Music

Highlights from the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air during an ABC special premiering Thursday, New Year’s Day, at 8 p.m. ET. Soundgarden was among the inductees, and the band’s three surviving members — guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron — performed during the event, alongside guest vocalists Taylor Momsen and Brandi Carlile in place of the late Chris Cornell.

“We have a nice, strong history with Taylor, we trust her, she’s an amazing performer,” Thayil told ABC Audio on the ceremony’s red carpet. “Brandi’s an incredible performer, she’s on another stratosphere.”

Momsen sang lead vocals on “Rusty Cage,” and then Carlile joined in for “Black Hole Sun.” The set also featured Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready and Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, who, along with Carlile, paid tribute to their and Soundgarden’s shared hometown of Seattle.

“[Carlile is] a nice local sister that made good,” Thayil said. “So it’s really part of the vibe for us and the sense of community that we’ve built over the years there.”

Soundgarden’s performance also included one more guest: original bassist Hiro Yamamoto, who joined them onstage for the “Black Hole Sun” rendition.

“For me, it’s amazing,” Yamamoto said. “I’m actually playing a song that I never even worked on, so it’s a tribute, but to make it feel like Soundgarden and it sounds like Soundgarden, that’s the brotherhood that we’re still doing.”

With Yamamoto playing alongside Shepherd, the Rock Hall ceremony marked the debut of a double-bass Soundgarden lineup.

“It’s fun to get to play with Hiro,” Shepherd said. “[I] play the high end on the bass, he gets to do the low end.”

The other 2025 inductees included The White Stripes, Bad Company, Outkast, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper and Chubby Checker.

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If you stop by the famed Whisky a Go Go club in Los Angeles, you’ll see billboards celebrating Yungblud‘s Grammy nominations.

“Yungblud, a British artist, has been nominated for three Grammys in the rock category at the Grammy Awards,” the billboards read.

Said nominations include Idols for best rock album, “Zombie” for best rock song and Yungblud’s cover of Black Sabbath‘s “Changes” from the Back to the Beginning concert for best rock performance.

Yungblud posted photos of the billboards to his Facebook along with the caption, “Wild.”

The 2026 Grammys will air live from Los Angeles Feb. 1 on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

In addition to possibly becoming a triple-Grammy winner, Yungblud’s 2026 plans include a U.S. tour launching in May.

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Megadeth will release their final album on Jan. 23 and will officially call it quits after a multiyear farewell tour. But frontman Dave Mustaine is still keeping the door cracked open for another type of Megadeth release.

“Look, it all depends on how the statements are crafted,” Mustaine tells Metal Hammer. “So, we’re doing no more studio albums. Does that mean there might be a live album at the end of all of this? Yeah, it certainly looks that way.”

However, Mustaine maintains that once the final Megadeth show is over, that will indeed mark the end of the band.

“I don’t think so,” Mustaine says regarding a possible post-farewell tour reunion. “You see the scuttlebutt that is associated with bands like that. You know they never follow through with it and stick to their word.”

Megadeth’s farewell tour so far includes North American dates with Iron Maiden kicking off in August.

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Marty Supreme is now in theaters, and cast member Tyler, The Creator believes that’s exactly where it should be experienced. The rapper, who plays Wally in the film, said that he had “a blast” stepping into something new. “i love jumping head first into something new. not being good not being bad just raw newness,” he wrote in an Instagram post. He encouraged fans to see the film on the big screen rather than watching it at home. “dont save this watch for a couch and phone distractions, go outside,” he added. And when you do, he advises, “GLUE YOUR EYES OPEN.”

Kehlani‘s song “Folded” has made its way into Janet Jackson‘s set list. A clip from a recent show shows Janet mashing up the track with her hit “Any Time, Any Place.” Kehlani shared the moment on Instagram, captioning it, “THE ONE AND ONLY @janetjackson … #Folded my taurus legend!”

Ja Rule is stepping into a new chapter as he prepares to become a grandfather. Speaking with People, he said he’s “very happy and excited” about the news. His daughter, Brittney Atkins, is expecting her first child — a baby girl. “It’s a blessing. I’m very, very happy and excited,” Ja shared. “I can’t wait to see her.” He added, “It’s weird, you get older, and then you get back into little people mode. You want a little person around again in the house. All my kids are grown, so it’s been a long time, so it’s going to be a lot of fun for me and the missus.”

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Ariana Grande started 2025 by attending the Golden Globes, where she was nominated for her role as Glinda in Wicked. She ended the year by being nominated for a Golden Globe for her role as Glinda — this time, in Wicked: For Good. In between, she proved that she hadn’t forgotten her day job as a pop star.

— In late March, Ari released the deluxe version of her hit 2024 album, Eternal Sunshine, called Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead, with six previously unreleased additional tracks. The new version sent the album back to #1 on the Billboard 200.

–With the album came a short film, Brighter Days Ahead, which Ariana co-directed; it featured her reprising her role as Peaches from her previous video “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love).” The film, which featured a cameo from her father, Edward Butera, won three MTV VMAs, including video of the year.

–In May, it was announced that Ariana had joined the cast of Focker-In-Law, the fourth installment in the Meet the Parents film franchise. The movie, set to hit theaters in November 2026, has most of the original cast returning; Ariana plays the girlfriend of Ben Stiller‘s character’s son.

–In June, Ariana took part in the ultimate diva summit, joining Mariah Carey and Barbra Streisand to record the song “I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do)” for Babs’ album The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two. The album received a Grammy nomination for best traditional pop vocal album.

— Also in June, Ariana’s beloved grandmother Marjorie Grande aka Nonna, who’d appeared on her album Eternal Sunshine, passed away at age 99.

–In July, it was announced that Ariana would be part of the cast of Jon M. Chu‘s animated adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic Oh, the Places You’ll Go! It’s set to hit theaters March 17, 2028.

–In August, Ari announced her first tour in six years. The Eternal Sunshine Tour will visit North America and the U.K. in the summer of 2026 and will feature her playing multiple nights in every city. It launches June 6 in Oakland, California, and will wrap Sept. 1 in London.

–In October, Ariana was announced as a cast member of FX anthology series American Horror Story season 13. It’s set to air around Halloween 2026.

–In November, Ariana made multiple appearances to promote Wicked: For Good. Her performance received glowing reviews and a Golden Globe nod; she also received two Grammy nominations for the Wicked soundtrack.

–On Dec. 20, Ariana hosted the season finale of Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Cher. She described it ahead of time to Jimmy Fallon as “one of the gayest SNL episodes [ever].” The episode earned the show’s highest ratings since November of 2024.

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Doechii has a “life update” for her fans. In the only post on her Instagram, she announced the release of her new song, “girl, get up.,” featuring fellow Top Dawg Entertainment signee SZA.

“girl, get up.,” which samples “What Happened to That Boy” by Birdman and Clipse, finds Doechii unpacking her life, career and more. She addresses industry plant accusations, rumors about drug use and critics who doubt her talent, making it clear she’s earned her success through hard work.

“All that industry plant s*** whack/ I see it on the blogs, I see you in the chats,” she raps, later adding, “Y’all can’t fathom that I work this hard/ And y’all can’t fathom that I earned this chart/ Y’all can’t stand my vibe ’cause I’m anointed/ All y’all evil-a** h*** just annoyin’.”

Alongside the release, Doechii dropped a visualizer directed by James Mackel, the man behind the visual for her Grammy-nominated hit “Anxiety.”

“girl, get up.” marks Doechii’s final release of 2025 and the end to her Swamp Sessions series, a creative run where she challenged herself to write songs within one-hour sessions. The series produced tracks and visuals for “Nissan Altima,” “Bullfrog” and “Catfish.”

Doechii is nominated for five awards at the 2026 Grammy Awards: record of the year, song of the year, best rap performance, best rap song and best music video. 

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When it comes to charities, Taylor Swift is the gift that keeps on giving.

After donating $1 million each to the American Heart Association and Feeding America prior to Christmas, Taylor has now made a donation of an undisclosed amount to Operation Breakthrough, a charity based in Kansas City, Missouri.

According to its website, the charity’s mission is to “provide a safe, loving and educational environment for children in poverty and to empower their families through advocacy, emergency aid and education.”

“Thank you @taylorswift for supporting Operation Breakthrough,” read the charity’s post on Instagram. “We are so grateful for your kindness and for championing creativity, education, and opportunity for our over 750 students!”

Operation Breakthrough is a charity that Taylor’s fiancé, Travis Kelce, works with via his own foundation, Eighty-Seven & Running. In particular, the foundation supports the charity’s Ignition Lab, which provides  STEM educational resources for kids age 14 to 18.

In other Taylor Kansas City news, she can be seen very briefly in a video of the WAGS — wives and girlfriends — of Chiefs players at the team’s holiday party. Taylor is seen standing with a group that includes Ana Demmer, who dates Chiefs offensive lineman Creed Humphrey, as well as Brittany Mahomes.

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6lack is switching things up for 2026. Instead of ringing in the new year at his humble abode, he opted to spend it with ABC, Ryan Seacrest and the cast of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.

“Normally I’m at the house keeping things predictable, and safe and cozy,” he told ABC’s On the Red Carpet during rehearsals for the show. “But this is fun because it’s just the opposite and I love performing.”

A key reason for his appearance is to perform alongside Jessie Murph. The two have a song called “Forever,” which he says came together after her team reached out.

“I think we were mutually just fans of each other, and she had a song that she had in mind,” 6lack says. Though he’d been “prepping for a baby” at the time and “wasn’t out that much,” he says he heard the song and was on board.

“I found some time,” he adds. “I got it done and I love the song.” 

6lack and Jessie Murph are just two of the artists slated to perform on the New Year’s Eve show, a star-studded countdown to 2026. 6lack says his new year is about “clarity and just learning from all my lessons and mistakes and not having to repeat anything that’s unnecessary.“

6lack also plans to take more initiative this go-round. He shares, “This time it feels like less manifestation for me and more doing because I can talk, but it’s just better to just like put some plans to it.” 

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest will also feature a set from Diana Ross in New York’s Times Square, performances from Mariah Carey and more. It airs from 8 p.m. ET to 4 a.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.

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A legendary Bruce Springsteen concert has just gotten an audio upgrade.

A newly remixed version of Bruce and The E Street Band’s 1975 New Year’s Eve performance at the Tower Theater near Philadelphia is now available on nugs.net. The recording was taken from the 16-track analog master tapes originally recorded by producer Jimmy Iovine. The show was the final night of a four-night stand at the venue.

The 18-song set features a slowed down version of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” along with performances of  songs like “Thunder Road,” “Spirit in the Night,” “She’s the One,” “Backstreets,” “Jungleland,” “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?” and “It’s Hard To Be a Saint in the City.”

It also features several covers, including “It’s My Life,” “Detroit Medley” and the show’s final song, “Twist and Shout.”

The release is part of Springsteen’s Archives Series on nugs.net, which launched in November 2014. Since then, 100 Springsteen concerts have been released on the site.

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Linkin Park fulfilled an unusual fan request while on tour in 2025.

The “In the End” rockers have shared a video to Facebook showing vocalists Mike Shinoda and Emily Armstrong reading signs brought in by concertgoers during a recent show. One particular sign caught their eye, and they brought it up onstage to discover that it read, “Would you make my dream come true and reveal our baby’s gender?”

“This is a crazy sign, this is the first time we’ve seen this,” Shinoda remarked.

The sign was conveniently accompanied by an envelope that contained the gender reveal, and after a literal drumroll from Colin Brittain, Armstrong delivered the news.

“Girl!” Armstrong declared.

Linkin Park spent 2025 touring in support of their 2024 comeback album, From Zero, their first with Armstrong. They’ll return to the road in January starting with dates in the Middle East.

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