Charlie Puth just got a lucky break.

The Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and producer has his wardrobe all sorted out, thanks to a new partnership with Lucky Brand.

The pop artist is the latest brand ambassador for the American apparel and lifestyle specialist, known for its vintage-inspired denim, casual wear, and slacker-rock aesthetic.

“I’ve always believed the best work comes from staying true to who you are,” Puth remarks in a statement. “That’s what drew me to Lucky Brand. There is a genuine appreciation for individuality and the confidence to do things your own way, and I’m excited to be part of a brand that celebrates people who make their own luck.”

Expect to see a well-dressed Puth fronting campaigns in-store, online, across paid media, through activations, social posts and elsewhere. Check out the launch promo below.

Puth, remarks Stefani Fleurant, executive VP, sports & lifestyle marketing at Authentic Brands Group, which acquired Lucky Brand in 2020, is “an artist who has always stayed true to his vision, and that makes him a natural fit for Lucky Brand. He reflects the independent spirit that has been part of our story from the very beginning.”

Marisa Thalberg, chief marketing officer of Catalyst Brands, operating partner for Lucky Brand, echoes those comments. “Charlie embodies that spirit in a way that feels effortless,” she remarks. “His originality, curiosity and passion for his craft make him a natural partner as we continue building a brand that celebrates individuality and the enduring connection between style and music.”

Puth is on something of a lucky streak. He recently became a dad, he performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” to open the Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium earlier this year, and dropped his fourth studio album, Whatever’s Clever! via Atlantic Records, in March of this year, peaking at No. 46.

Since emerging in 2015 with his guest spot on Wiz Khalifa’s smash hit from Fast & Furious 7, “See You Again,” which parked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks, Puth has landed 13 total songs on the chart, including four top 10 hits.  

Also, Puth’s first three studio albums – 2016’s Nine Track Mind (No. 6), 2018’s Voicenotes (No. 4) and 2022’s Charlie (No. 10) – all crashed the top 10 on the all-genres Billboard 200.

After completing his North America and Europe route in support of the new album, the Asia leg of Puth’s Whatever’s Clever World Tour gets underway Oct. 11 at Seoul’s Goyang Stadium, and includes dates in Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, followed by Australia and New Zealand this November.  

MELBOURNE, Australia — Ralph Carr, the promoter and talent manager who guided the careers of ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted singers Kate Ceberano and Tina Arena, has been revealed as the Australian businessman recently found guilty of rape.

The businessman, who has represented artists and athletes for several decades, was identified on Monday, Aug. 3 when a longstanding suppression order was lifted by the County Court of Victoria.

At the time of writing, Carr is yet to be sentenced.

Prosecutors alleged Carr committed the attack against a woman at his Melbourne home in March 2023, after a night when the pair had been consuming drugs and alcohol.

He pleaded not guilty at the trial. A jury, however, last week found him guilty of rape and sexual assault.

Carr’s barrister Dermot Dann KC said his client would appeal the verdicts. “Our client maintains his innocence,” Dann remarked, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports. “No jury acting reasonably or rationally could have arrived at the guilty verdicts.”

Media outlets were unable able to disclose Carr’s identify until this week, due to a suppression order granted under Section 18(1)(c) of Victoria’s Open Courts Act. Carr’s legal reps had called for the gag order, arguing his personal safety was at risk if he was outed in the press.

A high-profile manager in music circles and the AFL, Ralph Carr Management clients included Vanessa Amorosi, Rick Price, Mark Vincent, and Arena, to whom he was married for several years in the mid-to-late 1990s. His live entertainment company RCM Touring Pty Limited went into liquidation in 2018, after reportedly owning A$120,000 to another touring enterprise, Big Deal Touring. Two years later, in 2020, Carr was questioned in a “public examination” at Sydney’s Supreme Court in relation to RCM Touring’s financial affairs.

Following this week’s revelation, which made the front pages of newspapers across the country, former Aussie rules football star Dustin Martin cut ties with the disgraced talent manager. “I was shocked to learn of the outcome of the court proceedings,” Martin comments in a statement provided to The Guardian. “I had no knowledge whatsoever of the conduct that led to these convictions. My thoughts are with those affected. Effective immediately, I have ended my professional relationship with my former manager. As this is a legal matter, I will not be making any further comment.”

Role Model is sticking to his guns.

Ahead of the release of his new album Chuck Timely & The Hourglass on Friday, the singer/songwriter revealed that after the breakout success of “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” his label encouraged him to capitalize on the viral moment by working with established producers. Instead, he trusted his gut to collaborate with Mason Stoops and Taylor Mackall, who have worked with fellow musician Lizzy McAlpine, to assist in bringing Chuck Timely to life.

Speaking with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Role Model (real name Tucker Pillsbury) recalled that after “Sally” gained traction, “My label was like, ‘You want the big dogs. This is your chance to have those huge producers in the room.’” But the singer said he “had to fight it for a little bit” before convincing them to let him work with Stoops and Mackall, who had previously contributed as session musicians on his 2024 album Kansas Anymore.

“I got to trust my gut this time,” he said, explaining that he believed the pair had an untapped talent for producing pop music. “I’m glad I did because those two boys and everyone else that helped on the record did it perfectly.”

Pillsbury also spills about the album’s songwriting process, saying that instead of having fully formed songs ready in the studio, he confessed that many sessions began with Stoops and Mackall just jamming together until ideas came about. The album’s standout track “Good Thing,” for example, came together in roughly an hour after the musicians started playing without a plan.

“I didn’t even have a prompt or anything,” he said. “They literally just started playing, and then we were like, ‘Wait, this has kind of got like a Willie [Nelson] vibe to it.’”

The musician thought back to the feeling of finishing that impromptu session. He stated that listening to that track for the first time felt like listening to a cover, not a record of his own, though he loved it.

“That [emotion] felt really good. I streamed the sh– out of that song and it’s not even out yet,” Pillsbury admits.

Chuck Timely & The Hourglass is set to release on Aug. 7 and includes the previously released single “High Hopes 3000,” which hit No. 94 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Watch the Apple Music’s interview below.

SYDNEY, Australia — BMG has acquired a basket of Andrew Stockdale’s rights relating to his interests in Wolfmother, the Grammy Award-winning Australian rock outfit.

The music company now controls Stockdale’s publishing, recorded music royalties and neighboring rights interests for Wolfmother’s catalog, extending on a decade-long partnership, stuck in 2016 when BMG became his global publisher. Financial terms weren’t revealed.

“Few Australian bands have built a catalog with the global reach, cultural impact and enduring influence of Wolfmother,” comments Heath Johns, president, Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, BMG. “I signed Andrew to his first publishing deal in 2005 (then with Universal Music Publishing), before the band took over the world and two years before they won a Grammy. I still have that original demo CD with ‘Woman’, ‘Joker And The Thief’, ‘Dimension’ and ‘White Unicorn’ on my desk.”

Stockdale is the vocalist, guitarist, co-founder and songwriter with Wolfmother, which enjoyed an international breakthrough with its 2005 self-titled album, and a slew of throwback heavy-edge songs, from “Joker And The Thief” to “White Unicorn” and “Woman,” which won a Grammy for best hard rock performance.

The trio returned with a new lineup, led by Stockdale, for the 2009 follow-up Cosmic Egg, which peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200. Along the way, the rockers have collected multiple ARIA Awards, including best group; the coveted APRA songwriter of the year award; nominations at the BRIT Awards, and Stockdale was on hand to induct Led Zeppelin into the UK Hall of Fame in 2006.

Also, Wolfmother’s recordings have been sync in major film, television, advertising and video game campaigns, including The Hangover, Jackass Number Two, Shrek the Third, Ted Lasso, NHL, Madden NFL, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk’s Project 8, and others.

“Heath Johns is a legend of the Australian music industry with an extensive reach across international markets,” Stockdale comments. “His enthusiasm for Wolfmother’s music has been there from the original demos to ‘Joker’ being played at huge sporting events.

“I couldn’t think of a better place to have my share of the catalog than BMG. We appreciate the amazing syncs BMG has created over the years, helping cement Wolfmother’s music in popular culture, and we’re looking forward to seeing what opportunities await with the great team at BMG.”

Since Robert Kyncl became Warner Music Group’s CEO in early 2023, the record label behind Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Stella Lefty and Burna Boy has undergone cost cuts, a corporate re-org and a slew of leadership changes. During the company’s earnings call on Wednesday (Aug. 5) for its third fiscal quarter, Kyncl sought to reassure investors that Warner’s consequent reinvestment and bottom line growth was evidence that “our long-term strategy is working.”

“Over the last three years, we’ve done lots of difficult things,” Kyncl said, reflecting on the company’s cost cuts, amounting to more than $600 million combined, and its work negotiating updated deals with streaming partners. “There’s a strategy here that was set in motion, and it’s delivering results. And we have an amazing team of executives who are rowing in the same direction.”

Kyncl’s message came days after the unexpected departure of CFO and COO Armin Zerza, whom Kyncl thanked for his “long-lasting” contributions, including sharpening WMG’s focus on “capital allocation, forecasting, and … investor messaging.”

“All of those are deeply institutionalized in our company now, and I’m very confident about them continuing,” Kyncl said, extending thanks to Louis Dickler, WMG’s chief accounting officer who was named acting CFO, and Tom Corson, Warner Records’ co-chairman and COO, who was named COO of WMG the same day as Zerza’s exit was announced..

Earlier this week, WMG released preliminary financial information showing that quarterly revenue rose by 10% to nearly $1.9 billion on an 11% increase in digital revenue, which hit about $1.25 billion. Supporting that digital growth was a 12% increase in recorded music streaming revenue year-over-year to just over $1 billion. Breaking down the 12% increase, acting CFO Dickler said that 6% to 7% came from subscription streaming income, 3.5% came from improved licensing deals with digital streaming partners and 1% came from expanded global market share.

Kyncl praised chief digital officer Carletta Higgins for inking those deals with all of WMG’s major streaming partners, including, most recently, Apple.

WMG’s market share has risen since a corporate reorganization in 2024 brought Elliot Grainge‘s 10K Projects under the Atlantic Music Group umbrella, but Kyncl said that much of its market share gains came after the 10K acquisition. WMG’s current share of the overall U.S. recorded music market, including catalog, rose by around 0.3%, and its share of the market for music released in the last 18 months grew by around 0.8%, according to Luminate.

Kyncl said Stella Lefty’s Billboard Hot 100 top 5 hit “Boston” and Shakira and Burna Boy’s “Dai Dai (FIFA World Cup Official Song 2026),” the first World Cup anthem to top both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, are the latest hits that contributed to three years of “significant improvement” for WMG’s global market share, which is not publicly available.

In the latter half of 2026, the label expects to release music from Alex Warren, sombr, David Guetta, Ravyn Lanae, Myke Towers, Teddy Swims, and Miley Cyrus.

While WMG does not issue guidance on subscription streaming growth, Dickler said the guidance that the company can achieve high single-digit top-line growth is “obviously … anchored by growth in paid streaming.”

A$AP Rocky is over the drama between himself and Drake.

The Harlem rapper and actor stopped by The Jason Lee Show recently and was asked directly if he would be open to fighting his former friend in a celebrity boxing match, to which Rocky said he was not interested in at all. He also addressed Drake’s disses on “Burning Bridges,” on which the Toronto rapper asked why Rihanna didn’t help promote Rocky’s latest project Don’t Be Dumb.

“He don’t wanna see me,” Rocky said about Lee’s celebrity boxing idea.” F— some gloves, n—a. Bare knuckle, like the Irish. We ain’t doin’ all that celebrity boxing sh–.”

And when it came to the “Your baby mama ain’t even post your single, damn/ Where she at? Yeah, where she at,” lines on “Burning Bridges,” Rocky explained that the jab doesn’t make sense to him. “That’s stupid,” he said. “This is the problem, though: If she would’ve posted my album, everybody would have been like, ‘You only went No. 1 ’cause your girl posted.’ … She not on my f—ing album. What single she supposed to be posting? She posted my album … after it went No. 1.”

“Everybody done moved on with their lives and motherf—as still strung up on that sh–,” he added after Lee jokingly asked if he took Drake’s girl. “It’s just bugged out to me. The Internet antics and smear campaigns and all that, we see right through that. That’s why I just be like, ‘I ain’t responding to that.’”

According to A$AP, his issues with Drake stem from when he started dating Rihanna around 2020. “I thought [Drake] was my mans. I thought he was my dude,” he told Akademiks in an interview earlier this year. “I first met him and he seemed embraceful and sh–. We went on tour with him. I think when I got with [Rihanna], he started throwing shots out of nowhere. I just woke up and felt like he was throwing subs and sh–.”

Rocky also watched never-before-seen footage of his daughter crawling for the first time and talked about how Rihanna has always been there for him whether it be as a friend or romantic partner.

You can watch the full conversation between Rocky and Jason Lee below.

A dance music artist has entered (and exited) the villa.

Love Island viewers and EDM fans now have Bryce Dettloff – known professionally as Bryce Alakai – in common. The reality TV star, who won the eighth season of Love Island USA alongside his girlfriend Trinity Tatum, is hard-launching his DJ career following his time on the Peacock dating show. Alakai is set to begin his first tour, marking his debut North American headline run.

The tour begins Aug. 22 and continues through December, with seven performances across the United States and Canada. Alakai’s stops include Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Toronto, Tampa, Seattle and Portland.

The announcement follows the release of Bryce’s remix of Ty Dolla $ign’s “Blasé,” which gained popularity while he was filming and living inside the Love Island villa, where he had no access to his phone. According to a press release, Alakai recently teamed up with Ty Dolla $ign to create the official remix of the hit song.

Alakai has spent the past several years working as a DJ, artist and producer. He began releasing music in 2022 and has since continued to build his profile in the electronic music space. His appearance on Love Island USA further solidified his social media stardom, particularly through his relationship with  Trinity.

The pair, known by fans as “Brinity,” quickly became one of the season’s favorite couples. From the first day of the reality series, Alakai and Tatum became fan favorites for their relationship and their firm support for one another throughout the competition.

Now, Alakai is bringing his music career to the forefront. According to the press release, the DJ plans to release more original music and announce additional performances throughout the second half of the year, giving fans of both Love Island and dance music more opportunities to see his next chapter unfold.

Joe Jonas is opening up about the professional disappointment that fundamentally drove him to prioritize his mental health.

On the latest episode of the Hey Jonas! podcast, the Jonas Brothers sat alongside one another to divulge into their success and the hardships that come with growing up in a popular band. During the conversation, Joe ended up revealing that the commercial response to his first solo album was what initially led him to seek professional help.

“The reason I started doing therapy is because of the first taste of, like, not achieving ‘success,’” Joe says with air quotes, recalling the release of his 2011 solo debut, Fastlife. “I released a solo album when I was about 21, 22 and it didn’t do as well as I thought it would do because everything the Jonas Brothers touched back then, it would be gold. We would just … be a No. 1 [hit].”

Joe isn’t exaggerating the success of his band of brothers. Since their debut back in 2006, they have had 26 songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as eight albums enter the top 10 of the Billboard 200. Looking back, Joe admits he had attached too much of his self-worth to proving he could succeed apart from his brothers Kevin and Nick.

“I put something out by myself and I think I had a lot of high expectations of success without you guys,” he told his brothers. “That was important to me somewhere in my core. I was like, ‘If I do that, then I matter.’”

Unfortunately, emotional toll soon turned physical. Joe said he began experiencing panic attacks and persistent pain, resulting in constant visits to doctors. After multiple medical appointments, one physician thankfully assured him that nothing was wrong and suggested that he speak to a therapist, which he confesses was some advice he had previously resisted.

“I was like, ‘What do you mean a therapist? I don’t need a therapist. Why would I need a therapist?’” Joe admits.

Instead, he says he tried to cope with the mental turmoil by spending hours riding his bike through New York City, using the time away from his phone to avoid reading comments about the album. He confides in his brothers that it simply felt like the only way to distract himself, but it wasn’t a solution; he was still running away from the problem.

Eventually, Joe decided to give therapy a chance, quickly realizing how much he needed it.

“I finally spoke to somebody after crying through the first question for an hour, realized how great it was,” he said. “It definitely was so helpful during that season and it has been throughout my life and other major life things that I’ve gone through.”

Nick echoes his brother’s sentiments, piggybacking off of points brought up by Joe. Nick expands by saying therapy also helped him rethink how he measures something as subjective as success. Reflecting on the comments he made in a previous podcast episode, the youngest Jonas brother clarified that his struggles weren’t about comparing himself to others, but rather placing too much importance on achievement.

“I needed to be okay with myself,” Nick said. “I just needed to be able to look in the mirror and just be okay as a person, as opposed to comparing to others.”

Both brothers agreed therapy has been an essential guide to navigating the pressures of fame, and encouraged maintaining consistency with their mental health journeys.

Watch the full “Hey Jonas!” episode below.

On July 30, as part of his 2026 global tour, Moby took the stage in the country of Georgia for the first time. The highly anticipated show at the Rustavi International Motorpark near Tbilisi was organized by the local promoter Flitz Collective, with Billboard Georgia serving as the main media partner.

The rich history of the music industry holds the names of many outstanding musicians. However, artists who truly redefined the scene are rare exceptions – and Moby is one of those artists, having helped bring electronic music into the mainstream while bringing emotional depth to the genre. He proved that electronic music goes beyond the club scene and can be globally popular and commercially successful.

Right before the show, Billboard Georgia sat down with Moby backstage, where the artist spoke about music, activism and more. [Editors note: This interview has been translated from Georgian.]

This is your first time in Georgia. What are your feelings and emotions as you’re about to meet the Georgian audience?

I’ve only been here for a couple of days, and I’m really fascinated by Georgia. Tbilisi feels like such a European city, even though it’s a thousand miles away from Europe. What’s interesting about Georgia is that I really like it, yet I don’t fully understand it yet. And that’s what makes it so fascinating.

With your long journey in the music industry, what do you think is the biggest illusion [the industry] creates for emerging artists?

That’s an interesting question. The biggest illusion… I think one of them is, when you’re young and successful, everybody’s nice to you. And the biggest illusion is thinking that they will continue to be nice to you when you’re old and not successful.

A lot of my friends who are young musicians, or young actors, or writers, or whatever, they’ll say things like, “Oh, my agents are great. They’re so nice, and the people at the record label are so great, they’re so nice.” And I’m like, “Yeah, wait until a few years pass.” If you’ve gone a few years without success, they might not be quite as nice, which is just, I guess, the nature of things. But I think a lot of musicians think that their agents, managers, record labels are their friends. And they find out pretty quickly that they’re not.

I have to ask about your activism. What do you think is the main shift in the human mind-set that’s necessary for people to understand the importance of animal rights?

From my perspective, it’s the ability to act logically and in accordance with our beliefs. The strangest thing about humans is that we are so illogical.

If we were to walk around and stop people to ask them three questions: “Do you like animals?” They’ll probably say “yes.” “Do you want to hurt and kill them?” Their answer would be “absolutely not.” “Are you a vegan?” Most of them would say no. And I’m like, “But you like animals and you don’t want to hurt or kill them. Wouldn’t the logical action be to not eat them, to not pay someone else to kill them for you?”

So it’s almost not about ethics, it’s about logic. But our species behaves so illogically, especially in the United States. People care about health, but they pollute the environment. They care about their children, but they won’t pass sensible gun control. We’re just deeply illogical people. I hope that we’re either going to figure out how to behave logically and build an ethical structure from that logic, or, as a species, we’re going to get wiped out.

We’re living in an era of global conflicts and shifting values. In times like these, what role and purpose do you think music plays in society?

Music can do almost anything. It can help people sleep, dance, worship or meditate. It helps people exercise, but it also calms them down. I feel really fortunate that I get to work with music, because it obviously has so much power. I’m not saying my music does, but music’s ability to reach everybody – and to reach them in the most personal way – is  just deeply profound. Again, I’m not talking about my own music, I’m just talking about music in general.

Your work has always been defined by artistic exploration – offering listeners new perspectives and a different side of the art form. Today, as we live in an era of rapid technological progress and AI, how do you see the future of music?

I’ll use myself as an example: Sometimes I just love a good generic pop song, and I don’t care who made it. AI is actually really good at that. I feel like there’s room for both – for generic AI pop music and for Leonard Cohen. There’s room for a person onstage with a guitar and a cello, just as someone like Nick Cave is as far from AI as possible. There’s room for Nick Cave, and there’s room for generic pop music. And the exact same person might love both. I don’t think Nick Cave is going to put AI out of business, but I also don’t think AI is going to put Nick Cave out of business. Think of painting: Putting color on paper can result in a McDonald’s billboard, or it can be fine art. Nobody is going to a concert hall just to listen to AI. But they will do that for Nick Cave.

Just minutes after this conversation, Moby took the stage, kicking off the live show with “Bodyrock” – the iconic hit from his seminal 1999 album, Play.

Moby’s concert wasn’t just a nostalgia trip. Once again, he proved that his music goes beyond trends and temporary industry standards. This performance showed the real truth – Moby’s true power lies not just in the scale of his catalog, but in his ability to remain deeply relevant across eras, leaving a lasting impact on every listener.

—This story was written by Nino Imerlishvili for Billboard Georgia

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Set throughout locations across Thailand, host T.J. Lavin returns for The Challenge: Cutthroat. For season 42, watch contestants from The Real World, Love Island, Survivor, Big Brother, Too Hot to Handle and other reality series battle it out to become the ultimate challenger and win the grand prize.

Starting with a two-episode season premiere on Wednesday (Aug 5), you can stream The Challenge: Cutthroat on Paramount+ — instead of its longtime home on MTV.

How to Watch The Challenge: Cutthroat Online, At a Glance:

When Does The Challenge: Cutthroat Start?

The reality series The Challenge: Cutthroat streams on Paramount+, with a release time of 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT on Wednesdays.

Where to Watch The Challenge: Cutthroat Online for Free

For cord-cutters, there are a few ways to watch The Challenge: Cutthroat, especially if you want to watch for free. DirecTV has a five-day free trial, which features free access to Paramount+.

STREAM ON 3 DEVICES AT ONCE

Paramount+

Get Paramount+

There are two plans to choose from: Paramount+ Essential and Paramount+ Premium (with Showtime).

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Paramount+ has The Challenge: Cutthroat streaming online, as well as past seasons. If you don’t already have a Paramount+ subscription, the streaming service plan goes for $8.99 per month (or $89.99 per year). With Paramount+, you’ll get access to a wide selection of TV shows and movies, live sports, 24-hour news with CBS News and more.

In addition, the streaming service includes a wide selection of music programming and specials, such as The New Edition Story, Love & Hip Hop Miami, Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, MTV Unplugged, Willie Nelson & Family and others.

Although it doesn’t offer a free trial anymore, you can get access to Paramount+ for just $1, if you sign up for Walmart+. The retailer’s rewards program offers access to Paramount+ at no extra cost, while Walmart+ also offers a 30-day trial to take the service out for a test drive.

UNLIMITED DVR

DirecTV

Get Five-Day Free Trial

DirecTV is offering a five-day free trial for new subscribers.

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Meanwhile, a subscription to DirecTV — which comes with access to The Challenge: Cutthroat on Paramount+ — gets you more than 185 live TV, local and cable channels, like NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, ESPN and others. The signature package “Premier” comes with Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited and Starz, and it goes for $129.99 for the first month of service ($169.99 per month afterward). DirecTV even offers a five-day free trial to watch for free if you sign up now.

Starting on Wednesday (Aug. 5), The Challenge: Cutthroat streams on Paramount+. One of the best services that features Paramount+ is DirecTV because it comes with six other streaming services and more than 185 live TV channels.