Cody Johnson performs on ABC’s ‘CMA Fest presented by SoFi’ (Disney/Connie Chornuk)
When Cody Johnson recorded his current top-10 hit for Leather Deluxe Edition, it was a decision he made quite intentionally, because he connected so much with the message of “The Fall.”
“I was in the mode of cutting an album and saying, ‘This is what I want people to hear,'” he recalls. “I want people to know that the ride is worth the fall.”
“The hardships, yeah, it feels like hell when you’re going through the hardships, but when you look back at them, without those hardships, you wouldn’t have the successes that you have and you wouldn’t appreciate ’em as much,” he adds.
Cody was on a career high last year when faced his own fall: He suffered a burst eardrum, which forced him to have surgery and cancel the rest of his shows for the year.
When he returned to the stage in mid-February, however, he was welcomed back with a string of sold-out shows, including his March RodeoHouston date, which now holds the record as the largest concert in the history of Houston’s NRG Stadium.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band ‘Live From Asbury Park 2024’ (Legacy Recordings)
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are set to release their historic 2024 Sea.Hear.Now festival performance in Asbury Park, New Jersey, on CD.
Live From Asbury Park 2024 is already being released as a five-LP set on Record Store Day, April 18, but it will now also be released as a three-CD set on May 29.
Recorded during Springsteen and the band’s September 2024 Jersey Shore homecoming, the release features more than three hours of music. It includes performances of classic Springsteen tunes like “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Hungry Heart” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.”
There are also performances of early Springsteen tracks like “Blinded by the Light,” “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?,” “The E Street Shuffle” and “Meeting Across the River.”
Springsteen and The E Street Band are currently on their Land of Hope and Dreams American tour. The trek hits Inglewood, California, on Tuesday and Thursday. A complete list of dates can be found at BruceSpringsteen.net.
Matt Nathanson performs during ‘The Music of Billy Joel’ at Carnegie Hall on March 12, 2026 in New York City. (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
At the Billy Joel charity tribute concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in March, many fans felt that one of the standout performers on the bill was Matt Nathanson, best known for his 2008 hit “Come On Get Higher.” It turns out Matt was so inspired by performing Billy’s songs at the event that he’s recorded an EP of the Piano Man’s songs.
Called Songs in the (M)Attic — a twist on the title of Billy’s 1981 live album, Songs in Attic — the six-track EP, which arrives April 17, features cover art identical to Billy’s 1982 album, The Nylon Curtain.
On Instagram, Matt calls Billy “one of the greatest songwriters of our (and any) time,” adding that he’s “so proud” of the EP and “so fired up and inspired by it.”
The track list includes the two songs Matt performed at Carnegie Hall — “I Go to Extremes” and “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” — as well as “Pressure,” “The Longest Time,” “Uptown Girl” and “Only the Good Die Young.” “Uptown Girl” and “Only the Good Die Young” are both available on digital platforms now.
Leading up to the announcement of the EP, Matt documented his fall into what he calls the “Joel Hole,” doing deep dives on Billy’s songs to highlight the brilliance of his writing.
The EP is also available to preorder on vinyl. Meanwhile, Matt will spend the summer opening for Train, whose lead singer, Pat Monahan, also performed at the Carnegie Hall tribute.
Despite Billy’s popularity, not many people have recorded cover versions of his songs. A few of the notable artists who have include Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Barry White and Beyoncé.
Luigi, Yoshi, Mario and Toad in ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.’ (Nintendo, Illumination)
Nintendo? More like Ninten-dough. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has taken over the top spot at the box office in the year’s biggest global film debut.
The animated sequel to 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie took in just under $131 million domestically in its first weekend, and worldwide, it earned $372.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo. As perVariety, that’s the biggest debut of the year, smashing the record previously set by Project Hail Mary. The Ryan Gosling sci-fi film took in just over $97 million worldwide when it debuted in March.
The Super Mario franchise is now the only animated franchise to have two installments each open with over $350 million globally, notes Variety.
Project Hail Mary slipped to #2 this weekend with $30.6 million, while A24’s new Robert Pattinson/Zendaya dark comedy, The Drama, debuted at #3 with just under $14.4 million.
The only other new debut in the top 10 was A Great Awakening, a historical drama about the real-life friendship between Benjamin Franklin and English priest and preacher George Whitefield. It came in at #6 with $2.1 million.
Here are the top 10 films at the box office:
1. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie — $130.9 million 2. Project Hail Mary — $30.65 million 3. The Drama — $14.38 million 4. Hoppers — $5.8 million 5. Reminders of Him –– $2.2 million 6. The Great Awakening — $2.11 million 7. They Will Kill You — $1.9 million 8. Dhurandhar The Revenge — $1.82 million 9. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come —$1.8 million 10. Undertone — $1.07 million
Goo Goo Dolls singer John Rzeznik performs on ABC’s ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2026′ (Disney/Chris Willard)
Goo Goo Dolls have been forced to cancel the rest of their current Canadian tour, because singer John Rzeznik has contracted pneumonia.
A statement on Instagram says that the singer “has not fully recovered,” adding, “We are very disappointed and can’t wait to get back to Canada as soon as possible.” All tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase.
The tour, which launched March 19 with Dashboard Confessional sharing the bill, was set to wrap up April 11 in Moncton, New Brunswick. Goo Goo Dolls are next set to play five shows at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas starting May 15.
Meanwhile, the band’s summer tour with Neon Trees is scheduled to launch July 24 in Lincoln, California.
Musical guest Jack White, host Jack Black, and Marcello Hernández during ‘Saturday Night Live’ promos on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Rosalind O’Connor/NBC)
The latest episode of Saturday Night Live was definitely jacked.
Jack White was the musical guest, officially joining SNL’s musical guestFive-Timers Club as solo artist, while making his sixth appearance overall; he’d also performed with The White Stripes in 2002. Meanwhile, the similarly named Jack Black hosted the episode, which marked his induction into the Five-Timers Club as a host.
In Black’s opening monologue, the Tenacious D frontman was brought into the Five-Timers Club lounge, which had fallen into a state of disrepair. Black then declared he was going to fix the lounge by “singing the most rocking song,” before launching into the Stripes’ signature hit “Seven Nation Army,” as White joined in on guitar.
“We’ll be White Black!” Black quipped as the monologue ended.
White later returned to stage for the live debut of his two new singles, “G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs” and “Derecho Demonico.” The songs, which dropped Friday, mark White’s first new material since his 2024 album, No Name.
White also appeared in a sketch called “Words to Live By,” in which Black and cast members Andrew Dismukes and James Austin Johnson sang a country song about being told something important and significant, but they can’t remember exactly what they were told. It’s basically like how Tenacious D’s “Tribute” doesn’t sound anything like the greatest song in the world — it’s just a tribute.
White showed up towards the end of the sketch to perform a guitar solo, but in keeping with the theme of the song, he couldn’t remember how it went.
If that wasn’t enough Jack White for you, you can catch him performing Monday on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
A Palestinian mother hugs her child as eight children evacuated from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah Border Crossing during 2023 land attacks due to health issues return to Gaza after completing treatment, coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, Palestine, on March 30, 2026. (Photo by Hani Alshaer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — When Sundus al Kurd and her daughter Bissan were separated at the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, she wasn’t sure she’d see her again. Bissan was only a few days old when her mother allowed her to be medically evacuated from the Gaza strip to Egypt.
The premature baby’s life was saved, along with others, by the World Health Organization and Palestinian Red Crescent during the height of the conflict, but now the two have been reunited.
“After all this time, my daughter is finally back in my arms!” al Kurd, a young Palestinian mother, exclaims as she held her child for the first time in over two years.
“Every day, I lived with fear — fear that I might never hold her again, fear that she might forget me. But the moment I held her in my arms again, it felt like she had never been away. That moment was complete joy!” the 27-year-old al Kurd told ABC News.
Bissan, who has spent the last 2 1/2 years in Egypt, had been one of 33 premature babies trapped inside the Al Shifa hospital as the Israeli military laid siege to it in November 2023.
“Being reunited with my daughter is something I cannot fully describe. It is a mix of relief, love, and something deeper — like life returning to me after being paused for years,” al Kurd said.
“The first night we spent together was very emotional. I couldn’t sleep. I kept watching her, holding her, making sure she was really there beside me. I was afraid to close my eyes, as if it was all a dream that might disappear,” she said.
Bissan’s life had been in imminent danger in November 2023, doctors said. The neonatal unit she was in at Al Shifa hospital was running out of fuel and oxygen, cut off by the Israeli army, which had encircled the hospital, saying that Hamas had a hidden command center in its precincts, something both Hamas medical teams there strongly denied.
“They were meant to die without incubators, without oxygen, without water, but they survived every single stage of this terrible reality,” Dr. Ahmed Mokhallalati, the former head of plastic surgery at Al Shifa Hospital, told ABC News.
Mokhallalati was one of the few doctors who remained at Al Shifa throughout the Israeli siege.
“Most of the doctors were surgeons, not even pediatricians, but we felt we had to do our best to keep these kids alive,” he said. “We felt these kids were like our own babies. Every morning, we would go just to make sure they were still alive.”
He said that the extreme danger of the situation forced some parents to abandon their babies.
“There were no parents because the hospital was bombed and people were forced to flee to save their other children,” Mokhallalati said. “In the calculus of survival, mothers fled with the children who could run and left behind those who could not, making an impossible choice.”
The premature babies were left fighting for their lives for days, with one doctor and six nurses caring for them in ever-worsening conditions, he said.
“We did not know their names, we did not know their parents. They had no one to take care of them. They were wearing only small wristbands, usually with their mothers’ names, and that was the only thing we knew about them,” Mokhallalati said.
Not all the babies survived those difficult days. Five died as the team struggled to keep them fed and warm, but Mokhallalati was amazed that so many of the babies made it.
“They were meant to die at many stages but they survived every single challenge,” adding, “They were the only feeling of hope we had in all of this chaos and destruction.”
On Nov. 19, 2023, they were rescued after the WHO and the Palestinian Red Crescent were given access to the hospital. They carried the precious cargo through a war zone to a hospital in Rafah, in southern Gaza, before taking them across the border to Egypt, officials said.
“Twenty-eight were evacuated to Egypt, but seven more died there due to the difficult conditions, leaving 21 survivors. Of those, 11 have now returned on March 30, while four others came back earlier when Rafah crossing opened, and six remain in Egypt with their families,” Dr. Ahmed Al-Farra, the head of pediatrics and neonatal care at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, told ABC News.
Among those returning was 2-year-old Azzhar Kafarna. Her mother, Heba Saleh, described the ordeal of their separation to ABC News.
“For two and a half years, I felt something missing all the time,” she said.
“I missed everything — her first smile, her first steps, even the little things that any mother waits for. I used to imagine her … how she looks now, how her voice sounds, and if she would recognize me when we finally meet,” Saleh said.
She was nervous about their reunion, “When I saw her again, I didn’t know what to feel. I just hugged her tightly. It felt like I was holding all the days we lost in that one moment.”
Al-Farra examined all the toddlers when they returned to Gaza this week.
“All of the children are in generally good condition, with normal weight and growth, but many are facing complications linked to extreme prematurity,” he said.
Al-Farra says many of them, “have vision problems and need glasses because their eye nerves were not fully developed,” like Bissan, who wears a bright red pair of spectacles.
However, not all of them have come back to happy reunions.
“I don’t think all of these children have parents to return to. Some of their families were likely killed during the war,” Al-Farra said.
“In one case, there is real confusion over the child’s identity, with more than one person claiming the baby. We are still trying to identify the family, but without access to DNA testing in Gaza, we cannot confirm who the child belongs to,” he said.
Fear returning to Gaza
Both the mothers ABC News spoke with were nervous about their children returning to Gaza.
“As a mother, I feel everything at once. I’m happy she’s finally with me … but at the same time, I feel guilty, even though I had no choice. I keep thinking about all the moments I wasn’t there for.” Saled said.
“And of course, I’m worried about raising her in Gaza. I want her to feel safe, to live a normal life, but the situation here is not easy,” Saled said.
That sentiment was echoed by al Kurd.
“I am also worried. My daughter has never heard the sound of bombing before. I am afraid of how she might react if she experiences it here in Gaza. This fear is always in my heart.”
“I wish for my daughter to have a better future, a life that is safer and more stable than the one we are living now,” al Kurd said.
Highly Suspect has premiered a new single called “Wasted.”
The track features lead vocals by bassist Rich Meyer. It follows the February release of the song “Yellow Roses.”
“We just gonna keep making stuff, on our terms, and adding to our discography every month,” frontman Johnny Stevens writes in an Instagram post. “Or whenever we feel like it. We’re just doing what we want.”
The most recent Highly Suspect album is 2024’s As Above, So Below.
Bruce Springsteen performs onstage during the Academy Museum 5th Annual Gala in Partnership with Rolex at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 18, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures)
Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to Israeli-born musician Suki Lahav, who passed away at age 74. Lahav was briefly a member of The E Street Band in the mid ’70s, and her violin work is heard in the opening of his Born to Run track “Jungleland.”
“Here on E Street, we’re heartbroken over the passing of Suki Lahav,” Springsteen wrote on social media. “Her angelic voice shone on 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) and her beautiful violin brought great drama to the Jungleland intro. She also blessed our stage with her beauty and grace in our early touring days.”
He added, “She was a wonderful friend, may she rest with the angels.”
In an earlier post, the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music noted that Lahav “contributed to the early sound of Bruce Springsteen’s breakthrough era.”
“Lahav went on to become a major figure in Israeli music and literature, leaving behind a lasting legacy as both a songwriter and poet,” the post added.
Josh Ross’ current single, “Hate How You Look,” is climbing the chart, and he’s just dropped a new single called “Give ‘Er Hell.” The Canadian singer says in a statement, “I’ve had moments where things weren’t going my way, and this song came from that place. It’s about digging deep, trusting yourself, and giving it everything no matter what – even if sometimes that fire in you ends up being the reason you lose something good.”
Lee Brice is out with a new song called “When the Kingdom Comes,” which was co-written by his wife, Sara Brice, among others. Lee says in a statement, “I love music and I work hard at having success at it. It’s a part of who I am, it’s in my bones. But this specific song has a much bigger purpose. I feel like all that I have worked for and all that I have hoped for comes down to the message this song hopefully relays – God has always had a plan.” Lee adds, “If only one person is changed or brought closer to Jesus, His message and the Kingdom [by hearing this song], then it will be all I ever wanted it to be.”
Billy Ray Cyrus has announced a new album called The Hill, due June 16. He also dropped the first single, a duet with daughter Noah Cyrus called “On Our Way Along,” co-written and co-produced by Billy Ray’s son Braison Cyrus. The Hill is the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer’s first new collection of studio material in 14 years. According to a press release, it’s a “return to his Nashville songwriting roots.” Billy Ray says of the song, “It’s a celebration of all things music and family. Made from the heart… for the heart.”
