Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers performs on stage during the NAMM Grand Rally For Music Education on Day 3 of 2026 NAMM Show at Anaheim Convention Center on January 24, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
Here’s your chance to learn drumming from Chad Smith.
The man behind the Red Hot Chili Peppers kit is teaching his own drumming course in partnership with the platform Drumeo.
The class is called Legends of the ’70s and focuses on four of Smith’s biggest influences from the 1970s: Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward, The Who’s Keith Moon and Deep Purple’s Ian Paice.
The course begins March 2 and will be available on the app Musora. If you sign up by March 1, you’ll get access to a livestream event with Smith.
Fred Smith of Television performs at Georgia Theatre on September 10, 2016 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Chris McKay/Getty Images)
Debbie Harry has paid tribute to late Television bassist Fred Smith, who played in an early incarnation of the band that went on to become Blondie.
Smith passed away Feb. 5 at the age of 77.
Sharing a black-and-white photo of the early band playing at New York’s CBGB in 1975, Harry wrote, “Rest in peace, Fred Smith. Thank you for your dedication to music — your contributions will not be forgotten.”
The post notes that the photo features Harry, Smith, and backup singers Tish Bellomo and Snooky Bellomo.
In 1974, current Blondie members Harry and guitarist Chris Stein, along with Smith and drummer Billy O’Connor, who were previously in the band Stillettoes together, formed a new band, originally named Angel and the Snake. The band name was eventually changed to Blondie and the Banzai Babies, and then became just Blondie.
Smith left the group in 1975 to replace Richard Hell in Television.
‘BTS WORLD TOUR “ARIRANG” LIVE VIEWING’ (Trafalgar Releasing/HYBE/BIGHIT MUSIC)
As part of the promotion for their new album ARIRANG, BTS is coming to a theater near you this spring.
BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ LIVE VIEWING will allow fans to watch the BTS tour kickoff in Goyang, South Korea, on April 11 and their show in Tokyo on April 18, live. Starting Feb. 25 at 8 a.m. ET, you can purchase tickets at btsliveviewing.com. To accommodate the time difference between Asia and other parts of the world, each concert will be screened twice.
The tour, which will visit 34 cities worldwide, will feature a 360-degree, in-the-round stage design. More live screenings are planned for later in the year.
As previously reported, Netflix will screen a live performance by the group from Seoul, South Korea, on March 21, as well as a documentary about their comeback on March 27.
ARIRANG arrives March 20.
In other BTS, news, Jung Kook has been named the new global brand ambassador for the luxury watch brand Hublot. In a statement, he says of Hublot, “I’ve always admired the brand’s confidence, its craftsmanship, its way of creating its own path.”
Sara Bareilles attends The 78th Annual Tony Awards Red Carpet at Radio City Music Hall on June 8, 2025 in New York City. (Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Piano-playing pop stars Sara Bareilles and John Legend both have good news about musicals they’re involved in composing.
John has written the music and lyrics for Imitation of Life, a new musical based on the 1933 novel of the same name and its two film adaptations, which came out in 1934 and 1959. It tells the story of two single mothers, one Black and one white, and their daughters, who build a life together while facing divisions of class and race. It was announced on Thursday that the musical will begin performances this fall at the New York City performance space The Shed.
Meanwhile, Sara’s next musical, The Interestings, will premiere next year on the West Coast, Playbill reports. Sara, who wrote the music for the long-running musical Waitress, has penned the score for the show, which is based on Meg Wolitzer’s 2013 bestselling novel. It starts previews Jan. 31, 2027, at Berkley Rep in Berkley, California, with an opening night set for Feb. 17, 2027.
If you think Emmy, Oscar and Grammy winner John might be trying for an EGOT by writing a musical, think again: he already is an EGOT winner. He got his Tony Award as a co-producer for the revival of Jitney in 2017.
Gorillaz is set to perform on Saturday Night Live for the first time.
The Damon Albarn-led animated band — which consists of cartoon members Murdoc, Noodle, Russel and 2D — will make their SNL debut on March 6. The episode will be hosted by actor Ryan Gosling, who’s starring in the upcoming movie Project Hail Mary.
Gorillaz will release a new album, The Mountain, on Feb. 27. They’re performing the record in full during two shows in Los Angeles on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23.
The Gorillaz exhibit House of Kong will also be open in LA from Feb. 26 to March 19.
Ja Rule attends the 2023 City of Hope Spirit of Life Gala at Pacific Design Center on October 18, 2023 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Ja Rule is feeling a bit remorseful about his involvement in a recent public shouting match.
In a statement to ABC News, the rapper apologized for his “out of character” behavior in which, on a Delta Airlines flight, he got into a heated argument with members of the rap group G-Unit.
“I’m not proud of my behavior. It’s goofy to me,” Ja Rule said. “I don’t like people taking me out of my character so for that I apologize to my wife, family, fans, business and investment partners.”
Video of the altercation began circulating on the internet earlier this week, showing Ja Rule visibly upset and turning around to the seats behind him to address rappers Tony Yayo and Uncle Murda. In tweets following the viral footage, Ja Rule admitted to throwing a pillow at Yayo’s head “cuz you soft,” he wrote.
The tense exchange likely doesn’t come as a surprise to fans who have followed the decadeslong feud between Ja Rule and G-Unit founding member 50 Cent.
“I’m a grown man about to be a grandfather and I wish that video of me wasn’t out there either,” Ja Rule said in his statement. “I want people to know at the end of the day, I’m still a man and I’m going to stand my ground.”
Craig Campbell’s new track, “Drink for That,” is set to arrive Feb. 20 as the first in a series of new songs.
Clint Black, Wynonna Judd, Joe Nichols, The Bellamy Brothers and Neal McCoy will headline the 2027 Country Music Cruise, set to take place Feb. 7-14. Tickets are on sale now.
“Savannah” is the latest taste of Georgia native Ray Steven’s upcoming album, Favorites Old and New, which arrives April 10.
Jessica Gunning at 2025 BAFTA Television Awards Hall on May 11, 2025, in London, England. (Lia Toby/Getty Images)| Photo of Mama Cass. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Emmy Award-winning Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning has been cast to play The Mamas & The Papas singer Cass Elliot in the upcoming movie My Mama Cass.
The biopic will be based on the bestselling memoir My Mama, Cass, written by Elliot’s daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell, with the book being adapted by novelist and screenwriter Emma Forrest.
A press release notes that the film is “not a traditional Mamas & the Papas biopic,” rather a “definitive Cass Elliot film, centered on her life, legacy, and the mother-daughter bond that shaped them both.”
In addition to focusing on Elliot’s life and career, the film will highlight Owen’s journey to uncover the truth about her mother’s death at age 32 in order to put to rest the urban legend that she died choking on a ham sandwich. Cass died of heart failure in 1974 when Owen was 7.
The film is currently in production.
As a member of The Mamas & The Papas, Cass scored six top-10 hits, including “Monday Monday,” “California Dreamin'” and “Dedicated to the One I Love.” The group sold over 40 million records and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Cass went on to a solo career, scoring hits like “Make Your Own Kind of Music” and “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”
Breezy Johnson (USA) in action Feb. 10, 2026 at the Olympic Winter Games Milan Cortina 2026 (Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)
What’s the surest way to get Taylor Swift to notice that you just got engaged? Use her lyrics in your engagement announcement. Oh, and be a famous Olympic athlete.
Olympic downhill skier Breezy Johnson was proposed to by her boyfriend, Connor Watkins, after she crashed while competing in the women’s super giant slalom on Thursday. As he presented her with a ring, he also gave her some lyrics from Taylor’s hit “The Alchemy” written on a small piece of wood, which she showed off in her Instagram post announcing the news.
In the post, Breezy is holding the wooden plaque, which reads, “Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?” She wrote in the caption, “Hey guys… meet Connor! My ex boyfriend! And current fiancé!!! Thank you to everyone who made this moment possible. It was everything I ever dreamed of. Kind of like Connor!”
Taylor jumped into the comments with another line from “The Alchemy”: “Where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me.” She added, “CONGRATULATIONS!!!”
Breezy replied, “I don’t know what’s better, Olympic gold or this comment. Sourdough engagement gift please???? Would love to teach you to ski.”
According to USA Today, Breezy and Connor bonded over the song in the summer of 2024, when they moved in together. USA Today quoted her as saying, “‘The Alchemy’ is a song about a sports person and the poet that are in love. And I feel like he’s the poet and I’m the sports person.” She noted, “We always hear the song and we smile and think about each other. … It’s just kind of really special to us.”
Little Big Town’s sending fans a valentine and promising there’s more on the way in the days to come.
“We wanted to celebrate Valentine’s Day a little early,” they posted on socials, announcing their new EP. “This is a collection of some of our favorite songs for this time of year, including two studio versions of ‘Girl Crush’ and ‘Rich Man’. We love these songs, but we’re ready to share something new with you soon.. From LBT With Love, out now.”
The new versions of “Girl Crush” and “Rich Man” are both accompanied by new performance videos.
The four other tracks in the collection are the #4 hit “Bring It on Home”; “Little White Church,” which made it to #6; the Tornado track “Sober”; and “Next to You,” from 2020’s Nightfall.
Little Big Town’s last traditional album was 2022’s Mr. Sun, though they put out The Christmas Record in 2024.
