It’s well past midnight at New York’s Daylight Studio, and Cardi B is fighting to stay awake. Five hours into her Billboard photo shoot, a slight wardrobe malfunction with her black dress is prompting a quick timeout. “S–t, I got a wedgie,” she groans, dropping into her seat with a smirk. But like a true New Yorker, she toughs it out — chewing ice and cracking jokes like she’s headlining her own late-night set.

Clutching a Chick-fil-A cup, she rattles off a story about the fast-food chain botching her order. Then she seamlessly swerves into her recent social media spat with WWE’s Naomi. A couple of days earlier, Cardi had hosted SummerSlam at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium — and in the run-up to the event, she’d threatened on X to shave Naomi’s head and use her hair as a wig. “I just be talking s–t because I know these b–ches can really fight,” she gags, eyes gleaming.

Cardi’s jokes and swagger never clock out. But behind the antics, she’s focused — and eager to reassert her hip-hop dominance. Seven years after her Grammy Award-winning, multiplatinum-selling, culture-shifting debut, Invasion of Privacy, she’s finally ready to launch her next act with her long-awaited second album, Am I the Drama?

“I’m really one of those artists that people ask for their albums the most every year,” Cardi says matter-of-factly. “I wouldn’t be confident if nobody asked me for my s–t. Imagine nobody asking for an album of yours? Imagine nobody asking for your music? That’s why I’m so confident.”

Read Cardi B’s full Billboard cover story here.

Following Tony Harlow’s exit as Warner Music U.K. chief executive, the label has announced a shakeup of its senior leadership team on Wednesday (Sep. 3).

The move will see several U.K. executives from Warner Records and Atlantic Records join the global leadership team of their U.S. counterparts and collaborate more closely across A&R and marketing strategies.

Ed Howard and Briony Turner, co-presidents of Atlantic U.K. will join the global leadership team of Atlantic Music Group (AMG); they will report directly to AMG CEO Elliot Grainge.

Joe Kentish, president of Warner Records and Parlophone Label Group in the U.K. and report to Warner Records Group chairman & CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and chairman & COO Tom Corson. 

Warner Music U.K.’s other teams will be overseen by Simon Robson, president, EMEA, Recorded Music, WMG’s most senior recorded music leader in the U.K., in partnership with Isabel Garvey, chief operations officer of Warner Music U.K. 

The move brings U.K. leaders closer to the global leadership team in the hope of boosting U.K. talent in the U.S. and on the global stage. Warner has seen success in recent years with Charli xcx (Atlantic Records) with her 2024 campaign for Brat, and Dua Lipa, who headlined Glastonbury last summer and has embarked on a North American headline tour.

The news comes after Tuesday’s (Sep. 2) announcement that Harlow would step down from his role after six years. In an internal announcement to staff, he described the move as “bittersweet” and will leave the role in October.

Robert Kyncl, chief executive of WMG, says: “The U.K. is home to some of our biggest artists and most exciting emerging talents, who are helping shape culture around the world. It’s also a hugely influential ignition point for global stars who are growing their fanbases. This strategic move will put more firepower behind British artists, while strengthening the UK’s place in our ecosystem, as one of our highest priority markets. Above all, both our UK and US teams will be able to better mirror the way music moves in the world, further strengthening WMG’s collective impact and competitive edge.”

MTV is airing a new version of the New Radicals’ anthemic 1998 hit “You Get What You Give” as a promo for the 2025 VMAs. In the new version, original members Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois trade vocals with New Zealand singer-songwriter Benee (“Supalonely”).

The promo depicts various pop culture personalities passing the VMAs’ signature Moonperson trophy to one another. The lineup includes Paris Hilton, Steven Tyler, Nikki Glaser, Ciara, CBS Mornings’ Vlad Duthiers and LL COOL J. LL is slated to host this year’s VMAs on Sunday, Sept. 7. Hilton, Glaser and Ciara are set to present.

The promo was the brainchild of Van Toffler, Gunpowder & Sky CEO, who is producing this year’s show. This marks Toffler’s return to the show following a decadelong absence.

“Like a lot of my unrealistic ideas that hit at 3 a.m., I woke up with Gregg’s chorus in my head, called him at a ridiculous hour, and somehow he didn’t hang up,” Toffler said in a statement. “Now Benee’s belting with the New Rads as the VMA anthem – and if the 90s, 2000s, and 2020s can collide in one campaign, it’s proof that even decades later, music still finds new ways to connect.”

The talent involved were also enthused about the collaboration.

“Now is a bonkers time in the world, nothing seems real?!,” Alexander and Brisebois said in a statement. “So, when Video Music Awards visionary Van Toffler rang a few months ago asking if New Radicals would record a ‘Music in You’ duet with a future superstar, we thought we were hallucinating. … So here’s ‘Supalonely’ supastar BENEE with New Rads howling ‘You Got the Music in You!’ to honor Van’s demand. We had a blast making it and we hope you enjoy!”

“You Get What You Give” made the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1999 even though it wasn’t released as a commercial single. It reached No. 30 on Radio Songs and went top 15 on Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay.

New Radicals released only one album, 1998’s Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too. Alexander disbanded the group in mid-1999 to focus on writing and producing songs for other artists. Alexander and Brisebois’ songwriting partnership continued, with the two receiving an Oscar nomination for best original song in 2015 for their song “Lost Stars” from the film Begin Again.

Benee’s “Supalonely,” which featured Gus Dapperton, cracked the Hot 100 in early 2019.

“I was so stoked to be asked to be a part of the project with New Radicals,” Benee said. “It was really cool working with Gregg and Danielle. They are incredibly talented songwriters, and it feels really special to be a part of reworking such an iconic song.”

Hosted by LL COOL J, the VMAs are set to air live coast-to-coast from New York’s UBS Arena on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m., ET/5 p.m., PT on CBS, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S. This year’s VMAs will be the first to air on CBS.

Mariah Carey will receive this year’s Video Vanguard Award and will perform a career-spanning medley of hits. Busta Rhymes will receive the MTV VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award, while Ricky Martin will be honored with the inaugural Latin Icon Award.

MTV has also revealed details about the one-hour pre-show. Hosted by Nessa and Kevan Kenney with special performers KATSEYE, the pre-show airs live Sunday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m., PT on MTV and BET, BET Her, Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land and VH1.

Also, the VMAs Extended Play Stage moves in-show for the first time, spotlighting a trio of first-time VMA nominees: Bailey Zimmerman feat. The Kid LAROI, Lola Young and Megan Moroney.

Lady Gaga leads the pack at this year’s awards with 12 nominations, followed closely by her “Die With a Smile” collaborator Bruno Mars with 11. Other top contenders include Kendrick Lamar (10), Sabrina Carpenter (nine), ROSÉ (eight), Ariana Grande and The Weeknd (seven each), Billie Eilish and Tate McRae (six each), Charli xcx (five), and Alex Warren, Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus and Morgan Wallen (four each).

Other key players on the 2025 VMAs team are executive producers Bruce Gillmer, Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic, and Barb Bialkowski. Alicia Portugal is co-executive producer. Jackie Barba is executive in charge of production. Wendy Plaut is executive in charge of celebrity talent. Lisa Lauricella is executive in charge of music talent.

Ed Sheeran’s huge 2025 continues to build momentum as he expands his ongoing world tour with additional U.K. and European dates scheduled for the end of the year.

As Sheeran prepares to unveil his eighth studio album Play next week (Sept. 12), the singer-songwriter has shared that he will take his live show to select arenas in December. The five-date tour will begin at Zenith in Paris on Dec. 1, before heading to Munich, Coventry, Manchester and Dublin over the following week. See the full schedule below.

Tickets for the newly-announced dates will be available through an artist presale on Sept. 9 at 10 a.m. (BST), for which fans can register via Sheeran’s website. General on-sale begins Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. (BST). 

In an Instagram post announcing the mini-tour, Sheeran said: “These shows will be more intimate than a stadium show, obvz [sic], but still will be incredible. I love playing these venues so much.” 

The shows will serve as a warm-up for his forthcoming 2026 Australia and New Zealand Loop stadium tour, which kicks off in Auckland on Jan. 16. Details of what the Loop tour will entail are currently vague, though Sheeran previously mentioned on social media that it will feature a fresh production set-up. “New stage, new tricks, new set up, new songs and all the classics added in,” he said in July.

In the build up to the release of Play, Sheeran has toured Europe extensively with his Mathematics tour, with a summer trek that included a trio of homecoming shows at Portman Road, home to his beloved soccer team Ipswich Town F.C.

Back in April, he shared the album’s lively lead single “Azizam,” which hit No. 3 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart. At the time, he described Play as “a real rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish,” adding that the purpose of the new record was for him “to create joy and technicolour.”

According to the Official Charts Company, Sheeran has landed 43 top 10 singles to date, including recent hit Sapphire (peaking at No. 5) His songs have spent a combined 323 weeks – equivalent to six years – in the U.K. top 10 since his major label debut “The A Team” in 2011. 

Ed Sheeran 2025 U.K. and Europe tour dates: