Oh yes, oh yes! Carl Cox is now an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), recognition for his outstanding services to music.
The pioneering British DJ and record producer is one of several music figures named in the King’s Birthday Honours List. Writing on his socials, Cox, one of the outstanding technical DJs of them all, a master of techno and house whose career spans over four decades, says he is “absolutely thrilled and deeply honoured” by his award.
“Music has been my life for as long as I can remember. From the earliest days behind the decks to performing on stages around the world, it has been an incredible journey filled with passion, creativity, and unforgettable moments. I’ve been fortunate to do what I love and to connect with so many amazing people through the power of music,” he writes.
“This recognition is not mine alone – it belongs to everyone who has been part of the journey. To the fans who have supported me throughout the years, the artists who have inspired and collaborated with me, the promoters, crews, and teams working tirelessly behind the scenes, my family, friends, and the wider electronic music community: thank you. Your belief, dedication, and energy have helped shape every step of this remarkable path.”
“To receive this honour for doing something that has brought me so much joy is truly humbling. Electronic music has given me a purpose, a voice, and a global family, and I’m proud to have played a part in its growth and continued success.” Cox extends a thank you “to everyone who has supported me along the way. Your encouragement has meant the world to me, and I’m genuinely grateful for every opportunity, every dancefloor, and every shared experience.”
Also recognized by King Charles is fellow British DJ Judge Jules (real name: Julius O’Riordan), who is appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). O’Riordan is saluted for his services to the music industry, entertainment law, and young people.
“I’ve done an awful lot of mentoring. I mean, a good example of what I do,” he tells LBC Radio’s Ali Miraj. “I go to the Brit School, which is… the Brit School has generated more famous global musical icons out of this country than any other single entity. And I go there and I lecture at least once or twice a year. And there are many other ways that I feel that if you’ve been experienced like I have, it’s one’s absolute obligation to give back and to mentor because the arts in this country have had challenging times on and off, but are a real flag that this country needs to fly.”
Also, Black Sabbath guitarist and co-founder Tony Iommi is made an MBE for services to music and charity, while several leading figures from the world of classical music are saluted.
The New Year and King’s Birthday Honours are awarded by the King following recommendations by the prime minister or senior government ministers, as celebration of outstanding achievements, personal bravery, and public service.
Meanwhile, several outstanding artists and executives from Australia’s music community are tapped in the King’s Birthday Honours List. Keith Welsh, co-founder, bassist and now manager of Iva Davies’ ARIA Hall of Fame inducted band ICEHOUSE, receives the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), as does Philip Walker (OAM), chair and co-founder of Origin Music Group.
There’s a posthumous award for James Valentine, the beloved broadcaster and sax player for ARIA Hall of Famer inducted new wave band Models and Absent Friends. Valentine, who passed in April, at the age of 64, following a battle with cancer, becomes a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
The honors recognize and celebrate the exceptional achievements, community service, and public contributions of hundreds of distinguished Australians, and are awarded by the Governor-General of Australia, acting on the recommendation of the Council for the Order of Australia.
Connie Orlando, executive vp of specials, music programming and music strategy at BET, has a lot on her plate right now, just two weeks before the annual BET Awards, which she is executive producing. But she still found time to spearhead the second annual Black Women in Music event, which was held on Friday (June 12) at the Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles.
The event, executive produced by the Connie Orlando Foundation, is billed as “an evening celebrating the Black women preserving and protecting the music industry.” This year’s honorees were singers Chaka Khan and Kelly Rowland, choreographer Fatima Robinson, music executive Natina Nimene, Billboard’s Gail Mitchell and Gender Amplified’s Ebonie Smith.
Speaking from the podium, Orlando shed light on why the Black Women in Music event is so important to her.
“This gathering is the living answer to a prayer. We are here to support one another, protect our presence, and build a legacy of love that lights the way for the girls coming behind us. … As we celebrate unapologetically and stand in our collective joy, we know the reality of our world. As Black women, we are constantly asked to labor and be the backbone, often while our own well-being is ignored. We live in a climate that tries to minimize our power and rewrite our truth. For me, this evening is profoundly personal. Uplifting women, safeguarding our children is my divine assignment and life calling, and the urgency is real.
“This evening is my personal love letter to the iconic Black women who are the true guardians of the music industry. Having worked alongside many of you for decades, you are my peers, my muses and my friends, and it is my privilege to curate this evening, give you your flowers, and ensure your contributions to global culture are permanently etched in history.
And specifically for this evening, we are fighting a battle against breast cancer, a battle that is disproportionately stealing our mothers, our daughters, our sisters and our friends. Black women face alarming healthcare disparities born from systemic inequalities resulting in delayed diagnosis and inadequate treatment. So, my vision is clear: a world where breast cancer no longer exists. The Orlando Foundation is spiritually committed to education, prevention, and early detection.”
Singers Chanté Moore and David Michael Wyatt and violinist Yuli performed at the event, which was hosted by comedian Zainab Johnson. The event was brought to life by an all-Black women-led creative and production team, including Perri Camper Rivers (producer), Gabrielle Glore (creative director) and Wright Productions (event design and production).
The event was presented in tandem with founding partner Harbour/View. Additional partners include prestige partner Amazon Music and contributing partners Atlantic, BET Media Group, CMG The Label, Jesse Collins Entertainment, TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment), OWN and Universal Music Group.
Here are five highlights from the 2026 Black Women in Music event.
Taylor Swift is a superstar on another level. She shattered the all-time first-week sales record with last year’s The Life of a Showgirl and redefined what it means to be a touring juggernaut with her Eras Tour. She has 14 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s, and 14 Grammy Awards. But the ascension of our biggest pop star didn’t start with the sales, and it didn’t start with the stage: it started with her songs. And on Thursday (June 11) night, Swift was celebrated for her first and foremost talent, songwriting, with a wildly deserved induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Despite being one of the most famous people on the planet, Swift attended the induction ceremony as anyone else might. She hobnobbed before the dinner started, and when the ceremony got underway, she sang and danced at her table during the various inductee tributes and performances. (She seemed particularly jazzed during John Fogerty’s ferocious set and Alanis Morissette’s haunting performance.) Joining Swift at her table was fiance Travis Kelce, future mother-in-law Donna Kelce, her own mother and father, as well as Steven Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw.
When it came time for Swift’s induction (the final one of the Class of 2026) it was a quarter to midnight. Sombr offered a glammed-up rock take on “Cardigan,” her 2020 Hot 100 topper, backed by the SHOF’s versatile house band. “It’s an honor to be here, thank you Taylor for trusting me,” he said. “This next song Taylor wrote when she was 19 years old and it really inspired me…I’m so nervous,” he stopped, laughing after fumbling a few words. “She’s looking at me right now and I’m talking about her music. I’ve never done anything like this.” (Swift, supportive as ever, applauded encouragingly.) Sombr then sang a, well, somber version of “Dear John,” a song hailing from Speak Now, an LP Swift wrote entirely on her own. Swift and her parents sang along, softly.
Swift’s Oscar-winning dinner guest had the honor of inducting her into the esteemed organization. “As a director I am acutely aware of the power music can have on audiences,” Spielberg said, noting that songs have the power to unite us anywhere and everywhere: “Whether it’s sung at the top of our lungs in our cars, in houses of worship, at football games or on the streets of Minnesota.”
So, why was one of the greatest living filmmakers on hand to salute one of our greatest living singer-songwriters? The short answer: she asked him. After receiving a phone call from her several months ago, Spielberg admitted that his elation quickly deflated after he hung up. “What could I possibly say about Taylor Swift that hasn’t already been said?” Spielberg pondered. “Out of curiosity, I asked AI how many words have been written about Taylor Swift.” The effort yielded him nothing. So he continued the experiment, asking AI how many words Taylor Swift herself has written. Once again, AI flopped the assignment. “She is such a force that the depths of her achievement defies AI,” Spielberg quipped.
When it was time for Swift’s big moment, she hugged Liz Rose (a songwriting collaborator from her early days who was inducted into the SHOF in 2023) and walked up to the stage.
The moment she opened her mouth, it was clear that Knicks Mania — which is currently gripping New York — had gotten the best of her. A hoarse-voiced Swift, who was courtside at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night with Kelce, admitted she spent the previous night “screaming for 100%” of the Knicks’ victorious game. “I got home and was like, ‘You gotta stop screaming, you’re screaming too much, you’re screaming instead of talking, you’re too excited.’ Then I got to witness the amazing performances I saw tonight, and I just kept screaming and I never stopped screaming and this is what you get. I make no apologies for that — I’ve had a blast.”
Swift shed some light as to why Spielberg was one of her personal heroes and her pick for the person to induct her into the SHOF. “Through his decades of spellbinding storytelling Steven Spielberg has unknowingly inducted me and countless others into his sacred club of expansive world building,” she explained, thanking him for joining her the same night his latest film, Disclosure Day, hits theaters. “I watched him ace every genre… because of examples like Steven’s I trusted my imagination.”
Later on, she thanked Sombr for his “perfect performance” of two songs that spanned a decade of her life. “His writing is so exceptional that it makes me envious and I love that feeling.” According to Swift, she’s always telling her friends, “Sombr is the future – he does it all on his own and he doesn’t need that AI. The kids will be fine!”
Throughout a thoughtful, well-paced and expertly written speech, Swift placed her songwriting within the context of her wider career and life.
“If I look back at my entire 23-year career in music, the ups and downs and industry battles, the trials and tribulations, the cheers and tears and dogpiling of doubt, the criticisms — both fair and unfair — the complete loss of privacy, the world tours and ego wars, and the twists of fate, the absolute magical chaos of this path that I chose when I was too young to remember it even being a choice at all, songwriting was the easiest thing I ever did,” she said. “Not because it didn’t take effort. It definitely did. Not that it wasn’t frustrating at times, because it could be. And not that my songwriting didn’t haunt me relentlessly until I cracked the perfect internal rhyme scheme for the third line of the second verse before my teachers called me out in class for not paying attention, because that definitely happened.
“But when I say that songwriting was the easiest part for me, I think what I mean is that it was instinctual. No one taught me how to do it. I had to be taught how to entertain a crowd. And learn choreography, and be less annoying and navigate the industry and fiercely protect my own sanity through difficult lessons and massive amounts of trial and error and chaos and calamity. But songwriting for me was pretty much the only thing I naturally did.”
Calm and collected throughout most of the speech, Swift faltered a bit when speaking about her family. “It was easy to choose songwriting. But for everyone else in my life, it couldn’t have been easy for my parents and my brother to pick up our entire family and move from Pennsylvania to Nashville,” she said, pausing after choking up a bit. “Even though words are kinda supposed to be my thing I will never be able to express my gratitude,” she told her family. “You are the reason I’m here tonight.”
Before leaving the stage, she offered up a quote from one of her favorite TV shows, Yellowstone, by way of advising the next generation of songwriters. “’It’s the one constant in life, son: you build something worth having, somebody’s gonna try to take it,’” Swift said in her best paternal Southern accent (which was aided somewhat by her strained vocal cords). “I’m using this quote to refer to self-worth, peace of mind and singular vision as a creator,” she explained. “Positive feedback and people loving what you wrote feels incredible… but you need to be ready to receive negative feedback,” she added. “If you make anything awesome, someone out there is bound to say horrible things about it. Or twist what you meant into something completely unrecognizable to you.”
Her advice? “You can be sensitive but also durable…. Take what’s useful and constructive and leave out what’s damaging to your creativity.”
Though she graciously kept a low profile before taking the stage, Swift’s star power was undeniable throughout the entire evening, something many of her fellow inductees couldn’t help but comment on. Walter Afanasieff mentioned it was the “joy of his life” to watch Swift sing along to a medley of his songs performed by Sheléa prior to his induction. Johnny Mercer Award honoree John Fogerty, when addressing the “dark” years he spent not playing his best-known songs in concert, joked, “Taylor Swift, I don’t recommend you do that.”
Swift’s induction as part of the Class of 2026 makes her the youngest woman ever inducted into the SHOF. Furthermore, she’s the first recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award (which the SHOF gives out to promising young talents; she nabbed it in 2010, and RAYE got it this year) to gain full membership. And as Linda Moran, Songwriters Hall of Fame CEO and president, said earlier in the evening, Swift seems to be on track for the organization’s highest honor, the aforementioned Johnny Mercer Award, if she keeps pace.
One of the most treasured moments on the Australian music calendar, the presentation of the ARIA Hall of Fame, became an embarrassment of riches on Thursday night, June 11, as six legendary acts were inducted in a special ceremony.
The Australian Recording Industry Association went large for the 40th anniversary of the flagship ARIA Awards by breaking from tradition. Instead of the usual class of one or two, ARIA elevated a half-dozen beloved acts on the night: Gurrumul, Jenny Morris, Kate Ceberano, Spiderbait, The Living End and Vika & Linda.
A special night requires a little something extra, and that was certainly the case as Sydney’s Carriageworks hosted a room packed with illustrious guests, from movie stars, to federal politicians (including a video tribute from prime minister Anthony Albanese) and, of course, giants of the music community.
ARIA has inducted artists into its Hall since 1988. That first class featured Dame Joan Sutherland, Johnny O’Keefe, Slim Dusty, Col Joye, Vanda & Young and AC/DC. In 2005, the trade body created a standalone ceremony ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame, when multiple acts were elevated. It was televised, it resonated with music fans, but proved short-lived as the industry struggled in a post-digital download landscape.
For 2011, the Hall of Fame induction became a spot within the ARIA Music Awards, with two new inductees. Then, from 2012, just one act has been inducted each year at the ARIAs.
Since that first class, scores of Aussie legends have got the nod, from Cold Chisel, to Kylie Minogue, Yothu Yindi, Kasey Chambers, Olivia Newton John, INXS, Crowded House, Archie Roach, Missy Higgins, Tina Arena, and last year’s inductee, You Am I.
The Hall of Fame salutes “the artistic achievement, cultural contribution and remarkable legacies of the inductees and celebrate the evolution of Australian music over the past four decades,” reads a statement from ARIA.
Billboard attended the 2026 ARIA Hall of Fame ceremony to soak up all the action.
The BRIT Awards will return to Manchester’s Co-op Live in 2027, organizers confirmed on Tuesday (June 9; June 10 in England). The event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 27, with the ceremony once again broadcasting live on ITV1 and ITVX.
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The 2026 edition was also held at the Oak View Group-owned Co-op Live, marking the first time the BRIT Awards had taken place outside of London in its nearly 50-year history. It had previously taken place at The O2 Arena (2012-2025), as well as various venues in the capital including Earl’s Court (1996-2011) and Alexandra Palace (1993-1995).
Stacey Tang, co-president of RCA Records at Sony Music U.K., has been reappointed chair of the 2027 BRITs Committee and will oversee all aspects of the show, including its creative direction. Tang will lead a committee comprising representatives from major and independent record labels, BRITs TV and the BPI.
Tang, who featured on Billboard U.K.’s 2026 Power Players list, also led the committee for the 2026 ceremony. The BRITs’ presence in Manchester featured activations across the city, as well as free-to-attend panels and workshops as part of the debut BRITs Fringe.
The news follows a successful BRIT Awards earlier this year, which organizers say delivered the largest global audience in the event’s history. The show featured performances from Harry Styles and EJAE, AUDREY NUNA and REI AMI (the voices behind K-Pop Demon Hunters’ HUNTR/X), alongside Mark Ronson, Olivia Dean, Rosalía, RAYE and Wolf Alice.
Dean collected four awards on the night, including album of the year for her blockbuster second LP, The Art of Loving. Other big winners included Noel Gallagher, who was named songwriter of the year, as well as Lola Young, who took home the breakthrough artist prize.
“It’s a real privilege to return as Chair and to be back in Manchester for a second year,” said Tang in a statement. “There was such an incredible energy around the 2026 show — across the city, the industry and with fans everywhere. I’m excited to build on that global success alongside a brilliant team, pushing the show creatively and continuing to celebrate the artists, the culture and the communities that make British music what it is.”
BPI CEO Dr. Jo Twist OBE added: “Following the record-breaking success of this year’s show in Manchester, we can’t wait to return to the Co-op Live to continue celebrating and championing music and creativity to a global audience, from a city with a great heritage that has truly welcomed and embraced us with open arms. We look forward to further developing our cultural impact across the U.K. and in Manchester itself around next year’s show.”
Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig said: “This year’s BRIT Awards in Manchester were a huge success with a global reach and massive local impact, and we’re excited and ready to help make 2027 the biggest year yet for The BRITs!”
Continued Craig: “The impact of the awards was felt across the city region, from the cash benefit for our economy, showcasing small local music venues, incredible opportunities for our up-and-coming young musicians and creatives, and engagement with Greater Manchester schools — and we’ll be creating even more ways for them, for local people across GM and for visitors to get involved in next year’s awards, which look set to be another incredible celebration of music and our city.”
The 2026 Tony Awards opened with P!nk (the host of this year’s show) delivering a hilarious, star-studded parody of “Lady Marmalade” (which she, Lil’ Kim, Christina Aguilera and Mya recorded for the 2001 film Moulin Rouge! and took to the top of the Billboard Hot 100) as “Leading Lady Marmalade.” And as if her smash-hit version of the Labelle classic didn’t have enough divas competing for the spotlight, she brought out Neil Patrick Harris, Megan Thee Stallion, Lea Michele, Dylan Mulvaney, Shoshana Bean and even June Squibb for this Tony-fied rewrite. And from there on out, it didn’t slow down.
“I’m like, living out my childhood dreams right now,” P!nk told Billboard ahead of her big hosting gig.
Taking place inside Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall on Sunday (June 7), the 79th annual Tony Awards were a three-hour parade of soaring songs, fabulous choreography and heartfelt speeches. From a 30th anniversary Chicago tribute (also boasting P!nk, Queen Latifah and a show-stopping turn from Alex Newell, among others) and a Book of Mormon performance to mark the show’s 15 years on Broadway, the 2026 Tonys didn’t shrink on spectacle.
The year’s big winner was Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, pulling in six Tony Awards. After that, second place for most wins was split between Schmigadoon!, The Lost Boys and Ragtime, three musicals that won four Tonys apiece.
But not everything that happens at the Tonys gets caught on camera. Offstage in the press room, newly minted Tony winners stop by to field questions from reporters (including Billboard) about their inspirations, their challenges and what’s next for them. Lorne Michaels, the legendary creator and producer of Saturday Night Live, even popped in after winning a Tony for Schmigadoon! to rave about this year’s show and host: “Watching the production numbers, watching what P!nk did, was just stunning,” he said.
Here are 10 things that you didn’t see on TV at the 2026 Tony Awards.
New York ain’t the Windy City, but Radio City Music Hall hosted a star-studded tribute to Chicago on Sunday (June 7) during the 79th annual Tony Awards.
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P!nk (2026 Tonys host), Queen Latifah (who played Matron “Mama” Morton in Rob Marshall’s 2002 film adaptation), Whitney Leavitt (who currently plays Roxie Hart on Broadway), Dylan Mulvaney (who recently wrapped a run in Broadway’s Six), Alex Newell (2023 Tony winner and Chicago Broadway veteran) and Julianne Hough (who hosted the 2022 Tonys pre-show) and more participated in a medley of the musical’s best-known songs.
After an introduction and torch passing (“from one mother hen to another”) from Queen Latifah, Newell belted out a song both of them know well: “When You’re Good to Mama.” Newell’s boisterous voice was on full display, making Mama a helluva hard act to follow. But it helps when you have a round-robin of murderesses talking about how they killed the men who had it comin’: “Cell Block Tango,” which everyone (including Jesse Tyler Ferguson in a brief but hilarious cameo) sold with gusto. To wrap it up, P!nk sang Chicago centerpiece song “All That Jazz”: the hardest-rocking pop star served jazz hands, vocal excellence and a bit of the cat who caught the canary energy at the end, clearly living her childhood fantasy on the Tony Awards stage.
“We always come from a theatrical place,” the Grammy winner told Billboard ahead of her Tonys hosting gig when asked about the connection between live theater and her concerts. “I mean, for me, I’m a carney, right? So it’s sort of like a circus, without the animals of course, other than the humans.”
The multi-song performance commemorated 30 years of Chicago on Broadway; while the John Kander and Fred Ebb musical debuted on Broadway in 1975, the current revival opened in 1996 and has been running ever since, making it the longest-running show currently on the Great White Way and the longest-running musical revival ever.
Prior to the Chicago stopover, P!nk opened the 2026 Tonys with an extravagant, hilarious parody of her collaborative 2001 smash “Lady Marmalade” (a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1) rewritten as “Leading Lady Marmalade,” which brought out Megan Thee Stallion, Lea Michele, Neil Patrick Harris, the Tony-nominated women of 2026 and dancers from The Lost Boys, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Schmigadoon! and more.
Tony Awards host P!nk brought an iconic pop culture reference from 25 years ago to 2026’s ceremony, opening the televised show with a leading lady-themed remake of “Lady Marmalade.” Megan Thee Stallion, who recently took an early exit from her run in Moulin Rouge, took the New York stage in her Zidler costume next to P!nk and reworked Lil’ Kim’s rap from the 2001 supergroup single during Sunday night’s (June 7) lively performance.
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The parody of “Lady Marmalade” (based on the Grammy-winning version of the song P!nk once recorded with Lil’ Kim, Christina Aguilera and Mya), “Leading Lady Marmalade,” had P!nk highlighting several of Broadway’s best in the tune’s “gitchie, gitchie” chorus.
Lea Michele, who wasn’t nominated for an award this year, joined in for a cameo to hit Xtina’s big vocal note from the original “Lady Marmalade” — but swapped in a fitting lyric, all things considered: “We don’t do it for the awards.”
June Squibb, nominated in the best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play category, and seated in the front row at Radio City Music Hall, also had a scene-stealing moment. When the mic was pointed her way, Squibb — who’s the oldest acting nominee in Tony Awards history — quipped to the tune of “Mocha Chocolata, ya-ya“: “All the parts I’ve played, I’ve slayed ’em.”
Backed by a full-stage ensemble that included familiar faces like Broadway’s Dylan Mulvaney, Shoshana Bean, Neil Patrick Harris and more, the opening number ended with a soaring “Welcome to the Tony Awards!” from P!nk.
Harris, who’s had four turns hosting the awards ceremony himself, had helped P!nk lead into the “Leading Lady Marmalade” scene after the pop star first made a spinning-in-the-air entrance, dressed as Peter Pan.
“I just wanna show how much I love theater even though I’ve never been on Broadway,” she told Harris, who wondered what she was up to.
“But you’re P!nk, you can do anything,” he replied.
“But I’m worried some people will wonder why P!nk is hosting the Tonys. I just want to make sure everyone knows I’m thrilled to be here and I want my opener to be as ‘Broadway’ as possible,” P!nk insisted.
P!nk had hinted at a “wild” Tony Awards opening number in interviews in the days leading up to this year’s ceremony. Without spoiling the “Lady Marmalade” nod, P!nk told Broadway.com, “It’s just a full-blown ridiculous celebration. I told them my one caveat was that immediately as soon as I step onto the stage, I have to make fun of myself, and make it absolutely just about fun and celebrating everyone.”
Follow a complete list of the 2026 Tony Awards winners, updating live as they’re announced, here.