Music

After announcing Jay-Z as a headliner, Roots Picnic has unveiled the full lineup for its 2026 event.

Erykah Badu will headline May 31, following Hov’s May 30 set celebrating 30 years of Reasonable Doubt. The lineup also includes Kehlani, Brandy, T.I., Mariah the Scientist, Jermaine Dupri & Friends, De La Soul and Bilal.

During the festival Adam Blackstone will present a tribute to the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, featuring Yolanda Adams, Ledisi, Tamar Braxton and Andra Day. A segment celebrating 50 years of Go-Go is also planned, hosted by Noochie and Kenny Burns, and presented by Baller Alert and Front Porch.

DJ sets will come from Funk Flex, DJ Miss Milan, DJ Kid Roc and Infinite Coles, the son of Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah, among others.

The Roots Picnic will take place May 30-31 at the Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia. Tickets are on sale now.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Is Robert Smith’s collaboration with Olivia Rodrigo going from the stage to the studio?

The Cure frontman memorably joined the pop star during her headlining set at Glastonbury 2025 to perform “Friday I’m in Love” and “Just Like Heaven.” As Smith tells British Vogue for a profile on Rodrigo, they have kept in touch following the show.

“She calls me up quite a bit to talk about clothes and fashion – and we have enjoyed a couple of memorable nights in the studio together,” Smith says. “I can’t wait to hear what she does next!”

Smith adds that he purchased Rodrigo’s two albums, SOUR and GUTS — “both on CD!” he says — after hearing her hit “drivers license.”

“Although most of the songs on those two albums are not really ‘aimed at my demographic'(!), they are all so good that it is hard not to fall in love with them,” Smith says.

Perhaps we will hear a collaboration on Rodrigo’s next album.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The new track from Ella Langley unexpectedly shines some light on why she took time off the road back in August.

“Loving Life Again” was written with ERNEST and Devin Dawson after a short sabbatical in her home state.

“Last year, I just kind of lost my mind a little bit,” Ella says in a news release. “My imposter syndrome kicked in. My life was moving faster than ever. All my dreams were coming true, but I felt sad for some reason, and just that in itself was frustrating. … I never cancel anything, maybe one or two shows the whole time, and I ended up canceling two weeks worth.”

“So I did that, I came back here,” she continues. “I closed on my first house here in Alabama coincidentally right around the same time, and I really just got to be back home with my family. I got to grow my relationship with my faith. When I looked in the mirror I looked like myself again by the end of those two weeks.”

“Looks like I’m back to [loving] life again” was Ella’s answer one day when ERNEST asked her how she was doing. 

“Loving Life Again” arrives with a music video Ella shot barefoot at her grandpa’s piano in a field in Alabama. It’s the latest preview track of her second album, Dandelion, which drops April 10.   

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After releasing three EPs, Myles Smith is finally putting out his debut album.

The “Stargazing” singer announced on Instagram that My Mess, My Heart, My Life will be out June 12. He wrote, “If I’m being honest, I’m still figuring all of this out. I don’t have all the answers. Just feelings, moments, and experiences that I’ve been trying to make sense of for a long time. These songs came from that. From growth, from mistakes, from healing, from hurt. Sometimes all at once.”

“And even though things might look different now, I’m still learning in real time. Still understanding myself. Still finding my way, just like you,” he continues. “That’s why this doesn’t feel like just my album. It feels like something we’ve grown into together.”

He concludes, “If you’ve ever felt like you’re still piecing things together, like you don’t quite have it all worked out yet… you’re not alone in that. I’m right there with you. Always.”

He added in the comments, “Thank you to everyone for getting me here. Genuinely this is all cause of ya’ll. hope you stick around for this thing we’re building pooks x.” Myles calls his fans “pookies.”

You can now sign up on Myles’ website for presale access to his upcoming North American tour. The presale starts March 25 at 10 a.m. local time. The tour starts June 16 in Irving, Texas, and is set to wrap Aug. 26 in Philadelphia. In between dates, he’ll be opening for Ed Sheeran on Ed’s LOOP Tour.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

If you ever wondered what Ice Nine Kills would sound like if they were from the 1980s, we finally have an answer.

The horror-themed outfit has unearthed a new song called “Hell or High Slaughter” recorded by a hair metal band called Grave Diggler, which, according to a press release, featured the fathers of every INK member.

However, as seen in the “Hell or High Slaughter” video, the Grave Diggler members look an awful lot like Spencer Charnas and company in Mötley Crüe-esque wigs.

“What people don’t know is that the way that Ice Nine Kills actually met is that all of our fathers were in Grave Diggler,” Charnas, ever committed to the bit, says in a statement.

You can watch the “Hell or High Slaughter” video on YouTube. The song is also featured in the new horror movie sequel Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, in theaters now.

Ice Nine Kills released a new song called “Twisting the Knife” for another horror film, Scream 7, in February.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 



Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Cannons have released a new song called “Light as a Feather,” a track off the band’s upcoming album, Everything Glows.

“Opening in slow-motion with keyboards sighing behind twinkling stereoscopic guitars, [‘Light as a Feather’] soon explodes into a dance anthem,” a press release reads.

A visualizer for “Light as a Feather” is now available on YouTube.

Everything Glows, the follow-up to 2023’s Heartbeat Highway, drops March 27. It also includes the previously released songs “Starlight,” “All I Need” and “These Nights.”

Cannons will launch a U.S. tour with Bob Moses on March 31 in Phoenix.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As BTS gets ready to headline their Netflix concert, THE COMEBACK LIVE, on Saturday, one of their members is nursing an injury.

The band’s record label, Big Hit, has announced that RM injured his ankle during rehearsals for the concert and was taken to the hospital. He was diagnosed with a sprain and a partial ligament tear. He will have to wear a cast and “strictly limit movement” for two weeks.

While RM will still take part in the Netflix concert, the statement noted that his “on-stage performance, including choreography, will be partially limited.”

RM shared a photo of the medical walking boot he’s now wearing on his left foot following his injury. During a live session with the group, he told fans, “I’m not able to perform right away, but I’ll be on stage … I’ll be singing and hyping everyone up. I’ll try hard to recover for the [tour], so please don’t worry because it’s not … serious.”

The special, BTS’ first full concert as a group since 2022, coincides with the release of their new album, ARIRANG.

BTS’ THE COMEBACK LIVE debuts Saturday at 7 a.m. ET.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Many people have been inspired by Adele’s vocals, but Shakira has apparently been inspired by her concert venue.

This fall she’ll be performing a three-night residency in Madrid, Spain, at Shakira Stadium, a temporary venue that can hold more than 50,000 fans per night. The space will be similar to the purpose-built stadium space used by Adele when she played her residency in Munich, Germany, in 2024.

The three-night residency runs Sept. 25, 26 and 27, and marks Shakira’s first performances in Spain in eight years. The event will be “an immersive cultural destination,” according to a press release. In addition, Shakira will curate a series of activities across Madrid encompassing concerts, exhibits, talks, workshops, movies, food and literature, called “Es Latina.”

A ticket presale begins Tuesday via Ticketmaster, followed by the general sale March 27 at livenation.es.

The residency will mark the final dates of Shakira’s current tour, which has become the highest-grossing tour ever by an Hispanic artist.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Latto’s Big Mama nickname has taken on a new meaning: she’s expecting her first child.

She revealed the news on her new single “Business & Personal (Intro),” where she reflects on her growth, success and resilience despite critics and humble beginnings.

“Car seat, got a kid on the way (Kid on the way),” she raps, later adding, “This baby ain’t slowing s*** down but the horsepower.” She also mentions the pregnancy in lines about “tryna hide my belly” and taking prenatal vitamins.

The music video further confirms the news, blending childhood home footage with present-day scenes. It opens with Latto painting on her bedroom floor and later shows her preparing a crib, and putting together a scrapbook with baby photos and a positive pregnancy test. In other moments, she flexes her changing body while tending to her garden and counting money.

“Business & Personal” serves as the lead single for Latto’s upcoming album, Big Mama, arriving on May 29. The cover art features her holding a baby cheetah with her baby bump on display.

Latto has not identified the father of her child. She confirmed to TMZ in September that she was in a relationship with 21 Savage, calling him “my man, my man, my man.” Fans believe he’s included in the music video, using his tattoos as clues and pointing to his baby photos in Latto’s scrapbook.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.