Benson Boone has offered up a cover of Sam Fender’s “Seventeen Going Under” at Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival after the U.K. artist was forced to pull out of the event.

Fender had been scheduled to headline the July 15 edition of the event, performing on a bill that also included Boone and Mark Ambor. However, he announced earlier this month (July 4) that he would be unable to perform after being diagnosed with a “haemorrhage on one of [his] vocal cords” and advised to rest for two weeks.

“This is incredibly frustrating as I have been so careful with my vocal health and this year so far has been the best of my career,” he wrote. “If I were to play at these next shows I would risk causing lasting damage to my vocal cords.”

While no replacement act stepped in to fill Fender’s shoes, Boone instead was ultimately relegated to headliner status. “He’s an artist that I look up to and an artist I think is incredibly talented, but did anyone come here to see Sam Fender today?” he asked the crowd.

As Boone continued, he explained that he was “terrified” of the prospect of taking over Fender’s slot, and had been “expecting a bunch of angry people” instead of adoring fans.

However, to appease those who had anticipated Fender’s presence, Boone paid tribute to the absent artist by offering up a rendition of the 2021 single “Seventeen Going Under.”

“I really hope that the people who came to see Sam today can get just five per cent out of this song,” he explained. “It’s a beautiful song.”

Fender’s most recent album, People Watching, was released in February and served as the follow-up to Seventeen Going Under. However, its release was also marred by a hemorrhaging of his vocal cord, which had caused Fender to cancel a handful of shows months earlier.

“I’ve had two separate ENT doctors say if I perform tonight I’m risking lasting damage to my voice and I have been advised to be on vocal rest and not use my voice for a prolonged length of time until it heals,” Fender told fans on Dec. 17.

Fender is currently scheduled to return to the stage on Aug. 8, with a headline performance at Denmark’s Syd For Solen festival.

Welsh indie rock outfit Los Campesinos! have detailed how they turned down a lucrative payday from Airbnb in order to maintain their support of pro-Palestinian causes.

The group – who have released seven albums across their 19-year history – took to social media on Tuesday to explain the reasoning behind their decision.

“In April we declined an offer of $60,000 to license a song of ours to an Airbnb commercial,” they wrote. “Airbnb continues to make money from stolen Palestinian land and contributes to the housing crisis worldwide. We do not wish to promote or profit from this.

“Free Palestine. Eat the Rich.”

The group’s accusations toward Airbnb follow on from reporting by The Guardian in February which claimed that both Airbnb and Booking.com had advertised more than 700 rooms in illegal Israeli settlements – with 350 of them available on Airbnb.

“We’re sharing this because we have found similar acts of solidarity and protest by our peers to be inspiring,” Los Campesinos! added in a follow-up post. “Every time an artist takes a principled stance it makes it easier for the next artist to do the same ✊🏻.”

The pro-Palestinian stance taken by Los Campesinos! echoes high-profile protests by artists such as Kneecap and Bob Vylan in recent months, which have both generated massive amounts of support and backlash.

In April, Kneecap made global headlines following their appearance at the Coachella festival where they projected strong anti-Israel sentiments during their set – sentiments which they had claimed were censored during their first weekend appearance.

“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” the projected messages read. “It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.”

In late June, Kneecap also performed at England’s Glastonbury Festival, sharing a bill with Bob Vylan – which comprises Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan.

Bobby sparked outrage during the show as he led the audience in a chant of “death, death to the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces).” He also called for a “free Palestine” and said that “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Kneecap, meanwhile, led a “F— Keir Starmer chant,” after the U.K. prime minister said it was “not appropriate” to be playing the festival amidst Mo Chara’s ongoing terror case.

Reports followed that Avon and Somerset Police had launched a criminal investigation into the sets of both artists following public backlash and political scrutiny over remarks made during their respective performances.

“[Bob Vylan’s] chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” a spokesperson for the festival later noted.

“Regardless of how it was said, calling for an end to the slaughter of innocents is never wrong,” Bobby Vylan said in his own video statement, “This anger is not directed at [Israeli] civilians.”

UPDATE (July 15): An arrest has been made in the murders of Robin Kaye — who worked as a music supervisor on American Idol for 15 seasons — and her husband, Thomas Deluca, who were found dead in their Encino, Calif., home on Monday (July 14), according to reports from Deadline and TMZ.

A representative for the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to Billboard that Raymond Boodarian, 22, had been arrested for a double murder. Like the victims, he lived in Encino, a suburb of Los Angeles.

PREVIOUSLY: Robin Kaye, who worked as a music supervisor on American Idol for 15 seasons, and her husband Thomas Deluca were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Monday (July 14), according to reports from Deadline and TMZ.

Kaye and Deluca, both 70, were reportedly found dead in separate rooms of their home from apparent gunshot wounds. The reports state that authorities discovered the bodies while doing a welfare check on the household Monday.

TMZ also claims that police entered Kaye’s house by smashing a window after spotting blood at the entrance. Four days prior, police had been called to the same residence to check out reports of an unidentified suspect that neighbors had seen trying to gain entry, according to the outlet.

Boodarian was arrested without incident, according to the Los Angeles Times. So far, there does not seem to be any connection between the victims and the suspect and KABC reported it as a random murder that happened July 10 when the victims returned home as the alleged suspect was robbing the home.

In a statement shared with Billboard, an American Idol spokesperson said, “We are devastated to hear of Robin and her dear husband, Tom’s, passing.”

“Robin has been a cornerstone of the Idol family since 2009 and was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her,” the statement continued. “Robin will remain in our hearts forever and we share our deepest sympathy with her family and friends during this difficult time.”

According to her IMDb page, Kaye had experience in multiple areas of the music industry before she made the leap to music supervision. After working for Waylon Jennings in Nashville and joining MTM Records as vp of artist development and broadcast media, she spent some time in Chicago before moving to L.A.

Kaye also worked in the film and TV licensing department at MCA-Universal Records and oversaw music licensing for PolyGram Records. In 2000, she founded her own company, SyncroniCity, which handles music supervision for shows such as Idol. The other programs on Kaye’s resume are Lip Sync Battle, Hollywood Game Night, NAACP Image Awards, The Singing Bee, Miss USA, Miss Universe, American Inventor, Q’Viva , The Dance Scene, Dance Your Ass Off, Your Chance To Dance, Adventures of Power and Crashed.

Featuring judges Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie, Idol wrapped its 23rd season in May. The show first premiered in 2002, running for 15 seasons before it went on hiatus in 2016.

The series was resurrected in 2018 with Bryan, Richie and Katy Perry — who has since been replaced by Underwood — on board.

Soulja Boy and Bow Wow made their triumphant return to SeaWorld.

A year after a viral performance at the same sea-centric facility, the two rappers went back down to Southern California for a July 12 show at SeaWorld San Diego’s 2025 Summer Spectacular Concert Series, where they performed songs like “Donk,” “Pretty Boy Swag,” “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” and “Use Me” in front of an energetic crowd. Watch a clip from the performance below.

News of them performing at last year’s Summer Spectacular went viral with fans joking around that Soulja can now say that he was the first rapper to perform at SeaWorld.

And they aren’t the only acts that are touching that SeaWorld stage. Every Saturday from June 21 to August 23, numerous rap, hip-hop and R&B artists are set to perform. Names like Fat Joe, Waka Flocka Flame, Trina, and Ginuwine will all be making appearances. The concert series will also double as a tour stop for the I Love the 90s Tour and The Turn Up Tour where Color Me Badd, Rob Base, Treach of Naughty by Nature, Young MC, Petey Pablo, Paul Wall, J-Kwon, and Bubba Sparxxx will also be performing.

The two teenage stars had a falling out after Soulja Boy made a video in 2008 saying that Nas killed hip-hop a couple years after the legendary Queens rapper released his eighth solo album Hip-Hop Is Dead. “The n—a who killed hip-hop for real, is Nas. He came out publicly and said, ‘hip-hop is dead,’” Soulja Boy explained in the video. “And after that, everybody started saying hip-hop is dead. If Nas would’ve never said ‘hip-hop is dead,’ then motherf–kers would’ve never thought it had died.”

Bow Wow publicly distanced himself from Soulja’s comments and the two would continue to go back and forth until they squashed their beef around 2016 when they released the joint mixtape Ignorant Sh—t.

Orla Lee-Fisher has been named head of dual catalog strategy at Warner Music Group (WMG), a new role that will see her develop and lead campaigns for WMG’s off-roster catalog of both recorded music and publishing rights, the company announced on Tuesday (July 15).

In her new role, Lee-Fisher will work with WMG’s recorded music and publishing teams to “create impactful campaigns that drive cultural conversations, promoting some of the world’s greatest catalogs to both new and longstanding fans, while identifying and growing new revenue sources for artists, songwriters, and their estates,” according to a press release. She will additionally support WMG’s mergers & acquisitions team in buying catalogs and luring estate management opportunities.

Based in London, Lee-Fisher will report to Kevin Gore, WMG’s president of global catalog, recorded music, as well as Warner Chappell Music co-chairs Carianne Marshall and Guy Moot.

Lee-Fisher arrives at WMG after more than 20 years at Universal Music Group, where she served as GM of Polydor Records and MD of A&M Records, among other roles. Most recently, she was executive vp of global marketing, working across campaigns for artists including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Elton John.

“Orla is a hugely respected figure, and has led inventive, ambitious projects for some of the world’s biggest acts, connecting their music to new audiences,” said Gore in a statement. “In this unique role, she’ll help deliver meaningful opportunities for our artists and songwriters and unlock new value for the world-class catalogs in our care.”

Added Marshall and Moot: “We’re delighted that Orla is joining WMG at this pivotal time in the evolution of our catalog offering. She’s renowned for her innovative campaigns and committed to our vision of a dynamic service for our artists and songwriters who trust us with both their publishing and recorded music rights.”

In her own statement, Lee-Fisher said: “Where recorded music and publishing rights overlap, Warner Music Group has made the strategic decision to manage its artists and songwriters’ catalogs more holistically. This has the potential to be a game changer for the way we drive engagement in their music and convert new audiences into fans. I can’t wait to get started.”

Lee-Fisher’s hire follows WMG’s July 1 announcement that it had partnered with Bain Capital to launch a $1.2 billion joint venture to acquire high-profile music catalogs, both recorded music and publishing.