Phoebe Bridgers‘ last album, Punisher, arrived in June 2020, in the early, uncertain days of COVID-19. Though it was written prior to the pandemic, the album became a perfect lockdown summer soundtrack: Sardonic, reflective and restless, it unintentionally captured the mood of the time, particularly with a scream into the void on closer “I Know the End.”
Bridgers couldn’t tour Punisher upon its release, so instead she hosted a handful of livestreams from her apartment for what she dubbed her World Tour in 2020. As restrictions lifted in 2021, she more than made up for lost time with the Reunion Tour, which kicked off in September 2021 and ended in April 2023, just in time to start up a tour with boygenius — her supergroup with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus — that went into 2024 and, on her own, join Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour for a dozen dates.
This May — after a nearly two-year break during which she largely stayed out of the public eye — Bridgers reappeared for her first solo show in three years at a 400-capacity venue in Roswell, New Mexico. She spent the rest of the month playing smaller, phone-free pop-up shows, where her set lists mostly comprised already-released songs but included a few new ones. The stretch culminated in one much-bigger concert: a Tidal-sponsored Madison Square Garden performance on June 4. Bridgers announced a proper fall tour the next day; then on June 24, she finally let fans know that a new album was coming.
The spacious and experimental Lost Weekend, out today (Aug. 14) on Dead Oceans, was written over a period of both loss and love. A lot has happened for the Los Angeles singer-songwriter since 2020, from launching her own Saddest Factory Records (which has since merged with Dead Oceans) to getting back on the road and releasing the debut boygenius album to a high-profile breakup with actor Paul Mescal, the death of her father and the start of a new relationship with partner (and now credited collaborator) Bo Burnham.
With these events swirling in the background, Bridgers takes on an edgier tone on Lost Weekend. The album fluctuates between grief and elation, agitation and contentment, as Bridgers sings like someone who has loved and lost — and still has something to lose.
Lost Weekend’s extensive production credits include Bridgers, Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska, who both worked on Punisher and Bridgers’ debut studio album, Stranger in the Alps; and Jack Antonoff, with additional production from Alex G. Some songs function as interstitial, ambient-leaning transitions, while others are meant to stand on their own. Over an ambitious 16 tracks, Bridgers has room to wander, which she does with some country flair and new electronic touches. But while the album may turn some new heads, OG Phoebe fans need not worry: The intricate, scene-setting lyrics, the delicate yet powerful voice and the gallows humor all remain.
Here is Billboard’s ranking of every song on Phoebe Bridgers’s Lost Weekend.
It’s been a wild ride for KATSEYE. Just two years into their journey, the international girl group has crashed the Billboard charts, played Coachella, covered Vanity Fair, and appeared on late-night network TV. A sold-out arena tour awaits.
Today, Aug. 14, the pop act drops a third EP, WILD (via HYBE x Geffen Records), led by the Billboard Hot 100 hits “PINKY UP” and “Animal,” co-written by Ed Sheeran.
WILD is the followup to 2025’s BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, an EP that debuted in the top five of the Billboard 200 (at No. 4), and earned Grammy Award nominations for best new artist and best pop duo/group performance, for “Gabriela”. That song is one of the act’s six appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
KATSEYE will hit the road for THE WILDWORLD TOUR, which gets underway Sept. 1 at Dublin’s 3Arena, an expansive arena jaunt that takes the K-poppers into arenas in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. The itinerary includes two-night stands at The O2 in London, UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY, Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City.
For EYEKONS who can’t wait, the concert film KATSEYE: WILD HEARTS is currently playing at 1,700 cinemas across over 60 countries, reps say. Directed by Nadia Hallgren, the film captures never-before-seen footage, fan videos, and intimate interviews with the singers.
Physical releases (CD and vinyl) of WILD feature the individual band members and are available at Target and exclusively include the bonus track “Unloveu,” which KATSEYE’s member Lara Raj wrote and produced with Amy Allen (Harry Styles, Justin Bieber) and Ross Golan (Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez).
To celebrate the new release, KATSEYE will perform at the Citi Concert Series on NBC’s TODAY, just hours after returning to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for an interview and a performance of “Animal.”
WILD represents a new era of “maturity, growing up,” Lara told Fallon.
Stream WILD below.
For years, Benny Blanco has been one of pop’s most influential figures without always occupying the spotlight himself. As a songwriter and producer, he has helped shape some of the biggest hits of the past two decades, from Britney Spears’ album Circus (2008) and Katy Perry’s album Teenage Dream (2010), to Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” (2015) and “Lonely” (2020) and Ed Sheeran’s “Castle on the Hill” (2017). Now, Blanco is stepping fully into his own frame — and doing so in Spanish.
On Friday (Aug. 14), the hitmaker releases Hermoso — a title that translates to “beautiful” or “handsome” — his first Spanish-language album and his fourth studio project overall. The eight-track LP arrives with a cover that embraces maximalism: Blanco’s facial features instantly catch the eye with comically exaggerated detail in a striking mask. It’s an arresting image for an album that marks a deliberate expansion of his musical world.
Blanco has long spoken about his love for Latin music, and Hermoso reflects that interest through a wide-ranging lineup of collaborators. The album includes the cumbia jam “Te Olvido (La La),” featuring his wife Selena Gomez and Becky G, as well as appearances from Bb trickz, The Marías, Mora, Myke Towers, Ovy on the Drums and Netón Vega. His move into the genre also builds on recent collaborations with Vega (“/Perro Fiel”, 2025) and Grupo Frontera (“Quédate Bebé, 2024).
The project follows Blanco’s two Friends Keep Secrets albums — released in 2018 and 2021 — as well as I Said I Love You First, his 2025 collaborative album with Gomez. But Hermoso represents a distinct new chapter: a Spanish-language set shaped by Blanco’s pop instincts and a cast of artists from Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, the U.S. and Colombia.
Below, see how Billboard Español ranks every song on Hermoso, in descending order:
Becky G dropped her fifth studio album, Baraja Bendita, via RCA Records Friday (Aug. 14).
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In 17 tracks — including the previously released “EPA,” “Marathon” and “Patrona” — the Mexican-American singer bridges Becky G (the artist) and Rebbeca (her real name) as a musical symbol of duality, ownership and the freedom to exist fully without contradiction.
“It’s about trusting myself enough to stop choosing between different parts of who I am,” she said in a statement. “For so long, people wanted to define me by one thing: one language, one sound, one version of myself. This album isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about fully owning every part of who I’ve always been.”
In contrast to her música mexicana-leaning projects Esquinas (2023) and Encuentros (2024), Becky proudly flaunts her 200% identity (100% American and 100% Mexican) powered by evolution and “baddie” energy.
She seamlessly navigates from a kizomba and R&B fusion in “Chula,” to bachata in “Te va a doler,” merengue in “Mal Tiempo” and reggae in “Bandera Blanca.” She also delivers her signature reggaetón sound, as well as many club-ready bangers rooted in house and deep bass music.
Written by Becky herself and not featuring any collaborations, the tracks on BB all find the artist allowing vulnerability and confidence, instinct and intention, to exist side by side.
Baraja Bendita, which can loosely be translated as a “blessed deck of cards,” marks Becky’s fifth LP following Mala Santa (2019), Esquemas (2022), Esquinas (2023) and Encuentros (2024). Her last album went top 10 on Billboard‘s Top Regional Mexican Albums chart.
Stream Baraja Bendita below:
Influence Media Partners made a strategic investment in IPNation, described in a press release as “the first investment platform dedicated exclusively to Arabic music catalogs and entertainment intellectual property.”
IPNation, which has a target investment size of $100 million, will focus on acquiring music and entertainment intellectual property in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including music masters and publishing rights, artist brands, and name, image and likeness (NIL) rights. The company will develop the IP it acquires “into multi-format entertainment franchises spanning immersive experiences, live shows, film, documentaries, merchandise, gaming, licensing, AI-powered derivatives, and next-generation fan engagement,” states the release.
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IPNation was founded by Anghami co-founder Eddy Maroun and Jose Maria Dot, former chief investment officer of Multiply Group (now 2PointZero) and managing director of FTI Capital Advisors. Influence Media Partners, led by founder and co-managing partner Lylette Pizarro McLean, specializes in the acquisition and management of music and entertainment intellectual property. Supported by strategic partnerships with funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, its portfolio includes works by artists including DJ Khaled, Enrique Iglesias and Future.
“This partnership marks an important step in the evolution of Influence Media,” said Ram Kolluri, head of investments and strategic partnerships at Influence Media Partners, in a statement. “We’ve long believed that premium music IP is a global asset class, and the Middle East represents one of the most exciting opportunities for long-term growth. IPNation combines deep regional expertise with a compelling vision for the future of Arabic music and entertainment IP. Together, we believe we can create lasting value for creators, rights holders, and audiences across the region and beyond.”
“Arabic music and entertainment IP represent one of the most undervalued cultural asset classes globally today,” said Dot, IPNation’s CEO. “IPNation was created to institutionalize investment into iconic and predictable income-generating IP while generating upside through our IPNation Value Creation Playbook, bringing our music to larger audiences efficiently. We believe the Middle East is entering a new era where culture itself becomes a scalable financial asset.”
Eddy Maroun, chairman and chief innovation officer of IPNation, added: “For decades, Arabic music created massive cultural impact but very little long-term ownership value for the region itself. IPNation changes that. We are not only acquiring catalogs; we are building a platform that transforms Arabic IP into global entertainment franchises across music, live experiences, storytelling, gaming, AI, and beyond.”
Read about more recent industry deals below.
It’s been almost two decades since fans first met Mitchie Torres and the campers of Camp Rock. Now, the beloved franchise grows with the release of Camp Rock 3.
The new film introduces a fresh batch of campers hoping to earn their place in the spotlight while also bringing back some familiar faces, including the beloved members of Connect 3, played once again by the Jonas Brothers. When the band announces that they are looking for an opening act for their tour, the campers are put through a series of three challenges that test not only their musical chops, but also their ability to work together.
The challenges lead to the film’s climatic final jam, where the remaining campers get one last opportunity to prove that they have what it takes to support Connect 3 on the road. During the journey, some of the movie’s most memorable scenes have little to do with winning. The campers find themselves forming unexpected friendships, confronting their own insecurities and discovering that making music can be just as much about connecting with other people as it is about putting on an amazing performance.
For longtime fans of the Camp Rock films, this new addition has a few surprises of its own. From an unexpected songwriting lesson with a Camp Rock alum to a surprise appearance before the final jam, here are five of the biggest moments from Camp Rock 3.
The following contains spoilers for Camp Rock 3, including details about the film’s final jam and its outcome.
John Summit has added a Los Angles date to his upcoming CTRL ESCAPE tour, and it’s a big one. The producer will play the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which has a capacity of roughly 77,500, on Dec. 12.
A press release about the show advises that this will be Summit’s biggest headline show to date. It will also be the final show of the 20-date arena run, which begins Oct. 1 in Champaign, Ill., the city where Summit studied accounting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Organizers report that tour stops in Boston, Fort Worth and Brooklyn are sold out. See the complete tour schedule below.
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“Over the years LA has made some of the most special moments of my career,” Summit wrote in his post announcing the show, referencing the pipeline of local venues he’s risen through. “From the Palladium to the Shrine, then BMI Stadium to Kia Forum.. we knew we had to end the album tour on the highest note in Los Angeles.”
Summit recently closed his 2026 Ibiza residency at [UNVRS] and headlined Lollapalooza on July 30.
CTRL ESCAPE Tour Dates
October 1 – Champaign, IL – State Farm Center
October 23 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell
October 24 – Hamilton, ON – TD Coliseum
October 25 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
October 29 – Boston, MA – TD Garden (SOLD-OUT)
October 30 – State College, PA – Bryce Jordan Center
October 31 – Washington, D.C. – Capital One Arena
November 5 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
November 6 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
November 7 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena (SOLD OUT)
November 8 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
November 13 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
November 14 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
November 15 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
November 20 – Miami, FL – Kaseya Center
November 21 – Miami, FL – Kaseya Center
November 24 – Chicago, IL – United Center
November 25 – Chicago, IL – United Center
November 27 – Philadelphia, PA – Liacouras Center
November 28 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center (SOLD-OUT)
December 4 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
December 5 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
December 12 – Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Even with all her fame and riches, Cardi B is still loyal to shopping at Old Navy. She became the face of Old Navy’s fall 2026 denim campaign, and the Grammy-winning rapper called the partnership a “full-circle” moment while recalling the days of shoplifting at the store as a kid.
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“Thank you Old Navy for holding me down. In high school, I used to steal from you guys all the time. So it’s just a full-circle moment that I’m an ambassador for Old Navy,” she said during an Instagram Live on Wednesday (Aug. 12). “I used to steal all the time and I never got caught. If it wasn’t for you guys, I probably wasn’t the freshest bi–h in school.”
Cardi complimented Old Navy’s fit and denim cut, as the shape of the company’s jeans is BBL-friendly, unlike many denim brands she’s tried over the years.
“BBL bi–hes, it is so hard for us to find jeans. Chanel and the stuff like that, we can’t wear those types of jeans. The only big brand that kind of fit our bodies are Acme Studios,” Cardi explained. “This is the type of body I have, I’m 5’3″ and I’m skinny, I got no waist, but my ass and hips is the size of Uganda. They don’t make jeans for a bi–h like me.”
As the face of the fall campaign, Cardi starred in a Western-themed The Most Wanted ad alongside Wisdom Kaye and Quen Blackwell, which arrived Aug. 4. The high-waisted cuffed jeans Cardi’s sporting in the campaign are available in seven colorways onOld Navy’s website for $49.99.
“When you have a BBL it’s hard to find jeans… but Old Navy got everything for everybody,” she wrote on X in support of becoming an Old Navy ambassador.
Cardi returned to release her first single of 2026 with “Ah Ha,” which debuted at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. The 33-year-old Bronx native earned her fourth diamond song after the RIAA certified the Billboard Hot 100-topping “WAP” earlier in August.
Losing a child in a jam-packed music festival will strike fear in any parent, and director Jeremy Garelick brings that fear to life with the movie Rolling Loud.
Based on the Rolling Loud hip-hop festival, the upcoming comedy released a trailer for the flick on Thursday (Aug. 13) starring Travis Scott, Owen Wilson, Sexyy Red, Matt Rife, Christine Ko, Ski Mask the Slump God, Ty Dolla $ign and more.
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The festival-themed movie, helmed by Rolling Loud and Live Nation, is set to hit U.S. theaters on Oct. 2. The trailer kicks off with Wilson’s 13-year-old son, played by Christian Convery, pleading with Wilson to take him to Rolling Loud.
In an attempt to play the “cool dad,” the Wedding Crashers actor gives in, and the chaos begins when Wilson loses his son in a sea of 60,000 sweaty rap fans on a bathroom trip at the Miami festival. All hell breaks loose in the search party, and Wilson ends up backstage explaining the situation to Sexyy Red and La Flame.
Amid the panic, Wilson ends up onstage during Scott’s headlining set (this scene was taped during Scott’s set at Rolling Loud Miami in December 2024) while he’s performing his rambunctious “FE!N” anthem.
“You’re the guy on the big screen that all the security’s looking for,” Sexyy says. “You jumped off a Ferris wheel, right?” To which Wilson clarifies, “No, I threw someone off a Ferris wheel.”
Garelick’s idea for the film was loosely based on true events when he briefly lost track of his son at a Rolling Loud festival in the past.
“The fact that we had this experience together, it bonded us and it really brought us together,” the film’s director told People. “It gave us those inside jokes, those secrets that we can’t tell anybody. And then to put it into a movie that’s coming out all over the world, it’s just incredible. I think parents should take their kids and enjoy it.”
Rolling Loud’s only 2026 U.S. festival took place in Orlando in May, which was headlined by Don Toliver, Ken Carson and Playboi Carti.
Watch the Rolling Loud trailer below.
Lionel Richie had something to say to the next generation of R&B stars during a recent show: They may think they’re breaking new ground, but the legends were doing it first. Moreover, according to Richie, they managed to stay out of jail while doing it.
During a stop on his Sing a Song All Night Long Tour with Earth, Wind & Fire, Richie brought up Usher and Chris Brown’s massive 2026 co-headlining stadium tour while speaking to the crowd. In a clip circulating online, the “All Night Long” singer jokingly compared the pair’s tour to his own partnership.
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“Usher and Chris Brown… See, they try to do something new,” Richie said. “The Commodores with Earth, Wind & Fire, we were doing that back 40 years ago! Only difference is, between then and now, we didn’t go to jail.”
Richie laughed after delivering the punchline and continued to acknowledge the severity of the joke.
Brown clearly took the joke in stride, commenting on an Instagram clip of the concert with four laugh-cry emojis: “damn unk. We love ya paw paw.”
Brown and Usher are in the midst of The R&B Tour, a 2026 co-headlining stadium trek that began in June and is scheduled to continue through December. The run includes multiple stadium dates in major cities, including upcoming shows at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Richie’s joke was clearly aimed at Brown’s well-documented legal history, including his 2009 guilty plea to felony assault following his attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna. More recently, Brown pleaded guilty in July stemming from a 2023 altercation at a London nightclub. He is scheduled to be sentenced in the U.K. on Oct. 26.
This unexpected dispute between the artists comes as Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire are on their own high-profile tour together. Their Sing a Song All Night Long Tour pairs Richie’s decades-spanning pop and R&B catalog with Earth, Wind & Fire’s funk and soul classics, a combination Richie himself invoked while making the comparison. The tour’s North American leg is scheduled to wrap Friday in Austin, Texas.
Watch the clip below.