Courtesy of Rick Ross
One of the most treasured moments on the Australian music calendar, the presentation of the ARIA Hall of Fame, became an embarrassment of riches on Thursday night, June 11, as six legendary acts were inducted in a special ceremony.
The Australian Recording Industry Association went large for the 40th anniversary of the flagship ARIA Awards by breaking from tradition. Instead of the usual class of one or two, ARIA elevated a half-dozen beloved acts on the night: Gurrumul, Jenny Morris, Kate Ceberano, Spiderbait, The Living End and Vika & Linda.
A special night requires a little something extra, and that was certainly the case as Sydney’s Carriageworks hosted a room packed with illustrious guests, from movie stars, to federal politicians (including a video tribute from prime minister Anthony Albanese) and, of course, giants of the music community.
ARIA has inducted artists into its Hall since 1988. That first class featured Dame Joan Sutherland, Johnny O’Keefe, Slim Dusty, Col Joye, Vanda & Young and AC/DC. In 2005, the trade body created a standalone ceremony ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame, when multiple acts were elevated. It was televised, it resonated with music fans, but proved short-lived as the industry struggled in a post-digital download landscape.
For 2011, the Hall of Fame induction became a spot within the ARIA Music Awards, with two new inductees. Then, from 2012, just one act has been inducted each year at the ARIAs.
Since that first class, scores of Aussie legends have got the nod, from Cold Chisel, to Kylie Minogue, Yothu Yindi, Kasey Chambers, Olivia Newton John, INXS, Crowded House, Archie Roach, Missy Higgins, Tina Arena, and last year’s inductee, You Am I.
The Hall of Fame salutes “the artistic achievement, cultural contribution and remarkable legacies of the inductees and celebrate the evolution of Australian music over the past four decades,” reads a statement from ARIA.
Billboard attended the 2026 ARIA Hall of Fame ceremony to soak up all the action.
Olivia Rodrigo has finally released her third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, proving once again that she’s the queen of moody love songs.
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The pop star’s new LP arrived Friday (June 12), complete with 13 tracks exploring the spectrum of romantic love, from the first rush of the honeymoon phase to the creeping in of uncertainty and the emotional tidal wave that hits after it ends. It comes three years after she last released an album — having topped the Billboard 200 with 2023’s Guts — and even longer since she first established her proficiency for capturing the emotional turbulence of love on debut LP Sour.
“I realized all my favorite romantic love songs were beautiful because they had a tinge of fear or yearning in them,” she said early on of You Seem Pretty Sad in an interview with British Vogue. “I felt a similar way about falling in love, that the second I’m in a really great relationship, I’m gonna start feeling good about myself, and this stuff is going to fall into place. But it just doesn’t work like that.”
The first tastes of the LP fans got were lead single “Drop Dead,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, followed by “The Cure.” She also previewed “Begged” on Saturday Night Live in May and debuted “What’s Wrong With Me” live with collaborator Robert Smith at Primavera Sound in Barcelona.
Rodrigo will now gear up to hit the road in support of the project, with plans to kick off her Unraveled Tour in September. The arena run will take her across North America and Europe through May of next year.
Stream Rodrigo’s new album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love below.
Maná will light up stadiums across Latin America later this year as they return to the region during their Vivir Sin Aire Tour.
The announcement came on Thursday (June 11), just hours before their historic performance at the opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, which organizers said was watched by billions of viewers worldwide.
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According to a statement released by their label Warner Music and a promotional video, Maná — one of the most influential and successful Mexican bands in the history of Latin rock — will celebrate their 40th anniversary with this new series of performances. The tour will kick off on Nov. 28 at the Vive Claro in Bogotá, Colombia, and conclude Dec. 17 at the Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City. The band will also visit cities in Peru, Chile and Argentina.
The group, composed of lead singer Fher Olvera, drummer Álex González, guitarist Sergio Vallín and bassist Juan Calleros, is set to cap a highly successful year that included an extensive U.S. tour and their performance at the World Cup’s opening ceremony. The event also featured Shakira, Burna Boy, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules, Belinda, Tyla, Alejandro Fernández and Danny Ocean. During the ceremony, Maná performed their classic hit “Oye Mi Amor,” which had 87,000 fans singing along while at the iconic stadium.
“I believe that some of the most beautiful things in the world are art and sports because they have the power to bring people together,” Olvera said in an interview with Billboard Español prior to the ceremony. “Soccer brings entire countries together around a shared emotion, and music does something similar. That’s why it’s so special for us to be part of the World Cup’s opening ceremony. Imagine what it means to kick off an event that will be watched by billions of people across the planet and to do it in Mexico, no less. It feels monumental.”
Included in their album ¿Dónde Jugarán Los Niños?, “Oye Mi Amor” also recently appeared on Dua Lipa’s new album Live From Mexico City, recorded last December during the final show of her global Radical Optimism tour in Mexico City, where she invited Olvera to perform the song with her.
Maná has achieved numerous milestones in the music industry, including being the first Latin band nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2025. This year, the quartet was highlighted by Billboard in the top 10 of our staff list of the 50 Greatest Rock Bands in Spanish of All Time.
Below are the dates and venues announced for the Latin American leg of Maná’s Vivir Sin Aire Tour:
- Nov. 28 — Bogotá, Colombia @ Vive Claro
- Dec. 2 — Lima, Peru @ Estadio San Marcos de Lima
- Dec. 5 — Santiago, Chile @ Estadio Monumental
- Dec. 10 — Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Estadio River Plate
- Dec. 17 — Mexico City, Mexico @ Estadio GNP Seguros
For more than a decade, iZaak has established himself as a prolific singer and songwriter, penning songs for reggaeton giants like Daddy Yankee and Nicky Jam. Now, he finally unveils his debut studio album, Millito — a project he began working on three years ago.
“Experiences and consistency,” he says when asked what motivated him to release his LP this year. “I was only releasing singles; I had that feeling of fear — of not daring to take the leap … but if all my fellow colleagues are doing it, why can’t I?”
Home to 19 songs, including star-studded features with Maluma, Wisin, Chencho Corleone, Omar Courtz, Jhayco, Anuel AA, Blessd and more, Millito navigates from reggaeton to electronic music to trap to modern ballads. Lyrically, he touches upon themes of love, heartbreak, ambition, desire and self-improvement.
“They are new rhythms with urban lyrics,” he tells Billboard. “Basically, I made an album that was needed — including collaborations with fellow artists that were needed.”
Millito, produced by BK and Doble El Elegid, is also a dedication to his late father, Emilio, who passed away in November 2023.
“My dad was called Millo—short for Emilio—and since I look so much like him, everyone called me Millito,” he explains. “Because of the love I had for my dad, I’m using him as motivation for my first album; he really believed in me. My roots, my upbringing, and where I come from all serve as motivation for this album—and as a reminder that life goes on and beautiful things can emerge.”
Below, iZaak breaks down five essential tracks on Millito:
The composers of the University of Michigan’s iconic “Let’s Go Blue” marching band fight song are fighting back in litigation over a sync in the College Football video game series.
Albert Ahronheim and Joe Carl, who co-wrote “Let’s Go Blue” as Michigan students in the 1970s, were sued earlier this year by publishers Theodore Presser and Carl Fischer. The companies claim they’ve owned the song’s composition rights since 1978 and properly inked a College Football license with Electronic Arts (EA), only for Ahronheim and Carl to interfere and get the sync removed.
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Ahronheim and Carl tell a different story in counterclaims filed on Tuesday (June 11), first obtained and reported by Billboard. The composers say they exercised their termination rights under copyright law years ago and now control the “Let’s Go Blue” publishing. In 2024, however, they allegedly learned that Presser and Fischer had illegally licensed the song to EA behind their backs “for a paltry sum of approximately $1,000.”
“This came as a surprise to [Ahronheim and Carl], as Fisher did not have authority to license the song in any capacity (and $1,000 was a shockingly low license fee),” reads the countersuit.
Now, the composers and publishers are each asking a judge to declare that they are the rightful owners of “Let’s Go Blue.” Each side is also seeking financial damages from the other for alleged wrongdoing.
Reps for the composers, publishers and EA did not immediately return requests for comment.
The dispute turns on the technicalities of the termination right — a provision of copyright law that allows authors to claw back their intellectual property decades after signing it away. Ahronheim and Carl claim they exercised their termination rights in 2013, and that Presser and Fischer accepted at the time that the “Let’s Go Blue” publishing had reverted.
The publishers, however, argue in their lawsuit that Ahronheim and Carl’s termination notice was invalid because they failed to make an official report to the U.S. Copyright Office before the 2013 effective date. Presser and Fischer say this means they retain ownership of “Let’s Go Blue” and are thus entitled to license out the song to EA and others.
This lawsuit is just one among many current court battles that are testing the limitations of termination rights. Salt-N-Pepa is locked in one such case, with Universal Music Group arguing that the rap duo can’t exercise the right because they didn’t actually sign their original record deal. Another major fight is questioning whether termination rights extend overseas. And earlier this month, a judge ruled that they couldn’t be invoked because a member of 2 Live Crew filed for bankruptcy.
After Rosalía postponed the first three dates of the North American leg of her Lux World Tour — initially set for June 4 and 6 in Miami, and June 8 in Orlando — new dates have been announced.
The concert in Orlando has been rescheduled for Sept. 9 at the KIA Center, while her shows at Miami’s Kaseya Center will now take place on Sept. 14 and Sept. 16. “All purchased tickets for the original show dates will be honored for the new dates,” reads the official announcement shared on Kaseya Center’s official Instagram on Thursday (June 11).
One of her two shows in New York City has also been rescheduled for June 18 at the Madison Square Garden. She will also have a show there on June 17. The North American trek now officially kicks off Thursday (June 11) at the TD Garden in Boston.
The Spanish singer-songwriter—whose Lux World Tour is visiting 17 countries in Europe, the U.K., North America and Latin America—postponed the kick off of her North American stint due to a family emergency.
Live Nation confirmed the news on X on June 4, stating: “Due to a family emergency, Rosalía has to postpone her upcoming shows in Miami and Orlando. She is sorry to disappoint her fans, but the circumstances have left her with no other choice. As the tour explores rescheduling, please hold onto your ticket. More information soon.”
For more information, click here, and see the updated North American tour dates below:
- June 11 — Boston @ TD Bank
- June 13 — Toronto @ Scotiabank Arena
- June 17 — New York @ Madison Square Garden
- June 18 — New York @ Madison Square Garden
- June 20 — Chicago @ United Center
- June 23 — Houston @ Toyota Center
- June 27 — Las Vegas @ T-Mobile Arena
- June 29 — Inglewood, Calif @ Kia Forum
- July 1 — Inglewood, Calif @ Kia Forum
- July 3 — San Diego @ Pechanga Arena
- July 6 — Oakland, Calif. @ Oakland Arena
- Sept. 3 — San Juan, PR @ Coliseo de Puerto Rico
- Sept. 9 — Orlando, Fla @ KIA Center
- Sept. 14 — Miami @ Kaseya Center
- Sept. 16 — Miami @ Kaseya Center
After declaring himself “a Knick” earlier this week, A$AP Rocky believes he was a good-luck charm of sorts while cheering on the Knicks to a historic comeback from the Madison Square Garden stands.
The New York Knicks erased a 29-point deficit — the largest in NBA Finals history — on Wednesday night (June 10) to snatch a 107-106 victory in game four of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at MSG.
Rocky was hyped as he celebrated on the court following the epic comeback win. “We was down by like 20. It’s because of me, I’m the good luck charm,” he claimed in a brief postgame interview. “I was up there cheering from the box, going crazy. Thank me later!”
Rocky wasn’t kidding either, as footage emerged of the Harlem rapper turning up and bringing the energy in the ESPN New York suite while rapping along to DMX’s “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem.”
Game four was a star-studded affair as celebrities filled MSG, which saw appearances from Taylor Swift, Nas, Fat Joe, Tate McRae, Hailey Bieber, Timothée Chalamet, Kylie Jenner, Ben Stiller, Larry David, Adam Sandler and many more.
The Wu-Tang Clan brought the ruckus to MSG, as the legendary rap group hailing from Staten Island helmed game four’s halftime show, which saw the crew perform “Bring da Ruckus,” “Method Man” and “C.R.E.A.M.”
Rocky kept the good vibes going after the game, where he joined Rihanna for a night out on the town in the Big Apple.
The Knicks will look to clinch the franchise’s first championship since 1973 with a win in game five on Saturday night (June 13) when the series switches back to San Antonio.
A wave of international stars lit up the FIFA World Cup 2026 opening ceremony on Thursday (June 11) at Mexico City’s stadium (Estadio Azteca), headlined by Colombian superstar Shakira and Nigerian artist Burna Boy with their World Cup anthem, “Dai Dai.”
Maná, J Balvin, Belinda, Danny Ocean, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules and Tyla were also part of the spectacular show, which began 90 minutes before the opening match between Mexico and South Africa.
The spectacle was witnessed by more than 80,000 people inside the venue and millions around the world, according to organizers. Before the game began, Tyla performed the South African national anthem, while ranchera music icon Alejandro Fernández performed Mexico’s anthem on the field of the legendary stadium — a venue that has witnessed historic soccer moments featuring figures such as the late Pelé and Diego Maradona during the 1970 and 1986 World Cups, respectively.
“I believe that two of the most beautiful things in existence are art and sports because they have the ability to bring people together,” said Fher Olvera, the lead singer of Maná, in a statement to Billboard Español. “Soccer unites entire countries around the same emotion, and music does something similar. That’s why it’s so special for us to be part of the World Cup opening.”
“Just imagine what it means to kick off an event that billions of people around the planet will watch, and to do it in Mexico, no less,” he added. “It feels monumental.”
Mexican actress and producer Salma Hayek served as the honorary host during the opening ceremony, having been previously appointed as the tournament’s official ambassador. From the field, Hayek greeted attendees and the international audience just minutes before the first kickoff.
Meanwhile, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, declined to attend the tournament’s opening match featuring the Mexican national team at Mexico City’s stadium. Instead, she gave her ticket to a young Mexican soccer fan through a nationwide contest.
This marks the third time Mexico has hosted a FIFA World Cup, though this time it shares hosting duties with the United States and Canada.
Below, see the highlights of the opening ceremony, in chronological order:
Rick Ross is back outside this summer. Rozay announced on Thursday (June 11) that his Set in Stone album will be released on July 17 via Gamma.
The MMG boss set the album’s rollout in motion with the French Montana and Max B-assisted “Minks in Miami,” and Ross has another single in the chamber as “Mahogany Caskets” featuring T.I. will be released on Friday (June 12).
T.I. and Rozay have teamed up in the past on tracks such as “Pledge Allegiance,” which landed on Tip’s 2010 album No Mercy. They’ve also rapped alongside one another on hits such as DJ Khaled’s star-studded “We Takin’ Over,” which actor Timothée Chalamet recently championed as the “No. 1 video of all-time,” in his opinion.
Set in Stone marks the Biggest Boss’ first album in five years, and serves as the follow-up to 2021’s Richer Than I Ever Been, which debuted at No. 22 on the Billboard 200.
The Miami-bred rapper is currently on the road for his Port of Miami 20th Anniversary Black-Tie Experience Orchestra Tour. The North American trek continues on Friday (June 12) in Atlanta.
“Port of Miami was the foundation of an empire, the blueprint to the biggest boss,” Rozay said in a statement when announcing the tour. “Twenty years later, we aren’t just celebrating an album — we are elevating the culture. Bringing this music to the stage with a full orchestra and choir in a black-tie setting is about cementing the legacy. It’s luxury, it’s historic, and it’s a milestone we are going to celebrate at the absolute highest level.”
Port of Miami was released in August 2006, and Rozay’s debut album launched at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 187,000 album units earned in the first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan (now Luminate) at the time.
Seeker Music Group announced a global distribution partnership with Virgin Music Group, which will see Virgin serving as Seeker’s distributor for its catalog recordings and new projects.
“This partnership is a game-changer for Seeker in how we elevate our catalog and artists,” Evan Bogart, CEO of Seeker Music, said in a statement. “We are so excited about the cultural impact and importance of the records we have the opportunity to support, and Virgin is the best at championing independent catalogs and artists on a global scale. Whether it is Nu Shooz, Run the Jewels, Joan Jett or Christopher Cross, we are now in a position to celebrate our music with more energy and resources than ever before. Seeker is here to build, preserve and extend legacies, and Virgin is the perfect partner to help us scale that mission.”
Last month, Seeker announced the closing of its inaugural $267 million asset-backed securitization (ABS).
“Seeker represents the kind of forward-thinking, creator-driven company we love partnering with at Virgin Music Group,” Cindy James, general manager of Virgin Music Group North America said in a statement. “Steven, Evan and their team have a unique ability to reimagine catalog and artist partnerships in ways that feel fresh, relevant and culturally impactful. With our global infrastructure and their creative vision, we see a tremendous opportunity to amplify this music and connect it with new audiences around the world, and we’re incredibly excited about what we can build together.”
Steven Melrose, Seeker’s Chief Creative Officer, added, “We’ve been good friends with, and huge admirers, of Nat, JT, Jacqueline and Cindy for a while now, so it made all the sense in the world for us to team up with them and their great extended global family. They bring the same creative passion and forward-thinking spirit that defines Seeker, and together we’ll unlock new opportunities for our artists and catalogs worldwide!”