Alex Warren’s wife knew his song “Ordinary” was a hit the first time she heard it.

In a new essay for Variety, the singer — and Variety‘s pick for the Hitmakers Breakthrough of the Year Award — recalls writing the song about his wife and being so excited to play it for her in the car.

“Whenever I play her songs that I’ve written or even written about her, she’s like, ‘Yeah, that’s nice — my husband’s a singer, I hear it all the time,’” he writes. “But this time, I wish I’d had a camera: She looks straight at me and goes, ‘Play that again, right now.’ I was like, oh no, is she going to give me notes?”

As it turns out, she had no notes — she just wanted to hear it again … and again.

“So I play it again, it finishes, she goes, ‘Play it again, please, this is insane,’” he recalls. “We drove the entire 45-minute car ride listening to the song over and over and over again. And every person I played it for went, ‘Holy s***!’”

After that, he went to work convincing the world they needed to listen to it on replay, too. Alex tells Variety that by the time the song was officially released in February, he had posted around 100 different videos to social media featuring it.

“Ordinary” went on to spend 10 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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Top Dawg Entertainment’s annual holiday charity concert is back for its 12th year. The 2025 rendition will take place Dec. 18 at the Nickerson Gardens in Watts, California, featuring performances from TDE’s SZA, ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Doechii, Isaiah Rashad and SiR, as well as a few surprise guests. In lieu of tickets, entry will be granted to those who make donations to a toy drive.

TDE will host a community giveback event the following day in the same location. The jam-packed day will feature family activities, barbering services, toy distribution and holiday photo installations. Joining forces with local organizations, TDE will also offer on-site job opportunities that help returning citizens develop workplace skills, reenter the workforce and pursue economic mobility.

With last year’s event drawing 10,000 attendees and donating $750,000 worth of toys and clothing, according to a press release, it remains to be seen what the 2025 event will bring.

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Black Veil Brides have teamed up with the artist TX2 for a new song called “The End of Us.”

You can watch the video for the track, which features BVB frontman Andy Biersack alongside TX2, streaming on YouTube.

“‘The End of Us’ is the darkest song I’ve ever written,” says TX2 in a statement. “It captures that feeling of spiraling that happens shortly after betrayal, when everything you’ve built slips away. I said ‘f*** it’ and wanted to make a 6 minute epic. Live strings captured the emotions perfectly. Then having Andy’s voice brings a weight and intensity that was perfect for the emotion of the track—he played the perfect character and created cinematic chaos.”

“The End of Us” is the title track off TX2’s upcoming album, due out Feb. 13. The record also includes the previously released Ice Nine Kills collaboration “MAD,” and follows TX2’s opening gig on select dates of the Summer of Loud tour headlined by Beartooth, I Prevail, Killswitch Engage and Parkway Drive.

Black Veil Brides, meanwhile, put out a new single called “Hallelujah” in July. Their most recent album is 2021’s The Phantom Tomorrow.

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This is real, this is me, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be — to watch the teaser trailer for Camp Rock 3.

Disney has released the first teaser trailer for the third film in the Camp Rock franchise. It finds the Jonas Brothers returning as the brothers of the fictional band Connect 3, and will premiere on Disney+ and Disney Channel in summer 2026.

The trailer starts with lines from the first two films — as delivered by Joe Jonas, Demi Lovato, Kevin Jonas and Nick Jonas — playing over scenic shots of the iconic campground, before the song “Wouldn’t Change a Thing” from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam kicks in.

The Jonas Brothers then appear, looking out at the camp’s expansive lake. “Music, friendship, memories. We’re back,” Nick says, before Joe adds, “Exactly where we’re supposed to be.”

Kevin then adds: “Still no birdhouse.”

The teaser also shows off a first look at the new generation of campers who have joined the franchise.

Camp Rock 3 follows Connect 3 as they lose the opening act for their major reunion tour. The band returns to Camp Rock with the hope of discovering the next big thing.

“As campers vie for the chance to open for their favorite band, tensions rise, and friendships are tested, leading to unexpected alliances, revelations and romances,” according to an official synopsis.

New cast members in this third film include Liamani Segura as Sage, Malachi Barton as Fletch, Lumi Pollack as Rosie, newcomer Hudson Stone as Desi, Casey Trotter as Cliff, Brooklynn Pitts as Callie and Ava Jean as Madison. Sherry Cola also joins the franchise in the role of Lark.

Veronica Rodriguez directs Camp Rock 3 from a script by Eydie Faye. The Jonas Brothers and Lovato all executive produce the new film, although Lovato will not reprise her role of Mitchie Torres.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Pharrell received the Shoe of the Year award at the 2025 Footwear News Achievement Awards in NYC on Wednesday, an honor presented to him by Pusha T. During his acceptance speech, he reflected on his humble upbringing in Virginia and the instability of his childhood.

“You don’t know what I know. You ain’t seen what I saw. No, you ain’t been where I go. I’m from the mud,” he said. “As a child, nobody’s been evicted more times than me. Lights turned off, water turned off, and at times, had to pump the water. And I didn’t have a name-brand sneaker until I was 16, when I could afford them for my first paycheck from McDonald’s.”

Pharrell then connected his journey and the collective experiences of Black and brown people in America, explaining that the history inspired his Black Ambition initiative, which has now awarded $85 million to start-ups launched by Black and brown entrepreneurs.

“I’m proletariat,” he said. “In fact, I’m lumpenproletariat,” a reference to the Marxist theory of societal classes.

He continued, “I had to stay on my feet. … But I could never walk in the shoes of my parents’ parents’ parents … all they had to endure while staying on their feet. Or my ancestors, who arrived as captives, enslaved, who had no shoes, yet had to stay on their feet as they landed on the shores of Virginia.”

Pharrell also addressed past headlines about his frustration with politics, clarifying that his remarks were a reaction to DEI backlash. “Yes, I got frustrated, and the sound biters, they caught me lacking,” he said. “I will never stop fighting. I will never stop raising money to help level the playing field. Never.”

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The Masked Singer is going heavy metal in honor of Ozzy Osbourne.

The singing competition show has announced its upcoming 14th season will include an episode titled “Ozzfest” paying tribute to the late Prince of Darkness.

The episode will feature Ozzy’s daughter and past The Masked Singer contestant Kelly Osbourne, who “joins the show to pay heartfelt homage to her father and his iconic career and long lasting impact on the history of music,” a press release says.

The Masked Singer season 14 premieres Jan. 7 on Fox. Participants will be wearing costumes including Eggplant, Queen Corgi and The Croissants.

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After several very, very obvious hints, it’s now been confirmed that Lainey Wilson is the “cowgirl” who’ll be joining Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ Aerosmith and British singer Yungblud on a new version of their song “Wild Woman.”

On Instagram, all three acts posted video of Yungblud FaceTiming Lainey and chatting about how she’s going to approach her part of the song. At one point Yungblud, who has a thick British accent, told Lainey, “I love your accent, man, it’s epic.”

Lainey, who has an extremely thick accent herself, replied, “Back atcha.” “I’m telling you, man, battle of the accents,” Yungblud added.

“Wild Woman” will be released Friday. The original version appears on Aerosmith and Yungblud’s top-10 EP One More Time.

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LCD Soundsystem has announced a 2026 residency in Chicago.

The “Dance Yrself Clean” outfit will perform at the Windy City’s Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom on March 5, 6, 7 and 8. Presales begin Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. local time, and tickets go on sale to the general public on Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. local time.

For all ticket info, visit LCDSoundsystem.com.

LCD’s annual NYC residency is currently ongoing at the Knockdown Center in Queens. That run wraps up Dec. 13.

The most recent LCD Soundsystem release is the 2024 single “x-ray eyes.”

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Poppy has shared a new song called “Guardian,” a track off her upcoming album, Empty Hands.

“Urgent guitar riffs marry with thunderous percussion against euphonious, infectious vocals from Poppy,” a press release says of “Guardian.” “She continues to evade the boundaries of genre to create her own vision of what metal can and should be.”

You can watch a visualizer for “Guardian” on YouTube.

Empty Hands, the follow-up to 2024’s Negative Spaces, drops Jan. 23. It also includes the previously released songs “Unravel” and “Bruised Sky.”

Poppy will be opening for Evanescence‘s 2026 European tour. She previously teamed up with Amy Lee and Spiritbox‘s Courtney LaPlante on the single “End of You.”

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