Ravyn Lenae performs at Madison Square Garden on December 12, 2025 in New York City. (Kevin Kane/WireImage)
Ravyn Lenae had a huge year: her song “Love Me Not” was a worldwide smash, she got to open for Sabrina Carpenter and Reneé Rapp and she headlined her own sold-out tour. But even with so many highlights, the singer says there’s one specific thing that stood out for her as the #1 moment of 2025.
“I think the biggest highlight for me, being from Chicago, was playing Lollapalooza,” she told ABC Audio at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Friday. “I grew up going to that festival and seeing my favorite artists play. So that was top, top, top for me.”
“There was a moment where I just looked up to the sky and thought about, you know, all the steps it took to get there,” she added. “And you know, being in my city and my family’s there, it just felt really emotional.”
“Love Me Not,” from her critically acclaimed second studio album, Bird’s Eye, became a big hit after it was featured in a TikTok mashup that went viral. But Ravyn believes the appeal of the song is that it’s timeless.
“Honestly I think the main thing — or the main comment I get — is that the song feels like it could be from any decade, from the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties,” she explained. “And I think when that happens, you have a song that bridges all types of people from everywhere, from any age. And I think that’s what’s so special about it.”
You’ll be able to see Ravyn sing “Love Me Not” on ABC’s primetime specialJingle Ball 2025, airing Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. EST, and streaming the next day on Hulu.
The Format has premiered a new song called “Boycott Heaven,” the title track off the band’s upcoming comeback album.
You can watch the “Boycott Heaven” video streaming now on YouTube.
The album Boycott Heaven, which includes the single “Holy Roller,” is due out Jan. 23. It marks the first Format album since 2006’s Dog Problems. The group broke up in 2008, after which frontman Nate Ruess went on to form the band fun.
The Format then reconvened in 2020 for a planned reunion tour, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They reunited again in 2025 for a brief run of fall shows and will embark on a full tour in March.
Kehlani performs on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on November, 3, 2025. (Disney/Randy Holmes)
Kehlani has earned back-to-back Grammy nominations, but her experiences learning about them were different. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Kehlani revealed she was more prepared to receive a Grammy nod for “Folded” than she was when found out she was nominated at the 2025 awards show.
“Last year, I was genuinely shocked. My friend texted me, and he lives in Brazil, so he was just ahead. I was asleep, and he was like, ‘Grammy noms come out today.’ I was like, ‘They’re not worried about me. I’m going back to sleep,'” Kehlani recalls, noting she “woke up to seven missed calls and eight texts.” “I was like, ‘What the f***?’ Especially because ‘After Hours’ and Crash in general had gotten such a polarizing reception. I was shocked.”
This year, however, with the release of “Folded,” Kehlani says everyone was predicting she’d be nominated for the song. “I had this opposite pressure, like, if we don’t get nominated after everybody’s saying this, then all I’m going to have to hear for the next months is how I was snubbed,” Kehlani said. “I don’t need that sitting on my back. I just need to be focused on creating, honestly.”
Kehlani also discussed her upcoming album, which features Usher and production from Ryan Leslie and James Fauntleroy, sharing what she hopes to bring to life with the project.
“I just want people to have an experience. I want people to just love singing and dancing again. It is really that simple,” Kehlani said. “It’s such a personal moment for me right now to be proving myself. I feel so personally just motivated to rewrite my story, and I hope that trickles into the experience that people have. I hope people feel empowered.”
Wolfgang Van Halen of Mammoth performs at Little Caesars Arena on November 20, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Scott Legato/Getty Images)
Wolfgang Van Halen opened for shows on Creed‘s 2025 tour with his band Mammoth, and will reunite with the “Higher” rockers at the 2026 edition of their Summer of ’99 and Beyond Festival.
Speaking with ABC Audio about his experience touring with Scott Stapp and company, Wolf allows that Creed “has been a band that’s no stranger to criticism,” which might be an understatement given how many “most hated bands” lists they appear on.
“When you see that they were able to do one of the most successful rock tours of the last two years, it’s incredibly impressive,” Wolf says.
Seeing the Creed machine in action has also left Wolf with a newfound understanding.
“No matter what people say about you, if people are showing up and singing the songs right back at you, at the end of the day nothing else really matters,” Wolf says.
The 2026 Summer of ’99 and Beyond Festival takes place July 18-19 in Tinley Park, Illinois. Presales begin Tuesday at 10 a.m. CT, and tickets go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. CT. For the full lineup all ticket info, visit Summerof99Festival.com.
Wolf’s other 2026 plans include a U.S. tour in support of the latest Mammoth album, The End, launching in March, and a Halloween gig opening for Iron Maiden in Chile.
Billy Joel performs at Allegiant Stadium on November 09, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Billy Joel is going to be the subject of a new symposium at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook, New York.
According to the description, the June conference will be “devoted to the music, lyrics, themes, and cultural impact of Billy Joel.” It will feature scholars, critics, musicians and more, offering “critical analysis of Joel’s artistry, life, and legacy.”
“Joel’s body of work offers a unique lens through which to explore popular music, regional identity, and American culture,” the description continues.
And the public is getting a chance to shape the conference, with the LIMEHoF requesting submissions on a variety of subjects, including Joel’s lyrics and narratives, his music and style, and his cultural impact.
Submissions are due by Jan. 15, and those chosen will be put together by theme for 90-minute panels.
Rob Reiner speaks onstage at the screening of ‘Misery’ during the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival at TCL Chinese Theatre on April 25, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for TCM)
Director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday, Mayor Karen Bass confirmed.
Senior law enforcement sources told ABC News the victims were stabbed to death in their Brentwood-area residence.
“This is a devastating loss for our city and our country,” Bass said in a statement. “Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice.”
Officers were called to the home at 3:40 p.m. PT, the LAPD said in a statement, calling the investigation an apparent homicide.
A man and woman were found deceased inside the home, the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed to ABC News earlier on Sunday. Their ages were reported as 78 and 68 years old.
The senior leadership of the LAPD’s robbery and homicide unit responded to the scene.
Reiner is known for massive Hollywood hits, including The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, Stand By Me, This is Spinal Tap and many more.
A neighbor told ABC News that actors Billy Crystal and Larry David were seen at the house after police had arrived.
“Billy looked like he was about to cry,” the neighbor said.
There are two houses that the Reiner family owns across the street from each other. Rob and his wife lived in one and a daughter with kids lived in another, according to the neighbor.
“They’re a big presence on the block. They’re always having parties,” she said.
Reiner and Singer got married in 1989 and share three children, Jake, Nick and Romy.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC NewsRob Reiner attends the Premiere of “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on September 09, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/FilmMagic)
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating two deaths at a home that property records show belongs to director Rob Reiner in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles.
Senior law enforcement sources told ABC News the victims were stabbed to death.
Officers were called to the home at 3:40 p.m. PT, the LAPD said in a statement, calling the investigation an apparent homicide.
A man and woman were found deceased inside the home, the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed to ABC News. Their ages were reported as 78 and 68 years old.
The senior leadership of the LAPD’s robbery and homicide unit responded to the scene.
The identities of the individuals and their cause of death have not yet been released.
Reiner is known for massive Hollywood hits, including The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, Stand By Me, This is Spinal Tap and many more.
He and his wife, Michele Singer, got married in 1989 and share three children, Jake, Nick and Romy.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC NewsRob Reiner attends the Premiere of “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on September 09, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/FilmMagic)
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating two deaths at a home that property records show belongs to director Rob Reiner in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, sources told ABC News.
A man and woman were found deceased inside the home, the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed to ABC News. Their ages were reported as 78 and 68 years old.
The senior leadership of the LAPD’s robbery and homicide unit is responding to the scene, sources said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Washington Dulles International Airport. (J. David Ake/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — One of the engines on a United Airlines flight taking off from Dulles International Airport in Virginia failed as it lifted off Saturday, sparking a fire near the runway, officials said.
No one was injured and the plane later landed safely, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
It happened on United Flight 803, a Boeing 777-200ER jet with 275 passengers and 15 crew members aboard, according to the airline.
During takeoff at about 12:20 p.m., the left engine failed and a piece of engine cover separated and caught fire, sparking a mulch fire near the runway, according to Duffy and airport officials.
The plane, which was headed to Tokyo and had about 16 hours’ worth of fuel aboard, dumped fuel over Virginia from 5,000 feet and landed back at Dulles at about 1:30 p.m., according to officials.
The airline said passengers would be accommodated on another plane later Saturday.
Police officers stand along a security cordon at a crime scene at Bondi Beach following a terrorist attack. (Claudio Galdames Alarcon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Security is being ramped up for the first night of Hanukkah in New York City and Los Angeles as law enforcement agencies went on high alert following a mass shooting at a Jewish celebration in Bondi Beach, Australia, Sunday that killed 11 people in what New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said was an attack “designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah.”
The New York City and Suffolk County, New York, police departments announced on Sunday that extra officers are being deployed to local Hanukkah events.
New York law enforcement officials said that while there have been no credible threats locally connected to the mass shooting in Australia, extra officers will be patrolling public Hanukkah celebrations “out of an abundance of caution.”
Hanukkah, which lasts eight days and is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays, begins at sundown on Sunday.
“We are closely monitoring the horrific attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, during a Hanukkah celebration,” the NYPD said in a statement. “We are in touch with our Australian partners, and at this time, we see no nexus to NYC.”
On Long Island, New York, the Suffolk County Police Department said it also plans to beef up security at public Hanukkah events, and noted it is monitoring developments following the mass shooting in Australia.
“While there are no threats locally, the department is in constant contact with its law enforcement partners,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina and County Executive Ed Romaine said in a joint statement posted online. “As always, the department has stepped up patrols around religious institutions during the holidays and has now enhanced those efforts. We are reaching out to Jewish community leaders and ask anyone who sees suspicious activity to call 911.”
In California, the Los Angeles Police Department said it is providing extra patrols at Jewish facilities, schools, synagogues, and at Hanukkah events in the city.
“While there is no known threat to Los Angeles at this time, the LAPD remains vigilant and committed to protecting our diverse communities. As part of this commitment, the LAPD will provide extra patrols at Jewish facilities, schools, synagogues, and at Hanukkah events throughout the city,” the LAPD statement said, in part.
“We stand in solidarity with the Jewish Community in Australia and here in Los Angeles, and our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those impacted by this senseless act of violence,” the statement also said.
Beverly Hills also will assign extra patrols to all religious institutions and high-profile areas of the city, Beverly Hills Police Department Chief Mark Stainbrook told ABC News, adding that there is no known threat to the city. He further said that the city will focus surveillance cameras and drones on those high-profile areas of the city and any Hanukkah events. They will also have extra private security at events which are often used in Beverly Hills to augment sworn police, according to Stainbrook.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said they likewise will increase their vigilance.
“We are actively assessing any potential threats to Los Angeles County and have increased patrol checks at critical facilities. All patrol personnel will be briefed to ensure heightened situational awareness and continued vigilance,” an LASD spokesperson told ABC News, in part. “In addition, we will be reaching out to our faith-based partners and community leaders to encourage the public to promptly report any suspicious activity.”
Two gunmen opened fire at Australia’s Bondi Beach Sunday in an attack that targeted a Jewish event, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said, adding that police had designated the shooting as a “terrorism event.”
“This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah,” Minns said at a press conference on Sunday.
