It seems Ella Langley’s time atop the BillboardHot 100 is simply not done, as “Choosin’ Texas” rises to #1 on the all-genre ranking for a record sixth time. In all, this is its 11th week at the pinnacle.
The lead single from Ella’s Dandelion first hit the top the week of Feb. 14, returning on March 7, March 21-28, April 11-25 and May 9-23.
This officially marks the longest stretch at #1 for a country song by a female artist, topping Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life,” which spent 10 weeks there in 1977.
Meanwhile, “Choosin Texas” is spending its 29th week leading the Hot Country Songs tally.
Pitbull fans, aka Bald Es, wearing bald caps (Courtesy Live Nation)
Pitbull and his fans will attempt to set the Guinness World Record in July for the largest gathering of people wearing bald caps — and you’ll be able to watch them do it.
As previously reported, Pitbull will be performing at the BST Hyde Park festival in London on July 10. His YouTube channel will provide a global livestream of the event, designed in the style of a sports broadcast. As an expected 65,000 Pitbull fans gather while wearing bald caps, there will be commentary from British and American personalities, live field reporting, fan interviews and more.
The event will — hopefully — end with the presentation of the Guinness World Record title.
The idea for the stunt began after Pitbull’s fans, known as The Bald Es, started showing up to his shows dressed like him, in suits, ties, dark glasses and, of course, bald caps. After a U.K. radio station proposed that he try to go for the record, Pitbull and his team signed off on the attempt.
Speaking to The New York Timeslast June about why they were wearing bald caps, one fan said, “We have adult money, and this is what this generation is choosing to spend it on.”
The London date is part of the “Damn I Love Miami” artist’s current I’m BACK tour, which returns to North America on Aug. 19 with a show in Bristow, Virginia.
Melissa Etheridge’s current album is called Rise, but in November, it’ll also stand for “Research, Innovation, Science, and Education.”
Melissa will launch the first R.I.S.E. Summit, which is being hosted by her charity, the Etheridge Foundation, on Nov. 12 in Irvine, California. She established it in 2020 after her son succumbed to opioid addiction.
“As many of you know, this work is deeply personal to me,” Melissa says in a statement. “After losing my son Beckett, I knew I wanted to do something to help other families find hope and new ways to heal.”
The R.I.S.E. Summit will focus on innovative new treatments for addiction, including the use of psychedelics. Melissa will host a fireside chat on that topic with an addiction expert, Dr. Gabor Maté, who will also discuss the larger issues of addiction, recovery, trauma and healing.
You can learn more about the summit and buy tickets with early-bird pricing at EtheridgeFoundation.org.
Melissa is currently on tour with country music legend Wynonna Judd; she’s donating $1 from every ticket sold to her foundation.
Thomas Rhett’s dad, Rhett Akins, will officially become a member of the Grand Ole Opry later this year, after Jon Pardi extended the surprise invitation on Sunday.
It came during a special Opry Celebrates ’90s Country show. It’s important to remember that before he became famous as TR’s dad, Akins topped the chart with “That Ain’t My Truck” and “Don’t Get Me Started.”
Of course, he’d go on to write 36 more number ones for other artists, including Pardi’s “Dirt on My Boots.”
“All I do every day is write words and I can’t think of any words right now except, ‘Thank you, Lord Jesus,’” Akins said from the Opry stage.
“I have been listening to the Grand Ole Opry since I was a little kid with my grandparents,” he added. “Anytime they’d ask me to play, if I was in Alaska, I’d fly home immediately. I love country music with all my heart and all I ever wanted to do was meet Hank Jr., meet George Strait. I never dreamed I’d be in this circle right here with Bill Monroe, Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff, Garth, and Alan [Jackson] and Jon Pardi. This is just unbelievable.”
TR was there to witness the moment, reflecting on it later on social media.
“I don’t have many words except for the fact that my dad has had a dream to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry since he was boy,” he said. “He is a country music encyclopedia. … Dad I’m so proud of you. I love you. You deserve this! Can’t wait to celebrate this huge accomplishment.”
Akins will be officially inducted as an Opry member during a special ceremony later this year.
Don Toliver performs onstage during the BET Awards 2026 at Peacock Theater on June 28, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
Don Toliver’s Octane tour returned to Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles for its second night on Monday, where he was joined by surprise guests Ye and Travis Scott.
Ye was the first to take the stage, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd. According to setlist.fm, he performed “Runaway” and “Father,” during which Travis made an appearance and was also greeted with a standing ovation. Travis remained onstage as Ye closed his set with “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” before he performed “FE!N” twice.
Don’s Octane tour supports his latest album, Octane, and wraps its first leg on July 5 in Denver. The second will begin on Aug. 4 in Sacramento and run through Sept. 6 in Brooklyn. Don will then travel across Europe and the U.K., with those dates kicking off Oct. 25.
Meanwhile, Ye has a few shows planned for 2026, with the next taking place in San Antonio on the Fourth of July.
Travis has one upcoming concert on July 17 at the RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
“Twisting the Knife” single artwork. (Fearless Records)
Ice Nine Kills has scared up a career-first with “Twisting the Knife.”
The song, which was recorded for the movie Scream 7, has jumped to #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. It gives the horror-inspired metallers their first-ever leader on the ranking.
Scream 7 actress Mckenna Grace, who’s featured on “Twisting the Knife,” also earns her first #1 Mainstream Rock Airplay hit.
Ice Nine Kills previously peaked on Mainstream Rock Airplay at #9 with the songs “A Grave Mistake” and “The Great Unknown.” Frontman Spencer Charnas also hit #1 as a featured artist on the Funeral Portrait song “Suffocate City.”
The most recent INK song is “Play Dead,” which dropped Friday. The track is inspired by the video game Dead by Daylight.
More than 80,000 fans turned out to see the final touring show of Alan Jackson’s career Saturday night in Nashville; watch parties on Broadway, at Belmont University and at the Country Music Hall of Fame added to the sold-out crowd at Nissan Stadium.
If you missed it, however, you’ll have your chance to experience it in December as both a TV special and a live album.
“We’re going to have a good time is what we’re going to do!” Alan promised the fans as he kicked off his nearly two-hour set with “Gone Country.”
He’d go on to do two dozen songs, including “Here in the Real World,” “Remember When” and “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).”
George Strait joined Alan onstage for a toast, before launching into their duets, “Designated Drinker” and “Murder on Music Row.”
The historic set closed with “Chattahoochee,” before Alan returned for an encore of “Mercury Blues” and “Where I Come From.”
“This has just been incredible,” he said afterward. “I don’t even have words – it’s just been completely overwhelming.”
The night included nine entertainers of the year aside from Alan, with Luke Bryan, Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Riley Green, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Jake Owen, Jon Pardi, Thomas Rhett and Lee Ann Womack all coming together to do the ultimate version of Alan’s hit “Pop a Top” cover.
It’ll air in December as part of Alan Jackson: The Last Show on NBC.
You can preorderAlan Jackson – Last Call: One More For the Road – The Finale (Live from Nashville, TN) now, though both the album artwork and the release date are still being finalized.
KISS is set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of their historic concerts, releasing it for the first time as a live album.
The band will release KISS Destroys Anaheim ’76 on Aug. 21. It’s a recording of their Aug. 20, 1976, Anaheim Stadium show on their The Spirit Of ’76 Tour, aka the Destroyer Tour.
The show had KISS playing in front of over 42,000 fans, their largest audience to date. The recording, taken from the original multitrack tapes, features performances of such iconic KISS tracks as “Detroit Rock City,” “Strutter,” “Black Diamond,” “Rock and Roll All Nite” and more.
Members of the KISS Army are getting a bonus from the band. They can now access exclusive material in connection with the announcement, including soundbites from Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley sharing their memories of the show.
KISS Destroys Anaheim ’76 will be released in a variety of formats, including CD, two-LP black vinyl, two-LP picture disc, two-LP color vinyl and digitally. The band has also launched a new merch line in connection with the release.
Chris Martin of Coldplay performs at Allegiant Stadium on June 06, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
A cassette tape containing a demo of Coldplay’s Chris Martin recording a song called “The World is Not Enough” is up for auction.
As you might’ve guessed from the title, Martin recorded the track as an attempt at a theme song for the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough, which was released in 1999.
“Presented on an original Parlophone reference cassette, the recording features a stripped-back acoustic guitar and vocal performance by Martin, capturing the song in a raw demo form before any studio production,” the auction site reads. “Unlike the final Bond theme, which was ultimately recorded by Garbage, this version offers a fascinating glimpse into an alternative direction.”
The tape comes from the archives of producer Chris Allison, who worked with Coldplay during their early days.
“To the best of current knowledge, this recording has never been commercially released or publicly circulated, making it one of the most intriguing and potentially significant items within the collection: it is not known if this demo was ever submitted to the film for consideration,” the auction site reads.
The auction is open until July 19 via the site WaxPoetics.com.
Of note, Martin told NME in 2021 that Coldplay has “kept trying to write [a Bond theme] for 20 years, but never submitted them.”
“We have Bond themes for about five movies, but they’re not very good, to be honest,” Martin said.
Singer-songwriter Usher and Clive Davis attend Angel Ball 2015 hosted by Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street on October 19, 2015, in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation)
After attending Clive Davis’ funeral on Monday, Usher took to social media to share some words about the late record executive.
“Rest in peace to the legendary Clive Davis,” he wrote in a post that included photos of them together over the years. “There are people who hear music… and then there are people who hear destiny. Clive heard something in so many of us before the world ever did. His vision, his belief and his commitment to artists helped shape the sound of generations and for me, he will always be part of the foundation of my journey.”
Usher added that Clive’s “impact is everywhere,” as “he didn’t just help build careers, he helped build legacies.”
“Thank you, Clive, for your wisdom, your ear, your belief, and the doors U opened,” he continued. “Your influence will live forever in the music, in the artists, and in every dream U helped make real. My prayers are with your family and everyone who loved you.”
Usher’s music career was launched on LaFace Records, which was founded by L.A. Reid and Babyface, with backing from Clive and his label at the time, Arista Records.
Usher maintained a relationship with the executive over the years, attending many of his star-studded events.
Clive died on June 22 at his New York home while surrounded by family. He was 94 years old.
