Madonna and Charli xcx are teaming up for a new remix.

The Queen of Pop, who leads this year’s MTV Video Music Awards with 13 nominations, announced Monday (Sept. 21) that she and Charli have put a new spin on “Danceteria,” the track from Madonna’s recent album, Confessions II.

The original song was co-produced by Madonna, Andrew Watt, Cirkut and Stuart Price.

Dubbed “Danceteria Afterhours,” the new version arrives Thursday (Sept. 24) through Warner Records. Fans can pre-save the track here, while three limited-edition CDs are available to pre-order here.

Madonna had teased the remix in recent days, sharing a snippet of the song on Instagram. “You wanna talk about Madonna and Charli?” they sing over a clip of themselves dancing in a white studio space. “Everyone here is a work of art.”

“Let’s take it to the East side baby……,” Madonna captioned the teaser, alongside the Sept. 24 release date.

“Danceteria Afterhours” is described as “a celebration of the fearless beginnings and influences that shaped each artist’s singular paths,” according to a press release.

The collaboration comes after months of speculation about a potential musical pairing between the two pop stars. Rumors first began swirling after Madonna and Charli were seated next to each other at the Saint Laurent menswear spring/summer 2027 fashion show in late June.

Their connection had already sparked conversation earlier this year, when fans speculated that the two stars were at odds after Madonna appeared to respond to Charli’s declaration that “the dance floor is dead” on her “Rock Music” single.

“If your dance floor feels dead. Maybe you’re playing the wrong music,” Madonna cryptically posted on Instagram.

Despite the speculation, Charli has long spoken admiringly of Madonna. While promoting The Moment earlier this year, she praised Madonna’s 1991 documentary Truth or Dare. “I love Truth or Dare, Madonna. Great choreo in that, also she’s just the one,” she said.

“Danceteria Afterhours” arrives on the heels of Madonna’s first musical collaborations with Kylie Minogue: “Love Sensation (Afterhours Radio Edit)” and “Love Sensation (Afterhours Mix),” two new versions of “Love Sensation” from Madonna’s July album Confessions II.

The collaboration came after “Love Sensation” reached No. 1 on Billboard‘s Dance Airplay chart in July, adding to the album’s success after it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Taylor Swift had plenty to celebrate after her husband, Travis Kelce, scored his first touchdown of the 2026 NFL season.

The 36-year-old pop superstar cheered from her suite at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, during the first quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs’ primetime matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday (Sept. 20), as Kelce found the end zone for the first time this season.

After the tight end’s big play, cameras cut to Swift, who excitedly jumped out of her seat and pointed to her wedding ring while appearing to say, “That’s my husband.” NBC announcer Mike Tirico joined in, enthusiastically declaring, “And the woman with the ring. That’s your guy!”

The “Fate of Ophelia” singer — who married the NFL star at New York’s Madison Square Garden on July 3 — sported a sleeveless red Chiefs shirt and blue jeans while watching the game alongside her parents, Scott and Andrea Swift.

Kelce and the Chiefs ultimately came away with a 33-30 overtime victory over the Colts. Sunday’s game marked the second consecutive week Swift has attended a Chiefs matchup to cheer on her husband.

Swift made headlines following the Chiefs’ 2026 season opener against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 14, when she was spotted chatting with Tom Cruise in a box suite at Arrowhead Stadium. The movie star later revealed what they discussed while appearing on The Tonight Show several days later.

“She was schooling me on football,” a smiling Cruise told host Jimmy Fallon. “She was bringing the football. First of all, she’s a genius. I’ve been following her since she was a kid,” said Cruise added. Everybody there, all their friends, they’re a beautiful couple and magical in their own right. Everybody there in that booth. I hadn’t been to a football game since pre-COVID, where I was working and everything. So to get to hang out there and have that moment, it was a lot of fun … she knows her stuff.”

Kelce confirmed Swift’s impressive knowledge of football during a bonus episode of New Heights posted Friday (Sept. 18), which featured Cruise, who is promoting his new film, Digger.

When Cruise brought it up, Travis smiled and remembered how the 14-time Grammy winner used to think “we were basically out there boxing each other on the field.”

“Like, sweetie, what the heck?” Kelce said lovingly before shouting out how quickly and thoroughly Swift picked up all there is to know about his sport. “Now she knows everything. She sees the flags coming in, like, ‘Oh, that might be a defensive hold.’ [I’m] like, ‘What’d you say, sweetie?’ She’s like, ‘That’s encroachment.’ I’m like, ‘You know what that is?’”

“She’s on it now,” Travis added of Swift. “She fully engulfed in it.”

An all-star lineup of Australian and international artists gathered in Melbourne on Sunday (Sept. 20) to honor John Farnham, the Australian music icon behind “You’re the Voice,” at a star-studded tribute concert at Rod Laver Arena.

Billed as The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend – The Celebration Concert, the one-off event drew more than 120 performers, a 38-piece orchestra and the John Farnham Band before a capacity crowd, with proceeds going to Head and Neck Cancer Australia. The concert launched the organization’s year-long Lend Your Voice campaign, aiming to raise $1 million for the charity that supported Farnham through his own cancer treatment since 2022. Emcee Richard Wilkins noted that Farnham has played the venue in a record 94 sold-out shows over his career — “so I guess tonight makes it 95,” he told the crowd.

Farnham, 77, did not attend. In a statement, his wife, Jill, and sons Robert and James confirmed his health had “deteriorated in recent months,” noting he now requires continuous oxygen support, uses a wheelchair and receives “24-hour nursing care at home.” The family said that while Farnham had been “deeply moved” by the tribute, they had decided it was best for him to remain at home “where he can be safe and comfortable.”

The concert doubled as a celebration of the 40th anniversary of “You’re the Voice,” released in September 1986. Celine Dion performed the anthem via satellite from Paris, recalling that she had once sung it as a duet with Farnham during a Melbourne visit. “John, you’ve always been such a deep inspiration to me; I always loved to hear you sing,” she said.

Coldplay‘s Chris Martin, a surprise addition, appeared via satellite with an original song written for the occasion, “A Better Singer Than Me.” “One day we’ll all be gone,” Martin sang, “but the thing about John Farnham songs is, they’ll keep living on.” Keith Urban flew in from Nashville to perform “Burn for You,” while Hugh Jackman appeared via satellite with “Talk of the Town,” calling Farnham the reason “the entertainer I am” exists.

The homegrown bill was equally deep, co-headlined by Jimmy Barnes, Tina Arena, Kate Ceberano, Jon Stevens, Jessica Mauboy, Vanessa Amorosi and Richard Marx, working through a catalog of Farnham hits. The night also revisited Farnham’s celebrated turn as Jesus in the 1992 Australian arena production of Jesus Christ Superstar, with Stevens and Ceberano — his former co-stars — reuniting on “Everything’s Alright.”

Farnham remains one of the most successful artists in Australian history. His 1986 solo album Whispering Jack spent 25 weeks at No. 1 on the Australian chart, was certified 24-times platinum and stands as the highest-selling album ever by a domestic artist in the country. Its lead single “You’re the Voice” topped the charts in Australia, Sweden and Germany and reached the UK top 10, becoming an enduring anthem later covered by artists worldwide — most recently by the Jonas Brothers at the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia this month.

Farnham followed it with the No. 1 Australian albums Age of Reason (1988) and Chain Reaction (1990), and is the only Australian artist to score No. 1 records across five consecutive decades.

An eight-time ARIA Award winner and ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, he was named Australian of the Year in 1987. In May, Farnham confirmed that the surgeries from his cancer treatment had ended his singing career, saying performing onstage was “just not possible” anymore.

The Weeknd has debuted an unreleased new song that samples one of the most iconic pieces of music in anime history, premiering the track live at the opening of the Asian leg of his After Hours Til Dawn tour.

Performing Friday (Sept. 19) at Belluna Dome in Saitama, near Tokyo, the singer — real name Abel Tesfaye — gave the song its live debut alongside Japanese singer Yoko Takahashi. The track, dubbed “Tokyo,” incorporates elements of “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” the 1995 J-pop song Takahashi recorded as the opening theme to the landmark anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.

During the segment, Takahashi also performed “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” in full as Tesfaye stepped back and watched from the rear of the stage.

The performance was staged as a full multimedia collaboration. The accompanying visuals were directed by Yoko Taro, the creative director behind the NieR video game series, and drew on imagery from both Neon Genesis Evangelion and 2017’s NieR: Automata. Tesfaye credited the piece on social media only as “Presented by YOKO TARO ft. YOKO TAKAHASHI.”

It’s the second unreleased, city-linked song Tesfaye has unveiled on the current tour. In April, he debuted a track dubbed “Rio” with Brazilian star Anitta during a show in Rio de Janeiro, accompanied by an animated film directed by Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike. The steady stream of new material is notable given that Tesfaye had repeatedly signaled he intended to retire the Weeknd name after his 2025 album Hurry Up Tomorrow, which completed a trilogy begun with After Hours (2020) and Dawn FM (2022).

He has since reversed course, and pointedly. “I’ll never disappear. I love this too much to ever disappear,” he told a Stockholm crowd last month. “I tested retirement a little bit, and I don’t like the way it feels. Imma be here forever with you.” He reiterated the sentiment to GQ Hong Kong this week: “I had a glimpse of what retirement looks like, and it isn’t for me… There’s nothing else like this job.”

The After Hours Til Dawn tour, which launched in 2022, has become the highest-grossing tour by a male solo artist in history. The Asian run continues to Jakarta on Sept. 26-27, followed by Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok and Hong Kong, before concluding in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 4. One of the most commercially dominant artists of the streaming era, the Weeknd has notched five No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 — Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), Starboy (2016), the My Dear Melancholy EP (2018), After Hours (2020) and Hurry Up Tomorrow, which posted his biggest sales week to date with 490,500 units. His Hot 100 No. 1s include “Can’t Feel My Face,” “Starboy,” “Heartless,” “Save Your Tears” and “Blinding Lights,” the last of which Billboard named the No. 1 song on its all-time Hot 100 chart.

“Bad Taste,” Freya Skye‘s latest single, tops this week’s new music poll.

Listeners voted in a poll published Friday (Sept. 18) on Billboard, choosing the just-released tune from the singer-songwriter/actress (known for her role in Disney’s Zombies franchise) as their favorite new music.

“Bad Taste” popped to the top of the poll in a week stacked with new songs. The track was up against releases from ROSÉ, Miley, Carly Rae Jepsen, Riley Green and more. Fans showed up for Skye, whose single brought in 82% of the vote.

“Bad Taste” has Skye laughing off her own dating blunders.

She sings about being attracted to a “good messy situation” on the playful pop tune, and admits, “I’m a sucker for a pretty face/ I’m a sucker for a mistake/ We’re off to a good start, wonder how you’ll make my heart brеak/ I don’t care/ That I got, I got bad taste.”

Though the fully produced recording of “Bad Taste” just dropped, Skye previewed a live, acoustic rendition of the song in December at her first headlining concert in New York City. As she recalled to Billboard, the nerve-racking moment left her “quite exposed and vulnerable” — but not for long. “By the last chorus, [the crowd] was singing the words and I was like, ‘Well this is great. I feel way less alone by the end.’”

The song isn’t expected to be on Skye’s debut full-length album. But she hopes it “can get people excited for the next shift” of her musical career.

Trailing behind “Bad Taste” on Billboard‘s poll this week are ROSÉ’s new solo single, “New Trick,” with 14% of the vote, followed by fresh albums from Miley (Bass Persuades), Carly Rae Jepsen (Day and Night), Riley Green (That’s Just Me) and more.

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

Chad Gilbert, a founding member and guitarist for New Found Glory, has died. He was 45.

Gilbert’s death was announced on social media Sunday (Sept. 20) by the pop-punk band and his wife, Lisa Cimorelli, six months after the musician revealed that he was battling cancer.

“On the morning of September 20th, Chad Everett Gilbert passed away peacefully in his sleep,” the band wrote. “He left this world surrounded by friends and family and took his final breaths with his wife and mother by his side, just as he wished.”

The Florida group continued, “We are devastated and shocked by how quickly he left us, yet so grateful for how peacefully and smoothly he went. The amount of visitors that crowded the hospital lobby at a moment’s notice is a testament to how beloved and cherished Chad was, and always will be. He was a legendary musician, but his favorite accomplishment was being a husband and father. His biggest dreams came true.”

The message was signed by New Found Glory members Jordan Pundik, Ian Grushka, Cyrus Bolooki, and touring guitarist Dan O’Connor, along with Gilbert’s wife, Cimorelli.

Gilbert had been open with fans about his health struggles in recent years. In late March, he shared a series of photos from his hospital bed while updating fans on his recovery from brain cancer surgery. The emergency procedure came after he struggled to control movement in his left hand during a show in Nashville earlier that year.

The surgery followed another major health scare several years earlier. In December 2021, Cimorelli described finding her husband “unresponsive” in their bed, initially believing he was sick or simply sleeping late. After being rushed to the hospital, Gilbert was diagnosed with a “rare tumor called a pheochromocytoma,” which grows on the adrenal gland and secretes hormones that drive your blood pressure up while eating away at your blood sugar.

Gilbert later revealed that the cancer had spread to his spine and lungs. In August 2025, he told fans he was undergoing additional treatment after doctors discovered a “small spot” on his back.

His death comes as New Found Glory marks nearly three decades together. The band released its 11th studio album, Listen Up!, in February. Following the album’s release, the group hit the road for an extensive run of shows.

New Found Glory formed in 1997 in Coral Springs, Florida, with vocalist Pundik, Gilbert on guitar, bassist Grushka and drummer Bolooki.

Reflecting on Gilbert’s contribution to the band, New Found Glory wrote Sunday, “Chad’s guitar playing, songwriting, humor, and relentless drive helped shape New Found Glory for nearly three decades.”

The band added, “Through more than a dozen albums, endless tours around the world, and more accolades than we ever could have imagined, Chad challenged all of us to grow as musicians, performers, and human beings. While we are devastated to lose him, we are so grateful for the incredible life he lived, the memories we shared, and the brotherhood we had. His influence will always be part of New Found Glory and his spirit will be felt on every stage we stand on, with every note we play.”

Following Gilbert’s death, members of the rock community took to social media to remember their friend and longtime peer.

Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, who has spoken publicly about his own battle with cancer, remembered Gilbert as a deeply positive presence. On Instagram, Hoppus called him “the best friend to every person he met” and “the most positive and creative force in any room he walked into.”

Hoppus also reflected on Gilbert’s battle with cancer, writing that he “fought his sickness with the soul of a joyous, courageous warrior.”

“These past years he fought his sickness with the soul of a joyous, courageous warrior. With dignity, love, and gratitude,” Hoppus wrote. “He never complained once, only kept saying how lucky he was. For everything. Today we lost a good one, and the world won’t be the same. Rest easy now, my friend. And thank you for just. Being. You’ll be sorely missed by more people than you could ever imagine. See you on the other side.”

The Offspring also shared a tribute on Instagram, writing, “Today, the world lost a legend. RIP Chad.”

Yellowcard’s William Ryan Key remembered Gilbert as a friend who supported him during a difficult period in his career. “Chad was the kind of friend most people don’t get to have in a lifetime,” Key wrote on Instagram. “I owe so much to him for encouraging me to keep going back in 2017 when Yellowcard broke up.”

Bayside’s Anthony Raneri also mourned Gilbert, recalling the energy and friendship he brought into their lives. “Today I say goodbye to one of my best friends. I don’t know what my life is going to look like without him. Without the energy and the fun that he brought to every room and every day,” Raneri wrote on Instagram.

Nicki Minaj is standing by her support for President Donald Trump.

On Friday (Sept. 18), the 43-year-old rapper appeared on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle to discuss the Trump administration’s Million Dollar Pitch Competition for small businesses.

As expected, the conversation — which also featured Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler — turned to Minaj’s relationship with Trump.

“I am honored to be able to have an opportunity to work with this administration and to work with President Trump. He has inspired many people, not just me. He’s fun,” Minaj said.

The “Super Bass” rapper continued, “He’s not just smart, and, you know, he’s not just the president. But he’s also someone that I can relate to, someone that, you know, every time I see him, or every time I see him speaking to other people, he’s just himself. He’s very grounded. It’s easy to connect with him. It’s easy to feel like he heard you, he understands you. I just love him. I’m not going to ever make excuses for that.”

Minaj’s comments came as she participated in the Trump administration’s Million Dollar Pitch Competition, which features five small-business finalists competing for a share of a $1 million prize pool. The SBA announced in August that Minaj would serve as one of the competition’s judges alongside entrepreneur and private equity fund manager Grant Cardone and Airbnb co-founder and U.S. Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia. Actor Dean Cain is hosting the event.

The live finale took place in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18, with the five finalists competing for five prizes totaling $1 million in growth capital funded by Clover Network.

When asked during the Fox News interview if she had anything to say to her critics over her decision to work with Trump, Minaj promptly responded, “Absolutely nothing,” adding, “I don’t know why I should.”

Minaj met with the president at the Trump Accounts Summit in January, where she praised Trump and called herself his “No. 1 fan.” Trump returned the praise during a presidential luncheon in July, when he singled out the rapper while addressing attendees.

“She’s a fantastic person and she’s a woman that’s respected by everybody,” the president said. “And she’s got real talent, Nicki Minaj. Nicki, stand up, please. Such a great person and respected by everybody.”

John Farnham will not be present at the sold-out concert built to honor his half-century career, his family confirmed the day before the Melbourne event, citing a decline in his health that has kept the details largely private until now.

In a statement shared to social media by wife Jill and sons Robert and James, the family explained the decision to go public.

“Many people have been asking whether John will be involved in the concert or attending Sunday night to watch it all happen. Unfortunately, he will not be able to attend, and as a family, we feel it is important to provide an update on John’s health to help explain why,” they wrote. “John’s health has deteriorated in recent months. He now requires continuous oxygen support and uses a wheelchair for mobility. It has also become necessary for John to receive 24-hour nursing care at home.”

The family added that they’d “kept these matters private while our family has adjusted to John’s changing needs,” but felt it was time for fans to understand his circumstances.

The decision to keep him home was framed as protective rather than reluctant. “As a family, we have decided that it’s best for John to remain at home, where he can be safe and comfortable,” the statement continued, noting that Farnham was nonetheless “deeply moved” by the effort put into the show and had wanted, in another world, to thank everyone involved in person: “He would undoubtedly have been a little overwhelmed by all the fuss, but he would also have wanted to thank everyone involved.”

The concert, The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend, sold out quickly ahead of Sunday’s (Sept. 20) show at Rod Laver Arena and features 120 performers Farnham personally selected, including Jimmy Barnes, Tina Arena, Keith Urban, Jessica Mauboy and Kate Ceberano, with Celine Dion and Hugh Jackman appearing via satellite.

Proceeds benefit Head and Neck Cancer Australia, the organization that supported Farnham through treatment following his 2022 oral cancer diagnosis, which required a 12-hour surgery involving 26 surgeons.

He was declared cancer-free in 2023 but has made only rare public appearances since, and previously confirmed that singing again is “just not possible.”

Ed Sheeran needed to address the situation before he could start playing guitar. It wasn’t how he wanted to start his show, and he’s made it abundantly clear that the last thing he wants around him is controversy or, in his words, to be an “activist musician.”

But here he was, at the first show after his opener and friend Macklemore was kicked off the tour, following pressure by a group of venue owners led by Robert Kraft who took issue with Macklemore’s statement of support toward Palestine. That led to the rest of the tour’s openers and even Sheeran’s backing band for the tour dropping off the tour in solidarity with Macklemore — all of which became a huge news story and PR nightmare for the usually very un-controversial Sheeran. And though he had already made one highly scrutinized statement online while the news story was at its most potent, Sheeran felt the need to address the crowd at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night (Sept. 19) in person, before the show really started.

“I’m used to my music being criticized, and I’m always happy to take that because I’m lucky a lot of you like my stuff, and to be honest, I’m surprised,” Sheeran said. “I’m not surprised that other people don’t. It’s normal. But this week, the criticism was about something much more important, and I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so, so sorry.

“What happened in Israel at the Nova music festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is is happening in Gaza is catastrophic, unjustifiable, and disproportionate,” Sheeran continued. “My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives. And the systemic injustice we’re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.

“I am already speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times, and listening and learning because I do not know enough,” he concluded. “I honestly am so grateful that you’re here tonight with me. This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome, and everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing views. Everyone here can stand by people that they don’t agree with on everything, and they can all agree on singing these songs. And these songs are about love, hope and unity.”

The crowd in Philadelphia – a nearly full Lincoln Financial Field – enjoyed that, and there was little sign of any controversy from that point on in the stadium. Any protests outside of the venue had disappeared by the time most of the crowd had shown up, and if there was heightened security as reports had suggested, it wasn’t obvious. There were maybe a few extra news crews reporting on the show as people filed in and out, but if Sheeran hadn’t brought it up, the crowd did not seem like one particularly anxious about any elephant in the room.

Sheeran’s “Loop Tour” centers around his performances mostly entirely alone, using a loop pedal to create backing tracks each night and mostly spending time on stage alone. But now without openers and the backing of Irish band Beoga, who pulled out of the tour out of solidarity with Macklemore and empathy toward Palestinians, Sheeran’s solitariness was magnified. At the break in the show where he would have typically gone to a separate “B stage” setup, Sheeran explained that that part of the show had been scrapped for safety, as he was concerned about “what might happen if [he] stood in the middle” of the crowd.

Without directly calling out Beoga — and assuming the crowd either knew the full story or didn’t need to know that detail if they weren’t privy to it — he introduced his backing musicians for the evening, led by violinist Alicia Enstrom, who has toured with Sheeran in the past, and proceeded with the section of the show that included the Ireland-set ÷ hit “Galway Girl.” Sheeran didn’t elaborate whether this last-minute backing band would stick around for later dates on the tour. 

It was mostly business as usual after that first statement, with Sheeran only occasionally letting on that things were different. Before introducing “Old Phone,” he joked that “until this week,” the only time he appeared in the news was if he was in court. Earlier, he jokingly asked if the crowd enjoyed the openers. Such comments were subtle enough that if an audience member, especially one of the many kids in the crowd, weren’t in on it, it might just go over their heads and they’d move on. If you didn’t get it, don’t worry about it. 

Before the big finale, though, Sheeran took a seat on the edge of the stage and made his lengthiest statement of the night, even longer than the one at the beginning, which was clearly being carefully referenced from a teleprompter. This one was a little more off-the-cuff and maybe even slightly less prepared.

“The last week of my life has been one of the worst weeks of my life, and today has been one of the weirdest days of my life. Tonight has been honestly the best show of my life,” Sheeran declared. “I really didn’t know whether this tour would carry on, I really didn’t know whether I’d get on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all. But, you know, in these situations, you really find out who your friends are. And it’s been a weird week. I just feel like everything happened very quickly. And the whole time I have so many people telling me to cancel this tour, and I have so many people falling out of my life that I’ve known for years and years and years, people just kind of backing away.”

Sheeran said that the reaction from his audience strengthened his resolve to make sure the show, and tour, went on. 

“I saw ticket sales for this gig, and I didn’t see cancellations, I saw people buying tickets. I’m there, and everyone’s telling me to cancel, and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me. And I look at the end of the week, and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me. People will say what they want, but I’m doing this for you. I love you. I love this. I love the unison we have here. I love the feeling this concert brings. I love bringing people together of all races, all religions, all political ideas.”

He finished by leaning back into something reflective of his original statement online and the commitment to unity — apologizing for the fact that he had to make a statement and take something resembling a stance at all, in his eyes complicating what should be a simple night of music free of any argument or tension.

“A lot of people here have differing opinions, and we’ve had a great night. And you are standing next to people and dancing with people who you may disagree with. And you probably understand them better by being, you know, one and love. I have had so many opinions on this. But the root of it is love. And if this tour ends, love doesn’t win. Love doesn’t win. You know? I can’t let you guys down. That’s why I’m here tonight, on my own, for you guys.”

Sheeran then wiped his eyes, stood up, and then he went into the last few songs of his set, complete with pyrotechnics, like nothing had even happened.

Ed Sheeran opened a solo concert Saturday (Sept. 19) with comments about Gaza after controversy swirled around his tour as supporting acts withdrew in solidarity with opener Macklemore, who was dropped after making pro-Palestinian comments onstage.

Sheeran said he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics.

He also addressed “the question of where I stand in the situation in Israel and Palestine.”

“What happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable, and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives, and the systemic injustice we’re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked,” Sheeran said from the stage at Lincoln Financial Field.

“I am already speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times, and listening and learning because I do not know enough,” he added.

Sheeran has performed much of his Loop Tour concerts solo, but he had been joined for several songs at each stop by the Irish folk band Beoga. Macklemore, Sheeran’s original U.S. opener, had been replaced by Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe before they backed out.

Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and musical collaborator, was due to tour with Sheeran in South America later this year before he too dropped out earlier this week.

Before the show, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators congregated outside the stadium. Hillary Steinberg, 34, of Philadelphia, said she got tickets a year ago but wound up getting a refund and attended the demonstration instead, disappointed that Sheeran did not take a stand.

“I was, until this week, a big Ed Sheeran fan,” Steinberg said. “I think all art is political, and all music is political, and so this choice — even though he was saying that he wasn’t complicit — is a political choice.”

The show came after a tumultuous week that opened with Macklemore being dropped in response to exclaiming “Free Palestine” during a Sept. 5 show in New Jersey. Sheeran has said he was not responsible for the decision, which came at the urging of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. His company owns a stadium where Sheeran’s tour was scheduled to play on Friday.

Within hours of Sheeran’s statement Tuesday, his supporting acts withdrew.

On Saturday, Diane Savitz, a 53-year-old concertgoer from Stroudsburg, said she is a big Sheeran fan, does not think he did anything wrong and a show is not the place for politics.

“A concert should be for people enjoying the music. Music should bring people together,” Savitz said. “Everyone has their right to freedom of speech, but not every platform is the place for it.”

Macklemore said Wednesday he is donating $1 million to support Palestinian relief efforts and called on Kraft to match the gift; a spokesperson for Kraft has said the billionaire and Sheeran have each agreed to donate $2 million but have not specified where the money will be directed. Sheeran’s representatives have not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Sheeran’s Loop Tour was the highest-grossing in the world, with an average box office gross of over $7 million per city, Pollstar said in May. Through the end of 2025, Sheeran was the No. 3 top-earning concert act since 2021.

Sheeran has said the tour promoter was ultimately responsible for the decision to drop Macklemore.

The Grammy winner was adamant in his Tuesday statement that he wouldn’t be drawn into discussion of the war in Gaza, arguing that his fans don’t come to his shows to hear about these issues.

He also said he “spoke with the venues at length all week to try to build a bridge” before Macklemore was dropped. He insisted he would never willingly let down his fans or abandon the touring crew and others who rely on him to make a living.

While promoters and venues wield great power over concert tours, experts say an artist of Sheeran’s magnitude generally has the final say about what happens concerning the shows.

Sheeran told the crowd in Philadelphia that everyone is welcome at his concerts, and they can have opposing points of view while still singing his songs, which are about “love, hope, and unity.”