Former President Barack Obama moderates a conversation during the Obama Foundation’s 2024 Democracy Forum on December 05, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Former President Barack Obama has released the annual year-end list of his favorite music, movies and books, once again showing off his eclectic musical taste.
Among his favorite songs were Chappell Roan‘s foray into country music, “The Giver,” Alex Warren‘s #1 hit “Ordinary” and Lady Gaga‘s Grammy-nominated track “Abracadabra.” He also mentioned Olivia Dean‘s “Nice to Each Other” and “Luther” by SZA and Kendrick Lamar. Drake‘s “Nokia” also made the cut for anyone accusing him of taking sides in the Kendrick/Drake rivalry.
Obama’s list spans genres, including K-pop with “Jump” by BLACKPINK and jazz via Laufey‘s “Silver Lining.” He even nods to classic rock with “Faithless,” an archival track pal Bruce Springsteen released earlier this year as part of a box set.
Cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Faithless’ from ‘Tracks II: The Lost Albums’ box set. (Sony
Bruce Springsteen has landed on President Barack Obama’s list of his favorite music of 2025.
Obama picked Springsteen’s “Faithless” for this year’s list, a song from The Boss’ Tracks II: The Lost Albums box set, which featured seven previously unreleased albums.
“Faithless” is the title track from a previously unreleased film soundtrack for a movie that never got made. The 11-song album was recorded between Springsteen’s Devils & Dust tour in November 2005 and the April 2006 release of We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, his album dedicated to the music of folk singer Pete Seeger.
Along with his favorite music, Obama shares his favorite books and movies of the year. You can check out his lists now via his Facebook.
Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones performs during the final night of the Hackney Diamonds ’24 Tour at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena on July 21, 2024 in Ridgedale, Missouri. (Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images)
The Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards turned 82 on Thursday, and his bandmates took to social media to send him their best wishes.
The band’s official Instagram account shared a carousel of photos of Keith over the years, captioning it, “Today we celebrate @officialkeef on this special day! Happy Birthday, Keith – gold rings on you.”
Frontman Mick Jaggershared a photo of them smiling onstage together, writing, “Happy birthday Keith, love Mick,” while Ronnie Woodposted several pictures and paintings of Keith, with the caption, “A very happy 82nd birthday to @officialkeef!”
Even the late Charlie Watts’ social media accounts marked Keith’s birthday, posting video of Keith singing onstage with the caption, “Happy birthday @officialkeef! Keith said of Charlie, ‘To me, Charlie Watts is the foundation of it all because that’s what I work off of, and we’ve been doing it all our lives.’”
Keith, meanwhile, took to social media to shout out another important milestone in his life — his anniversary. The rocker and wife Patti Hansen got married on Keith’s 40th birthday in 1983. He wrote on Instagram, “Happy Anniversary, Patricia! I love you more each day!”
Peter Criss, drummer for the band KISS, applauds as Monique Frehley, daughter of the late KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, receives a medal in honor of her father during the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
KISS recently received the Kennedy Center Honors at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., but it was without founding guitarist Ace Frehley, who passed away in October.
Frehley knew the band had been chosen for the honor, and his bandmate Peter Criss aka Catman tells Billboard that Frehley was “so excited” about it.
Criss said it was “really hard” for him to be at the ceremony without Frehley, sharing that in a conversation they had before his passing, Frehley expressed his thrill at getting the honor.
“He was like, ‘Wow Cat, I can’t believe we’re getting this award!’” Criss said. “I haven’t heard him that excited for a while. He was getting ready to tour again, working on his new album[.] … He was really up.”
Criss said that when the band was at the White House, “I got to sit next to Ace’s empty chair, where his medal was.” He noted, “I’m still mourning over him. I can’t believe he’s gone. We were extremely close. It’s been very hard.”
As for how Criss felt about being recognized by the Kennedy Center, he told the mag, “It was great. It was an honor.”
And while there has been controversy surrounding President Donald Trump and the changes he made to the Kennedy Center, Criss said he’s “not a political guy” and that he was just proud to be at the White House.
He added, “I’m proud to be an American, and only in America can four guys like us, from the streets, be in the White House getting such a great award.'”
The Kennedy Center Honors ceremony will air Dec. 23 on CBS.
Kenny Chesney Live at Sphere Las Vegas (Messina Touring)
Kenny Chesney‘s hard at work tweaking his show before he returns to Sphere Las Vegas in 2026.
“Already working on the new intro music for Sphere. Can’t wait,” he wrote on Instagram Wednesday, along with a couple photos of him in the studio with a handful of musicians and an engineer.
In June, Kenny wrapped his 15-show run at the innovative Sin City venue, becoming the first country artist to headline Sphere.
He’s set to return for five more concerts in 2026 that kick off June 19.
In the meantime, it seems he’s been enjoying one of his favorite sweet treats in his beloved Key West, Florida.
“My my my….My Key Lime Pie,” he posted on Thursday. “Great to see Kermit again at Kermit’s Key Lime in Key West. Love ya brother.”
Chris Martin of Coldplay performs onstage during a concert at Wembley Stadium on August 22, 2025 in London, England. (Jo Hale/Redferns)
Kristin Cabot, the woman at the center of the viral kiss cam moment at a Coldplay concert earlier this year, is breaking her silence.
Cabot, 53, toldThe New York Times in an interview published Thursday that the video — filmed at the July 16 Coldplay concert in Boston by a fellow concertgoer and shared on TikTok — and the ensuing scandal deeply impacted her life.
The viral incident led to Cabot’s resignation from the tech company Astronomer, where she previously served as the head of HR, as well as the resignation of former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, who was also seen in the viral video.
Cabot told the Times she wanted to speak out now to set the record straight and share her side of the story.
“I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss. And it’s not nothing,” she said. “I took accountability and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay.”
The mom of two, who said she was newly separated from her husband at the time of the incident, added, “I want my kids to know that you can make mistakes, and you can really screw up. But you don’t have to be threatened to be killed for them.”
In the viral video, Cabot and Byron, who both worked at Astronomer at the time, are seen embracing on a VIP balcony before realizing their faces are being shown on the concert Jumbotron. Cabot quickly covers her face with her hands as Byron ducks out of frame.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin is heard in the video commenting on the pair’s reactions, saying, “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy. I’m not quite sure.”
Damiano David, Ethan Torchio, Victoria De Angelis and Thomas Raggi of Måneskin attend the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for MTV)
Since Måneskin put out their last record, RUSH!, in 2023, band members Damiano David, Victoria De Angelis and Thomas Raggi have all released solo music. Whenever the Italian rockers do reconvene to work on music together, Raggi feels that their solo explorations will have a positive impact on their approach.
“The idea is just to experiment in different worlds, which I think is important for a band,” Raggi tells NME. “I can imagine when we come back in the studio that we’ll bring lots of different elements because everyone’s been on a different journey.”
“That’s a cool thing, and I think it’ll help a lot with the creative process of the band,” he continues. “I think there’s something good in everyone having [space to] experiment.”
As for whether Måneskin has officially started working on new material, Raggi shares, “Not yet, but we have some cool stuff that we can try when we come back to the studio.”
Raggi’s debut solo album, Masquerade, was released earlier in December. It was produced by Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello and includes collaborations with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Luke Spiller of The Struts, Franz Ferdinand‘s Alex Kapranos, former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum and Jet‘s Nic Cester.
Sabrina Carpenter, ‘Manchild’ for Vevo Footnotes (Courtesy Vevo)
Sabrina Carpenter‘s video for “Manchild” was pretty elaborate, and now she’s giving fans a peek behind the scenes of the clip for Vevo’s Footnotes.
As you watch the video, interesting tidbits from Sabrina and the directors pop up, like the fact that it was her sister who hand-stitched the word “Manchild” onto the back of her cutoff shorts, and the fact that she had 35 outfit changes throughout the filming.
She also points out that in the scene where she’s riding in a motorcycle’s makeshift sidecar — a shopping cart — the bike’s license plate reads “MBF,” which stands for Man’s Best Friend, the title of Sabrina’s album, which she hadn’t announced at the time.
Sabrina also reveals that when she wrote “Manchild,” she “didn’t think much of it until I came back to the studio the next day and heard it with brand new ears.” After that, she said, “I knew I wanted it to be the next song that came out from that day.”
As for the concept of the video — which features Sabrina hitching a ride with a bizarre assortment of men, bathing with pigs and line dancing in a bar — the director says they were trying to “create a trailer for a nonsensical forgotten film.” The aesthetic they were going for, they explain, included “Americana, disco-era sensuality” and “strong post-60’s [sic] vibes,” making it feel “specific yet timeless.”
Ultimately, Sabrina says the hardest thing about making the video was editing it. “There was so much amazing footage and moments we couldn’t fit,” she explains.
“Manchild” is up for four Grammys, including best music video, record of the year, song of the year and best pop solo performance.
Jason Aldean‘s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar is saying thank you to first responders as the holidays approach.
“To the brave men and women who show up for Nashville every day, let us serve you this Christmas,” the Music City restaurant said on its socials. “From Tuesday, Dec. 23 – Friday, Dec. 26, on-duty, uniformed first responders are invited to enjoy a complimentary meal on us at Aldean’s. We are truly thankful for all that you do.”
Jason’s Lower Broadway destination opened in Nashville in 2018. It now has locations in Gatlinburg, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas.
The country hitmaker’s new album, Songs About Us, is set to arrive April 26. It features his latest single, “How Far Does a Goodbye Go,” which has already cracked the top 10.
Cover of Rainbow’s ‘The Temple of the King 1975-1976’ (Edsel Records)
A new box set dedicated to the early years of Ritchie Blackmore’s band Rainbow is due out in March.
The Temple of the King 1975-1976, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band’s formation, is a nine-CD set that includes their debut album, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, and 1976’s Rising, as well as live recordings of concerts that took place in Germany in 1976.
The set also includes two discs of rare recordings, made up of band rehearsals, single edits and rough mixes. Many of these bonus tracks have never been released on CD before. There’s also a 24-page booklet that features rare photographs, memorabilia and liner notes.
The Temple of the King 1975-1976 will be released March 6 and is available for preorder now.
Blackmore formed Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple in 1975. The band also included Ronnie James Dio, who remained with the group until 1979, when he left to join Black Sabbath.
