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Back in 2016, former Hot 97 host Ebro Darden challenged Lil Uzi Vert about having longevity in the rap game and believed they could be struggling years down the line.
A decade later, Uzi’s outlasted plenty of his peers and continues to solidify their rockstar status with performances like they had headlining Friday night (June 12) at Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash 2026 in Bridgeview, Illinois.
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The Philly native hit the Summer Smash festival main stage outside Seatgeek Stadium around 10:25 p.m. CT and apologized for being tardy. “Sorry I’m late, I had to jump off the jet,” they told the 50,000 fans chanting his name.
The always fashionable Uzi popped out in a white Gucci longsleeve top with the signature green and red stripes across his chest and a backpack to match. He nearly went with the full Gucci manakin, but opted for Prada sneakers and a furry fox tail accessory hanging from his belt. “But you know, Gucci almost to the toe, down to the Prada,” they said of the outfit. “Nowadays Gucci the same thing as Balenciaga.”
Their entrance felt like a WWE wrestler gearing up to enter the ring at WrestleMania, with plenty of fireworks and love from the crowd. Between the damp Jheri curl and Uzi’s jubilant child-like energy, they were moving with the aura of Michael Jackson crossed with the je ne sais quoi of Lil Wayne.
Uzi kicked off the set with an unreleased track before running through “POP,” “444+222” and “Aye.” They channeled back to the nostalgia of early fan-favorites like “Do What I Want” and “Money Longer.” The 30-year-old claimed to hear some requests from the crowd and mixed the poignant “The Way Life Goes” into the set.
At one point, Lil Uzi took note of a fan rocking their spiked hair and pink American flag jacket look from The Pink Tape cover art, and essentially demanded that they come on stage. The fan, who went by Mars, raged with Uzi on stage and was even on a receiving end of a headbutt from the Philadelphia native. It’s like Uzi found their own version of Burberry Erry for a few minutes.
Lil Uzi brought out the styrofoam cup for “XO TOUR Llif3” and poured some out for the homies no longer with us. They gave a shout-out to North West, who was watching nearby, as fans went bar-for-bar with Uzi on the emotional Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit.
This launched into a heater for Uzi, who showed off the dance moves for “Just Wanna Rock” and 2025’s Jersey club-infused “What You Saying,” which reached No. 12 on the Hot 100. They briefly paused the show ahead of “New Patek” when a frustrated Uzi saw a few fans either sitting down or laying on the ground.
“Hold on! Can y’all get y’all a—s up off the floor, please? What the f—k is wrong with y’all? F—k you tryna get your face stepped on? Get up,” he instructed.
With the clock inching past 11, Uzi still wasn’t ready to call it a night. After undergoing a wardrobe change, they launched into Playboi Carti’s “Shoota” and then left fans with the tease of the weekend, a new album on the way, which will be their first since 2024’s Eternal Atake 2.
“Thank y’all so much, Lil Uzi Vert. New album on the way. I gotta get home and take care of my baby monkey,” they explained.
The surprises didn’t stop there. Lil Uzi’s been leaning on their European influences and the set’s outro found Uzi putting on a British accent for a portion of an upcoming song. It seems LUV is trading Philly cheesesteaks for tea and crumpets these days.
Olivia Rodrigo’s newly released You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love is off to a record-breaking start.
The 23-year-old pop star’s third studio album, released Friday (June 12) through Geffen Records, is already shattering streaming records across major platforms.
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Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love’ Has a Plot Twist Even She Wasn’t Prepared For: Critic’s Take
On Friday, Spotify announced on X that the 13-track set became the most-streamed album in a single day in 2026 so far by a female artist.
The album also set a major milestone on Amazon Music, delivering the platform’s biggest first 24-hour streaming debut globally of any album Amazon Music in 2026, the streaming service revealed through its Instagram Stories on Friday.
You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love arrives three years after Rodrigo’s last full-length release. Her previous album, Guts, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2023.po
The new project follows Rodrigo’s Billions Club Live performance in Barcelona in May. The one-night-only event brought together 1,500 of the singer’s most dedicated Spanish fans at the outdoor venue Teatre Grec. During the set, she performed eight of her nine Spotify Billions Club tracks, alongside fan favorites from her first two albums and her recent single “Drop Dead.” Spotify later released a concert film of the show on May 27.
In late April, Spotify unveiled a list of the most-streamed artists, songs, albums, podcasts and audiobooks in the platform’s history. Rodrigo’s 2021 debut album, Sour, ranked No. 4 among the streaming giant’s most-streamed albums of all time.
Rodrigo is also one of the youngest artists with multiple songs in Spotify’s Billions Club. Sour ranks second among albums with the most tracks surpassing 1 billion streams on the platform, with seven songs reaching the milestone. Only Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti has more, with eight Billions Club entries.
Alanis Morissette, Michael Bublé and others helped kick off the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada.
The star-studded opening ceremony took place Friday (June 12) at Toronto Stadium ahead of team Canada’s tournament opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Alessia Cara launched the festivities with a spirited performance of her 2016 song “Wild Things,” singing from inside a giant gold-outlined soccer ball. The opening number also featured numerous dancers waving flags and carrying artwork inspired by Canadian wildlife.
From there, singer Nora Fatehi, DJ Sanjoy and rapper Vegedream took the stage to perform “Siir,” a track from the official FIFA World Cup 2026 album. Elyanna and Jessie Reyez later teamed up for a performance of another song from the project, “Illuminate.”
Morissette then delivered a stirring rendition of the Canadian national anthem, “O Canada,” while violinist Aleksandar Gajić performed the national anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bublé closed out the ceremony alongside the Sole Power Choir with a rendition of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It on Home to Me.”
“The opening ceremony in Toronto will be a powerful reflection of Canada’s identity and the energy surrounding the FIFA World Cup 2026,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
“Through music, culture and unforgettable performances, we will welcome the world with a celebration that is uniquely Canadian while also connected to a larger story unfolding across Mexico and the United States. It will be a moment of pride, unity and anticipation as Canada takes its place on football’s biggest stage.”
Later on Friday, Katy Perry, LISA, Anitta, Tyla, Rema, Future, Dan + Shay and more headlined the 2026 FIFA World Cup USA Opening Ceremony in Los Angeles.
One day earlier, Shakira and Burna Boy performed their World Cup anthem “Dai Dai” at Estadio Ciudad de México. Maná, J Balvin, Belinda, Danny Ocean, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules and Tyla were also part of the spectacular show.
North West reached a new milestone in her budding music career, delivering her first solo set at a music festival.
On Friday (June 12), the 12-year-old daughter of Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Kim Kardashian took the stage at Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash 2026 in Chicago.
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Dressed in a black Balenciaga ensemble, dark sunglasses, spiky jewelry and long blue pigtails, North performed her 2024 collaboration with Ye, “TALKING,” from his album Vultures 1.
The young rapper-producer’s proud parents both celebrated the moment on social media. Ye reposted a clip of the early evening performance on his Instagram Stories.
“The crowd was jumping for North West at Summer Smash when she played ‘TALKING,’” read a caption over a video showing North performing the track for an energized festival crowd.
Kardashian also gave an inside look at Summer Smash 2026, sharing a photo of backstage passes featuring North’s face on her Instagram Stories. The SKIMS founder posted another a clip of her daughter running onto the festival stage, writing over the video, “North West just arrived at her first ever festival performance.”
North’s debut solo music festival performance arrives on the heels of her debut EP, N0rth4evr, which dropped in early May.
She previously tested the waters in music and made waves appearing on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures, as well as FKA twigs’ EUSEXUA album. North released her “Piercing on My Hand” single in February and also made an appearance at Ye’s SoFi Stadium shows in Los Angeles in April.
Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash 2026 features Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti and Baby Keem as headliners for the three-night event. The festival runs June 12–14 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois.
Recently, when Harry Styles was asked what he would consider his most iconic fashion moment, the answer was definitive: a red loveheart jumpsuit paired with a plain white tee, worn at Wembley Stadium, London in June 2022. It was a surprisingly functional ‘fit for a man otherwise known for flamboyant looks, but his answer revealed much more than just what he likes to pick off the rails.
He continued, “During that show, that fear left my body and there was a sense of calm,” and that when the heavens opened during “Sign of the Times,” the opening song of the show’s encore, “I remember having a massive smile on my face. I thought, ‘How can I ask for any more joy?’ I felt so full in that moment. I felt like I was flying.”
That show was his first-ever headline performance as a solo artist in an outdoor stadium, a moment that proved to Styles, more than anyone else, that he was more than capable of hitting the biggest of leagues and staying there. He was no longer fighting for credibility in a post-boyband solo career, but now out on his own and dominating the most historic of stages.
It’ll come as no surprise, then, that Wembley Stadium was one of the few stadiums to be chosen as a stop on his Together, Together residency run. Following its kick-off in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on May 16, it arrives not just as a homecoming for Styles but a coronation: his 12-run show will break Wembley Stadium’s all-time record for most shows in a calendar year (Coldplay previously held the record with 10 shows in 2025).
It’s one thing to play Wembley Stadium as a headline act – a career-high for every artist – but tougher still to create an authentic, lasting connection with the stadium that extends beyond the show. The defining images of Queen’s career came during their headline gigs in 1986, while Muse’s H.A.A.R.P show in 2007 are certainly in the hall of fame. Oasis played some of the best shows of their Live ‘25 reunion tour at the stadium just last summer. It proves rarer than one would imagine.
But Styles is fast becoming Wembley’s most bankable and beloved star. He played three shows with One Direction in 2014, and during the Love On Tour run from 2021-2023, Styles played the Stadium a further six times. The latter provided Harries (and the casuals that were swept up in the madness) a moment of post-pandemic release. There were cowboy hats, pink feather boas and reconnection. Missing out on tickets felt like being robbed of some kind of fundamental human emotion: pure joy.
Together, Together is a different proposition, however. Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally is knottier by design, favouring moodier electronics and oblique lyrics as opposed to the pop-powered Harry’s House (2022) soft-rock stylings of Fine Line (2019). The tour’s opening run in Amsterdam featured rave-influenced production and nods to Underworld and Orchestral Maneuvers in The Dark. Quite the switch-up.
As he returns home to his stomping ground, these were the best moments from the residency’s opening night.
From career milestones to new releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
This week’s roundup is all about the power of community. In Los Angeles, Snow Tha Product was honored by the City of Los Angeles for using her platform to uplift Latin communities, a meaningful recognition that arrived exactly one year after the ICE raids that deeply impacted many immigrant families across the city. The moment struck a chord with the Mexican-American rapper, who told Billboard later that she felt “seen as a real person who matters in this fight,” adding “it’s nice to see that L.A. cares.”
Elsewhere, Latin music continued making noise across live stages, cultural spaces and social media feeds. Farruko and Christian Alicea brought celebratory energy to New York’s Gol Fest at Terminal 5, blending concert thrills with fútbol fever in a packed crossover event. At Grammy House New York, the Recording Academy hosted its first-ever Latin-focused showcase during Indie Week.
On a lighter note, Feid delivered one of the week’s sweetest viral moments by linking up with Brooklyn’s beloved Green Lady, creating a perfectly on-brand meeting that fans instantly embraced online. And in Spain, Ana Mena and Lola Índigo finally released their long-awaited first collaboration, while Puerto Rican breakout band Chuwi marked a major career milestone with its first-ever solo headline show in Madrid.
Check out our weekly Uplifting Moments in Latin Music roundup below.
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