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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

From Olivia Rodrigo to Disney and Billionaire Boys Club, Casetify continues to secure epic collaborations. The company’s first ever Be@rbrick x Casetify collaboration inspired by the Japanese company Medicom Toy’s uber-popular toy art will be available for preorder on Monday (Jan. 24) at 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET.

The lineup, which features phone cases for iPhone and Android, limited-edition cases for Airpods and more, officially goes live on Tuesday (Jan. 25) at noon PT/3 p.m. ET.

If this collection proves to be as popular as the others, then it won’t be around for very long. Featured in the collection are Be@rbrick x Casetify 10th anniversary collectible figures for your phone or your display case. The figurines are available in 100% (2-inches tall) and 4o0% (11 inches). You can sign up for the waitlist to get your hands on one — while they’re still available. Customers will get a 10 percent discount with purchase of one of the Be@rbrick figures (limit one per customer) but only the Casetify x Be@rbrick phone cases and accessories will be discounted not the figurine itself.

This limited collection includes Bearbrick x Castefiy 10th Anniversary Monogram phone case for iPhones and Samsung Galaxy 20 and 21 phones which retail for $60 and $65. Also in the collection, monogram AirPods and AirPods Pro cases ($35), and a monogram watch band for Apple Watch ($40).

Both brands have a reputation for creating unique, artistically creative items. Casetify started out with custom phone cases. The company has evolved into the world’s fastest growing global tech accessories company. Be@rbrick’s rare creations can cost thousands of dollars each but one of the most expensive Be@rbicks ever sold was a Chanel design that fetched $30,000.

Casetify announced the Be@rbick collaboration in early January. See photos below.

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Cardi B’s Reebok capsule collection is working its way into network TV.

One of the jackets from the Bronx rapper’s latest partnership with the shoe brand was spotted on an episode of ABC’s hit comedy series Abbott Elementary. The hilarious series — starring Quinta Bronson, Tyler James Williams, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James, Chris Perfetti and Lisa Ann Walter — follows a group of teachers at an underfunded, fictional public school in Philadelphia (stream episodes on Hulu).

The jacket in question was a Cardi B Woven Satin Jacket in Triathlon Red, which retails for $85 and is available in x-small, small and medium (while supplies last). The jacket also comes in black, Dusty Rose and Hunter Green the latter of which is currently out of stock.

Made in an eye-popping Vector design, this comfortably oversized cropped, full-zip jacket features bungee-adjustable ruching sleeves with a full zipper and stand-up collar. The full look includes a pair of matching track pants ($65).

Cardi’s “Let Me Be…In My World” capsule, the second chapter in her partnership with Reebok, dropped last summer. The collection is inspired by her New York City roots and includes Reebok’s Classic Leather Women’s sneakers in a variety of colors. Cardi worked closely with Reebok’s design team to come up with every piece in the line.

“I was so happy to see the love for my first Reebok apparel collection so I’m really excited to introduce this one,” she said at the time. “This NYC-inspired collection features some of my favorite pieces to wear—from corsets to tracksuits to fly kicks, all inspired by my time and love of New York.”

In other Cardi news, the mother of two won a major victory in court on Monday (Jan. 24). A federal jury awarded the 29-year-old artist $1.25 million in a federal defamation lawsuit against YouTuber Tasha K (real name: Latasha Kebe).

Cardi, born Belcalis Almánzar, initially sued Kebe in 2019 over allegations made in a series of videos and social media posts.

Neil Young wants his music pulled from Spotify, citing the spread of vaccine misinformation on the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast as the cause.

“They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” Young wrote in an open letter to his management team and record label posted to his Neil Young Archives website, according to Rolling Stone. The post has since been removed. “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform.”

Rogan, who signed a $100 million deal in May 2020 giving Spotify exclusive rights to — but not ownership of — his hugely popular podcast, has come under fire for spreading misinformation on his show about COVID-19 and vaccines. In addition to broadcasting his own vaccine-skeptical views, Rogan has hosted firebrands including Dr. Robert Malone, an immunologist who has drawn comparisons between the COVID-19 vaccine drive in the U.S. with the rise of the Nazi party in Germany, among other inflammatory remarks.

“I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them. Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule,” Young wrote, according to Rolling Stone. Young addressed his letter to his manager Frank Gironda as well as Tom Corson, the co-chairman and chief operating officer of Warner Records, which releases Young’s music through its Reprise Records imprint.

“With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE, which is hosted exclusively on Spotify, is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence,” Young continued. “Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy.”

Spotify has removed controversial content from the platform in the past. In 2017, the company took down music from multiple groups that were deemed racist “hate bands” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The service subsequently announced a new policy around “hateful conduct,” which led the streamer to remove the music of R. Kelly, XXXTentacion and Tay-K from its editorial and algorithmic owned and operated playlists. But the company walked back that contentious policy three weeks later, stating in a blog post that the language in the provision was “too vague” and “created confusion and concern.”

Spotify, Warner Records and Gironda did not respond to Billboard’s request for comment by press time.

Earlier this month, a group of 270 doctors, scientists, professors and other medical professionals also expressed concern over Rogan’s platforming of misinformation around COVID-19. In an open letter to Spotify, the signees asked the streaming service to implement a misinformation policy as a means of combatting claims made by Rogan and his guests. Among other comments, they noted that Rogan has discouraged young people from receiving the vaccine, incorrectly claimed that mRNA vaccines are “gene therapy” and promoted the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19, contrary to FDA warnings against using the drug to treat the virus.

Rogan’s tenure with Spotify has been rocky from the start. On Sept. 2, 2020, the company’s shares plummeted nearly 9% after it was reported that episodes featuring right-wing personalities were removed from the podcast’s back catalog prior to its debut on the service. Despite this purge, the company later came under fire with some of its employees over its decision to make Rogan episodes with “transphobic content” available to stream, leading to a series of internal discussions in which founder Daniel Ek reportedly defended the company’s decision not to remove the controversial episodes.

Beyond Rogan, Spotify has had other recent public relations issues. In November, Ek spurred a slowly growing “boycott Spotify” movement after announcing a $114 million investment in Helsing, a European security/defense technology startup that manufactures artificial-intelligence software to “keep liberal democracies from harm.”

As for Young, this isn’t his first tangle with the streaming service. In 2015, the singer-songwriter removed his music from Spotify — along with Apple Music and other subscription streaming services — after stating that he felt the audio quality of the streamers was too low. His music reappeared on the platforms the following year.

At the time of publishing, Young’s music was still available on Spotify.

Don’t mess with Taylor Swift and her star-studded friends.

Following Damon Albarn‘s Los Angeles Times interview, in which he claimed that Swift “doesn’t write her own songs,” a number of celebrities have come to her defense.

Her Folklore and Evermore collaborators, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, were quick to jump on Twitter to comment on how they’re the ones who have actually seen Swift’s songwriting process firsthand — not Albarn.

“i’ve never met damon albarn and he’s never been to my studio but apparently he knows more than the rest of us about all those songs taylor writes and brings in. herb,” Antonoff tweeted on Monday (Jan. 24).

Not sure why you @Damonalbarn would try to discredit Taylor’s brilliant songwriting but as someone who has gotten to press record around her …” Dessner mirrored. “Your statements couldn’t be further from the truth…you’re obviously completely clueless as to her actual writing and work process.”

Their tweets came after Swift herself responded to Albarn, tweeting, “I write ALL of my own songs,” she wrote. “Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really f—ed up to try and discredit my writing. WOW.”

“I totally agree with you,” Albarn tweeted in response to Swift’s remarks. “I had a conversation about songwriting and sadly it was reduced to clickbait. I apologise unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting. I hope you understand.”

Antonoff and Dessner aren’t the only stars who took to Twitter to vouch for Swift’s impressive songwriting ability. Maisie Peters, Richard Marx and even the Empire State Building’s official account shared words of support for the 11-time Grammy winner.

See below.

Rihanna seamlessly blended casual with chic for a recent night out with boyfriend A$AP Rocky.

The A-list duo stepped out in New York City over the weekend, as RiRi rocked an oversized jersey as a dress, topped with a bright red puffer coat. She completed the look with a matching red lip, a baseball cap, glittery earrings crystal-embellished stilettos.

Rocky opted for a furry, beige jacket over a grey-graphic tee, and stayed warm with a printed white beanie and red gloves.

After months of rumors of a romance between the superstar duo, A$AP Rocky confirmed in an interview with GQ in May 2021 that he’s dating Rihanna, and called her “the love of my life.”

Rocky — whom the piece noted was “beaming like a teenager” when the “Diamonds” singer’s name came up — was excited to break the news, but then clammed up when asked to give a timeline of their relationship. Whispers about the pair started in 2013, when the rapper opened up for Rihanna on her Diamonds world tour, and when the magazine asked what it feels like to be in a committed relationship, Rocky opened up a bit more.

“So much better,” he said. “So much better when you got The One. She amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones … I think when you know, you know. She’s The One.”

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