Music

Live frontman Ed Kowalczyk has released a statement after the band’s former guitarist, Chad Taylor, issued a cease and desist over Kowalczyk’s use of the band name.

Kowalczyk has been touring as Live without the band’s other three founding members — Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey — since 2022. In filing the cease and desist, Taylor claims that Kowalczyk did not have the authority to fire him from the band as Kowalczyk said he did in 2022, and that he’s revoking Kowalczyk’s right to use the Live name as a founding shareholder of the company that owns the brand.

“The assertions contained in the recently circulated ‘cease and desist’ letter from certain former members of LIVE are without merit,” reads a statement from Kowalczyk’s lawyer, Mitchell Schuster of Meister Seelig & Fein, PLLC.

“Ed Kowalczyk has served as the band’s frontman since its founding and remains in that role,” the statement continues. “The claims made do not alter that reality. We intend to address this matter through the appropriate legal channels and are confident it will be resolved in Ed’s favor in court.”

Kowalczyk did leave Live 2009 and faced legal proceedings from the other members of the band over use of the Live name in relation to his solo shows. He reunited with Live in 2016.

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BLACKPINK has become the first artist in the world to surpass 100 million YouTube subscribers.

According to YG Entertainment, the K-pop group hit the milestone on Friday, roughly nine years and eight months since the channel was first launched on June 28, 2016.

The achievement comes ahead of the release of the group’s third mini album, [DEADLINE], which comes out on Feb. 27. Since the album announcement video was released on Jan. 15, their channel has reportedly gained an average of 10,000 new subscribers per day.

BLACKPINK also has 50 videos with over 100 million views each, and their channel as a whole has racked up 41.1 billion views. They currently hold the Guinness World Record for most viewed band on YouTube.

[DEADLINE] will have five tracks: “GO,” “JUMP,” “Me and My,” “Champion” and “Fxxxboy.”

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After Corey Kent teased his new song “Empty Words” on his socials, fans went crazy, so he rushed it out ahead of schedule.

“If I could’ve handpicked one song for you guys to care about, it would’ve been ‘Empty Words,’” Corey writes on Instagram. “And then you guys went and blew it up before it even came out! Then you guys stayed patient as I finished it and now I’m so stoked to type these words, ‘Empty Words’ is out now.”

In a statement, Corey says that the song is “really special” because it “says something heavy yet simply.” In it, he sings, “She’s over empty words/ Half-heart apologies/ My broken promises/ My don’t give up on me’s … I’m in this empty bed/ ‘Cause she’s over empty words.”

Meanwhile, Corey’s already climbing the charts with another song: his Koe Wetzel collaboration, “Rocky Mountain Low.” Both songs are Corey’s first new music since his 2025 EP, Poster Child.

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Two Door Cinema Club has announced a concert at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

The show takes place Sept. 27 and will feature a full-album performance of the band’s 2010 debut album, Tourist History, as well as songs from throughout their career. Phantogram will also be on the bill, among others.

“MSG is one of those bucket list venues for any artist,” Two Door Cinema Club says in a statement. “After we sold out [NYC venue] Webster Hall in 2010, we took a walk past The Garden one night and our agent said, ‘This time next year, boys!’ It only took a few extra years to get there, but here we are! We love NYC and we really can’t wait for this one.”

You can register now for a presale that begins Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. ET.

For all ticket info, visit TwoDoorCinemaClub.com.

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Morgan Wallen’s “20 Cigarettes” has burned its way to the top. The song, from his album I’m the Problem, has become his 20th song overall to hit #1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart.

“20 Cigarettes” is Morgan’s sixth #1 on that chart from the album; he also scored six Country Airplay number ones with his previous album, 2023’s One Thing at a Time. Billboard notes that Morgan is now the first artist ever to have two albums send six songs each to the top of that chart.

Meanwhile, I’m the Problem has been officially declared the second-biggest-selling global album of 2025 by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. The only album that outsold it was Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl.

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Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift are showing their support for Olympic gold medalists.

Selena gave a shoutout to U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu, who won gold following her free skate on Thursday. The singer shared a post on Instagram of Alysa quoted as saying “where’s my lipstick?” along with a photo of her holding a lipstick from Selena’s Rare Beauty brand.

“Congratulations @alysaxliu. (She’s just like me fr),” Selena wrote.

Meanwhile, Taylor popped up in the Instagram comments of skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who won the gold in slalom Wednesday, and became the most decorated skier in Olympic history and the first U.S. skier to win three Olympic golds. Mikaela posted a photo of herself on the slopes, captioning it with the Taylor lyric, “my advice is always ruin the friendship.”

Taylor commented, “HISTORIC,” with three gold medal emojis.

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SZA appears on the soundtrack for Disney and Pixar’s Hoppers in a song titled “Save the Day.” A die-cut vinyl shaped like the character Mabel is available for preorder at Disney Music Emporium. The soundtrack and the film arrive on March 6. Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Don Toliver has taken a brief break from promoting his album Octane for a soundtrack feature. “Creepin,” which he helped to produce, is his original song for Scream 7. The movie will premiere in theaters on Feb. 27.

Yung Miami follows her surprise drop “News Flash” with the release of “Tea Time.” The song was originally teased on social media and has arrived following fan demand.

Jay-Z’s celebrating three decades of his song “Dead Presidents” by making it available on streaming services. The track drops on DSPs exactly 30 years from the day of its original release. There are also vinyl, cassette and CD editions available.

Ty Dolla $ign teams with Leon Thomas for a new song that seems to be from his upcoming album, girl music vol. 1. “Miss u 2” arrives with an accompanying music video. girl music vol. 1 is set to arrive on March 6.

Other releases:

Mozzy & EST Gee, Not a Chance in Hell

Larry June, Curren$y & The Alchemist, Spiral Staircases

Jorja Smith, “Don’t Leave“

Reason, Don’t Play with My Heart

Killer Mike & Lena Byrd-Miles, “Spying Eyes (Smiling Faces)“

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The long saga of legal drama within the band Live now has a new chapter.

Former guitarist Chad Taylor has filed a cease and desist letter over frontman Ed Kowalczyk’s continued use of the Live band name. It comes after Kowalczyk, who formed the group with Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey, claimed majority control of Live in 2022 and fired Taylor from the band. Kowalczyk has been touring as Live without the three other founding members ever since.

Taylor, who posted the cease and desist letter to his Instagram, now says, “I was not ‘fired.’ Ed never had the authority to remove me.”

“I remain a founding shareholder and director of Action Front Unlimited, Inc. — the company that owns the LIVE name and trademarks,” Taylor writes. “As of Feb 16, 2026, his rights to use the LIVE brand were revoked by AFU.”

He continues, “I won’t fight this in public. The courts will handle it. Thank you for the support while we work toward properly restoring LIVE.”

Gracey also posted the letter while declaring, “Your license is revoked.”

ABC Audio has reached out to Live’s rep for comment.

Kowalczyk previously left Live in 2009 and faced legal proceedings over his use of the band name in relation to his own solo shows. He reunited with Live in 2016.

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SZA is here to “Save the Day.”

The singer has released her new track from the upcoming Disney/Pixar animated film Hoppers.

Her contribution to the soundtrack was a full-circle moment for director Daniel Chong, who listened to SZA’s music while making the film.

“SZA’s music saved me during the making of this movie,” Chong says in a statement. “It was a lifeline during the stress of the filmmaking process, a voice that comforted and inspired me through it all. It felt so perfect to have an original song by SZA, to have her give voice to the movie and its hopeful themes.”

He says the song perfectly captures the emotional journey of the film’s main character, Mabel, an animal lover who uses new technology to “hop” into the mind of a robotic beaver and communicate directly with the animals.

The movie’s soundtrack, featuring an original score composed by Mark Mothersbaugh, debuts the same day as the movie, March 6. A special “Save the Day” vinyl shaped like Mabel is now available for preorder exclusively at Disney Music Emporium.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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