Kendrick Lamar performs with SZA during Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
“All the Stars” have aligned for Kendrick Lamar and SZA, as they have topped several of Billboard‘s year-end lists. Their song “Luther,” off K. Dot’s GNX album, leads the year-end Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
It entered both charts at #3 on Dec. 7, 2024. It made its way to the top position two weeks later, where it stayed for the remainder of the 2025 chart year (Oct. 26, 2024, through Oct. 18, 2025).
Other tracks to make the top 10 Hot Rap Songs of the year include Kendrick’s “TV Off” featuring Lefty Gunplay, “Not Like Us,” “Squabble Up” and “Peekaboo” featuring AzChiki. Drake‘s “Nokia,” Doechii‘s “Anxiety” and Tyler, The Creator‘s “Sticky” with Lil Wayne, GloRilla and Sexyy Red were among those that also made the cut.
As for the songs that made the top 10 of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, they include SZA and Kendrick’s “30 for 30,” Leon Thomas‘ “Mutt,” and The Weeknd and Playboi Carti‘s “Timeless,” which dominates the year-end Hot R&B Songs chart.
That list also features Mariah the Scientist‘s “Burning Blue,” Summer Walker‘s “Heart of a Woman,” Chris Brown‘s “Residuals” and Kehlani‘s “Folded.”
SZA’s solo album SOS ends the year atop the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums year-end list and is followed by Kendrick’s GNX. His album good kid, m.A.A.dcity is also on the list, as areTyler’s Chromakopia, and PartyNextDoor and Drake‘s $ome $exy $ongs 4 U.
Ashley McBryde on ABC’s ‘CMA Fest presented by SoFi’ (Disney/Larry McCormack)
Ashley McBryde is switching on a new charity initiative.
The Light On Fund, named after her hit “Light on in the Kitchen,” will support causes close to Ashley’s heart, including mental health care for veterans, children in foster care, ASL interpretation at live music events and rehab resources for creatives.
Notably, Ashley is launching the initiative on Dec. 2, which is her mother Martha Wilkins‘ birthday. Martha recently auctioned off one of Ashley’s childhood dresses to raise money for the foster care system in Ashley’s home state of Arkansas. Now the singer is personally matching the amount of money raised from that sale to kick off the initiative.
“Leaving the light on for someone is the same as telling them you love them where I’m from,” Ashley says in a statement. “Folks are suffering in ways we’ll never see or know about, and the same way I want someone to come to my show and know that for 90 minutes, they’ve got a safe haven, we hope the Light On Fund will be a place of support, care, and nurturing for causes that have touched my life and my history.”
“The women in my family have led by generous and humble example, living out that the most important gestures are the ones from one heart to another,” she continues.
“With the establishment of the Light On Fund, I hope that we’re letting people know that we see them and we care. Wherever they may be or may end up on life’s journey, we’ll leave a light on for them.”
One way to be a supporter is to buy the official Ashley McBryde’s Light On Fund hat from her online store, with all proceeds going directly to the initiative.
Ronnie James Dio of Heaven and Hell performs during the Metal Masters tour at Shoreline Amphitheatre on August 31, 2008 in Mountain View, California. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
The 2025 edition of Bowl for Ronnie, the annual charity celebrity bowling tournament held in honor of the late rocker Ronnie James Dio, raised over $85,000 for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.
The event took place Nov. 13 at PINZ Bowling Center in Studio City, California, and featured bowling teams made up of musicians, including Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler and Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt.
Other rockers who attended Bowl for Ronnie include Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach and his bandmate Frederico Delfino, Foreigner’s Jeff Pilson, George Thorogood and former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clark.
Dio died of stomach cancer in 2010 at age 67. The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund has since raised over $2 million for cancer research and education.
Noah Schnapp as Will Byers in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5. (Netflix)
We now know the runtime of the Stranger Things series finale.
Netflix has confirmed that the official length of the final episode of the hit sci-fi series is two hours and five minutes.
To celebrate the announcement, the streaming service also revealed the full list of cities and movie theaters participating in fan screenings of the season 5 finale.
The screenings take place in over 500 cinemas across the U.S. and Canada starting on Dec. 31 at 5 p.m. PT, timed exactly to the episode’s global premiere on Netflix. They’ll run through Jan. 1, 2026. A full list of the locations and information on how to RSVP can be found at www.st5finale.com.
When the theatrical release was announced in October, Stranger Things co-creators Matt Duffer and RossDuffer expressed excitement over the opportunity.
“We’re beyond excited that fans will have the chance to experience the final episode of Stranger Things in theaters — it’s something we’ve dreamed about for years, and we’re so grateful to Ted [Sarandos], Bela [Bajaria], and everyone at Netflix for making it happen,” they said in a press release. “Getting to see it on the big screen, with incredible sound, picture, and a room full of fans, feels like the perfect — dare we say b******’ — way to celebrate the end of this adventure.”
The fifth season of Stranger Things finds the gang united for the same mission: defeat the villainous Vecna once and for all.
“The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.”
The first volume of the three-part drop of Stranger Things season 5 was released on Nov. 26. Volume II drops on Dec. 25.
Drummer Clem Burke of Blondie performs onstage at 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 21, 2023 in Indio, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Coachella)
Blondie recently paid tribute to their late drummer Clem Burke on what would have been his 71st birthday, and they are continuing their tribute by telling fans about a cause that was important to him.
“In honor of Clem’s birthday this past week, we are highlighting the Clem Burke Drumming Project, which explores how drumming enhances physical, cognitive, emotional, and mental health,” they wrote on Instagram. The post explains that the organization’s goal is “to focus on initiatives that use drumming to support developmental and behavioral therapy, coping skills, and emotional expression for individuals of all ages.”
“Clem’s mission was to bring drums off the stage and into the lives of those who need them most,” the post continued. “If his lifelong work has inspired you, consider donating to fund research, outreach and programs that promote emotional expression, coping skills, and developmental growth.”
Posted on Giving Tuesday, the band also shared a link where fans can donate to the organization.
The Clem Burke Drumming Project was founded in 2008. Burke passed away on April 6 following a private battle with cancer.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his press conference after the Summit of Collective Security Treaty Organization, on November 27, 2025 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Contributor/Getty Images
(LONDON) — President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia is ready to fight a war if Europe seeks one and claimed European countries are trying to make changes in President Donald Trump’s proposal on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, ahead of his high-stakes meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Tuesday.
“We can clearly see that these changes are aimed at only one thing: to block the entire peace process,” Putin said in remarks to reporters while accusing Europe of being “on the side of war.”
“We are not going to fight Europe, I have said this a hundred times. But if Europe suddenly wants to fight and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin said.
Russia would allow Europe to return to negotiations on Ukraine if it takes into account the realities on the ground, Putin said.
Putin’s meeting with Witkoff is underway, Russian state media TASS reported Tuesday night local time. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is also taking part.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the meeting had no time limit and would go on for “as long as necessary.”
Ahead of the meeting, the White House said it was “very optimistic,” as U.S. officials continue their push to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The sit-down follows a series of meetings between top U.S. and Ukrainian officials, during which the parties sought to revise the original peace-plan proposal presented by the Trump administration to Ukraine last month.
Witkoff and other top U.S. officials — including Kushner and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — met on Sunday in Florida with a Ukrainian delegation to attempt to find a deal that Ukraine and Russia might both accept to end the war.
“I think the administration feels very optimistic,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday, following the Florida meeting. “They had very good talks with the Ukrainians in Florida. And now, of course, Special Envoy Witkoff is on his way to Russia.”
The top Ukrainian official at the Florida talks said there had been progress, but, he added, “some issues still require further refinement.”
The Kremlin on Monday said a meeting between Witkoff and Putin was scheduled for Tuesday. Putin prepared in recent days by holding meetings with military commanders and a governor of a frontline territory, according to Russian officials.
“We have no doubt that this will be a very important step towards peace and a peaceful settlement,” Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday.
There was little expectation Putin would agree to a deal. The Russian leader signaled last week he would not compromise, repeating in hardline remarks his demand that Ukraine withdraw from territory he claims as Russian soil and saying it was “pointless” to negotiate with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Putin then on Monday claimed without evidence that Russian forces had taken control of two Ukrainian cities where intense fighting has been happening for weeks in the eastern part of the country, a move intended perhaps to burnish the perception of Russia’s leading position on the battlefield.
Zelenskyy, who, along with Trump, was not directly involved with the talks in Florida, met on Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The meetings in France were “substantive and important — above all, focused on the steps that bring a just peace closer,” he said on social media. Zelenskyy landed on Tuesday in Dublin, where he’s expected to meet with Taoiseach Micheal Martin, the Irish prime minister.
As Zelenskyy pushed for European unity against Russian aggression, members of his delegation in Florida were sending updates on what was being discussed. He said on Monday that there were still several “tough issues” to work through in the negotiations, but did not elaborate. Ukraine’s potential relinquishment of some of its territory to Russia was thought to be part of the talks.
Zelenskyy on Monday also said he, Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had again been briefed by Witkoff and the head of the Kyiv delegation, Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
“Over two very productive days in the United States, we held many hours of meetings and negotiations,” Umerov said in a separate social media update on Monday. “We achieved significant progress, although some issues still require further refinement.”
Umerov and the rest of the negotiating team met with Zelenskyy in person on Tuesday, with the president saying they discussed “the matters that cannot be addressed over the phone.” He praised Ukrainian allies for their partnership. And he also accused Russia of beginning new disinformation campaigns prior to Putin’s meeting with Witkoff.
“Ukraine approaches all diplomatic efforts with utmost seriousness — we are committed to achieving a real peace and guaranteed security,” Zelenskyy said on social media. “This is exactly the level of commitment that must be compelled from the Russian side, and this task can be accomplished only together with our partners.”
The meeting in Moscow would be the sixth such Witkoff-Putin sit-down this year and it comes amid a redoubled effort by the White House to produce a peace deal in the almost 4-year-old conflict.
The meeting on Sunday included discussions of a revised 19-point peace plan that was developed a week ago during another round of American-Ukrainian talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Those talks reworked an earlier 28-point plan that the Trump administration had presented and that had alarmed Kyiv and European allies as heavily favoring Russia. Details about whether further revisions may have been made over the weekend had not been released as of Tuesday morning.
Speaking at the White House on Monday, Leavitt did not detail what the U.S. expected to happen during the negotiations in Moscow, instead deferring to those who would be at the meeting.
“We’ve put points on paper. Those points have been very much refined,” she said. “But as for the details, I will let the negotiators negotiate. But we do feel quite good, and we’re hopeful that this work can finally come to an end.”
ABC News’ Emily Chang and Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.
Gorillaz has announced a pair of Los Angeles concerts, during which Damon Albarn and company will be performing their upcoming album, The Mountain, in full.
The shows take place Feb. 22 and Feb. 23 at the Hollywood Palladium. Tickets will go on sale Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. PT.
Additionally, Gorillaz has announced the LA launch of their House of Kong immersive exhibition, which will be open from Feb. 26 to March 19 at Rolling Greens DTLA.
House of Kong creative director Stephen Gallagher describes the exhibition as “an audio-visual artwork; an installation that takes a glance backwards in order to identify the path ahead.”
House of Kong tickets go on sale Wednesday at 9 a.m. PT. If you buy a House of Kong ticket, you’ll receive access to a presale for the Hollywood Palladium shows beginning Dec. 9 at 9 a.m. PT.
The Mountain will be released March 20. It’s the follow-up to 2023’s Cracker Island.
A$AP Rocky and Rihanna attend The Gotham Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on December 01, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for The Gotham Film & Media Institute )
A$AP Rocky attended the 35th annual Gotham Film Awards Monday, where he was up for breakthrough performance for Highest 2 Lowest. It’s one of the films where he displays the acting chops that have even impressed his partner, Rihanna.
“Anytime I see him on camera in a movie, I’m like, ‘What?’ I get amazed because I didn’t know he had it in him, but he’s such a great talent,” Rih told Extra on the event’s red carpet, adding she’s “so proud” of what he’s accomplished thus far.
She also talked about their kids RZA Mayers, Riot Mayers and Rocki Mayers, who “are amazing” and “all getting bigger.” She said, “I cannot take it. My sons — oh, my God! — their faces are changing. Their necks are getting longer. I love it.”
Rocky, who described the kids as “cute as ever,” describedthe bond he sees between RZA and Riot.
“I’m surprised that the older two [are] getting along as much as they are, you know? Usually, you know, for them to be so close in age, they fight a lot, but … happy family,” he says.
Rocky lost the breakthrough performer award to Abou Sangaré, who took home the win for his role in Souleymane’s Story.
Tom Blyth and Emily Bader in ‘People We Meet on Vacation.’ (Netflix)
Poppy and Alex have their passports ready in the new People We Meet on Vacationtrailer.
Netflix released the official trailer for the upcoming romantic comedy film on Tuesday. It’s based on the popular book by Emily Henry, who serves as an executive producer on the movie.
Emily Bader and Tom Blyth star as the unlikely besties who spend their summers traveling together.
“Free-spirited Poppy and routine-loving Alex have been unlikely best friends for a decade, living in different cities but spending every summer vacation together,” according to the film’s logline. “The careful balance of their friendship is put to the test when they begin to question what has been obvious to everyone else — could they actually be the perfect romantic match?”
The trailer shows a montage of Poppy and Alex going on an initial vacation together. Before going to bed one night, Blyth’s Alex proposes an idea.
“How about every summer, wherever we are, we meet somewhere in the world for a trip?” he asks.
“Deal,” Bader’s Poppy says in response.
Hearts Beat Loud director Brett Haley helmed the film from a script by Yulin Kuang and Amos Vernon & Nunzio Randazzo.
Sarah Catherine Hook, Lucien Laviscount, Miles Heizer, Jameela Jamil, Tommy Do, Lukas Gage, AliceLee, Molly Shannon and Alan Ruck also star in the upcoming film.
People We Meet on Vacation flies on to Netflix on Jan. 9, 2026.
Stock image of police lights. Douglas Sacha/Getty Images
(AUSTIN, Texas) — Police are investigating the mysterious death of a Texas A&M student who died after a football tailgate this weekend, according to authorities and her family.
Austin police said they responded to a report of an unresponsive individual at an apartment complex around 12:45 a.m. Saturday. Brianna Aguilera was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:57 a.m., police said.
“At this time, the incident is not being investigated as a homicide, and there are no indications of suspicious circumstances,” police said in a statement.
Her cause of death has not been released, police said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
According to Aguilera’s family, she died after going to a tailgate for the Texas A&M vs. University of Texas football game in Austin on Friday.
“The details surrounding what happened [after the tailgate] remain unclear,” Aguilera’s family wrote on GoFundMe.
“Our hearts are shattered,” the family said on GoFundMe.
“She was pursuing her dream of becoming a lawyer and was attending The Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M,” the family said. “She was a year shy of attaining her Aggie ring.”
