Dom Dolla has sold out his Marvel Stadium show in Melbourne, with presale allocations exhausted within hours and all remaining tickets snapping up instantly from general on sale.

The Sept. 24 show — which will mark the world premiere of the DJ and producer’s new stadium production — sold out in record time in what promoters Untitled Group and Frontier Touring are calling one of the most significant moments in Australian electronic music history. A waitlist is now open for fans who missed out.

“Untitled Group has been part of Dom’s journey from the very start of his career, and to watch him sell out Marvel Stadium in his hometown is a moment we’ll never forget,” said Nicholas Greco, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Untitled Group. “This puts electronic music in Australia firmly on the global map and is a historic moment for Dom, for Melbourne, and for electronic music fans across the country.”

The sellout builds on a remarkable run of momentum for the Melbourne-born DJ. In December 2025 he set a new benchmark for electronic music events in Australia with a record-breaking sold-out debut at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium.

In 2025 he also headlined two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden to more than 30,000 fans, completed a 10-week residency at Hi Ibiza — ranked the world’s No. 1 club — and made his film soundtrack debut with “No Room For A Saint” featuring Nathan Nicholson for the F1 movie soundtrack.

Born Dominic Matheson, Dom Dolla has accumulated more than 1.5 billion streams and won four ARIA Awards for Best Dance/Electronic Release, as well as the inaugural ARIA Global Impact Award presented by Spotify. On Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, “Rhyme Dust” with MK peaked at No. 9, “Eat Your Man” with Nelly Furtado reached No. 15, “Dreamin’” featuring Daya climbed to No. 5 — his highest chart peak — and “Forever” with Kid Cudi debuted at No. 9. He received a Grammy nomination for his remix of Gorillaz’s “New Gold” featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown.

PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SHINSEKAI, the fourth season of the audition survival show that brought us the artists JO1, INI and ME:I, has been available for viewing, free of charge, since March 2026, exclusively on the Lemino streaming service. It will culminate in the debut of a 12-person global boy band with members chosen through voting by Japanese viewers (Kokumin Producers) and, for the first time on the show, global viewers (SEKAI Producers) as well.

One of the biggest differences between this season and the past three seasons is that this is now a global audition. The show accepted applications from everyone, regardless of nationality or birthplace (with the exception of a small number of areas). In addition to attracting trainees from around the world, it is also being streamed globally via the global K-pop content platform Mnet Plus, and votes can also be cast from anywhere. The show’s overall emcee, trainee supporter, and KOKUMIN Producer representative is Dean Fujioka. This season, he is joined for the first time by a SEKAI Producer Representative, Choi Soo-young (from Girl’s Generation). The votes of KOKUMIN Producers from Japan and SEKAI Producers from other countries are counted together to launch a boy band that reflects a more international perspective. There are already plans for the band to make its debut simultaneously in both Korea and Japan.

In each of its past seasons, PRODUCE 101 JAPAN has had 101 trainees. Of these, 11 would go on to become debut members. During the first episode of this new season, though, the show announced that 22 global participants have been added, bringing up the number of participants to 123. Of these, 12 will be chosen to debut. In an unexpected twist, unlike in past seasons, the participants didn’t start as trainees, but as trainee candidates. They found themselves suddenly faced with a level placement test, so there was struggle and drama right out of the gates.

This season has already brought us several standout scenes. Episode 6 presented the first half of “POSITION BATTLE: OPEN ROUND.” After the first round of rankings were announced, the 50 remaining trainees were divided into nine teams to compete in the event. In previous rounds, trainees were able to pick their own fields of expertise, like vocals, dance, or rap. But as Dean Fujioka explained, “Today, the borders between vocals, dance, and rap are gone. We’re in an age of all-rounders, where people aren’t hemmed in by the idea of fixed positions.” This time, the battle used an OPEN ROUND approach. It judged the trainees’ ability to handle self-production, including song arrangement and structure. It was a vivid example of how the updates the show had made to its judging approach in order to produce a global boy band for today’s era.

The nine teams competed, each with their own song, and the two top trainees and the top trainee for each of the nine songs in the group battle were selected as leaders. One particularly dramatic scene unfolded for the team PUNCH LINERS, whose leader, RYUJI (Ryuji Sugiyama), picked INI’s song “DOMINANCE.” O.YUSEI (Yusei Obayashi), who was chosen as the main rapper, was psyched, saying “I’ve rarely taken center stage in my own life, so I’m going to go for it.” After listening to the advice of INI members Rihito Ikezaki, Hiroto Nishi, and Jin Matsuda, he looked fulfilled, but after hearing Y.SHU (Shu Yamashita) rap, he asked for the main rapper position to be switched out, saying “I think he’d be better as a main rapper then me.” His team members encouraged him, saying “You got the center position, now you need to go out there and crush it.” O.YUSEI, feeling disgusted with himself, began crying, saying “It was just so frustrating…” His connection with fellow rapper Y.SHU grew even stronger, and then in the main event, he boldly took the stage, putting on a confident performance as main rapper, turning the tables by being selected as no. 1 in his team through the field voting. Y.SHU came in second place, and it was clear to everyone watching how the bonds between them had grown.

Episode 7 featured the second half of the “POSITION BATTLE: OPEN ROUND” and the announcement of the results. “Nature Self” was chosen through field voting as the team that stood out the most. Nature Self was led by CHISATO (Chisato Kobayashi), who chose the song “Natural” by Imagine Dragons.

During the first part of the practice, RYOTA (Ryota Ishida) and CHISATO divided up the choreography duties, but dance trainer KAITA said he felt there was a lack of teamwork. “Did you two coordinate with each other? I could tell that the choreography was by two separate people. It felt disjointed.” Everyone gathered together, and RYOTA and the other members talked about each other’s strengths. They reaffirmed the importance of teamwork and developed a more powerful sense of solidarity. Elsewhere, YURA (Yura Abe), who had been chosen by unanimous accord as main dancer, looked crestfallen, saying “I just couldn’t get excited about being chosen for center position.” He couldn’t shake off his defeat in the previous group battle. “Being in the center position means being under a huge amount of pressure. Even now, I’ve got mixed emotions about it.” CHISATO tried to gave him a push, saying “I want you to go out there and put all your heart into it. I made your choreography with that in mind,” but YURA’s expression remained clouded. SIYOUNG (Park Siyoung), a member of another team, criticized him, saying “We couldn’t see your facial expressions,” and that just sent YURA spiraling further. Dance trainer Rino Nakasone said “You don’t look like a center. You need to be more honest with yourself. Give it your all.” Tears in his eyes, YURA confessed that “Ever since becoming center, I’ve just kept questioning myself.” Nakasone continued, “The song ’Natural’ is all about not bowing under pressure. Don’t keep it all pent up inside, you’ve got all these people around you can turn to.” After telling him that he needed to embody the message of the song, and advising him to rely on his fellow trainees, the other members all embraced him in a hug. The scene eloquently showed that it’s not just about singing and dancing abilities. You also need to truly understand the music at a deeper level.

In the main event, the whole team put on a powerful and magnificent show. It was like they’d all broken out of their shells, and their performance of “Nature Self” was met with a huge round of applause. The decision to pick them as the standout team was a clear and obvious one. KOTARO (Kotaro Asaka) was chosen no. 1 in the team, with YURA taking the no. 3 position. KOTARO revealed that he’d felt great respect for YURA ever since the first time he went to Korea, and he thanked him. YURA also gave a glimpse of his own personal growth, saying that the experience had given him confidence.

PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SHINSEKAI is the kind of show that gives birth to great scenes like these. One of the highlights of this audition show is that it doesn’t just consist of ranking competitors through voting, but it also helps the trainees grow. Tomorrow, your own vote could be instrumental in the dramatic personal growth of trainees.

–This article by Kaori Komatsu first appeared on Billboard Japan

Peabo Bryson was the king of collaborations in the 1990s. Of his 12 Hot 100 hits, seven were collaborations with other top artists, including two pairings each with Regina Belle and Roberta Flack.

We learned over the weekend that the velvet-voiced Bryson has suffered a stroke and is currently under medical care. A representative for Bryson sent the following statement to Billboard: “At this time, the family requests privacy as they navigate this deeply personal moment together. The thoughts, prayers and love of friends and fans are welcomed and deeply appreciated.”

Bryson is best known for the duets “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme).” Those songs, both composed by Alan Menken for Disney blockbusters, won back-to-back Oscars for best original song. Bryson also won back-to-back Grammy Awards for best pop duo/group collaboration for performing those hits, with Celine Dion and Belle, respectively.

Bryson and Dion, whose version of “Beauty and the Beast” was heard over the end credits of that film, performed the song on the 1992 Oscars in tandem with Angela Lansbury, who sang it in the body of the film. Bryson and Dion also performed the song at the 1992 American Music Awards, the 1993 Grammys, the World Music Awards, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Top of the Pops and more.

Bryson had 13 hits on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart before he landed his first hit on the Hot 100 – “Lovers After All,” a collab with Melissa Manchester, in 1981.

But now it’s your turn to weigh in. What’s your favorite of Bryson’s 12 Hot 100 hits? They are listed here in chronological order. Vote!

When he’s not producing hits in the studio, Rogét Chahayed is working out. Alongside music, the Los Angeles native has dedicated the last few years of his life to fitness, which has resulted in Chahayed dropping 60 pounds.

The energy from a rigorous late March workout in his home gym alongside Australian production duo FnZ poured into the studio for a jam session that followed and quickly led to the birth of the beat behind Drake’s “Janice STFU.”

“Within a minute or two, we found that main synth riff you hear in the song. We looked at each other like, ‘That’s crazy,’” Chahayed tells Billboard. “We would hit each other the next day like, ‘He’s gotta do something to this. If he doesn’t make something to this, we shouldn’t be doing music anymore.’ This s–t sounds like a hit without anything on it.”

While Chahayed saw potential in the brooding production, which was sent north of the border to OVO headquarters after some finishing touches from British producer B4u, nothing was official until ICEMAN‘s arrival.

Chahayed, who turned 38 on Sunday (May 31), found out about “Janice STFU” with the rest of the world while anxiously watching and running back YouTube’s episode four ICEMAN livestream on May 14 that came a couple of hours before the album reached streaming services.

Built around an addicting chorus interpolating Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers,” “Janice STFU” was tabbed an early standout from ICEMAN.

Drake used The Sopranos‘ Janice Soprano to inspire the track’s title, which provided a “full-circle” moment for the producer, as Chahayed — who fancies himself a diehard fan of the HBO series — estimates he’s watched The Sopranos about “50 or 60” times through. He talks up having a signed James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano) photo in his house and the water bottle sitting next to him during the interview is even slapped with a Sopranos sticker.

“Janice STFU” debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 with 40.7 million official streams for the tracking week ending May 21, giving Drake his record-breaking 14th No. 1 — the most among male soloists — and Chahayed’s third (“SICKO MODE,” “First Class”).

The hit will spend a second week at the Hot 100‘s summit, which marks Drake’s first multi-week No. 1 since 2018’s “In My Feelings.” “Janice” also leads the Streaming Songs chart for a second week.

Chahayed notched a second ICEMAN placement with the 21 Savage-assisted “B’s on the Table” and even as the accolades like a Grammy nomination for producer of the year, non classical, and credits with Rosé and Bruno Mars (“APT.”) continue to pile up, he’s got no plans of slowing down.

“At the end of the day, as much as I want to make music for myself or score movies, I’m never gonna stop producing and make slappers,” he promises.

Check out the rest of our interview with the producer, who breaks down how his ICEMAN placements came about, plus so much more.

Another No. 1 hit. What was your reaction to seeing “Janice STFU” top the charts?

It’s been pretty crazy to see the impact it’s had on culture in general. It’s crazy to see how an artist like Drake, who’s been around for like two decades now, still make an impact through the days of mixtapes, DatPiff, blog era and CDs to streaming and now we’re in TikTok. It’s one of the more viral songs he’s had on there. It’s crazy to go on there and every few things I’m scrolling, I hear the song. It’s full circle for me because I’m a diehard Sopranos fan. I know they’re referencing Tony’s sister, Janice. It’s all these culminations coming full-circle.

Take me back, how does this work? Are you sending over beats to Drake or does this fall in your lap while working with other producers like FnZ?

All of my collaborations with Drake have been remote. He’s not an easily accessible guy. He’s got a lot of people in his circle and on his team. I’ve always found the best way to get through to him is sending the right music ideas. In this situation, I was working with FnZ. We collaborate often and get together once a month to cook up as many ideas as we can. We’ll make eight or nine things in a night. We spend a lot of time going into detail and picking sounds we think are going to make a difference.

This was end of March of this year, we’re trying to get ideas for ICEMAN. I had a song on there already with “B’s on the Table” and they had a few joints, but we wanted to get one more. I built a gym in my crib and we were f–king around and wanted to get one more in, so we went down to the studio and started with a jam session. I was looking for sounds and Zac from FnZ was tweaking the synths while I was playing. I was playing with melodies and Michael from FnZ was pulling up this hi-hat loop with a snare and a vocal chop. I started coming up with this thing and added a bass to it. Within a minute or two, we found that main synth riff you hear in the song. We looked at each other like, “That’s crazy.” We send it over to b4u, who’s been working with Drake heavy on this album. He finished it up.

When do you hear back that it’s done and hear about The Sopranos inspiration or the Lykke Li interpolation?

We had no idea what it was called. B4u was our point of contact for this situation. We sent him the sample and a few days later, FnZ sent me a text, “B4u said Drake started writing to this one.” I think we called the idea “Wired” originally. I’ve seen that text before that The Boy’s writing to it. He’s probably writing to so many beats. I don’t treat it as anything out of the ordinary.

Three weeks later, I got a text from b4u, “There’s one you did with FnZ, it sounds crazy and it might make the album.” That’s the only information I had. I didn’t know it’s called “Janice STFU” or what he’s rapping about, so we were eager to find out.

You heard the final version on the ICEMAN livestream with everyone?

I heard it on the stream before the actual release. FnZ hit me, “Yo, I think it’s called ‘Janice’ something.” I listened to it in the car and thought it sounded crazy. I had to keep going back on my YouTube to run it back. When it came out, I listened to the rest of the album and thought, “Holy s–t.” That one song, everyone kept hitting me that this was the one that was gonna push through.

People are really loving the Lykke Li “I Follow Rivers” interpolation on the chorus.

I didn’t really notice it at first, but when I was on Reddit and YouTube seeing people react, they were like, “It’s Lykke Li.” I get that the melody is similar, but I feel like the way Drake spun it was so creative and he puts this swing on it. I think it’s more genius to interpolate something from a different world of sound and put it into this. How did he think of putting this into the thing me and FnZ sent?

I’ve been a part of a lot of songs that have really good interpolations. I feel like you almost can’t make a hit nowadays without having some kind of homage or tribute to great melodies and great songs. “First Class,” Jack [Harlow] interpolates Fergie, “Kiss Me More” Doja interpolates Olivia Newton-John, and it’s cool to see Drake put his spin on it — it’s too fire.

It’s crazy that you sent over this one idea and it stuck with Drake. I figured you were sending over packs and packs of beats for him.

I probably sent like 100 ideas, loops and beats to people. Maybe a few hundred between loops for the drum guys and beats I made with people. It got to a point I didn’t think we were gonna make ICEMAN. I thought he had a million people sending him s–t and he had 100 songs done. FnZ and I have been working for five years now and they push me to find me the craziest sounds.

We did a song called “Dua Lipa” for Jack Harlow and “Kat Food ” for Lil Wayne. We’ll hang out together and be like, “We’re gonna get one of the craziest songs ever made.” We kind of manifested it. There was something about this day in particular…The energy was good, like I had just finished a crazy workout, because I got really into working out and training in the last year. This idea came as a result of like, fitness and taking care of ourselves and lifting weights and it kind of has that energy in it too. I feel like that’s not the lifestyle for a lot of producers. This has been my main thing lately, I lost 60 pounds in the last few years. I really attribute a lot of this success and better ideas to personal training. We would hit each other like, “He’s gotta do something to this. If he doesn’t make something to this, we shouldn’t be doing music anymore.” This s–t sounds like a hit without anything on it.

How did “B’s on the Table” come about? It sounds like that was already done before “Janice.”

That’s actually a beat that I made with London Cyr. We had a session a year ago with a beat that had these cool synth horns on it. I heard Drake really liked the beat and was doing something to it. I thought maybe it didn’t make the cut until London hit me, “Drake wants that same exact horn sound we did on a newer beat he’s doing.” He wanted the exact same sound and I forgot the sound. My engineer and I were sitting here for days going through every brass synth patch we had. I started to get tendonitis. I had a sound design dude make an identical sound and it still wasn’t cutting through.

B4u said he wanted more organic horn sounds and had me sending like 30 different versions of the horns you hear on the second half. That’s my part on the song. I’d get hit up at 1 a.m., 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. and I’d run home and try to finesse it. It was a lot of work. This whole album was a team effort. Communication is important. I knew 21 Savage was on it, but I didn’t know what it sounded like. They had just sent me the instrumental and a placeholder in the second half where the horns go. That’s the real rap motto, you got to be on call.

Do you have a special place for your plaques at your house?

All the plaques I have really are like gifts. My manager or publisher will have them for me. I’m definitely going to custom request a “Janice STFU” plaque. This is my third Hot 100 No. 1 in my career. I’m super grateful. My second one with Drake because he’s on “SICKO MODE.”

You said you were a massive Sopranos fan too, so that had to be cool.

Diehard Sopranos fan. I have all kinds of memorabilia. I have a signed James Gandolfini picture. I have a giant poster of the show. I’ve seen the show, probably as a whole, like 50 or 60 times through. I know everything that happens in every episode. If we’re watching it, I can basically go bar-for-bar. There’s a lot of meanings behind the song like, “Who’s Janice?” The song is so fire I don’t try to find out who he’s really talking about. I’m not a political guy like that. Janice in the show did get on everyone’s nerves. Drake was posting hints about The Sopranos on his other Instagram account. It’s the greatest show of all-time and Drake’s one of the greatest artists of all-time, so it’s a crazy full-circle thing. I guess watching the show 100 times and making beats every day paid off.

What’s the difference when producing for a rapper versus a pop artist?

When you’re working with pop artists, I feel like musically that they need a little bit less as far as sounds go. I always try to focus on what the song needs first. Later on, we can finish the production on it. When I work with a rapper, I feel like we got to find the most cutthroat crazy sound that pushes them. I feel like rappers are impatient. When you’re working with a pop artist, they’re willing to take time to craft the content of the song. When you’re playing rappers beats that are done and the song isn’t hitting, they’re like, “Nah, I need some s–t like this!” I learned that from the school of Dr. Dre. The pressure was always on. He was always hovering over you like, “What you got? You have anything crazy?” And if you didn’t, you felt inferior. They’re trying to make a hit and you got to give them a sound that pierces through the speaker so they almost want to fight with the beat. They want to spar with the beat.

Whereas when you’re writing for a pop artist, all you need is four good chords. All they really need is a piano or a guitar to make the song. Once they have the song, they’re sitting there with the songwriter for three or four hours and the producers are sitting there waiting for them to finish. That’s why I love rap more. Rap is more competitive. Rap is more like that blank canvas of what you can put on there musically. There’s more you could do with it.

Talk about your experience working with Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey.

I spent a lot of time in the studio with with Jennifer, and she is just like probably the hardest working person I’ve ever met in my life. It’s crazy, like you think of someone that has everything, all the success, wealth and fame, and she works like it’s her last day. She’s an incredible businesswoman, she’s very creative, always working on movies, always has ideas, always making music and she’s very detailed.

She was in the studio for every session for every song on that album. It wasn’t like a J Lo camp, where she would come in for an hour, like “I’m gonna go back to being a movie star.” No, she was in there in workout clothes. She’s just like a normal person in the studio. I was like, “Oh, she’s one of us.” She’s a nerd for this s–t.

She was always very positive and easy to reach. She always picked up my calls and told me from the beginning, “Don’t sugarcoat nothing. Tell me if this s–t doesn’t sound good. Tell me if this song doesn’t sound good. I need you to be direct with me.”

Mariah, I was brought into that session by my boy Anderson .Paak. So Mariah was also in the studio with us and she started really late, I think we started the sessions at 10 p.m. and we would be in there ’till like, six in the morning. It was so organic working with Mariah.

We did the “In Your Feelings” song and we’re sitting on the piano at Electric Lady Studios. Mariah is right there, just coming up with melodies. I’m just sitting there on the piano, like, “Holy s–t.” My mom used to play Mariah Carey in the car when I was a kid and like now I’m sitting on the piano writing a song with her. I still get those weird feelings of like, “I can’t believe this is happening.” They’re just normal people, like you and me, trying to write music, which is so cool to experience.

John Summit recently sat down with Billboard‘s Kristin Robinson for an episode of her On the Record podcast to talk about life as a high-flying dance star.

While acknowledging that the dance world functions differently than many other areas of the music industry — from how dance labels work as tastemakers to how the scene is fueled largely by singles rather than albums — Summit also talked about being one of the rare dance artists to headline a major multigenre festival.

Speaking to the question of whether dance artists need to “prove themselves more than pop artists” in order to earn this headlining multigenre festival slot, Summit said, “Yes, and you still see the comments of all the pop fans being like ‘Who the f–k is John Summit?’ And I was like, ‘Damn, I thought I was doing pretty well’, but I still have a lot of heads to turn still. I’ve kind of touched the pop realm, but I still think I’m just fully in dance music though, because I still haven’t had like, a Billboard [Hot] 100 track or anything. They chart in dance music, it’s just a different world.”

Later in the interview he comments again on the befuddled reactions among pop fans when the Lolla lineup was announced, saying that “Then the dance music fans [were] like ‘What are you talking about?’ We’re just totally in our own world [in dance], which I think is pretty awesome.”

Summit will headline Lollapalooza on July 30, with Lorde, Charli xcx, Smashing Pumpkins, Olivia Dean, Jennie, Tate McRae and The xx also headlining the three-day fest. The occasion marks something of a full circle moment for Summit, who grew up in the Chicagoland area and told Billboard in 2023 that seeing deadmau5 play Lolla in 2011 was the moment he knew he wanted to work in the genre too.

“I feel like everyone always has that moment when they’re like, ‘Oh my god, this is my genre,’” Summit said. “That’s when I knew I wanted to be a part of electronic music.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Summit says that after his recently announced North American arena tour wraps, “I don’t know when I’m going to play America next at all. I’m going to take a long break,” adding that he and his team are also narrowing down the number of shows he’ll play in Las Vegas. Listen to the complete interview below.

Inside Kingsway — a historic, gorgeous New Orleans residence that legendary producer Daniel Lanois turned into an idiosyncratic recording studio in the late ‘80s and ‘90s for Bob Dylan, U2, R.E.M., Emmylou Harris and others — Afro-Caribbean rhythms are vibrating and Vodou priestesses are singing.

Although it’s loaded with instruments (and a Senegalese fertility bed for those in need), Kingsway is no longer a recording studio these days, but the sound of music still hits different in the house. Built in 1848, this French Quarter home reverberates with history, even when music isn’t filling its 12,000 square feet. (Depending on who you talk to, including a few rock stars who have refused to sleep there, it’s haunted—but then again, what historic house in New Orleans isn’t?) Thanks to Kingsway owner/hotelier Sean Cummings, a man with a deep love for the music, food and foibles of his city, Kingsway opened its wrought-iron gates on a rainy Friday night to Vodou practitioners, storytellers, priests and priestesses hailing from Haiti, Benin, Cuba, Congo, Martinique, Angola, Ghana and, of course, New Orleans. It’s the night before the third annual New Orleans International Vodou Day on Saturday (May 23), and the attendees are gathered to greet, eat, drink and mingle.

In a spacious room next to the foyer, Mami Moun — a Manbo Asogwe (high priestess) and powerful singer — and Malou Beauvoir, a Haitian-American singer-songwriter, are blending their voices for an impromptu performance. Elevating the last-minute performance is Andrew Wiseman, a nimble local drummer and an instinctive conduit to rhythm, as well as the room itself, a space with a warm, vintage acoustic personality.

Traditional Vodou songs are intended to awaken the Lwa (also spelled Ioa), spirits created by Bondye (the supreme deity) to help humans in their daily lives. But when delivered by gifted singers such as these two, the music reaches deep into the spirit of anyone within earshot, whether they’re a believer or not. The music seems to evoke centuries of power and pain, soaring with an indomitable strength despite everything the African diaspora has been subjected to.

In case you’re wondering, yes, this is Vodou — spiritual practices and beliefs in Haiti, parts of Africa and the African diaspora — not voodoo. The latter term, often associated with a Westernized caricature of the practices, is rejected by some practitioners of the Afro-Caribbean religious practices who are hoping to shed misconceptions thrust upon them by Hollywood.

For many, keeping alive (or rediscovering) these traditions is personal, spiritual, artistic and academic all at once. During Saturday’s International Vodou Day Symposium, a dozen speakers gathered at Xavier University of Louisiana to share historical knowledge and present experiences.

Ethnomusicologist Houngan Collin Edouard was one of them. Like many collegiate lectures, the word “ontology” made an appearance; unlike most academic gatherings, attendees occasionally shouted out “ayibobo!” (a Haitian Creole affirmation) while he was speaking. Edouard, a PhD student at Yale who studies music in Vodou ceremonies, explored the transtemporal idea of music as a means of connecting with ancestors and Lwa spirits. In his heartfelt, well-researched presentation, he placed the musical Vodou voice in the context of the slavery these Afro-Caribbean traditions began to codify within, noting that “the voice travels if the body cannot.” Of traditional Vodou songs that people, himself included, still sing, he wondered, “Which one of my ancestors tried to sing that song while someone silenced him?”

Outside the presentation, Malou Beauvoir, who sang at Kingsway the night before, sat next to a table of her artistic output, from caftans to a children’s book meant to destigmatize the religion (Our Vodou: A Vodou Bedtime Tale) to her 2018 album Spiritwalker, which finds her powerful, alchemic voice exploring traditional Vodou songs in contemporary musical contexts. One of the songs on her album, “Papa Damballah,” is about a powerful Lwa spirit who became linked to St. Patrick due to their shared association with snakes. Of the cross-pollination, she noted that Irish Catholics headed to America for indentured servitude were often on the same boats as enslaved Africans headed for an even worse fate. “They were all on the same boat, praying together just to survive,” Beauvoir says.

That hope for survival — as Edouard puts it, the voice can move even when the body cannot — was felt in the singing and dancing of a post-symposium Vodou ceremony the next day. After a processional through various locations in New Orleans where enslaved peoples were sold, brutalized and massacred throughout the city’s complicated history, a proper Vodou ceremony had been planned to take over Congo Square, where enslaved Africans sang, danced and traded on Sunday afternoons beginning in the 1740s. Due to the rain on that particular Sunday, however, the Vodou ceremony was moved inside the Ninth Ward’s New Orleans Healing Center lobby.

The air hung heavy with incense as 20-some practitioners, dressed in immaculate white, participated in an hours-long ceremony, dancing around food and drink offerings and battery-powered votive candles (hey, it is 2026). Men on drums teased out centuries-old rhythms and the ceremonial lead singer (called houngenikon or adjenikon) directed the oceanic rising and falling of voices, most of them female, which seemed to ebb and flow through the room.

Aside from those directly involved in the ceremony — an eclectic group that included Divine Prince Ty Emmecca, who has appeared on Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce and is the Gulf Coast Godfather of the Royal Iconic House of LaBeija (Vodou is much more accepting of LGBTQ people than many religions) — or the symposium, locals from the community stopped by to participate and observe. A family-friendly gathering, many people brought their kids, some of whom danced along joyously to the music while others retreated into their iPads (much the same as one might find at any communal religious gathering these days).

Curious onlookers who stopped by weren’t met with any preaching or recruiting efforts. The participants in International Vodou Day seemed more interested in connecting, sharing and learning from each other. To pull back the curtain a bit, yes, but not to demystify Vodou — like any religious belief system, the undefinable is inherently part of it. Rather to demonstrate that these traditions, so inextricable from the city’s past, are about hope, seeking help and finding spiritual sustenance.

The difficult-to-pin-down artistic and spiritual energy of Vodou continues to permeate New Orleans culture and the music that’s come out of it. It’s a rhythm that runs strong through the Delta blues and beyond, present in everything from Jimi Hendrix to Beyoncé to Dr. John to Big Freedia. Like gospel, the voices of Vodou express hope, pain and joy all at once, connecting the present to the past in one of America’s great music cities — a cultural hub where people still fuel the rhythms.

Billboard’s airfare was covered by New Orleans & Company.  

The Angels have released a commemorative video for “Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again” to mark the 50th anniversary of the song that has become one of the most recognisable recordings in Australian rock history, as the band prepares for a national anniversary tour spanning more than 25 dates.

The clip, assembled by founding guitarist Rick Brewster, features all of the vocalists who have fronted the band across its five-decade career. It arrives as the group heads out on the Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again… 50 Years On national tour, which opens at Coolangatta’s Cooly Rocks on June 4 and runs through to Hindley Street Music Hall in Adelaide on November 6.

Written by Doc Neeson, John Brewster and Rick Brewster, the song was originally recorded in March 1976 and released as the band’s debut single, produced by Harry Vanda and George Young of The Easybeats.

It was conceived as an acoustic ballad; Neeson later revealed its lyrics were inspired by grief following the death of the girlfriend of the band’s first manager, John Woodruff, in a motorcycle accident. The original release reached No. 58 on the Australian charts and remained on the chart for 19 weeks. A live version released in 1988 — capturing the audience chant that had by then become inseparable from the song — reached No. 11 on the Kent Music Report and introduced the phenomenon to a broader audience.

The song’s cultural reach has only grown. It ranked No. 11 in Triple M’s Ozzest 100 countdown in 2018 and placed No. 12 in triple j’s Hottest 100 Australian Songs poll in 2025, making it the oldest song in that year’s top 40.

Metallica, Keith Urban and Jelly Roll all performed it during Australian tours in 2025, and covers have come from Dune Rats, Ruby Fields and Baby Shakes.

For John Brewster, the anniversary carries personal weight. “Fifty years on, the song still has so much meaning for us,” he told Noise 11. “When we play the song, we’re thinking about all the people we’ve lost, like Doc and Chris Bailey. And all the people that we’ve played with over the years — the roadies, the tour managers, the record company people, our friends and, of course, all the fans.”

The Angels — Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again… 50 Years On Tour

June 4 — Coolangatta — Cooly Rocks

June 5 — Caloundra West — Norton Music Factory

June 6 — Beenleigh — Beenleigh Tavern

June 12 — Hornsby — Hornsby RSL

June 13 — Albion Park Rail — The Oaks Hotel

June 19 — Woden — Canberra Southern Cross Club

June 20 — Albury — The Bended Elbow

July 3 — Launceston — Country Club Showroom

July 4 — Hobart — Wrest Point Showroom

July 10 — Belmont — Belmont 16s

July 11 — Revesby — Revesby Workers Club

July 17 — Fremantle — Freo Social

July 18 — Perth — Rosemount Hotel

July 31 — Caringbah — Highfield

Aug. 1 — Marrickville — Factory Theatre

Aug. 7 — Shoal Bay — Shoal Bay Country Club

Aug. 8 — Prestons — Liverpool Catholic Club

Aug. 14 — Geelong — Eureka Hotel

Aug. 15 — Melbourne — Corner Hotel

Aug. 28 — Kingsford — The Juniors

Aug. 29 — Mona Vale — Pittwater RSL

Sept. 11 — Brisbane — The Triffid

Sept. 12 — Capalaba — Koala Tavern

Oct. 23 — Rozelle — Bridge Hotel

Oct. 24 — Rozelle — Bridge Hotel

Nov. 6 — Adelaide — Hindley Street Music Hall

Mick Jagger has said he “can’t wait” to take The Rolling Stones back on the road, though fans shouldn’t expect an imminent announcement.

Speaking on BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years alongside Ronnie Wood, Jagger was asked whether the Stones would ever tour again. “I’d love to go on tour, I can’t wait,” he said, before tempering expectations. “I don’t think it’s going to be this year. But hopefully it’s going to be as soon as possible.”

The comments come after the band scrapped plans for a U.K. and European stadium tour in 2026 in late 2025, with reports that Keith Richards was unable to “commit” to the run. Richards has since hinted at a potential return to the road in 2027, and Jagger’s latest remarks add weight to that possibility.

The interview arrives ahead of the band’s 25th studio album Foreign Tongues, due July 10 via Polydor/Universal Music. The record was made in less than a month at Metropolis Studios in West London with producer Andrew Watt — who also helmed 2024’s Hackney Diamonds — and features guest appearances from Paul McCartney, The Cure‘s Robert Smith, Steve Winwood and the late Charlie Watts.

Jagger revealed the Robert Smith collaboration came about by chance at an industry event. “He was standing there with his back to me and this long gown on and when he turned around, he was covered in lipstick,” Jagger said. “And I said, ‘You’re Robert Smith of The Cure.’ He said, ‘Yeah, we’ve never met.’ And I said, ‘While you’re here, you better go and do something.’ That’s how collaborations work sometimes.”

Foreign Tongues includes previously released tracks “Rough and Twisted” and “In the Stars,” as well as a cover of the late Amy Winehouse‘s “You Know I’m No Good.” The full tracklist was revealed earlier this month with song titles appearing on streaming devices listed in various foreign languages.

Hackney Diamonds debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in 2024 — the band’s highest chart position in the U.S. since Voodoo Lounge reached No. 2 in 1994.

Massive Attack will return to Australia for their first headline shows since 2010, with three arena dates confirmed for August in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

The Bristol collective — led by Robert “3D” Del Naja and Grant “Daddy G” Marshall — will play Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Aug. 6, Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Aug. 9 and Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Aug. 11.

The shows are presented by Frontier Touring and mark the band’s first Australian dates in 16 years. Frontier Members presale opens Thursday, June 4 at 2 p.m. local time, with general on sale from Friday, June 5 at 3 p.m. local time via frontiertouring.com/massiveattack.

The announcement arrives alongside a newly released collaboration with Tom Waits, “Boots on the Ground,” the first new Massive Attack material in some time and a clear signal that the group remains artistically active more than three decades after forming as part of Bristol’s Wild Bunch sound system collective.

Few bands carry Massive Attack’s weight of influence. Their 1991 debut Blue Lines — frequently cited as the record that invented trip-hop — peaked at No. 13 on the UK Albums Chart and has since been named one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Their third album Mezzanine (1998) topped the UK Albums Chart and produced “Teardrop,” which later became globally recognisable as the theme for the American television drama House, and “Angel,” both now considered landmark recordings of the era. Mezzanine peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard 200 — their strongest U.S. chart showing — and has sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide.

Their fourth album 100th Window (2003) also topped the UK Albums Chart, giving the collective two U.K. No. 1 albums. Heligoland, their fifth and most recent studio album, followed in 2010 — the same year as their last Australian visit — and debuted at No. 2 on the U.K. Albums Chart.

Massive Attack’s live shows have long been considered some of the most visually and sonically immersive experiences in music, incorporating large-scale political messaging, bespoke audio-visual systems and collaborations with artists including Adam Curtis, United Visual Artists and Robert Del Naja’s own visual art practice.

Massive Attack — Australia 2026

Aug. 6 — Brisbane, QLD — Brisbane Entertainment Centre

Aug. 9 — Sydney, NSW — Qudos Bank Arena

Aug. 11 — Melbourne, VIC — Rod Laver Arena