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Rapper, actor and philanthropist Ludacris is set to perform at the 2025 Baby2Baby Gala honoring tennis legend Serena Williams. The gala, presented by Paul Mitchell, will be held Saturday, Nov. 8, in Los Angeles. Baby2Baby is a national nonprofit that provides critical items to children in need across the U.S.
Previous performers at the event include 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Nelly.
Ludacris has amassed five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including two as a lead artist: âMoney Makerâ (featuring Pharrell) and âStand Upâ (featuring Shawnna). He has landed four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and has won three Grammy Awards, including best rap album for Release Therapy, one of his No. 1 albums.
Chris âLudacrisâ Bridges made a seamless transition to acting, including the role of Tej in the Fast & Furious franchise, where he was introduced in 2003âs 2 Fast 2 Furious. As a father of four girls, his latest ventures include launching KidNation, an educational platform devoted to the enrichment of children. In addition, Bridges created the animated series KARMAâS WORLD on Netflix, which is awaiting its fifth season.
Williams will receive the Giving Tree Award, which is awarded annually to a public figure who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to improving the lives of children in need. Past honorees include Charlize Theron, Salma Hayek Pinault, Kim Kardashian, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Garner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson, Amy Adams, Drew Barrymore, Chrissy Teigen and Vanessa Bryant.
Last yearâs Baby2Baby Gala raised a record $17 million in support of Baby2Babyâs mission. In the last 14 years, Baby2Baby has distributed more than 500 million essential items, including diapers, formula and clothing.
Baby2Babyâs Disaster Relief & Emergency Response Program has responded to the needs of children in more than 100 disasters. This year, Baby2Baby announced the expansion of their initiative to combat the maternal health crisis to 15 states. To learn more about Baby2Baby, visit their site.
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Game 3 of the 2025 World Series had it all: records were set, heroes were made, and Justin Bieber was in the audience.
Bieber showed up for his beloved Blue Jays, as Torontoâs finest took on the Dodgers at Los Angelesâ Dodger Stadium.
The Canadian pop star shared a post from his prime seat, and was spotted decked-out in his Blue Jays gear as he cheered on his compatriots.
What he got was an all-time classic, and the longest World Series game in history at 6 hours and 39 minutes, tying a 2018 Dodgers vs. Red Sox outing.
Sadly, for Bieber at least, the Dodgers got the win, and the series lead, as Freddie Freeman smashed a home run in the 18th inning, for a 6-5 result. The Dodgers how hold a 2-1 advantage over the Blue Jays in this best-of-seven series, the winner crowned champions of Major League Baseball.
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The âStayâ singer has been busy of late, with family, music and sport commitments.
Earlier in the month, he made his debut on Twitch with a stream that included footage of the pop singer playing basketball, shooting pool with friends and teasing his upcoming 2026 Coachella headline spots.
The live feed came in from a giant warehouse space decked out with a mini half-pipe, a recording studio, ping-pong table and lounge area, and included an extended bit where JB put up short jumpers while talking about focusing on his health and âfriendships, relationships, the ability to connect with each other,â all cued to Partynextdoorâs âCome and See Me.â
Bieber is a handy baller, playing three times in the NBA Celebrity Game during All-Star Weekend, winning MVP in 2011. Heâs also a keen hockey player and fan, spotted riding his team the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Last year, the National Hockey League (NHL) and Adidas collaborated with his fashion brand Drew House on designs for the 2024 NHL All-Star jersey collection.
JBâs Coachella shows are the only concerts he has locked in so far following the release of his Swag and Swag II collections, and will be his first full live shows since 2022, and first since welcoming into the world Jack Blues, his baby son with wife Hailey Bieber.
For the record, Swag (via JRC/ILH/Def Jam/Republic) debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in July, with 16 songs from it making a splash on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, let by âDaisiesâ at No. 2.Â
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When Jerrell Melton and Ralph Edwards sang âI Lose Controlâ on NBCâs The Voice, they werenât telling the whole truth.
Team Snoopâs singers went toe-to-toe Monday night (Oct. 27) for season 28âs fourth and final Battle night, hitting a rendition of Teddy Swimsâ mega-hit from 2024. Both oozed control, not a lack of it. Â
Edwards, the 30-year-old native of Fresno, California, with his burly, oak-flavored tones, and Melton, the 29-year-old from Fayetteville, Georgia, whose soulful voice has a hint of sweetness, could barely be separated.
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Mind, this is no ordinary song. âLose Controlâ in July became the first number in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to spend triple-digit weeks on the chart, as it cleared its milestone 100th frame.Â
Niall Horan âlovedâ Meltonâs voice, remarking that itâs âreally pure, really clean.â And Edwards, the Irishman remarked, his energy, his power and rasp, âitâs aggressive but itâs controlled.â
Reba McEntire read from her notes a performance she described as âpowerful, smooth like butter. Raspy, smooth like velvet.â The country ace admitted the decision to split them would be a tough one. If she had to, sheâd pick Melton. Â
Both contestants laid it all out. Melton with a âgorgeous smoothness,â was reminiscent of the very best in the business, Michael BublĂŠ remarked. Â While Edwards, or âWreck-It Ralph,â as the Canadian crooner and others like to call him, should âgo far on the show.â
Just how far was up to Snoop Dogg, who had the final call.
âYou just showed the world that you two are superstars,â the rap legend noted. âJerrell, you overachieved. We gave you something that was out of this box, and you did what you were supposed to do,â he added. âRalph, knock it out of the park. This is what we do.â
Snoop took a moment to consult with the âGangsta Holy Ghostâ and he called it. âWreck-It Ralphâ Edwards wins, and progresses to the Knockouts, which start next Monday, Nov. 3. Melton wonât be there, an unlucky loser.
The Knockout episodes will air every Monday on NBC until Nov. 24. Then, the Playoffs will beam out on Monday, Dec. 1 and Monday, Dec. 8 on NBC, with the Season 28 Live Finale set to spread over the two nights of Dec. 15 and 16.
Watch Melton and Edwardsâ Battle below.
Ten days after dropping its latest album, ‘Deadbeat,’ the Australian psychedelic rock band staged its first proper concert since March 2023.
10/28/2025
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Halloween is nearly upon us, but Duran Duran got there first with a shadowy re-recording.
Ahead of their winter North American tour dates, the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame-inducted band swings into Fright Night with a re-imagined version of âShadows on Your Side,â featuring original guitar parts from Andy Taylor.
The original, a punchy, polished cut from Duran Duranâs third studio album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger, is overhauled as a club-ready tune with several unexpected changes in pace.
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Seven and the Ragged Tiger was released in 1983, and yielded the global hits âNew Moon on Monday,â âUnion of the Snakeâ and âThe Reflex,â which gave Duran Duran the first of two No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 and Official U.K. Singles Chart.Â
Seven And The Ragged Tiger is the only Duran Duran collection to lead the Official U.K. Albums Chart, and it proved to be the bandâs final effort with its classic âFab Fiveâ lineup of Taylor/Taylor/Taylor/Rhodes/Le Bon, until Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor (the Taylors are unrelated) returned to the fold two decades later, for 2004âs Astronaut. Andy Taylor, who is battling stage 4 prostate cancer, has since departed from the band but has contributed to recent recordings.
Simon Le Bon and Co. will return to the United States for a run of dates in December 2025 and January 2026. As previously reported, the new wave legends have been in the studio together this year working on new material, including stints with longtime producer Nile Rodgers at Abbey Road in London.
The band has been on a Halloween kick since the 2023 release of Danse Macabre (via Tape Modern/BMG), a concept album gathering new compositions, reworked songs, and covers of songs by Billie Eilish, Talking Heads, The Rolling Stones, Siouxsie And The Banshees and more.
Danse Macabre peaked at No. 4 in the U.K. and spawned the Secret Oktober concert film, shot at the Encore Theatre at Wynn in Las Vegas. The Gavin Elder-directed flick is streaming on demand at StagePlayer+ until Nov. 3.
Earlier this year, the group struck a different type of collaboration by teaming up with Italian luxury perfume house Xerjoff on two unisex perfumes, NeoRio and Black Moonlight. The scents were, of course, created with Le Bon and keyboardist Nick Rhodes, along with bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor.
Stream âShadows On Your Sideâ below.
North American Tour DatesDec. 30 -â Acrisure Arena, Thousand Palms, CAJan. 1 -â Fontainebleau, Las Vegas, NVJan. 2 -â Fontainebleau. Las Vagas, NVJan. 4 â Viejas Arena, San Diego, CAJan. 5 â PHX Arena, Phoenix, AZJan. 8 â Honda Center, Anaheim, CAJan. 9 â Thunder Valley Casino, Sacramento, CA
Here’s a roundup of the best 2025 celebrity Halloween costumes.
10/27/2025
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Friendship will literally and figuratively sail on into the sunset in 2026, with organizer Gary Richards announcing that the next edition of the dance music cruise will be its last.
The event has dropped the 2026 lineup in tandem with the news, with scene luminaries including Bob Moses, Boys Noize, Polo & Pan, Mary Droppinz, Jason Bentley, Nina Las Vegas, Dita Von Teese, Mikey Lion, Justin and Christian Martin and Richards, who has long performed under his Destructo moniker, all on the bill.
See the complete lineup below, with additional names to be announced in the coming months.
âFriendship: The Final Transmissionâ will mark the fourth annual edition of Friendship and happens Jan. 18-22, 2026, aboard the Norwegian Joy, which can accommodate approximately 3,800 passengers in addition to crew. The voyage takes off from Miami, travels to Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas then sails back to Miami. Tickets and cabin packages are on sale now.
Richards helped forge the rave cruise model when he launched Holy Ship in 2012, with the party at sea an extension of the HARD events brand he also founded. The group of people who returned annually for Holy Ship came to be known as âShipfam,â with many of them finding their way to Friendship when it started in 2023.
âAlmost fourteen years ago, I had a vision to create something different, special and out of this world,â Richards says in a statement. âAs a result of that, the Shipfam was born, a reoccurring group of people who would meet annually to travel with us. Our voyagers became a family, one that has shared moments that surpass the test of time and that feel like theyâll echo forever. Maybe this is the last one⌠or maybe itâs just the beginning of something new as we embark on this final transmission.â
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Powerhouse regional Mexican label Rancho Humilde is locked in a bitter legal dispute with one of its fastest rising acts, the California-based band Fuerza Regida.
Rancho Humilde filed a lawsuit in September accusing the band of breaching its record deal by unilaterally doing features for other artists and inking live performance contracts with Apple Music and Live Nation. Fuerza Regida countersued a month later, alleging the indie label withheld millions of dollars in royalties and tried to âsabotageâ its success â including by leaving it off Latin Grammy Awards submissions.
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The dueling legal claims, moved from a California state courthouse to federal court on Oct. 20, reveal a stunning breakdown in the relationship between Fuerza Regida and its longtime label home. The fight comes just as Fuerza Regidaâs star is on the rise; the band made history in May when 111XPANTIA debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest-charting Spanish-language album ever by a duo or group.
Fuerza Regida, a quintet of regional Mexican hitmakers from San Bernardino, signed with Jimmy Humildeâs label in 2018. The band now puts out music via a joint venture between Rancho Humilde and its own Street Mob Records, with distribution by Sony Music Latin.
Rancho Humildeâs lawsuit is focused on exclusivity language in the labelâs original record deal with Fuerza Regida, which allegedly entitled the label to a seat at the table and a cut of proceeds for all recording and touring contracts. According to Rancho Humilde, Fuerza Regida violated this deal by performing unauthorized features for other artists and not sharing the royalties.
The lawsuit lists 27 offending songs, including âQuĂŠ Onda,â Fuerza Regidaâs Billboard Hot 100 entry from 2023 with Calle 24 and Chino Pacas, and âModo Capone,â the bandâs 2024 collaboration with Pacas and Drake that hit No. 11 on Billboardâs Hot Latin Songs chart.
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Rancho Humilde says Fuerza Regida also disregarded exclusivity by contracting directly with Apple Music this past summer for a live concert taping in Mexico City, as well as with Live Nation for U.S. tours in 2023 and 2024.
â[Rancho Humilde] has suffered damages, including, but not limited to, lost royalties, advances, fees, market-share and other compensation that should have been directed to Sony and accounted to [Rancho Humilde], lost shares of touring revenues [and] lost income from unauthorized deals such as the Apple agreement,â says the lawsuit. âThe exact amount of damages is subject to proof at trial but exceeds $15 million.â
Fuerza Regida, however, tells a very different story in its countersuit. The band claims Rancho Humilde is actually the one who has breached their record deal by failing to pay millions of dollars in royalties and stonewalling audit requests.
The countersuit also says Rancho Humilde has engaged in âsystematic financial malfeasanceâ by refusing to revert master recordings back to the band as required by the record deal, as well as by using âclandestine arrangementsâ with Live Nation to siphon off touring profits.
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âIn addition to its fraudulent schemes and systematic contract breaches, Rancho and its principal Jimmy Humilde escalated to a malicious campaign of active sabotage designed to destroy [Fuerza Regidaâs] professional relationships and career opportunities within the entertainment industry,â reads the countersuit.
Fuerza Regida says that as part of this campaign of âsabotage,â Rancho Humilde requested that Sony remove the band from Latin Grammy Awards submissions in 2024, even though they had been a top-selling act that year.
Additionally, the countersuit claims Jimmy Humilde sent âthreatening and intimidating text messagesâ to Appleâs head of Latin music in an attempt to âderailâ Fuerza Regidaâs live concert taping. Overall, Fuerza Regida is seeking at least $25 million in damages from the label.
In a statement to Billboard on Monday (Oct. 27), the bandâs attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich says, âRancho Humilde and Jimmy Humilde have for years engaged in brazen self-dealing, enriching itself at the expense of our client Fuerza Regida.â
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âRanchoâs bad faith state court lawsuit against Fuerza was the last straw,â adds Freundlich. âAfter our removal, the disputes will air in federal court where Rancho must now respond to our detailed claims of wrongdoing.â
Reps for Rancho Humilde did not return a request for comment.
The Fuerza Regida fight is not Rancho Humildeâs only ongoing legal battle with top talent. Regional Mexican artist Codiciado, who was signed to Rancho Humilde as part of the ensemble Grupo Codiciado but has since parted ways and gone solo, sued the label in June, alleging it infringed his intellectual property by getting the rest of the band back together with a new act called Los Codicia2. Rancho Humilde has not yet responded to Codiciadoâs claims.
Trending on Billboard âTake your time, whatâs the rush?â The lyric from Leon Thomasâ 2024 hit âMuttâ couldnât be more fitting to describe the songâs yearlong journey to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, which it finally reaches this week. To be exact, âMuttâ took 38 chart weeks to reach its current position […]
Trending on Billboard Face value ticket exchange CashorTrade has added two major names to its leadership ranks as the fan-first ticketing platform continues to gain traction across the live music industry. Industry veterans Andrew Dreskin â best known as co-founder and former CEO of Ticketfly and TicketWeb â and Craig Snyder, formerly of Intellitix and […]
