Hilary Duff‘s “What Dreams Are Made Of” is a graduation staple — now, she can add commencement speaker to her lengthy resume.

On Wednesday (April 29), Duff addressed Northeastern University’s graduating class of 2026 at Fenway Park in Boston, delivering an inspiring speech that pulled nuggets of wisdom from her pop culture journey. She began her speech joking that she was “envious” of the graduates because her “formal education ended around third grade” due to her blossoming career as a child actor and then-teen superstar. From there, the “Roommates” singer reflected on some of the key lessons she learned as she navigated her career in entertainment.

“Just because something is a good opportunity or a good paycheck doesn’t mean it’s right,” she reminded the graduates. “By simply accepting what the world was offering to me, I was losing my own voice; I was reacting, instead of asking myself what I really wanted. That realization was a paradigm shift for me.”

“I knew I had to change my pattern of saying ‘yes,’ so I took a break from making music,” she continued. “Not because I didn’t know exactly what kind of album I wanted to make or what kind of stories I wanted to tell through my music, because I knew precisely what I wanted. But I somehow knew that I couldn’t authentically make it, yet.”

After reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with Dignity in 2007, Duff took a hiatus from her music career, shifting her focus to acting, production and penning her New York Times bestseller Elixir trilogy. She returned to the music scene with Breathe In. Breathe Out. in 2015, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100 hit “Sparks” (No. 93).

“So I made a choice, and I took a step back. I pivoted. I rebuilt myself, I refilled my tank, I put effort into my relationships, into building my family and building a business,” Duff explained. “I waited until I was ready to meet the moment. I realized that saying ‘no’ wasn’t rejection, it was redirection… I took back control of what I was building, and I reclaimed my story. And I realized my own agency. I’m grateful I had the ability to take that pause… the key is that I was choosing where my energy went instead of letting others choose for me. Don’t forget to pause and appreciate how far you’ve come.”

If the stadium’s thunderous applause was anything to go by, Duff’s speech was a hit, adding another win to her collection this year. At the top of the year, Duff returned to the road on her Small Rooms, Big Nevers Tour, which led to the release of her latest album, Luck… Or Something. Co-written and co-produced with husband Matthew Koma, Luck hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and landed a radio hit in “Roommates,” which reached No. 25 on Pop Airplay.

Next month, Duff will kick off her Lucky Me Tour with two shows at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Fla. (June 21-22). The trek will take her to amphitheaters and arenas in major cities across North America, Australia and the U.K., including New York City, Toronto and London, before concluding with two shows at Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes next year (Feb. 12-13, 2027).

Check out Hilary Duff’s complete commencement speech for Northeastern University’s graduating class of 2026 below.

KATSEYE isn’t coming all the way to Australia just to talk; the two-time Grammy nominated global girl group will also deliver a one-off performance next Friday, May 8, at Melbourne’s Festival Hall.

As previously reported, KATSEYE will make its first trip to these parts for a trip that, until now, was anchored on an exclusive fan Q&A experience in Sydney on May 6. The winner of the competition receives flights, accommodation and a double pass to the Q&A, while 29 runners-up will receive a double pass for the session.

The pop act’s itinerary just got bigger, with a one-off Australia show presented by Visit Victoria’s “Melbourne. Every bit different” campaign in collaboration with American Express, Live Nation, HYBE and Geffen.

Universal Music Australia is behind the contest and the concert, a 30-minute pop-up performance. American Express Centurion and Platinum Card Members can access a select number of priority tickets for the show via the Amex Experiences App from Wednesday, May 6.

KATSEYE is hot right now, thanks to the release of their Billboard Hot 100 hit single “Pinky Up,” and their eye-catching performances at Coachella. Since then, the group has been added to the line-up of performers for the 52nd American Music Awards, on a night where they have nominations in three categories — new artist of the year, best music video for “Gnarly” and breakthrough pop artist. The AMAs are set for Monday, May 25 in Las Vegas.

A new KATSEYE EP, WILD, is due out Aug. 14 via HYBE x Geffen Records. It’s the followup to 2025’s Beautiful Chaos, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and features Billboard Hot 100 hits “Gnarly” and “Gabriela.” In Australia, “Gabriela,” “Touch” and “Gnarly” are all certified platinum, while “Debut” and “Gameboy” are certified gold.

The girl group is currently a five-piece (Daniela, Lara, Megan, Sophia and Yoonchae) while bandmate Manon is on a temporary hiatus.

Noah Kahan brings a nation together as The Great Divide opens its account at No. 1 on the ARIA Chart.

The Great Divide is Kahan’s fourth studio collection, and second consecutive leader in Australia after Stick Season logged three weeks atop the chart in early 2024.  

The American singer and songwriter will reward his loyal Australian fans when his The Great Divide Tour stops by Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena and Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena for eight total concerts this September and October.

Foo Fighters enjoy another stint on the podium as Your Favorite Toy unwraps its debut ARIA Chart position at No. 3. The Foos have landed all 12 of their studio albums in the ARIA Top 10, with eight going all the way to No. 1: One By One (in 2002), In Your Honor (2005), Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007), Wasting Light (2011), Sonic Highways (2014), Concrete And Gold (2017), Medicine At Midnight (2021) and their last record, But Here We Are (2023). The Rock Hall-inducted band also led the list in 2009 with Greatest Hits.

Homegrown metal merchants The Amity Affliction enjoy a No. 4 start with House of Cards, their ninth studio album. It’s the eighth straight top 10 appearance for the Gympie, Queensland rockers, after Youngbloods (No. 6 in 2010), Chasing Ghosts (No. 1 in 2012), Let The Ocean Take Me (No. 1 in 2014), This Could Be The Heartbreak (No. 1 in 2016), Misery (No. 1 in 2018), Everyone Loves You…Once You Leave Them (No. 2 in 2020) and Not Without My Ghost (No. 2 in 2023).

Also new to the latest frame, published Friday, May 1, is the soundtrack from the new Michael Jackson biopic, which moonwalks its way to No. 17. Michael: Songs From The Motion Picture is the late king of pop’s 24th solo appearance on the ARIA Top 50, the trade body reports, stretching back to 1973’s Music And Me. That tally includes chart leaders Off The Wall (from 1979), Thriller (1983), Dangerous (1991), HIStory: Past, Present And Future, Book I (1995), Invincible (2001) and The Essential Michael Jackson (2005).

Kehlani is close behind with her self-titled effort, arriving at No. 18, while new releases from Masayoshi Takanaka (Takanaka Super Live 2025 Black Ship in L.A. at No. 22), Ruby Fields (Small Achievements at No. 29), Nessa Barrett (Jesus Loves a Primadonna at No. 41) and Pink Floyd (Live From The Los Angeles Sports Arena, April 26th, 1975 at No. 43) impact the top 50.

Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Olivia Dean and Sam Fender’s “Rein Me In” enters a third non-consecutive week at No. 1, ahead of her former leader “Man I Need” (holding at No. 2) and Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” up 8-3 for a new peak position.

If you thought Olivia Rodrigo‘s next album would be stacked with love songs, wrapped in emotions raked from both ends of the spectrum, some of which are inspired by HBO’s Sex And The City, then you’d be right.

The pop phenomenon stopped by NBC’s The Tonight Show on Thursday night, May 30, where she spilled the beans on her forthcoming album, tour and Saturday Night Live gig.

“I knew that I wanted this record to be about romantic love in more of a positive sense,” she says of You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, due out June 12 via Geffen Records. That’s considering her last two were “heartbroken and angsty,” in her own words. Expected love songs, “injected with a little bit of sadness and longing. And melancholy, because all my favorite love songs have that.” Those faves, she tells Jimmy Kimmel, include “Love Song” by the Cure, and “Video Games” by Lana Del Rey.

“Multiple songs” from her forthcoming album, she also reveals, are inspired by the complex relationship of lawyer Miranda Hobbes and former bartender Steve Brady, two central characters from Sex And The City. “It’s my favorite show,” she enthuses. “I think I watched every single episode maybe three times.”

It’s worth pointing out that Sex and the City concluded after six seasons on Feb. 22, 2004, a year to the month after Rodrigo was born.

Rodrigo’s new album is led by “Drop Dead,” which opened at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking her fourth title to debut in the top spot. “The song is basically about an awesome first date,” she explains. “It’s the first step in the journey of You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl. The journey definitely like ebbs and flows. It goes in lots of different places from here, but this is the first chapter.”

Rodrigo will sing “Drop Dead” and a brand new one, when she appears on Saturday Night Live this weekend as both host and musical guest.

“It’s always been a huge dream of mine,” to pull double duty on SNL, she insists. If she has nerves, she’s not showing it. And she does have a lucky charm, a gift from Jack White, which he planted in her dressing room.

The 23-year-old pop star will support her next release with the Unraveled Tour, which currently stands at 65 arena date across North America, Europe and the U.K. this fall and winter beginning with a Sept. 25 show at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Conn. “I’ve been working so hard on it,” she says during her latest late-night interview. “I’m so stoked to play these songs live.”

With You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, she resisted the temptation of going with another four letter word after Sour (from 2021) and Guts (2023), both of which logged time at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. “I always knew if wasn’t going to be four letters.” She wanted to “break out,” and “didn’t want to be stuck in it,” she tells Fallon.

Watch Rodrigo’s appearance on late-night TV below.