How do you celebrate your first trip to Saint Lucia? If you’re Ella Mai, you do so by absolutely killing your World Beats set at this year’s Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival.

Just a few weeks after playing a pair of sold-out South African shows, the Grammy-winning British R&B singer descended upon the Caribbean for another international date ahead of this summer’s Do You Still Love Me Tour. The nearly 40-date trek will visit major cities across the United States, Europe, and the U.K., with ascendant R&B singers Ama and Girlfriend joining as support acts.

Set to kick off on July 7 in Toronto, this new tour also marks Mai’s first such outing since welcoming her baby son with NBA star Jayson Tatum. As she deftly floated between day-one bangers (“She Don’t”), certified classics (“Boo’d Up) and never selections (“Somebody’s Son”), Ella’s forthcoming tour began to form right in front of the Saint Lucia Jazz crowd.

“This is the first time that we’re doing a production; we want to step it up a bit,” she tells Billboard backstage after her performance. “Most of my shows thus far have concentrated on vocals. And not that we won’t be vocal heavy — because we absolutely will — but, with this album, I wanted to immerse people in my world a little bit more. We’re gonna basically bring that to life on the tour, and I’m excited to get on stage and sing new music and have people sing it back to me. And even if they don’t sing it back to me, this new album means so much to me that being able to share it alone is going to be incredible.”

In February, Do You Still Love Me? debuted at N. 44 on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 14 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums thanks to the Adult R&B radio hits “Tell Her” (No. 26) and “Little Things” (No. 19). Executive produced by Mustard, the 14-track album marked the official follow-up to the “Trip” singer’s sophomore record, Heart of My Sleeve, which hit No. 15 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

R&B boasted a dominant presence at this year’s Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival. In addition to Ella Mai, the island nation also enjoyed performances by Tems and Brandy & Monica, with more dancehall-leaning acts like Dexta Daps, D’yani and Valiant keeping R&B a foundational element of their sound. From last year’s R&B crossover hits like Leon Thomas’ “Mutt” and Kehlani’s “Folded” to buzzy new R&B projects this year from Durand Bernarr (BERNARR.) and Jai’Len Josey (Serial Romantic), the genre has been steadily regaining its footing in the streaming era — and Ella Mai is still rooting for it.

“It’s just such a great time for the genre, and it’s incredible to see since it gets so much [flak],” she says. “Nobody asks why today’s rock [music] doesn’t sound like the 90s. Every other genre, I feel, is allowed to evolve and become its own thing in its time. I get it — I love ’90s and 2000s R&B, and it’s nostalgic for us because we grew up on it, but there’s a real R&B resurgence going on right now. And it’s always been there, actually, you just might have to look a bit harder than usual.”

Eric Church spoke to the class of 2026 through song at UNC-Chapel Hill’s commencement ceremony on Saturday (May 10), where the country star gave an inspired keynote address and performance of “Carolina” for his fellow Tar Heels.

Pieces didn’t fall into place for the commencement speech Church delivered at Saturday’s ceremony at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., until he wrote the way he knows best. Sunglasses on, instrument in hand, he looked out at the crowd celebrating more than 7,000 graduates and turned their commencement speech into the most sincere guitar lesson they’ll likely ever experience.

“I have torn up multiple speeches,” said Church, who’s twice topped the Billboard 200 albums chart, and had three No. 1s and two No. 2s on Top Country Albums. “I have thrown things. And in one of my fits of frustration, I sat down with a guitar. And I thought, man, who am I kidding. I need to figure out a way to do this with a guitar.”

To begin, the Granite Falls, N.C., native told the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s graduating class, “I want to start with a sound. You know this sound. It’s a guitar that’s out of tune — something that almost gets there, it tries, but doesn’t. Some ancient, honest part of your brain knows it immediately. You don’t need training to hear it. You just know. That sound is the sound of something beautiful that has not been tended to.”

Then the metaphor that carried Church’s commencement speech came in: “Six strings. When all six are in tune, the chords they make can stop a conversation cold, carry a broken person through the worst night of their life, or make a room full of strangers feel for three minutes like they’ve known each other forever. But if even one is off, the whole chord unravels. Not gradually, not politely. The moment you strike it you know. I believe your life runs on this principle.”

In the singer-songwriter’s address to students, the six strings of a guitar represented faith, family, heart, ambition and resilience, community, and one’s sense of self. Church spoke of each guitar string and its significance to the life they’d construct post-graduation, encouraging the class of 2026 — 4,453 undergraduates, 1,608 master’s and 981 doctoral degree students, 5,594 of which are North Carolina residents — to aspire to flourish while tending to their roots.

“I want you to want things. You should want things. The world has more than enough people standing at the edge of their own potential waiting for a permission slip that was never gonna arrive. Want the thing. Say it out loud. Build toward it with everything you have,” Church said.

But he cautioned, “Your generation faces a temptation no generation before has ever faced. The temptation to perform to everyone and belong to no one. To be globally visible and locally invisible. To have thousands of followers and no one knows actually where you live. Resist it. Plant yourself somewhere. Put down roots with the full intention of growing there. Learn the actual names, not usernames, of the people around you. Volunteer. Coach the team. Build the thing your community needs even if the internet will never see it.”

In another section of his commencement speech, he reminded the class, “You were made uniquely, wonderfully, distinctly. There’s a sound only you can make. A voice that has never existed before you and will never exist again. A contribution only you can bring. A way of seeing that belongs to only you. The world does not need another cover song. It needs an original.”

“Six strings,” Church said in his keynote address. “Six strings of light and willingness to keep them in tune. Six principles. Six pillars. When all six are in tune with each other, the chord your life makes is full and resonant and true. All six will drift. Not one or two. All six. In their own time, in their own season.”

He continued, “Your faith will go quiet when you need it loud. Your family will get complicated in a way only the people that love you most can complicate things. You will go through hard seasons with your spouse. Your ambition will hollow out and your resilience will wear thin. Your community will start to feel like an obligation, and your world will try to sand down the edges of exactly who you are.”

“This is not failure,” said Church. “This is not weakness. It’s the inevitable, universal experience of living in an imperfect world that doesn’t stop to let us tune up. And the difference between a life that sounds like music and a life that sounds like noise is whether you stop and listen. Whether you’re honest enough to hear which string has drifted out of tune, humble enough to make the adjustment instead of just turning up the volume and hoping nobody notices. Because you will notice. The part of you that knows what the chord should sound like will always notice. It will not let you go. Life won’t be right until it is tuned. Trust what your heart hears and is telling you about your song.”

Of course, an Eric Church commencement speech at a North Carolina school wouldn’t be complete without a performance of “Carolina,” the title track of his second studio album released in 2009. Church played the song on guitar as rows upon rows of new grads put their arms around one another and swayed.

Watch Church’s full commencement address to UNC-Chapel Hill’s class of 2026 below. He’s one of several artists invited to deliver keynote remarks at graduation ceremonies this year, including country peers Riley Green at Jacksonville State University and Luke Combs at Appalachian State University. In pop, Hilary Duff gave a commencement speech to Northeastern University’s 2026 class.

MUNA‘s new album Dancing on the Wall tops this week’s best new music poll.

Listeners voted in a poll published Friday (May 8) on Billboard, choosing the LA indie-pop trio’s new record as their favorite music release of the week.

Dancing on the Wall rose to the top in a week that also featured Charli xcx‘s hotly anticipated genre-pivot single “Rock Music,” new full-lengths from J Balvin and Ryan Castro, Lykke Li, Little Simz and The Chainsmokers, plus new singles from The Last Dinner Party, PJ Morton, Ashley McBryde and more.

The win marks a significant moment for MUNA, the trio of Katie Gavin, Naomi McPherson and Josette Maskin, who return with their third studio album on Saddest Factory Records — their first release since their breakout 2022 self-titled record. That album broke through to mainstream audiences on the strength of the Phoebe Bridgers collaboration “Silk Chiffon” and earned widespread critical acclaim. Dancing on the Wall finds the band continuing to evolve their signature brand of euphoric, emotionally direct indie pop, with the title track arriving as one of the year’s most immediate and danceable releases so far.

Meanwhile, the second-place finisher Charli xcx’s “Rock Music” marked a deliberate departure from the Brat-era sound that defined her 2024 commercial breakthrough.

“If I’d made another album that felt more dance-leaning, it would have felt really hard, really sad,” she told British Vogue in April. ahead of the single’s release. “What’s interesting for me is to bend the possibilities of what my perspective on that could be.” The single arrives ahead of a still-unannounced new album.

See the final results of this week’s poll below.

Dua Lipa filed a $15 million lawsuit against Samsung on Friday (May 8), alleging the company has continuously used her image and likeness to sell TVs without permission or compensation.

The complaint says the company “prominently featured” an unauthorized image of the pop star — of which she’s the registered copyright owner — on Samsung television boxes for retail sale in 2025-2026. It names copyright infringement, trademark infringement and violation of Dua Lipa’s right of publicity.

Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP filed civil action documents on Friday with the United States District Court in the Central District of California, stating Dua Lipa became aware of Samsung using her image in June 2025 and at that time demanded the electronics company cease and desist. The law firm claimed, “Samsung has refused to comply with Ms. Lipa’s repeated demands that it cease and desist from infringing on her rights by the continued exploitation of the Infringing Products. Samsung’s response has been dismissive and callous, and the Infringing Products remain on the market to this day, still being sold throughout the country in ongoing acts of willful infringement.”

“Samsung’s willful and deliberate misconduct has caused, and continues to cause, substantial, manifest, and irreparable harm to Ms. Lipa, while enriching Samsung at her expense,” the complaint says. “By this lawsuit, Ms. Lipa seeks to bring Samsung’s conduct to a stop and to obtain damages for Samsung’s theft of her intellectual and personal identity assets.”

An image of Dua Lipa featured on a Samsung TV box is presented in the court docs; the plaintiff says it’s registered to the artist, who retains sole ownership of the copyright. The picture is described as one taken backstage at Austin City Limits in 2024.

Photos Dua Lipa fans have shared on social media of the Samsung product in question are also featured in the complaint. One fan post is quoted as saying, “I wasn’t even planning on buying a tv but I saw the box so I decided to get it.”

The lawsuit points out Dua Lipa’s commercial success in music, and that she’s previously earned revenue in exchange for approved usage of her image for campaigns in partnership with a variety of major brands: Puma, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Porsche, Apple, Chanel, Tiffany & Co., the 2026 Winter Olympics, Bvlgari and Nespresso.

Among Dua Lipa’s successes are two hit studio albums — 2020’s Future Nostalgia, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and 2024’s Radical Optimism, which launched at No. 2 — and three Grammy wins.

Caitlin Clark joined Morgan Wallen in his concert walkout in Indianapolis Saturday night (May 10), the second of two nights the country hitmaker played Lucas Oil Stadium on his 2026 Still the Problem Tour. Indiana Fever point guard Clark is the latest big name to help Wallen kick off crowd cheers at the start of his show, a concert tradition the singer started in 2023.

The WNBA star made an entrance with Wallen following Indiana Fever’s game against the Dallas Wings on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, just half a mile away from the stadium.

Indiana Fever saw a narrow loss, falling three points behind in the final score of 107-104. Clark was all smiles by the time she made it to Wallen’s nearby gig.

Wallen and Clark’s walkout can be seen in a video Wallen posted on Instagram on Sunday, and in additional fan-filmed footage the basketball pro shared on her stories. Wallen’s clip shows him shooting mini hoops backstage before walking alongside the actual athlete, whom he hugs before hurrying out to greet his fans. Dressed in denim, a crop top and a leather jacket, Clark looks confident hyping the audience while strutting out to the stadium floor with Wallen.

There was no special guest in Wallen’s walkout the previous evening at Lucas Oil Stadium.

He also went solo last weekend in Las Vegas — “Y’all got some flaky a— people in this town. I had like five different people lined up to do the walkout and they all bailed on me last minute,” he told the crowd at Allegiant Stadium — but last year’s I’m the Problem Tour and his previous One Night at a Time Tour both rounded up a long list of well-known walkout partners by the time each trek wrapped.

The Still the Problem Tour started recently and visits 11 cities total, with a pair of shows at each stop. Up next, Wallen — whose former No. 1 album, 2025’s I’m the Problem, still hangs onto the top 10 on the latest Billboard 200 nearly a year past its release, landing at No. 4 currently — heads to Gainesville, Fla., May 15-16. Ella Langley, who duets with Wallen on the new hit “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” which is already setting chart records, opened Saturday night’s show and is on the schedule for select upcoming dates.

See Clark’s walkout with Wallen in the video from Indianapolis below.

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Slipknot’s M. Shawn Crahan says he will need heart surgery after being diagnosed with a cardiac condition following the metal band’s recent tour.

The 56-year-old percussionist, better known as Clown, shared the news during an appearance on Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast, which was posted to YouTube on May 7.

In the wide-ranging interview, Crahan — Slipknot’s sole remaining founding member — explained that he sought medical attention after not feeling well following the tour, where doctors discovered an issue with his heart’s electrical system.

“I have a skipping heart and I got to get a surgery,” Crahan told Rubin. “I found this out after my last tour. I went in, I wasn’t feeling good, and I went in and the nurse was trying to get an EKG thing going on and it just wasn’t happening. I kind of fell asleep and I woke up. I’m like, ‘Are you going to get this thing?’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, it’s not working.’ They thought I was having a heart attack right there. My heart skips and apparently I’ve taught myself to be like a cross-country runner.”

The musician said the condition affects his heart rate significantly, describing sudden drops that leave him feeling unwell.

“I’m overweight and my brain is so strong that it tells this stuff what to do,” he continued. “My standing heart rate at night is 43 and during the day I get down to 33. Hasn’t happened since I’ve been here with you, which is good, because I’ll go from ‘on,’ to just straight up I feel like I’m dying. I got to get a surgery. It’s a very easy surgery. You’re usually out on the same day. It’s not like they rip you open. This is something about the electricity.”

Clown also recalled briefly thinking he might need a pacemaker, joking that it could have been an easy way out of touring, but said his doctor instead told him it would likely improve his condition.

“I just I lost it. I was like, I can’t get out of this to save my life,” Crahan joked. “I’m like, there is nothing, not even my heart. It’s going to be better because of Slipknot.”

The percussionist added that he now has access to specialized medical care due to his career, and said doctors expect him to improve with treatment.

“I got a concierge doctor because I’m in Slipknot and I’m able to go to levels and they’re like, ‘No, you’re going to feel better. You better get in shape because you got to do more now at 56,’” he said. “And it’s just like I just can’t believe it, man, that this was me. It’s wonderful. I’m lucky.”

Check out Crahan full interview on Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast below.

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The WNBA is back for its 30th season with superstar A’ja Wilson and her WNBA Finals champions Las Vegas Aces looking to repeat, while superstars from across the league, such as Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, Alyssa Thomas, Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and others, looking to hoist the WNBA Championship Trophy.

The five-and-a-half-month long season goes from May until Tuesday, Oct, 20, if the WNBA Finals goes to seven games, with a two-week break in August and September for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup tournament. Check out a complete WNBA 2026 regular season schedule here.

Where to Watch 2026 WNBA Season, At a Glance:

Keep reading for ways to stream WNBA games online live for free.

How to Watch 2026 WNBA Season Online

For the 2026 regular season, WNBA games broadcast across ABC, ESPN, NBC, NBC Sports, USA Network, ION Television, CBS, CBS Sports Network and NBA TV. In addition, games livestream on Peacock, Paramount+, ESPN Unlimited and Prime Video. You can also catch games on WNBA League Pass.

If you have access to live channels, through cable, streaming or satellite, check your local listings for channel information. Sports fans who don’t have cable can stream ABC, ESPN, CBS, NBC and other channels on platforms, such as DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and others.

You can stream a bunch of WNBA games on DirecTV, including networks such as ABC, ESPN, NBC, NBC Sports, USA Network, ION, CBS and NBA TV.

DirecTV offers “Choice” in their signature streaming package with more than 125 live channels, which includes plenty of other sports channels: ESPN2, FOX Sports, FS2, NHL Network and more. For a limited time, new subscribers can join DirecTV for just $84.99 per month for the first 24 months of service (reg. $94.99 per month). Sign up for a five-day free trial to start watching WNBA games.

If you don’t have a Hulu + Live TV subscription, the streamer offers a free trial that’ll get you your first three days free to access ABC, ESPN, NBC, USA Network, CBS and CBS Sports Network. Once the free trial is over, you’ll be charged the regular subscription fee starting at $89.99 per month. For even more content, Hulu + Live TV bundles with Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited at no extra cost to watch even more exclusive and original sporting events and programming.

With prices starting at $48.99 per month for the first month of service, Fubo’s “Pro” plan is a cable alternative streaming service that offers WNBA games broadcasts on ABC, ESPN, ION, CBS, CBS Sports Network and NBA TV.

It features more than 200 other channels, including FOX, FOX Sports, ESPN2, MLB.TV, MLB Network, NHL Network and others. Fubo comes with a five-day free trial, so you can try out the service before you commit month-to-month.

A subscription to Sling Orange + Blue, which comes with ABC, ESPN, NBC, USA Network and ION, gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels. You can watch local networks such as FOX (in select markets), while you can watch many cable networks too. Please note: Prices and channel availability depends on your local TV market. You can learn more about Sling TV here.

For WNBA on Prime Video, sign up for a 30-day free trial to take advantage of all that Amazon Prime has to offer, including Prime Gaming, Prime Reading and Amazon Photos; fast free shipping in less than two days with Prime Delivery; in-store discounts at Whole Foods Market; access to exclusive shopping events — such as Prime Day and Black Friday — and much more. Learn more about Amazon Prime and its benefits here.

If you’d like to watch WNBA on NBC, then it’s best to subscribe to Peacock, which is the official NBC streamer. You can watch games featured on NBC, NBC Sports and USA Network with the Peacock Premium plan for $10.99 per month. Unfortunately, there is no free trial for the streaming platform

The Paramount+ Essential Plan, which gives you access to WNBA games on CBS and CBS Sports Network, as well as other TV shows and movies with limited commercials, for $8.99 per month (or $89.99 per year). The ad-free plan goes for $12.99 per month (or $129.99 per year), but it now includes Showtime, along with everything in the Essential Plan and access to your local CBS station.

Select WNBA games livestream on ESPN Unlimited. You can get the sports streaming service for just $29.99 per month. It features every ESPN network, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, ACC Network, as well as ESPN on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SEC Network+ and ACC Network Extra — all in one app.

Meanwhile, basketball fans can watch WNBA out-of-market games with a subscription to WNBA League Pass. Prime Video subscribers can opt to include the service as an add-on with prices starting at $14.99 per month, or $39.99 per year to access live out-of-market games, plus every game on-demand and hundreds of archival games.

Prime Video comes included with a subscription to Amazon Prime, which is free for the first month and $14.99 per month after the trial period ends. Click here to launch your 30-day free trial to Amazon Prime, and a seven-day free trial to WNBA League Pass.

Are Celebrities Making Appearances During WNBA Games?

It’s likely there might be a number of celebrities and recording artists in attendance throughout the season, such as WNBA fans, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Aubrey Plaza, Natalie Portman, Common, Spike Lee, Flavor Flav, Ben Platt, Jason Sudeikis and others. Tune in to games to find out who’s sitting courtside.

The Gold Gala returned to Los Angeles for its fifth edition on Saturday (May 9).

Held at downtown L.A.’s The Music Center, the annual event brought together celebrities and leaders from across industries to honor impactful Asian Pacific and multicultural changemakers.

Among the attendees were EJAE, Bowen Yang, Hayley Kiyoko, H.E.R., GIRLSET, Halsey, Simu Liu, Charles Melton, Eileen Gu, Jet Li, Chloé Zhao, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen. The gala celebrated Gold House’s 2026 Gold100 List, recognizing the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific leaders of the past year.

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Priyanka Chopra Jonas received the inaugural Global vanguard honor, while Beef season two star Charles Melton was presented with the Gold artistic achievement honor. Olympic freestyle skier Eileen Gu earned the Gold impact award, and Avengers: Doomsday star Simu Liu received the Gold mogul award. Martial arts icon, actor and philanthropist Jet Li was honored with the Gold legend award.

During the event, Hayley Kiyoko performed “Girls Like Girls” alongside ARKAI and Lindsey Stirling ahead of the release of her directorial debut. H.E.R. and actress Liza Soberano also shared an exclusive first look at their upcoming movie, Forgotten Island.

The Gold Gala was followed by the Billboard x Gold House Founders Party, which featured performances by RuPaul’s Drag Race stars Nymphia Wind and Plastique Tiara, along with a DJ set from Mortal Kombat II star Joe Taslim.

The afterparty also included a Maybelline New York-sponsored celebrity karaoke room, where KPop Demon Hunters filmmaker Maggie Kang teamed up with actors Ross Butler and Saagar Shaikh to belt out Linkin Park’s “In the End.”

Ahead of the 2026 Gold Gala, Billboard caught up with several stars to hear about their favorite cultural foods. Hayley Kiyoko recommended trying the Japanese hot pot dish sukiyaki, while H.E.R. shouted out the popular Filipino dessert halo-halo. Priyanka Chopra Jonas suggested Indian chutney, and Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying and husband Mark Hoying recommended traditional Filipino rice cake.

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See more stars in attendance at the 2026 Gold Gala below.