically-active social media account to Tweet a message in support of the show.
“Saw Nick Cave in Paris recently at the Accor Arena and I was really struck by that song ‘Joy’ where he sings ‘We’ve all had too much sorrow, now it the time for joy’,” Dylan wrote. “I was thinking to myself, yeah that’s about right.”
Cave himself took to his own Red Hand Files website to respond to Dylan’s message, labeling it “a lovely pulse of joy that penetrated my exhausted, zombied state.”
“I felt proud to have been touring with The Bad Seeds and offering, in the form of a rock ‘n ’roll show, an antidote to this despair, one that transported people to a place beyond the dreadful drama of the political moment,” he wrote.
“I was elated to think Bob Dylan had been in the audience, and since I doubt I’ll get an opportunity to thank him personally, I’ll thank him here. Thank you, Bob!”
The Wild God – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Live in Paris concert will be streaming from April 7 via the ARTE Concert YouTube channel and their own ARTE.tv website. North American fans will be forced to wait, however, with the broadcast available from June 1. “We assure you that your patience will be rewarded!” ARTE guaranteed on social media.
Acclaimed composer Hans Zimmer has reflected on his inability to add another Academy Award to his shelf thanks to Dune: Part Two, noting his disqualification was simply due to a “a stupid rule.”
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The German composer has spent more than 35 years working on crafting scores for Hollywood films, with his efforts resulting in two Academy Awards for his efforts. From 12 nominations at the Oscars, Zimmer has taken home the best original score award just twice, once in 1995 for The Lion King, and again in 2022 for his work on Dune.
With director Denis Villeneuve releasing Dune: Part Two in March 2024, many fans could have expected Zimmer to add another feather to his cap thanks to the nascent entry in the franchise. However, in October, Variety reported that Zimmer’s score for the film was deemed ineligible for submission to the Academy Awards due to “surpassing the Academy’s limit on pre-existing music.”
According to the Academy’s rule: “In cases such as sequels and franchises from any media, the score must not use more than 20% of pre-existing themes and music borrowed from previous scores in the franchise.” Due to Zimmer’s score for Dune: Part Two incorporating elements and key cues from the Oscar-winning score to 2021’s Dune, it was therefore deemed ineligible for submission.
Though Villeneuve and the film’s team were undeterred in their efforts for Zimmer to be recognized for his work, the score was ultimately disqualified and did not appear on the ballot for consideration. The film did however receive a total of five nominations, taking home best sound and best visual effects at the ceremony on March 2.
In a new interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Zimmer reflected on the small controversy when host Josh Horowitz asked if the disqualification was a “sore point” for the composer.
“It’s not really a sore point. It’s just such a stupid point – how can it be a sore point?” Zimmer asked. “I got disqualified because I was using material from the first movie in the second movie, but it’s not a sequel. It is the completion of the arc, both movies are one arc.
“So was I supposed to go and take all the character themes away and write new character themes and develop them?” he added. “It’s just a stupid rule. What I didn’t want to do is go and bitch about it.”
Zimmer’s recent comments also continue on from what he told Variety back in October, stating his belief that Dune: Part Two is simply a continuation of the narrative begun in the first film.
“It’s called Dune: Part Two, not Dune 2,” he explained. “The story starts the second we finish the first movie. We are still within that story, those characters, and it would be foolish and completely uncinematic to go and write new themes for the characters instead of enlarging the theme.”
Zimmer is planning to return for Villeneuve’s next film in the series, with Dune: Messiah reportedly set to begin filming in mid-2025.
