Following Madonna’s debut of CONFESSIONS II —The Film at the 25th Tribeca Film Festival, the visual project is now available to audiences everywhere.

The 10-minute film became available on YouTube on Monday (June 8), offering a cinematic experience to accompany Madge’s anticipated album, Confessions II, dropping on July 3.

Directed by TORSO, the project has music direction by Stuart Price, who produced her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor as well as its upcoming sequel. Projecting the spontaneity and confusion of a night out dancing at the club where anything can happen, CONFESSIONS II — The Film unfolds into six songs, each meant to represent a different chapter in the story. “I Feel So Free,” “Good for the Soul,” “One Step Away,” “Bring Your Love,” “Danceteria” and “Read My Lips” are all part of the project.

“I Feel So Free” became the first song release from the album in April and marked the singer’s return to four Billboard charts. The song debuted on Digital Song Sales, Hot Dance/Pop Songs and Dance/Mix Show Airplay and hit No. 1 on Dance Digital Song Sales.

The video includes two main collaborations, and familiar faces accompany Madge as she has a fever-dream-like experience. Sabrina Carpenter joins the show onscreen for a duet of “Bring Your Love,” and Colombian artist Feid takes center stage to sing in Spanish for “Read My Lips.”

Other scenes bring together a collective of some of pop culture’s most beloved faces through the years, including supermodel Kate Moss, actors Debi Mazar, Benedict Cumberbatch and DJ Honey Dijon. Julia Garner, who was tapped to play Madonna in the singer’s self-produced limited series, makes a cameo, looking like a younger version of the Queen of Pop. Lourdes Leon, Madonna’s 29-year-old daughter, also makes an appearance during the final scene, speaking a few words into the camera: “I wish a mother—- would” and “Cut b—-”

CONFESSIONS II – The Film received multiple standing ovations during the Tribeca Film Festival.

See the film here:

The lights are brightest on Broadway, and the New York Knicks tapped Cardi B to perform the halftime show for game three of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden.

Monday night (June 8) marks the first NBA Finals game at MSG for the Knicks since 1999, where they’ll be taking on the San Antonio Spurs in game 3. The Knicks currently sit up 2-0 in the series after taking the first two games on the road in San Antonio.

Media members and team personnel were in the building early and spotted the MSG crew testing out graphics and lighting for the halftime show, as online ticketing marketplace TickPick posted a photo revealing Cardi as the halftime entertainment for the evening.

“Halftime Entertainment Cardi B,” a graphic on the jumbotron read with a photo of the Grammy-winning rapper.

BREAKING:

Cardi B will perform at halftime for Game 3 of the NBA Finals at MSG 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/PXwrkpCKq2

— TickPick (@TickPick) June 8, 2026

The Bronx native has been rooting on the Knicks during this playoff run and has been spotted courtside at games in the past, like when she and Stefon Diggs went public with their relationship while pulling up to a Knicks game during the 2025 playoffs against the Boston Celtics.

The Knicks have had plenty of New York rapper perform at halftime during their postseason run, including Fat Joe, Jadakiss and Fabolous all have hit graced the mic at MSG.

President Donald Trump is expected to be in attendance for game three, while Cardi B has been critical of Trump throughout his tenure in the Oval Office.

Cardi has been in performance mode for 2026. She embarked on her first headlining North American tour in February, as the Little Miss Drama Tour grossed over $70 million, according to Billboard Box Score.

The trek came in support of Cardi’s sophomore album, Am I the Drama?, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 last September with 200,000 total album units earned.

Billboard has reached out to Cardi B’s reps for confirmation.

Jadakiss is taking 38 Spesh’s challenge seriously.

In a clip that recently surfaced, the legendary rapper told a group of people that he was on his way to the studio because every time he tries to get out of the game, someone pulls him back in.

“I’m ’bout to go in the lab, I’m ’bout to do some samurai swording,” he said, seemingly in reference to Spesh’s comments on the Bag Fuel podcast. “You know what I mean? They asked for it. I tried to be a father, a businessman, but they wanna bring me outta my element.”

38 Spesh — an underground rapper hailing from Rochester, New York — recently told Bag Fuel that he feels Jada has been “ducking” him since they collaborated on the Benny the Butcher song “Sunday School” because he had the better verse. “It’s some n—as respected that just gonna work with you because they fans of the art, and some n—as gonna hear and act like they don’t or be scared to work with you,” he claimed.

“Some people don’t wanna be outshined on the record. Like to be honest with you, I did a record with Benny and ‘Kiss, and I happened to have the best verse on the record. I smoked the record, and ‘Kiss never did a song with me again. And I don’t think he’ll ever do a song with me again.”

He added: “You got a chance to come redeem yourself, ‘Kiss. Come on, come outside, n—a. He been duckin’ me since. Y’all gonna have to reorder your top fives.”

It looks like Spesh is going to get what he’s asking for.

Friday (June 5) night at the Beacon Theatre in New York City during Tribeca Festival, Madonna debuted a nearly 14-minute visual project centered around the first six songs from her upcoming album Confessions II.

The world premiere of the Confessions II short film was followed by a Q&A with Madonna, directors David Toro and Solomon Chase (TORSO) and host Anderson Cooper. There was a lot to unpack in the wide-ranging discussion: lasers shooting out of lower-body orifices, unreleased songs, hot n’ sweaty bathroom hookups, a Benedict Cumberbatch cameo and more.

But there was one small, unusual item Billboard noticed in the film’s credits that was not explained during the Q&A (which didn’t open up for audience or media questions at any point). In the Confessions II end credits, which contain the songwriting credits for the six Confessions II songs that appear in the film, Lou Reed was listed as a songwriter on “Danceteria.”

Lou Reed and Madonna are both musical icons associated with NYC, artists who forged their creative identities in the city’s fertile but unforgiving fires. But as far as we know, they never creatively collaborated during the Velvet Underground founder’s lifetime. The closest they seem to have come to crossing paths publicly was at the 2008 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, when Madonna was inducted into the Rock Hall alongside Leonard Cohen and Reed was there to give Cohen his flowers.

So, what gives? Well, Billboard reached out to Madonna’s reps, and the reason is about what you would imagine. Madonna’s “Danceteria” — a song inspired by the iconic, defunct dance club that Madonna frequented in the early ‘80s before taking over the globe — includes a small but famous portion of Reed’s biggest (and only Billboard Hot 100) hit, “Walk on the Wild Side.” During “Danceteria” (which includes a lyrical reference to Debi Mazar, whom pre-fame Madonna hung out with at the NYC club and even made out with), the Queen of Pop briefly sings the immortal “do-do-do, do-do, do-do-do” portion of that song. Thus Reed is duly credited alongside Madonna, Andrew Watt and Stuart Price as a cowriter on “Danceteria” for the interpolation.

Madonna is far from the first artist to interpolate this portion of Reed’s best-known song in the cultural mainstream. A Tribe Called Quest’s 1990 classic “Can I Kick It?” interpolated it in 1990, as did Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (the pre-acting rap group of Mark Wahlberg) in 1991 on “Wildside.” Marky Mark’s version actually peaked higher on the Hot 100 than Reed’s, reaching No. 10 compared to his No. 16 pinnacle. Haim’s 2019 track “Summer Girl” interpolates the same bit of “Walk on the Wild Side,” too. And, of course, let’s not forget the clean-shaven sounds of Hooray for Everything.

A random Instagram DM changed Qendresa’s life. Born Qendresa Sopa, the Northwest London-bred R&B singer was out dancing at a beachfront party when she checked her phone and saw a message from Champagnepapi, Drake’s IG alias.

“I got the Champagnepapi DM when we were dancing,” she recalls of Drake using her “Tearz” song in an IG post last year. “I was like, ‘What the f–k? He just posted my song!’”

Drake dropped another hint at a potential collaboration when he posted the vinyl covers to Qendresa’s Midnight Request Line and Londra albums on his Instagram Story in February.

Qendresa later found out that producer Kid Masterpiece, who has worked extensively with the 6 God, put Drake onto her music. Kid Masterpiece would play the British-Kosovar singer’s music on SiriusXM’s OVO Sound channel.

With influences ranging from Sade to Frank Ocean, it’s not hard to see what drew Drake into Qendresa’s music. She blends a unique mix of ’90s R&B, funk, EDM and jazz for an atmospheric sound.

“‘Slap the City’ was the first thing he sent me,” Qendresa says of her HABIBTI collaboration with Drizzy, while speaking from her Brighton flat. “He made me laugh because he was like, ‘This one sounds like a bit of us.” I was like, “He’s f–king right.”

She continues: “[We] started sending each other unreleased stuff, stuff he was flirting [with] around ICEMAN or stuff from before. Same with me. I did a bunch of stuff and I really miss that time. I was working on my bits and I was getting Drake stuff.”

The woozy “Slap the City” debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 when Drake’s trifecta of albums toppled the charts following their May 15 releases. Qendresa also contributed vocals to HABIBTI‘s “Fortworth,” “Gen 5” and MAID OF HONOUR‘s “Stuck.” However, she didn’t sing the ad-libs on ICEMAN‘s “Ran to Atlanta,” which many on the internet have speculated.

The Drake stimulus boosted Qendresa from six figures to over six million monthly listeners on Spotify. She’ll look to parlay the momentum into more eyes and ears on her next project, which the singer’s currently working on.

Check out the rest of our interview with Qendresa, which touches on her Drake collaborations, early music influences and plans for the future, below.

What got you into music growing up and who did you listen to?

I grew up in the ’90s and 2000s. Around those times, there was really good music on the radio. It’s much different in the U.K. than America. You actually play hip-hop on the radio. I remember going to yoga in L.A. and they were playing Drake and Future. Here, it’s just pop. Back in the ’90s and 2000s, pop was good. There was a wide variety of different genres that were good, so you have Blink-182, Sade, Missy Elliott and I was a big Spice Girls fan. I saw a TikTok explaining that the Spice Girls debut album was West Coast inspired. At the time, I didn’t know. The beats are sick. They were a huge inspiration of mine. I love them a lot.

Growing up into my teens, I became obsessed with grime and Dizzy Rascal was a huge inspiration of mine and Wiley. In Northwest London, where I’m from, we had Flirta D. We had Channel u where local artists would post their videos and you get exposed to U.K. talent.

What led you into singing?

I always sang in school. My uncle got me into the Fugees quite young. I always loved “Killing Me Softly” and any talent show that was my go-to. I didn’t take it seriously. I didn’t have anyone in my family or around me that did it. We were working class kids. We don’t have examples of artists. Art is a rich people’s sport in a way, unless you get lucky and take the risk and invest all your s–t in that.

When I was young, I was performing in my mirror listening to Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Missy Elliott and Mariah Carey imagining I was them. I was visualizing and manifesting it, but a part of me didn’t think it was a possibility.

It’s just my manager and agent at the moment, all women. I never signed to a label. We’ve been grinding for the last two years. Before that, I was doing everything myself, from answering emails and booking gigs and uploading my s–t onto YouTube. Even the way I used Instagram before, I was such a hot mess. I got artist friends and we all kind of struggle with the Instagram thing. It’s too much pressure, we’d rather just be making music.

Fast forward to now, how did you link up with Drake for “Slap City.” I saw him post your albums on his Instagram Story. There was no contact with him before that?

No contact before that. The only thing we saw was Kid Masterpiece playing our stuff on OVO Sound. Further down the line, Drake told me that Kid Masterpiece put him onto my music. I’m still processing everything. He reached out and I was super shocked and grateful. It’s something I’ve thought about a lot in my life. Ever since he’s been dropping music, I’ve always been inspired by him and his writing and beats and artistry in general. It always gave me motivation, not even as an artist, but as a person to stay true to what I’m doing. This was about a year ago.

How did the recording process for ICEMAN start?

“Slap the City” was the first thing he sent me. He made me laugh because he was like, “This one sounds like a bit of us.” I was like, “He’s f–king right.” I did my thing on it and with these things you do your best and let it be. You want the best outcome for the project. If that means it’s going to make the album good, then that’s all I want for this whole thing and all I strive to do when collaborating.

Did he take ideas you had and mix you into “Fortworth,” “Gen 5” and “Stuck.”

I just added harmonies to those, they were already done.

Did you know he had three albums coming?

There wasn’t any talk about three albums, no. He dealt with everything himself. I was under the impression our managers would talk, so I gave his number to my manager and he dealt with my manager himself. He took things into his own hands and added a personal touch. It felt like we were part of this big thing. I just wanted to do the best I could to help somebody who’s been a huge part of our lives. I was shocked when we got the call for playback and it was four songs. I saw the livestream and it was mind-blowing, but before that we got the call for playback just the day before ICEMAN.

My first-ever producer, Hugo Mari, produced “Classic” on HABIBTI. We’ve had quite an emotional few weeks, because when we first started out we had zero followers and no money. We just had this vision, and we always wanted to work with Drake. 10 years later, for both of us to be included is crazy.

“Slap the City” debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. What did you think about that?

That’s blown my mind. The response in general for the ones I’m on, it’s funny because we have two different audiences. What ties us together is the stuff we make and love. That audience comes together for that. I got a good message from a fan making a reference when you meet a friend at the club and he knows the friend you’re with like, “What the hell? You guys know each other?” It’s a beautiful and unexpected thing. It’s a perfect friendship or amalgamation.

How has it been to have so many new fans? I call it the Drake stimulus. He spotlights an artist and they’re out of here to the moon.

I do feel that. My fans are usually quite like me. I’m not really posting on social media all the time. Seeing his fans come and showing support, I’m touched because things can go down all sorts of way on the internet. New artists don’t always get welcomed in nicely. Everyone’s come to my page quietly and respectfully. They took their shoes off at the door. I got great feedback from them on DMs and YouTube comments. They’re loving discovering my music. I got a message from Lil Yachty the other day, “It’s great he’s shining a light on what should’ve been discovered a long time ago.” They’re saying, “It’s about time you got your flowers.” [Yachty and I] have been meaning to link-up, he reached out to me a couple of years ago and we’ve been trying to figure something out.

What do you have coming up musically? You dropped “Rain in July/Be the One” in May. I didn’t know you were a producer as well.

I’ve got some bits coming out. I’ve got a single coming out that I wrote as a dedication to Mexico. I’ve been there three times now and I’m a bit obsessed. I was on my way to perform there and I wrote a song that’s coming. I’m working with Hugo Mari wrapping it up. I spent a lot of time in Mexico City. It’s like a 45 minute flight to this beach town. You don’t need to leave or do anything.

I’m now in my new flat and I got these crazy sea views. It’s not a fancy flat, I’m not there yet. I just needed some peace and quiet and this is perfect. That’s why I moved out of London. I’ve got loads of music. Everyday I’m doing something with music, whether it’s writing, making beats or finishing something. I’ve always got beats that are sent to me that I’ll work on. We’re fleshing out some projects.

“Rain in July” was a bit inspired by me trying to emulate an afro-swing vibe. There was a lot of Burna Boy when I made it four years ago. I was inspired by his melodies and the way he made me feel with his songs, so I tried to emulate that. “Be the One” is a burst of something that I don’t know.

Do you have plans for an album later this year?

Maybe I got three albums on the way, let’s see.

Bob Dylan revisited a deep cut from his catalog at his Saturday night (June 6) show at the Chateau Ste Michelle Winery in Woodinville, Washington, performing The Basement Tapes track “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” for the first time in 14 years.

The legendary songwriter opened the show with the 1967 song, last played live in 2012, with guitarists Doug Lancio and Bob Britt providing light backing vocals.

While the cut itself has long enjoyed a second life through cover versions — most notably by The Byrds, who took their 1968 rendition to No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — Dylan himself has rarely returned to it onstage.

The performances are the latest signs of Dylan continuing to mine his vast back catalog on the Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour, which has now stretched on for more than five years since its launch in late 2021. Over the weekend, Dylan extended the tour into late 2026 with additional North American dates. He has previously surprised audiences across this run with similar excursions, including a cover of The Pogues’ “A Rainy Night in Soho” in tribute to the late Shane MacGowan during a Dublin show in November 2024, and a performance of a traditional folk ballad at an Irish show that hadn’t been heard from him in 34 years.

Dylan’s chart legacy is among the most consequential in music history. He has placed 11 albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, including two No. 1 entries — Together Through Life (2009) and Modern Times (2006) — while singles including “Like a Rolling Stone,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965, and “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” which reached No. 2 in 1966, remain among the most influential rock recordings ever to chart.

He also recently contributed a co-written song to Willie Nelson’s new album Dream Chaser, released in May 2026, and was reported last year to be working on new music with members of his touring band in Albany, New York.

Five years after he first headlined New York City’s Governor’s Ball, A$AP Rocky returned in his full glory for a rousing finale on Sunday night (June 7). And though he spent part of his weekend cheering the Knicks onto their second consecutive 2026 NBA Finals victory, Rocky put down the jersey, picked up the microphone, and locked back into superstar rapper mode for his career-spanning set.

After Saturday night’s flash thunderstorm cut the night short — STRAY KIDS’ set was bumped two hours earlier; Blood Orange eventually rescheduled for Sunday, and Kali Uchis and Amyl and the Sniffers had sets canceled — Rocky’s finale had to make up for circumstances he had no control over.

“I came to get disrespectful,” proclaimed the Grammy-nominated rap star as he lorded over the packed festival crowd from an elevated onstage platform. Armed with a bullhorn-microphone and sporting an off-white AWGE tee, white-and-black balaclava and light wash blue jeans (which he later pulled down to reveal a “Harlem” waistband), Rocky came ready to start a riot. What exactly he was rioting against (or for?) was still unclear by the close of his set, but at least the multihyphenate reminded audiences why he has one of the strongest aesthetic eyes in his entire genre.

Originally set for an 8:45 p.m. ET start time, Rocky didn’t take the stage until a little after 9:00 p.m., closing out a festival that was notably light on hip-hop acts (just six played across the fest’s three days) and homegrown headliners. He exacerbated that delay with increasingly clunky transitions that left the crowd literally in the dark without so much as an instrumental track playing in the background — but when things clicked, Rocky harnessed some truly irresistible energy.

Serving as the de facto NYC stop for his ongoing Don’t Be Dumb Tour — which kicked off on May 27 at Chicago’s United Center — Rocky anchored his headlining performance with his latest LP, drawing on its frenetic, expansive and still-polished energy. Don’t Be Dumb, his first studio album in nearly eight years, debuted atop the Billboard 200 in January, spawning Billboard Hot 100 hits like “Stay Here 4 Life” (No. 23, with Brent Faiyaz), “Helicopter” (No. 24), “Stole Ya Flow” (No. 33) and “Punk Rocky” (No. 56).

It would take Rocky nearly nine songs to finally play something outside of the Don’t Be Dumb era, but the raucous energy of that album’s songs made for a lively first half of his set. He kicked things off with the scathing “Stole Ya Flow,” before transitioning into “Helicopter” and “Trunks” to maintain that, well, riotous energy. Clipse may have given a live rapping masterclass during the set just an hour prior, but Rocky was more concerned with using his master of ceremonies status to call for both mosh pits and for people to take off their shirts and wave them in the air “like a helicopter.”

Comprised of American flags — with his face superimposed on them, no less — and a massive Don’t Be Dumb-branded helicopter, in addition to warring “riotters” (dressed in all white) and SWAT “personnel” (dressed in all back), Rocky’s Gov Ball stage explicitly drew from U.S. military aesthetics. And Rocky’s bullhorn-microphone only emphasized those visual notes, with the Harlem MC moving more like a commanding officer than a rap superstar at the beginning of his set. That militant energy couldn’t save him from production cutting his mic as he approached the 10:00 p.m. ET curfew with seemingly no haste.

While the transitions certainly dragged, Rocky made up for it during moments like “A$AP Forever,” when the SWAT team followed him down the runway, nailing each image the choreography demanded. Other times, like during “Punk Rocky,” the staging felt a bit nonsensical. How do you play a song called “Punk Rocky” and not have your band front and center for its duration? Like any good festival headliner, however, Rocky knew that one surprise guest or song could remedy those inconsistencies. While he didn’t tap Rihanna, though she enjoyed the show in the crowd alongside JENNIE, Rocky did call up Dominican rapper Tokischa for the live performance debut of “Flackito Jodye,” their saucy, dembow-infused Don’t Be Dumb collaboration. As she ripped through her verse and popped her butt for good measure as Rocky’s sole guest (and surprise) of the night, Corona Park turned into Uptown for a split second.

After spending the bulk of his set playing Don’t Be Dumb, Rocky transitioned into “Praise the Lord,” seemingly kicking off a retrospective section that would span his generation-defining career. While he did find time to fit in “Peso,” “Fashion Killa,” “Wassup” and “Purple Swag,” Rocky’s set was ultimately cut short, with his mic’s audio getting pulled as he was gearing up to follow “Jukebox Joints.” Once it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to charm or pressure festival producers to extend his set, Rocky tossed his gloves and wave cap into the office, right before he attempted to unscrew the microphone from the bullhorn. Once that proved unfeasible, Rocky lobbed the entire contraption into the audience and walked off stage without another word.

Given the day had already been slightly delayed due to weather (Slayyyter’s set was notably postponed earlier that afternoon), Rocky should have at least gotten ten minutes extra to tear through signature hits like “1 Train,” “No Limit” and “F—kin’ Problems,” none of which he got the chance to perform. Between that debacle and the eyebrow-raising lack of hip-hop on the lineup, this year’s Gov Ball finale didn’t quite live up to the downright euphoric mood established by the Knicks’ two consecutive NBA Finals victories. Nonetheless, Rocky turned up for his city, and they beamed that energy right back to him.

Fans who weren’t able to make Rocky’s Gov Ball set can still catch him on his Don’t Be Dumb Tour. After hitting Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena for the next stop (June 8), Rocky’s latest trek will take him to major cities across the U.S. and Canada, before concluding on July 11 at Newark’s Prudential Center. The tour’s European leg will commence on Aug. 25 at Brussels’ ING Arena, and visit iconic metropolises like Milan, Copenhagen and Paris, before coming to a close on Oct. 11 at Athens’ Telekom Center.

See A$AP Rocky’s setlist at the 2026 Governor’s Ball below.

Niall Horan has hinted that Australian fans won’t have to wait much longer for a return visit, revealing that tour dates are expected to be announced soon following the release of his latest album, Dinner Party.

Speaking on Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s Rolling Stone Uncut podcast, Niall revealed that plans are already underway for a trip Down Under in support of his newly released fourth studio album.

“I’ll be down early next year for sure,” Horan told the publication. “We haven’t got to the announcement part of it yet, but there’s no doubt I’ll be down, [and] I can’t wait.”

“I just love being there, I love playing the shows down there,” he added.

While Horan stopped short of confirming dates, venues or ticket details, the comments are his clearest indication yet that an Australian tour announcement is on the horizon. The singer last visited the region in 2024 on The Show Live on Tour.

The tour tease arrives as Horan releases Dinner Party, his first studio album since 2023’s The Show. The new set continues a solo career that has made him one of the most successful members of One Direction following the group’s hiatus.

Horan’s debut solo album, Flicker, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2017, making him the first One Direction member to top the chart with a solo release. Follow-up albums Heartbreak Weather and The Show also reached the Billboard 200’s upper tier, while singles including “Slow Hands,” “This Town,” “Nice to Meet Ya,” “Heaven” and “Meltdown” helped establish him as a global solo star.

In a separate interview with Pedestrian, Horan discussed the personal inspiration behind several songs on Dinner Party. The album’s title track recounts how he met longtime partner Amelia Woolley.

“We literally met at a dinner party, and we’re still together,” Horan said. “It’s kind of like one of those — to me — once-in-a-lifetime things that you never expected to come in, and it hits you. You don’t realise, you’re not looking for it at the time.”

Elsewhere, Horan revealed that the song “Flowers” was inspired by a fan tweet he came across while writing the album.

“Just seeing a tweet online while we were writing the song, ‘Your eyes could grow flowers,’ I thought was a great concept,” he said. “I just love the idea of someone being so powerful that they could do something so unrealistic.”

No official Australian dates have been announced, but Horan’s comments suggest fans can expect news sooner rather than later.