BLINKs, JENNIE is your fallen angel.
The South Korea-born, New Zealand-raised BLACKPINK star steps out on her own for Fallen Angel, the three-track digital EP that dropped as the clock struck midnight.
It’s a collection that comes “from a very personal place with the truest self-expression,” reads an announcement, posted just last week by Odd Atelier, the singer-actress’ own company and label. “A gift from JENNIE, with love.”
The gift, well, it’s unwrapped and available for streaming below. The title from Fallen Angel arrives with an official music video, a fairytale that could be inspired by the work of Tim Burton. It’s a balancing act of light and dark, of bonfires and flowers. Of butterflies and bad dreams. Poetry and pain. JENNIE is the connecting tissue. “Thorns may be the sharpest, fiercest thing on this earth,” we learn in the spoken word outro. “And yet, they bloom into the world’s most beautiful roses.”
The clip culminates in a fiery finale. But fear not, no one was set ablaze. A disclaimer accompanying the music video assures that all fire depicted in it was created using VFX (CG), and that “all scenes involving minors were filmed in a safe environment under appropriate supervision.” Good to know.
At the top, as a child is boxed in on a stage of warped little houses, we learn that “human greed has made them grow so heavy.” As the camera pulls back, we see a surreal foggy landscape, backed by domineering skyscrapers. Those bent dwellings have eyes. “But little one, close your eyes like I do,” that narrator explains, in Korean. “We can still fly. Free as can be.”
Fallen Angel collects the title track, plus “Heaven,” which the K-pop icon debuted last month when she headlined the final night of Open’er Festival in Gdynia, Poland; and “Less Than a Lover.”
“It’s a song I wrote thinking about summer,” she told the audience before performing “Less Than A Lover.” “It feels really special to share new music with this many people.” She added: “I really can’t wait to share this new music with you soon.”
Stream Fallen Angel below.
After 10 years and fifth album releases, DMA’S finally have a No. 1.
The Australian alternative rock trio opens at the top of the latest ARIA Albums Chart (published Friday, Aug. 28) with DMA’S, their fifth studio album.
It’s the band’s first ever No. 1 on the national chart, after successive near-misses. And just the second homegrown album to top the tally this year after Karnivool’s In Verses (via Cymatic Records/Sony Music), following its release in February.
“Congratulations to DMA’S on a career best chart performance, taking the number one spot with their self-titled album no less,” comment ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd. “This is just another achievement in a string of incredible work over more than a decade and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome them to the top of the ARIA Chart.”
DMA’S is notable, for several reasons. That fastest possible chart start follows close chances with 2023’s How Many Dreams, which opened and peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Chart (and No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart). And its predecessor, 2020’s The Glow, which also peaked at No. 2 in Australia (and No. 4 in the United Kingdom). The Aussies will learn of their U.K. chart debut later Friday.
As previously reported, it’s the band’s first release through a new deal with Wonderlick and Sony Music, one that introduces the trio into the major label machine for the first time. Their previous albums, going back to their debut full-length collection Hill’s End, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary, were independently released through I Oh You, part of the Mushroom Group.
Also, it’s the first of the DMA’S albums to be self-recorded. Bandmates Johnny Took (acoustic guitar, backing vocals), Matt Mason (lead guitar) and Tommy O’Dell (lead vocals) cut the new effort in their studio in Sydney’s Glebe, a space that was established by local rock’n’roll legend Col Joye, and hosted sessions with David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen and the Bee Gees.
Speaking ahead of the new release, Mason told Billboard that an ARIA No. 1 was on his mind. “I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t a part of it,” he said, a nod to their new major label route.
Since their arrival with Hill’s End (which cracked the ARIA Top 10, peaking at No. 8), DMA’S have amassed over 535 million streams. In Australia, their breakthrough came with the 2016 cover of Cher’s ‘90s dance hit “Believe.” Their version came out on top of triple j’s inaugural Hottest 100 “Live A Version” countdown in 2023, and they won the ARIA Award for best group in the same year.
DMA’S will support their new chart leader with an east coast tour of Australia this November and December.
In other chart news, Tasmanian artist Miss Kaninna bags a top 10 with her debut mixtape, BLACKPRINT, new at No. 8, while Aussie singer and songwriter Vera Blue starts at No. 12 with Modern Rituals. Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Ella Langley returns to the summit with “Choosin’ Texas,” up 2-1 for its 11th non-consecutive week at the top. Female artists or groups have now led the national singles chart for every week since early August 2025, ARIA reports.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to New Music Friday’s most essential releases each week — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Last week, we featured Sam Smith, Stella Lefty, Weezer and more.
This week, Olivia Rodrigo shares a previously-released-CD-exclusive song digitally; Alex Warren releases his second album; JENNIE’s three-track EP arrives; and Rod Wave drops his mega 24-track seventh album, Don’t Look Down… plus much more. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Olivia Rodrigo, “Serena Joy”
Days before headlining her very own inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival in Irvine, Calif., superstar Olivia Rodrigo dropped a new song (which was originally cut from her third album, this June’s You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love) that will surely make its way into her setlist. “Serena Joy” — named after the antagonist from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale novel — is expectedly inspired by the character’s complexities. And while the dystopian-sounding song ends with Rodrigo repeating “everything is just fine,” it’s unclear if she means it — or just wants to believe it. — LYNDSEY HAVENS
Alex Warren, WILDCHILD
Alex Warren’s second album swiftly follows last year’s You’ll Be Alright, Kid that included his breakout hit and Hot 100 No. 1 “Ordinary.” And while WILDCHILD does include some downtempo pop ballads (“Fine Place To Die,” “I Miss You More”), his signature soaring vocals are best highlighted on the album’s more punchy uptempo songs (“Fever Dream,” “Emerald Eyes”). As the project’s title implies, Warren is living it up a bit more this time around — or should I say, getting a bit wild by his standards — and as a result, sneaks in a final few summer smashes. — L.H.
JENNIE, Fallen Angel
Imagine the bite of “like JENNIE” only stripped down and ethereal — that’s “Heaven.” JENNIE sounds entirely self-assured on the song, even if she’s singing of a toxic relationship: “If not crazy, then what fun would it be?” The song accompanies the acoustic-led title track and previously-released single “Less than a Lover.” Fallen Angel is JENNIE’s first solo project since the release of her solo debut with last year’s full-length Ruby. — L.H.
Rod Wave, Don’t Look Down
The prolific rapper-singer-songwriter puts all three to their best use across his new album, tapping R&B singer-songwriter Summer Joy, R&B artist Luv Von, Irish singer-songwriter Aimee Carty and Australian indie-folk artist Hazlett as the project’s only features. Don’t Look Down is Rod Wave’s seventh album, having only released his debut full-length (Ghetto Gospel) in 2019. — L.H.
Billy Strings, So Much for Goodbyes
As Eric Renner Brown writes of the bluegrass virtuoso’s new album, it is “a profound meditation on grief inspired by the recent death of his mother.” As Strings shared himself in a statement along with the album’s announcement, he made the record to honor her: “To notice and embrace this very significant period of grief in my life and make art from it. To turn my heartbreak into songs while using my guitar as a coping mechanism as I always have. It’s always been there for me to lean on through the hard times, and I figure it always will… until it’s my time to say goodbye.” Read Billboard‘s tracks ranked here.
flowerovlove feat. Willow, “girls will be girls”
Rising indie-pop singer floweroflove shares her debut album, Mini Skirt Warrior, led by focus track “girls will be girls” with the project’s sole feature Willow. While the uptempo song is the album’s 12th and final, it’s also one of its standouts alongside previously-released singles like “American Wedding” and “I’m your first.” — L.H.
Alabama Shakes, I Must Be Dreaming
Grammy-winning bluesy rock band Alabama Shakes is back — and with its first album in over a decade. I Must Be Dreaming is the act’s first full-length since its breakout second album Sound & Color, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 upon its 2015 release. Previously-released single “Another Life” remains a standout for vocalist Brittany Howard’s urgent vocals, as does “Waist Deep.” The band is currently on tour through the end of September, with a date at Radio City Music Hall Sept. 2. — L.H.
Better late than never. More than six months after the 2026 Grammy Awards, where Jelly Roll insisted he would state his political views within the following week, he finally did so loudly and unequivocally during his last night guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live, ABC’s late-night talkshow.
Jelly Roll has been a headline-grabbing machine this week, from his sweet words about the late Dolly Parton to the backlash from MAGA and America’s network of conservative media when he roasted Donald Trump, more than once. During his monologue on Thursday evening (Aug. 27), Roll took the conversation even further.
Flashback to the Grammys on Feb. 1, a night when he won three golden gramophones. Backstage, Jelly told the press room that he was ready, willing and able to share his thoughts on the state of politics in his homeland.
“I have a lot to say about it and I’m going to in the next week. And everybody’s going to hear exactly what I have to say in the most loud and clear way I’ve ever spoken in my life. I look forward to it,” he said.
He prefaced that, in his own self-deprecating way, by saying that “people shouldn’t care to hear about my opinion, I’m a dumb redneck.” Then came nothing but silence.
“Can I get something off my chest,” he said on Kimmel. “For the last six months, I’ve watched people decide who I am, what I am, what I believe, what I support and what I don’t support. And I felt that even more this week, just because I told a couple of jokes. And honestly, this goes back further for me, y’all.”
This goes back to February this year, and the Grammys, a night where his dreams came true. “It was the single greatest moment and greatest honor of my career. I got called on that stage. I got handed my award that I’ve been dreaming about since I was a child. And immediately after, I was asked to make what I felt at the time was a political stands. I fumbled my words.”
Looking back, “I don’t necessarily regret asking for more time before I spoke. I wish more people took more time before they spoke. But I do wish I had found the words to express my heart just a little bit sooner. But I was afraid that anything I was going to say was going to be immediately taken as a political statement.” He continued, “Ironically, by trying so hard not to make a political statement, I became one. I spent my entire career trying not to belong to a political party. Partly because until March of this year, I wasn’t allowed to vote. But now that I have that right, it’s one I plan to exercise this coming November.”
This Nov. 3 is, of course, the midterm elections. Jelly Roll didn’t reveal which political party he registered with, but stressed he represents “those without representation… I’ve always tried to be a voice for the voiceless…I try to speak for the unspoken for. And that night at the Grammys, I had an opportunity to speak up for people who were scared, hurting and felt like nobody was speaking for them. I had a microphone and I didn’t use it the right way.” Choking back tears, he added, “My daddy always told me it is never too late to do the right thing.
“Human dignity isn’t Republican nor Democrat. Compassion isn’t left wing and mercy isn’t right wing. Pain and healing knows no partisanship. Hurting hearts are more important than poll numbers and there are no boundaries or borders for broken families.”
Roll admitted on Kimmel that he was a “man of second chances,” calling coming from his broken past, coming back and winning a Grammy “the American dream.”
He also stressed that he would shake the hand of any sitting president and his shaking Trump’s hand did not imply an endorsement, it simply showed respect for the office of the president.
Earlier in the week, Jelly quipped that he’d “lost an entire Donald Trump” when describing his own 300-pound weight loss and at one point joked, “Mr. President, from one fat pig to another, take it from me that physical fitness is very important.”
Later, after the right-wing raised a collective angry fist, he remarked: “We can debate whether this president is mentally fit, but I think we can all agree he is certainly not physically fit,” before introducing a parody commercial for a fake weight-loss drug called “Donjaro.”
Proving that his “fat-on-fat” jokes hit a soft spot, Florida Rep. Jimmy Patronis went on to say that, because of the singer teased Trump about his girth, Jelly Roll is unwelcome in the Florida Panhandle.
“I have joked all week all week long on this show about how I’m a convicted felon who was given the opportunity to change his life. And the fact is, that wasn’t a joke y’all,” he remarked on Thursday night. Jelly is on a roll. He’s living the dream. The American dream. “It can’t just be for people like me,” he insisted. “The American dream should be for everybody.”
Watch Jelly Roll’s monologue below.
The Empress of Soul is cutting back on her live load.
Gladys Knight, the 82-year-old R&B powerhouse, admits the time has come to focus on the next phase of her career, and wind back on concerts and touring.
“After much soul searching I’ve decided that I will be easing into fewer performances while focusing on transitioning into the next stage of my career and life moving forward,” she writes in a social media post.
“I’ll be spending more time on projects with my husband and visiting with my grandbabies and am looking forward to this new era.”
Knight’s decision comes after some performances that didn’t hit her high standards. Last month, Knight and Smokey Robinson performed at the Hollywood Bowl. While Robinson appeared to have not lost a step, Knight wasn’t her typical self.
“She relied heavily on her three back-up singers, who even took lead parts on occasion. She didn’t introduce them, or any of her six musicians, or speak to the audience in any meaningful way beyond banalities like ‘you’re so beautiful.’ She never mentioned Robinson,” Billboard’s Paul Grein reported from the scene. Sadly, Knight “barely got through this show, and only by leaning heavily on her backup singers. Artists need to know when it’s time to bow out gracefully.”
As the leader of Gladys Knight And The Pips, the legendary singer helped shape the sound of Motown in the 60’s and 70’s: “Midnight Train to Georgia” was a No. 1 hit and instant classic, but the soul act’s run extended long after that 1973 hit.
In recent years, Knight has been a regular on the awards circuit. She was saluted by the Recording Academy in 2024 with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the previous year received the National Medals of Arts, the United States’ highest award given to artists and their patrons. Kennedy Center Honors came in 2022. Knight, along with her backing group, The Pips, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
“I’d like to take a moment, in advance, to thank all my fans over this last three quarters of a century for making a little girl’s dream come true and supporting her every step of the way,” her post continues.
“I am immensely grateful to all of you and send my eternal love back to you. I hope to see your smiling faces out and about and on the road. God bless all of you and hope to see you soon.”
See Gladys Knight’s post here.
Over the last few years, virtuosic bluegrass player Billy Strings has become an arena artist on the strength of his lightning-quick picking, psychedelic improvisation and Deadhead-like following, the Billy Goats. But concurrently, the 33-year-old from Michigan has developed a reputation as one of the Americana space’s most gifted young songwriters and accomplished recording artists: His five most recent albums all received Grammy nominations for best bluegrass album, with three (2019’s Home and 2024’s Live Vol. 1 and Highway Prayers) winning in the category.
In short, Strings – who won entertainer of the year at the International Bluegrass Music Awards in three consecutive years earlier this decade – is the complete package. Still, his pen remains underrated — but expect that to change with So Much for Goodbyes, his expansive, emotional fifth studio album. Days after releasing Renewal in September 2024, Strings welcomed his first child, and less than a year later, Strings’ mother died of a drug overdose; both permeate Goodbyes, which grapples with grief and sorrow but has an undercurrent of rebirth and prosperity. Strings’ late mother created the album’s artwork.
“I made this record to honor my mother,” Strings said upon the album’s announcement. “To notice and embrace this very significant period of grief in my life and make art from it. To turn my heartbreak into songs while using my guitar as a coping mechanism as I always have. It’s always been there for me to lean on through the hard times, and I figure it always will… until it’s my time to say goodbye.”
While Strings is the star of the show, he’s joined here by an impressive supporting cast: his longtime band of Billy Failing (banjo), Royal Masat (bass), Jarrod Walker (mandolin) and Alex Hargreaves (fiddle) backs him for most of the record, and legends including Del McCoury, Alison Krauss and Bryan Sutton make guest appearances. Co-produced by the revered T Bone Burnett (alongside Strings himself), the record even features a vocal cameo from Jack White.
Fans of Strings’ mind-bending live excursions won’t find many extended jams among these 16 songs, none of which surpass seven minutes — but there’s Live Vol. 1, not to mention a trove of officially released concert recordings, for that. Instead, Strings has crafted something even more impressive: An instant addition to the canon of great Americana albums born from personal upheaval.
Here is Billboard’s ranking of every song on Billy Strings’ So Much for Goodbyes.
Bruno Mars will get romantic will fans next year across Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
The R&B star announces 27 new stadium shows across the region in 2027, and adds a fifth Mexico City later this year, “due to overwhelming demand,” notes the tour promoter Live Nation.
Announced Thursday, Aug. 27, the new run follows previously-announced shows in Japan in January. Mars’ latest tour down under will get underway Feb. 13, 2027 at Optus Stadium in Perth, and heads east for multiple nights in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, and Auckland, before returning to Asia with four nights at Singapore’s National Stadium, starting April 13.
Two-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Tyla will join Mars as special guest on all AU/NZ shows, while his nine-time Grammy winner and Silk Sonic collaborator Anderson .Paak will perform as DJ Pee .Wee on all newly announced shows.
Before that run, Mars’ fans in Mexico will get a fifth concert in the capital at Estadio GNP Seguros, booked for Friday, Dec. 11.
With the announcement, The Romantic Tour now spans more than 115 stadium shows across North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico, including six nights at London’s Wembley Stadium; and five nights each at Rogers Stadium in Toronto, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, and BC Place in Vancouver.
The tour is in support of Mars’ fourth studio album, The Romantic, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in March of this year. Mars last led the tally with his second full-length studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox, which climbed to No. 1 in March 2013, nearly three months after its release. The Romantic is Mars’ first No. 1-debuting album on the all-genres U.S. chart, and his fifth top 10 appearance, including An Evening With Silk Sonic, which went to No. 2 in 2021.
In Australia, The Romantic opened at No. 2 on the ARIA Chart, extending his unbroken streak of top 5 albums (including a three week stint at No. 1 with Unorthodox Jukebox).
Visit BrunoMars.com for ticket information.
The Romantic Tour 2027 Dates (Newly Added):
Feb. 13 — Perth, Australia — Optus Stadium
Feb. 19 — Melbourne, Australia — Marvel Stadium
Feb. 20 — Melbourne, Australia — Marvel Stadium
Feb. 28 — Brisbane, Australia — Suncorp Stadium
March 4 — Sydney, Australia — Accor Stadium
March 5 — Sydney, Australia — Accor Stadium
March 13 — Auckland, New Zealand — Eden Park
April 13 — Singapore — National Stadium
April 14 — Singapore — National Stadium
April 17 — Singapore — National Stadium
April 18 — Singapore — National Stadium
April 24 — Bangkok — Rajamangala Stadium
April 25 — Bangkok — Rajamangala Stadium
May 1 — Kaohsiung — Kaohsiung National Stadium
May 2 — Kaohsiung — Kaohsiung National Stadium
May 7 — Hong Kong — Kai Tak Stadium
May 8 — Hong Kong — Kai Tak Stadium
May 11 — Hong Kong — Kai Tak Stadium
May 12 — Hong Kong — Kai Tak Stadium
May 15 — Manila — Philippine Arena
May 16 — Manila — Philippine Arena
May 21 — Goyang — Goyang Stadium
May 22 — Goyang — Goyang Stadium
May 25 — Goyang — Goyang Stadium
May 26 — Goyang — Goyang Stadium
Whitney Houston won two Grammys for her blockbuster hit “I Will Always Love You” at the 36th Grammy Awards on March 1, 1994. She took record of the year and best pop vocal performance, female.
As the producer of the smash, David Foster shared the award for record of the year and also won producer of the year, non-classical, largely because of his work on the hit. But Dolly Parton wasn’t recognized for writing the song. She would have been a shoo-in to win song of the year but wasn’t eligible. She had first recorded the song in 1974, taking it to No. 1 on Hot Country Songs.
So, songs that were already well-known weren’t eligible? That rule has changed over the years.
Just two years earlier, Irving Gordon won song of the year for “Unforgettable,” which had been a pop standard for 40 years at that point, since Nat King Cole and Doris Day had recorded it in the early 1950s. Dinah Washington had a top 20 hit on the Hot 100 with the song in 1959. It won in 1992 because Natalie Cole’s sentimental recording of the song as a duet with her late father brought it back to prominence.
“Unforgettable” is a great song, no doubt, but should it have taken the top songwriting award in 1992 against such great contemporary songs as R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” or Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis” (both of which were also nominated in that category)?
The Recording Academy decided the eligibility rule needed to be tightened, so already famous songs wouldn’t be eligible. That was bad news for Parton’s song, even though it was no more famous pre-The Bodyguard than “Unforgettable” was prior to Natalie Cole’s revival of the song.
The Grammys have tinkered with the rules on song of the year (and also best new artist, for different reasons) many times, trying to strike just the right balance. The current rule states: “A song … must have been released on a recording for the first time, or achieved prominence for the first time, during the current eligibility period.”
Most of the song of the year winners in Grammy history were new songs that year, or songs that weren’t previously widely known. Jimmy Driftwood’s “The Battle of New Orleans,” which won in 1960, was written way back in 1936, but had not been a hit until country star Johnny Horton covered it in 1959.
Here are eight song of the year winners preceding “Unforgettable” that were already known to varying degrees. The years shown are the years of the Grammy ceremonies.
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