Music

Ryan Coogler, The Weeknd and Beyoncé have made the inaugural Iconoclast 50 list from Forbes.

According to the publication, they are among the honorees, aka “the VIP of the Forbes Universe” — “leaders in finance, business, technology, media, entertainment and philanthropy that are changing the game in real time, disrupting their industries and challenging the status quo.”

Forbes only considered those who had previously appeared on one of its lists and ensured they had made a significant impact or disrupted their respective fields within the past two years before selecting the top 50.

Coogler, who previously made the Forbes 30 Under 30 All Star Alumni list and the 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list, was recognized as “one of Hollywood’s most influential filmmakers.” He’s directed movies that have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide, including Sinners, which won the 2026 Oscar for best original screenplay.

The Weeknd, who topped Forbes‘ Highest-Paid Musicians list in 2025 and appeared on the Celebrity 100 list in 2019, earned an estimated $298 million over the past year. His earnings increased after he sold his music catalog to Lyric Capital in a reported $1 billion deal. He also holds the record for the highest grossing tour by a male artist with his ongoing After Hours Til Dawn Tour.

Beyoncé, who just made Forbes‘ America’s Richest Self-Made Women list, is one of 10 women on the list. Among her accomplishments are becoming the fifth musician to reach billionaire status, winning album of the year at the 2025 Grammy Awards and making history as the first Black woman to win for best country album for Cowboy Carter. The supporting tour also became the highest grossing tour of 2025.

The full list is on Forbes.com.

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Adam Lambert has, so far, released two very different songs from his upcoming album, ADAM. “Eat U Alive” draws on ’90s alternative rock and electronica influences, while “Under the Rhythm,” released Friday, is a darker dance song that interpolates a 2000s club classic. Do these two songs represent what the album sounds like as a whole? Well, sort of.

“There is a through line [to the album], but it’s interesting because, you know, you start picking singles and it’s not necessarily — you know, they’re not next to each other on the album,” Adam told ABC Audio. Rather than jarring transitions between styles, Adam said, “There is the sequence. There’s a flow on the album.”

He notes there’s a reason he chose to lead the album with those two tracks. “I guess in terms of trying to find which songs to get out there it was like, I wanted to give people some of the range of the album,” he explained.

“Eat U Alive” represents a number of songs pretty well — there’s a lot of, like, darker industrial energy on the album, heaviness,” he said. “And then there is some levity, you know? There’s some danceability, like ‘Under the Rhythm.'” 

ADAM arrives on July 10.

Meanwhile, Adam shared a few of his personal top LGBTQ anthems in honor of Pride month after Billboard compiled a list of them.

“Ooh, I mean, Sylvester … ‘Mighty Real,’ I mean, I did a cover of it for that reason, that’s a pretty bold one,” he told ABC Audio. “Anything George Michael, I love George Michael. I love, obviously, Freddie [Mercury], I mean, all the stuff I’ve done with Queen. Those all kind of feel like musicians that I can feel proud of, that I feel like reflect the spirit of Pride.” 

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Ariana Grande’s long-awaited Eternal Sunshine tour launched in Oakland, California, on Saturday night. And, as its name suggests, the set list was heavy on songs from that 2024 album, as well as tracks from the deluxe version, Eternal Sunshine: Brighter Days Ahead, which came out last year.

All the extra tracks from the deluxe version made it onto the setlist: “warm,” “twilight  zone,” “past life,” “hampstead” and “dandelion.” She also performed multiple tracks from the original album, opening the show with “yes, and?” and also performing “supernatural,” “the boy is mine,” the title track, “we can’t be friends (wait for you love)” and “imperfect for you.”

Positions, the other album Ariana released since her last tour in 2019, was represented by three songs, including the title track.  Only one song from her upcoming album, petal, made it onto the set list, the single “hate that i made you love me.”

As for Ariana’s classic hits, fans got to hear “Dangerous Woman,” “Thank U, Next,” “Break Free,” “Into You,” “Honeymoon Avenue,” her Lady Gaga duet “Rain on Me” and “7 Rings.”

According to Rolling Stone, the set design was inspired by the flooded and destroyed house in the Brighter Days Ahead short film. At the end of the concert, she’s lifted up towards a set of alien spaceship-looking lights, just like the film.

The tour is set to continue through September. 

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Olivia Rodrigo made a surprise announcement on Saturday that she’d be performing at Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain — and then used her set to debut a new duet with Robert Smith of The Cure.

The two songs Olivia’s already released from her new album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, both refer to the legendary British post-punk band: “drop dead” name checks The Cure song “Just Like Heaven,” while the second single is literally called “the cure.” The duet Olivia premiered is called “what’s wrong with me.”

Olivia introduced the song by saying, “I can’t believe this song exists with the person that it exists with. I’m just so f****** over the moon.”  She also mentioned that it’s the first time she’s had a feature on one of her albums.

After singing the first verse and chorus, Olivia said, “Ladies and gentlemen, will you welcome Robert Smith!!!” He walked out wearing his signature all-black outfit, lipstick, eye makeup and untamed hairstyle and took the second verse. The two then harmonized on the chorus: “My head is spinning and my stomach is sick/ Say I’m in love, so it’s hard to admit/ I can’t eat, I can’t sleep/ I think you’re what’s wrong with me.”

“I feel like I’m gonna cry,” Olivia said at the end of the song. “I can’t believe that that’s a thing that happened in the real world and not just a figment of my imagination.”  The performance was streamed live on Amazon Music. 

According to setlist.fm, Olivia’s set also included “drop dead” and “the cure,” as well as past hits “vampire,” “deja vu,” “drivers license” and “good 4 u,” among others.

Olivia and Robert first performed together in 2025 at U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival.

Her album comes out June 12.

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Bleachers are set launch their Bleachers Forever tour on Friday in Chicago, and to mark the occasion they have released a new concert video to YouTube.

The video was shot at Bleachers’ May 23 show at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, which celebrated the release of their fifth studio album, everyone for ten minutes.

“The day after we released our album, the band and i played a free show at the stone pony for 900 fans,” frontman Jack Antonoff, who’s from the Garden State, writes on Instagram. “some of you flew across the country to be there, and others locals who have been coming to see us for over a decade.”

He adds, “from the second we stepped onto that stage, it was one of my favorite shows ever. thank god we filmed it.”

The concert featured performances of songs from everyone for ten minutes, including “you and forever” and “sideways,” plus fan favorites like “Rollercoaster” and their Lana Del Rey collab “Margaret.”

The Bleachers Forever tour kicks off with a two-night stand at The Salt Shed in Chicago. A complete list of dates can be found at bleachersmusic.com.

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Jack White has gifted a social media star one of his signature guitars, after she went viral for posting clips of herself performing classic guitar riffs — badly.

Charlene Kaye has amassed a social media following thanks to videos where she butchers iconic songs while playing in a Guitar Center just to anger men.

Well, apparently White is a fan. In a new post, Kaye revealed that the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer sent her one of his signature Triplecaster guitars.

“I don’t know how to say this without bragging, so I’m just gonna brag,” Kaye says in the post. “Jack White sent me a guitar.”

She adds that after playing a gig at White’s Third Man Records in Nashville, she met his wife, Olivia Jean, who let her know that White was a fan and wanted to send her the instrument.

“It’s so dope, because not only does it mean that he is a feminist, he also has a sense of humor,” Kaye says of White’s fandom. “So, thank you, thank you Jack, for this beautiful Triplecaster, and to honor your legacy, I have started an all-Asian White Stripes cover band called the Rice Stripes.”

She then sang what she said was the band’s debut single, performing a parody of the White Stripes classic “Seven Nation Army.”

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“Eat U Alive,” the first single from Adam Lambert’s upcoming album, ADAM, takes its sonic cues from ’90s alternative rock. But for his new single, “Under the Rhythm,” he’s looking back to 2000.

The dark dance tune interpolates ATC’s “Around the World (La La La La La),” which came out in November 2000 and hit the top 30 in 2001. There’s also a video that features a bizarre-looking Adam held captive in what looks like a mental institution before he breaks out, reverts to his normal self and dances in a darkened space together with a group of other people.

Adam says the song is “about overcoming life’s hardships through the connective and healing power of music,” adding, “It encourages the listener to keep pushing forward, one day at a time, one dance at a time, toward joy.”

“It’s easier to breath again/ The beat is in my soul/ Now I just need to find a friend/ To take the party home,” he sings, describing a night out at the club.

ADAM comes out July 10. Tickets are on sale now for his album release shows, which run from July 10 in LA through July 23 in Berlin, Germany, with stops in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and London.

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Just days after the release of their single “Blaze That A**,” Big Freedia is teasing her upcoming album with the late SOPHIE with the new single “Go Down,” a track made for summertime and the club scene. The album, Released at Last, arrives June 19.

Tierra Whack returns with “WAX PAPER” and its accompanying music video. On the track, she “takes aim at naysayers and critics while embracing her power,” according to a press release. Directed by Child, the video gives viewers a black-and-white look at her hometown of Philadelphia.

Amazon Music has tapped Durand Bernarr for an Amazon Music Original rendition of Earth, Wind & Fire’s classic “Let’s Groove,” kicking off the platform’s Black Music Month celebration. “Earth, Wind & Fire’s music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My father worked closely with the band for years, so these songs weren’t just records in our house—they were part of the soundtrack of my upbringing,” said Bernarr. “I wanted to honor the joy, musicianship, and legacy that Earth, Wind & Fire created while bringing my own perspective and energy to a song that continues to move people generations later.”

Lizzo’s Bitch is finally here. “So many incredible women in music have used the word for positivity, like Meredith Brooks and Missy Elliott,” Lizzo said in a statement. “It was only fitting to name my album Bitch because it has become my favorite word when using it on my own terms and because I am 100% that bitch!”

Other releases:

Rob49 & Skillibeng, “Bad B*****”

Ciara, “Nice N’ Sweet”

French Montana, Max B & Remy Ma, “Ever Since You Left Me (Big Bronx Remix)”

Snoop Dogg featuring Swizz Beatz, “Step”

Tinashe, “Too Easy”

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