American Idol contenders will no longer hear the signature “you’re going to Hollywood!” phrase. According to The Los Angeles Times, after 25 years in Los Angeles, the long-running reality singing competition is pulling up stakes and moving across the country to Atlanta for its next season, which will premiere in early 2027.

Show producer Fremantle confirmed to the paper that Idol‘s upcoming 25th season will be filmed in the Atlanta area at a time when Los Angeles has seen the level of productions in the city long associated with everything showbiz dropping despite Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signing a major tax incentive bill aimed at keeping businesses in the state.

Just this week, Newsom signed Senate Bill 180, which extends the state’s business incentive program, CalCompetes, through fiscal year 2032-33 after it was scheduled to sunset next year. According to the Governor’s office, since 2019, more than $1.8 billion in tax credits have been awarded to 271 businesses through the CalCompetes Tax Credit Program. The Hollywood Reporter noted that the Idol flight came after Newsom signed a bill last year that increased the cap on film and TV tax credit incentives from $330 million to $750 million a year.

Idol‘s first 15 seasons (2002-2016) on Fox were based in Los Angeles and when it returned to the air in 2018 on ABC it continued to film in the city until crowning its latest winner in May of this year. The continued exodus of production in L.A. has worried film workers and union leaders as the state struggles to compete with other states offering even more lucrative tax credits, the Times reported.

In the meantime, TV production in the L.A. area was down 27% in the second quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, mainly because of fewer reality TV shoots. As an example, earlier this year Fox’s The Masked Singer announced plans to leave its Fox lot in L.A. to travel across the country to New Jersey thanks to the Garden State’s more attractive tax credits. In addition, long-running ABC competition series Shark Tank is also pulling up stakes to move to Atlanta from the Sony lot in Culver City, Calif.

Idol has provided jobs for hundreds of workers each season for the past two decades, but the allure of Georgia’s generous tax incentives — including up to a 30% tax credit for reality TV productions that spend at least $500,000 in the state — has drawn a number of productions there, in part because, unlike California, the Peach State’s tax program includes provisions covering compensation for actors, producers, directors, screenwriters and other key production workers.

THR reported that in late July the Georgia film office reported that 280 productions had filmed in the state over the last fiscal year, including such major shoots as a Superman sequel and TV series including Will Trent and Chad Powers. Last year, Idol appeared to telegraph the move by moving the annual Hollywood Week to Nashville, Tenn., home of two of its three judges, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan.

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Luke Taleno is still living the dream. The American Dream, that is.

Born in Cuba, and a cancer survivor, Taleno shone when he auditioned for NBC’s America’s Got Talent back in June. Under the bright lights of the AGT stage, Taleno performed an original number, “From Seat to Stage,” a gift from his heart to the rest of us. It was a Golden Buzzer-worthy performance, earning that highest of praise from judge Howie Mandel.  

Taleno never had it easy. He relocated with his family to the United States at the age of just three. Before he could communicate in English, he understood the language of music and its power to connect people.

At 13, he was diagnosed with leukemia. Now, aged 28, he’s in the semifinals of AGT season 21. And he’s there as a new U.S. citizen, having sworn his oath prior to his most recent performance.

Taleno didn’t waste his chance. Strutting out to the stage under the stars and stripes of the Cuban flag, and wearing a patriotic jacket, Taleno performed another original song, “American Dream,” carrying the energy, swagger and confidence of a guy who could go the distance.  

“You are the American dream, you really are,” Mandel said of his protégé. “You have had to battle your whole life with your health. And then you’ve manifested yourself last year, backstage, telling Simon (Cowell) you were going to end up on that stage. You got the Golden Buzzer. You are making your dream come true.” For Mandel, Taleno is “the new Eminem.”

Taleno wrote the song in the past week. “You sung it with so much passion, and heart. And you interpreted every single word,” remarked Spice Girls’ Mel B. “You’re going to go very far, you are.”

Sofía Vergara reckons Taleno is a “superstar already,” an artist that is “so, so good.”

As he finished his moment on stage, Taleno doubled down. “Most people chase one dream,” he enthused. “And I’m getting to live both dreams. Let’s keep the dream alive.”

Will Taleno score a place in the final? The result lies with America’s vote. Wednesday’s AGT results special will feature Season 20 runner-up Chris Turner, who returns to the talent show with his signature freestyle rap.

Watch Taleno’s semifinal performance below.

The earliest surviving television appearance of The Seekers, Australia’s most successful music export of the 1960s, has been rediscovered, digitized and shared online.

The eight-minute video captures Judith Durham, Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and Athol Guy lip-syncing to two of their own songs, “A Closer Walk with Thee” and “Myra,” for an appearance on the Graham Kennedy-hosted live variety show In Melbourne Tonight.

In the clip, Kennedy, the late Australian TV legend remarks: “There’s no gimmicks there, and it’s a great, strong voice, isn’t it?”

That performance beamed out March 23, 1964 on GTV, and hasn’t been broadcast for six decades, according to the National Film and Sound Archive, the organization that collects, preserves and shares Australia’s audiovisual culture.

“This is arguably the tape that kickstarted The Seekers’ international success,” explains NFSA senior curator Simon Smith. “Forgotten for 60 years, it’s now digitized and available for the world to enjoy.”

According to the vault, the folk-pop trailblazers sent the black and white 16mm film as promotional reel to U.K. talent agency The Grade Organisation.

The rest is recorded music history.

With their 1965 song “I’ll Never Find Another You,” The Seekers became the first Australian act to hit No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart.

Later that year, they climbed the U.K. chart summit again with “The Carnival Is Over.” In the space of just two years, they grabbed six U.K. top 10 hits, including their best-known track “Georgy Girl,” which was nominated for an Academy Award for original song and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1967, at the very peak of their powers, the four-piece performed to an audience of 200,000 — still considered the biggest concert crowd in the southern hemisphere — and they were named Australians of the Year.

Durham embarked on a solo career in 1967, and reunited with the band on several occasions, including in 2013, for the Seekers’ 50th anniversary tour. Those best-laid plans, however, took a back seat when Durham suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.

She recovered, and the following year Durham and her bandmates were individually recognized as Officers of the Order of Australia.

The Seekers were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1995, they received the Ted Albert Award for outstanding services to Australian music at the APRA Awards in 2013, and they’ve had a stamp issued in their memory. Durham died in 2022, aged 79, after suffering complications from a long-standing lung condition.

The NFSA acquired the footage to mark the 70th anniversary of the launch of television in Australia, a moment that was timed to coincide with the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Keith Potger, curator of Judith Durham’s estate memorabilia, donated the rare film.

Read more on The Seekers’ early days and watch the footage here.

It took just one song for Colombian ARIA VEGA to make her Billboard debut — and go straight to No. 1. “Chévere,” her collaboration with Ryan Castro, rockets 6-1 on the overall Latin Airplay chart dated Sept. 19, giving VEGA her first chart-topper and Castro his second.

“I’m receiving this incredible news from Madrid, where I’m attending Fashion Week with a wonderful Colombian brand,” VEGA tells Billboard. “Soon, I’ll return to Macondo to open for Shakira during her residency at Macondo Park. I am also recording reimagined versions of my songs infused with Colombia’s coastal sounds, including drums and gaita flutes, so I couldn’t be happier!”

“Chévere,” on AWOO/Warner Latina, hits No. 1 on the overall Latin Airplay chart after a 23% gain in audience impressions, to 6.6 million, earned during the Sept. 4-10 tracking week in the United States, according to Luminate. The song removes Jay Wheeler’s “De Lejitos” after two weeks in charge — it falls to No. TK.

“I’m incredibly excited,” Castro shares with Billboard from Washington D.C, one of the stops on his SENDÉ World tour. “’Chévere’ [which translates to ‘cool’ in English] is a song I sing every night, so seeing it reach No. 1 on Latin Airplay fills me with pride. I’m very grateful to ARIA, my team, and everyone who continues to support my music.”

If we take a closer look at activity surrounding Latin Airplay in 2026, 33 songs have hit No. 1 this year, 23 have been collaborations—including 15 duets. But “Chévere” stands apart, as the only chart-topper by two Colombian artists, and just the sixth No. 1 by soloists from the same country. Other same-nation pairings include Puerto Rico’s Bad Bunny and RaiNao with “Perfumito Nuevo” and Zion and Chencho Corleone with “Caducaste”; Romeo Santos and Prince Royce, representing Dominican Republic, with “Lokita Por Mí” and “Dardos”; and Mexico’s Xavi and Carín León with “La Morrita.”

Beyond its Latin Airplay coronation, “Chévere” also hits No. 1 on Latin Rhythm Airplay, where Castro adds his second champ. Plus, it rises to new peaks on the multi-metric charts Hot Latin Songs and Hot Latin Rhythm Songs, at Nos. 21 and 12, respectively.

“I really love ARIA’s music,” shares Castro. “I sent her a DM because I truly liked what she was doing, and from there, everything came together very organically. The chemistry behind creating ‘Chévere’ felt incredibly natural.”

Calvin Harris will return to Australia early next year for his first-ever headline tour.

The superstar Scottish DJ and producer will go coast-to-coast for a four-city trek next February, his first in these parts as the main man.

Presented by Untitled Group, Full Circle and Live Nation, Calvin Harris – Australia Tour 2027 will get Perth bouncing from Feb. 18, 2027 at Langley Park, then heads east for shows in Brisbane (RNA Showgrounds on Feb. 19), Sydney (The Domain, Feb. 20) and wraps up at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse (Feb. 26).

Aussie fans can expect Harris to whip out his anthems, reps say, from “One Kiss” with Dua Lipa, to “This Is What You Came For” featuring Rihanna, “Summer,” “Feel So Close,” “Sweet Nothing” featuring Florence Welch, and “Blame” featuring John Newman. 

The Grammy Award-winner last visited Australia as the mainstage headliner for Festival X in late 2022, and has previously performed sets at the Stereosonic in 2011, 2012, and 2014, and the 2010 Big Day Out (Festival X, Stereosonic and BDO are no longer on the festivals calendar).

The towering EDM star (real name: Adam Wiles) boasts 11 No. 1 singles in the United Kingdom, dating back to his 2008 collaboration with Dizzee Rascal, “Dance Wiv Me.” No other dance act has more leaders on the Official U.K. Singles Chart.

His collection of career honors include two Brit Awards, an Ivor Novello Award, he owns the record for the most U.K. No. 1 singles in the 2010s (eight), and has the distinction of being the first British solo artist to pass one billion streams on Spotify. 

The general public on-sale for Harris’ tour down under starts next Thursday, Sept. 24 at 1pm local time. 

Full event details, pre-sale registrations, and ticketing information can be found here.

Calvin Harris – Australia Tour 2027:
Thursday, Feb. 18 — Langley Park, Perth
Friday, Feb. 19 — RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane
Saturday, Feb. 20 — The Domain, Sydney
Friday, Feb. 26 — Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne

ADÉLA’s debut full-length studio album PRIMA premieres atop two Billboard album charts, as the set launches at No. 1 on both Top Album Sales and Vinyl Albums (dated Sept. 19). The project also bows at No. 4 on the overall Billboard 200, marking the highest entry for a full-length debut studio album this year.

PRIMA enters the Billboard 200 with 56,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending Sept. 10, according to Luminate. Of that sum, album sales comprise 31,000, of which vinyl purchases account for 12,000. (Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums [TEA] and streaming equivalent albums [SEA]. Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 2,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.)

The 22-year-old Slovakian singer/songwriter gained attention in 2023 when she participated in Dream Academy, the reality competition show that eventually launched KATSEYE. While she was one of the first contestants eliminated from the program, she would drop her debut single “Homewrecked” in 2024, and then “Superscar” soon after. In 2025, she signed to Capitol Records and released her first EP, The Provocateur. She made her Billboard Hot 100 debut in August with the PRIMA track “Ain’t in LA,” which jumps 57-30 on the chart this week, scoring the artist her first top 40-charted hit. She also debuts on the list with the album’s “Nicole Kidman” at No. 45.

ADÉLA leads a busy top 10 on the Top Album Sales chart dated Sept. 19. Ariana Grande’s former No. 1 petal pushes 31-3 after a new deluxe edition with live tracks arrived, Beyoncé’s chart-topping B’Day reenters at No. 4 after the release of its expanded anniversary reissue, MONSTA X’s The Phase bows at No. 7, and PRESIDENT’s Blood of Your Empire enters at No. 9.

“Rajah of Rhinestones” and “Sultan of Sequins” were the two titles given to the legendary nine-time Emmy-winning and three-time Oscar-nominated costume designer Bob Mackie, and they couldn’t have been more fitting. Recognized for being behind some of the most sequined and sparkling outfits in Hollywood, Mackie — who died Monday (Sept. 14) at age 87 — has left an unforgettable mark on pop culture with his timeless work.

Mackie’s career as a costume designer spanned more than half a century. He began designing in 1961, earning his breakout gig through his work as a costume designer on the The Carol Burnett Show. From Cher’s elaborate, head-turning “nude illusion gown” and feathered headpiece at the 1974 Met Gala to Sabrina Carpenter’s iconic three-set archival Mackie look at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards and its afterparty, the designer has a number of dazzling pieces that have been seen on plenty of music’s biggest stars and inspired the work of countless others.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today,” read the statement shared to Mackie’s social media about his death. “He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a Fashion and Costume Designer, which is all he ever wanted to do. His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world.”

In honor of Mackie’s iconic outfits, Billboard has compiled photos of music artists who have worn some of his intricate and beautifully designed ensembles below.