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“As you might know, this is the first night of the tour,” Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker told a buzzing, sold-out crowd at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Monday night. “That means it’s a pretty epic night, and there was nowhere more epic to kick this whole shit off than New York City, obviously.
“That [also] means anything can happen,” the Aussie psych-rocker-turned-arena-star continued. “And by that, I mean for the better, but also anything can fall apart at any moment – just so you know.”
Improbably, Tame Impala has become one of modern rock’s biggest live draws. But its catalog is littered with insecurity and loneliness – from 2010 breakout single “Solitude Is Bliss” to beloved 2012 album Lonerism to “Loser,” now a Hot 100 hit from the just-released new album Deadbeat – and even after headlining festivals, producing a Dua Lipa album, and winning a Grammy, Tame mastermind Kevin Parker still clearly has some imposter syndrome.
Five albums in, Tame Impala now has a large enough catalog that tough setlist choices must be made; always known for lasers and confetti, its stage production is more complex than ever, with far more audio and visual components to possibly malfunction. And prior to Barclays on Monday, Tame Impala hadn’t played a proper headlining show in two-and-a-half years.
But Parker – outside of a mildly worn voice he attributed during the encore to an unspecified ailment – had little to worry about. Critics haven’t embraced Deadbeat in the same way as the band’s past projects, but fans greeted freshly minted hits “Dracula” and “Loser” nearly as rapturously as Tame standards like “Let It Happen” and “The Less I Know The Better.” The excitement extended to other Deadbeat material (the setlist featured 10 of its 12 tracks), which the audience responded to even more than cuts from Tame’s first two acclaimed albums, Innerspeaker and Lonerism. The band’s stage production, meanwhile, was more elaborate than ever, while still channeling the colorful, psychedelic aesthetic that’s always been its calling card.
“The only one who’s really judging you is yourself – nobody else,” Parker sings on Innerspeaker deep cut “Alter Ego,” an unexpected inclusion on Monday’s setlist. As the dance-oriented Deadbeat‘s mixed reception has proven, that’s no longer quite true, at least for Parker. But the Barclays crowd on Monday was clearly in his thrall – as those at the next three shows Tame Impala has planned at the venue this week will also surely be.
Here are some of the best moments from Tame Impala’s first Deadbeat show – and when you’re done with that, here’s the complete setlist.
Billboard‘s Live Music Summit will be held in Los Angeles on Nov. 3. For tickets and more information, click here.
A Different Crowd
Trending on Billboard It was supposed to be a North American arena tour. When Shakira first announced her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran outing in April 2024, the route took her to arenas across the continent that fall. But within months, it morphed into something else. Buoyed by the sustained success of her album of […]
Posta Boy, a Harlem rapper known for his battling prowess who cut his teeth on BET’s 106 & Park‘s “Freestyle Friday” series, has reportedly died. Posta Boy dominated the “Freestyle Friday” event for seven weeks straight and was the first inductee for the brand’s hall of fame.
It appears that one of the first people to break the news was rapper and educator Mickey Factz, who took to social media to offer his condolences. Soon after, word began to spread with other rappers such as Skyzoo mentioning that Posta Boy was an inspiration to him as a younger artist.
“Damn, RIP Posta Boy. As a 106 & Park alumni, the run Posta started made that audition line wrap around the corner twice after he retired 7 straight. We all wanted in. Much love to his legacy and strength to his family indeed,” said Skyzoo on Monday (October 27).
Others, such as fellow Harlem artist UFO Fev, Spanish Ran, and boxer Floyd Mayweather, who signed Posta Boy to his music label, all gave tributes.
According to still developing reports, it appears that the rapper born Sherard Dixon passed from an ongoing bout with cancer. He was 43.
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Photo: Getty
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“I work for every bit of applause I get,” Usher told Billboard on the eve of his first Las Vegas residency in 2021. “I try my hardest to give people an incredible experience.”
That philosophy has propelled Usher’s 28-year touring career, which has taken him to arenas, residencies and the world’s largest stage: the Super Bowl. As a 19-year-old wunderkind in the late ’90s, he scored his first opening gigs for Mary J. Blige, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Janet Jackson. Fast forward to this year, when the 47-year-old superstar completed his most recent arena tour, Usher: Past Present Future.
The eight-time Grammy winner’s latest outing was the highest-grossing and best-selling tour of his career, according to Billboard Boxscore, grossing $183.9 million and selling 1.1 million tickets over 80 shows. All told, Usher has a reported career gross of $422.6 million from 3.3 million tickets over 334 shows. That’s a whole lot of singing and dancing — both of which are an innate part of Usher’s DNA.
Usher will appear in conversation during Billboard‘s Live Music Summit, held Nov. 3 in Los Angeles. For tickets and more information, click here.
Drawing comparisons to Michael Jackson while honing lithe dancing skills and his supple tenor, Usher graduated from opener to solo headliner in 2002 with his 8701 Evolution Tour in support of his third studio album, 8701. Two years later, The Truth Tour, in support of his smash-hit album Confessions, became one of the period’s highest-grossing outings, with $31.4 million earned. Usher more than doubled that return with the 2010-11 OMG World Tour, which grossed $75 million; the trek landed in seventh place on Billboard’s Top Tours chart in 2011.
But it was a post-pandemic foray into Las Vegas’ residency scene — suggested by manager Ron Laffitte well after Usher’s last tour in 2014 — that reintroduced and reinvigorated the R&B star’s musical legacy this decade. The first residency, Usher: The Las Vegas Residency, at Caesars Palace, did $18.8 million and sold 84,000 tickets over 20 shows (2021-22). The second, My Way: The Vegas Residency, staged at the Dolby Live theater at Park MGM, garnered $95.9 million and sold 394,000 tickets over 80 shows (2022-23). Those successes sparked a chain reaction that culminated in Usher’s critically acclaimed Super Bowl LVIII halftime performance and Past Present Future.
Usher performs during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024 in Las Vegas.
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Usher performs at the grand opening of Usher’s My Way: The Vegas Residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM on July 15, 2022 in Las Vegas.
Denise Truscello/Getty Images
Usher’s singular status as a dynamic performer has led to his recognition as Billboard’s 2025 Legend of Live. For him, however, it’s the connection with his audience that counts most — and fuels his ongoing passion for performing.
“When it all comes together — the song, the connecting message to the audience, the dance — it almost feels like classical music,” Usher said ahead of his Super Bowl performance last year. “I just want to love what I do, make what I love, allow people to come to my space and see what I have to offer.”
This story appears in the Oct. 25, 2025, issue of Billboard.
Trending on Billboard Grammy-winning artist Kali Uchis, five-time Grammy nominee Kehlani, and KPop Demon Hunters’ songwriter, lead vocalist and rising star EJAE will be honored at the 17th annual ASCAP Women Behind the Music. The event is set for Wednesday, Nov. 12, in Los Angeles. Kehlani, a five-time Grammy nominee, received the Rule Breaker Award […]
Trending on Billboard Sometimes singers on The Voice move the celebrity judges with the power or emotion in their voice. But on Monday night (Oct. 27), Team Reba’s Aubrey Nicole got right to the heart of the matter for her crew’s leader by singing a tune whose lyrics hit home in the most personal way. […]
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Shortly after Paramount began pulling back its funding for Save the Music, which has donated instruments and tech equipment worth nearly $78 million to 2,800 U.S. schools, John Sykes held a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame board meeting in spring 2024. “This is the perfect fit for what we’re doing,” he told the group. “We have this huge, powerful platform, with some of the greatest artists in the world that we could put out there, going to schools, preaching the importance of music education.”
Beginning with a $1 million grant, and the promise of Hall of Fame inductees like Sheryl Crow and pop stars like Harry Styles and Olivia Rodrigo talking to students at schools around the U.S., the Hall of Fame announced a partnership with Save the Music on Tuesday (Oct. 28) to help fund Save the Music’s dozens of programs. “We hope the politicians and the local governments will hear about this story and find out why music education must stay, or must be reconnected with a public education,” says Sykes, the Hall of Fame’s foundation chairman, a top executive at broadcast giant iHeartMedia and an MTV co-founder who created Save the Music in 1997.
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Save the Music was once synonymous with VH1, where Sykes was president, and major stars like Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey headlined charity performances broadcast live on the powerful cable-music channel. But in recent years, Paramount has deemphasized its MTV and VH1 holdings, ramping down on its Save the Music support in the process. As a result, Save the Music has spent the last few years turning to other sources, including TikTok, Meta, Amazon and top promoters Live Nation and AEG Presents. In 2021, MacKenzie Scott, co-founder of Amazon and Jeff Bezos‘ ex-wife, provided a $2 million grant.
“As Paramount’s support gradually came down,” says Henry Donahue, the Save the Music Foundation’s longtime executive director, “we were very fortunate that a number of large foundations came in to fill the gap and actually grow the program.”
Save the Music, whose operating budget was $11 million last year, supports high-school students with initiatives like the J Dilla Music Technology Grant, named for the late hip-hop producer, which provides music-tech equipment and software for students and teachers. “The program is extremely valuable to students,” Samuel Davis, a Therrell High School teacher whose Atlanta classroom benefited from the grant, told the AP in January. “It increases their attendance. They’re more willing to come to school. They feel more connected to the school.”
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Sykes created Save the Music after participating in a principal-for-a-day event at a New York high school, where he encountered music students playing instruments “held together with tape and missing strings,” he recalls. He offered $5,000 on behalf of VH1 to prevent the school from cutting the music program, then decided to expand the channel’s philanthropy after learning that “students who learn music education go on to do better on math and verbal scores on tests.”
Today, Save the Music invests in 100 to 150 U.S. music programs, drawing celebrity support from Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll and others who’ve donated time and money. The Cleveland-based Hall of Fame, according to Sykes, has music-education programs, but the partnership with Save the Music will take them to “a whole new level.” Says Donahue: “It’s an incredible boost.”
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What time is it? Almost Winter Olympics time, which these days means that Public Enemy hype man Flavor Flav is picking which Team USA squads he’s going to support in the upcoming Winter Olympics.
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Flav, 66, who has cooked up a high-profile side gig as a rabid vocal, and financial, supporter of a number of American olympians, was announced as the official hype man for USA Bobsled and Skeleton on Monday (Oct. 27) according to the Associated Press.
“The partnership is a blessing. It’s cooler than Cool Runnings,” Flav said in reference to the beloved 1993 sport comedy loosely based on the story of the 1988 Jamaican bobsleigh team. “It’s Coolest Runnings.” The AP reported that Flav spent time with the bobsled and skeleton teams this past week, traveling to Park City, Utah, where he raced down the track in a bobsled and also wanted to try out skeleton, in which athletes roar down the icy track at speeds that can reach 80 m.p.h. or above.
In an accompanying video announcing his new gig, Flav, wearing his red, white and blue official team gear, said, “Just to let y’all know I am definitely excited to be a sponsor of the bobsled/skeleton team, boy. Yeah g, it’s going down for real! I’m a sponsor, I’m a sponsor!”
“We are thrilled to welcome Flavor Flav as an official sponsor and hype man for USA Bobsled/Skeleton,” USA Bobsled and Skeleton CEO Aron McGuire said in a statement. “It’s clear he has a genuine passion for sports and an authentic love for the USA team. Flavor Flav embodies the same grit, dedication, and pride that define our athletes, and we’re excited to have him bring that excitement to our team and fans across the country.”
While team officials wanted first-time slider Flav to start from a low spot on the track for safety reasons, the veteran rapper wasn’t having it, insisting on starting higher up as he managed to hit 67 m.p.h. on his second run. In the video after his thrilling run, Flav can be heard howling in delight at the white-knuckle ride down the icy shoot.
“Oh my gosh, he’s one of the coolest, most adventurous men that I’ve ever met,” U.S. skeleton athlete Dan Barefoot told the AP. “He was upset that he couldn’t go from higher up on the track. … I was kind of upset at how good he was. It’s a sport that takes a lot of skill, but he made it look straightforward.”
Flav plans to be with the team at the XXV Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, which will take place from Feb. 6-22.
“We have all been so hyped to have him with us,” Barefoot added. “Put aside the fact that Flav is one of the greatest hype men of all time, the energy in the room… you had people who often aren’t talking to each other high-fiving and hugging because of the experience of being around him. There’s a lot of energy and a lot of confidence around us right now.”
Not only is Flav promising to be in the stands in February, he also gave many members of the team his personal cell pone number and invited a few to join him at a Maroon 5 show over the weekend in Salt Lake City.
It won’t be Flav’s first turn as an Olympic supporter. He was all over the 2024 Paris summer games, acting as the hype man for the U.S. women’s water polo team, giving them financial support and free cruises and helping to cover rent for discus thrower Veronica Fraley. Flav has also put in his bid to be one of the official USA torchbearers at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Check out video of Flav watching practice, posing with members of Team USA and ripping down the track in a bobsled and skeleton.
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Despite the challenge flags thrown by Donald Trump and some fellow Republicans, Jay-Z is 100% firm in his support for Bad Bunny playing the Super Bowl halftime show next year. Amid criticism from the President and a number of commentators on the right decrying the choice of one of the world’s most popular artists to play at the game in February, Jigga — whose Roc Nation has been tasked with booking the most-viewed musical TV performance of the year since 2019 — told TMZ that he is unwavering.
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When asked by a TMZ photographer about the hate coming Benito’s way, Jay reportedly told the site that the Puerto Rican superstar is way more beloved in the U.S. than some would have you think. “They love him. Don’t let them fool you,” Jay said.
After Roc Nation tapped Benito in late September, Trump reacted a week later with disdain, claiming to conservative outlet Newsmax, “I’ve never heard of him… I don’t know who he is. I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s, like, crazy.” In addition, Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem threatened that U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agents will be “all over the place at the Super Bowl.
While Trump seems unlikely to watch the game, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has no misgivings about the booking. “He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell told CBS Sports. “That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s an important element to the entertainment value. It’s carefully thought through.” To be fair, the commish added, he doesn’t think the league has ever “selected an artist without some blowback or criticism.”
Turning Point USA, an ultraconservative youth organization founded by the late activist Charlie Kirk, has announced its intention to host an alternate halftime show out of protest; a line-up for that show has not yet been announced.
Though Trump claimed to have never heard of Bad Bunny, the singer’s chart bona fides speak for his broad appeal. Benito holds records as the first Latin artist to have 100 career Billboard Hot 100 songs, as well as having the first all-Spanish album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart (2020’s El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo). He has also tied Taylor Swift for having the most No. 1s on the Billboard Global 200 of any solo artist, has rolled up nearly 80 million Spotify listeners over his career and was ranked the most-streamed artist on Spotify three years running (2020-2022).
Super Bowl LX will air live on Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. ET and be broadcast on NBC and Telemundo and stream on Peacock and NFL+.
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In fall 2026, Live Nation will open the 4,400-capacity indoor music venue The Truth in Nashville.
“Live Nation wanted to be sure that we were adding something that was going to speak to the core of Nashville,” Sally Williams, president of Nashville Music & Business Strategy for Live Nation, tells Billboard.
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The Truth will be led by general manager Mickey Davis, and will join AJ Capital Partners’ 18-acre, mixed-use Wedgewood Village development in Nashville’s Wedgewood-Houston.
The venue will highlight talent ranging from global headliners to local Nashville favorites representing an array of musical genres. The Truth, designed by Live Nation’s in-house design and development group Blueprint Studio, will offer a flexible floor plan with three levels in close proximity to the stage, with configurations able to accommodate capacities ranging from 1,800 to 4,400, including standing-room and fully-seated shows.
“This is going to give us the flexibility to host everything from comedians who maybe don’t want a standing room audience to bigger shows where people want to stand,” Williams says. “We will shine the light on Nashville, but we’re going to bring in the biggest stars on the planet, too, from outside of Nashville.”
Williams noted that Live Nation’s Blueprint Studio team spent time in Nashville venues and spoke with Nashville artists, music industry members and historians in creating a venue design intended to honor Nashville’s community.
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Throughout, the venue will pay homage to Nashville’s music creators. The Truth takes its name from a quote from late country songwriting legend Harlan Howard, who called country music “three chords and the truth.” Howard, known as a writer on classics including Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces” and the Buck Owens hit “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail,” is also honored through the venue’s whiskey bar, named Harlan’s. Howard’s signature quote is also emblazoned on the front of the venue’s building. Having Howard’s legacy represented within the venue is a full-circle moment for Williams, who recalls that when she first moved to Nashville, one of the first events she attended was the annual Harlan Howard Birthday Bash.
“It represents to me the community that I have found,” Williams says. “It was all of these songwriters singing their songs, and everyone supported. To have his quote, to have people talking about him, means they are talking about songwriters in general, which means they are talking about the foundation of our community. I am beyond proud of that, because I think those are things that we, as a city, have to hold on to.”
The Truth’s two-level, up to 300-person capacity listening lounge, Vinyl Room, will offer a space for gathering and listening to music. Williams tells Billboard that United Record Pressing will be involved in curating vinyls to be displayed in The Truth, as well as providing music for Vinyl Room and the venue’s five backstage dressing rooms. Williams says the Vinyl Room will also be a space that can hold VIP listening sessions and other similar events.
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The food and drink menus will highlight local Nashville whiskeys and spirits. Meanwhile, Live Nation teamed with Isle of Printing’s Bryce McCloud to add another visual element to the venue.
“We are going to have an old-school letterpress printing set lists each night for fans to buy and take home,” Williams says. “Set lists are going to be our sort of living art exhibit backstage, too, because every time a show plays here, we will put the set list up and as we move along, it will tell our story visually.”
The backstage will also be outfitted with a family and friends suite overlooking the stage, a large crew lounge, an artist game room/lounge, a multi-use production room and an intimate industry suite.
Live Nation also hopes to hold local music industry events at the venue, such as industry awards and other charitable gatherings.
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“People are going to begin to feel like this is their venue, which is what they’re hoping for,” Williams says. “The mission has been to create something other than the sort of box with a stage that you could put anywhere in the world. We wanted to do something completely Nashville-centric.”
The Truth will join other Live Nation venues in Nashville, including Brooklyn Bowl Nashville and Ascend Amphitheater.
Billboard‘s Live Music Summit will be held in Los Angeles on Nov. 3. For tickets and more information, visit https://www.billboardlivemusicsummit.com/2025/home-launch.
