Taylor Swift returns to the zenith of Australia’s albums chart with Lover, while Hozier bags a sweet No. 1 single.

As Swifties waited, and anticipated, the release of The Tortured Poets Department, which dropped at midnight, many in Australia turned to her catalog.

Lover (via Universal) rebounds 4-1 for a third non-consecutive week at No. 1, and first stint at the summit since 2019.

Swift’s Lover leads a top three ahead of SZA’s SOS (RCA/Sony), up 13-2, and Swift’s rerecorded LP 1989 (Taylor’s Version), up 5-3, respectively. SZA’s sophomore album spikes as her Australian arena tour gets underway, Friday, April 19 with a concert at Brisbane Entertainment Centre, produced by Live Nation.

Further down the ARIA Chart, published late Friday, is Linkin Park’s fourth compilation Papercuts (Warner), new at No. 7. The nu-metal favorites have previously led the national tally with 2000’s Hybrid Theory, 2007’s Minutes To Midnight and 2010’s A Thousand Suns.

Also new to the national survey is We Still Don’t Trust You (Universal/Sony), the second collaborative album from Future and Metro Boomin. It’s new at No. 15, and the followup to We Still Don’t Trust You, which recently bowed at No. 2.

Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Hozier bags his first No. 1 with “Too Sweet” (Columbia/Sony), up 2-1.
“Too Sweet” is Hozier’s second top 10 appearance on the Australian chart after his signature song “Take Me To Church” reached No. 2 back in 2013. “Too Sweet” also lifted to No. 1 in the U.K. earlier this month, for Hozier’s first leader there.

According to ARIA, Hozier is the fourth solo male singer to reach the top this year on the Australian chart, following U.S. artists Jack Harlow (“Lovin On Me”), Noah Kahan (“Stick Season”) and Benson Boone (“Beautiful Things”).

“Beautiful Things” (via Warner) dips 1-2 on the latest frame, while British EDM producer Artemas holds onto third spot with “I Like The Way You Kiss Me” (10K/ADA).

The top new debut on the ARIA Singles Chart belongs to U.S. pop singer and actor Sabrina Carpenter, whose “Espresso” shoots in at No. 7. “Espresso” (Island/Universal) is the follow-up to “Feather,” which peaked at No. 22 in 2023.

Also appearing for the first time on the ARIA Chart is Dua Lipa’s “Illusion” (Warner UK), new at No. 21.
“Illusion” is the third single from the British pop star’s forthcoming third studio album Radical Optimism, following “Houdini” (No. 7 peak) and “Training Session” (No. 12).

Surprise! Taylor Swift gave night owls a bonus when she dropped the secret, second part of The Tortured Poets Department.

Swift had teased a mysterious 2am countdown ahead of the conventional midnight release of Tortured Poets. For Swifties, it was worth the wait as the collection extended by an additional 15 songs.

“It’s a 2am surprise: The Tortured Poets Department is a secret DOUBLE album,” writes Swift on Instagram. “I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second installment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs. And now the story isn’t mine anymore… it’s all yours.”

The final, sprawling edition comes in at 31 songs, and more than two hours of playing time.

If three is the magic number, two is a godsend for Swifties, many of whom have noticed that their idol has been waving the number 2 in their faces for weeks. Her Tortured Poets Spotify library installation in Los Angeles featured a peace-sign statuette, and Swift herself flashed two fingers on camera at the 2024 Grammys when she first announced her new record. The clocks at the library pop-up and in her cryptic “Fortnight” music video announcement from earlier this week have all been set to 2 o’clock, and the star tweeted Wednesday, “✌️days til THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT.”

Swift’s stamina is hard to beat. Tortured Poets is her fifth studio album in less than five years, a period that has also included four re-recorded Taylor’s Version albums. So, make that nine full length recordings since the months prior to the pandemic. Her epic The Eras Tour is currently on a break, and will restart next month for a summer stadium run across the U.K. and Europe.

TayTay announced The Tortured Poets Department at the 2024 Grammy Awards in February, where she won album of the year for a record fourth time, with Midnights, her 10th studio effort. In the same month, Swift collected the IFPI’s Global Recording Artist award for a fourth time, also a record.

Stream The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology in full below.

Following the experimental music journey that was 2020’s Gigaton, Pearl Jam returns to familiar, heavy turf on Dark Matter, the legendary Seattle rock band’s 12th studio album.

Dropping at the stroke of midnight, Dark Matter (via Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records) spans 11 (mostly) burly numbers, including the previously-released midtempo cut “Wreckage” and the title track, which powered to No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay and Rock & Alternative Airplay Charts.

Grammy Award-winning producer Andrew Watt is back behind the desk on Dark Matter, built on foundations of blazing guitars and busy drumming, and which ought to be played “loud, like, really loud,” frontman Eddie Vedder told Alt 98.7.

Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, recognition of a mighty, three-decade-plus career that has yielded 12 top 10s on the Billboard 200 chart, including five leaders, and over 85 million albums shifted worldwide, according to reps.

The members of Pearl Jam—Vedder, Jeff Ament (bass), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Matt Cameron (drums)—workshopped the album last year at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La Studios in Malibu. With Watt at the desk, the creative process found turbo-packs, and the record came together in three weeks.

Vedder, McCready, and Ament premiered the LP at a listening party in West Hollywood earlier this year, attended by a few hundred family, friends, industry professionals and media, the Associated Press reported at the time.

“You all get together as a group as we’ve been doing for 30-plus years and you say, ‘Let’s try it again,’” Vedder reportedly told guests from the stage as he introduced the record. “No hyperbole, I think this is our best work.”

In support of the new LP, Vedder and CO. will embark on a world tour. Those Dark Matter World Tour 2024 dates will see the band visit nine countries and 25 cities, kicking off at May 4 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC.

Stream Dark Matter in full below.

Nicki Minaj wasn’t messing around when she was teasing bringing the heavy hitters out for her “FTCU” remix.

The Barbz leader revealed on Thursday (April 18) that the star-studded trio of Travis Scott, Chris Brown and Sexyy Red would be joining her for the “FTCU (Sleeze Mix).” Mere hours later, Nicki closed out Aries season with a bang as the anticipated “FTCU” remix hit streaming services at midnight ET on Friday (April 19).

As far as the cover art goes, Minaj kneels on the oversized silver title of the track with a pair of black speakers flanking her. Underneath lies the names of the guest artists featured on the “Sleeze Mix.”

In its 18th week on the Hot 100, “FTCU” sits at No. 79 after peaking at No. 15. The Pink Friday 2 track should receive a chart boost thanks to the “Sleeze Mix.”

Minaj and Chris Brown have an extensive collaborative history as they’ve teamed up for tracks like DJ Khaled’s “Take It to the Head,” 2012’s “Right By My Side,” Breezy’s “Love More,” 2014’s “Only” with Drake and Lil Wayne as well as Meek Mill’s “All Eyes on You” and Khaled’s “Do you Mind” in 2016.

Nicki lent Sexyy Red a major co-sign when hopping on the remix to her “Pound Town” hit last year to give the St. Louis native her first Hot 100 entry.

However, this marks the first team-up for Minaj and Travis Scott. La Flame and the “Super Bass” rapper appear to have squashed their feud. Nicki put Scott and his family on blast in 2018 for selling merchandise bundles with his ASTROWORLD album to block Minaj’s Queen from taking the top spot on the Billboard 200.

Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 World Tour continues this weekend with stops in Toronto and Detroit.

Stream the “FTCU (Sleeze Mix)” below.

Why take your gin straight when you can have it with a side of Hardy? In honor of Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre‘s new Gin & Juice canned cocktail venture, the country-rock star released a cover of the hip-hop duo’s classic “Gin and Juice” on Friday (April 19), with a music video to follow next month.

“A while back, I got a phone call saying that Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg would like for me to record my own version of ‘Gin and Juice’ for the launch of their new drink, Gin&Juice,” Hardy revealed in a press release. “I’m still in disbelief, but I am so stoked that I’m dropping my version of ‘Gin and Juice’ with the blessing of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg themselves. Thankful for the opportunity.”

The “Give Heaven Some Hell” singer first teased the cover on Thursday (April 18) with an Instagram post featuring a flick of him posing with the two hip-hop legends. The three artists appeared to be on the set of a forthcoming “short film” tied to Gin & Juice.

Hardy’s “Gin and Juice” cover comes after a string of hits for the CMA-nominated star. In 2023, he notched his first No. 1 title on Top Country Albums with The Mockingbird & the Crow, which housed “Truck Bed,” his first unaccompanied Country Airplay chart-topper. This year, Hardy turned his attention to the rock scene with recent releases “Quit!!” and “Rockstar” peaking at No. 2 and No. 1 on Hot Hard Rock Songs, respectively. Both tracks are set to appear on his upcoming rock album.

Snoop Dogg’s original Dr. Dre-produced version of “Gin and Juice” reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1994 (chart dated March 26, 1994). The track — which earned a Grammy nod for best rap solo performance — served as the second single from Snoop’s Billboard 200-topping debut studio album, Doggystyle.

Stream Hardy’s reimagining of Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s “Gin and Juice” now.

Taylor Swift just released her new album The Tortured Poets Department — but from the looks of a mysterious new countdown hidden on her Instagram profile, the fun is far from over.

As soon as the pop star’s 16-track project dropped at midnight on Friday (April 19), Swift made her very first post on Threads, Instagram’s text-only counterpart which launched last year. At the same time, a mysterious two-hour countdown went live on her Instagram page, potentially ticking down to a new announcement or surprise coming at 2 a.m. ET.

The new countdown is sure to pique the interests of Swifties, who have noticed that the musician has seemingly been teasing the number 2 for weeks. Her Tortured Poets Spotify library installation in Los Angeles featured a peace-sign statuette, and Swift herself flashed two fingers on camera at the 2024 Grammys when she first announced her new record. The clocks at the library pop-up and in her cryptic “Fortnight” music video announcement from earlier this week have all been set to 2 o’clock, and the star tweeted Wednesday, “✌️days til THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT.”

Only time will tell what 2 a.m brings — but in the meantime, Instagram and Threads have several other new features for Swifties to enjoy. Fans can now change their direct messaging backgrounds to visuals inspired by the Tortured Poets album artwork; plus, Threads users who share the singer’s first post will receive a custom “TTPD” badge on their profile, distinguishing them as bona fide Swifties.

In the week leading up to Tortured Poets release day, Instagram launched its original secret countdown, which was only visible when fans pulled down on Swift’s profile to “refresh.” The countdown also prompted viewers to follow the 14-time Grammy winner on Threads.

As this was going on, conversations on Threads tagged #TTPD, #The Tortured Poets Department, #Tortured Poets, #TSTTPD, #Swifties or #Taylor Swift prompted a special shimmer effect to appear, while celebratory hearts appeared onscreen for those who “liked” a post stamped with any of the same tags.

Complete with 16 tracks, four bonus songs spread out across various deluxe versions and collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + The Machine, The Tortured Poets Department was one of the most anticipated releases of 2024. Swift took a break from her global Eras Tour to prepare for the album’s release but will resume the trek in May.

“It kind of reminded me of why songwriting is something that actually gets me through my life,” she said of the project at a February Eras show. “I’ve never had an album where I needed songwriting more than I needed it on Tortured Poets.”

Poetry class is in session. Taylor Swift’s long-awaited 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, arrived on Friday (April 19).

Swift initially announced the album at the 2024 Grammys, dropping the bombshell news mid-acceptance speech for best pop vocal for her 2022 record Midnights. “This is my 13th Grammy – which is my lucky number, I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that,” she teased the crowd from the stage at Crypto.com Arena in February. “I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years which is that my brand new album comes out April 19.”

The superstar previously announced the track list, as well as three variants of the 16-track album, each featuring a different bonus track: “The Manuscript,” “The Bolter” and “The Albatross.” She revealed “The Bolter” and “The Albatross” editions at previous tour dates in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. The Tortured Poets Department tracklist features two major collaborations: Post Malone, whose name is billed on the lead single, “Fortnight,” as well as Florence + The Machine on track eight, “Florida!!!”

The Tortured Poets Department is Swift’s first album of new material since October 2022’s Midnights, which won album of the year and best pop vocal album at the 2024 Grammys. She also put out (Taylor’s Version) re-recordings of Speak Now and 1989 in 2023, as she embarked on her career-spanning Eras Tour.

Listen to The Tortured Poets Department in full below.

One of the constants of Taylor Swift’s storied career has been the chances she’s taken at the precise moment when taking a chance wasn’t necessary. She was a country superstar who didn’t need to go pop; she was less than a year removed from a major pop album and didn’t need to take an indie-folk detour; she was in the middle of a blockbuster run of new albums and didn’t need to re-record her old ones. Time and again, Swift has identified artistic opportunities that other stars would have blanched at (or at the very least, set aside for a different time, so as to not muck up any professional momentum), and she has leapt into them fearlessly, always coming out on top.

So right now — in the middle of a mega-selling stadium tour, after a record-breaking fourth album of the year Grammy win, in a high-profile new romance and at the commercial zenith of an already all-time career — is, naturally, the time Swift has chosen to release a knowingly messy, wildly unguarded breakup album.

She didn’t have to do this! But then again, making an album like The Tortured Poets Department is exactly what separates Swift from her more careful peers. Challenging herself to shape-shift, to accomplish something new at the moment anyone else would rest on their laurels, is what makes her so fascinating.

Swift has written plenty of songs that revel in post-breakup hurt across her catalog, but The Tortured Poets Department is both more mature — the teen slings and arrows naturally evolving into adult entanglements and emotional affairs — and more pissed-off, with unbridled emotion and unkempt drama often taking center stage. There will be a lot of guessing about who each song is about, considering that the album was created in the wake of her six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn ending, a brief romance with The 1975’s Matty Healy, and the start of her relationship with football star Travis Kelce. But the male subjects are besides the point: Swift is a hurricane across the album, blowing the doors off of the agonizing details of her recent reality.

Furious rhetorical questions and errors in judgment dot the Tortured Poets Department lyrics, as Swift aims at a target beyond vulnerability, that allows her wide listenership to understand her heart and mind. In a career defined by her songwriting, Swift has never placed so much emphasis on her words — the production, courtesy of Swift and close collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, seems to evaporate at points, the music almost incidental compared to the lyrics. The warm synth-pop of Midnights serves as the closest reference point, but that album was cleanly orchestrated, while The Tortured Poets Department wants to get in the mud with soft-loud dissonance and tracklist sprawl. Really, the album is in conversation with her entire catalog — a country-pop chorus here, a Folklore folk tale there — while still making time to explore the unknown.

The Tortured Poets Department is extreme in its emotions and uninterested in traditional hits; not everyone will love it, but the ones who get it will adore it fiercely. As Swift continues this current astonishing run of superstardom, she has once again pushed herself to strike a new pose. It’s what makes her special — and what turns The Tortured Poets Department into yet another triumph.

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Billy Joel fans will get another chance to watch the Piano Man’s Madison Square Garden special, which will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on Friday (April 19).

Citing a “network programming timing error,” CBS apologized for cutting the concert special short during its first airing on April 14 and announced that the special would re-air later this week.

“A network programming timing error ended last night’s Billy Joel special approximately two minutes early in the eastern and central time zones,” reads the statement, which Joel posted on X on Monday. “We apologize to Mr. Joel, his fans, our affiliated stations, and our audience whose viewing experience was interrupted during the last song. Due to the overwhelming demand from his legion of fans, BILLY JOEL: THE 100TH – LIVE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN will be rebroadcast in its entirety on CBS on April 19th at 9 p.m. ET/PT.”

Read on for ways to watch and stream the special.

How to Watch Billy Joel’s Madison Square Garden Special

Billy Joel: The 100th — Live at Madison Square Garden premieres Friday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. The two-hour special, celebrating Joel’s 100th show at the famed venue, will also stream live on Paramount+.

No cable? You can watch CBS and other networks on DirecTV, Sling TV, and Fubo TV. Additionally, Paramount+ with Showtime includes live access to CBS.

DirecTV and Fubo offer free trials – a nice option if you don’t want to pay out of pocket. Plans start at $69.99 for DirecTV Stream and $79.99 for Fubo. Both platforms include DVR recording and over 75 live channels, including sports and entertainment channels.

Sling TV’s streaming plans start at $20 for the first month to stream over 30 channels. Sling TV offers CBS in select regions.

Another free option: Paramount+ with Showtime is free for the first month and $11.99 per month, after the trial period ends. The platform combines Paramount+ and Showtime – which means double the streaming possibilities — and you have the option of streaming Paramount+ on Prime Video.

Joel resumed his Madison Square Garden residency in January. The final show is scheduled for July 25. Get tickets here.

Kid Cudi is getting hitched.

The 40-year-old “Day ‘N’ Nite” rapper and singer has got engaged to his girlfriend, menswear designer Lola Abecassis Sartore.

Cudi (real name: Scott Mescudi) shared the good news by way of an Instagram post, in which he refers to Lola as his “fiancé.” Look closer at the images in the carousel, snapped at the premiere of the Paramount+ series Knuckles, and the ring finger on her left hand positively sparkles.

“This amazing woman makes me so happy, she is everything to me and I’m so excited to share this news w u all,” he writes. “Life is wild, and right when I felt my future was uncertain, it became crystal clear with Lola. Happy Cud in full effect.”

Sartore also shared a photo of the pair on her Instagram, writing, “I never thought I could love someone this much! So proud to call you my fiancé Scott. I can’t wait for you all to see this amazing man in the new Knuckles show!”

Cudi climbed into her comments, insisting: “U have me forever.”

Sartore also reposted the picture on her Instagram Stories and wrote, “The smiles on our faces says it all! Love you to the moon and back Kid Cudi.” He replied, “Love u more my angel baby.”

Cudi is feeling a lot of love right now. Earlier this week, he was tapped for the second weekend of Coachella Festival, joining the lineup on Sunday (April 21).

The Ohio native last performed at Coachella in 2019, during which he ended his set with a run through the 2009 Man on the Moon: The End of Day track “Pursuit of Happiness,” which he dedicated to Mac Miller and Nipsey Hussle. “Insano Boy Is Comin,” Cudi posted Tuesday night when news broke of his date in Indio, CA.

Coachella will provide a launch pad for his Insano World Tour, which will kick off in Austin, Texas, on June 28 and will hit arenas across the country throughout the summer. Cudi will head overseas for a raft of concerts early next year, including visits to Germany, Italy, France and the U.K.

Cudi boasts 27 appearances on the Billboard Hot 100, including a No. 1 for his 2020 collaboration with Travis Scott, “The Scotts,” and 10 appearances on the Billboard 200 chart, including five top 10s.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER lands its sixth No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as minisode 3: TOMORROW opens atop the tally (dated April 20). The set sold 103,500 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending April 11, according to Luminate. Also, the top 10 welcomes debuts from Conan Gray, The Black Keys, Vampire Weekend, Khruangbin and J. Cole.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s minisode 3: TOMORROW enters with 103,500 copies sold. Of that sum, physical sales comprise 101,500 (all from CD sales), while digital downloads comprise 2,000. The album’s sales were supported by its availability across 17 collectible CD editions (including exclusive editions sold by Barnes & Noble, Target and the act’s webstore), all containing randomized paper merchandise (but with the same audio tracklist). It was also issued across multiple digital download variations, including five iterations that each contained a different voice memo as a bonus track, plus an edition that boasted bonus remixes.

Conan Gray notches his third top 10-charting effort on Top Album Sales as Found Heaven starts at No. 2 with 27,000 copies sold. It also matches his chart-high, as Kid Krow peaked at No. 2 in 2020. Vinyl sales powered more than half of the set’s first week (58%), with nearly 16,000 copies sold of the album across 10 vinyl variants (including exclusives for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, independent record stores, Target and Gray’s official webstore; the latter also offered a signed edition). The album also launches at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart. Seven different iterations of the CD edition of the album were available (most with the same tracklist, just with different cover art) including one that was signed by the artist. Found Heaven was also issued as a standard digital download album, along with an alternative version, with different cover art, sold through the artist’s webstore.

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter falls to No. 3 after debuting at No. 1 a week earlier. The set sold 21,000 copies in its second week (down 88%). While Cowboy Carter’s CD and vinyl editions were available to purchase only via Beyoncé’s official webstore in the set’s first two weeks of release, those physical configurations became widely available to all retailers beginning on April 12. (The album has also been purchasable as a digital download, widely, since its release on March 29.)

The Black Keys’ Ohio Players debuts at No. 4 on Top Album Sales with 20,000 copies sold, marking the seventh top 10-charting effort for the band. The set was available in seven vinyl variants, a standard CD, standard cassette, standard digital download, and a deluxe boxed set containing branded merchandise (a T-shirt and sticker set) and a CD.

Vampire Weekend’s Only God Was Above Us bows at No. 5 on Top Album Sales, with 16,000 copies sold. It’s the act’s fourth top 10-charting effort and brings the group its first debut on the ranking since 2019’s Father of the Bride bowed at No. 1 (May 18, 2019 chart). The new album was available in four vinyl variants, a standard CD, standard download, and two deluxe boxed sets (each containing a branded T-shirt and a copy of the CD).

Khruangbin’s A La Sala steps in at No. 6 on Top Album Sales with 14,000 copies sold, garnering the act its fourth top 10-charting effort. 80% of the album’s first-week sales were from vinyl offerings, six in total. It was also issued as a standard CD, cassette and digital download.

J. Hope’s Hope On the Street, Vol. 1 falls 2-7 in its second week on the chart, with 9,000 sold (down 80%).

J. Cole’s Might Delete Later rounds out the six debuts in the top 10 on Top Album Sales, as the surprise release from the rapper bows at No. 8 with 9,000 sold (all from a standard digital download). It’s the seventh top 10-charting set for the artist.

Closing out the top 10 are a pair of former No. 1s from Taylor Swift, as Lover falls 3-9 (7,000; down 28%) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) drops 4-10 (6,500; down 28%).

In the week ending April 11, there were 1.294 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 3.7% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 964,000 (down 3.3%) and digital albums comprised 329,000 (down 4.9%).

There were 525,000 CD albums sold in the week ending April 11 (up 1.4% week-over-week) and 433,000 vinyl albums sold (down 8.7%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 6.698 million (down 31.3% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 6.858 million (down 49.3%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 18.177 million (down 36.8% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 13.626 million (down 41.9%) and digital album sales total 4.551 million (down 14.5%).

Kakao Entertainment is aiming to accelerate the global expansion of K-pop thanks to a new partnership with Billboard and Billboard Korea.

The company announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with the American music and entertainment magazine to enhance the influence of K-pop worldwide. Joseph Chang, co-CEO of Kakao Entertainment, met with Billboard President Mike Van and Billboard Korea CEO & Publisher Yuna Kim at Kakao Entertainment Seoul offices on Wednesday to have in-depth discussions on how to promote cooperation between all sides as global partners. This is the first time Billboard and Billboard Korea have formed an official partnership concerning K-pop.

“Kakao Entertainment is a key player that works with a rich pool of partners in the K-pop industry and has considerable expertise in content development, production and marketing,” Van and Kim said in a joint statement. “We expect the partnership between our two companies to introduce music fans to the multi-faceted appeal of K-pop.”

This partnership brings together Kakao Entertainment, Billboard and Billboard Korea to build a comprehensive cooperation system for reinforcing the presence and influence of K-pop around the world. The newly formed alliance is expected to open a new chapter in global markets for K-pop, which has enjoyed tremendous popularity and strengthened its position within the music industry.

Kakao Entertainment, Billboard and Billboard Korea will work together to introduce the full spectrum of Korean music and a variety of related content to worldwide fans and push for a far-reaching marketing and promotions campaign to support the global activities of K-pop artists. They will also unveil a new business model in connection with K-pop by marrying Kakao Entertainment’s expertise in the planning, production and marketing of music intellectual property with Billboard’s rich data assets and global influence in the media sector. Billboard plans to leverage this move to ensure that Billboard Korea, which is scheduled to be launched in June, will establish itself successfully and to expand its music portfolio for far greater influence in the global music industry.

“The Korean entertainment industry including K-pop has seen its influence grow in the global market,” said Kakao co-CEO Chang. “The partnership with Billboard, a behemoth in the music scene, will allow K-entertainment to take a big step forward. Kakao Entertainment will strive to demonstrate the unique competitiveness of K-pop in global markets and continue to explore different avenues for the expansion of the industry and its balanced growth worldwide.”

The partnership comes ahead of the launch of Billboard Korea‘s first print issue, which is perfectly timed to the K-pop genre reaching brand-new heights. South Korean acts accounted for five of the top 10 albums in the IFPI Global Album Chart for 2023, including the top spot for SEVENTEEN’s FML, representing the best-ever global charts performance for the genre. Indeed, an unprecedented 19 of the top 20 titles on the tally were K-pop.

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Boho beachwear is back in season for spring and summer. If you’ve been looking for crochet bikinis, we’ve done some of the searching for you and rounded up some of the hottest crochet swimwear, cover-ups, dresses, skirts and tops that you can buy online — without breaking the bank. And most of the items can be worn on the beach or to Coachella, Stagecoach and other music festivals, concerts and tours.

Crochet clothing is here to stay — and celebrities are taking notice. Anitta showed off a crochet look on Instagram in January, Dua Lipa was snapped in a checkered crochet bikini in Miami a couple of years ago, Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney struck a pose in a crochet bikini during a 2022 beachside photo shoot, Olivia Rodrigo wore a crochet look for a 2021 Variety cover shoot, Miley Cyrus has worn crochet multiple times, and Solange is no stranger to crochet outfits.

Below, find a list of crochet bikinis and cover-ups for stylish shoppers on a budget.

It’s Now Cool Crochet Bikini

$55 $122 55% off

Buy Now at asos

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Way to keep cool. The It’s Cool Now Crochet Bikini features triangle cups with adjustable straps, and it’s on sale at ASOS. The top and matching bottom ($51) are 54% off, but only select sizes are still in stock. Find more crochet bikinis from ASOS here.

ANRABESS Women Swimsuit Crochet Swim Cover Up

$29.99 $34.99 14% off

Buy Now On Amazon

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Kick back poolside in this crochet cover up from Amazon. The sleeveless coverup has a split hem and is available in more than a dozen different colors. You can wear this knitted one-piece can be worn to a beach, pool party, cruise, music festival and more. Another cute and affordable options: Azure Allure Cut-Out coverup from Target ($29.99).

PQ Renee Crop Top

$76

Buy Now at revolve

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PG Swim’s crochet crop top will brighten up your swimwear aesthetic (the matching pants are sold separately). The shirt features the standard cropped design with cap sleeves, but it’s only in stock in sizes XS/S and M/L.

Alsol Lamesa Women’s Swimsuit Cover Up

$18.70 $24.88 25% off

Buy Now at walmart

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Looking for a cover-up under $20? This crochet cutie from comes in a bunch of colors including beige, aqua green, black, blue, green and white.

Naima Crochet Top

$150

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The Agua Bendita Naima Crochet Top is a statement top on its own, but you can mix and match with crochet shorts, pants or a skirt.

Urban Outfitters Out From Under Festival Beach Crochet Pant

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A little fringe for festival season. The Out from Under Festival Beach Pants feature a wide-leg, baggy design and lovely, crochet detailing. The pants and matching top ($49) are available in sizes ranging from XS-XL.

White Fox Private Island Crochet Set

$29.99 $49.99 40% off

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Not quite a bikini but definitely good for the beach and festival season, this crochet set features a halter neck low-cut crop top and elastic-waist fringe mini skirt. The set is available in sizes XS/S and S/M (it’s out of stock in size M/L.)

X Revolve Long Sleeve Crochet Maxi Dress

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Why be mini, when you can be maxi? This crochet maxi dress is a stunner, and it’s available in sizes XXS-XXL.

Lovers and Friends Alexia Mini Dress

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The Lovers and Friend Alexia Mini Dress can be worn solo or as a bikini coverup. The adorable dress has a trendy, center-bodice cutout and it ties in the front. It’s available in pink and blue, and in sizes XS-L.

For more recommendations, read our roundup of the best slides for summer and best sunglasses and footwear for music festivals.

Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets Department is just hours away from arriving on Friday (April 19), and the pop superstar is building the anticipation by teasing the lead single, “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone.

Swift took to X to share a preview of the upcoming music video, featuring dramatic scenes of the duo searching through files, embracing on an empty road and throwing chairs, before the clip cuts to Swift looking into the camera with a smokey eye and her iconic red lip.

“At this hearing, I stand before my fellow members of The Tortured Poets Department with a summary of my findings,” the singer captioned the post, noting that the video will be arriving on Friday (April 19) at 8 p.m. ET.

Earlier in the day, Swift took to Instagram to confirm that “Fortnight” would serve as the lead single for TTPD. “The first single from The Tortured Poets Department is…………. Fortnight featuring [Post Malone],” Swift wrote in the caption of a post that appears to be the single’s cover art. “I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever. I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight.”

“Fortnight” is one of two collaborations on The Tortured Poets Department. Grammy-nominated alt-rock act Florence + the Machine appears on the album’s eighth track, “Florida!!!” The new single also marks the first collaboration between Swift and Malone. 

TikTok has returned to the bargaining table with Universal Music Group (UMG), but a fast-tracked Congressional bill that could result in the platform being sold, or, as a last result, banned in the United States may reach President Joe Biden’s desk before those negotiations are finished.  

A source familiar with the talks says Bytedance — the Chinese company that owns TikTok — has returned to the bargaining table with UMG after the label group pulled its music from the social media platform at the end of January citing its refusal to address three “critical” issues: “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters,” “protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI” and “online safety for TikTok’s users.”  

It’s unclear whether any progress has resulted — neither UMG nor TikTok will comment — but ByteDance currently faces a more urgent, existential issue now that the Speaker of the House of Representatives has attached what’s being called the TikTok national security bill to the foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel that is expected to move quickly through Congress. The House may vote on it as early this weekend and the Senate is expected to act quickly. If it passes in both houses, President Biden has promised to sign it immediately.  

Officially titled The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, the proposed legislation was drawn up after White House national security and intelligence leaders briefed House lawmakers on the potential dangers that TikTok, which is used by 170 million Americans, poses to the nation.  

What the TikTok National Security Bill Does

If Biden signs the bill into law, ByteDance will have approximately a year from its enactment — the original bill gave it just 90 days — to sell TikTok to a buyer in a country that the United States does not consider a foreign adversary. If ByteDance, which has ties to the Chinese Communist Party and is subject to its government, refuses to divest itself of TikTok or does not meet the deadline, then the app could be banned from being downloaded or used in the United States.

Rick Lane, TikTok Coalition.org leader and child safety advocate, says the TikTok bill “is moving forward very quickly. The language between the House and Senate is so close — they are millimeters apart, and I think agreements are being made to bring them together. Unless something drastic happens, I don’t see this bill’s momentum slowing down, no matter who’s on the other side. That is why adding it to the foreign aid bill makes sense.”

At a time when Congress is mired in ideological infighting, particularly among Republicans, the House of Representatives moved with remarkable speed to mark up and pass the bill and send it to the Senate.  

Despite a deluge of calls and messages from TikTok users protesting the legislation, the House passed it, 352 votes to 65, on March 13 — less than a week after national security and intelligence officials held a classified briefing for an executive session of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. A music industry source familiar with activity on Capitol Hill tells Billboard that, before the briefing started, “members and staffers devices were taken away, and the committee room’s AV systems and the like were removed.” Following the morning briefing, the committee marked up the bill that afternoon and voted unanimously to advance it to the full House of Representatives. 

A classified intelligence briefing was also held in the Senate and prompted similar remarks of concern. Republican senator from Missouri Eric Schmitt told Axios that the Chinese-controlled platform’s “ability to spy is shocking.”  

“We don’t know exactly what was briefed,” says the music industry source. “But what is absolutely crystal clear is that whatever has been presented to Congress members by the intelligence community is clearly driving this. You don’t see — particularly Congress members — reacting with that kind of dispatch and unanimity.” 

A ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Alarm

“This is really a once-in-a-lifetime kind of alarm,” the source adds. “People who have been around the Hill for decades don’t remember there ever being this level of concern.”

An unclassified 2024 Annual Threat Assessment issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in February may offer a glimpse of these security concerns. The assessment reported that “China is demonstrating a higher degree of sophistication in its influence activity, including experimenting with generative AI. TikTok accounts run by a [People’s Republic of China] propaganda arm reportedly targeted candidates from both political parties during the U.S. midterm election cycle in 2022.” 

In response, a TikTok spokesperson referred Billboard to its written response to the ODNI, dated March 15, which asserts that the social media platform “regularly takes action against deceptive behavior, including covert influence networks throughout the world, and has been transparent in reporting them publicly. TikTok has protected our platform through more than 150 elections globally,” the response continues, “and is continuing to work with electoral commissions, experts, and fact-checkers to safeguard our community during this historic election year.” 

In addition to the intelligence briefings, Billboard obtained a slide presentation that one Capitol Hill source says has been shown to staffers for over 40 senators. The presentation cobbles together previously published articles, analyses and reports about TikTok’s alleged dissemination of disinformation and propaganda to much of the same demographic that uses the app for music discovery. (According to a 2024 Pew Research Center report, 56% of U.S. adults 18 to 34 use the platform and 52% of the users in this age group have posted a video to the platform.)  

‘TikTok Is a News Organization‘

As one tech policy expert says, “TikTok is a news organization. Trends are indicating that up to 40% of adults 18-to-29 will be getting their news from TikTok in 2024. It’s their CNN or Fox News or MSNBC.”  

One of the first slides, titled “TikTok Has Rapidly Evolved From an Entertainment to a News Platform, Enormously Expanding Its Influence on The U.S. Population,” includes a graph built from Pew Research Center data that shows 43% of TikTok users regularly got their news from the platform in 2023, nearly double the 22% that did so in 2020. Only X (59%) and Facebook (54%) were higher. And nearly a third of that 43% were adults under 30 years of age.  

Although music’s role in TikTok’s alleged dispersal of disinformation is not examined in the presentation, the tech policy expert says it’s definitely a factor. A 2023 report released by the rights management startup Pex in February revealed that 85% of TikTok videos contain music, more than YouTube (84%), Instagram (58%) and Facebook (49%), and the tech policy expert says that music played on the platform often functions as an emotional gateway to propaganda.  

“The power of music is what draws people to social interaction,” the source says. “They’re taking music that gets people excited and, for instance, following them with horrific videos — and the interaction of those data points creates this powerful tool to affect policy.” The expert adds that TikTok’s algorithm enables the platform to essentially tailor its approach to each user. “It’s no longer just one size fits all; the ability now is to take visual cues, music and sound and target each individual with what sets them off — and they can do that on a massive scale.  

“The argument in favor of TikTok is that Meta and Alphabet are collecting data from even more people, but they are not based in an adversarial country,” the expert continues. “There’s another key difference as well. TikTok sends you videos that they think you are interested in no matter what. Most young people want to be influencers. In order to be an influencer on TikTok, you have to follow what’s trending, so your video is blasted to more people. You tag along with feeds. In the policy realm, if they want to influence public policy, your view is going to be whatever direction that feed is going in.”

A TikTok spokesperson responds: “There is absolutely no evidence to these assertions. We have clear rules prohibiting deceptive behaviors.”  

‘They Deserve It’

The music industry’s view of the proceedings in Washington is mixed. The perspective of artists and songwriters is arguably best expressed by David Lowery, the artist rights activist and frontman for the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, who also was one of more than 200 creators that, in early April, signed an open letter to tech platforms urging them to stop using AI “to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”

“The rates TikTok pays artists are extremely low, and it has a history — at least with me — of using my catalog with no licenses,” Lowery says. “I just checked to make sure and there are plenty of songs that I wrote on TikTok, and I have no idea how they have a license for those songs.” 

As a result, Lowery says that while “I’m kind of neutral as to whether TikTok needs to be sold to a U.S. owner, the bill pleases me in a general way because I feel that they’ve gotten away with abusing artists for so long that they deserve it. I realize the bill doesn’t punish them for doing that,” he continues, “but that’s why a lot of musicians feel they really deserve it.” 

The consensus among label executives is that TikTok is not going anywhere, but were the app banned in the United States, they wouldn’t spill many tears. In early April, Billboard reported that two months after UMG pulled its music from TikTok, its market share and chart appearances had not been greatly affected. And though numerous UMG artists have devised workarounds to maintain a presence on TikTok, one senior label executive says, “When you’re looking at the competitive set for TikTok, you see a migration to YouTube, Instagram and Snap. And those platforms see a real opportunity, so they’re starting to lean in. The absence of TikTok would just mean migration to other platforms and, frankly, because those platforms monetize better, even if you lose a significant chunk of your audience, you’re still going to make more money.”

$8.7 Million For Lobbyists

Capitol Hill sources say ByteDance has enlisted a small army of lobbyists to keep TikTok on U.S. mobile devices. In 2023, ByteDance spent $8.7 million on lobbyists, according to the nonprofit government transparency organization OpenSecrets. That’s almost double the $4.9 million it dropped in 2022, although a TikTok spokesperson attributes the year-to-year increase to “a unique, one-time higher expenditure in the third quarter of 2023 that reflects the vesting of Restricted Stock Units related to the launch of our U.S. buyback program.” (Data for 2024 lobbyist expenditures were not available at publication time.) 

That 2023 outlay was the fourth-highest amount spent on lobbyists by a tech company that year, behind Meta ($19.3 million); Amazon.com (nearly $19.3 million) and Alphabet (almost $12.4 million). In 2019, ByteDance spent less than $1 million on lobbyists.  

Lobbyists hired by ByteDance include Rosemary Gutierrez, the former deputy chief of staff for Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee — which will review the TikTok legislation before a floor vote is taken — and Kellyanne Conway, former senior counselor to President Donald Trump. Conway is reportedly considering joining Trump’s reelection campaign, but last month, Politico reported that she was working for the conservative Club for Growth to lobby on TikTok’s behalf.   

One of the Club for Growth’s biggest donors is billionaire Jeffrey Yass, who owns 15% of ByteDance, which is reportedly worth roughly $40 billion. Yass’ trading firm, Susquehanna International Group, is also the largest institutional shareholder — 2% — of Digital World Acquisition Corporation, which merged with Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of the former president’s Truth Social app, and took it public in late March. (The New York Times reported that it’s unclear if Susquehanna still owned the shares at the time of the IPO.) 

Given Yass’ support of Trump, it’s not shocking that, after attempting to ban TikTok during his time in office, Trump has said on social media and in interviews that though he still considers TikTok a national security risk, he has reconsidered banning the platform. One reason he has cited is that such a move would benefit Meta and its social media app Facebook. Trump has made no secret of his enmity for Meta’s chairman/CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, which banned him in 2021. (Trump was reinstated in 2023.)  

The Taylor Factor

The news last week that Taylor Swift had restored her Taylor’s Version songs to TikTok in the run-up to the April 19 release of her new album The Tortured Poets Department led to speculation that the superstar singer-songwriter — who has often spoken out for artists’ rights — could be weaponized by TikTok in its standoff with UMG. In Washington, however, TikTok Coalition leader Lane says, “Taylor Swift being or not being on TikTok has never come up in any meeting I’ve been in on Capitol Hill.” He sees Swift’s return to the app as “a business decision” that’s no different than President Biden’s and Congress members’ presence on the app, or even UMG’s continued talks with TikTok. “It doesn’t diminish the strong bipartisan/bicameral support within Congress and the White House that TikTok is a clear and present danger to the U.S. national security and needs to be divested from ByteDance,” he says.  

Trump’s sway over the GOP has some on Capitol Hill predicting that passage of the TikTok National Security bill in concert with the foreign aid package is not a slam dunk. “It’s hard to say how it’s going to play on the Republican side,” says the music industry source familiar with the Capitol Hill proceedings. “Because while they’re feeling pressure from the former President on one hand to oppose the bill, they are also feeling heat from their constituents to support it.”  

Billie Eilish’s new musical era is upon us, and the superstar unveiled the tracklist for her upcoming album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, on Thursday (April 18).

The 10-track album features tracks like “Skinny,” “Lunch,” “L’Amour De Ma Vie,” “Blue,” and “Wildflower,” among others. As of the current announcement, there do not appear to be any collaborative features on the project, which was also true of her previous two albums.

“Chihiro” is also listed on the album, which Eilish teased in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe earlier this month. “Today, maybe tomorrow/ Open the door for me/ I know you said before/ You can’t cope with it no more,” she sings on the track, which borrows its title from the main character of the beloved Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away.

“Every time you put anything out, it feels like your nudes leaked a little bit,” the nine-time Grammy winner said of the upcoming album. “I think this one specifically is like that. Something that Finneas and I said to a couple of people when we started to play it for people is we kind of made the album that if somebody had said, ‘I want you to make an album and no one is going to hear it. You don’t have to worry about anyone’s ears or opinions or anything at all. It’s in your contract to make an album but no one can hear it.’ We pretty much made that album. We made that album without much thought of other people.”

See the full tracklist here.

Hit Me Hard and Soft, out May 17, will follow the musician’s 2019 debut When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and her 2021 sophomore effort Happier Than Ever, both of which topped the Billboard 200 for three weeks. 

Linda Perry’s Let It Die Here documentary will be spotlighted at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival in June, but leading up to the event, the official trailer for the film arrived on Thursday (April 18).

In the two-minute clip, fans get a peek into how much pressure the 4 Non-Blondes star puts on herself in her career. “It’s pretty amazing I turned out the way I did. Everything else was running against me,” the 59-year-old singer-songwriter is heard saying in the voiceover. “Because I was abused mentally, emotionally, physically as a child, I developed a pattern as an adult of self abuse. I live in stress, high anxiety — it’s like I validate myself by working and working and working, and staying in struggle. If I have one day off, I beat myself up.”

She continued, “I don’t know how to shut it off so I can just breathe. I don’t know how to stop.”

The trailer also shares clips of interviews from Christina Aguilera, Dolly Parton and Brandi Carlile. “I could tell from the second I met her that she was different,” Aguilera says, before Parton adds, “I take my job very seriously and I just love it when I meet somebody and I feel that kindred spirit about.”

Carlile echoed the sentiment, noting, “Linda is just a major pioneer, just powered through all of the noise.”

According to the documentary’s description, “Let It Die Here is an intimate look at a vulnerable and courageous woman as she navigates life-altering personal circumstances amidst gnawing career decisions. Linda‘s past and present collide as she struggles to answer the big questions she can no longer avoid: Who am I? Am I loved? What’s my purpose? What will I leave behind?”

Let It Die Here is currently slated to be “coming soon.” Watch the trailer below.

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has unveiled programming for its third annual conference. NIVA ‘24 will take place in New Orleans from June 3-5 with speakers from Eventbrite, National Independent Talent Organization, Wasserman, Live Music Society, Spotify, Meta and hundreds of independent venues and promoters from across the country.

This year’s speakers will include IAG’s Marsha Vlasic, United Talent Agency’s Nick Nuciforo, Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band, Eventbrite co-founder/CEO Julia Hartz, Bandsintown’s Fabrice Sergent, NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner Tank and the Bangas and George Porter, Jr., founding member of the band Meters.

The 2024 edition will also spotlight NIVA’s New Orleans venues including Generations Hall, Tipitina’s, Republic NOLA and d.b.a.

“The nation’s independent live entertainment community has finally found a home to focus on the preservation and elevation of our industry at the annual NIVA Conference in New Orleans,” said Jamie Loeb, chair of NIVA’s conference programming committee and senior of marketing at Nederlander Concerts, in a statemenet. “Agents, bookers, venue owners and operators, promoters, and festivals will come together to showcase the vibrant voices and experiences of the live entertainment ecosystem. This year, we gather to celebrate our past successes and to chart a collective path towards a more dynamic and inclusive future for independent stages nationwide.”

The wide range of panel topics will include community programming, marketing, performing rights organizations, sponsorships, comedy booking, ticketing, breaking emerging talent, safety, and food and beverage. This year, the National Independent Venue Foundation (NIVF), in collaboration with NIVA, will offer a certified harassment training workshop, delivered in partnership with Calling All Crows and Spotify Plus 1.

NIVA ‘24 will also feature an opening night party presented by Lyte on Sunday (June 2), NIVA Gras presented by Eventbrite on Monday (June 3) and NIVA Night in NOLA featuring a Live Music Society lounge at d.b.a. on Tuesday (June 4).

The conference will also include an operations networking session presented by Protect Group on Monday, a booking networking session presented by VenuePilot on Tuesday and a working lounge presented by Live Music Society for the duration of the conference. Programming will conclude with a happy hour each day presented by Etix on Monday, Prekindle on Tuesday, and Live Music Society with D Tour and Midtopia on Wednesday (June 5).

A full list of panels, speakers and more information on the conference can be found here.

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Dune: Part Two dominated the theater after its premiere, racking up close to $500 million at the global box office, according to Variety. Now, you can finally watch Dune: Part Two online at home. But if seeing it on the screen isn’t enough to satiate your love for the series you can stock up on Paul Atreides Dune action figures too.

Toy brands like Mcfarlane and Funko have released a line of collectible figurines inspired by the sci-fi movie that you can shop now on Amazon. What has reviewers in awe though, is how much the Dune: Part Two action figures look like its lead actor, Timothée Chalamet. So, if you’ve always dreamed of bringing Chalamet home with you, these action figures are the closest you can get.

It’s not just Amazon shoppers that are scrambling to get their hands on the Dune: Part Two merch, Walmart and Target are also selling the action figure, though they’re already sold out. With how popular the figurines are, Shop Billboard doesn’t expect these to stay in stock for long, so we recommend picking up these Dune 2 figurines on Amazon now.

Keep reading to shop the most popular picks below.

Funko Pop! Movies: « Dune: Part Two » – Paul Atreides

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Funko dropped its own line of mini figures that look like the characters from the sequel including this Paul Pop! The displayable design stands at 4.2 inches tall and comes complete with vibrant blue eyes and the Fremen desert suits (and yes, Chalamet’s wavy coif too).

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McFarlane Toys – « Dune: Part Two » Amazon Exclusive (4-Pack)

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Amazon released an exclusive four-pack of figurines, with Paul Atreides, Chani, Gurney and Stilgar — and it’s on sale for 16% off. When you purchase one of the collectable boxes, you have a chance of receiving a piece of Chani’s actual costume from the movie. Along with the action figures, you’ll also get two thumpers, four wormrider hooks, two swords, a crysknife and four figure stands.

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McFarlane – « Dune 2 » Paul Atreides Action Figure

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Prefer just a single action figure? McFarlane has an action figure created to look like Chalamet from the film. The limbs are moveable to pose ot your liking and recreate moments from the movie on right on your coffee table.

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Dark Horse Comics « Dune »: Paul Atreides Figure

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This Paul Atreides figurine is based on the first movie and stands at 9.25-inches tall. You can admire the hand painted design, which features intricate details and is posed to look like an actual scene from the movie.

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The action figures aren’t the only collectibles inspired by Dune that you can stock up on, Amazon has a photography book still in stock with still from the making of the movie. Lego also dropped a buildable set inspired by the Atreides Royal Ornihopter or you can grab a deck of Dune playing cards.

For more product recommendations, check out our recommendations of the best music Funko Pops!, gaming gifts and Star Wars gifts.

The Living Legends Foundation has set Oct. 4 as the date for its 2024 awards dinner and gala. The event, also celebrating the foundation’s 33^rd anniversary, will take place at Taglyan Cultural Complex in Hollywood.

This year’s slate of industry honorees includes:

Donnie Simpson, Jerry Boulding Radio Award: The legendary radio and television personality signed off the airwaves earlier this year after a 55-year career that began at Detroit’s WJLB-FM and included tenures at Washington, D.C., outlets WKYS-FM, WPGC-FM and WMMJ-FM. Also known for his long-running stint as host of BET’s Video Soul, Simpson is a Radio Hall of Fame and National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee.

L. Londell McMillan, Kendall A. Minter Entertainment Advocate Award (renamed after the noted industry attorney who died last year): The chairman/CEO of The McMillan Firm and veteran entertainment attorney is currently co-managing the Prince Legacy (one of two holding companies overseeing the star’s estate). McMillan’s list of clients over the years has included Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. Under the firm’s NorthStar Group division, McMillan also serves as executive publisher of Source magazine.

Joi Brown, the inaugural Impact Player Award: Brown is the founder/CEO of Culture Creators, whose same-titled foundation has awarded more than $300,000 in scholarships over the past two years in keeping with its mission of being a vital link between global cultural leaders and the next generation of diverse creators. Through its annual Innovators and Leaders Awards brunch, Culture Creators has honored industry executives and creatives such as Byron Allen, Swizz Beatz, H.E.R. and Epic Records chairwoman Sylvia Rhone. 

Chris Chambers, Media Executive Award: Founder/CEO of The Chamber Group, Chambers has represented star clients in music, entertainment, fashion and sports such as Usher, Mariah Carey, OutKast, Drake, Naomi Campbell and Kelly Rowland. His firm has also worked with corporate and lifestyle clients ranging from Versace and HBO to Netflix and the Essence Music Festival. Prior to launching The Chamber Group, Chambers served as a publicity executive for labels such as Mercury, Interscope, Arista and LaFace Records.

Mike Kelly, Music Executive Award: A radio broadcaster and record label executive of more than 40 years, Kelly served as PD of legendary St. Louis station KATZ-FM. He then segued into record promotion at various labels, including Arista, Motown, Elektra, Warner Music Group and Atlantic. His resumé lists working projects by artists such as Whitney Houston, Missy Elliott, Bruno Mars and Jack Harlow. Kelly currently works as a radio consultant via his company, Real One 24/7 Promotion and Marketing.

Gwen Franklin, Mike Bernardo Female Executive Award: Before her latest venture as founder/CEO of empowerment organization B. Lifted Up! Inc., Franklin helmed senior executive posts in radio promotion, marketing, sales and artist development through stints with Casablanca, A&M, Capitol, Mercury and RCA Records. The list of artists she’s worked with includes Quincy Jones, Donna Summer, Janet Jackson, MC Hammer and SWV.  

In a release announcing the upcoming awards dinner and gala, Living Legends Foundation chairperson David Linton commented in part, “As we reflect on the brilliance and excellence of today’s global music and entertainment leaders, we’re pleased that the organization remains the longest-standing Black music organization to date, founded in 1991 by Black music executives. And as we approach another milestone year, we’d like to further cement the organization as the key stakeholder in Black music by reclaiming our mission of ‘protecting and preserving the legacy of those who create, market and elevate Black music,’ which includes R&B, hip-hop, jazz, blues, country, reggae and world music.”

As Cowboy Carter enjoys a second consecutive week atop the Billboard 200, the world continues to dissect Queen Bey’s latest opus. On Thursday (April 18), via a press release, Max announced a new documentary titled Call Me Country: Beyoncé & Nashville’s Renaissance slated to hit the streamer on Friday, April 26.

Produced by CNN FlashDocs, the upcoming documentary will provide a look at the impact of high-profile acts like Beyoncé and Lil Nas X on the contemporary country music scene and how their contributions connect to the history of Black artists in Nashville.

Earlier this year, Queen Bey made history with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the lead single for Cowboy Carter, announced and released during the 2024 Super Bowl (Feb. 11). On the chart dated Feb. 24, “Texas Hold ‘Em” reached No. 1 on Hot Country Songs, marking the first time a Black woman had ever topped the ranking. The following week (chart dated March 2), “Texas Hold ‘Em” became the first country song by a Black woman to top the Billboard Hot 100. Following the release of “Texas Hold ‘Em” and its B-side, “16 Carriages,” streaming activity for other Black women in country exploded across the board.

Call Me Country will feature interviews with Grammy-winning country duo Brothers Osborne, “Texas Hold ‘Em” banjo player Rhiannon Giddens, Rissi Palmer, Aaron Vance and Denitia, as well as analysis from a slew of cultural critics and country music experts, including Touré and co-directors of the Black Opry Holly G. and Tanner D.

Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé’s eighth solo studio album, arrived March 29 with 27 tracks that pay homage to the Black roots of country music and envision a distinctively Beyoncé-esque future for the genre. The sprawling album included collaborations with several ascendant Black country stars including Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tiera Kennedy, Shaboozey and Willie Jones. In addition, country music legends Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton voiced interludes on the album, which Beyoncé described as a “continuation” of her Grammy-winning Renaissance record.

Fans may still be waiting on the visuals, but, in the meantime, they can enjoy the Call Me Country documentary.

MediaCo Holding has acquired all of Estrella Media’s network, content, digital and commercial operations, the company  announced on Thursday (April 18).

According to a press release, the transaction — which closed April 17 — will see Estrella Media brands join MediaCo. These include the EstrellaTV network’s linear and digital video content business, Estrella Media’s digital channels (EstrellaTV, Estrella News, Cine EstrellaTV and Estrella Games) and the EstrellaTV app.

Though the deal does not include Estella Media’s TV and radio stations, a press release notes that the transaction will allow MediaCo to “reach the established audiences of” those stations, including Que Buena Los Angeles, La Raza in Houston and Dallas, and El Norte in Houston. MediaCo operates urban radio stations HOT 97 and WBLS 107.5 in New York. Per the transaction terms, Estrella will own and operate its local radio and TV stations while MediaCo will “provide the innovative programming and content to which their audiences have grown accustomed.”

Jacqueline Hernández, who most recently served as CEO/founder of New Majority Ready, has been appointed MediaCo’s interim CEO. “We believe this combination is the first step in building a unique multicultural media company that will reach diverse U.S. audiences wherever they choose to consume content and create value for marketers working to reach these important audiences,” she said in a statement.

“This leverages the strengths of two great companies to build something new,” added Deb McDermott, chair of MediaCo. “We are committed to representing and serving the Hispanic marketplace, as well as continuing to represent and grow the diverse audience that MediaCo already serves. We see a need for media brands to embrace opportunities with all audiences, and Estrella Media is a key part of our growth strategy.” 

AP Dhillon is leaving the California desert behind.

Coachella announced that the Punjabi-Canadian star will not appear at the festival’s second weekend as planned, citing a “scheduling conflict.” The festival announced the news in a follow-up tweet to one announcing that rapper Kid Cudi has been added to the lineup.

Due to a scheduling conflict AP Dhillon is unable to join us in the desert for Weekend 2

— Coachella (@coachella) April 17, 2024

While Dhillon’s first-weekend performance was well-received by the Coachella crowd and many of his supporters, he’s also had some backlash due to how he closed his set, which has been widely covered by media in India.

The artist finished his performance by smashing his guitar onstage.

Some fans have invoked India’s cultural reverence for musical instruments, criticizing Dhillon’s rock-star move as a sign of disrespect and arrogance.

“The guitar that has provided you with life, love, peace, success and respect- you end up breaking it!” reads one popular comment on Dhillon’s post featuring footage of the smash.

In a subsequent post, Dhillon shared photos of his tribute to the late Sidhu Moose Wala, with the caption “the media is controlled and I’m out of control.” The last slide of the post features footage of Kurt Cobain smashing his guitar, linking Dhillon’s move to a longstanding rock and roll tradition.

If guitar-smashing has a long lineage in rock and roll, so does criticism of the move. Phoebe Bridgers faced backlash in 2021 for breaking her guitar on Saturday Night Live, while even some notable guitar-smashers are now critical of their former selves. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea tweeted his regrets shortly after Dhillon’s Coachella set. “feel like such an idiot for smashing my bass to pieces on stage back in the day, pathetic,” he wrote on X.

Fans who are disappointed to miss Dhillon’s second Coachella performance can take some solace in his recent collaboration with U.K. Grime artist Stormzy, until there’s more news of upcoming performances.

This article was originally published by Billboard Canada.