A yellow-browed sparrowbird gently swoops into Caity Baser’s peripheral vision, perching on a wooden fence. At the sight of the small creature, the Southampton-raised singer-songwriter loses her train of thought, lifting a manicured finger in its direction and catching her breath. “Sorry, I need to look at this bird instead for a moment,” she says. “Isn’t it just beautiful?”

On the brink of releasing her sumptuous new EP There I Said It (due August 22 via Capitol U.K.), the 23-year-old is finding levity in the little things: nature-spotting to cycling down the Thames on a Lime bike, feeling the sun on her face as she listens to her latest project “on repeat.” For Baser, this past year has been a learning experience, a chance to reacquaint herself with her inner child in the midst of exhaustion. “I love animals,” she says. “I love the sea. In another life, I’d be working and swimming with sharks or whales.”

Sat on a picnic bench in a small central London green space, Baser is unmissable with her big, bright blonde curls and rainbow-accented nails. “Everyone expects me to be this man-eating, confident person, but I am actually quite sensitive,” she tells Billboard U.K., taking delivery of a large glass of Coca Cola. “That’s the side of me that I’m trying to show the world now.”

Merely a year ago, Baser was operating as a master of misdirection – a young, headstrong songwriter pulling pranks to cover just how hard she was working. As her status began to rise, her TikTok feed became a headspinning melange of jokes and dance challenges, featuring clips of her serenading unknowing members of the public with her songs on the Tube or sharing personal life updates with her audience via many a Taco Bell mukbang video.

Throughout “pretty much all of 2023 and early 2024”, Baser says she lived an unrelenting Groundhog Day existence of “wake up, [make social media] content, interview, content, nap, content, [put on] make-up, content”. This approach, though repetitive and full-on, led to her becoming a commanding new force in British pop. Last year, Baser’s online prominence metamorphosed into a BRIT Rising Star nomination, alongside Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds slots and a sold-out headline tour in the spring.

Her 13-track Still Learning mixtape peaked at No. 7 on the Official U.K. Album Charts in March 2024 – an assured effort, with ripe emotions bubbling beneath pogoing melodies and sassy, “I-don’t-need-you” one-liners. As its verses analyzed Baser’s own destructive behaviors as well as her wins, the collection considerably evolved the radio-ready precision of her Thanks For Nothing, See You Never EP, released a year prior. This blizzard of activity expanded further with dance-pop collaborations with the likes of Joel Corry and Alcemist, as well as an e.l.f Cosmetics campaign.

Baser’s previous artist image, defined by Cyberdog-style rave dresses and fluffy hats, screamed gaudy, explosive, Y2K-inspired maximalism. It wasn’t the product of trend-chasing A&R, she says, but a reflection of how she is “a crazy and loud person, 90% of the time.” There I Said It zooms in on that other, softer side: an emphatic paradigm shift for Baser in sound and aesthetic, the collection has allowed her to find artistic clarity when it comes to sharing her pain.

“I used to feel a bit like a robot. I was going into the studio to make songs for TikTok instead of making songs for me,” she says. “Music became a chore, which is something that I never, ever wanted it to be. I avoided the studio. I would be crying, feeling like nobody understood me.” She talks earnestly with enthusiasm, and at galloping speed. “But then I went on holiday and realized I hadn’t stopped working for two years straight. I needed time to be a human.”

There I Said It portrays Baser as a songwriter attuned to both the ugliness of the world outside and the more fragile self within. She has been through some incredibly painful times, and fully expects to experience more, but now she is open and unafraid to talk about any of them in her music. 

Over two exceedingly productive weeks in late 2024, Baser conceived a conceptual deep-dive into her family history and the ghosts from her past, interwoven with dreamlike nods to big band classics. A far cry from the zippy pop fireworks of old, stomping lead single “Watch That Girl (She’s Gonna Say It)” gives her occasion to lay out a manifesto for the EP over a brassy arrangement: “There’s a voice in me, I’ve got to make it loud,” she sings.

“I had a series of particular scenarios I wanted to speak about,” she explains. “I had most of the song titles ready before I’d even started working on them – I literally had everything!” Baser kickstarted the creative process by bringing a two-hour presentation to alt-pop duo Oh Wonder (husband-wife team Anthony and Josephine Vander West), her collaborators for the EP, replete with sprawling mind-maps of her desired lyrical themes and reference points. 

“I feel like it’s easier to tell people you don’t know about your trauma,” Baser says of her earliest sessions with Antony and Josephine. The pair, whose reflective 2015 self-titled debut was a Tumblr mainstay during the platform’s peak, encouraged Baser to “let it all out” in the studio. 

The EP features songs about her own experiences of assault (“Drank Me Dry,”), grief (“Good Man,” an ode to Baser’s late grandfather) and knotty familial ties (“The Story Of Her”). Another track, “As I Am”, finds Baser rhapsodising about how a new relationship is nourishing her day-to-day routine; she met her partner when he played her ‘boyfriend’ in one of her earliest music videos. 

Today, she is reluctant to speak further on some of the EP’s more devastating lyrical content. But Baser is effusive as she explains how she allows herself a little pride in the way she has built and maintained a new vision for her output. “I finally found what I wanted to say in my music,” she says. “It has felt like a nice ‘f–k you’ to some situations I have been through.

“When I made music before, I’d be obsessed with it for a week and then I’d be like, ‘Ew’. Some of it was so embarrassing,” she continues. “But with my new EP, I listen to it all the time: when I’m cleaning up [my flat], I practice singing it. That has been so rewarding for me.”

The clouds truly began to part, however, when Antony and Josephine gave Baser some advice that would go on to change the course of her career. “I was going through a difficult time with my management, and they were like, ‘The best thing we ever did was sack our first manager, despite it being difficult’,” Baser recalls. “And then we all went out for dinner one night, and I poured my heart out about how I was struggling, and they gave me the confidence to put that meeting in and end things.”

In the following days, Baser felt “relieved but terrified” about her future. As she began to put the finishing touches on There I Said It, she started to archive her old Instagram posts and connect with a new creative team. Her recent social media clips are more thoughtful, slower-paced and introspective, as she shares her hopes and fears à la the viral A View, From A Bridge page.

By setting the intention to draw boundaries in her work, Baser has felt a renewed sense of lightness within herself. When filming a video for recent single “Running From Myself” in Lanzarote, she was encouraged to run through a busy market and “cause chaos”. Having been emotionally scarred by previously “humiliating” herself in the name of viral content, Baser rejected the proposal – and didn’t receive any pushback from the production crew. “It felt amazing. My voice was being heard, finally,” she affirms.

Baser admits that, at times, she still feels hemmed in by the expectations of the wider industry or her fanbase, who first connected with her cool relatability. She alludes to streams of her newer material being less than expected – “nobody right now is really getting it, it’s not reaching people” – but says she firmly believes in the depth of the music she is putting out there.

“I’m having a bit of a moment this week where I just think, like, ‘What is the fucking point?’,” she says, shortly before our time draws to a close. “I’ve made the most amazing music, and nobody cares right now. But then again, conversations like this really give me kick up the ass, because I remember that I don’t want to ever stop doing music.” 

The day after we meet, Baser will go on to post a video via Instagram Stories to her 145,000-strong following, sharing her delight over owning a new shark-themed colouring book. Wide-eyed and laughing, her unbridled glee over something so simple speaks to the message at the core of “Beautiful Girl,” the heart-rending closer of There I Said It – a paean to acknowledging the passions and lessons from one’s youth to create a more positive future.

Over gentle strings, Baser extends a hand to her younger self, and celebrates how she has survived everything life has thrown her way. She “wore cute, tiny little bunches in her hair and a sports jersey,” Baser says, when asked to describe the girl she is singing to on the track. “And you know what? She was probably always chasing the birds in her garden.”

Recent Billboard cover star Chris Stapleton has found his way to Sesame Street.

The 11-time Grammy winner shared a song about the powerful impact music can have in helping people connect on a new episode of the beloved children’s show, which finds him joined in song by Muppets Abby, Bert, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Ernie and Grover.

In a clip from the new episode, Stapleton, in his signature hat and with his well-worn guitar, gets a warm introduction to the viewing audience from Elmo. “He’s teaching us all about music and friends,” adds Abby.

“That’s right, Abby,” Stapleton says before plucking out a few guitar notes and joining them in singing “You’ve Got a Friend in Music.”

“Music helps you feel/ Feelings true and real,” they sing, and as the song draws to a close, the Muppets praise Stapleton for the song, as he winks at the camera, smiles, and simply replies, “Thank you.”

Stapleton’s appearance makes him the latest in a long line of country artists who have appeared on the enduring show over the years, including Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill,and Thomas Rhett. Sesame Street debuted on Nov. 10, 1969, and has aired in more than 120 countries. It’s estimated that more than 80 million Americans have watched Sesame Street.

This is just Stapleton’s latest collaboration, though. The singer recently teamed with Miranda Lambert to release the duet “A Song to Sing.”

Stapleton is currently on the road on his All-American Road Show, with upcoming shows in Belmont Park, N.Y., and two shows at Madison Square Garden.

Watch the Sesame Street clip featuring Stapleton below:

A week after releasing his surprise album, Mixteip, J Balvin stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to talk about his new project—and perform one of its standout tracks. 

On Thursday (July 24), the Colombian superstar sat down with Fallon to discuss the 10-track album, where he not only pays homage to the old-school reggaetón, but also delivers his signature progressive and experimental side.  

“It’s a mixtape, like the old days. You go to the streets and sell it,” he said of the set’s concept during the late-night conversation. “At least that was my first approach to mixtapes when I came to the United States. People selling the CDs in the streets, so I started doing the same when I was here hustling to make reggaetón big in the world. It gives me that nostalgia.”

In addition, Balvin was joined by Puerto Rican icon Gilberto Santa Rosa for the TV debut performance of their collaboration, “Misterio”—a seductive masterpiece that goes from a smooth reaggetón to an exhilarating salsa melody.

“What an honor to be with a legend,” Balvin expressed on Instagram when he announced the TV appearance earlier this week. “El Caballero de la Salsa bringing generations together for the first time on Fallon Tonight. Colombia and Puerto Rico in the house!”

Santa Rosa responded with: “The privilege is mine, and I’m truly honored and grateful for your invitation, J Balvin. I wholeheartedly appreciate this opportunity. We’ll be there with Mr. Jimmy Fallon, blending urbano and salsa, and bringing that Latin flavor!”

Mixteip, which Balvin told fans on social media are “songs I had on my iPod and now are going to your playlist,” follows the release of his sixth studio album, Rayo, released last August and which debuted on the Top Latin Albums chart at No. 13.

Watch the interview and performance below:

Legendary blues and rock label Chess Records will celebrate its 75^th anniversary with a reissue campaign that begins in October with the release of albums by two blues music pioneers: Muddy Waters’ The Best of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf’s Moanin’ in the Moonlight.

The monthly series will continue with two classic albums reissued per month. Coming up through the end of the year will be Chuck Berry’s Berry On Top, which features classics “Johnny B. Goode” and “Roll Over Beethoven,” and Etta James’ At Last, both on Nov. 21; and Little Walter’s The Best of Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II’s The Real Folk Blues, both on Dec. 21. More titles will roll out in 2026. Each title will be remastered from the original analog tapes and cut to lacquer by Grammy-nominated mastering engineer Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab at Quality Record Pressing. Each release will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl and feature gatefold jackets.

“Chess Records didn’t just help birth rock & roll — it gave voice to the legends who defined it,” said Steve Berman, vice chairman of Interscope Capitol, in a statement. “This 75th anniversary series honors that legacy by bringing these foundational recordings back to life, cut with extraordinary care directly from the original masters. These releases are a gift to lifelong fans and a revelation for new listeners discovering the roots of modern music.”

Founded by Leonard and Phil Chess in Chicago in 1950, the influential label released what many consider the first rock and roll record, 1951’s “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats. It continued to roll out blues, R&B, soul and rock music that laid the cornerstones for American music.

After a nearly 20-year run, the Chess brothers sold the label to General Recorded Tape in 1969. After changing hands again to All Platinum Records in the mid-’70s, the Chess masters were ultimately acquired by MCA Records in 1986, which was bought by what became Universal Music Group in 1995.

Other artists on the label included John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Willie Dixon and Big Bill Broonzy.

“Chess Records electrified the sound of American music,” said Bruce Resnikoff, president/CEO of UMG’s catalog division, UMe, on the cultural impact of the label. “The legendary rhythm and blues label released albums from Muddy Waters to Howlin’ Wolf to Etta James, becoming one of the most influential labels in history. These new albums showcase incredible artists and their legacy on peerless audiophile quality vinyl releases.”

A June 2008 fire on the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood damaged the archives for a number of masters of UMG-owned recordings, but the destruction turned out to not be as extensive as the New York Times story originally reported and did not affect plans for 75^th anniversary Chess project. As Resnikoff tells Billboard, the diligent work of preserving Chess’s masters has been a thorough, ongoing project for decades.

“The numerous false and damaging claims contained within the since debunked New York Times Magazine article included mentions of “destroyed Chess masters” – masters which either remain in UMG’s archive today or that were never in UMG’s possession to begin with,” Resnikoff says. “The Chess Records history has been extensively reported over the years, and it is well documented that in the early Seventies, when the label was sold and the studio shut down, many of its master tapes were discarded or lost. Thanks to UMG having acquired former Chess licensees in the U.K. and Europe, every single LP in the Chess/Acoustic Sounds series has been painstakingly tracked down, meticulously restored and cut either from the original U.S. master tapes, or from the licensee analog tapes which were created at the same time as the original recordings. As a direct result of the work of UMG’s archivists, these recording are preserved for generations to come.”

Audiophiles and collectors can pre-order the October releases here.