Looks like Journey almost went their separate ways two years ago.

In a new statement posted to Facebook on Monday, Journey co-founder and lead guitarist Neal Schon seemingly replied to frontman Arnel Pineda‘s claims that he was prohibited from quitting the band twice.

“There’s been some recent press and speculation that doesn’t reflect the full picture,” Schon writes.

Though he does not specify what recent press he’s referring to, his statement comes days after a March 31 Rolling Stone feature on his band that quotes Pineda sharing that he almost didn’t join Journey on their current farewell tour. Pineda claims that in 2024, he asked his bandmates to confer with him if they decide to do farewell shows and discuss the schedule with him. He cites age and “personal problems” as major factors in his decision to tour or not. He then alleges that the band went ahead and scheduled the 60-date tour without consulting him.

“It is what it is now…. But then, I was really not happy with how they scheduled this tour,” Pineda says in the article. He then claims that he sent an unhappy email to his bandmates to which they didn’t reply. In response to the silence, Pineda says he told the other Journey members not once but twice that he wanted to leave the group and retire. Again, they did not respond, Pineda alleges.

The article then shares that both Schon and Pineda recognized that quitting the band is not as simple as it seems. They both say that their contract with live entertainment giant AEG prohibits the band from touring without Pineda. It’s a sentiment that is also echoed in Schon’s Facebook statement.

“Touring at this level involves many moving parts, and decisions are made collectively with our team, including management, agents, and promoters,” Schon writes before acknowledging that with any band that’s been around for a long time, different members may feel different pressures in different ways. He then says that he personally did not prohibit anyone from leaving the band. “For clarity, no one was ever prevented by me from making their own personal decisions.”

Schon continues by citing the same AEG contract that was brought up in the Rolling Stone feature: “At the same time, we were all advised by our representatives that there are contractual obligations tied to touring that need to be honored.”

The guitarist concludes by saying his focus is on providing fans with “the best possible experience and keeping the music alive.”

Journey’s Final Frontier Tour is set to continue into August with dates across the U.S. and a stop in Vancouver.

Following Pershing Square’s bid to acquire Universal Music Group (UMG) on Tuesday (April 7), the music giant has confirmed that its board of directors received the “unsolicited and non-binding proposal” in a brief press release in which it expressed “complete confidence in” the company’s strategy under chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge.

“The Board of Directors, together with its advisors, will review the proposal in accordance with its fiduciary duties and analyze its implications for shareholders, employees, artists, songwriters and other stakeholders,” the release reads.

It adds, “The Board of Directors has complete confidence in UMG’s strategy and the leadership of Sir Lucian Grainge and the Company’s management team. UMG will have no further comment on the proposal until the Board of Directors completes its review.”

The offer from the Bill Ackman-founded investment firm values UMG at more than $60 billion. The proposed deal, which would entail a 9.4 billion euros ($10.85 billion) total cash or 5.05 euros per share ($5.82) offer to shareholders, would result in UMG merging with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings and would move the new entity’s headquarters from the Netherlands to Nevada, while its stock would move from the Euronext Amsterdam to the New York Stock Exchange.

“While business performance has been strong, UMG’s share price has languished,” Ackman wrote in a Tuesday letter to UMG’s board of directors that mentioned uncertainty over UMG investor Bolloré Group’s 18% stake in the company, its decision to delay a U.S. stock offering and the under-utilization of the music company’s balance sheet as reasons for the stock’s overall downward trajectory since its closing price on the first day of trading. “Notably, none of the above issues relate to the company’s execution of its music business, and importantly, all of the above issues can be addressed in a merger transaction.”

Ackman, who held a call to address analysts’ and shareholders’ questions about the proposed deal earlier on Tuesday, wrote that he expects the deal to close by the end of the year.

Miles Gersh was promoted to executive vp of A&R at Warner Records, the label announced on Tuesday (April 7).

Gersh, who joined the company in 2019 and was most recently vp of A&R, introduced Zach Bryan to Warner Records Group CEO & co-chairman Aaron Bay-Schuck in 2020 based on the success of his independent releases. Bryan signed to Warner Records the following year and has since scored five top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, including two No. 1s: 2023’s self-titled set and this year’s With Heaven on Top. He’s also notched three top 10s on the Billboard Hot 100, including the No. 1 smash “I Remember Everything” featuring Kacey Musgraves.

In addition to Bryan, Gersh has helped develop emerging talent including bunii, IShowSpeed, Maddox Batson, CJ and Veeze. Prior to Warner, Gersh worked at Doug Morris‘ 12Tone Music. He has been recognized on Billboard‘s 40 Under 40 and Country Power Players lists.

“Miles understands that true artist development starts with a deep respect for the creator’s voice,” said Bay-Schuck in a statement. “The partnership he’s built with Zach and his other outstanding artists reflects his commitment to authenticity and his drive to help our talent win on their own terms. Miles is a vital part of the future of Warner Records, and this promotion is a testament to the key role he’s played in elevating our music, our teams, and our culture.”

Gersh added, “I’m deeply grateful to Aaron and [Warner Records executive vp & head of A&R] Karen [Kwak] for their mentorship and for their belief in me as I take on this new role. They’ve championed a culture I’m proud to be a part of — one that consistently puts the artist first. We have a remarkable roster, backed by the incredible Warner team, and I’m excited to build on our momentum to help take our artists to the next level while bringing game-changing new talent into the fold.”

A warrant is out for the arrest of a 55-year-old woman who allegedly stalked and threatened Lindsey Buckingham for years before physically attacking the Fleetwood Mac frontman last month.  

Michelle Dick was hit with felony charges that carry potential prison time in a Friday (April 3) criminal complaint brought by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and obtained by Billboard. A judge signed a warrant for Dick’s arrest, ordering that she be held on $300,000 bail if apprehended.

Prosecutors claim Dick has stalked and repeatedly threatened Buckingham with violence since 2021. The harassment allegedly escalated to physical violence last month, when Dick is accused of hitting Buckingham with her car and dousing the musician with an unknown substance in Santa Monica.

Dick is charged with seven total counts of stalking, making criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon, battery and vandalism. In addition to targeting Buckingham, she’s also accused of stalking another individual referred to in court filings as “Stephanie N.”

Buckingham previously won a restraining order in 2024 requiring Dick to stay away from his family and cease all contact. In court filings from that time, the singer and guitarist said Dick began calling him and his family members in 2021, claiming to be Buckingham’s child and threatening to kill them.

The restraining order petition also claimed Dick had called in threats to venues where Buckingham was performing in 2022. She then went away for a couple of years but allegedly returned in 2024, showing up at the family’s Los Angeles home and making more threatening phone calls.

“She is clearly mentally unfit and harbors delusions, which makes her scary to me and unpredictable,” wrote Buckingham in a court declaration.

Reps for Buckingham did not immediately return a request for comment on the criminal complaint on Tuesday (April 7). Dick could not be located.

Cardi B doesn’t play when it comes to her money, and she noticed a couple of suspicious charges on her American Express card, which led her to reveal she was the victim of credit card fraud.

Even though she’s in the midst of the madness of life on tour, Cardi is still keeping tabs on her expenses. The Bronx native hopped on Instagram Live on Monday (April 6) to detail how she found out that four people had her credit card and went on a little shopping spree for $60,000 at Saks and Apple within an hour.

“I got clear pictures. As soon as I saw that notification, I was like, ‘Saks $40,000, what the f—?’ Then, when I saw that Apple sh–, because like who the f— is spending $20,000 at Apple? If I get your address before the people doing this investigation, because they got pictures of y’all, I’mma get y’all beat the f— up,” she said. “Word to my mother, I’m gonna get my n—as to spank the sh– outta y’all.”

Cardi continued: “Y’all went to Chase, y’all went to Saks, y’all went to Apple. B—h, y’all going to jail… I got clear pictures of motherf—–s trying to get money out of a Chase… Y’all tried it. I got clear pictures of y’all in Saks and I got clear pictures of y’all in Apple. One thing about me, I don’t play about my f—–g money.”

It’s still unclear how they obtained her AMEX card numbers. The Grammy-winning rapper then described the looks of the alleged thieves that she claims to have photo evidence of. “One of you is bald-headed, with a very thick beard,” she asserted, before again promising that the culprits will be going to jail.

Cardi is in the home stretch of her Little Miss Drama Tour, which will be making stops this week in Philly, Washington, D.C., Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina.

As previously announced, big changes are coming to the Oscars. In 2029, the show will move from ABC (its network home since 1976) to YouTube and from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood (its home base for every show but one since 2002) to the Peacock Theater in the L.A. Live complex.

But, until then, the show will stay the course. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC announced on Tuesday (April 7) that the 99th Oscars will take place on Sunday, March 14, 2027, and that the 100th Oscars will take place on Sunday, March 5, 2028. This is similar to recent years. This year’s show aired on Sunday, March 15. The 2025 show aired on Sunday, March 2. The upcoming shows will air live at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.

The Oscars didn’t announce who will host the 2027 show, but no one would be surprised if they turned again to Conan O’Brien, who was widely praised for his work hosting the last two shows. If O’Brien does get the nod, he would become the first person to host the Oscars three years running since Billy Crystal hosted four straight Oscar telecasts from 1990-93.

The Academy also announced key dates for the 2027 Oscars season, though they cautioned that these dates are subject to change.

Olivia Dean crowns Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart as “Man I Need” jumps from No. 5 to lead the list dated April 11. The achievement reflects the breakthrough single’s status as the most-played song on panel-contributing adult R&B radio stations in the United States for the tracking week of March 27-April 2, according to Luminate.

“Man I Need,” released and promoted through Polydor/Island/REPUBLIC, knocks Tank’s “Control” from the summit. The former champ slips to No. 3 after a two-week reign.

With its new triumph, “Man I Need” adds a third Billboard chart radio crown, following a six-week run atop the Pop Airplay chart in January – February and three weeks at No. 1 on Adult Pop Airplay in February. It’s the first song to lead all three lists since Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” captured three weeks atop Adult R&B Airplay, two terms on Pop Airplay and four weeks on Adult Pop Airplay in 2024. Among songs by women, “Man I Need” is the first track to complete this particular triple play since Adele’s “Hello” achieved one, four and seven weeks, respectively, on the radio rankings in 2015-16.

The song’s cross-format appeal echoes the wide popularity for “Man I Need,” which rode a wave of airplay and streaming support to a No. 2 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 and a 20-week (and counting!) stretch in the chart’s top 10. Led by the momentum, Dean won the Grammy Award for best new artist at this year’s ceremony on Feb. 1.

Elsewhere, “Man I Need” continues to scale two other radio charts. Its coronation on Adult R&B Airplay boosts its fortunes on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs by combined audience totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. There, it climbs 20-19 with 5 million in audience, up 6% from last week. Additionally, it holds at No. 8 on Adult Contemporary.

Through its strength across formats, “Man I Need” repeats at No. 2 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart for a seventh consecutive week and ninth total time in the runner-up spot. The single is a former champ there, with three weeks at No. 1 in February.