Music

Kenny Chesney is a big Bruce Springsteen fan; he even mentions The Boss several times throughout his bestselling book, Heart Life Music. That’s why he’s pretty excited to be doing a podcast taping at the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music, located at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey.

Kenny will appear on an episode of Conversations with Our Curator, a chat that was arranged after the center noted how often Kenny mentioned Bruce in his book. 

“I love that Bruce is using his archives to create a space to honor American music, open up conversations about how it’s all interconnected,” Kenny says in a statement. “When I recorded [Bruce’s song] ‘One Step Up,’ I didn’t think about genre, just heart and how human the experience in the song was.”

“As it says in the book, when Bruce responded to my version of it, I realized all that passion, all that church revival energy Bruce brings onstage is the same thing as me singing what was a rock song,” he continues. “Good music really is all tangled up together, but united by its honesty and willingness to get real.”

Kenny continues his book tour with an event in New York City Tuesday.

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Rosé, Addison Rae and Role Model are among the 2025 Variety Hitmakers honorees. Rosé was named Global Hitmaker of the Year, Addison is getting The Future Is Female Award and Role Model will receive the Triple Threat of the Year Award. Previously announced honorees include Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae, Alex Warren and the three women who provide the singing voices of HUNTR/X, the animated group from KPop Demon Hunters. The 2025 Variety Hitmakers ceremony will take place Saturday in Los Angeles.

Madame Tussauds Las Vegas has debuted a new Lady Gaga wax figure, inspired by her Jazz & Piano Vegas residency. The figure depicts Gaga in a “blowing a kiss” pose, dressed in a rose gold gown, and sporting red lips and a blond bob.

Alex Warren tells Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in a new interview that he had an hourlong FaceTime call with his fellow best new artist Grammy nominees — including Addison Rae and sombr — after they got the news.

Charli XCX, along with Jack Antonoff and FKA twigs, contributed original music for the upcoming film Mother Mary. In a trailer released Tuesday, we see Anne Hathaway as a pop star who reunites with her former costume designer before a comeback performance. The film hits theaters in spring 2026.

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50 Cent, Chance the Rapper, BigXTthaPlug and Ciara will be celebrating the start of 2026 with ABC. They’re announced as part of the lineup for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2026. 

Other artists slated to perform include Leon Thomas, Lil Jon, Mariah Carey, plus a set from DJ Cassidy featuring Busta Rhymes, T.I. and Wyclef Jean.

The special airs on Dec. 31 starting at 8 p.m. ET, with live broadcasts taking place in New York’s Time Square, Las Vegas, Chicago and Puerto Rico.

Ryan Seacrest and Rita Ora will host from New York, while Chance will take on hosting duties in Chicago. In Sin City, Julianne Hough and football star Rob Gronkowski will entertain the crowd as they count down to the new year.

Details for the Puerto Rico celebration have not yet been announced.

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Artists including AJR, The All-American Rejects and 4 Non Blondes will perform during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2026.

The ABC TV special airs on Dec. 31 starting at 8 p.m. ET and will feature performances from Las Vegas, Chicago and Puerto Rico, along with the broadcast from New York City’s Times Square.

The bill also includes 50 Cent, Chappell Roan, Demi Lovato, Mariah Carey and Post Malone, among many others.

Ryan Seacrest and Rita Ora will host from NYC. Chance the Rapper will host from Chicago, while Julianne Hough and football star Rob Gronkowski will host from Vegas. More details for the Puerto Rico festivities will be announced shortly.

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Kelsea Ballerini wants fans to know that just because she isn’t sharing every detail of her life with them doesn’t mean she doesn’t love them.

While doing an “Ask Me Anything” session on her Instagram Story, Kelsea chose to answer the question, “How are YOU? You heal a lot of us. What do YOU need?” 

“Thank you for saying this and asking,” Ballerini replied. “I’m in a steady and happy place right now.” But, she added, “If I had one favor, it would be honoring that I’m trying to make my personal life personal for now. Unless it comes from me, it’s not from me, and that is really important in protecting my peace right now.”

Kelsea also gave an update when a fan asked her about her dog Dibs, who is battling cancer.  

“Baby boy is hanging tough,” she wrote. “Leaving him this morning for our two-week Australia stint was *very* tough, but he’s steady, still fighting the cancer and has incredible doctors and care (and grandma who is going to give him extra treats while I’m gone). All of the good, healing energy you can send his way is appreciated, as always.”

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The 50th anniversary of Iron Maiden is being celebrated with a new line of guitars from Fender.

The company has unveiled a new guitar collection to honor the heavy metal legends, including a limited-edition Masterbuilt Dave Murray Stratocaster from Fender Custom Shop, which mirrors guitarist Dave Murray’s favorite touring axe.

The line also includes two other limited-edition 50th anniversary Statocasters in honor of Murray and Janick Gers, as well as a bass for Steve Harris and a Jackson SC1 guitar in honor of Adrian Smith.

“Honoring Iron Maiden’s fifty years of pushing heavy metal forward, this collection brings together the signature instruments that helped define their unmistakable sound,” says Max Gutnik, chief product officer for Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. “These anniversary models are more than tributes, they are stage-ready tools built to inspire today’s players and the next generation.”

More info on the guitars can be found at fender.com.

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Lady Gaga is known for her elaborate stage productions, but they may never have happened if she hadn’t seen a performance by the Goo Goo Dolls when she was young.

The “Bad Romance” singer recently sat down with The Late Show host Stephen Colbert to answer his Colbert Questionnaire. She revealed that she was blown away by a certain aspect of her very first concert, which featured a performance by the “Iris” singers.

“They had snow and I was losing my mind,” Gaga said. “It was my first experience with, like, production in an arena. I was crying.” She added, “My mother was like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’”

Gaga also revealed during the questionnaire that her favorite smell is her fiancé Michael Polansky‘s neck, noting that he doesn’t wear cologne. Said Gaga, “I actually don’t like cologne. That’s my least favorite” smell.

Elsewhere Gaga shared that if she could only listen to one song for the rest of her life, she’d chose John Lennon‘s iconic tune “Imagine.”

Gaga, who was raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, notes, “I grew up very close to the John Lennon memorial, so that has, like, a significance to me.” She was likely referring to Strawberry Fields in New York’s Central Park, which features a mosaic memorial with the word “Imagine” in the center.

Finally, when asked to describe the rest of her life in five words, she offered, “It’s gonna be great, hopefully.”

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If you still aren’t in the holiday mood, tune into ABC’s CMA Country Christmas Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT for a dose of tinsel, mistletoe and festive music.

Filmed earlier this year in Nashville, the 2025 installment of the annual special is hosted by Jordan Davis and Lauren Daigle. It features performances by Megan Moroney, Riley Green, Parker McCollum, Lady A, Little Big Town, legendary New Orleans outfit Preservation Hall Jazz Band, gospel icon BeBe Winans, and husband-and-wife rockers Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks.

Among the performances you’ll see:
Jordan Davis and Little Big Town, “Go Tell It On The Mountain”

Lady A, “Wouldn’t Be Christmas,” “Angels (Glory to God)”

Parker McCollum, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”

Megan Moroney, “All I Want for Christmas Is a Cowboy”

Little Big Town, “If We Make It Through December”

Lauren Daigle, “Jingle Bells/What Child Is This/Winter Wonderland” medley

The show will be available Wednesday on Hulu and Disney+.

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Drake was the most-streamed artist on Apple Music in 2025, the streaming platform has revealed. It shared the news on social media as part of the announcement for its year-end Replay lists.

Drake’s songs have also made a couple of Apple’s lists, including Top Songs of 2025: Global and Top 100 2025: Shazam.

“Nokia,” “Somebody Loves Me” with PartyNextDoor, “God’s Plan” and “Best I Ever Had” are included in the global top songs chart, which also featured SZA and Kendrick Lamar‘s “Luther,” SZA’s “Good Days,” Travis Scott‘s “goosebumps” and Mariah the Scientist‘s “Burning Blue.”

“Nokia” also appeared on the top 100 Shazam songs list, along with Drake and Lil Wayne‘s collaboration “She Will,” Doechii‘s “Anxiety,” and Kendrick’s “Not Like Us,” “Luther” and “Money Trees” featuring Jay Rock. Mary J. Blige‘s “Family Affair” is also on the list.

Some of Apple Music’s other Replay lists include Most-Read Lyrics, Top 100: Sing and the Shazam Global Radio Spins.

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