Dexter Wansel, a forefather of alternative R&B and the gifted songwriter/producer of hits such as Patti LaBelle’s “If Only You Knew,” died Sunday in Philadelphia of undisclosed causes. He was 75.

A Philadelphia native born Aug. 22, 1950, keyboardist Wansel was an errand boy for the local Uptown Theater while growing up. Following a stint in the Army, he began working at the city’s famed Sigma Sound Studios, where he gained the attention of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, the Grammy-winning co-founders of pioneering soul label Philadelphia International Records. As a recording artist for the label — beginning with his influential 1976 debut album Life on Mars in addition to wearing multiple hats in-house as a writer, arranger, composer, conductor, producer and A&R director into the ‘80s — Wansel earned a reputation as one of the vital craftsmen in developing the inimitable “Sound of Philadelphia.”

In a joint statement sent to Billboard, Gamble & Huff commented, “Dexter Wansel brought a new age sound to our record label in the 1970s and ‘80s, arranging and producing hits for many of our artists such as The Jacksons, The Jones Girls, Jean Carne and MFSB Orchestra, and including hits for himself. Dexter’s synthesizer and symphonic keyboard sounds were iconic.”

Encompassing vibrant fusions of R&B, funk, jazz and futurist/electronic grooves coupled with lavish orchestrations, those sounds were the hallmark of Life on Mars and the three additional albums that Wansel released via Philadelphia International. The projects include 1977’s What the World Is Coming To, 1978’s Voyager and 1979’s Time Is Slipping Away.

Wansel stayed just as busy behind the scenes at the label during the late ‘70s and into the ‘80s. He teamed with in-house lyricist Cynthia Biggs for a fruitful run that reaped songs such as LaBelle’s No. 1 R&B single “If Only You Knew,” The Jones Girls’ “Nights Over Egypt,” The Stylistics’ “Hurry Up This Way Again,” Grover Washington Jr.’s “The Best Is Yet to Come” featuring Patti LaBelle and Phyllis Hyman’s “Living All Alone.”

Wansel was also a producer on Lou Rawls’ 1977 album Unmistakably Lou, for which the singer won a Grammy for best male R&B vocal performance. Wansel’s work has also been sampled by various hip-hop artists, including Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Kim, Drake and J. Cole. Over these later years, Wansel released other solo projects, among them: Captured (1986), Digital Groove World (2004) and The Story of the Flight Crew to Mars (2021).

Added Gamble & Huff, “Dexter’s prolific songwriting with his long-time writing partner Cynthia Biggs  – who worked with Teddy Pendergrass and others — made them one of the most sought-after writing teams in our publishing company.  Most importantly, Dexter was our dear friend, protegé and great contributor to the Sound of Philadelphia. We send our sincere condolences to his wife Judy and family.”

Wansel is survived by his Grammy-nominated songwriter/producer son Andrew “Pop” Wansel of Pop & Oak. The younger Wansel’s credits include projects by Usher, Kehlani and Alessia Cara.

A statement from the Wansel family states, “We wish to express our gratitude for the outpouring of condolences we are receiving for our loved one, Grammy winner and one of the architects of the Sound of Philadelphia, Dexter Wansel. He’s at peace now.”

Memorial details will be announced at a later date. 

Jennifer Lopez is setting the record straight on what she says is one of the most common rumors that gets recycled about her: that she’s dating anyone she’s ever seen with.

During an interview with the Today show, the star of the new rom-com Office Romance and her co-star Brett Goldstein got cornered into answering questions about their relationship off-camera.

Today‘s Savannah Guthrie, who interviewed the actors, had Lopez and Goldstein rewatch a clip where the “Get Right” singer confesses to Bravo host Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that the best kiss she’s ever had was with Goldstein during the filming of the movie. “I just did a movie with Brett Goldstein and I’d say he was the best kisser,” Lopez confessed to Cohen.

Rewatching the clip with her co-star beside her made Lopez blush and led Guthrie to ask the pressing question: “You know what everyone is saying,” Guthrie said.

“What are they saying?” Lopez asked, to which the presenter said, “That it might be real. That you might actually be dating in real life.”

Lopez brushed off the question. “There is never a time when I’m seen with somebody or working with somebody that they don’t try and put me with the person,” Lopez replied.

“I think if you stand near her, that’s what happens,” Goldstein added.

Guthrie pointed out that was still not an answer to the question, to which Lopez said, “It was an answer. ‘Cause all these people that they put me with … I think I was with Kevin Costner this year, there was a lot of people. It happens all the time.”

When Guthrie pushed once more — “So you’re not dating then?” — Lopez responded, “Not dating,” while Goldstein added, “Correct.”

Lopez recently had a resurgence on the Billboard charts when her dance-pop anthem “On the Floor” hit the Billboard Global 200 thanks to a scene from the Prime Video series Off Campus, in which a character re-creates Lopez’s iconic Versace dress while dancing to the song at a Halloween party.

Watch Lopez and Goldstein’s full Today interview below:

Mal shocked his co-hosts in a recent episode of New Rory & Mal by proclaiming that he would side with Drake if a rap battle popped off between the Toronto rapper and Jay-Z.

“I might have to ride with my man Drake,” the brother of Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Kareem “Biggs” Burke said while discussing the possibility.

When jokingly pressed about his family ties to the Jigga Man, Mal doubled down. “That’s big bro, that’s family,” he said of Jay-Z. “But [Drake’s] my man. I gotta ride with my man.” However, he did add that he would change his mind if things ventured into more personal territory saying, “I’m with it if it remains rap and respectful. I’m not with the corny, just make up anything and say anything bullsh– that we witnessed two years ago,” in reference to the Drake/Kendrick battle.

In another clip that surfaced online, Mal revealed that Drake texted him about the way Jay-Z was sporting his hair onstage at the Roots Picnic. “The funny sh– about all of this is Drake is the one that told me about this freestyle, because I was watching the Spurs game,” he claimed after his co-host Rory told a story of how Jermaine Dupri made him FaceTime Mal to scream at him about not siding with the family. “I wasn’t online. Game 7 was on. The Knicks was waiting. I’m trying to see who the Knicks gon’ get so I’m not even paying attention to my phone, nothing. So I think it was halftime or something, so I look at my phone, and I see texts from Drake.”

He added: “I don’t know what’s happening so everything that we’re talking about, I don’t even know what was said,” Mal said of his subsequent back-and-forth text exchange with Drake. “So he was picking out certain things that he said, but the one thing that Drake said was like, ‘Yo, but what’s up with the hair?’ Now mind you, I haven’t seen a picture.”

Jay-Z shook up the rap world with an a cappella freestyle during the Roots Picnic over the weekend in which he aired his grievances and dissed a bunch of people, including Drake, Nicki Minaj, Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Dame Dash, among others.

Peabo Bryson — the Grammy-winning and hitmaking singer of legendary love songs — has died at age 75, his rep confirmed to Billboard. Bryson had suffered a stroke over the weekend and was under medical care.

“With broken hearts and profound sadness, the family of two-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and balladeer, Peabo Bryson, announces his passing,” a statement from Bryson’s family reads, adding: “He transitioned peacefully at 5:00 p.m. ET on the evening of Tuesday, June 2, 2026, surrounded by the love of his family and those closest to him.”

Over his decadeslong career, Bryson placed 12 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, starting with “Lovers After All,” his 1981 duet with Melissa Manchester, and including three top 10 hits. He topped the chart in 1993 thanks to his recording of Disney’s “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme)” with Regina Belle. Bryson had previously found success with another Disney classic, recording “Beauty and the Beast” with a then-23-year-old Celine Dion and reaching No. 9 on the Hot 100 in 1992.

Those two Disney success stories also brought Bryson his two Grammy wins out of eight nominations, with both duets taking home best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal in back-to-back years (1993 and 1994).

“We are tremendously moved by the outpouring of love, prayers and support from fans, friends, and colleagues around the world,” Bryson’s family shared in a statement. “While our hearts are broken, we find comfort in knowing how deeply Peabo was loved and how many lives were touched by his voice and his generous spirit. His legacy and music will live on for generations to come.”

One of the last posts on Bryson’s social media accounts was an April carousel of family photos celebrating his 75th birthday. “This is 75!!,” the photos are captioned. “Thank you for all my well wishes,” he added with a heart-hands emoji.

Fans of BTS, Cardi B, Lainey Wilson and more aren’t going to want to miss this year’s iHeartRadio Music Festival, which announced its 2026 lineup on Tuesday (June 2).

Taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the two-day event will also feature Benson Boone, Zara Larsson, Goo Goo Dolls, Kenny Chesney, Major Lazer, Muse, Snoop Dogg and Weezer. More acts will be announced leading up to the festival on Sept. 18-19.

“The iHeartRadio Music Festival is all about bringing together the biggest artists across every genre for two unforgettable nights, and this year’s lineup truly reflects the incredible diversity of music today,” said chief programming officer Tom Poleman and president of entertainment enterprises John Sykes in a joint statement. “From global superstars to fan-favorite icons, we’re excited to once again deliver an unmatched live and streaming experience that reaches millions of fans everywhere.”

Tickets for the Ryan Seacrest-hosted festival will go on sale to the public at 2 p.m. ET on June 12 via AXS online. Capital One cardholders will have access to an exclusive presale kicking off June 10.

Those who can’t make it in person also have the option of streaming the performances on Disney+ and Hulu.

This year’s festival continues a pattern of star-studded lineups, with Jelly Roll, Tate McRae, Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Ed Sheeran and more A-listers playing the iHeartRadio Music Festival in 2025. In 2024, A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, Doja Cat and Dua Lipa were among the artists on the bill.

More information about this year’s event can be found on iHeartRadio’s website.

BTS have added a third Melbourne show to their Australian tour leg of BTS World Tour ‘ARIRANG,’ responding to overwhelming presale demand with a new date at Marvel Stadium on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

The addition brings the Australian run to five shows — three nights at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne (Feb. 10, 12 and 13) and two nights at Accor Stadium in Sydney (Feb. 20 and 21).

ARMY Membership presale for the new Melbourne date opens Wednesday, June 3 at 10 a.m. AEST. General on sale for all five Australian shows begins Thursday, June 4 at 10 a.m. AEST for Melbourne and 1 p.m. AEST for Sydney via btsworldtourofficial.com. Only ARMY Membership holders who registered in advance will be eligible for the presale queue, and a Global membership number — a nine-digit number beginning with “BA” — is required for access.

The Australian dates are part of what is already shaping up to be the largest global K-pop tour of all time, spanning stadiums across Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia. The production features a 360-degree, in-the-round stage design placing fans at the centre of the experience while expanding overall stadium capacity.

It marks BTS’ first headline tour together since the Permission to Dance on Stage tour, which included 12 sold-out shows across Seoul, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

The tour supports ARIRANG, BTS’ fifth studio album, released in March 2026. The record debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with the group’s sixth No. 1 on the chart since 2020. The seven-member group — RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — are five-time Grammy nominees and were named TIME’s Entertainer of the Year in 2020.

BTS World Tour ‘ARIRANG’ — Australia 2027

Feb. 10 — Melbourne, AUS — Marvel Stadium (new show)

Feb. 12 — Melbourne, AUS — Marvel Stadium

Feb. 13 — Melbourne, AUS — Marvel Stadium

Feb. 20 — Sydney, AUS — Accor Stadium

Feb. 21 — Sydney, AUS — Accor Stadium

Bryson Tiller has announced The Neo Trapsoul Tour, a 61-date world tour launching Aug. 27 in West Valley City, Utah with support from Majid Jordan, Ty Dolla $ign and Austin Millz on select dates.

The North American leg runs through Nov. 1 in Seattle, hitting major stops including Madison Square Garden in New York on Sept. 13, Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on Aug. 29 and Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Oct. 25. A European leg follows from Nov. 17, with dates in Zurich, Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Dublin and a run of U.K. arena shows closing at London’s The O2 on Dec. 7.

The tour wraps with five Australian and New Zealand dates in January 2027 — Perth’s RAC Arena (Jan. 19), Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne (Jan. 21), Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney (Jan. 23), Brisbane Entertainment Centre (Jan. 25) and Spark Arena in Auckland (Jan. 27). Artist presale opens Wednesday, June 3 at 12 p.m. local time, with general on sale from Friday, June 5 at 12 p.m. local time. VIP packages are available via vipnation.com.

The tour follows a landmark stretch for the Louisville, Kentucky singer. Last October he celebrated the 10th anniversary of his debut album T R A P S O U L and released the double album Solace & The Vices, with The Vices leaning into high-energy rap-driven production and Solace embracing a more soulful R&B sound.

He also teamed with Chris Brown on “It Depends,” which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B Digital Song Sales chart, peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, earned two Grammy nominations, two BET Award nominations, an American Music Award and an NAACP Image Award. A new album is forthcoming, preceded by the recently released single “IT’S OK.”

Tiller broke through in 2015 with the diamond-certified “Don’t” and his 3x platinum debut T R A P S O U L, which helped define modern trap R&B. His follow-up True to Self (2017) debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — making him only the second artist in chart history to debut at No. 1 with a streaming-only release — while A N N I V E R S A R Y (2020) opened at No. 5 and his 2024 self-titled album landed in the Billboard 200’s top 20.

Dom Dolla has sold out his Marvel Stadium show in Melbourne, with presale allocations exhausted within hours and all remaining tickets snapping up instantly from general on sale.

The Sept. 24 show — which will mark the world premiere of the DJ and producer’s new stadium production — sold out in record time in what promoters Untitled Group and Frontier Touring are calling one of the most significant moments in Australian electronic music history. A waitlist is now open for fans who missed out.

“Untitled Group has been part of Dom’s journey from the very start of his career, and to watch him sell out Marvel Stadium in his hometown is a moment we’ll never forget,” said Nicholas Greco, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Untitled Group. “This puts electronic music in Australia firmly on the global map and is a historic moment for Dom, for Melbourne, and for electronic music fans across the country.”

The sellout builds on a remarkable run of momentum for the Melbourne-born DJ. In December 2025 he set a new benchmark for electronic music events in Australia with a record-breaking sold-out debut at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium.

In 2025 he also headlined two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden to more than 30,000 fans, completed a 10-week residency at Hi Ibiza — ranked the world’s No. 1 club — and made his film soundtrack debut with “No Room For A Saint” featuring Nathan Nicholson for the F1 movie soundtrack.

Born Dominic Matheson, Dom Dolla has accumulated more than 1.5 billion streams and won four ARIA Awards for Best Dance/Electronic Release, as well as the inaugural ARIA Global Impact Award presented by Spotify. On Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, “Rhyme Dust” with MK peaked at No. 9, “Eat Your Man” with Nelly Furtado reached No. 15, “Dreamin’” featuring Daya climbed to No. 5 — his highest chart peak — and “Forever” with Kid Cudi debuted at No. 9. He received a Grammy nomination for his remix of Gorillaz’s “New Gold” featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown.

PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SHINSEKAI, the fourth season of the audition survival show that brought us the artists JO1, INI and ME:I, has been available for viewing, free of charge, since March 2026, exclusively on the Lemino streaming service. It will culminate in the debut of a 12-person global boy band with members chosen through voting by Japanese viewers (Kokumin Producers) and, for the first time on the show, global viewers (SEKAI Producers) as well.

One of the biggest differences between this season and the past three seasons is that this is now a global audition. The show accepted applications from everyone, regardless of nationality or birthplace (with the exception of a small number of areas). In addition to attracting trainees from around the world, it is also being streamed globally via the global K-pop content platform Mnet Plus, and votes can also be cast from anywhere. The show’s overall emcee, trainee supporter, and KOKUMIN Producer representative is Dean Fujioka. This season, he is joined for the first time by a SEKAI Producer Representative, Choi Soo-young (from Girl’s Generation). The votes of KOKUMIN Producers from Japan and SEKAI Producers from other countries are counted together to launch a boy band that reflects a more international perspective. There are already plans for the band to make its debut simultaneously in both Korea and Japan.

In each of its past seasons, PRODUCE 101 JAPAN has had 101 trainees. Of these, 11 would go on to become debut members. During the first episode of this new season, though, the show announced that 22 global participants have been added, bringing up the number of participants to 123. Of these, 12 will be chosen to debut. In an unexpected twist, unlike in past seasons, the participants didn’t start as trainees, but as trainee candidates. They found themselves suddenly faced with a level placement test, so there was struggle and drama right out of the gates.

This season has already brought us several standout scenes. Episode 6 presented the first half of “POSITION BATTLE: OPEN ROUND.” After the first round of rankings were announced, the 50 remaining trainees were divided into nine teams to compete in the event. In previous rounds, trainees were able to pick their own fields of expertise, like vocals, dance, or rap. But as Dean Fujioka explained, “Today, the borders between vocals, dance, and rap are gone. We’re in an age of all-rounders, where people aren’t hemmed in by the idea of fixed positions.” This time, the battle used an OPEN ROUND approach. It judged the trainees’ ability to handle self-production, including song arrangement and structure. It was a vivid example of how the updates the show had made to its judging approach in order to produce a global boy band for today’s era.

The nine teams competed, each with their own song, and the two top trainees and the top trainee for each of the nine songs in the group battle were selected as leaders. One particularly dramatic scene unfolded for the team PUNCH LINERS, whose leader, RYUJI (Ryuji Sugiyama), picked INI’s song “DOMINANCE.” O.YUSEI (Yusei Obayashi), who was chosen as the main rapper, was psyched, saying “I’ve rarely taken center stage in my own life, so I’m going to go for it.” After listening to the advice of INI members Rihito Ikezaki, Hiroto Nishi, and Jin Matsuda, he looked fulfilled, but after hearing Y.SHU (Shu Yamashita) rap, he asked for the main rapper position to be switched out, saying “I think he’d be better as a main rapper then me.” His team members encouraged him, saying “You got the center position, now you need to go out there and crush it.” O.YUSEI, feeling disgusted with himself, began crying, saying “It was just so frustrating…” His connection with fellow rapper Y.SHU grew even stronger, and then in the main event, he boldly took the stage, putting on a confident performance as main rapper, turning the tables by being selected as no. 1 in his team through the field voting. Y.SHU came in second place, and it was clear to everyone watching how the bonds between them had grown.

Episode 7 featured the second half of the “POSITION BATTLE: OPEN ROUND” and the announcement of the results. “Nature Self” was chosen through field voting as the team that stood out the most. Nature Self was led by CHISATO (Chisato Kobayashi), who chose the song “Natural” by Imagine Dragons.

During the first part of the practice, RYOTA (Ryota Ishida) and CHISATO divided up the choreography duties, but dance trainer KAITA said he felt there was a lack of teamwork. “Did you two coordinate with each other? I could tell that the choreography was by two separate people. It felt disjointed.” Everyone gathered together, and RYOTA and the other members talked about each other’s strengths. They reaffirmed the importance of teamwork and developed a more powerful sense of solidarity. Elsewhere, YURA (Yura Abe), who had been chosen by unanimous accord as main dancer, looked crestfallen, saying “I just couldn’t get excited about being chosen for center position.” He couldn’t shake off his defeat in the previous group battle. “Being in the center position means being under a huge amount of pressure. Even now, I’ve got mixed emotions about it.” CHISATO tried to gave him a push, saying “I want you to go out there and put all your heart into it. I made your choreography with that in mind,” but YURA’s expression remained clouded. SIYOUNG (Park Siyoung), a member of another team, criticized him, saying “We couldn’t see your facial expressions,” and that just sent YURA spiraling further. Dance trainer Rino Nakasone said “You don’t look like a center. You need to be more honest with yourself. Give it your all.” Tears in his eyes, YURA confessed that “Ever since becoming center, I’ve just kept questioning myself.” Nakasone continued, “The song ’Natural’ is all about not bowing under pressure. Don’t keep it all pent up inside, you’ve got all these people around you can turn to.” After telling him that he needed to embody the message of the song, and advising him to rely on his fellow trainees, the other members all embraced him in a hug. The scene eloquently showed that it’s not just about singing and dancing abilities. You also need to truly understand the music at a deeper level.

In the main event, the whole team put on a powerful and magnificent show. It was like they’d all broken out of their shells, and their performance of “Nature Self” was met with a huge round of applause. The decision to pick them as the standout team was a clear and obvious one. KOTARO (Kotaro Asaka) was chosen no. 1 in the team, with YURA taking the no. 3 position. KOTARO revealed that he’d felt great respect for YURA ever since the first time he went to Korea, and he thanked him. YURA also gave a glimpse of his own personal growth, saying that the experience had given him confidence.

PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SHINSEKAI is the kind of show that gives birth to great scenes like these. One of the highlights of this audition show is that it doesn’t just consist of ranking competitors through voting, but it also helps the trainees grow. Tomorrow, your own vote could be instrumental in the dramatic personal growth of trainees.

–This article by Kaori Komatsu first appeared on Billboard Japan