Harry Styles in the stands during the Premier League match at Kenilworth Road, Luton, England, February 18, 2024. (Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)
Harry Styles has largely stayed out of the public eye since wrapping his Love On Tour trek in 2023, but he surprised fans by sharing new content Saturday.
He uploaded a video called “Forever, Forever” to his official YouTube channel. It opens with footage of fans waiting to see him perform in Reggio Emilia, Italy, in July 2023, the final stop on his two-year global tour. The video then cuts to Harry onstage, playing an extended instrumental piano piece.
Harry hasn’t released new music since his 2023 single, “Satellite,” so the video sparked speculation across social media. Fans debated whether it signaled a gradual return to the spotlight or was smply a reflective look back at the tour that defined his post-One Direction solo success.
One fan wrote, “I have a feeling this is a [subtle] way harry is reminding us he is still here, still loves his fandom and job and a thank you for us being patient.”
While Harry hasn’t released new music, he’s popped up in some unexpected places, such as attendingPope Leo XIV‘s debut in Vatican City after his election and running marathons in Tokyo and Berlin. He’s also been spotted in various cities walking hand-in-hand with actress Zoë Kravitz.
As always, Taylor Swift dominated the headlines in 2025, as she celebrated two major life-changing events and yet another career-based success.
–The first life-changing event? Buying back her master recordings of her first six albums, following her yearslong project of rerecording them. Taylor wrote in a letter on her website, “I really get to say these words: All of the music I’ve ever made … now belongs … to me.”
She paid an estimated nine figures for the rights to her music, videos, concert films, album art, photography and unreleased songs — what she described as “my entire life’s work.” She thanked her fans, writing, “Thanks to you and your goodwill, teamwork, and encouragement, the best things that have ever been mine … finally actually are.”
–The second life-changing event? Her engagement to her longtime boyfriend, Travis Kelce, announced in an Aug. 26 Instagram post that read, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.” Travis actually popped the question around Aug. 10, the same day Taylor guested on Travis’ podcast New Heights. The earthshaking news prompted congratulations from fans, the NFL, random celebrities and multiple brands trying to cash in.
Taylor’s engagement was followed by endless speculation as to the wedding date, location and guest list; searches for “mine cut diamonds”; and the crowning of “parasocial” as Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year.
–In October, Taylor released the new album The Life of a Showgirl, just a year and a half after dropping The Tortured Poets Department. She promoted Showgirl with endless vinyl variations and a special limited-run theatrical event featuring, among other content, the premiere of the video for the album’s single, “The Fate of Ophelia.”
Upon its release on Oct. 3, The Life of a Showgirl sold just over 4 million equivalent album units in its first week, breaking the record set by Adele’s 2015 album, 25, which sold 3.482 million units. The album, with songs largely inspired by her relationship with Travis, spent has spent eleven non-consecutive weeks at #1 to date. The first single, “The Fate of Ophelia,” spent its first eight weeks on top, before being dethroned by Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
–Taylor closed out 2025 with two major streaming projects: A six-episode docuseries on the making of the Eras Tour and a concert film documenting the final show of said tour. Both dropped on Dec. 12 on Disney+, the day before Taylor’s 36th birthday.
2025 will go down as the year of Morgan Wallen, not just in country music, but across the board, as Billboard declared him the most successful music maker of the year.
Hefinishes 2025 at #1 on Billboard‘s Top Artists ranking for the first time, on the strength of his I’m the Problem album. The record debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on May 31, going on to spend a dozen weeks at the top.
Along the way, Morgan also staged a massive stadium trek, starting in Houston in June and playing 20 shows in 10 cities before wrapping in September in Edmonton, Alberta.
Appropriately, the title track of both the album and tour came together on an earlier run.
“[Producer] Charlie [Handsome] had sent me probably 10 or 12 instrumentals while we were out on the road,” Morgan recalls. “And that one stood out to me for whatever reason, you know.”
“And [ERNEST] was opening up for me,” he continues, “and after he got done with his set, I called him over to my bus and said, ‘Hey, let’s mess around with this track.’ So me and him wrote the majority of the song, probably in like 30 minutes on my bus before I was going to go play a show.”
Morgan’s I’m the Problem comes in at #2 on the year-end Billboard 200 albums ranking, right behind Taylor Swift‘s The Life of a Showgirl. He also charted more titles on the Hot 100 than any other artist, with an incredible 41 making the list. Nine of those reached the top 10.
December would bring more impressive news about Morgan’s career, as the RIAA declared him the top-selling country artist of all time, moving 265.5 million units. That also makes him the third-most-certified artist in any genre, behind Drake and Taylor.
Morgan will be back to be the problem again in 2026, as he launches his Still the Problem Tour April 10 in Minneapolis. He’ll play more than 20 shows before wrapping Aug. 1 in Philadelphia.
It’s always sad to say goodbye to our favorite musicians when they pass away, and 2025 was certainly a tough year.
The music world lost a true legend on June 11 when Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson died in his sleep at the age of 82. He was living with dementia at the time and had been placed under a conservatorship in early 2024 following the death of his wife, Melinda Wilson.
Another influential artist we lost in 2025 was Sly Stone, of Sly and the Family Stone, who passed away June 9 at the age of 82. A statement revealed that he died “after a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues.”
The rock world was in shock when news broke that Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne died on July 22 at the age of 76. His death came barely three weeks after he made his final onstage appearance at the 10-hour all-star Back to the Beginning concert in his hometown of Birmingham, England. He was laid to rest in Birmingham, with fans lining the city’s streets to pay their respects.
And Ace Frehley, guitarist and founding member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band KISS, died on Oct. 16 at the age of 64. His death came just weeks after he canceled the remainder of his 2025 tour due to health issues.
Here are some of the other music figures who died in 2025, in chronological order:
Jan. 7: Peter Yarrow, of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, 86.
Jan. 10: Sam Moore, the tenor half of the iconic soul duo Sam & Dave, 89.
Jan. 21: Garth Hudson, keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist who was the last surviving member of The Band, 87.
Jan. 30: British singer Marianne Faithfull, best known for her hit “As Time Goes By” and for her association with The Rolling Stones, 78.
Feb. 23: Chris Jasper, a member of the R&B group The Isley Brothers, 73.
Feb. 24: R&B singer Roberta Flack, best known for such songs as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Killing Me Softly with His Song” and “Where Is the Love,” 88.
Feb. 24: Robert John, best known for the #1 single “Sad Eyes,” 79.
Feb. 28: David Johansen, lead singer and last surviving original member of the New York Dolls,who also found fame in the ’80s and ’90s as the throwback crooner Buster Poindexter, 75.
March 16: Jesse Colin Young, the voice heard on the Youngbloods‘iconic hit “Get Together,” 83.
April 6: Clem Burke, drummer and founding member of Blondie,70.
April 29: Mike Peters, frontman of Welsh rock band The Alarm, 66.
June 18: Lou Christie, best known for the 1966 #1 hit “Lightin’ Strikes,” 82.
June 23: Mick Ralphs, guitarist and founding member of Mott the Hoople and Bad Company, 81.
June 24: Former teen idol Bobby Sherman, 81.
July 16: Connie Francis, singer of such hits as “Pretty Little Baby” and “Who’s Sorry Now?,” 87.
July 22: Chuck Mangione, Grammy-winning jazz bandleader best known for 1978’s “Feels So Good,” 84.
Aug. 4: Terry Reid, the British musician who’s most famously known for turning down offers to front Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, 75.
Aug 10: Bobby Whitlock, pianist, guitarist and songwriter who formed Derek and the Dominoes with Eric Clapton,77.
Sept. 5: Mark Volman, founding member of the rock band The Turtles, 78.
Sept. 6: Rick Davies, founding member of Supertramp who wrote and sang lead on their top-40 hit, “Goodbye Stranger,” 81.
Sept. 19: Sonny Curtis, a member of Buddy Holly‘s Crickets,who also wrote The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme song, 88.
Sept. 25: Chris Dreja, a co-founder of the Yardbirds,78.
Oct. 10: John Lodge, bassist and vocalist of the progressive rock band Moody Blues, 82.
Oct. 22: David Ball, the multi-instrumentalist who, along with singer Marc Almond, rose to fame as the ’80s synth pop group Soft Cell, 66.
Nov. 2: Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, vocalist for the Grateful Dead from 1971 to 1979, 78.
Nov. 5: Gilson Lavis, former drummer for the band Squeeze,74.
Nov. 24: Jimmy Cliff, Grammy Award-winning reggae singer and actor, 81.
Dec. 3: Steve Cropper, guitarist for Booker T. and the M.G.’s, 84.
Dec. 14: Carl Carlton, singer of hit tracks “Everlasting Love” and “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked),” 72.
Dave Navarro and Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction perform at The Roundhouse on May 29, 2024 in London, England. (Aaron Parsons/Getty Images)
Jane says the legal battle between Jane’s Addiction and Perry Farrell is over.
Farrell and his former bandmates — guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins — have agreed to a settlement and to dismiss their dueling lawsuits, according to documents viewed by ABC Audio.
The details of the settlement are confidential.
The suits, which were filed in July, concerned the onstage altercation between Navarro and Farrell during a Jane’s show in Boston in September 2024. Following the incident, Jane’s canceled the remainder of their tour before breaking up for good.
In their suit, Navarro, Avery and Perkins accused Farrell of assault and blamed him for the demise of the tour and, ultimately, the band. In addition to claiming emotional and physical damage, Farrell’s former bandmates alleged he left them financially responsible for an album they could no longer provide to their record label.
Farrell, meanwhile, alleged that he was the one who was assaulted, and that his ex-bandmates repeatedly harassed and bullied him.
The dismissals follow joint statements from Jane’s and Farrell posted on Dec. 17, which indicated that the two parties had begun mending fences.
“Today we are here to announce that we have come together one last time to resolve our differences, so that the legacy of Jane’s Addiction will remain the work the four of us created together,” Jane’s said.
Farrell also apologized for his behavior at the Boston show, writing, “My aim has always been to give our audience the best possible show, something real, honest and positive. In Boston, we fell short of that, and I’m truly sorry to everyone who was impacted.”
The new movie Song Sung Blue has an unexpected connection to Eddie Vedder.
The film is a biopic about Lightning & Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute duo made up of couple Mike Sardina and Claire Sardina, played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, respectively. In the movie, Lightning & Thunder get their big break when they’re invited to open for Pearl Jam.
“This is true,” Song Sung Blue director Craig Brewer tells Entertainment Weekly. “Eddie Vedder is the MVP of Lightning & Thunder.”
Pearl Jam posted footage from the concert to their Facebook, which was previously used in a 2008 documentary about Lightning & Thunder also called Song Sung Blue.
As Brewer tells it, the doc was almost blocked by Diamond’s publishing company. However, Vedder personally appealed to Diamond, who told his team to stand down upon seeing it.
“Eddie … even to this day, has been such a support in telling the story of Lightning & Thunder, even to the extent of — we wanted to use the song ‘Alive’ off of his first album [Pearl Jam’s Ten],” Brewer says. “They have never licensed that song, ever. It’s always been an automatic no. And he gave it to us.”
Fabolous and fellow cohosts of the Let’s Rap About It podcast made light of 50 Cent‘s recent diss. In a new freestyle called “Squatters,” he addresses 50’s past relationship with ex Daphne Joy, who has been referenced in a lawsuit involving Diddy. Rapping over G-Unit‘s “Rider, Pt. 2,” Fab takes jabs at 50, rapping, in part, “You know I got power/ Your shorty got hot showered/ Catch her trying to leave like Tasha shot LaLa.”
Podcast cohosts Maino, Jim Jones and Dave East also appear on the freestyle, contributing their own subliminal shots. The freestyle follows claims by 50 that the group were “squatters” who hadn’t paid rent for the studio where they film their podcast. His remarks came in response to the hosts criticizing him for producing the Netflix documentary about Diddy, which they argued was unnecessary.
Tyler, The Creator also surprised fans on Christmas with the “Sag Harbor” freestyle, named after a village in the Hamptons in Long Island, New York. In it, he reflected on accomplishments in the past year, rapping, “Son got his fourth No. 1 in a row, I’m a champion/ Don’t tap the glassy, rather tap the pedal on the chassi.” He shared that he’s “on the road to doin’ stadiums” and thanked fans for a great 2025.
Lizzo is not surprised by Nicki Minaj‘s support of the current administration. When asked about it on her social media, she said, “Celebrities’ opinions of other celebrities [do] not matter.” She then added, “You’re about to see an influx of people who see that it is more profitable and more beneficial to join that side. You’re going to see it. It already started, and it’s going to continue.”
Olivia Dean just received a belated Christmas present: a #1 hit on a Billboard chart.
The British star has topped the publication’s Pop Airplay chart with “Man I Need,” her first song to ever make that chart. She’s the third new artist to hit #1 on Pop Airplay in 2025 to date, following fellow Brit Lola Young, who topped the chart with “Messy” in May and HUNTR/X from KPop Demon Hunters, who reached #1 with “Golden” in November.
Olivia also holds the final position on the chart, as her song “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” debuts at #40. Both songs are from her top-five album The Art of Loving.
Meanwhile, Olivia will compete for the best new artist Grammy in February, facing off against Lola Young, Alex Warren, sombr, Addison Rae, Leon Thomas III, KATSEYE and The Marías.
Lainey Wilson performs the halftime show during the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 25, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
The show was part of Snoop Dogg‘s Holiday Halftime Party, which took place during the Lions/Vikings game, streamed live on Netflix’s NFL Christmas Gameday. In addition to Lainey and Snoop, the show featured the voices of the KPop Demon Hunters group HUNTR/X as well as opera legend Andrea Bocelli and his son, Matteo Bocelli.
Dressed in white, Lainey made her entrance on a white sleigh driven across the field. Riding along in the back was her fiancé, former NFL player Devlin “Duck” Hodges, wearing a Santa suit with a cowboy hat. Wilson then performed “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” with a little help from Snoop.
On Instagram, Lainey called the experience “a Christmas we’ll never forget.” You can find multiple behind-the-scenes photos of Lainey, Duck, Snoop and all the other performers in her Instagram post.
Elton John performs at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, November 8, 2025 (Kevin Kane/Getty Images for RRHOF)
Elton John and Brandi Carlile released their Grammy-nominated joint album, Who Believe In Angels?, in 2025, but 2026 may bring us some Elton John solo music — and maybe even more than expected.
In a holiday video message to members of his Rocket Club fan club, Elton said, “I’ll be going to the studio next April to make a record. But I’ve already made one, which is fantastic. So I’m teasing you with that one.”
It’s not clear which projects Elton is referring to. In November, he told Variety, “I just can’t wait to go into the studio now and write some new songs and go from there.” He also mentioned he had “seven new lyrics” from Bernie Taupin to write music for.
Despite his retirement from touring, Elton revealed in his message that he has continued performing. “I’ve done 11 private shows this year,” he said, adding that he’s in “great voice and I enjoy playing with the band and on my own.” He also made a plug for his headlining appearance at the Rock in Rio festival in September. “Who would’ve thought?” he asked.
