Carly Pearce and Riley Green bring a simmering intensity to their vocals in the first preview of their duet, “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay,” which officially drops Friday. 

“We’re getting close to losing clothes, I should go/ Look at the time, it’s getting late/ If I don’t leave, I’m gonna stay,” Carly sings as Riley adds harmony to the Dobro-heavy track. 

From the beginning, Carly had no question about who the other voice on the song should be. 

“I’ve always said this about the duets that I’ve been part of, but I just hear the voice in my head immediately,” she says. “And Riley was the voice that I heard, and I sent him a text and I said, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you will like this song and I’m sure you get asked to do a lot of things, but I really feel like this song is special.'”

Riley wasted little time getting back to her. 

“Truly, within five minutes, he texted me back and told me that he was in,” Carly says. “And about an hour later, I got a voice memo of him singing the chorus and I knew immediately that it was gonna be special.”

Carly and Riley both have stellar records when it comes to collabs. “I Hope You’re Happy Now” with Lee Brice and “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” with Ashley McBryde both went to #1 for Carly, while Riley can count “Half of Me” with Thomas Rhett, “Different Round Here” with Luke Combs, and “you look like you love me” and “Don’t Mind If I Do” with Ella Langley as his collaborative chart-toppers.

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Twenty One Pilots are performing at the 2026 NCAA March Madness Music Festival, taking place April 3-5 in Indianapolis.

The “Stressed Out” duo will take the stage during the AT&T Block Party, which is held April 3.

Entry to the concert is free, and you can also watch it streaming via NCAA.com.

The March Madness Music Festival coincides with the Final Four of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament.

You can also catch Twenty One Pilots at the upcoming Shaky Knees and Oceans Calling festivals, taking place in September.

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Pharrell and Slick Rick will be honored at the 2026 MOBO Awards, a British awards show that celebrates achievements in hip-hop, grime, R&B, soul, reggae and jazz.

Pharrell will be recognized for his songwriting, as he is set to receive the global songwriter award. “From era-defining productions to timeless global hits, Pharrell’s songwriting has shaped the sound of modern music and influenced generations of artists around the world,” the awards show’s Instagram announced Wednesday. “This honour celebrates a career built on creativity, innovation and an unmistakable musical legacy.”

Slick Rick has been named this year’s MOBO lifetime achievement award recipient. He’ll receive his flowers for the decades spent “shaping the culture with his storytelling, distinct style and unmistakable voice,” according to a post on the show’s Instagram.

The MOBO Awards will take place March 26 at Manchester’s Co-op Live with comedian Eddie Kadi and rapper Eve set to serve as hosts. The event, which marks its 30th anniversary, will also feature performances by Shenseea and Estelle.

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As Lamb of God readies their milestone 10th studio album with Into Oblivion — 12th if you count the two they released as Burn the Priest — frontman Randy Blythe considers each record a snapshot of the time in which it was made.

“It’s a picture of a moment in time, of where we were as a band, as human beings, as musicians,” Blythe tells ABC Audio.

That picture often includes Blythe’s commentary on the sociopolitical status of the time — 2004’s Ashes of the Wake, for example, reflects the U.S. under the George W. Bush administration, and Into Oblivion similarly comments on the second term of President Donald Trump. But while Blythe’s used big, landmark events such as the Iraq War to center his writing in the past, he refers to Trump as an “agent of chaos,” making him harder to write about.

“He governs by tweet,” Blythe laughs. “I don’t think he knows what he’s gonna do when he wakes up in the morning.”

He continues, “How are you supposed to have a cohesive picture when you sit down and you’re like, OK, if I write about this, by the time you get your finger firmly on any one issue, it has shifted.”

One thing that did help Blythe organize his thoughts was The Cure’s 2024 comeback album, Songs of a Lost World.

“On the night of the presidential election, I rode home the listening to the new Cure record on these back country roads,” Blythe says. “[It was a] very gothic atmosphere, and a sort of gothic overhanging atmosphere over the national psyche.”

After that, Blythe started to write the lyrics to the Into Oblivion song “Sepsis.”

“There’s an existential angst to the record, I think,” Blythe says. “At least my contribution to it.”

Into Oblivion drops Friday.

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Alex Warren’s night at the Grammys should have been a career high for him, but instead his performance of “Ordinary” was marred by technical difficulties. He was so down that he was convinced he was finished in the music industry.

On the latest episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, Alex tells host Alex Cooper that he was distraught after the performance.

“I did not want to look up. I did not want to talk to anybody. … It was really bad,” he says. “I literally over and over and over again said, ‘My career is over.'”

After posting a video explaining to fans what had happened, Alex deleted Twitter and all social media apps from his phone because he didn’t want to see what people were saying about him. When he finally checked in, he saw the video had “50 or 60 million views,” and everyone was supportive.

But what made him feel better, he says, was the support of his fellow artists, especially Chappell Roan. “She came up to me and she was, she was like, ‘Dude, like, if anyone understands, it’s the people in this room and you sounded amazing.’ … [She] was the sweetest ever and I was like, ‘I love you.'”

Alex also says Noah Kahan and Billie Eilish were very kind and sweet to him, but what finally pulled him out of his depression was a call from Grammy-winning singer Laufey.

“She gave me the coolest pep talk in the world,” Alex says. “Laufey called me and was just like, ‘I’m so proud of you. You don’t realize how many people you just helped. Imagine every kid who … does a talent show … and this happens to them and they think, “Wow, this can happen at the Grammys.”‘”

“I think it gives someone some motivation, and know that it’s OK and that stuff happens.”

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