Singer Taylor Momsen of the American band The Pretty Reckless performs live on stage in support of AC/DC during a concert at the Olympiastadion on June 30, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. Frank Hoensch/Redferns
The Pretty Reckless appears to have new music in the works.
The Taylor Momsen-led outfit has shared a static-filled video on Instagram, captioned simply, “FRIDAY.”
Fans in the comments are hoping this means we’ll be getting fresh Pretty Reckless material by the end of the week. The band’s most recent album is 2021’s Death by Rock and Roll.
If they were to put out a mysterious video along with a specific date and then not release new music then, well, that’d be more than just pretty reckless.
The Pretty Reckless is currently on tour in Europe opening for AC/DC.
Busta Rhymes continues to receive his flowers, as he’s been named the recipient of MTV’s first ever VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award. The rapper will be honored at the 2025 VMAs for his “boundary-breaking” impact on the culture and “an indomitable musical career,” according to a press release.
The 2025 VMAs will take place at New York’s UBS Arena on Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. ET, with LL COOL J serving as host. It will air on CBS, simulcast on MTV and stream on Paramount+.
Busta’s Visionary Award marks yet another recognition celebrating his contributions to music. His latest came Sunday when the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce executive board presented him with the Hip Hop Icon Award.
“TODAY WAS ANOTHER IMMACULATE AND GLORIOUS DAY!!! AGAIN I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL TO THE ENTIRE HARLEM WEEK BOARD FOR GRACING ME WITH THE 2025 HIP HOP ICON AWARD!!!!!” he reflected on Instagram. “AIN’T NOTHING BETTER THAN TO BE ABLE RECEIVE YOUR FLOWERS WHILE YOU CAN SMELL ‘EM IN AN ABUNDANCES!!!”
This follows the reception of his Hollywood Walk of Fame star in August and the President’s Lifetime Achievement honor in January. He’d also received the Global Icon Award at the 2024 MTV EMAs and the BET Lifetime Achievement Award back in 2023.
As Busta often says in his Instagram posts: “The blessings never stop so we never stop.”
Bon Jovi released their third studio album, Slippery When Wet, which wound up being a huge breakthrough for the band.
The album, produced by Bruce Fairbairn, spent eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard Albums chart, and was the band’s first #1 album.
It produced two #1 singles, “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer,” both of which were written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child. The album’s third single, “Wanted Dead or Alive,” was a top-10 hit, peaking at #7 on the Hot 100.
Slippery When Wet would go on to be Billboard’s top-selling album of 1987, and has since been certified 15-times Platinum by the RIAA.
Keith Urban‘s currently taking his High and Alive World Tour Down Under, and while he’s without a doubt the most well-known country star from Australia, he’s working to make sure he won’t be the last.
The “Straight Line” hitmaker is partnering with the Tamworth Country Music Festival to roll out the Keith Urban Rising Star Scholarship.
The winner will come to Nashville to perform, write and meet with music industry insiders, while also getting two days to record at Keith’s studio, The Sound.
“Sometimes all a musician needs is an opportunity to be heard or someone to help nurture their talent,” the superstar says. “Having the opportunity to do that not only inspires me, but I’m also hoping that in some way this scholarship will serve to inspire others.”
Tamworth is Australia’s largest and longest-running country music festival.
The application for the Keith Urban Rising Star Scholarship will be available online starting January 2026.
Sombr will be performing on the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.
The “back to friends” artist is part of a lineup that also includes Sabrina Carpenter, Alex Warren, Busta Rhymes, Ricky Martin and J Balvin with DJ Snake.
The VMA performance will mark sombr’s awards show debut. He’s also nominated for two VMAs: best new artist and best alternative for “back to friends.”
The 2025 MTV VMAs, hosted by LL COOL J, will air live coast-to-coast Sept. 7 on CBS and MTV at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. It will also stream on Paramount+.
The first performers for the MTV VMAs have been announced.
Sabrina Carpenter, Alex Warren and sombr will all take the stage at the event, airing live from New York’s UBS Arena next month. Alex is up for best new artist, best pop and song of the year for “Ordinary.” Sabrina’s up for eight Moon Persons, including video of the year for “Manchild.” Last year, she won song of the year for “Espresso.”
As for sombr, he’s up for best new artist and best alternative; the VMAs will mark his awards show debut.
Other performers include Ricky Martin, who will receive the Latin Icon Award. It was 26 years ago when he became the first Latin artist to win for best pop video and took home five awards in all. Busta Rhymes will also take the stage, and receive the Rock the Bells Visionary Award, while J Balvin will perform with DJ Snake.
Lady Gaga is the leading nominee this year: She has 12 nods, thanks to her visuals for her Bruno Mars collaboration “Die With a Smile” and her own “Abracadabra.” Fan voting is now open in 19 categories at vote.mtv.com.
LL COOL J will host the VMAs, which will air live coast-to-coast Sept. 7 on CBS and MTV at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. It will also stream on Paramount+.
The first performers for the MTV VMAs have been announced.
Sabrina Carpenter and Alex Warren will take the stage at the event, airing live from New York’s UBS Arena next month.
Alex is up for best new artist, best pop and song of the year for “Ordinary.” Sabrina’s up for eight Moon Persons, including video of the year for “Manchild,” from her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend. Last year, she won song of the year for “Espresso.”
Other performers include Ricky Martin, who will receive the Latin Icon Award. It was 26 years ago when he became the first Latin artist to win for best pop video and took home five awards in all. Iconic hip-hop star Busta Rhymes will also perform and receive the Rock the Bells Visionary Award.
Lady Gaga is the leading nominee this year: She has 12 nods, thanks to her visuals for her Bruno Mars collaboration “Die With a Smile” and her own “Abracadabra.” Fan voting is now open in 19 categories at vote.mtv.com.
LL COOL J will host the VMAs, which will air live coast-to-coast Sept. 7 on CBS and MTV at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. It will also stream on Paramount+.
‘Lost americana’ album artwork. EST 19XX/Interscope Records
Mgk‘s new album lost americana lands in the top five on the Billboard 200.
The follow-up to 2022’s mainstream sellout debuts at #4 on the chart with a total of 63,000 equivalent album unites, 40,500 of which were traditional album sales. That latter figure makes lost americana #1 on the Top Album Sales chart.
Lost americana gives mgk his seventh top-10 album on the Billboard 200. He’s hit #1 on the chart twice, with mainstream sellout and 2020’s Tickets to My Downfall.
‘Lost americana’ album artwork. EST 19XX/Interscope Records
Mgk‘s new album lost americana lands in the top five on the Billboard 200.
The follow-up to 2022’s mainstream sellout debuts at #4 on the chart with a total of 63,000 equivalent album unites, 40,500 of which were traditional album sales. That latter figure makes lost americana #1 on the Top Album Sales chart.
Lost americana gives mgk his seventh top-10 album on the Billboard 200. He’s hit #1 on the chart twice, with mainstream sellout and 2020’s Tickets to My Downfall.
Lost americana includes the lead single “cliché.”
In other charting news, BABYMETAL’s new record METAL FORTH debuts at #9 on the Billboard 200, giving the Japanese metal outfit their first top-10 album in the U.S. It moved a total of 36,000 equivalent album units, 33,500 of which were traditional album sales — both career highs.
METAL FORTH includes collaborations with Spiritbox, Poppy and Tom Morello.
Taylor Swift performs at The Eras Tour at Levi’s Stadium in July 2023 (Jeff Kravitz/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management )
Taylor Swift‘s appearance on the New Heights podcast on Aug. 13 had fans scrambling to comb through the singer’s ever utterance for possible Easter eggs, and what they’ve come up with is this: Taylor’s playing the Super Bowl halftime show in 2026.
Here’s why: The Super Bowl is going to take place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where the San Francisco 49ers play. During her appearance on New Heights, Taylor spoke at length about her love of baking sourdough bread, and said she thinks “about sourdough 60% of the time.” The mascot of the 49ers is Sourdough Sam, and 2026’s big game will mark Super Bowl 60.
Plus, fans noted that Taylor specifically threw the number “47” around during the interview. Levi’s Stadium just happened to be the 47th stop on her Eras Tour. In addition, if you add four plus nine, you get 13, and 2026 will be Travis Kelce‘s 13th season in the NFL.
All the chatter led to the 49ers posting a TikTok showing Levi’s Stadium, along with the sound, “What’s going on here? Why’s everyone acting weird towards me? No, seriously.”
By the way, the reason Taylor has never played the Super Bowl before this was that starting in 2013, she had a promotional deal with Diet Coke, and the halftime sponsor was Pepsi. When Pepsi’s sponsorship ended in 2023, Taylor was reportedly offered the gig, but declined so she could focus on her tour and rerecording her albums. Now that both of those projects are completed, it may clear the way for a Super Bowl show.
