
Brandy is set to headline Flytime’s House of R&B concert in Lagos, Nigeria. The anticipated show will be one of the main events taking over Detty December on Dec. 20.
Taking place at the Eko Convention Centre, the House of R&B concert is slated to kick off a series of performances, which will be followed by Coca-Cola Rhythm Unplugged (Dec. 21), Flytime Fest Powered by Coca-Cola (Dec. 22-24) and Flytime Circle on Dec. 25.
“Brandy is one of the most influential voices in R&B, and bringing her to the Flytime stage is incredibly special,” said Cecil Hammond, who serves as the founder and chief executive officer of Flytime, in a statement. “We’ve watched Lagos grow into a global destination for music and entertainment over the past two decades, and we’re proud to have played a part in that journey. Brandy represents everything Flytime’s House of R&B celebrates, and she is the perfect artist to open our December season.”
Flytime chief operating officer Keke Hammond added: “Every year, we challenge ourselves to raise the standard of live entertainment in Lagos. This December brings six nights, each with its own identity and experience. Opening with an artist of Brandy’s caliber sets the tone for the performances and hospitality our guests can expect all season.”
Ahead of Flytime’s House of R&B, Brandy has three shows lined up in South Africa. She’ll head to Cape Town for a concert on Dec. 14 before trekking to Pretoria for concerts on Dec. 17 and Dec. 18.
2026 has been a busy year for The Vocal Bible. Brandy notched collabs with Ty Dolla $ign, Kehlani and Josh Levi, and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Grammy-winning singer also released her New York Times bestselling memoir PHASES.
Find Flytime’s House of R&B concert flyer below.
Nicole Kidman has been well loved by pop music in 2026, with both Troye Sivan and ADÉLA paying tribute to her in their projects this year.
In his Friday (Oct. 9) interview with Billboard, the Aussie singer opened up about why he wanted the Oscar winner to star in his “She’s the Best” music video while shouting out ADÉLA’s hit “Nicole Kidman,” which recently reached a new peak at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. “I was just listening to, ‘Every single night…,’” Sivan began, singing some of the Slovak star’s lyrics.
“Nicole is — I haven’t spoken to ADÉLA about the song — but I think maybe for the same reason she wrote that song,” he continued. “Nicole represents something, I think, to so many people that is kind of unexplainable. There’s an energy there that’s so captivating. She’s such a good example of the women I’ve been obsessed with my entire life.”
ADÉLA recently shared similar thoughts with Billboard and acknowledged how “wild” it is that Kidman — who’s voiced support for the song named after her — is in her corner. In his conversation with Billboard, Sivan similarly expressed how present and engaged the actress was throughout the production of the “She’s the Best” visual — even though he was convinced that Kidman wouldn’t be able to show up on the day of, given how in-demand she is.
“I was like, ‘I’m going to believe it when we wrap the video,’” he recalled. “It’s Nicole Kidman! Something’s going to come up. Every time my phone would go off, and it was her name, I was like, ‘F–k, here it is.’”
The chat arrives on the same day as Sivan’s new album, She’s the Best, which comes three years after his Billboard 200 No. 20 full-length Something to Give Each Other. One of the project’s cornerstones, he said, is celebrating the women — such as Kidman — whom he’s spent his life admiring.
Sivan added that he made one of the songs, “Canada Dry,” to capture “this specific feeling of pop music that I love, which is, like, slinky sexy.”
“I feel like Addison (Rae) does a really great job of it,” he noted. “Janet (Jackson) is sort of the queen at it, Kylie (Minogue) is amazing at it.”
Madonna gets her flowers on the LP as Sivan samples her Billboard Hot 100 topper “Music” in his single “Party.” He shouted out the Queen of Pop for making it so “easy” to clear the rights to the track. Good thing, too, considering how badly he wanted to include it.
“Before you hear the ‘Music’ sample, there’s this almost vacuum where the track cuts out and cuts to me breathing, as if I’m heaving on a dance floor,” he explained to Billboard. “Then ‘Music’ by Madonna creeps in, and in my head, it’s like I’m on the dance floor closing my eyes, having one of those moments where I feel like I’m ascending. I had this story in my head, and then I got so attached to it, and I was so nervous. But Madonna somehow made it very easy and said yes pretty much right away.”
Sivan also addressed whether he cares about releasing songs that spark polarizing opinions, specifically such as “She’s the Best.” “No, it’s kind of what I want,” he said. “I’ve never really strived for a ‘hit’ in my career — I’ve never really had one, to be honest. I feel like a song like ‘Rush’ changed my life so much more than a song like ‘Youth’ did.
“Coming off the back of a project that was as pop as my last one, I kind of wanted a reclamation of, ‘I still don’t have interest in playing the pop game, really.’ I liked the idea of doing something that was for me.”
Watch Billboard‘s full interview with Sivan above.
On Pet Shop Boys’ new album, the British electro-pop duo goes back to the future.
Arriving at midnight, A man from the future (via Parlophone Records) is a concept album that explores eight important chapters in the life and death of Alan Turing, the English mathematician and logician who is widely regarded as the father of modern computing.
Produced by Pet Shop Boys and Sven Helbig, Future is a combination of electronic music and string arrangements by Sven Helbig performed by the Manchester Camerata Octet. Juliet Stevenson contributes spoken words from Andrew Hodges’ book Alan Turing: the Enigma.
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe originally wrote the work with Hodges back in 2012-13, just prior to the theatrical release of The Imitation Game, in which the great thinker was played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Later, in July 2014, Pet Shop Boys performed pieces from it at a BBC Prom at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
More than a decade later, the project has been updated, reworked and rearranged with new electronic elements, new text and fresh orchestrations by Sven Helbig.
The LP unfolds chronologically from Turing’s school days, capturing his interest in mathematics and science and the realization of his sexuality, through to his university days at Cambridge, his leading role working for the British Government unlocking the German Enigma machine’s encrypted messages during World War II, his place in the invention of the digital computer, his prediction of Artificial Intelligence, his trial and conviction for a homosexual relationship, and then his suicide in 1954.
“Our motive in creating this work was to make a musical memorial to Alan Turing who gave so much to his country and the world and was rewarded for it by being prosecuted for his sexuality,” reads a statement from Pet Shop Boys.
“Alan made a massive contribution to the defeat of Germany in World War II and was a pioneer of computing, imagining a world with intelligent computers. He also looked forward to a time when being gay would be accepted as normal. In both his professional and private lives, he was ahead of his time.”
A man from the future is the followup to 2024’s Nonetheless, which peaked at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. In their homeland, the duo has amassed 22 top 10 hit singles, including four No. 1s. Pet Shop Boys have landed ten top 10 albums in the United Kingdom, including a No. 1 with 1993’s Very. In the United States, the act has enjoyed 12 appearances on the Billboard Hot 100, including five top 10s and a No. 1 with 1986’s “West End Girls.”
Stream A man from the future in full below.
Deen Castronovo was reportedly rushed to hospital Thursday night (Oct. 8) after falling ill during Journey’s performance at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.
Tulsa World sports reporter Eric Bailey was at the scene and shared the news with his followers on X. “At the Journey concert where drummer Deen Castronova had a ‘medical emergency’ after two songs. Was helped off the stage. Show is delayed for now at the BOK Center.” The message is accompanied by a clip of bass player Jonathan Cain addressing the crowd. “Have your prayers ready. Have your prayers ready for Deen Castronovo, everybody. Thank you,” he says.
According to Ultimate Classic Rock, co-founder and lead guitarist Neal Schon then told the crowd that Castronovo was en route to the hospital and that the band’s drum tech, Steve Toomey, would fill in.
In a separate post, Bailey reports that the show continued after a 20-minute delay.
Later on the night, Schon dedicated the concert to Castronovo. “This concert’s for Deen tonight. I’d love you all to pray for him. Everybody’s been going through a lot. I think he’s going to be fine,” Ultimate Classic Rock reports.
Journey are making their final go-round with a lineup featuring Castronovo, Schon, Cain, and singer Arnel Pineda, who joined the group in 2007, replacing original lead singer Steve Perry. Castronovo, 62, played drums and contributed vocals for Journey from 1998 until 2015, and later rejoined the group. A member of Bad English and Hardline, his extensive CV includes stints playing for the late Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Vai, Paul Rodgers, and GZR, with Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler.
Castronovo made headlines last year when, during a concert at NRG Stadium, the stage caught fire. “Hey, Houston! An act of God tonight!,” he later wrote on Instagram. “Fire broke out underneath the stage — right under my drum riser! I was literally on fire for 4 ½ songs, all the power cables melted, and the show was a BUST!”
Journey’s ongoing Final Frontier North American tour expanded in May with the announcement of 40 additional concerts. The next stop is Oct. 10, when Journey is booked to perform at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Earlier this summer, Journey returned to the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time since 1997 with “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The No. 9 hit from 1981 re-charted at No. 35 after it was played June 19 at Lumen Field in Seattle for the United States’ FIFA World Cup match again Australia, which the home team won 2-0.
At the time of writing, Journey had yet to share an update on Castronovo’s condition.
Troye Sivan got his start on YouTube before evolving into one of today’s biggest pop stars. Rooted in his Australian YouTube beginnings, he’s been in the industry for years.
Breaking into the music scene, Troye Sivan’s debut EP, TRXYE (2014), debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The following year, his debut album, Blue Neighbourhood (2015), featuring “Youth,” established him as a rising pop artist through its intimate songwriting and exploration of queer identity. He continued to evolve his sound with Bloom (2018), embracing a more confident and sensual approach through hits like “My My My!” and “Dance to This” featuring Ariana Grande.
With a five year break, Sivan returned with Something to Give Each Other in 2023, a critically acclaimed celebration of queer joy, intimacy, and connection. Led by the Grammy-nominated single “Rush,” the album earned widespread recognition, cementing his status as a defining voice in contemporary pop.
Over the past year, Sivan has earned three Grammy nominations, embarked on the SWEAT Tour with Charli xcx and landed two Billboard Hot 100 hits: “Rush” and “One of Your Girls.” (He also joined Charli as a surprise guest during her set at ACL this past weekend.) He released the new single “She’s the Best,” this August — and now, nearly two months later, this Friday (Oct. 9) the full album of the same name finally reaches fans’ ears.
She’s the Best is a portrait of Troye Sivan’s life in all its contrasting moods and colors, capturing the tension between outward celebration and a deeper, more vulnerable longing. On the surface, the project revels in the freedom of being queer and embracing sex, music, dancing, and the connections forged through community. It also serves as an expression of gratitude for the women in his life, whose presence has remained a constant source of love and inspiration. Beneath that exuberance, however, lies a more complicated emotional landscape, one shaped by yearning, loneliness, and the search for someone to share it all with.
At times, the album becomes an intimate letter. Conceived as a project meant to be experienced as much visually as it is sonically, She’s the Best presents Sivan exploring the full spectrum of his identity — from masculine to feminine, connected to isolated, and everything in between. Through it all, his queerness, humor, and enduring romantic optimism remain at the centre, alongside the hope that the person he is searching for might be just around the corner.
Whatever comes next for Troye next, he can always look back on She’s the Best as a project that is entirely him and those around him — and perhaps far more honest and vulnerable than even he anticipated to be. As a result, Sivan’s release proves him to be one of one among pop’s leading crew of established pop stars. So whether or not there’s more to come, just party and hit repeat – and read below for Billboard’s ranking of all 12 tracks.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to New Music Friday’s most essential releases each week — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Last week, we featured Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét, Drake and Miranda Lambert.
This week, Troye Sivan’s anticipated fourth album is out; Slayyyyter drops another preview of her upcoming companion LP, and Remi Wolf’s Mud arrives … plus much more. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Troye Sivan, She’s the Best
The sung-spoken delivery, gauzy production and lurching beat of She’s the Best‘s title track and advance single set up Troye Sivan‘s fourth album to be something of a swerve within his catalog — and further surprises lay ahead in the album, including a lift of ’90s one-hit wonders Forest for the Trees on the psych-leaning “I Do This for You,” and a dreamy acoustic shuffle on the Beabadoobee-like “Embarrassingly.” But for those who hoped for more four-on-the-floor sweat from one of the past decade’s greatest dance-pop purveyors, Sivan’s got plenty of that, too, including on the lusty, vocoder-assisted “Canada Dry,” the location-hopping (and Madonna-interpolating) “Party” and the skittering, PinkPantheress-esque “Troye Meets World.”
Slayyyyter, “I Think He’s Got a Girl”
Earlier this week, WOR$T MAN IN AMERICA — the long-teased companion set to Slayyyyter‘s breakthrough 2026 album WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA — was officially announced for this December. Two tracks from the new mini-LP had already been released in “Brand New Chanel$” and “Crank 2,” and this Friday they’re joined by a third: “I Think He’s Got a Girl,” a midtempo grunge-pop lament over a likely stepping-out lover. “You’re quiet on the phone/ What time you coming home?/ I hope it doesn’t mean what I know it means,” Slayyyter moans over the tenderly pulsing track, before making the titular chorus observation. It should make for another live highlight, as if she was still lacking for any of those.
Remi Wolf, Mud
Long championed by the pop faithful, Remi Wolf has spent much of the 2020s seemingly on the verge of a major breakout — most recently earning a big look as a featured performer on the first episode of the hit Amazon college romance series Off Campus. Hopefully third album Mud will finally be the set to put her over the top; certainly, the collection of alt-pop gems is strong enough to merit the crossover attention — from the lacerating acoustic heartbreak of “Twiggy” to the sweetly frustrated power-pop of “Burn Me Blue” and the John Mayer-assisted soft-rock ache of “Moon So High.” Sadly, it’s not a sure bet — as Wolf herself admits on partial title track “Covered in Mud,” “Nothing I write sounds like all the hits on the radio” — but top 40 would undoubtedly be a more interesting place if it would meet her halfway.
Gunna, “Pop It”
We haven’t gone a full calendar year without a new Gunna album since 2021, so even though we don’t have an official release date for it, it’s no surprise that a new album — Splurge, announced in September — is likely on the horizon. For now, fans awaiting the full project will have to suffice with a new single: “Pop It,” a short blast with regal horns and the rapper’s typical sing-song staccato (“She out her panties/ She call me ‘Daddy’/ Bulletproof Caddy/ Who having static?”) It’s another likely hit for one of the most commercially consistent rappers of the decade.
Girl in Red, “Blue”
It’s officially Marie Ulven’s time, as the leaves change color, the weather gets a bit nippy, and Girl in Red‘s seasonal perennial “We Fell in Love in October” begins its annual trek up the streaming charts. Ulven’s not wasting any time making the most of her signature month this year, as she releases “Blue,” an atmospheric heart-racer with rushing acoustic guitars and evocative, Swiftian lyrics like “I can tell time has passed by the wash of your denim/ The blue never lasts but it doesn’t fade for me.” Perhaps this winner will extend Girl in Red season into at least November this year.
Pitbull, PITCOIN
The latest full-length from the man born Armando Christian Pérez is another globetrotting (and musical spectrum-spanning) set, with features from artists as far-ranging as crunk pioneer Lil Jon, Dutch DJ (and Pitbull‘s old “Give Me Everything” partner) Afrojack, hitmaking Cuban reggaetón duo Gente de Zona and a pair of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer bands n KISS and Bon Jovi. “His music connects people,” the latter band’s frontman Jon Bon Jovi told Billboard of Mr. Worldwide in our cover story earlier this week. “He doesn’t care if you’re a rocker or a rapper, if you are Black or white, Republican or Democrat. The key is that he is spreading the universal theme of hope and optimism.”
Greta Van Fleet open the virtual gates to Palace For The People (via Republic Records), the Michigan rock band’s fourth studio album.
Palace arrived as the clock struck midnight, and houses 13 tracks including the previously-released single “Tear It Down,” plus cuts “Play Your Games” and “Saw You Stand,” which the group performed last month on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
“As much as it is a Greta Van Fleet record and a rock ‘n’ roll record at its core, in its heart, it’sa very modern record,” remarks lead guitarist Jake Kiszka in a statement.
Hailing from Frankenmuth, GVF has notched five appearances on the Billboard 200, including three top 10s. Palace is the followup to 2023’s Starcatcher, which peaked at No. 8 on the all-genres Billboard albums survey and earned a Grammy nomination for best rock album — a category they won in 2019 with From The Fires.
The new collection was recorded in Tennessee in the spring of 2026, and co-produced by the band with Mike Elizondo (Turnstile, Eminem, Fiona Apple).
Following Starcatcher, “we took a break,” bassist and keyboardist Sam Kiszka told Billboard’s Katie Bain. “We couldn’t handle each other anymore. No, we definitely had to take some time off after all the, the wildness of the intense touring … of just this tour. Everything in moderation, right? But no, we’re back, and … we’re coming back full steam, and it’s a lot of fun.”
With all that steam, the group will embark on a 2027 North American and European headline jaunt, titled Into The Beginning Tour. Promoted by Live Nation, the 59-city outing gets underway Wednesday, Feb. 3 at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, GA and visits Chicago, Brooklyn, Detroit, Dallas-Fort Worth, Berlin, Milan, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Toronto and other cities before wrapping-up in their home state on Saturday, July 31 at Grand Rapids’ Acrisure Amphitheater. Special guests on North American dates include Arc De Soleil, The Kooks, and Portugal. The Man.
“The function of the artist is to provide what the universe cannot,” explains frontman Josh Kiszka in statement, issued ahead of the new release. “We wanted to make a record that personifies adventure, passion, brutality, beauty, sex, and imagination, so that’s what we did. We played the ‘Palace of the People’ in London, and our music is a Palace for the People. When you’ve seen so much of the world, you realize there’s so much more of the world you have not seen. We’re starseekers. We’re simply taking the human experience and translating it into music.”
Stream Palace For The People below.
Sheryl Crow’s new album is a pick you up. No lie.
The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee returns with Pick You Up (via Old Green Barn Productions LLC), a seven-track collection produced by Crow and guitarist Jeff Trott and recorded at her Old Green Barn home studio.
On the new effort, which dropped at midnight, Crow can be found driving the bus. The “Freedom Bus,” to be sure. The politically-minded opening number features a guest vocal by Jesse Welles and was inspired by an 8th grade class field trip with her son that visited Arlington National Cemetery. The experience provided an epiphany.
“We had a tour guide who was inspired…and the stories were not only inspiring but humbling,” Crow recently told Billboard’s Gary Graff. “Everybody is trying to figure out what’s happening now. I don’t know that there’s anybody my age who doesn’t look at it and go, ‘It’s never been like this. It’s never been one side against another like it is now.’
“I do not take freedom lightly, because our freedom has been paid for in the lives of others throughout history, and that is something I wish we could all remember when we are interacting with each other.”
There’s interacting, and there’s picking a fight. “My whole feeling is just because you have the freedom of speech, it doesn’t give you permission to be an assh-le,” she continued. “You should care about a thoughtful dialogue. You should care about being able to disagree but still shake hands and hope for the best for everyone. We’ve lost that.”
Crow is coming off a busy couple months, during which she has performed a handful of concerts; was tapped to sing the National Anthem for the Sept. 3 football game at her alma mater, the University of Missouri, kicking off the 100th season of the school’s Memorial Stadium; she headlined America’s Tailgate On CBS; received BMI’s prestigious Troubadour Award; and spoke at AMERICANAFEST.
Across her career, Crow has accumulated 19 Billboard Hot 100 hits, including four top 10s. On the Billboard 200, she has racked up 13 appearances, including nine top 10s. The “All I Wanna Do” singer got the nod for the Rock Hall as part of the Class of 2023.
Pick You Up is Crow’s 13th studio album. Stream it in full below.
It’s official: Powderfinger are back.
The Australian rock juggernauts will reunite in 2027 for a run of concerts, their first in almost two decades.
The announcement was made Friday morning, Oct. 9, with a video featuring the five artists looking like the best of mates on a couch: Bernard Fanning (vocals), Ian Haug (guitars), Darren Middleton (guitars), John “JC” Collins (bass) and Jon Coghill (drums).
“Hello everyone, we’re Powderfinger. And we’ve got a little announcement to make to you today,” Fanning says at the top. “We always said that if we were going to get back together to do some shows, that you guys would be the first to know. And so, now you’re the first to know. We’re going to do some shows all around Australia from September next year.”
Middleton adds, “we’re going to build something pretty special just for you guys.”
Further details on the tour will be announced early Monday, Oct. 12, local time.
A potential reunion has been buzzing with Powderfinger fans in recent days, thanks to a cryptic teaser campaign which has pointed to “something extraordinary.” The worst case would’ve been a 30th anniversary reissue of 1996’s Double Allergic. The best case, a tour proper.
Today’s announcement is the best-case scenario.
Hailing from Brisbane, the 2032 Olympic City, the ‘Finger, as they’re affectionately known in these parts, was one of the elite bands of their era, earning the distinction of 18 total ARIA Awards, and closing out their career with five successive No. 1 albums, a run that started with 1998’s Internationalist.
The last of those chart leaders was 2009’s Golden Rule, the band’s seventh and final studio album. The following year, in 2010, Powderfinger called it a day and waved goodbye with a final, national Sunsets tour, shifting more than 200,000 tickets.
The bandmates never fell out, which meant hopes never faded to get the old band back together. Indeed, they briefly reunited in 2020 for “One Night Lonely,” a special virtual concert which raised more than A$500,000 for music industry charity Support Act and mental wellbeing support service Beyond Blue. For that special, the musicians recorded their spots independently, due to the social distancing rules of the time.
In August 2023, the lads gathered in their hometown for a fan-event and Q&A celebrating the 20th anniversary of their fifth album Vulture Street, and again the next year for Support Act’s Music in the House fundraiser in Sydney, where Powderfinger were saluted with the excellence in community award. No instruments were strummed or struck on the night.
The timing of the tour suggests the group might be shaking off the rust for their long-overdue ARIA Hall of Fame induction, an event typically presented in November at the annual ARIA Awards. Whether international dates, or even new music, will come from this special event, all of it will be revealed.
“You’ve been with us for a long time. Through the big nights, the quiet years, and everything in between, you kept the songs going,” reads a statement from the band, issued Friday morning. “So when we had something to say, we knew who needed to hear it first. We sat down together and recorded a little message just for you guys. Thank you for being here!”
JENNIE and The Weeknd have finally taken “One of the Girls” from the studio to the stage.
The BLACKPINK star made a surprise appearance during The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn concert at Goyang Stadium in South Korea on Thursday (Oct. 8), joining him for the first-ever live performance of their 2023 collaboration from The Idol. Lily-Rose Depp, who is also featured on the track, was not part of the performance.
The unexpected reunion came during the Korean stop of The Weeknd’s sprawling stadium tour, which is currently making its way through Asia on its final leg. The two-night Goyang engagement, which marked The Weeknd’s first return to South Korea since 2018, sold approximately 108,000 tickets across the Oct. 7 and 8 shows.
Released in 2023 as part of The Idol Episode 4 (Music From the HBO Original Series), “One of the Girls” has taken on a life of its own separate from the HBO series. Billboard previously reported that “One of the Girls” had joined the Spotify Billions Club, contributing to The Weeknd’s record-setting total of songs with at least 1 billion streams on the platform. The song also peaked at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.
As for JENNIE, she’s had plenty to pat herself on the back for as well. The singer has been on a solo run since the release of her debut album Ruby in March 2025, which opened at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. It gave JENNIE her highest-charting solo album on the tally. She’s also been releasing music since then, including the Fallen Angel EP in August 2026. She hopped on a remix of Tame Impala‘s “Dracula,” which has become a major Billboard hit, so far peaking at No. 5 on the Hot 100.
The After Hours Til Dawn trek supports The Weeknd’s 2020 album After Hours, 2022’s Dawn FM and 2025’s Hurry Up Tomorrow, all of which claimed the first or second slots on the Billboard 200 upon their release. The tour itself, however, has been pretty legendary as well. This past August, Billboard Boxscore figures reported that The Weeknd grossed $124.4 million and sold 892,000 tickets across 16 shows during July.
View JENNIE’s surprise appearance at the South Korea show below.








