State Champ Radio Rock
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Time flies at a frightening pace. Need a reminder? 5 Seconds of Summer’s self-titled debut is more than a decade old.
Those four, fresh-faced Sydney lads dropped 5 Seconds of Summer back in 2014, the first in a streak of three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200. After Sounds Good Feels Good (2015), and Youngblood (2018) went to the penthouse, 5SOS etched their name in the record books, as the first Australian act with three No. 1 albums on the all-genres weekly chart and the only band (not vocal group) to have their first three studio albums debut at the top.
5 Seconds of Summer is still hot. High school mates Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin return today (Nov. 14) with the release of Everyone’s A Star! (via Republic Records), 5SOS’ sixth studio album.
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Recorded in Los Angeles and Nashville, the new record, with its bright, uptempo vibe, was built “from a really genuine place,” reads a statement from the band. “We weren’t chasing a sound or a trend, we were chasing what felt exciting to us. Every track feels alive in a way that reminds us of why we started making music in the first place. Everyone’s A Star! is the most ‘us’ we’ve ever sounded, and we’re so proud to share it with everyone who’s been part of this journey.”
An extensive list of producers and collaborators joined in for the ride, including Jason Evigan (Maroon 5, Benson Boone, Papa Roach, Rüfüs Du Sol), Julian Bunetta and John Ryan (Sabrina Carpenter, Teddy Swims), and director Frank Borin, who helmed the music video for “Telephone Busy,” which also arrives today.
Speaking with Billboard, Hemmings said the new collection was like a “180 [degree] flip” from their “introspective… ethereal” self-titled 2022 studio album. Every time they’d soak up something “crazy or different” in the studio, they went for it. “It feels like our best work and it feels like every album before has been leading up to it.”
The Aussies will kick off their Everyone’s A Star! Tour in March 2026, initially with dates in the U.K. and Ireland, then weeks-long run across the European continent. U.S. concerts will follow in May, and include two shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden, June 13 and 14.
Career album sales, according to Republic, top 18 million, with over 10 billion streams, and more than six million tickets shifted worldwide. 5SOS has landed 15 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, with a best of No. 7 for 2018’s “Youngblood.” All told, six 5SOS titles have cracked the top 10 on the Billboard 200, including those three leaders.
Stream Everyone’s A Star! Below.
5 Seconds of Summer’s 2026 North America Tour
May 29 – Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
May 31 – Giant Center, Hershey, PA
June 2 – TD Coliseum, Hamilton, ON
June 3 – Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
June 5 – TD Garden, Boston, MA
June 7 – CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, MD
June 9 – Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
June 11 – PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
June 13 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
June 14 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
June 16 – State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
June 17 – Kia Center, Orlando, FL
June 19 – Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
June 21 – Moody Center, Austin, TX
June 23 – Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX
June 26 – Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, AZ
June 27 – Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
June 30 – Moda Center, Portland, OR
July 2 – Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
July 4 – Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC
July 7 – Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
July 9 – Viejas Arena, San Diego, CA
July 11 – Kia Forum, Los Angeles, CA
July 22 – Mystic Lake Amphitheater, Shakopee, MN
July 24 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, St. Louis, MO
July 25 – Ruoff Music Center, Noblesville, IN
July 27 – Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
July 29 – Acrisure Amphitheater, Grand Rapids, MI
Aug. 5 – Budweiser Stage, Toronto, ON
Aug. 6 – Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI
Aug. 8 – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Camden, NJ
Aug. 9 – Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront, Richmond, VA
Aug. 12 – Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, FL
Aug. 14 – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, NC
Aug. 15 – PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC
Aug. 18 – Walmart AMP, Rogers, AR
Aug. 20 – Kansas City, MO
Aug. 22 – Junkyard, Denver, CO
Aug. 26 – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City, UT
Aug. 28 – Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
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What’s driven Joe Walsh to put on nine VetsAid benefit concerts during the past nine years? “If I didn’t do stuff like this, I’d have to get a job — and that’s terrifying,” he tells Billboard via Zoom from Wichita, Kan., his birthplace – and also where the ninth VetsAid show takes place this Saturday (Nov. 15).
This year’s lineup features Walsh along with Eagles bandmate Vince Gill, Nathaniel Rateliff, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, and Ryan Bingham & the Texas Gentlemen. Taking place at the INTRUST Bank Arena, the concert—which raises money to benefit regional veterans organizations in Kansas—also livestreams via veeps.com.
VetsAid has raised more than $4 million since its inaugural concert in 2017.
“I’m resonant with all that,” says Walsh, a Gold Star family member whose father, Robert Fidler, died in active duty during 1949 while on air maneuvers over Okinawa, Japan. “Because I play around the country I have consistently bumped into military people, and I just thought, ‘Y’know what? I can make a difference here.’ We don’t have an office in Washington or anything like that; we go to local places that are hubs for vets and we look at what they’ve got going and what’s vet-run, what’s fund-short, and we fund them to keep them going. It’s working it on the streets, but I have made a difference,” he says.
“It’s different in every place we go, but it’s really effective that way. To show up and play for vets, to get them all together and to realize that they’re not alone is huge. And to realize that people care, especially musicians, is huge.”
Walsh was in Wichita on Veteran’s Day, in fact, to make a “profound” visit to meet veterans at the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center. “For somebody to show up and visit is a big thing for a lot of them,” says Walsh, who will have a Wichita street named in his honor on Friday. “They’re just there. They have no choice. (The visit) made a lot of guys happy. We heard some great stories; some of the stuff I heard there’s songs in. This is salt of the earth America, no politics. They put themselves in harm’s way and…whoo! It’s profound.”
In addition to the concert, Walsh will be further funding VetsAid next month by teaming with Julien’s Auctions for Life’s Been Good, selling off more than 800 items on Dec. 16-17 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. Prior to that nearly two dozen of the pieces will be on exhibit through Dec. 3 at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City’s Times Square. The lots include instruments, amplifiers, cars, stage outfits and more — even Ham radios that Walsh, an avowed enthusiast, has used over the years.
Among the noteworthy items are: the API console from the Record Plant mobile recording truck that’s recorded live performances by Eagles, the Rolling Stones, Metallica, Green Day, Michael Jackson and many more; a 2013 McLaren MP4-12C Spider vehicle; the Moschino-designed brick suit that Walsh wore for Eagles Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1998; and vintage guitars Walsh used on some of his best-known recordings.
“I have too much stuff!” Walsh proclaims. “We all collect stuff. It’s human nature. I have stuff on top of stuff, and that top layer I decided to get rid of. Some of it’s painful to give up, but I don’t use a lot of it. It’s just my stuff. It’s hard to know what to throw out, but I got it done, and we’re gonna auction it. There’s something there for everybody — and you get a good chance to see how nuts I am.”
After a holiday break, meanwhile, Walsh returns to Eagles for another dozen shows at Sphere in Las Vegas during the first three months of 2026. The recently announced March dates have been deemed the “final” shows for the year, but Walsh — who marked 50 years this year since joining the band — maintains that, “I do know we’re not done yet. We’re gonna look at the summer. I don’t know if we can lay anywhere if it isn’t the Sphere, but I think we can. But for the beginning of next year, we know what to do.”
He adds that playing the venue is unlike anything he’s ever done before. “It’s a whole different world,” Walsh explains. “One thing we learned was that everything we know, all of us collectively, has nothing to do with the Sphere. You have to learn it. I asked (U2’s) Edge, and he said, ‘Well, good luck. You’re not gonna like it, but you’ll get used to it. Just give it time,’ and he was so right. It’s an experience I can’t explain. You’re in it. You’re in the show. You’re in whatever’s on the screen — and we can’t watch it. I tried to watch for a little bit, and it’s like, ‘Look how big my nose is!’ and then I was playing the wrong song. So we have to look ahead and focus on it.
“But once you get it, so many people come out of there, and they’re happy. Music is a good thing nowadays; people who don’t agree can sit down and have a great time and go home happy, and that’s what America needs right now.”
Alongside Eagles and VetsAid, Walsh is also serving as a Mega Mentor on The Voice, where he’s enjoying his largely behind-the-scenes role. “I’ve got a great slot there, which is the background,” he says. “Being a judge, I don’t know, but being a mentor and hearing these people get ready to perform and just giving them assurance and a few suggestions, that really makes a huge difference. I can help them go out and kick ass. I know what not to do, and sometimes that’s better advice than what to do.”
He adds that the whole experience “has been really great” and dubs judge Reba McEntire “a monster” – meant as a compliment.
Walsh also has his sights set on making new music in the new year, his first since Analog Man in 2012. “I’ve been writing for a long time,” he says, “but the phone keeps ringing with more Eagles shows. I’ve got stuff, like, three-quarters written. I need a producer to come in and tell me what I’ve done. But I’m gonna put some music out next year.”
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Liam Gallagher is clearly having a blast on Oasis‘ reunion tour. You can tell the band’s lead singer and former enfant terrible is enjoying himself because he keeps dropping bread crumbs suggesting that he’s excited for the good times with older brother guitarist/songwriter Noel to roll on.
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Gearing up for the final push of shows in South America that kick off on Nov. 15 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Liam hopped into the comments on an X user’s post on Wednesday (Nov. 12) asking: “are you sad that tour is ending soon?” The unrelentingly cheeky singer replied in a way that once again gave hope to all the fans who weren’t able to catch this year’s shows, or who just can’t wait to see the Britpop legends again.
“I’m not actually as I know things you don’t know,” Liam wrote, before muddying the waters again when another fan begged to know “LIAM WHAT DOES THAT MEAN.” Without explaining, the singer said, “Google it.” Aware of rampant speculation that the band could be on the road again next year — including incessant rumors that they plan to make a triumphant return to mark the 30th anniversary of their legendary 1996 Knebworth gigs in front of 250,000 fans — Liam was evasive again when asked if that was “code” for “we’re going on tour next year.”
That latter question was tied to an earlier tease, in which Liam said the brothers’ rapturously received reunion was “only starting.” Liam, being Liam, threw a wet blanked on that, writing, “Next year might be a little enthusiastic.”
With no solid information relayed, Liam did weigh in once more, brushing aside a question about those who’ve claimed that reunion was just “for the money.” Gallagher tut-tutted that assertion, replying, “Nobody think that it’s just fake news everybody knows we’re in it for the people and the good vibrations.”
To be perfectly clear, at press time no additional dates have been announced for the band after the planned final show at MorumBIS in São Paulo, Brazil on Nov. 23 and spokespeople for Oasis have not responded to previous requests for comment on whether the tour will continue. But Gallagher has continually raised hopes, telling Australian fans last week, “You’ve got a lovely f–king country. See you again.”
Last month, after a fan complained about one of his favorite songs (“The Hindu Times”) not making the tour’s rigid setlist this time around, Gallagher cheekily responded, “Chill Winston it’s not even HALF TIME yet it’s a tour of 2 half’s.” To be fair, Gallagher has appeared to be playing a long game from the beginning, ending a Sept. 28 gig at Wembley Stadium in London with the first tease of what’s (possibly) to come when he said, “see you next year.”
After a legendarily sibling rivalry-fueled break-up in 2009, Gallagher reunited with Noel earlier this year to reform the group for a sold-out run that kicked off on July 4 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. They followed up with a five-night run at Heaton Park in their hometown of Manchester, U.K. and gigs in London, Edinburgh and Dublin before moving on to North America, Mexico City, South Korean, Japan and Australia.
Check out Gallagher’s tweets below.
I’m not actually as I know things you don’t know— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) November 12, 2025
Next year might be a little enthusiastic— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) November 12, 2025
Nobody thinks that it’s just fake news everybody knows we’re in it for the people and the good vibrations— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) November 8, 2025
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The Osbourne family shared some of their collective grief on this week’s episode of The Osbournes Podcast. Wife Sharon and children Jack and Kelly revealed the secret health crisis Ozzy Osbourne suffered before his final, triumphant Back to the Beginning performance, as well as the kind words of condolence the family received from two world leaders following the rock icon’s death on July 22 at 76 years old.
On the first episode of the podcast since Ozzy’s death the trio talked about the rocker’s difficult final year, his “living wake” curtain call show and the powerful way grief has bonded them even more. They also revealed that after years of health struggles that included a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, pneumonia and a botched spinal surgery, Ozzy took a turn for the worse last December when he took “a little fall.”
Then, just two weeks before the all-star Back to the Beginning show at Villa Park in the rocker’s hometown of Birmingham, England, Jack said Ozzy was hospitalized. “The story, I don’t think even you know it, we had him in the hospital and we were just terrified that people were going to find out,” said Sharon about the unnamed ailment that threatened to derail the triumphant last bow.
“So we had all the security and the hospital… the hospital was amazing, they really were. The people at the front desk were told ‘nobody, if they ask for Ozzy, he’s not here. Nobody’s allowed up’, all of that,” she said during the emotional 90-minute pod that had the trio seated around a large wooden dining table strewn with piles of magazines featuring the rocker on the cover. “They had pictures of all of us who were allowed up, and names, and this guy comes up and says ‘I want to see John Osbourne [Ozzy’s legal name]’ so of course there’s a red light and they go ‘who are you?’ and he goes ‘I’m his brother.’”
When someone from security called up to say that Ozzy’s brother was there to see him, Sharon said she replied that there was “no way” that was true because his brother didn’t even know he was there. “His sisters, his brother didn’t know. So I sent security down and I said ‘find out who this guy is, he’s definitely from the press,’” Sharon said, revealing that, as it turned out, there was another John Osbourne at that hospital and it was that John’s brother. “[We] felt so terrible,” she said.
And while it’s shocking to think that Ozzy essentially went from hospital to stage for his final gig, Jack made it clear that his dad was determined to make it to the massive gig that featured solo and Black Sabbath sets featuring Ozzy, as well as an all-star group of metal offspring, including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Alice in Chains Anthrax and more. “It’s not like we forced him, wheeled him out there… to do this gig,” Jack said. “He was adamant… he was running the show. He said he knew exactly what he wanted. Yeah, and he was determined to do it.”
Amid the torrent of well-wishes and condolences that poured in after Ozzy’s death from friends, fellow rockers and longtime fans was a voicemail from Donald Trump. Sharon — who competed on the 2010 season of Trump’s reality show Celebrity Apprentice — revealed that the American president reached out with kind words before playing the message in which Trump said, “Hi, Sharon, it’s Donald Trump, and I just wanted to wish you the best. Ozzy was amazing. He was an amazing guy. I met him a few times, and I want to tell you he was unique in every way and talented. So I just wanted to wish you the best, and it’s a tough thing. I know how close you were, and whatever I can do. Take care of yourself. Say hello to the family.”
Sharon also noted another message from a world leader: a personal letter the family received from England’s King Charles. “We got a lovely letter from the king,” Jack said, with Sharon adding: “Our king, he’s an amazing person. Not just because he wrote to us when Ozzy passed… if he did it for us, you know he does it for many, many, many people.”
It wasn’t the first time King Charles has reached out to wish Ozzy a happy birthday, according to Sharon. “When Ozzy was sick in hospital with the motorbike accident, he reached out. He’s a good, caring man with a good heart,” Sharon said of the King. “Ozzy, as me… we’re royalists. We respect him, we respect his family. He took the time out of his day to write us, have it hand-delivered to us, a note from the king for Ozzy’s passing with his condolences. And that says so much.”
Watch the Osbournes podcast below.
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There were flames, fireworks, and an unexpected blast of “Smoko,” as Metallica’s M72 tour stopped by Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night, Nov. 12.
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The Rock Hall-inducted metal giants have been extra sweet to audiences on this trek, their first down under since 2013, by playing a homegrown classic on each tour date.
For their tour opener Nov. 1 at Perth’s Optus Stadium, the Bay Area legends carved out a rendition of John Butler’s “Zebra,” which the Western Australian native responded to with his own cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
Then, at Adelaide Oval on Nov. 5, the rockers covered INXS’ Billboard Hot 100 leader “Need You Tonight,” and segued into the Angels’ classic from 1976, “Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again,” led by bass player Robert Trujillo at the mic. For their Melbourne show, at Marvel Stadium, Metallica covered “Prisoner of Society” the alternative rock trio the Living End.
The rumor mill was grinding away ahead of Metallica’s lone show in the Sunshine State. Would they cover a Powderfinger song, or the Go-Betweens? Perhaps the Saints? Or maybe a leftfield choice by performing the Bee Gees, the Veronicas or even Keith Urban.
As it turned out, Metallica hit the right note with a cover of the Chats’ “Smoko,” originally released on the Sunshine Coast punk rock act’s 2017 EP, Get This in Ya!!. Trujillo once again took vocal duties, accompanied by lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. “We like to celebrate music from your hood,” Trujillo remarked.
A “smoko” is, for those uninitiated, an Australian expression for a break from work, or more specifically, a pause to smoke.
Eamon Sandwith and Co. were thrilled with the nod. “Stoked to make it to the ‘doodle’ section of the set, thanks Metallica,” reads a social post from the ARIA Award-winning band.
Metallica opened the show with a mainscreen montage of the fan photos, set to “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll)” by AC/DC, whose own tour of Australia kicked off at the same time, 1,000 miles south of Brisbane, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. AC/DC will visit Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, twice, in December.
“Thank you, we missed you a lot,” frontman James Hetfield told the audience, gathered on an unusually cool November night. “We’re very grateful to be here. This is love.”
Hetfield also insisted that he had “the best job in the world,” which he well could, before Metallica launched into “Sad But True,” an anvil of a song.
Metallica may have mellowed through the years, but they’re still hard as hammers, which they proved with a set that flew high and never came down. The encore, of “Master Of Puppets,” “One,” and “Enter Sandman” could’ve woken the dead. Maybe the fourpiece was tipped off that the venue was once Paddington Cemetery, a burial ground.
Late in the set, Hetfield welcomed the capacity house as members of the “Metallica family,” some as veterans, others newcomers. “That’s why we’re here. To forget all the bull**** in life.” As good parents, Hetfield, Hammett, Trujillo and drummer Lars Ulrich stayed on stage well after the last chord rung out, to share gifts of drumsticks, guitar picks and take turns in thanking the fans.
Produced by Live Nation Australia, the tour continues at Sydney’s Accor Stadium (Nov. 15) and wraps up Nov. 19 at Auckland’s Eden Park. Evanescence and Suicidal Tendencies are the support on this leg of the M72 World Tour.
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AC/DC came to rock the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday night, Nov. 12 and the city felt it.
The opening date of AC/DC’s Power Up tour of Australia made waves that were detected by earthquake monitoring equipment, and could be felt, and heard, deep into this former Olympic City.
According to Adam Pascale, chief scientist at the Seismology Research Centre, the concert registered in the 2-5 hertz range at their office in Richmond, some 2 miles from the concert at the towering MCG.
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That’s enough force for people to feel the ground move.
“The sound waves that people were experiencing nearby and feeling something through their bodies, that’s the equivalent to what our seismographs feel,” Pascale told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A resident some 6 miles away told the ABC they could hear the concert.
“We’re picking up the ground motion, we’re not picking up the sound from the air,” Pascale added.
“So, you’ve got speakers on the ground pumping out vibrations and that gets transmitted through the ground, but also the crowd jumping up and down is feeding energy into the ground.”
Although AC/DC came to rock, the largest signals received by the Seismology Research Centre were generated by Taylor Swift’s record-busting three-night stand at the MCG in 2024, Pascale remarked.
Stadium rock can move us, literally. Oasis’s now-completed tour of Live ’25 tour of Australia (via Live Nation) generated a “clear uptick in seismic signal” when fans “started pounding the ground” at Marvel Stadium during a show earlier in the month, the center confirmed earlier.
AC/DC doesn’t do things by halves. These latest round of shows require 300 tons of steel to build the production, with 28 tons of PA and speakers pumping out the sound. A crew of 155 are working each show, which consumes 500kw of power every night.
With Angus Young on lead guitar, vocalist Brian Johnson, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug and bass player Chris Chaney, the Rock Hall-inducted legends ripped out the classics at the MCG, including “Back In Black,” “Thunderstruck,” “Hells Bells,” “Riff Raff” and much more.
AC/DC last toured Australia and New Zealand in 2015, the domestic leg of their Rock or Bust world tour. On that visit, Young and Co. shifted more than 520,000 tickets across 11 coast-to-coast dates, including shows in Auckland and Wellington.
Next up, the second of two shows this Sunday (Nov. 16) at the MCG, followed by dates in Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane.
TEG Van Egmond, a division of TEG, is producing AC/DC’s nine-date national tour, with special guests Amyl & The Sniffers.
AC/DC 2025 “Power Up” Australia Tour Dates:
Nov. 12 — Melbourne Cricket Ground (completed)
Nov. 16 — Melbourne Cricket Ground
Nov. 21 — Accor Stadium, Sydney
Nov. 25 — Accor Stadium, Sydney
Nov. 30 – Adelaide bp Adelaide Grand Final
Dec. 4 — Optus Stadium, Perth
Dec. 8 — Optus Stadium, Perth
Dec. 14 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Dec. 18 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
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Christopher Cross’ “Sailing” isn’t coming in to dock anytime soon.
The American singer, songwriter and guitar talent released his “yacht rock” masterpiece back in 1979, a classic that sailed all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Sailing” was one of four top 20 hits that appeared on Cross’ self-titled album, which, in 1981 would make history at the Grammy Awards, by sweeping five categories, including the Big Four — album, record and song of the year. Yes, it was unexpected. A shock, even. The only other artists to scoop the Big Four was Billie Eilish, doing so four decades later, in 2020.
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If “Sailing” was a guilty pleasure in the 1990s, today it’s simply a pleasure. The softly-spoken artist stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week to take us all “Sailing,” the video of which can be seen below.
Cross, a formidable guitarist who was blessed with the voice of an angel, appears to have made a full recovery from his grueling health battle five years ago, during which he contracted Guillaine-Barre Syndrome (GBS) after having COVID-19.
At one stage, he was paralyzed from the waist down. “It really was touch and go, and tough,” he CBS Sunday Morning at the time.
Cross’s late-night spot came ahead of the release this Friday, Nov. 14 of All Right: The Worldwide Singles 1980–1988, the first career-spanning collection of his biggest hits, including “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” from the film Arthur, which also led the Billboard Hot 100 and won an Academy Award for best original song. The set is released through Omnivore Recordings, the label that issued an “expanded edition” of Christopher Cross in June 2025.
Now aged 74, Cross will play many of those hits when he embarks on a South American tour this December, including shows with fellow ‘80s heavyweights Toto. Live shows across the U.K. and Europe follow from May 2026.
Josh Homme, the much-celebrated lead singer for the Queens of the Stone Age, performed one of his most daring concerts yet in Los Angeles — his first in his adopted hometown after a health scare last year forced him to cancel a number of shows. A native of nearby Palm Desert, the 52-year-old Homme has said […]
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Toni Cornell is reflecting on the emotional experience of performing at her late father Chris Cornell‘s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday (Nov. 8). The grunge icon was enshrined posthumously along with his Soundgarden bandmates — drummer Matt Cameron, bassist Ben Shepherd, guitarist Kim Thayil and founding bassist Hiro Yamamoto — with Toni, 21, performing a moving version of the band’s 1995 single “Fell on Black Days” alongside Heart’s Nancy Wilson.
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“Soundgarden belonged in the Rock Hall from the day they started making their revolutionary music. A huge congratulations to Matt, Kim, Ben, and Hiro, and especially to my dad, who should have been here to share this moment with his bandmates. I know how proud he is,” Toni wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Tuesday (Nov. 11). “Thank you to the legendary @nancywilson for honoring him beside me, and to Brandi [Carlile] and Taylor [Momsen] for continuously sharing his music and keeping his spirit alive. And to the fans, who are the reason this music still breathes.”
Toni said that performing the churning single from the band’s fourth studio album, Superunknown, was “one of the greatest honors of my life, and one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. My dad’s absence is always felt, but singing his songs always makes me feel closer to him. I’m so grateful I got to share this moment for him, and with him, in some way.”
The young singer who released her debut single, “Far Away Places,” in 2019, included a number of pictures from Saturday’s induction performance, as well as a snap of the first time she ever saw her dad’s band perform live in which she is holding up an iPad while watching from the wings. The photo roll also included a snap with her brother, Christopher Cornell and an image of the siblings greeting their dad onstage as children.
“I was six years old when Soundgarden reunited. My brother and I were lucky to see small pieces of that moment unfold, not realizing we were witnessing something historic,” she wrote of seeing the legendary grunge band come back together in 2010 following their split in 1997. “I’ll never forget walking into Soundgarden’s reunion show with my brother, my American Girl doll in tow, and seeing my dad step onstage again with Soundgarden after more than a decade. I might have been too young to understand the magnitude of this moment, but I still knew I was witnessing something extraordinary. I will forever be grateful for those years, eventually spending time in Seattle and experiencing the greatness of the Pacific Northwest that inspired my dad and his bandmates so immensely.”
Toni said those critical moments watching her dad shaped her, while being on the road for years with the band also molded her as an artist and person outside her public persona as “Chris’s daughter.” She said people would often tell her that Cornell and Soundgarden’s music had saved them, and watching the band’s legacy get honored by the Rock Hall made her realize how true that was.
“Daddy, you are beloved and your music will forever change people’s lives. Long live Soundgarden,” she wrote.
The emotional post got a thumbs up from Pretty Reckless singer Momsen, who earlier in the night took the stage fronting Soundgarden at the induction ceremony to perform a searing version of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage.” “So beautiful Toni,” Momsen wrote in the comments.
Check out Toni Cornell’s performance below.
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Hundreds of bagpipers broke a world record this week when they assembled in Australia to perform AC/DC‘s “It’s a Long Way to the Top.”
The musicians gathered on Wednesday (Nov. 12) in Melbourne’s Federation Square, where thousands of fans watched as 374 bagpipers squeezed into the square and perform the rock and roll classic. The Australian Book of Records then confirmed with the Associated Press that they had indeed broken the world record for most people gathered to play the bagpipes. The oldest performer was 98-years-old. The previous record holder was 333 pipers in Bulgaria back in 2012.
The event was called “The Great Melbourne Bagpipe Bash,” and paid homage to a scene from the Australian hard rock band’s 1976 film where they blasted “It’s A Long Way To The Top” on a flatbed truck while traveling through traffic. The square is also right near Melbourne Cricket Ground, where AC/DC is scheduled to perform their first Australian show in over a decade later tonight.
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The band recently added dozens of dates to their Power Up Tour heading into 2026. The new dates for the nearly two-year-old tour by the legendary rockers will kick off on Feb. 24 at Estádio do MorumBIS in São Paulo, Brazil and include stops in Santiago, Chile on March 11 and Buenos Aires, Argentina on March 23 before winding down on April 7 in Mexico City at Estadio GNP Seguros.
AC/DC will then take a break before heading out again on July 11 in Charlotte, N.C. in Columbus, Ohio, Madison, Wi., San Antonio, Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Edmonton, Alberta, Vancouver, Atlanta, Houston, South Bend, Ind., St. Louis, Montreal, Toronto and East Rutherford, N.J. before winding down on Sept. 29 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Check out a video report on the record-setting piping below.
