Taylor Swift is a superstar on another level. She shattered the all-time first-week sales record with last year’s The Life of a Showgirl and redefined what it means to be a touring juggernaut with her Eras Tour. She has 14 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s, and 14 Grammy Awards. But the ascension of our biggest pop star didn’t start with the sales, and it didn’t start with the stage: it started with her songs. And on Thursday (June 11) night, Swift was celebrated for her first and foremost talent, songwriting, with a wildly deserved induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Despite being one of the most famous people on the planet, Swift attended the induction ceremony as anyone else might. She hobnobbed before the dinner started, and when the ceremony got underway, she sang and danced at her table during the various inductee tributes and performances. (She seemed particularly jazzed during John Fogerty’s ferocious set and Alanis Morissette’s haunting performance.) Joining Swift at her table was fiance Travis Kelce, future mother-in-law Donna Kelce, her own mother and father, as well as Steven Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw.

When it came time for Swift’s induction (the final one of the Class of 2026) it was a quarter to midnight. Sombr offered a glammed-up rock take on “Cardigan,” her 2020 Hot 100 topper, backed by the SHOF’s versatile house band. “It’s an honor to be here, thank you Taylor for trusting me,” he said. “This next song Taylor wrote when she was 19 years old and it really inspired me…I’m so nervous,” he stopped, laughing after fumbling a few words. “She’s looking at me right now and I’m talking about her music. I’ve never done anything like this.” (Swift, supportive as ever, applauded encouragingly.) Sombr then sang a, well, somber version of “Dear John,” a song hailing from Speak Now, an LP Swift wrote entirely on her own. Swift and her parents sang along, softly.

Swift’s Oscar-winning dinner guest had the honor of inducting her into the esteemed organization. “As a director I am acutely aware of the power music can have on audiences,” Spielberg said, noting that songs have the power to unite us anywhere and everywhere: “Whether it’s sung at the top of our lungs in our cars, in houses of worship, at football games or on the streets of Minnesota.”

So, why was one of the greatest living filmmakers on hand to salute one of our greatest living singer-songwriters? The short answer: she asked him. After receiving a phone call from her several months ago, Spielberg admitted that his elation quickly deflated after he hung up. “What could I possibly say about Taylor Swift that hasn’t already been said?” Spielberg pondered. “Out of curiosity, I asked AI how many words have been written about Taylor Swift.” The effort yielded him nothing. So he continued the experiment, asking AI how many words Taylor Swift herself has written. Once again, AI flopped the assignment. “She is such a force that the depths of her achievement defies AI,” Spielberg quipped.

When it was time for Swift’s big moment, she hugged Liz Rose (a songwriting collaborator from her early days who was inducted into the SHOF in 2023) and walked up to the stage.

The moment she opened her mouth, it was clear that Knicks Mania — which is currently gripping New York — had gotten the best of her. A hoarse-voiced Swift, who was courtside at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night with Kelce, admitted she spent the previous night “screaming for 100%” of the Knicks’ victorious game. “I got home and was like, ‘You gotta stop screaming, you’re screaming too much, you’re screaming instead of talking, you’re too excited.’ Then I got to witness the amazing performances I saw tonight, and I just kept screaming and I never stopped screaming and this is what you get. I make no apologies for that — I’ve had a blast.”

Swift shed some light as to why Spielberg was one of her personal heroes and her pick for the person to induct her into the SHOF. “Through his decades of spellbinding storytelling Steven Spielberg has unknowingly inducted me and countless others into his sacred club of expansive world building,” she explained, thanking him for joining her the same night his latest film, Disclosure Day, hits theaters. “I watched him ace every genre… because of examples like Steven’s I trusted my imagination.”

Later on, she thanked Sombr for his “perfect performance” of two songs that spanned a decade of her life. “His writing is so exceptional that it makes me envious and I love that feeling.” According to Swift, she’s always telling her friends, “Sombr is the future – he does it all on his own and he doesn’t need that AI. The kids will be fine!”

Throughout a thoughtful, well-paced and expertly written speech, Swift placed her songwriting within the context of her wider career and life.

“If I look back at my entire 23-year career in music, the ups and downs and industry battles, the trials and tribulations, the cheers and tears and dogpiling of doubt, the criticisms — both fair and unfair — the complete loss of privacy, the world tours and ego wars, and the twists of fate, the absolute magical chaos of this path that I chose when I was too young to remember it even being a choice at all, songwriting was the easiest thing I ever did,” she said. “Not because it didn’t take effort. It definitely did. Not that it wasn’t frustrating at times, because it could be. And not that my songwriting didn’t haunt me relentlessly until I cracked the perfect internal rhyme scheme for the third line of the second verse before my teachers called me out in class for not paying attention, because that definitely happened.

“But when I say that songwriting was the easiest part for me, I think what I mean is that it was instinctual. No one taught me how to do it. I had to be taught how to entertain a crowd. And learn choreography, and be less annoying and navigate the industry and fiercely protect my own sanity through difficult lessons and massive amounts of trial and error and chaos and calamity. But songwriting for me was pretty much the only thing I naturally did.”

Calm and collected throughout most of the speech, Swift faltered a bit when speaking about her family. “It was easy to choose songwriting. But for everyone else in my life, it couldn’t have been easy for my parents and my brother to pick up our entire family and move from Pennsylvania to Nashville,” she said, pausing after choking up a bit. “Even though words are kinda supposed to be my thing I will never be able to express my gratitude,” she told her family. “You are the reason I’m here tonight.”

Before leaving the stage, she offered up a quote from one of her favorite TV shows, Yellowstone, by way of advising the next generation of songwriters. “’It’s the one constant in life, son: you build something worth having, somebody’s gonna try to take it,’” Swift said in her best paternal Southern accent (which was aided somewhat by her strained vocal cords). “I’m using this quote to refer to self-worth, peace of mind and singular vision as a creator,” she explained. “Positive feedback and people loving what you wrote feels incredible… but you need to be ready to receive negative feedback,” she added. “If you make anything awesome, someone out there is bound to say horrible things about it. Or twist what you meant into something completely unrecognizable to you.”

Her advice? “You can be sensitive but also durable…. Take what’s useful and constructive and leave out what’s damaging to your creativity.”

Though she graciously kept a low profile before taking the stage, Swift’s star power was undeniable throughout the entire evening, something many of her fellow inductees couldn’t help but comment on. Walter Afanasieff mentioned it was the “joy of his life” to watch Swift sing along to a medley of his songs performed by Sheléa prior to his induction. Johnny Mercer Award honoree John Fogerty, when addressing the “dark” years he spent not playing his best-known songs in concert, joked, “Taylor Swift, I don’t recommend you do that.”

Swift’s induction as part of the Class of 2026 makes her the youngest woman ever inducted into the SHOF. Furthermore, she’s the first recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award (which the SHOF gives out to promising young talents; she nabbed it in 2010, and RAYE got it this year) to gain full membership. And as Linda Moran, Songwriters Hall of Fame CEO and president, said earlier in the evening, Swift seems to be on track for the organization’s highest honor, the aforementioned Johnny Mercer Award, if she keeps pace.

The BRIT Awards will return to Manchester’s Co-op Live in 2027, organizers confirmed on Tuesday (June 9; June 10 in England). The event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 27, with the ceremony once again broadcasting live on ITV1 and ITVX. 

The 2026 edition was also held at the Oak View Group-owned Co-op Live, marking the first time the BRIT Awards had taken place outside of London in its nearly 50-year history. It had previously taken place at The O2 Arena (2012-2025), as well as various venues in the capital including Earl’s Court (1996-2011) and Alexandra Palace (1993-1995).

Stacey Tang, co-president of RCA Records at Sony Music U.K., has been reappointed chair of the 2027 BRITs Committee and will oversee all aspects of the show, including its creative direction. Tang will lead a committee comprising representatives from major and independent record labels, BRITs TV and the BPI. 

Tang, who featured on Billboard U.K.’s 2026 Power Players list, also led the committee for the 2026 ceremony. The BRITs’ presence in Manchester featured activations across the city, as well as free-to-attend panels and workshops as part of the debut BRITs Fringe. 

The news follows a successful BRIT Awards earlier this year, which organizers say delivered the largest global audience in the event’s history. The show featured performances from Harry Styles and EJAE, AUDREY NUNA and REI AMI (the voices behind K-Pop Demon Hunters’ HUNTR/X), alongside Mark Ronson, Olivia Dean, Rosalía, RAYE and Wolf Alice.

Dean collected four awards on the night, including album of the year for her blockbuster second LP, The Art of Loving. Other big winners included Noel Gallagher, who was named songwriter of the year, as well as Lola Young, who took home the breakthrough artist prize.

“It’s a real privilege to return as Chair and to be back in Manchester for a second year,” said Tang in a statement. “There was such an incredible energy around the 2026 show — across the city, the industry and with fans everywhere. I’m excited to build on that global success alongside a brilliant team, pushing the show creatively and continuing to celebrate the artists, the culture and the communities that make British music what it is.”

BPI CEO Dr. Jo Twist OBE added: “Following the record-breaking success of this year’s show in Manchester, we can’t wait to return to the Co-op Live to continue celebrating and championing music and creativity to a global audience, from a city with a great heritage that has truly welcomed and embraced us with open arms. We look forward to further developing our cultural impact across the U.K. and in Manchester itself around next year’s show.”

Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig said: “This year’s BRIT Awards in Manchester were a huge success with a global reach and massive local impact, and we’re excited and ready to help make 2027 the biggest year yet for The BRITs!”

Continued Craig: “The impact of the awards was felt across the city region, from the cash benefit for our economy, showcasing small local music venues, incredible opportunities for our up-and-coming young musicians and creatives, and engagement with Greater Manchester schools — and we’ll be creating even more ways for them, for local people across GM and for visitors to get involved in next year’s awards, which look set to be another incredible celebration of music and our city.”

New York ain’t the Windy City, but Radio City Music Hall hosted a star-studded tribute to Chicago on Sunday (June 7) during the 79th annual Tony Awards.

P!nk (2026 Tonys host), Queen Latifah (who played Matron “Mama” Morton in Rob Marshall’s 2002 film adaptation), Whitney Leavitt (who currently plays Roxie Hart on Broadway), Dylan Mulvaney (who recently wrapped a run in Broadway’s Six), Alex Newell (2023 Tony winner and Chicago Broadway veteran) and Julianne Hough (who hosted the 2022 Tonys pre-show) and more participated in a medley of the musical’s best-known songs.

After an introduction and torch passing (“from one mother hen to another”) from Queen Latifah, Newell belted out a song both of them know well: “When You’re Good to Mama.” Newell’s boisterous voice was on full display, making Mama a helluva hard act to follow. But it helps when you have a round-robin of murderesses talking about how they killed the men who had it comin’: “Cell Block Tango,” which everyone (including Jesse Tyler Ferguson in a brief but hilarious cameo) sold with gusto. To wrap it up, P!nk sang Chicago centerpiece song “All That Jazz”: the hardest-rocking pop star served jazz hands, vocal excellence and a bit of the cat who caught the canary energy at the end, clearly living her childhood fantasy on the Tony Awards stage.

“We always come from a theatrical place,” the Grammy winner told Billboard ahead of her Tonys hosting gig when asked about the connection between live theater and her concerts. “I mean, for me, I’m a carney, right? So it’s sort of like a circus, without the animals of course, other than the humans.”

The multi-song performance commemorated 30 years of Chicago on Broadway; while the John Kander and Fred Ebb musical debuted on Broadway in 1975, the current revival opened in 1996 and has been running ever since, making it the longest-running show currently on the Great White Way and the longest-running musical revival ever.

Prior to the Chicago stopover, P!nk opened the 2026 Tonys with an extravagant, hilarious parody of her collaborative 2001 smash “Lady Marmalade” (a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1) rewritten as “Leading Lady Marmalade,” which brought out Megan Thee Stallion, Lea Michele, Neil Patrick Harris, the Tony-nominated women of 2026 and dancers from The Lost Boys, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Schmigadoon! and more.

Tony Awards host P!nk brought an iconic pop culture reference from 25 years ago to 2026’s ceremony, opening the televised show with a leading lady-themed remake of “Lady Marmalade.” Megan Thee Stallion, who recently took an early exit from her run in Moulin Rouge, took the New York stage in her Zidler costume next to P!nk and reworked Lil’ Kim’s rap from the 2001 supergroup single during Sunday night’s (June 7) lively performance.

The parody of “Lady Marmalade” (based on the Grammy-winning version of the song P!nk once recorded with Lil’ Kim, Christina Aguilera and Mya), “Leading Lady Marmalade,” had P!nk highlighting several of Broadway’s best in the tune’s “gitchie, gitchie” chorus.

Lea Michele, who wasn’t nominated for an award this year, joined in for a cameo to hit Xtina’s big vocal note from the original “Lady Marmalade” — but swapped in a fitting lyric, all things considered: “We don’t do it for the awards.”

June Squibb, nominated in the best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play category, and seated in the front row at Radio City Music Hall, also had a scene-stealing moment. When the mic was pointed her way, Squibb — who’s the oldest acting nominee in Tony Awards history — quipped to the tune of “Mocha Chocolata, ya-ya“: “All the parts I’ve played, I’ve slayed ’em.”

Backed by a full-stage ensemble that included familiar faces like Broadway’s Dylan Mulvaney, Shoshana Bean, Neil Patrick Harris and more, the opening number ended with a soaring “Welcome to the Tony Awards!” from P!nk.

Harris, who’s had four turns hosting the awards ceremony himself, had helped P!nk lead into the “Leading Lady Marmalade” scene after the pop star first made a spinning-in-the-air entrance, dressed as Peter Pan.

“I just wanna show how much I love theater even though I’ve never been on Broadway,” she told Harris, who wondered what she was up to.

“But you’re P!nk, you can do anything,” he replied.

“But I’m worried some people will wonder why P!nk is hosting the Tonys. I just want to make sure everyone knows I’m thrilled to be here and I want my opener to be as ‘Broadway’ as possible,” P!nk insisted.

P!nk had hinted at a “wild” Tony Awards opening number in interviews in the days leading up to this year’s ceremony. Without spoiling the “Lady Marmalade” nod, P!nk told Broadway.com, “It’s just a full-blown ridiculous celebration. I told them my one caveat was that immediately as soon as I step onto the stage, I have to make fun of myself, and make it absolutely just about fun and celebrating everyone.”

Follow a complete list of the 2026 Tony Awards winners, updating live as they’re announced, here.

She’s topped the Billboard Hot 100 four times and scored 15 top 10 hits on the chart; placed three albums atop the Billboard 200 and nine in the top 10; won three Grammy Awards; been named a Billboard Legend of Live, and is known for her astounding aerial feats. But this Sunday, June 7, longtime pop star P!nk will add a more unexpected achievement to her resume: hosting Broadway’s biggest night, the Tony Awards.

For P!nk, a love of Broadway hits very close to home. She grew up loving classic musicals (and sometimes acted in them); now, her daughter Willow Sage Hart is not only a devoted musical theater fan but an aspiring performer herself, now attending performing arts school in New York.

But despite the fact that her own music certainly has a Broadway presence — Moulin Rouge! features “Lady Marmalade,” the blockbuster hit she sang on with Mya, Lil’ Kim and Christina Aguilera in 2001; and & Juliet features “Perfect” — P!nk has yet to appear on a Broadway stage herself. That’ll change this weekend, not only with her hosting gig, but with a much-anticipated special performance celebrating the 30th anniversary of Broadway mainstay Chicago, in which P!nk will perform alongside Queen Latifah and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

“The first thing I had to do was see if my hips worked, and they do… sort of,” P!nk tells Billboard with a laugh. The pop superstar sat for a chat as she prepares for the Chicago performance high up New York’s Rockefeller Center, around the corner from Radio City Music Hall, where the Tonys will be presented. “It’s not something I ever thought I’d do, and now that I’m doing it it’s really fun.” As for what to expect: “It’s gonna be a medley. I’m doing… something! And it’s gonna be amazing! I’m like, living out my childhood dreams right now.”

P!nk caught up with Billboard days ahead of the Tonys to discuss her own musical theater past, the shows she’s constantly listening to with her daughter, and whether she’d ever consider letting her catalog become the basis for a musical.

Billboard: Broadway cast recordings can be formative just like pop albums; was there a gateway theater album that really got you into musical theater? 

P!nk: Annie. [Sings from “Maybe”] “Maybe now it’s time, and maybe when I wake…” That was my singing lessons song. It was Whitney Houston that made me want to take voice lessons [in the first place], because I was like, well, how come she can sing like that? But I did train classically, so I would sing Phantom and then I got into Les Misérables and I just loved it all.  

Singing Phantom will definitely get your range going! 

Oh yeah, I mean, I used to sing it seriously. And then I smoked it all away [laughs].  

And you participated in theater yourself growing up too, right?  

Oh yeah. I was Rumpleteazer in Cats! I had to make my own costume. I was also Annie as a child at musical theater camp, this tiny little YMCA camp in Doylestown [PA]. 

Which cast albums are in rotation in your house today, that you listen to with your family? 

What is [Willow] not listening to? Newsies was a big one for a while. The Notebook was a favorite of Willow’s, to be honest. Huge Outsiders fan. Sara Bareilles is amazing and Waitress was amazing — that’s another one we have in constant rotation. Hamilton was kind of an entry point for Willow — it was The Greatest Showman and Hamilton, around that time where she was like, “What is happening?”  

If you had to choose your personal Mount Rushmore of musicals, what would be on it? 
 
I mean, Les Mis every time. That’s some of my favorite music. You see that girl playing Cosette singing “Castle On A Cloud”… just great songs and really fun.  

There is increasingly so much overlap between the pop and theater worlds. Do you have friends who’ve come to the theater world who have helped bring you into it? 

I don’t know many pop musicians. It’s Willow all the way that brought us here.  

There’s a lot of interest today in mining pop artists’ catalogs for Broadway musicals. Have you ever been approached? 

Many times. I don’t know if I have an opinion just yet. I think & Juliet was the coolest. It’s a really good show, I really liked it, and I was skeptical, even though I love Max Martin. I think anything is possible if it’s done right.  

Speaking of & Juliet, I have heard rumors that you might go into it at some point….? 

They asked me to play Shakespeare, and I thought that was hilarious and awesome and would certainly be the role for me. But I’m not doing anything right now.  

Would you ever be interested in writing an original musical?  

Yeah, I like to write. Absolutely.  

Among the performers you’ve seen on Broadway, do you have particular favorite voices?
 
Joshua Henry — he’s so good. Caissie Levy I love, Jessica Vosk I love. Shoshana [Bean] is incredible. I mean, even the guy that plays the dad in Lost Boys [Ben Crawford], he opens his mouth and I’m like, how are you that good with this small of a part?! Like, Jesus, do you have the best voice in the play? You’re here for four seconds!  And [Crystal Lucas-Perry] who played the mom in Bigfoot! [off-Broadway], her voice is sick. I love Maria [Wirries] in Lost Boys, Emma Pittman [and] Sky Lakota Lynch from Outsiders…

You have an innate sense of theatricality. Has a sense of theater affected how you put together your live show? 

I think very much that we always come from a theatrical place. I mean for me, I’m a carney, right? So it’s sort of like a circus, without the animals of course, other than the humans [laughs]. It’s a combination of circus, theater, rock opera… I guess pop show, but the pop show has the least amount to do with it. I would say more of a rock show than anything. We rock harder than a lot of rock bands. But definitely with staging and what’s possible, it is theater —  it’s just a movable stage.
 
Can you share anything that’s happening with your own music right now?  
Absolutely nothing. No, I’ve been writing some songs just because my heart needs it. But no, I don’t have any plans right now. I’m just mom-ing and seeing where the day takes us.

The Tony Awards are produced in collaboration with Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League. In addition to executive producing the show with Sussman, Kapoor and Levine Hall will also serve as co-showrunners. Patrick Menton and Rob Paine will co-executive produce, with Menton also serving as head of talent.