Author: Amanda Collins
Someone has already suggested to Jamal Roberts, the 23rd and most recent winner in American Idol‘s long history, that his first post-Idol single should become the new state song of Mississippi. Born in Meridian, Miss., Roberts is sharing his first post-Idol single, “Mississippi,” today. It’s a biographical, emotional composition, and Billboard has the exclusive premiere below. On a flight from Los Angeles to Nashville, songwriters Emile Ghantous and Daniel Capellaro found themselves sitting one row from Roberts and they started talking about writing a song for the newly crowned Idol winner. After a three-way conversation, they worked with Roberts to…
Music always has a special way of sticking with you when it feels good to hear. When no matter what you’re going through, you can hit play on the record and have your spirit lifted by all of the good vibes in the music. That approach always makes you keep running back to a record, and with hot beige and baegal’s new song “rainy day” this is one to keep in rotation. As soon as you hit play the mellow warm sound takes over with it’s infectious energy, doing wonders to the soul to get you invested, in to this breezy sound.…
The show goes on — and on — for acclaimed comedian, actor and writer Atsuko Okatsuka. Due to ticket demand in the wake of her Hulu special, Atsuko Okatsuka: Father, the Taiwanese-Japanese laugh master with the distinctive bowl haircut has added shows to her Big Bowl Tour in New York, San Francisco, Boston and Seattle this fall — cities, with the exception of New York, where she has already booked multiple dates that have sold out or where ticket inventory is low. Father debuted as part of Hulu’s monthly Hularious stand-up comedy series in June and continues to be available…
Editor’s note: The list is updated on a monthly basis. Festivals that have already passed are deleted from the list. From Baja Beach Fest in Rosarito, Mexico to Ruidosa Fest in New York and Santiago de Chile and Tomorrowland Brasil, Billboard Español has put together the definitive guide to festivals celebrating Latin music and more around the world. This year, Global Citizen Festival expands to Brazil after having already earned a reputation for championing climate change initiatives in New York. As the “world’s first impact concert in the Amazon” in support of COP30, Global Citizen Festival: Amazônia will celebrate major COP commitments…
The UK’s Competition & Markets Authority has announced a plan for reviewing the app store rules of Apple and Google, including those that have long annoyed app developers and especially Spotify. Apple’s rules that prevent developers like Spotify from sign-posting external websites within apps are now set to be scrutinised this autumn, while its rules on in-app payments are likely to be considered next year. Spotify would like all those rules changed to its advantage, as has already started to happen in some other countries. These reviews are part of a series of “targeted and proportionate actions” proposed by the CMA which,…
“Hideo Kojima doesn’t make middle of the road decisions”, says Yoann Lemoine. The French musician known as Woodkid would know, he’s spent the past three years working alongside the auteur gamemaker on Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. The strange, sprawling sequel expands on the hit 2019 original, while still offering plenty of odd surprises. “Hideo kept telling me: ‘I want to create more moments where people throw away the controller,” Woodkid continues. “He really doesn’t give a shit what people say about him; he genuinely just wants to inspire a reaction.” The first game certainly did that. Players were…
Donald Trump’s ‘AI Action Plan’ doesn’t talk about copyright, but during an on-stage ramble when launching the plan yesterday the President made it clear he’s very much bought the tech sector’s official line on copyright and AI. Expecting American AI companies to seek permission before making use of any copyright protected works when training their models is “not doable”, according to Trump, and will give China a competitive advantage. “You can’t be expected to have a successful AI programme when every single article, book or anything else that you’ve read or studied, you’re supposed to pay for”, the President said. “You just…
Wednesday became Netflix’s surprise hit of 2022. After some middling animated films in recent years, this sharp, modern and slick reboot catapulted The Addams Family back onto screens for the first time since the 1990s. The smartest decision was to pivot focus to Wednesday Addams and, more specifically, Jenna Ortega. Between her cutting stare, deadpan delivery and twitchy dance moves, her take on the death-obsessed outcast is a prickly thorn rooted in modern sensibilities. But will there be another adventure for everyone’s favourite gothic teen? Has a second season of Wednesday been confirmed? You betcha Netflix announced at the start…
Kneecap have been banned from Hungary for three years ahead of their planned performance at Sziget 2025. The Irish rap trio were due to play at the Budapest festival this year, but the government have now announced the group won’t be able to enter the country at all. Secretary of State Zoltan Kovacs took to X/Twitter to announced that Kneecap “are officially banned from entering Hungary—for anti-Semitism and glorifying terror. When hate ignores the mail, we put it on a wall.” Kovacs went on to say that “Hungary has zero tolerance for anti-Semitism in any form”, adding that their appearance…
A true showman and rock god, Ozzy Osbourne lived life his way. That rings true even for his death, which came just weeks after his grandiose farewell show with Black Sabbath in his home city of Birmingham. The ‘Back To The Beginning’ concert served as a thank you to fans old and new, and backed by an elite list of rock and metal musicians, paid homage to the Prince of Darkness’ legacy and his band – a pioneering force behind heavy music. Without Ozzy, metal as we know it wouldn’t exist. He was the first to introduce feral, doom-inducing screams,…