HUNTR/X‘s Rumi, Zoey and Mira may have worked together to deliver hits while taking down ghouls in KPop Demon Hunters, but for Sesame Street‘s Abby Cadabby, she feels most “Golden” when she and her pals support each other in their simpler but equally worthy goals.

That message of friendship is reinforced in the new music video for Sesame Street‘s parody of the Netflix animated film’s award-winning song “Golden,” which arrived Wednesday (Aug. 19). The visual kicks off with Elmo, Cookie Monster and Grover watching various screens shimmer with a golden countdown as the hopeful opening notes of the eight-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit begins to play. Then, with a shimmery yellow starburst, Abby appears on the screens.

“I see what I can do when I’m with my crew/ We win, when we help, help each other/ We all take pride, stand side by side/ We all support one, one another,” the little fairy-in-training sings in “Go for the Gold” as her pals Zoe and Rosita join her to support each other in various sports. “It’s a home run when you work as one, we learn and we grow as we play/ And I promise that I’ll go up to bat for you cheering all the way.”

As the trio of little muppets heads into the pre-chorus, they hold hands as they accept a trophy. “We show we care by being fair for each other, win or lose/ As one we’re strong we all belong cause our team is the family we choose,” Abby croons as Rosita and Zoe join her for the chorus. “Go for the goal goal goal/ Aim for the stars now/ You know we always play better/ When the team is working together/ We’ll reach a goal goal goal/ We’re doing fine now/ You pick me up when when I’m tired/ We’re lifting each other up higher!”

“Go for the Gold” is the second track on Sesame Street‘s Parody Party album, which Billboard exclusively announced in June. The seven-song project, which arrived July 26, also features fun takes on hits such as Chappell Roan’s Hot 100 No. 15 smash “Hot to Go,” reimagined as potty-training song “Got to Go”; Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” (No. 1) reworked as “Sort It All,” Oscar the Grouch’s ode to recycling; Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” (No. 1) transformed by Cookie Monster into “Share It Maybe”; and much more.

Watch Sesame Street take on KPop Demon Hunters‘ “Golden” below:

As the quartet of Beatles biopics inch ever closer to their April 2028 simultaneous release date, the Universal Music Group has cut a deal with Apple Corps on a new global exclusive licensing deal covering the band’s merch, licensing and e-commerce businesses, the companies announced today (Aug. 19). Universal has long been the home of the Beatles’ recorded music through their stewardship of Capitol.

The four Beatles biopics, first announced in 2024, will be told from the respective perspectives of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, with the four bandmates being portrayed by Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan, respectively, with James Norton as Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Directed by Sam Mendes, the films are as yet individually untitled, though they are collectively being billed as The Beatles — A Four Film Cinematic Event.

“The Beatles embody music’s power to change the world, and that influence makes them one of the most iconic and enduring cultural brands of all time,” UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge said in a statement about the deal. “We’re grateful for Apple Corps’ trust as we deepen our global partnership, while protecting and growing The Beatles’ legacy through authentic fan experiences worthy of their artistry. As a lifelong Beatles fan, building on the relationships forged over the past 14 years is one of the great highlights of my career.”

The Beatles, of course, are no strangers to the big screen, themselves having put out films like A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine during their recording and touring career in the 1960s, as well as the documentary Let It Be about the recording of their final album. They’ve also been the subject of films by Ron Howard (2016’s Eight Days A Week) and Peter Jackson (2021’s Get Back) and their music and story were the inspiration for theatrical releases like 2007’s Across The Universe and 2019’s Yesterday, in addition to dozens of other films and specials over the years.

These forthcoming movies, however, serve as the first time the four members and their respective estates have granted full life rights to any production, as well as full music rights through Apple and UMG. They will follow the projected 2027 debut of The Beatles At 3 Savile Row, a seven-floor fan experience in London that will open up Apple Corps’ archive of memorabilia and exhibitions, and will also house a merch store and recreation of the studio space where the band recorded Let It Be in 1969, as well as the location of their iconic rooftop concert at the location, which was the basis for Jackson’s film.

“We are delighted to partner with UMG on a new global merchandising deal,” said Tom Greene, the newly-minted CEO of Apple Corps, in a statement. “There has never been a more exciting time to work on The Beatles as we look ahead to the 3 Saville Row fan experience in 2027, and our biopic movies in 2028. The Beatles message has never been more relevant or needed in the world today, and we look forward to delighting millions of fans with everything we have planned.”

SYDNEY, Australia — Velvet Trip has signed an exclusive global publishing agreement with BMG.

Velvet Trip is the dreamy, psychedelic-pop project of Zeppelin Hamilton, the Wiradjuri singer, songwriter and producer, an act with two appearances on the ARIA Albums Chart, a classy live show, and a growing fanbase.

The BMG deal caps a year of good vibrations for Velvet Trip.

In February, the act landed an APRA Professional Development Award, in recognition of creative achievements and future potential, and scored an ARIA Top 40 appearance with Glimmers Continued, its second album. Glimmers Continued got the Feature Album treatment on triple j and went on to debut at No. 33 on the all-genres national ARIA Chart and at No. 5 on the Australian Artist Albums chart. Velvet Trip’s first LP, Harmony Blooms, peaked at No. 19 in 2024. 

Last year, the outfit won a spot as one of the triple j Unearthed x NIDA competition winners, earning a music video (for “Burnin’ Up”) created by NIDA student directors and designers. Velvet Trip finished 2025 as the most-played artist across the triple j Unearthed platform.

“I’m honored to be working alongside the amazing team at BMG across the globe,” Hamilton remarks. “I’ve been a huge fan of their roster from afar for many years, so it’s a real pinch-myself moment to now be partnering with them and to be considered alongside the world-class artists they represent.”

Financial terms of the BMG deal weren’t disclosed.

Hamilton is honing a reputation as a must-see live performer, selling out headline shows at Sydney Opera House’s Utzon Room and Melbourne’s Northcote Social Club. Along the way, the rising artist has supported Djo, Parcels, Ocean Alley, and Middle Kids, and performed at major festivals including Bluesfest, Yours & Owls, triple j One Night Stand, Party In The Paddock, and performing at the National Indigenous Music Awards.

Away from the studio and stage, Hamilton serves as an official ambassador for the Australian Music Venue Foundation and MusicNSW.

“All four members of our A&R team independently put Velvet Trip on the BMG radar, and when it’s unanimous, we sign immediately,” explains Heath Johns, president, Australia, New Zealand & South-East Asia, BMG.

“Velvet Trip is on the verge of a major breakout. The songs are all incredible, the live show is world-class, and Zepp is the type of artist who commands attention wherever he goes. The whole team is beyond hyped to take this incredible music to the world.”

Velvet Trip joins a BMG publishing roster that includes Australian and New Zealand creatives Neil Finn, Young Franco, KLP, Jet, Keli Holiday, The Cat Empire, What So Not, Ladyhawke, Bag Raiders, and others.

The Stray Cats are a very rare breed.

Hailing from Long Island, schoolmates Brian Setzer (vocals, guitar), Lee Rocker (double bass), and Slim Jim Phantom (drums) smashed their way into the British mainstream in the early ‘80s, a glorious time of musical freedom when post punk, new wave, and electro-pop acts could slot into rotations alongside some of the country’s sharpest protest artists.

The Stray Cats did it in style, with their rockabilly ways, great hair and hits — five of them crashed the U.K. top 40, and two entered the top 10. None went higher than “Rock This House,” which peaked at No. 9 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart in 1981.

Setzer and Co. stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a performance of that classic hit. The trio remain tight as a balloon stretched over a bowling ball, Setzer’s hair piled proper, his hands in fine fettle.

What a difference 18 months can make. In the early stages of 2025, Setzer revealed an auto-immune diagnosis, a disease that left him unable to play guitar. He sought treatment at the Mayo Clinic, and stayed optimistic. “I know I will beat this,” he wrote at the time, “it will just take some time.” Time helped and healed.

There’s a lot of love for the Stray Cats in their homeland, too. The rockers wrapped up a summer tour on Sunday, Aug. 16, in Morristown, NJ, and will start a month-long round of fall dates on Nov. 9 in Grand Prairie, TX with stops in Nashville, Charlotte, Orlando, Atlanta and more, before coming to a halt Dec. 6 at Foxwoods, CT.

“It’s good to be healthy and strong again,” Setzer says in a statement. “There’s something about the unique sound of The Stray Cats that keeps drawing me in. The Gretsch guitar, the acoustic bass, and the stand-up drums still sound pure and fresh today.”

In 2025, the band released their first new music in six years, “Stampede” and a cover of Eddie Cochran’s “Teenage Heaven,” both via Surfdog Records. A first pressing of “Stampede / Teenage Heaven” on 7″ blue vinyl sold out, and new variant was pressed to keep up with demand.

Watch the late-night performance below.

Brook Lynn has come a long way in America’s Got Talent.

For starters, she’s made a journey halfway around the world, from The Netherlands, to showcase her vocal talents on AGT.  

And she put aside nerves to deliver a memorable and impressive audition, covering Billie Eilish’s “The Greatest.” She flicked an emotional switch during the Judges’ Callback with a performance of Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life.”

Then, for her quarterfinals performance, which aired Tuesday night (Aug. 18), she flipped the script with a mesmerizing original song, “Love Your Enemy.” Those earlier nerves were summarily dismissed.  

“Brook, that was amazing,” remarked Sofía Vergara, who along with Mel B gave Lynn a standing ovation. “I mean, I knew you could do this. You sounded so good and I can feel how confident you are tonight. It’s amazing and this is your own song. I’m so proud of you.”

The Colombian actor went on to say, “This song should be like in a Bond movie.”

Mel B agreed that Lynn’s talents and control were “amazing.” The song, she continued, was anything but a happy-go-lucky number, its darker tones connecting with herself and, likely, others. “Well done for taking that risk,” she said of the decision to perform an original.

Howie Mandel likened her route in the competition to that of a flower blossoming. “I’m so proud of you as somebody who has the soap box of mental health and I watched the struggle that you had at Sofia’s middle rounds and you just keep getting better and better. I’m so excited to be here and witness your journey.”

Simon Cowell, as he so often does, had the last word. “You wrote the song? Well you know what, good for you, because it would have been so much safer (to not). Some people would think just to do a cover version. The first time I heard it, I thought the same thing. It was like a James Bond soundtrack. You did really really good there.”

Now, America decides. A spot in the semis awaits. “It felt really amazing,” Lynn remarked after her performance. “You know, people only know me for singing covers so I’m really really grateful that I’m able to do this right now.”

Lynn was one of 11 quarterfinalists for Round 1 of the Season 21 Live Quarterfinals. Hundred Fingers head straight to the finals, after earning Mandel’s Golden Buzzer for the second time this season.

AGT airs every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, streaming the next day on Peacock.

Watch Brook Lynn’s quarterfinals performance below.

Not everybody wants to rule the world. Curt Smith would be happy with a stake in his beloved soccer team, Bath City FC.

The singer, songwriter and co-founder of Tears For Fears has contributed to a 50-strong investor group that is angling to buy the team, which currently plays in the Southern League Premier Division South.

The club’s board and supporters’ society have recommended the sale for about £6 million ($8.1 million), which should plug much-needed investment into the club.

Smith is now based in the United States but grew up in Bath, an historic town in Somerset, England, known for its Roman-built baths and for its short distance to several British icons, including Stonehenge, and the Eavis’ Worthy Farm in Pilton, the site of Glastonbury Festival.

“Here in Twerton, where I spent most of my youth, it is slightly under-served,” Smith tells the BBC. “For me it’s exciting we can do something for the community around here,” he continued.

The investor group is led by Andrew Stalbow, co-founder and CEO of a mobile entertainment company. Should the deal be approved and completed, Stalbow would become the club’s chairman.

“If I can lend my name and make people a bit more comfortable in investing and coming to the club, then I’ll do that,” Smith added. “At times you have to give back and this time I’m giving back to my home town.”

Smith, should the deal progress, would join a long list of musicians with British soccer connections. Elton John served as chairman and director of Watford FC, reporting pumping millions into the club from 1976 until 2002.

John’s “Merry Christmas” collaborator Ed Sheeran bought a 1% stake in his hometown team, Ipswich Town, and sponsors the club’s men’s and women’s team shirt jerseys. Snoop Dogg is an investor and minority shareholder in Welsh team Swansea City, while fellow hip-hop artist Stormzy is a part owner in AFC Croydon Athletic.

And Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) supported his hometown Brighton & Hove Albion FC through tough times in the late 1990s and early 2000s, during which time his Brighton-based record label Skint Records serving as the team’s kit sponsor.

Few celebrities have turned around the fortunes of a club, and done with so many followers watching the process, quite like Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have managed with Wrexham A.F.C., which has enjoyed three consecutive promotions, all of it captured for the series Welcome to Wrexham.

Away from the pitch, Smith and his bandmate Roland Orzabal ruled the charts and the airwaves in the mid-to-late 1980s as Tears For Fears, a stretch that included two No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” and “Shout,” both of which appeared on the double album Songs From The Big Chair, which sat atop the Billboard 200 for five weeks.

The duo’s last TFF studio album, The Tipping Point, came out in 2022, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and hitting No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Album Sales and Top Alternative Albums charts.

SYDNEY, Australia — The 40th ARIA Awards will be presented Wednesday, Nov. 18 at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion, on Gadigal land — the sixth consecutive year at the iconic venue.

Spotify returns as headline sponsor for the ARIAs, the Australian recording industry’s flagship awards ceremony, while free-to-air network 10 will broadcast the ceremony, and Paramount+ will stream it live.

Also announced today (Aug. 19) by labels body ARIA, the date for the 2026 ARIA Awards nominations. The full shortlist will be unveiled on Thursday, Sept. 24.

“Australian music is electric, ever-evolving and has never failed to set the cultural conversation ablaze right around the world,” comments ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd. “The ARIA Awards have had the best seat in the house for four decades of one incredible show. Whatever gets thrown at Aussie music, our artists find a way to cut through. Now is no exception.”

The likes of multiple ARIA Award winners Amyl and The Sniffers, The Kid LAROI, Ninajirachi, Dom Dolla and Troye Sivan “are all proof of that,” Herd continues, “and there is a generation behind them who will take Australian music somewhere none of us can picture yet.

“That’s exactly what we can’t wait to celebrate at the 40th ARIA Awards: the icons who built these four decades, the superstars carrying Australian music today and the artists who will own the next forty years. I promise the team has thrown everything they have at making this milestone unforgettable, see you in November.” 

Destination NSW supports the ARIAs, while Spotify returns for a second year as presenting partner and will amplify the awards with its global platform, in-app voting and a global OOH campaign.

Last time, ARIA announced “a record year of engagement across Australia and the world,” through its first-year partnership with Spotify. Two weeks after the 2025 ARIAs, organizers reported 696,836 public votes were cast across Spotify and the ARIA website, a total more than 200% up from corresponding edition the prior year.  

That tally was broken down to 614,490 via Spotify and 82,316 via aria.com.au, for one of the “strongest” votes in ARIAs history.

The ARIA’s milestone celebrations got underway in June with a special Hall of Fame event at Sydney’s Carriageworks, where six acts who were inducted: the late Gurrumul, Jenny Morris, Kate Ceberano, Spiderbait, The Living End and Vika & Linda.

At last year’s ARIA Awards, Amyl and The Sniffers lead the way with four silver spiked trophies, ahead of Ninajirachi (with three) and Dom Dolla (two), while The Kid LAROI performed at Spotify’s invite-only Artist Party, kicking off the ARIA Week.

SYDNEY, Australia — Lizzie Butterworth is appointed chief executive of the Australian Festival Association (AFA).

Butterworth brings to the role a wealth of policy expertise, government experience and industry knowledge. Previously, she worked for six years alongside minister for the arts, music and the night-time economy John Graham in the New South Wales parliament and government, serving as director of policy — arts, music and night-time economy, jobs and tourism.

There, Butterworth helped shape some of the most significant policy developments in NSW’s contemporary music sector.

The incoming AFA CEO’s major contributions have included the formation of Sound NSW, reforms to festival regulation, protections for live music venues, and the development of new regulatory and funding frameworks that support artists, venues and festivals.

AFA chair Adelle Robinson welcomes Butterworth to the trade body.

“Lizzie has spent her career working at the intersection of music, government and public policy. She knows how government works from the inside, she knows our industry’s challenges, and she knows how to bring people together to drive change,” Robinson remarks in a statement.

Butterworth joins the Australia’s festivals industry at a time of complex regulatory, financial and operating pressures, and changing ticket-buying behaviors, and other issues, Robinson notes.

Looking ahead, she continues, “Lizzie has built trusted relationships across government and industry and is exactly the kind of leader the Association needs as we continue advocating for a strong, sustainable and thriving festival sector.”

Butterworth succeeds Olly Arkins, who departs this Friday, Aug. 21 after five years with the association.

The AFA publicly launched in December 2018, representing festival organizers, suppliers and stakeholders across Australia’s music festival sector. Its mission, to advocate the festival industry, promoting best-practice safety and operational standards, providing a unified voice, and facilitate policy reform and investment.

Today, its members include Fuzzy, CMC Rocks, Live Nation, Hardware, Laneway, Groovin’ The Moo, Lost Paradise and many others.

“Festivals are a vital part of Australia’s cultural identity and music industry,” comments Butterworth. “They have launched the careers of countless Australian artists, connected fans with unforgettable live experiences and created opportunities for workers, businesses and communities across the country. I’m excited to work with our members, Board and industry partners to build on the AFA’s strong foundations and continue advocating for a festival industry that is creative, resilient and sustainable.”