Beabadoobee, Jorja Smith and Nemzzz are returning to their roots for a run of new intimate live performances with Spotify.

Dubbed Hometown, the three-part series launches next month, with Smith kicking things off in her stomping ground of Walsall, near Birmingham, on Sept. 6. Nemzzz follows in Manchester on Sept. 12, while Beabadoobee will close out the run in London on Sept. 17. Venues for each show are yet to be announced.

The shows will give the trio an opportunity to perform in the cities where their respective musical journeys began. Top listeners of each artist will be invited to attend the performances, which will later be released as exclusive concert films. Spotify will also partner with each artist on supporting local community initiatives, including donations to youth organisations.

Smith, who releases her third studio album What Are The Odds this Friday (Aug. 21), said in a press release that “Walsall is where I first started writing and recording music as a teenager.” She added, “It’s where my love of music began and the people, experiences and sense of community there continue to influence my creativity today. It’s home, home is where my heart is and home is where I found my voice! I hope it’s a moment that inspires the next generation to believe that big things really can come from Walsall.”

Manchester-born rapper Nemzzz, meanwhile, is gearing up to drop new record Locked In on Sept. 4. “I’ve always made a point of celebrating Manchester and representing where I’m from, so getting to do Hometown with Spotify feels like a natural extension of that,” he said.

“There’s a pride that comes with doing it at home, around the people and places that have been there from the beginning. No matter where this takes me, I’ll always find a way to bring it back home.”

Beadoobee will follow with her forthcoming LP Pylon on Sept. 18, marking the follow-up to her twice BRIT-nominated 2024 album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves. As part of her Hometown event, she will support The Avenues, a specialist social care charity in west London.

“London has always felt like home to me, it’s where I started finding my people, making music, playing tiny shows and figuring out what I wanted to do, so Hometown feels really special,” she said.

“It’s also really cool that we’re also able to give something back to the community with [west London social care charity] The Avenues and support young people locally, that part feels really important to me.”

The Hometown series also follows a recent run of Spotify live projects that put U.K. artists and their biggest fans in more intimate settings. In May, the platform brought Skye Newman to Hackney Church for a special performance celebrating her SE9 project, with the resulting show released as an exclusive live film.

Speaking to Billboard U.K., Andy Sloan-Vincent, managing director at Spotify (U.K., Ireland, and Netherlands) explained the streaming platform’s approach to supporting homegrown talent via live initiatives: “Skye is a [Spotify] Radar artist in the U.K., which means we’ve made the commitment to develop her. She has an incredible voice; when you go into the room with her, everyone wants her to win,” he said. 

“I think the reason we want to get behind artists like that is because we want the artist to win. That’s our outlook on things.”

Shakira has committed an initial $1.25 million to help rebuild schools damaged by the earthquake that struck her native Colombia, announcing the pledge during a surprise visit to one of the hardest-hit regions of the country.

The Colombian superstar traveled Monday (Aug. 17) to Quibdó, the capital of the province of Chocó, where nearly 200 schools have reported damage following the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck western Colombia on Aug. 10, killing hundreds of people. She toured damaged classrooms, meeting students and educators, and met with Chocó’s governor, Nubia Carolina Córdoba, and Quibdó’s mayor, Rafael Bolaños, to hear about the region’s needs.

The $1.25 million commitment brings together several partners: $500,000 from Shakira and Live Nation, $500,000 from the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, and $250,000 from CAF, the development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. The funds, channeled through Shakira’s Fundación Pies Descalzos (Barefoot Foundation), will go toward rebuilding schools and getting children back into classrooms.

Philanthropist Howard Buffett, who accompanied Shakira on the visit and has partnered with her on education projects in Colombia before, announced that his foundation would separately support the reconstruction of 10 additional schools in Chocó. “When she calls, I come,” Buffett said during the visit.

Shakira framed the effort around the long-term stakes for the region’s children.

“What worries me the most is that schools are not rebuilt once this emergency is over,” she told journalists. “Every day that children don’t go to school is a day they miss out on their future.” Her foundation has operated in Chocó for more than two decades, running two schools in the region.

“It’s a place I love, a place where I’ve seen our students grow in our classrooms,” she said. “I really want to see it rebuild again.” She added that she planned to dedicate her personal efforts to rebuilding a local technological university in the province.

Chocó is one of Colombia’s poorest and most isolated regions — an area roughly the size of Switzerland where towns are connected largely by rivers and unpaved roads, complicating relief efforts. Shakira’s pledge is among a wave of commitments from Latin American artists following the disaster. Over the weekend, Marc Anthony and Chayanne joined dozens of artists at a Miami benefit concert for earthquake relief in Colombia and Venezuela, while Karol G pledged to match fan donations to her Con Cora Foundation during a three-night run at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles.

One of the most successful Latin artists in history, Shakira has long paired her career with philanthropy in her home country. She scored a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with 2006’s “Hips Don’t Lie” featuring Wyclef Jean, one of the best-selling singles of the century, and holds the record for the most Latin Airplay No. 1s of any woman, with 21. She headlined the halftime show at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final in July and was named Billboard’s inaugural Latin Woman of the Year in 2023. She founded Fundación Pies Descalzos in 1997 to expand educational access for children in Colombia.

The Jonas Brothers really are taking it all over again.

After selling out their headlining shows at Madison Square Garden, Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas announced Monday (Aug. 17) that their Burning Up Tour All Over Again will officially expand into a 45-city North American tour this fall. What started as a special revival of one of the band’s most iconic eras is now becoming a full-fledged arena run.

The tour will kick off Sept. 25 at Boston’s TD Garden and make stops in cities including Toronto; Washington, D.C.; Miami; Los Angeles; Seattle; and Denver before wrapping Dec. 21 with home state show at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center.

For Jonas Brothers fans, the name is more than just a clever throwback. The original Burning Up Tour launched in 2008 and became a defining moment in the group’s Disney-era rise to superstardom. The new trek promises to revisit that era and bring the experience to fans who couldn’t make it to the band’s New York shows.

“Our last tour reminded us just how much this music means to us and to the fans who’ve been with us from the start,” the brothers said in a statement shared with Billboard. “The response was so overwhelming announcing the MSG shows that we knew we couldn’t stop at New York.”

Seemingly, the Jonas Brothers aren’t the only ones getting in on the nostaglia.

Magnus Ferrell, Franklin Jonas (yes, the fourth Jonas brother, lovingly nicknamed Bonus Jonas) and All Time Low will join the band as special guests on select dates, adding some new blood to a tour built around revisiting the past.

The announcement comes during a busy stretch for the brothers, as they were just announced as halftime performers for the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game in Australia this past week. Then came the Aug. 13 premiere of Camp Rock 3, which brought Kevin, Joe and Nick back to Disney Channel nearly two decades after the original movie helped skyrocket their careers. The sequel began streaming on Disney+ the following day.

On Sunday, the trio took another trip down memory lane when they were inducted as Disney Legends during the D23 fan event. In other words, if 2026 has felt like one giant Jonas Brothers reunion so far, they’re not done yet.

The band is even giving fans something to snack on while they wait for tickets. The Jonas Brothers have teamed up with PopUp Bagels for a limited-edition “Burnin’ Up Schmear,” a Hot Pepper Parmesan Cheese available nationwide through Aug. 26. The collaboration started after Joe Jonas slid into the PopUp Bagels account with a simple message: “Burnin’ up collab?”

As for tickets, the first opportunity comes Tuesday (Aug. 18), when eligible Spotify Premium Top Fans can access the Reserved by Spotify presale beginning at 8:28 a.m. local time. Additional presales will run throughout the week, with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday (Aug. 21) at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster. VIP packages will also be available, with options including premium tickets, access to a pre-show Burnin’ Up VIP Lounge, exclusive merchandise and pre-show merch shopping.

See the full list of tour dates below.

Rick Ross is unbeatable in Madden — at least according to him.

The Miami rapper and businessman was recently on an episode of the Complex collectibles show On Display, where he showed off his car, motorcycle and video game collection that he stores in his $50 million Miami airplane hangar.

While showing off his arcade games, host Joe La Puma asked which game Ross is unbeatable in, and that’s when Rozay revealed he has a near-decadelong winning streak when it comes to the popular football game. “I haven’t lost in Madden in maybe eight or nine years,” he claimed. “I used to smoke, sip syrup, and now I could sit there and I could sit there while listening to a beat at the same time.”

He was then asked if he has a specific team that he plays with, to which Ross replied that he has three teams he goes to depending on who his opponent picks. “I can’t disclose who I play with,” he said. “If you ever want any smoke or if somebody wants some smoke, depending on who you are and where you from, then I’ll decide. I got three teams that I could go with. It just depends what I want to exploit you on the most.”

However, when it comes to celebrities, Ross said that he tries to avoid playing his famous friends because their ego could sometimes get the best of them. “Not really,” he replied after being asked if a celebrity has ever challenged him in Madden. “You know celebrities have egos and they know I’ll text them early in the morning, ‘I toasted you. Are you embarrassed?’ That sh– go a long way.

You can watch the full episode of Complex’s On Display below.

After joining up with her movie friends Idina Menzel and Josh Gad on Friday (Aug. 14) to share news of an upcoming third installment of the Disney blockbuster Frozen franchise, Kristen Bell went out to the ballgame.

According to a video posted by the entertainment-forward baseball team, Bell made a surprise appearance on Saturday (Aug. 15) at a Savannah Bananas game against the Indianapolis Clowns to sing a medley of beloved Broadway hits and a Frozen favorite with Broadway star and Bananas pitcher Derek Klena (Jagged Little Pill, Dogfight).

In it, Bell, wearing a headset mic and rocking a custom Bananas jersey with leopard print cargo pants, worked her way down the steps toward the field as she sang the Frozen classic “For the First Time in Forever,” slapping hands with kids as everyone around her pulled out their phones to record the unexpected moment from the team that lives to surprise. Shaking her hips and smiling, Bell grabbed two fans’ hands and sang the iconic line, “I don’t know if I’m elated or gassy/ But I’m somewhere in that zone,” before firmly placing the women’s hands on her chest.

Just when she wondered if she might meet, “the one,” Klena — dressed in his Bananas yellow sleeveless uniform — jumped into the fray, singing the Wicked anthem “Dancing Through Life.” The 34-year-old Broadway veteran joined the Bananas in December and has been on their Banana Ball World Tour this year.

His slick dance moves were copied by his teammates, who also showed off their bat-balancing and stilt-walking expertise as the singer moved across the field on his way to meet Bell, who he promptly pulled in for a spin and a dip. They parted ways briefly before Klena began a slow walk back toward the actress singing the Bill Medley part of the Dirty Dancing theme song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life).” Bell soon joined in, taking on the Jennifer Warnes bits from the Oscar-winning, Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 1987 pop classic.

The game break ended with Bell, of course, running at Klena, who executed a perfect lift as they closed the medley holding hands and reprising the first two songs. The Bananas captioned their post: “The mashup we never knew we needed.”

The day before, Bell, Menzel and Gad reunited on stage at the D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim, Calif. to tease Frozen 3, which is due out on Nov. 24, 2027. Bell and Menzel, who voice, respectively, sisters Anna and Elsa, treated fans at the Honda Center to performances of “Frozen Heart,” while Gad performed the new Olaf love song “Ooooh, Samantha.”

 Bell also revealed that Anna will finally marry her “mountain man” Kristoff (voiced by Jonathan Groff), while Menzel teased that “love is in the air for everyone.” Bell then playfully asked, “Everyone? Even Olaf?”

Starrgirl, Ayra Starr‘s third full-length studio album, tops this week’s new music poll.

Listeners voted in a poll published Friday (Aug. 14) on Billboard, choosing the Nigerian Afropop star’s latest release as their favorite new music.

Starrgirl rose above a number of new releases this week — from music acts including KATSEYE, Phoebe Bridgers, Troye Sivan, Becky G and more. At the poll’s closing time on Sunday, Starr’s new LP came out on top with more than 87% of the vote.

Starrgirl, the follow-up to the singer’s The Year I Turned 21 album (released in 2024), is a collection of 16 tracks, including recent single “Tornado” and last year’s Grammy-nominated Wizkid collab, “Gimme Dat” — plus features with names like Zayn, Rema, Leon Thomas and Danny Ocean. Starr expanded her sound on the project, bringing in more dance and R&B notes.

“I’m so proud of the woman I’ve allowed myself to become through the making of this album and every version of me that had to exist to get here,” Starr wrote on Instagram on release week.

In an interview with Variety, the singer said moving to New York inspired the new music: “I feel like I was a different person in New York than I was in any part of the world, and I just liked who I was,” she said, explaining that as a woman in her 20s, she was just “acting my age. I’m living my age. I just liked experiencing life, and it wasn’t just about work, work, work. It was about enjoying all the work I’ve done and just allowing myself to be, you know? And seeing myself from the lens of complete, and ‘I am,’ instead of ‘I have to be.’”

“And that’s what Starrgirl is,” she said. “It’s not really an alter ego, but it’s a part of me that already is complete, does not have to perform, does not have to be. Because being a Black girl and an African girl, we grew up with, ‘You have to be this.’ There’s a certain type of anxiety that is deep, layers, layers, layers, layers within you, that you just feel like you have to unlearn. But when you remove yourself from that and go deep, deep you start to understand that you don’t need to be anything other than what you already are.”

Trailing behind Starrgirl on Billboard‘s poll this week are KATSEYE’s “WILD,” Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Weekend and Troye Sivan’s “She’s the Best.”

See the final results of this week’s poll below.

Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris has been placed in a medically induced coma following what his family has described as a critical medical emergency earlier this month.

Paris, 58, was hospitalized on Aug. 6, shortly before the group was due to perform with Lionel Richie at the Chase Center in San Francisco. The show was postponed minutes before it was scheduled to begin, with the band citing “a medical emergency involving a member of our band.”

The San Francisco Fire Department confirmed that crews responded to a report of a cardiac incident at the venue and transported one person to a hospital in critical condition, though the family has not publicly confirmed the nature of Paris’ condition.

In an update shared to Facebook on Thursday (Aug. 13) by Shelly Clark White, the wife of Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White, the family said doctors placed Paris in an induced coma on arrival at the hospital so they could provide critical care. “From the very beginning, Kathy and daughter Kyla remained by his side,” the statement read, referring to Paris’ wife, musician Kathy Merrick, and their daughter.

The update said Paris briefly regained consciousness at one point, opening his eyes and asking for his wife. After seeing her, he turned to a close friend and joked, “Get me outta here.” The family described the moment as bringing “tears, laughter, hugs and renewed hope,” but said it was short-lived, as Paris soon experienced rising blood pressure and difficulty breathing, prompting doctors to sedate him again so his body could stabilize.

“John’s journey is far from over,” the statement concluded. “There is so much hope that surrounds him.” A GoFundMe campaign established to support Paris and his family has raised nearly $70,000 toward a $75,000 goal, with several of his bandmates among the donors.

Earth, Wind & Fire resumed their tour two days after the postponed show, with former member Sonny Emory filling in on drums. The San Francisco concert has been rescheduled for Sept. 26. Paris joined the band in 2001, playing on studio albums including 2003’s The Promise and 2005’s Illumination, and has also worked with artists including Patti LaBelle and Sheila E.

Formed in Chicago in 1969 by the late Maurice White, Earth, Wind & Fire became one of the most successful and influential groups in American music, selling more than 90 million records worldwide with a blend of R&B, funk, soul, jazz and pop. The band scored their sole Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with 1975’s “Shining Star,” which also topped the Hot Soul Songs chart and won a Grammy, while enduring hits including “September,” “Boogie Wonderland” and “Let’s Groove” — their biggest Hot 100 hit, at No. 3 — became staples of the era. The group topped the Billboard 200 with 1975’s That’s the Way of the World and Gratitude, won six Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

The band is currently the subject of a Questlove-directed documentary that premiered in June.