After 16 years, the long wait is finally over. Oasis returned to the stage on Friday (July 4) to kick off their highly anticipated reunion tour at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The show was the first of the […]
BLACKPINK served up a sweet treat for BLINKs on Friday (July 4) when the K-pop group released a teaser that appeared to suggest new music on its social media accounts. The clip itself is a simple one, featuring what resemble […]
From flirting at a party to their engagement, welcoming a daughter and split, here’s a look at their romance.
One week after multiple outlets reported that Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom had ended their relationship after nine years together, reps for the pair confirmed the split in a statement. “Due to the abundance of recent interest and conversation surrounding […]
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Zach Bryan delivers more fan treats, Kesha begins her Independence period, and A$AP Rocky comes back in fashion. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Zach Bryan, Streets of London
After debuting “Streets of London” during his BST Hyde Park concert last month, Zach Bryan has offered fans a studio version of the track, as well as a pair of additional songs, “River Washed Hair” and “A Song for You”; he noted in an Instagram post that the tracks “didn’t belong on the record, and they didn’t fit on an EP either,” but the prolific superstar’s ability to constantly supply his fan base with rock-solid songwriting is one of the reasons why Bryan has ascended to stadium status.
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Kesha, Period
For longtime fans of Kesha, Period contains the type of club-friendly bangers that made her a pop supernova 15 years ago — but every song on her first release as an independent artist carries an undercurrent of growth and personal fulfillment, as if the party that comprises the fast-moving 11-song project is even more thrilling because of the effort it took to coordinate.
A$AP Rocky feat. Kaycyy, “Pray4DaGang”
Released on Independence Day as a 24-hour exclusive on Apple Music after being unveiled at Paris Fashion Week, “Pray4DaGang,” A$AP Rocky’s new collaboration with Kaycyy, impressively re-centers the veteran rapper’s musical approach during a busy moment for his brand: his flow is nimble and his lyricism sharp, once again building hype for his long-awaited next full-length.
Brent Faiyaz, “Peter Pan.” / “Tony Soprano.”
The duality of Brent Faiyaz’s appeal is on display with the double single release of “Peter Pan.” and “Tony Soprano.”: whereas the former puts a modern twist on buttery soul music and places Faiyaz’s croon up high in the mix, the latter is cold, laser-focused rhythmic rap, with Faiyaz declaring over a trap beat, “These days, I’m numb to it all” and demonstrating his range.
Of Monsters and Men, “Television Love”
Of Monsters and Men conquered different parts of the globe with their heartfelt sing-alongs a decade ago, and on their first new track in five years, the Icelandic indie-folk band returns with a viscous, slow-building amendment of their winning formula: “Television Love” may take longer to get going than “Little Talks” and “Mountain Sound,” but when it hits its stride, the song becomes another enveloping festival anthem.
Editor’s Pick: Sydney Rose, “Before & After You”
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Sydney Rose scored a viral hit recently with her track “We Hug Now,” and may have another one with “Before & After You,” which was inspired by the hit HBO video game adaptation The Last of Us — but even if the names Joel and Ellie don’t mean anything to you, it’s not hard to get wrapped up in Rose’s elegant vocals and knack for conjuring simple, emotionally resonant lyrics in confined spaces.
What will be the No. 1 song of the summer of 2025? As of July 4, Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” maintains its lead in the race, per Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart. The 20-position Songs of the Summer running tally […]
Lorde has extended her perfect streak on the ARIA Albums Chart, as Virgin debuts at No. 1 this week (chart dated July 4). The Auckland-born singer-songwriter now boasts four chart-topping albums in Australia, following her breakout 2013 debut Pure Heroine, […]
Usher has scrapped plans for his long-awaited return to Australia, with all dates on his Past Present Future tour now officially canceled. The R&B superstar was due to play 12 shows across Melbourne and Sydney in November and December, marking […]
Manchester’s Radar Festival says it was left with no choice but to pull Bob Vylan from its 2025 lineup, following the punk-rap duo’s controversial set at Glastonbury Festival.
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The pair sparked headlines during their performance on Glastonbury’s West Holts Stage, leading chants of “Death to the IDF” while also calling out the BBC, the US and UK governments, and more. Frontman Bobby Vylan told the crowd, “We are the violent punks, because sometimes you gotta get your message across with violence because that is the only language some people speak, unfortunately.”
The backlash was swift. Glastonbury organizers issued a statement condemning the chants, saying they “very much crossed a line” and that there is “no place at Glastonbury for anti-Semitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”
Trending on Billboard
Radar initially confirmed Bob Vylan’s removal with a brief statement on July 2: “Bob Vylan will not be appearing at RADAR Festival this weekend.” But in a new interview on the Two Promoters One Pod podcast, organizer Catherine Jackson-Smith shared that the festival did not want to cancel the group’s headline set.
“It was categorically one of the most horrendous professional discussions I’ve ever had,” she said. “I cannot express clearly enough that I wanted Bob Vylan to perform at our festival. But this was not our decision.”
According to Jackson-Smith, Radar was caught between behind-the-scenes conversations involving the venue, its co-owners AMG and Live Nation, and local authorities. The decision to drop Bob Vylan was presented as an ultimatum: either cancel the band’s appearance or risk losing the entire Saturday program.
“There was not an option for Bob Vylan to step on stage on Saturday; that became apparent at the beginning of the week,” Jackson-Smith explained. “If we continued with Bob Vylan as our headliner, we wouldn’t have the festival happening on Saturday.”
The festival, which runs July 4-6 at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse, is independently operated by Jackson-Smith and co-founder Joe James. Canceling the band prevented what she described as a “precarious situation” that could have impacted 41 other acts and the viability of the event itself.
Adding to the complexity, Bob Vylan’s agency dropped the band in the wake of the Glastonbury controversy, forcing Jackson-Smith to have a direct conversation with the group about their removal.
“It was horrific as a conversation,” she said. “Bob Vylan knew that we didn’t want to pull them.”
In response, Bob Vylan posted on social media: “Silence is not an option. We will be fine, the people of Palestine are hurting. Manchester, we will be back.”
The Glastonbury performance continues to ripple across the industry. Alongside being dropped from Radar, Bob Vylan has reportedly been removed from the Kave Festival in France and a Gogol Bordello support slot in Cologne. Their US visas have also been revoked, and they are under criminal investigation in connection to the remarks.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy criticized the BBC for airing the performance, calling it “a problem of leadership,” while US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau described Bob Vylan’s remarks as “a hateful tirade.”
In a follow-up statement, Bob Vylan said they are “not for the death of Jews or Arabs or any other race or group” and called for “the dismantling of a violent military machine.”
Radar Festival has yet to announce a replacement headliner for Saturday. Jackson-Smith confirmed efforts are underway but acknowledged the difficulty of securing a last-minute act. “We might end up with someone that has no discernible political opinion at this point because if they’re free and they can play on Saturday, maybe that’s the only criteria,” she said.
Radar Festival told Billboard they will be making no further comment on the matter. The festival runs July 4-6 at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse.
Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant has paid tribute to Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota, who tragically died in a car accident in northern Spain on July 3. The Portuguese international was 28. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See […]
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