Paul McCartney on May 21, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images)
Fans on a Beatles tour of Liverpool got quite a surprise when they had a chance encounter with Paul McCartney.
Neil Morton, who drives the Magical Mystery Tour Bus around Liverpool, tells the BBC that during a recent tour, the bus pulled up to find McCartney at a traffic light. It happened at the very moment McCartney was on a video call with his former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr.
“It was surreal,” said Morton. “I had pulled up at the traffic lights on Hope Street when who should I see – Sir Paul with Ringo on Facetime. He waved to us and everybody took photos. The passengers could not believe it.”
Unfortunately for fans, Morton said, “Nobody really got chance to speak with him.”
According to the BBC, McCartney was back in Liverpool to honor Adolescence actor Stephen Graham with a companionship from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the school he co-founded.
When Morgan Wallen releases his new song, “Been by Now,” on Friday, it’ll be his first new solo recording since he put out “Graveyard Whistling” in October.
Of course, his latest album is I’m the Problem, which came out in May 2025, and its latest hit, “Don’t We,” currently sits at #2 on the charts, just ahead of his duet with Ella Langley.
And while “I Can’t Love You Anymore” finds the pair longing for a love gone wrong, Morgan says “Been by Now” paints a picture of a current relationship destined to end.
“You just don’t really see it progressing any further and you start noticing things that let you know that,” he reflects. “And it’s a little bit of a bittersweet-feeling song. You know, the music feels a little happy, but the message is overwhelmingly sad, which is something that’s kind of a go-to for me.”
Morgan debuted “Been by Now” over the weekend in Baltimore, having previously shared both acoustic and studio snippets on his socials.
Photo of Queen: L-R Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury, Brian May and John Deacon (Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)
Queen is looking back at the past for a new series of posters.
The band is releasing a new collection of replica vintage Queen posters, with the first installment in the series featuring four posters.
The first set includes Sheer Heart Attack, We Will Rock You and Queen Are Coming posters. There’s also a 1980 concert poster with an image of the band, and frontman Freddie Mercury in a jumping position that makes it appear as though he’s floating onstage.
All posters feature an official Queen embossed stamp and cost $50. They are available for preorder now, with shipping set for Aug. 15. More info can be found at QueenOnlineStore.com.
This isn’t the first time Queen has released a vintage replica poster. In 2025 they released a replica Queen Live Aid poster for the 40th anniversary of the all-star benefit concert. Proceeds from that poster were split between The Band Aid Trust and The Mercury Phoenix Trust.
Emily Haines of Metric performs at The Greek Theatre on June 09, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Metric’s All the Feelings tour in support of their new album, Romanticize the Dive, resumes Friday in Chicago. During the first leg of the tour in June, Emily Haines and company closed each show with their 2010 song “Black Sheep,” which, despite never being on a Metric album, has become one of the band’s most beloved tracks.
As Haines tells ABC Audio, “Black Sheep” was originally written around the sessions for Metric’s 2009 album, Fantasies, but it didn’t make the cut.
“This is something that I had brought in, lyrically, they’re just like, ‘What the f*** are you talking about?'” Haines recalls of the band’s initial “Black Sheep” thoughts.
As fate would have it though, a new movie called Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, adapted from the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O’Malley, was in the works. The books feature a fictional band called The Clash at Demonhead, which O’Malley based on Metric, though Haines laughs that she’s “sweeter” than The Clash at Demonhead’s singer, Envy Adams.
Naturally, the film’s director, Edgar Wright, reached out to Metric, who volunteered “Black Sheep” for the project.
“When [Wright] heard it, he was just like, ‘This sounds like it was written for the scene,'” Haines says. “And I completely agree, and I don’t know why.”
In the movie, a pre-Captain Marvel Brie Larson plays Envy Adams and sings “Black Sheep,” which adds another level to its legacy. Beyond that, though, Haines feels the success of “Black Sheep” reinforces one of her beliefs on life.
“I love that stuff, because it just confirms my belief that we’re basically powerless,” Haines says. “You just have to truck along and, like, do your best, follow some instinct, but you have really no idea what’s gonna happen next.”
Durand Bernarr performs for Salt Lick Sessions’ Songs of U.S. series (Kaitlin Mendoza)
DurandBernarr took the stage for Salt Lick Sessions’ Songs of U.S., a YouTube series in which musicians from different genres reimagine songs that have shaped the country’s cultural identity, according to a press release.
He sings George Gershwin’s “Summertime,” which Ella Fitzgerald famously covered, as well as Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” and his original track “Undivided.”
“I wanted to talk about … the challenges that I’ve been going through with my star rising and people seeing this fire that has been closely observed by my community and by my tribe, and so now it’s gotten bigger and the world is able to experience it and it’s taken me away from people,” he explains of “Undivided.” “It’s my letting the people in my life that I’m closest to know this is what’s been going on.”
Durand’s performances of “Summertime” and “Ironic” are out now. The “Undivided” performance premieres on YouTube Wednesday.
Dropout Kings have premiered the video for “Brace Yourself” in tribute to the band’s late vocalist, Adam Ramey, who died in May 2025 at age 32.
The track is included on the 2025 Dropout Kings album, Yokai, which featured Ramey’s final recordings. Its video, which you can watch now on YouTube, features throwback footage of Ramey performing with the band.
“Music. Friendship. Purpose,” Dropout Kings say in a statement. “For these reasons and many more, we come together as people. We find time to create, not just for ourselves, but in hopes it brings joy and inspiration to others. We struggle to express what we feel as we struggle in feeling it, pushing towards a light we aren’t always sure is even there.”
“Yet, the art has a way of compelling us to heal through the process of both sharing and listening,” the band continues. “A way of making family out of strangers and dreams from suffering. New people we meet turn into old stories we tell as we grow closer together, becoming the best reminders of both where we came from and where we want to go.”
The statement concludes, “It’s in this spirit that we ask you to look back with us at and share what made us who we are and our beloved King who started it all. Our brother, Adam Ramey.”
Ronaldinho, Madonna and Ronaldo perform during the Topps Final Halftime Show in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
According to Spotify, after Madonna’s opening appearance at the show, her song “Music” — performed as a mashup with her new single “Danceteria” — saw a 180% increase in streams. As for Justin, his song “Everything Hallelujah,” from his album Swag II, got a major boost, surging 240% after he performed it during the 11-minute extravaganza.
Meanwhile, BTS saw a 105% increase in their song “Dynamite,” which they performed with new, football-inspired lyrics. Streams of “Dai Dai,” the official World Cup song by Shakira and Burna Boy, increased by 155%.
The biggest winners, however, were British pop superstar Robbie Williams and Italian singer Laura Pausini. Their Official FIFA Anthem, “Desire,” hadn’t received much attention until they sang it ahead of the game on Sunday alongside Nicole Scherzinger. Following the performance, the song’s streams increased by 945%.
Overall, throughout the World Cup, “Dai Dai” earned the most in-tournament streams on Spotify than any other anthem this year. Since June 11, the track has racked up more than 138 million global streams.
While performing his song “Work Out” at a stop on his Fall-Off World tour, J. Cole was gifted a bra from the crowd. He laughed as the item landed on the stage, but didn’t miss a beat, continuing through the verse. At the end of the song, he said, “N**** ain’t got a bra onstage in a long motherf****** time. You got to cherish that s***.”
Netflix released the first-look photos for A Different World ahead of its Sept. 24 premiere. The images feature a blend of Hillman College’s new generation, alongside some fan-favorites, including Jasmine Guy’s Whitley Gilbert, Kadeem Hardison’s Dwayne Wayne, Charnele Brown’s Kimberly Reese, Cree Summer’s Freddie Brooks and Darryl M. Bell’s Ron Johnson.
Travis Scott performed at Fanatics Fest Sunday, with his daughter, Stormi, by his side. During his performance of his song “FE!N,” he brought her onstage, where she quietly mouthed the words while standing behind him.
Greta Van Fleet performs onstage at Microsoft Theater on December 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Greta Van Fleet has announced the release of a new single called “Saw You Stand.”
The track, which the “Highway Tune” rockers have been teasing on social media over the past month, will officially premiere on July 31. It’s available to presave now.
“Saw You Stand” will be the second new Greta Van Fleet song of 2026, following May’s “Play Your Games.” Before that, the band had fans worried that they’d broken up when they posted a video titled “Thanks for the Wild Ride” before later confirming they were back in the studio.
The most recent Greta Van Fleet album is 2023’s Starcatcher.
Musician Jimmy Buffett performs onstage at Jimmy Buffett & Friends: Live from the Gulf Coast, July 11, 2010 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMT)
Jimmy Buffett passed away in 2023, but his music lives on.
Mac McAnally, longtime member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, tells Billboard that he and his Coral Reefer bandmate Michael Utley have been working on a posthumous Buffett release.
McAnally tells Billboard the album will include songs that are “for the most part, things that have never been out,” or they were “cut for a one-off purpose, a TV episode or a movie.”
“The oldest of these tracks is, like, 2003, and the newest is maybe four years ago or so,” McAnally says. “None of those things have ever been on a Jimmy Buffett album. We’re pretty excited.”
This won’t be the first Buffett album released since his death from skin cancer at 76. McAnally and Utley produced his final album, Equal Strain on All Parts, which was released in November 2023, two months after his passing.
There’s currently no release date or title for the posthumous album, which McAnally says is “really good.”
“When you hear Jimmy sing you can tell that he’s smiling; you can hear that smile, and I’ve been listening to that smile for three months finishing this record, so I’m almost sore from smiling — but I ain’t gonna quit,” he adds.
