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Pantera’s latest stop on their European tour came with a legendary surprise when the metal heavyweights were joined on stage by none other than Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson for a rendition of their 1992 classic “Walk.”
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The metal legends took over Adidas Arena in Paris on Feb. 15, treating fans to a career-spanning set. Before launching into “Walk,” frontman Phil Anselmo addressed the crowd, noting that Dickinson was in attendance. Midway through the track, the Iron Maiden vocalist stormed the stage, mic in hand, to sing the song’s iconic chorus alongside Anselmo. The Pantera frontman even bowed in front of Dickinson in a moment of mutual metal respect.
Fan-shot footage of the moment quickly made waves online, with fans praising the crossover between two of metal’s most influential ac
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The surprise guest appearance came just days before Pantera kicks off their first U.K. and Ireland headlining tour in 20 years, with shows in Glasgow (Feb. 18), Leeds (Feb. 19), Dublin (Feb. 21), Birmingham (Feb. 23), and London (Feb. 25). The band will also return to the U.K. this July, supporting Black Sabbath at their final reunion show alongside Metallica, Slayer, Gojira, and Mastodon.
Pantera’s reunion tour, featuring core members Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown alongside Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante filling in for the late Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, has been a point of both celebration and controversy. While the tour has been met with strong demand, the band faced backlash in 2023 over Anselmo’s past actions, leading to festival cancellations in Germany and Austria.
Despite the controversy, Pantera has continued to sell out major venues across the globe, and Dickinson’s unexpected cameo only added to the excitement surrounding their current run.
Beyond their dominance on the live stage, Pantera’s legacy is solidified in the charts. The band made history in 1994 when Far Beyond Driven debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it the first extreme metal album to ever claim the top spot. The record, fueled by tracks like “I’m Broken” and “5 Minutes Alone,” marked a turning point for metal’s mainstream acceptance.
Their follow-up albums continued their chart success, with The Great Southern Trendkill (No. 4, 1996) and Reinventing the Steel (No. 4, 2000) reinforcing their standing in heavy music. Meanwhile, their seminal 1992 release Vulgar Display of Power—featuring classics like “Walk” and “Mouth for War”—remains a defining album of the genre, certified double platinum by the RIAA.
Lil Wayne has joined the eclectic roster of musical guests to share a career-spanning singles medley on Sunday night’s (Feb. 16) SNL50: The Anniversary Special. Wayne was joined by The Roots and DJ T. Lewis for his performance, which opened with 2018 single Uproar, and saw Weezy run through other tunes from his Tha Carter […]
It was a Bay Area showcase at the NBA All-Star Game. DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic Live! delivered a tribute to the Bay with a West Coast-themed 2025 NBA All-Star Game Halftime Show on Sunday night (Feb. 16) inside San Francisco’s Chase Center. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and […]
If you need someone to put the perfect words into song, just call Adam Sandler. The movie star, who got his start as a Saturday Night Live castmember from 1991 to 1995, returned to his 30 Rock stomping grounds on Sunday night (Feb. 16) for SNL50: The Anniversary Special, pulling out his trusty acoustic guitar […]
Fans hoping for a full-scale Black Sabbath reunion at Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell show may need to temper their expectations, with the heavy metal pioneer revealing he won’t be playing a full set with the band.
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Osbourne made the announcement on his Ozzy Speaks program on SiriusXM channel Ozzy’s Boneyard, where he provided an update as to his plans for the recently-announced “Back to the Beginning” concert.
Described as “the final show” on the poster artwork, the lineup features both Black Sabbath and Osbourne alongside other big names such as Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. Other high-profile artists, such as Pantera, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Alice In Chains, Halestorm and recent Grammy Award-winners Gojira are also included.
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“I’m not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath but I am doing little bits and pieces with them,” Osbourne explained. “I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable.”
Osbourne hasn’t performed a full set since Dec. 31, 2018 on the final date of his No More Tours tour. Just two months later, the metal pioneer was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and any plans for further large-scale performances have been affected by numerous cancellations and health issues
“I am trying to get back on my feet,” Osbourne added. “When you get up in the morning, you just jump out of bed. I have to balance myself, but I’m not dead. I’m still actively doing things.”
These comments track with a previous update from Osbourne earlier this month, where he told listeners that he’s still soldiering on despite his myriad health issues.
“I have made it to 2025. I can’t walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all my complaining, I’m still alive,” he said. “I may be moaning that I can’t walk, but I look down the road, and there’s people that didn’t do half as much as me and didn’t make it.”
Speaking to the BBC following the announcement of the July concert, Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon explained that the show was a chance for Osbourne to end a career which has been affected in recent years by numerous cancellations and health issues.
“He’s doing great. He’s doing really great,” she said. “He’s so excited about this, about being with the guys again and all his friends. It’s exciting for everyone.”
“Ozzy didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to his friends, to his fans, and he feels there’s no been no full stop. This is his full stop.”
Lizzo might have teased her new era during a recent Twitch stream, but she also gave fans a preview of a SZA-featuring supergroup that could have been.
The “About Damn Time” singer revealed this bit of her musical past during her Valentine’s Day Twitch stream. Alongside technical difficulties, fan interaction, and the promise of new music at the end of the month, Lizzo also focused on the song “F2F’, which she co-wrote with SZA before it appeared on the latter’s chart-topping 2022 album SOS. While “F2F” was never issued as a single, it became one of the 20 songs from the album to hit the Billboard Hot 100, ultimately peaking at No. 55.
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During her stream, Lizzo turned her attention to the song, noting how it had come about after almost a decade of friendship with SZA, and how it almost aligned with an unrealized rock trio the pair were a part of.
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“We’ve just always been friends, and it’s a sacred space for me in this industry,” Lizzo recalled. “We got this little period of time where we were just linking up in the studio, and eating pasta and drinking.
“This one particular night, mind you, we were gonna start a rock band, called Pussy Lasers. Oh my gosh, she’s not gonna get mad if I say this,” she added. “We were going to start a rock band called Pussy Lasers with an incredible other artist who I don’t know if she even wants to be mentioned, so I’m not going to mention her.”
As Lizzo continued, she explained that while “F2F” wasn’t necessarily set to be a part of the Pussy Lasers project, it was “jokingly” considered so due to the track’s “‘90s grunge kind of rock feel”.
“I was like, ‘This shit is hard, though’, so I was in the studio and I was like, ‘Man, pull that Pussy Lasers shit up,’” she continued. “And let me tell you something: I sat and watched this girl freestyle the whole fucking song, everything except for the chorus.”
Finalizing the song together in a later session, Lizzo also noted that she recorded a “mumble verse” which never made it into the track, though some of her harmonized vocals did make it into the finished product. “After that, I thought about that song all the time,” she added. “I was just like, ‘I hope, I hope she puts it on the album. And then one day out of the blue she just texted me the finished version and I was just like, ‘And this is why you’re the GOAT’.”
“She writes the craziest, most insane shit that you’re thinking and feeling, but she just finds a way to say it, and she sings it so beautifully out the gate, out of her mouth the first time.”
Currently, it’s been almost three years since the release of Lizzo’s last studio album, with fourth album Special becoming her second released via a major label, and second to hit the top ten of the Billboard 200 – peaking at No. 2. Earlier in her Twitch stream, Lizzo confirmed that Feb. 28 will see her waving farewell to her Special era at long last.
“I’ve been working on music for the last two years, and took my time and I did it right. The new era begins today,” she told fans. “I truly am coming to gag throats.”
Miley Cyrus teamed up with Brittany Howard to cover “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the Prince-written hit made famous by Sinéad O’Connor, on Sunday night’s (Feb. 16) SNL50: The Anniversary Special. Cyrus and Howard belted the song, with the Alabama Shakes frontwoman offering some extra soulfulness on the guitar for the powerful cover. O’Connor famously brought […]
Sabrina Carpenter not only opened SNL50, but was a guest star in the newest SNL sketch to feature Domingo, a recurring character that cast member Marcello Hernandez has become known for on the comedy show.
After singing “Homeward Bound” beautifully in a duet with Paul Simon at the start of Sunday night’s (Feb. 16) special, Carpenter sang … not as beautifully at her friend Kelsey’s (Chloe Fineman) less-than-one-year vow renewal celebration with Matt (Andrew Dismukes).
Martin Short and Molly Shannon started the bit with a speech from the bride’s parents, welcoming all to their $70,000 party with an open bar at the Best Western.
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“Kelsey and Matt, may you have a marriage as loving and passionate as Daddy and me,” Shannon drunkenly said before making out with Short.
Carpenter, whose “Espresso” was actually featured in the very first sketch that introduced Domingo (on the Oct. 12, 2024 episode) then cut in: “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Sophie, the bride’s childhood bestie. I couldn’t make it to the wedding because I was unfortunately in prison.”
Then she invited up the rest of the bride’s squad to sing, instead of doing a speech, as these ladies do.
Apparently Kelsey and her friends went to New York, got blackout drunk and saw Wicked, so of course their first song was to the tune of “Defying Gravity,” just with replacement lyrics about finally learning to try monogamy.
The next parody to make their set was to the tune of Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me,” except with lyrics all about the beloved Domingo, who suddenly showed up and joined in.
“What she’s looking for/ Is the hung Latin guy,” he sang, even getting a shoutout from Kelsey’s mom and dad.
Matt’s groomsmen took the floor next, and bringing the tune of Carpenter’s “Espresso” back to the sketch series, they sang about a local staycation in Scottsdale and a secret new flame in Matt’s life: Ronaldo (Pedro Pascal), who turns out to be Domingo’s brother. And Bad Bunny is also their brother — the “hot” one, Santiago!
The three-hour SNL anniversary special aired live from New York City on NBC and Peacock beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Sunday. Watch the latest Domingo sketch below.
Sabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon performed a duet of “Homeward Bound” to kick off SNL50: The Anniversary Special on Sunday night (Feb. 16). The song reached No. 5 on the Hot 100 in 1966, when it was originally recorded by Simon & Garfunkel and released on the duo’s Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme album — but Simon once sang it with George Harrison on an episode of Saturday Night Live.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Sabrina,” Simon said, introducing the Short n’ Sweet pop star to the live audience in Studio 8H.
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“This is the one and only Paul Simon,” Carpenter said.
“I sang this song with George Harrison on Saturday night live in 1976,” recalled Simon.
“I was not born then, and neither were my parents,” Carpenter, who would later appear in a sketch, quipped. (The 25-year-old singer was born in May 1999.)
Simon started the song, with Carpenter coming in at the end of verse one, harmonizing at the lyric “My suitcase and guitar in hand/ And every stop is neatly planned/ For a poet and a one-man band.” They continued to sing together through the chorus. Carpenter took lead on verse two, but swapped the line “cigarettes and magazines” for a rewrite: “airport lounges and magazines.”
Steve Martin, following their performance with a short opening monologue that Martin Short popped in to join, joked that SNL50 had front-loaded the show — featuring cast members past and present, a long list of famous past hosts and unannounced cameos — with all the night’s big talent.
The three-hour special with SNL alumni celebrating 50 years of sketch comedy aired live from New York City on NBC and Peacock beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Ahead of the SNL50 television program was Friday night’s SNL50: The Homecoming Concert at Radio City Music Hall, hosted by Jimmy Fallon. Cher, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Miley Cyrus, Robyn, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Jack White, Backstreet Boys, Jelly Roll, Bonnie Raitt and more were on the lineup, with Questlove and The Roots backing up multiple acts.
Watch a clip of the “Simon & Carpenter” version of “Homeward Bound” below, courtesy of SNL’s Instagram.
Kendrick Lamar’s GNX jumps back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, for a second week atop the list (rising 4-1 on the survey dated Feb. 22), following his Super Bowl halftime show (Feb. 9) and the set’s release on physical formats. (It was previously only available to stream, and to purchase as a digital download album.)
Plus, two more Lamar albums return to the top 10 in the wake of the halftime show: 2017’s chart-topping DAMN. drives 29-9 and 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d city vaults 27-10. The latest Billboard 200 reflects activity generated in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 13.
With GNX, DAMN. and good kid, m.A.A.d city all in the top 10, Lamar is the first rap act with three albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 at the same time. The chart began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March 1956.
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The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Feb. 22, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Feb. 19, one day later than usual, owed to the Presidents’ Day holiday in the U.S. on Feb. 17. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
According to Luminate, of the 236,000 equivalent album units earned by GNX in the week ending Feb. 13 in the U.S., SEA units comprise 117,000 (up 86%; equaling 161.01 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs; it jumps 4-1 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 116,000 (up 10,100%; it reenters at No. 1 on Top Album Sales for its first week at No. 1 on that chart) and TEA units comprise 3,000. The set’s 236,000 units earned mark its largest week since it debuted at No. 1 on the Dec. 7, 2024-dated chart with 319,000.
With GNX selling 116,000, that marks Lamar’s largest sales week for an album since DAMN. debuted with 353,000 sold in its first week (chart dated May 6, 2017). Of GNX’s 116,000 sold, vinyl sales comprise 87,000 — Lamar’s best week ever on vinyl. GNX was released on physical formats for the first time on Feb. 7, on CD, cassette and five vinyl variants.
As Lamar has three albums concurrently in the top 10 on the Billboard 200, he’s the first living male artist to achieve that feat since Herb Alpert on the Dec. 24, 1966-dated chart (when he, along with the Tijuana Brass, had three titles in the top 10). The most recent act, overall, with at least three albums in the top 10 was Taylor Swift on the Dec. 9, 2023, chart, when she had five in the region.
Before Lamar, the last male artist — or anyone aside from Swift — to have at least three albums in the top 10 at the same time was Prince, following his death, in 2016. That year, on the May 14 chart, he logged five titles in the region; and on the May 7 chart, he had three in the top 10. Prince died on April 21, 2016.
GNX is currently in its 12th consecutive week on the chart and has yet to depart the top five on the weekly tally.
Former No. 1 DAMN. drives 29-9 on the Billboard 200 with 39,000 equivalent album units earned (up 93%) and good kid, m.A.A.d city jumps 27-10 with 37,000 units (up 71%). DAMN. spent four weeks atop the list in 2017, and it was last in the top 10 on the March 17, 2018-dated chart, when it ranked at No. 9. The good kid album peaked at No. 2 in 2012 and was last in the top 10 on the Nov. 24, 2012-dated chart, when it placed at No. 9.
SZA, who was a special guest performer during Lamar’s halftime show, sees her former No. 1 SOS climb 3-2 on the latest Billboard 200 with 109,000 equivalent album units earned (up 33%). The album was reissued on Feb. 9 with four additional tracks.
The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow falls 1-3 on the Billboard 200 in its second week (101,000 equivalent album units; down 79%), Bad Bunny’s chart-topping Debí Tirar Más Fotos descends 2-4 (78,000; down 17%) and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess climbs 6-5 (59,000; up 19%).
Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft falls 5-6 (56,000 equivalent album units earned; up 6%), Sabrina Carpenter’s former leader Short n’ Sweet is steady at No. 7 (51,000; up 5%) and Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is a non-mover at No. 8 (41,000; down 8%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.