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Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) has relaunched Lost Highway Records in partnership with Oscar- and Grammy-winning songwriter/producer T Bone Burnett.
The first release from the new iteration isRingo Starr’s Burnett-produced country set Look Up, which was released last Friday (Jan. 10).
The revered label, which takes its name from the song made famous by Hank Williams, had been dormant since 2012 after being launched by then-UMGN head Luke Lewis in 2000.
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From the start, Lewis and his team curated a tasty roster focused on American-leaning music from artists including Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Hayes Carll, Mary Gauthier and Lyle Lovett. It was also home to soundtracks, including the Burnett-produced, Grammy-winning O Brother Where Art Thou, Deadwood and Open Season.
Cindy Mabe had been interested in reactivating the imprint for quite some time, even before she ascended to the role of UMGN chairman/CEO in April 2023.
“It was always a mission that we were going to reopen Lost Highway,” Mabe says. “It just felt like something was missing from the marketplace. Lost Highway was 15 years before its time. Looking at what’s happening to music in general and people living for algorithms, you’re losing art, you’re losing stories.”
Other entities had approached her about using the name over the years, but she had kept it close, knowing the right time would come.
T Bone Burnett and Cindy Mabe
Chris Hollo
“None of those people felt like the right people to go into this because you either hold it at the regard of which Luke built it or you don’t redo it,” Mabe says. Then, when Burnett played her the Starr album, “It just hit me. I was like, ‘Hold on, full circle moment.’ O Brother was kind of where Lost Highway started. And he’s presenting this beautiful record and he was pouring all this joy that he had gotten from The Beatles back into Ringo. This is the mentality and this is where Lost Highway needs to be.”
Burnett, who is also known for his work with Bob Dylan, Elton John, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, immediately loved the idea of joining forces. “I think it’s something that’s really needed at the moment,” he says. “There’s a need for an American music-focused record label that takes care of the good stuff.”
Though they aren’t ready to announce names, Burnett and Mabe say they have four or five artists they’re ready to work with, and they don’t discount that some of them may have a history with the label. Mabe says there are no plans to move any acts currently signed to other UMGN imprints to Lost Highway, which will remain a boutique label. Lost Highway will share some services with UMGN labels but will hire its own A&R, marketing and publicity staff.
“T Bone and I keep talking about the reason that we’re going to win is we’re going to put quality art back into the marketplace,” Mabe says. “It’s just missing. I’m not saying that there’s not some quality art out there, but it’s not always the goal. You don’t get artist development just by spinning the wheel and seeing how many ‘likes’ are out there. You actually have to make people feel something.”
Touring will be a big part of promoting the artists, as well as pairing them with producers who bring the same sensibility to the table. Additionally, Mabe says the film and TV component will remain a big part of the label and a way to bring attention to the roster. “Can these artists have radio? They could,” Mabe says. “It’s not the intent. The intent is to put great back out there and find its way out. It’s not one specific way to market.”
Burnett, who will helm the label’s creative direction with Mabe, doesn’t have an official title yet, but adds, “I’m looking forward to the challenge. I feel like we’re in a really beautiful moment where traditional American music, American vernacular music, is ascendant in the culture.” He wants to curate a bespoke roster in the same legendary way that Mo Ostin and Lenny Waronker did at Warner Bros. in the ‘70s or Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun did at Atlantic Records in the ‘60s and ‘70s. “I want every artist to touch every other artist in some way so that it’s integrated as an esthetic,” Burnett says. “It’s not just commercial grabs from here and there, but it’s about people who play great and sing great and write great.”
By launching with Starr’s country album, Burnett says it sends the signal that Lost Highway is “not going to be constricted by somebody else’s definition of what American music is. When The Beatles came out, they were playing Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins. They were playing the canon of American music that everything since has grown out of,” he says. “We’re saying that this is going to be an inclusive label. It’s going to be what I call American music, which includes blues and rhythm & blues and country music and folk music and rock and roll music.
One of Mabe’s next steps is surveying the assets from Lost Highway’s first go-round. “We’re going to put out some of the catalog that’s existed before,” she says. “It’s taking shape. We’re looking at all the pieces that are going to put the lights back on.”
Robbie Williams has long had a cordial relationship with the British royal family. But when it came to an invitation to perform at King Charles III’s coronation ceremony in 2023, the singer said he had to politely decline. Appearing on Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live earlier this week, Williams said he was, as rumored, asked to celebrate the royal passing of the torch, but had a professional conflict.
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Williams told Cohen that there was definitely “a reason” he could not accept the gig. “I was working. I got something I couldn’t turn down because of money,” Williams said, without elaborating on what gig kept him from the royal honor.
Williams has shown his support for the royals before, acting as the opening act at the 2012 diamond jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace, which was organized by his former Take That bandmate, Gary Barlow. And while he didn’t make it to the coronation concert held for King Charles III and Queen Camilla on May 7, 2023, that glitzy event did feature sets from Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Andrea Bocelli and the other members of Take That: Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen, joined by DJ Robin Schulz and Calum Scott.
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Other acts who took the stage included Tiwa Savage, Paloma Faith, Steve Winwood, Olly Murs, Pete Tong and Nicole Scherzinger.
Though fans couldn’t see him then, they can catch the British superstar in his unusual new biopic, Better Man, in which a CGI monkey version of Williams takes viewers through a series of over-the-top musical numbers illustrating the singer’s wild days and nights as a boy bander and solo star.
Paramount paid $25 million to acquire the $110 million movie directed by The Greatest Showman‘s Michael Gracey, only to see it tank at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend, where it took in a modest $1 million on more than 1,200 screens. To date, the movie has reportedly earned just under $5 million in Williams’ native U.K., marking it as the first major box office bomb of the year.
Watch Williams discuss the coronation rebuff below.
01/15/2025
With Rate-a-Queen back for the double premiere, Billboard will be rating the queens from season 17 every week.
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The Eagles have pledged $2.5 million to FireAid, the Jan. 30 benefit concert for Los Angeles fire victims to be held at Intuit Dome. There is no word whether the band, who is in the middle of a residency at Sphere in Las Vegas, will play the show. The event, billed as “an evening of music […]
In The Substance, Margaret Qualley’s character turns into an overnight superstar. So naturally, the film’s costume director Emmanuelle Youchnovski turned to some real-life idols for inspiration — including Beyoncé and Dua Lipa.
In an interview with Next Best Picture published Tuesday (Jan. 14), the creative opened up about studying the two pop stars while designing the wardrobe for Sue. In the Coralie Fargeat-directed horror flick, the character — played by the Poor Things star — replaces Demi Moore’s Elisabeth as the leading lady of a popular workout program after the Ghost actress’ character clones herself into Sue, whom she believes is a younger, hotter version of herself.
“I took [inspiration from] the video clip of Beyoncé’s ‘Blow,’ where she had the colors, you remember this one?” Youchnovski said, referencing the 32-time Grammy winner’s 2013 track. “And I also took a lot of inspiration from Dua Lipa, because she wears a lot of bodysuits.”
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“But the bodysuit, it’s metallic, it’s fuchsia, it’s neon,” the costumer continued, noting that the “Levitating” singer’s look also inspired her to add “more skin” to Sue’s gear via cut-outs.
While Youchnovski referenced modern pop stars for Qualley’s character, however, the designer said she deliberately sourced from the 1980s — think Jane Fonda — for Moore’s role. “The most difficult thing for us was to have the same show with different points of view: Elisabeth’s view and Sue’s view, the new one,” she added. “If we do ‘80s things for Elisabeth, it’s more easy for us to do a new one for Sue, like Dua Lipa, or Beyoncé, or whatever.”
After first premiering at Cannes — where it won best screenplay — The Substance arrived in theaters in September, going on to clear $70 million at the global box office. Both Qualley and Moore have received critical acclaim for their performances in the project, with the latter recently taking home best actress in a musical or comedy at the 2025 Golden Globes.
But while Bey and Dua may have inspired Sue’s appearance, Qualley previously revealed that it was another pop star who got her into the headspace to play the character. “We all just had the Brat summer with Charli XCX, and I was listening to Charli as my Sue inspo,” the Drive Away Dolls star told Brut America in October. “She has a lot of good, like, pump-it-up girl songs. I got that Sue energy from Charli’s old music, so that’s where my head was.”
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Atlanta’s prodigy, Jiah, pulled up to Hip-Hop Wired to perform her new track ‘Probably Nun,’ which is from her project Never The Same, dropped on November 20th, 2024. The song is already catching people’s attention with its smooth vibes and catchy beats, showing off Jiah’s unique style in R&B.Jiah’s been getting major love from big names in the music game, but the biggest shout-out came from none other than Rihanna. Riri hopped in the comments of one of Jiah’s posts saying, “melody and pocket…proud of you man!” That type of cosign from a legend like Rihanna speaks volumes and shows that Jiah’s got something special.
With her fresh sound and raw talent, Jiah is quickly making a name for herself. Never The Same is just the start of what looks like a crazy run for this Atlanta prodigy. If she keeps grinding like this, you’re gonna be hearing a lot more from her in the future.
Check out her Hip-Hop Wired performance here:
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Atlanta native musician, Jiah (Ji-ya), expresses her persona through her soulful R&B and pop music. She doesn’t like to label herself as a singer or rapper, but instead identifies as an artist with a distinctive melodic flow. Her lyrical intelligence and connection to her music speaks volumes.
Drake has filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) over allegations that the music giant defamed him by promoting Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” claiming the label boosted a “false and malicious narrative” that the star rapper was a pedophile and put his life in danger.
Hours after his attorneys withdrew an earlier petition, they filed a full-fledged defamation lawsuit Wednesday against his longtime label – claiming UMG knew Lamar’s “inflammatory and shocking allegations” were false but chose to place “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.”
“UMG intentionally sought to turn Drake into a pariah, a target for harassment, or worse,” the star’s lawyers write in a complaint filed in Manahttan federal court. “UMG did so not because it believes any of these false claims to be true, but instead because it would profit from damaging Drake’s reputation.”
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In one of the lawsuit’s most vivid accusations, Drake claims that the release of “Not Like Us” has subjected him to risk of physical violence, including a drive-by shooting on his Toronto area home just days after the song was released.
“UMG’s greed yielded real world consequences,” his lawyers write. “With the palpable physical threat to Drake’s safety and the bombardment of online harassment, Drake fears for the safety and security of himself, his family, and his friends.”
Notably, the case does not target Lamar himself — a point that Drake’s attorneys repeatedly stress in their filings.
“UMG may spin this complaint as a rap beef gone legal, but this lawsuit is not about a war of words between artists,” Drake’s attorneys say.
A spokesman for UMG did not immediately return a request for comment.
Wednesday’s lawsuit is yet another dramatic escalation a high-profile beef that saw Drake and Lamar exchange stinging diss tracks last year, culminating in Lamar’s knockout “Not Like Us” — a track that savagely slammed Drake as a “certified pedophile” and became a hit in its own right.
Drake shocked the music industry in November when he filed petitions suggesting he might sue over the fued — first accusing UMG and Spotify of an illegal “scheme” involving bots, payola and other methods to pump up Lamar’s song, then later claiming that the song had been defamatory. But those cases were not quite full-fledged lawsuits, and Drake withdrew one of them late on Tuesday.
Now it’s clear why: In Wednesday’s lawsuit, he formally sued UMG over the same alleged scheme, claiming the label “unleashed every weapon in its arsenal” to drive the popularity of Lamar’s track even though it knew the lyrics were “not only false, but dangerous.”
“With his own record label having waged a campaign against him, and refusing to address this as a business matter, Drake has been left with no choice but to seek legal redress against UMG,” his lawyers write.
The filing of the case represents a doubling-down for Drake, who has been ridiculed in some corners of the hip-hop world filing legal actions over a rap beef. It also will deepen further his rift with UMG, where the star has spent his entire career — first through signing a deal with Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint, which was distributed by Republic Records, then by signing directly to Republic.
In his complaint, Drake’s lawyers said the label opted to boost “Not Like Us” despite its “defamatory” lyrics because they saw it as a “gold mine” — partly because UMG owns Lamar’s master recordings outright, but also because it could use the song to hurt Drake’s standing in future contract talks.
“UMG’s contract with Drake was nearing fulfillment … UMG anticipated that extending Drake’s contract would be costly,” his lawyers write. “By devaluing Drake’s music and brand, UMG would gain leverage to force Drake to sign a new deal on terms more favorable to UMG.”
This is a breaking news story and will continue to be updated with additional details as they become available.
While a number of U.S. awards shows and nomination announcements have been postponed or reworked due to the ongoing devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, England’s BAFTA Film Awards announced its nominations slate on Wednesday morning (Jan. 15).
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Among the films garnering multiple nods was the musical drug drama Emilia Pérez, which snagged 11 nominations, including best film, director and leading actress for Golden Globe winner Karla Sofía Gascón, as well as supporting actress for co-stars Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña.
The first part of Wicked was nominated seven times, including best leading actress for Globe nominee Cynthia Erivo and best supporting actress for Ariana Grande, as well as costume design, hair/makeup, production design, sound and special visual effects. Notably, though, the box office smash re-telling of the Wizard of Oz-inspired Broadway musical was shut out in a number of major categories, including best film, director and adapted screenplay.
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The BAFTA nominations were the first for Grande and Gomez.
The top-nominated film was the Vatican thriller Conclave, which had 12 nominations, while post-WWII epic The Brutalist scored nine, followed by the stripper drama Anora and Dune: Part Two, which each snagged seven. Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown was tapped for six BAFTAs, including best film, adapted screenplay and leading actor for Timothée Chalamet and supporting actor for Edward Norton.
Scrappy Irish music comedy Kneecap also had six, including outstanding British film, outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer for writer/director Rich Peppiatt and original screenplay.
There have been a number of postponements due to the fires that have killed 25 so far an scorched more than 14,000 acres, including a push-back of the Critics Choice Awards, an extra week for academy members to vote on this year’s Oscars (and a postponement of the nomination announcement until Jan. 23) and the cancellation of the major label events surrounding this year’s Grammy Awards.
In light of the devastation in L.A., BAFTA film chair Sara Putt told Variety, that the British Academy’s thoughts are “very, very much” with everyone impacted by the still raging wildfires, the worst in the city’s history. “It’s a dreadful, dreadful time,” she added, noting that the BAFTAs have not yet decided if they would move the dates for the final voting rounds. The BAFTA Film Awards ceremony is slated to take place on Feb. 16 at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
Check out the full list of 2025 BAFTA nominations here.
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Drake shocked his legion of fans and detractors by taking pre-trial legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify for allegedly platforming “Not Like Us,” the scathing diss track from his rival Kendrick Lamar. This week, Drake filed to drop the legal petition against UMG and Spotify which prompted many on X to assume that the OVO honcho is waving the white flag.
As reported in detail by Billboard, Drake and his legal team filed for the withdrawal of the petition on Tuesday (Jan. 14) in a Manhattan court. The Canadian superstar’s Frozen Moments LLC was the top name on the petition and as the outlet adds, the company still has an active filing aimed at UMG and iHeartRadio in Texas courts. No official statements have been made by the aforementioned parties in these matters.
In November, Drake took action against UMG and Spotify in the aftermath of his explosive audio feud with Kendrick Lamar, with “Not Like Us” topping the Billboard charts and shifting the musical landscape. Many on the sidelines believe that the Canadian superstar’s light has dimmed since taking the heavy blows delivered during the back-and-forth battle, along with unproven accusations of sexual misconduct and other heinous charges.
The petition was a revelation for many considering the longtime partnership between Drake and UMG, which began with Lil Wayne’s Young Money outfit before signing with Republic Records. In 2022, Drake signed a deal with UMG reported to be up to $400 million, adding to the shockwaves felt by the industry with the filing of the petition.
In it, Drake states that UMG violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and added that Spotify worked with the company by offering reduced licensing fees in exchange for pushing “Not Like Us” into the algorithms of users of the streaming service. The Texas petition levies similar charges. The outlet rightly explains that a petition is a pre-trial action that legal teams use to gather information ahead of filing a full-on lawsuit.
On X, formerly Twitter, music fans are taking shots at Drake for pulling the petition. We’ve got those reactions below.
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The night of Oct. 20, 2024, was full of firsts for Xavi. The 20-year-old Mexican American singer-songwriter gave his first televised performance of his breakout hit, “La Diabla,” at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, where he also won his first trophy, for artist of the year, new. And this occurred just eight days after he released his celebrated debut album, Next, which became his first top 10 on any albums chart.
“I’m still processing it,” Xavi says today. “It’s something that I didn’t really expect, but it’s a blessing. My grandpa and my whole family would always talk about this type of stuff; it was their dream to make it in the music industry. I’m really trying to push their dreams forward.”
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Jennifer McCord
This digital cover story is part of Billboard’s Genre Now package, highlighting the artists pushing their musical genres forward — and even creating their own new ones.
It was a fitting, and familiar, flurry of events for the young artist. After the August 2023 release of “La Víctima,” “La Diabla” followed in November and took off in 2024, helping maintain Xavi’s momentum and quickly establishing him as one to watch.
“La Diabla” has since tied for the second-longest-reigning title of the year on the Hot Latin Songs chart, dominating for 14 weeks. (“La Víctima,” Xavi’s first chart entry, peaked at No. 2.) By the end of 2024, Xavi had placed nine songs on the tally while Next debuted at Nos. 6 and 9 on the Regional Mexican Albums and Top Latin Albums charts, respectively. But Xavi’s greatest accomplishment in a year of many is the spread of his hybrid subgenre: tumbados románticos.
Xavi photographed December 3, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Jennifer McCord
Jennifer McCord
With his pioneering blend of the musicality of corridos tumbados with the melodies of sad sierreño, Xavi has paved a clear path for himself to explore other genres, too. Growing up between Sonora, Mexico, and Phoenix, his mother would wake him up with music by Vicente Fernández and Selena, but he says coming to the United States was “a whole different world” and he quickly became a fan of artists like Justin Bieber and Daniel Caesar. Now he’s eager to explore all kinds of sounds — sometimes simultaneously.
“We’re talking about R&B, we’re talking about música mexicana. When you get all those elements and put them into one, it literally becomes its own — it brings out this new sound,” he says. “Since it’s something new and we’re getting to the bottom of it, it’s done with so much love and patience. We do it with a lot of passion.
“The studio is a kitchen, you know?” he continues. “And we’ve just been working on the sound of the fusion because there’s a lot of styles out there. But what happens when you put two, or three, or four or five genres into one song? It’s a fusion of corridos — I don’t want to say we invented it, but we definitely brought something new.”
This story appears in the Jan. 11, 2025, issue of Billboard.