Pharrell attends the 2025 Footwear News Achievement Awards at Cipriani 25 Broadway on December 03, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/WireImage)
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.
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.”
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 Daddypodcast, 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.”
Current members of Foreigner (photo credit: Krishta Abruzzini)
Foreigner is set to release a live version of their iconic track “Urgent,” featuring new lead singer Luis Maldonado.
The band announced that they’ll be releasing “Urgent (Live in Halifax 2025)” to streaming platforms on March 20. The song was previously only available on YouTube.
“Urgent is one of the most powerful songs we perform in our set. It always gets people up and engaged with the band. We take no prisoners when we play,” says Maldonado. “So with Urgent’s strong and steady beat, and [its] ‘catchy as hell’ melodies, it stands as a highlight of the evening.”
The performance was recorded during Maldonado’s first tour as the band’s frontman. He took over duties in October, replacing Kelly Hansen, who retired after 20 years with the band.
Foreigner is in the midst of their orchestral residency at The Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas, with the next show on Friday. They are also scheduled to perform the national anthem Sunday at the Pennzoil 400 NASCAR race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
This summer they’ll hit the road with Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Double Trouble Double Vision Tour, which starts July 23 in Atlanta.
311 celebrated 311 Day 2026 with shows in Las Vegas, which included performances with the Blue Man Group.
In other 311 news, the band has unearthed their throwback 7-Eleven-inspired T-shirt, which features the 311 name stylized like the convenience store franchise’s logo. The shirt is now available for the first time in nearly 30 years as an official collaboration with 7-Eleven.
Maino has responded to jabs 50 Cent made on “No More Tricks, No More Tries” featuring Max B and its accompanying video. In the diss track “Bleed Like Us,” he mentions the domestic violence allegations against 50, suggests he’s working alongside authorities and claims he’s lying about having been shot nine times. There’s also some wordplay including the titles of 50’s “Wanksta” and Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
The music video for Lil Baby’s “Mrs. Trendsetter” has dropped. It finds a woman waking up at 5 a.m. and making her way to the gym, where she, Lil Baby and a group of other women are seen exercising. She then follows up her workout by texting a group chat titled “Trendsetters,” which includes several different women who are masters in their fields. The video gives fans a glimpse of each of their respective days at work, with Lil Baby featured in most of the scenes. They eventually come together for a night out at a club and let loose.
Family, friends and supporters of Lil Poppa attended a Jacksonville City Council meeting Tuesday night to try to get a day declared in his honor. First Coast News reports they’re urging council members to create a remembrance day, Lil Poppa Day, on March 18, which was the rapper’s birthday. They note it could serve as inspiration for youth who watched Lil Poppa grow into national stardom while highlighting mental health awareness. Jacksonville City Council member Rahman Johnson said he’s been talking to the mayor’s administration about honoring Poppa with a remembrance day. A representative from the mayor’s office said they’re working on a proclamation to honor the late rapper.
Tyla’s “Chanel” leads Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart dated March 4. It’s now her second #1 on the list, following “Water.”
Clarence Clemons and Bruce Springsteen during Bruce Springsteen at Madison Square Garden, 2000 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by KMazur/WireImage)
Bruce Springsteen has released another classic concert as part of his Live Archives series.
The latest is The Boss’ June 22, 2000, concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the fifth show in his 10-night stand at the venue, which wrapped his reunion tour with The E Street Band.
The concert featured the live debut of “Another Thin Line,” a song he co-wrote with Joe Grushecky, as well as the concert debut of the ballad “Secret Garden,” from his 1995 Greatest Hits album. The show also featured a performance of “American Skin (41 Shots),” written in response to the killing of Amadou Diallo in New York City in 1999.
The 25-song set also included the Tracks tune “Don’t Look Back,” “Something in the Night” and a full band version of “Incident on 57th Street,” as well fan favorites like “The Promised Land,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Sherry Darling,” “Badlands,” “Thunder Road” and “Born To Run.” The show wrapped with “Land of Hope and Dreams.”
The concert is now available to stream or purchase on nugs.net.
Springsteen and The E Street Band are getting ready to head back out on the road. The Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour kicks off March 31 in Minneapolis and wraps May 27 in Washington, D.C. A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at BruceSpringsteen.net.
Poster for ‘Billy Idol Should Be Dead’ (Live Nation Studios)
After being released in theaters earlier in March, the new Billy Idol documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead is coming to streaming.
The film, directed by three-time Grammy winner Jonas Åkerlund, is set to debut on Hulu March 26.
To coincide with the announcement, a new clip from the film has just been released to YouTube, in which Idol discusses his idea of meshing dance music and punk rock, which led to him working with producers Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey.
Billy Idol Should Be Dead explores the rock star’s career and personal life, and features never-before-seen archival and personal interviews with Idol. The film also features interviews with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, The Who’s Pete Townshend, Miley Cyrus and others.
Idol was recently announced as one of the nominees for this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class. Voting is now open at RockHall.com.
Billie Eilish attends the 2024 Oscars (Disney/Chris Willard)
After winning multiple Oscars for movie songs, Billie Eilish may get a chance to compete in the acting categories.
ABC Audio has learned that Billie is in talks to make her film debut in an adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. Plath, a poet and author who died by suicide at age 30, wrote The Bell Jar in 1963 under a pseudonym. The semi-autobiographical novel was published a month before her death.
Oscar winner Sarah Polley will write the screenplay and direct the film; it’s not clear which role Billie will play.
Deadline was the first to report the news.
Billie got good reviews for her acting debut, which came in the 2023 Prime Video series Swarm. Her concert documentary HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR (LIVE IN 3D), which she co-directed with James Cameron, arrives in theaters May 8.
Nile Monitor lizard (1001slide/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)
(FLORIDA) — Another giant reptile is clawing its way toward disrupting the South Florida ecosystem as an invasive species.
The Nile monitor — a semi-aquatic lizard equipped with razor claws that can grow up to 6 feet — has been establishing populations in the area since the 1980s, according to ecology experts.
Endemic to the Nile river delta in Sub-Saharan Africa, the continent’s largest lizards arrived in Florida via the pet trade, through both intentional and unintentional release, Frank Mazzotti, a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Florida, told ABC News.
“They’re very wild, they’re very active,” Mazzotti said. “They don’t make good pets at all. They don’t calm down.”
The temperament of the giant lizards also makes them difficult to catch. Mazzotti described Nile monitors as “very strong” and “very aggressive.”
The reptiles will put up a fight and even bite humans who attempt to make contact with them, Mazzotti said.
“They’re crazy,” he said. “They’re very hard to handle, and you have to take great care that they don’t escape and that you don’t get bit.”
Monitor lizards are one of the high priority nonnative species for removal due to their potential impacts on native wildlife, Lisa Thompson, a communications specialist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Division of Habitat and Species Conservation, told ABC News via email.
Current management approaches focus on containing established populations and preventing the establishment of new populations, as well as recurring surveys and removals, Thompson noted.
Nile monitors are now established in Lee and Palm Beach Counties, with multiple sightings in Broward County as well. The FWC is also monitoring observations of the species in Miami-Dade County, according to Thompson.
The state’s humidity allows the Nile monitors to thrive, Mazzotti said.
“Their habitat requirements are met,” he said. “The climate’s a match.”
In addition, their diverse diet and ability to travel over land and in fresh and saltwater allows for potential establishment throughout Florida, especially in coastal areas with mangroves and salt marshes.
South Florida’s extensive canal system can provide ample corridor, and they have a high reproduction rate, according to the FWC.
The giant lizards are “generalist” feeders, meaning they aren’t picky about what they eat, Mazzotti said.
They have been observed to eat crabs, crayfish, mussels, snails, slugs, termites, caterpillars, beetles, spiders, grasshoppers and crickets, fish, frogs, toads, lizards, turtles, snakes, young crocodiles and other reptiles, birds and their eggs and small mammals, according to the FWC. They can hunt for prey on the surface, below ground and in trees.
Some researchers have even observed them eating iguana eggs, Mazzotti noted.
“They don’t care what they eat,” he said.
Due to their generalist diet, the invasive reptile could impact state and federally listed threatened species, including sea turtles, wading birds, gopher tortoises and the American crocodile, according to the FWC.
Biologists and ecologists are also concerned about burrowing owls, as their largest population also occurs where the largest known Nile monitor population also occurs.
Nile monitors are not protected in Florida, except by anti-cruelty laws, and can be humanely killed on private property with the landowner’s permission, according to the FWC.
It was added to Florida’s Prohibited Nonnative Species List in April 2021, which limits possession of Nile monitors for the purposes of research, educational exhibition, control or eradication.
Nile monitors are often olive green to black in color and have stripes on their jaw and head. They also have yellow-ish V-shaped stripes that begin at the base of its skull and neck and transform into “bands” along their back, according to the FWC.
They are often seen in or close to water and basking on rocks and branches, wildlife experts say.
The reptiles are usually active during the day and sleep on branches or submerged in water at night.
When temperatures drop, Nile monitors will retreat to burrows to keep warm, the FWC noted.
While they have not yet had demonstrated impacts on the ecosystem, it’s important to keep populations of Nile monitors under control before they disrupt an already delicate environment, Mazzotti said.
“You cannot wait until an invasive species has demonstrated its impact upon the ecosystem,” he said. “Because if you do, then it’s too late.”
