While it’s practically unfathomable that Thomas Rhett would ever forsake his home format to pursue another genre entirely, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have non-country dreams. 

So what would TR do if he ever decided to color outside the lines?

“Probably something in the Motown space or literally being able to hire an orchestra for like a month and go write some kinda Sinatra-esque type songs, and be able to sing them live with the orchestra the way that they did it back then,” he reveals.

“I can’t tell you it’d be good,” he adds, “but it’d be something that I think would be really fun.”

Right now, Thomas is planted firmly in country’s top 10, enjoying his first collaborative hit with his buddy Jordan Davis on “Ain’t a Bad Life.” 

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The KPop Demon Hunters song “Golden” became the first K-pop song to win a Grammy on Sunday night, winning the trophy for best song written for visual media. The hit single has also been nominated for the best original song Oscar. EJAE — who co-wrote “Golden” and sings on it as one of the voices of HUNTR/X in the film — says that isn’t the ultimate highlight of the song’s success for her.

Backstage at the Grammys Sunday night, EJAE was asked to share her biggest “pinch me” moment since KPop Demon Hunters took over pop culture last year. “Honestly, the biggest ‘pinch me’ moment is just the fans’ reaction,” she replied.

“Getting letters or videos or DMs or, you know, people on the street singing the song,” she continued. “People using the song to help other people, whether it be in the hospital, the nurses singing the song for the patients, whether it be the parents singing the songs to the kids.”

“That’s the reason why we write, so that’s a huge ‘pinch me’ moment as a songwriter,” she noted.

As for expectations that “Golden” will walk away with the best original song Oscar in March, EJAE said she didn’t want to get ahead of herself.

“Well, knock on wood,” she said in response to the prediction from a reporter that the song will win. She went on to say, “I don’t want to have any expectations. Just here to have fun and enjoy the moment, celebrate all music, all cultures [and] Korea. It’s such a proud moment for us.”

“We worked really, really hard in this film. So, yeah, I just think it’s just such a surreal moment. So we’re … grateful just to even be nominated. But to win is just insane.”

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Lola Young was the winner of the best pop solo performance Grammy on Sunday for her breakthrough hit “Messy,” which she thinks is a song that reflects something everyone has experienced at one time or another.

Backstage at the awards show, Lola said, “I feel like ‘Messy’ is a song that symbolizes how we all feel, and I’m very proud of this song. I feel it speaks on just like being a messy human being and not being enough for, you know, the world.”

“And that’s how a lot of us feel a lot the time, and how I felt a lot of the time,” the British singer continued. “That’s why I think it related.” 

The Grammy win was a huge comeback for Lola, who’d taken time out of the spotlight after collapsing during a festival appearance in September. On Feb. 28 she’ll find out if she’s also a winner at the BRIT Awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Grammys. She and fellow U.K. star Olivia Dean, who was named best new artist on Sunday night, are both nominated for five BRIT Awards, including artist of the year.

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Lola Young was the winner of the best pop solo performance Grammy on Sunday for her breakthrough hit “Messy,” which she thinks is a song that reflects something everyone has experienced at one time or another.

Backstage at the awards show, Lola said, “I feel like ‘Messy’ is a song that symbolizes how we all feel, and I’m very proud of this song. I feel it speaks on just like being a messy human being and not being enough for, you know, the world.”

“And that’s how a lot of us feel a lot the time, and how I felt a lot of the time,” the British singer continued. “That’s why I think it related.” 

The Grammy win was a huge comeback for Lola, who’d taken time out of the spotlight after collapsing during a festival appearance in September. On Feb. 28 she’ll find out if she’s also a winner at the BRIT Awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Grammys. She and fellow U.K. star Olivia Dean, who was named best new artist on Sunday night, are both nominated for five BRIT Awards, including artist of the year.

Of note, Lola and Olivia attended the same performing arts school — the BRIT School — which helped launch the careers of Adele and Amy Winehouse. Another BRIT School alum, RAYE, won the Harry Belafonte best song for social change trophy on Saturday, which is a merit award given out by the Recording Academy each year.

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Wolfgang Van Halen and his band Mammoth have notched their fourth #1 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart with their current single, “The Spell.” As Wolf tells ABC Audio, his radio success has been “a little difficult to believe.”

“I think I’m my own toughest critic,” Wolf says. “I do stuff for myself and I write music that feels good for me, but to know that somebody else could hear it and enjoy it and derive their own meaning from it is a really cool thing.”

That self-criticism, Wolf says, has resulted in what he calls “crowd dysmorphia.”

“It’s tough for me to tell if people are into it or not, and anybody I see enjoying it, it almost seems like it’s sarcastic,” he laughs. “I think that’s just how tough my brain is on myself.”

But between the chart success and seeing more and more people coming out to shows while singing along and rocking Mammoth T-shirts, that crowd dysmorphia has started to ease.

“We’ve played almost 350 shows over the last four years, and to see that people enjoy it and wanna come see us again … it’s very humbling, and we’re very grateful to be able to do it,” Wolf says. 

“The Spell” is off Mammoth’s new album, 2025’s The End. Mammoth will launch a U.S. headlining tour in March before hitting the road with Bush in April.

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Def Leppard launches Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency at The Colosseum on Tuesday and fans can expect quite a show. This will be the band’s third residency in Vegas, and frontman Joe Elliott tells ABC Audio “they keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger.”

He says the beauty of Las Vegas is that it allows you to go big and “it just enthuses you to put on a show,” noting their latest residency is gonna be “next level.”

So what are they doing to make it bigger than ever?

“The production is massive. It’s the best we’ve ever had by a country mile,” Elliott says. “Visually it’s insanely different to anything we’ve ever done.”

And that includes the set list, with Elliott saying they’re planning to go “a lot deeper” in their catalog.

“We’re pulling out stuff we haven’t played in decades. Stuff we’ve never played before,” he says. Of course, they’ll still play hits like “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” but Elliott says if fans only know that song “they’re in for a shock.”

They also plan to play their recently released single “Rejoice.” Says Elliott, “It’s the reason we released it, so that we could play it.”

And with Def Leppard booked at the venue through Feb. 28, bassist Rick Savage says there will be plenty of time for them to enjoy what Vegas has to offer.

“Once you get settled in, and you’ve played two or three shows, you kinda, you become a little bit more of a tourist rather than concentrating on your proper job,” he says. “But it’s such a great town, even just to walk around, you know, whether it’s during the day or at night, all the lights and the buzz and the people.” 

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Mýa is reflecting on the music that shaped her as she prepares to release her upcoming 10th studio album, Retrospect. The project marks her first studio album in eight years, though it has been in the works since 2016.

According to a press release, the album draws from her “earliest musical influences — rooted in late ’70s through late ’80s funk, R&B, and soul — while seamlessly infusing contemporary sounds and perspectives.” 

“I’m able to channel the music that inspired me to get into the music industry, and make music from that pure, exciting place where you feel like a kid when you listen to it again or you feel joyful or you really feel something that you once upon a time used to feel when you listened to music in its purest state,” she previously told ABC Audio of the album.

With the pioneers of funk predating her, Mýa said Retrospect also serves as a tribute to those legends. “I get to pay homage to the [Jimmy] Jam and [Terry] Lewises, the Princes, the Vanity 6, Rick James, those sounds that fill my living room,” she said. 

She added in a press release, “Music wasn’t just a part of my life; it was the heartbeat of my home, the foundation of my joy. This album is a celebration of that and the kind of funk that never fades. It’s a bridge between the past and the future, honoring the greats, my inspirations, while forging something new.”

Featuring the recently released single “ASAP” and guest appearances from 21 Savage and Joyner Lucas, Retrospect will arrive in spring 2026. It will be available in Stereo, Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio, offering what the press release describes as “an immersive listening experience that honors both her sonic roots and forward-looking vision.” 

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