Maren Morris is weighing in on the current wave of women dominating country music, and she has nothing but praise for her peers.

Speaking with hosts Mack and Jen on SiriusXM Hits 1, Morris singled out Ella Langley, Lainey Wilson and Megan Moroney as artists exciting her right now.

“I’m so excited that they’re all crushing it,” Morris said, “because for a very long time it was pretty sparse having women dominate the charts and awards and just be paid what they’re worth. It’s amazing to see that tide turning and them all just having this huge moment right now simultaneously without competition.”

Morris was equally effusive about the songwriters behind the records, noting her personal connections to many of them.

“I’m friends with a lot of them and I’m super proud that they’re on these big projects,” she said. “The songwriting is just getting so good and that always makes me excited to continue writing.” She added: “It’s just nice to know right now that there’s so much quality music happening. I love that country is having a moment — it’s always to me been a global genre.”

The comments come at a significant moment for women in country. Wilson took home four CMA Awards in 2023 and has since become one of the genre’s biggest live draws. Moroney’s debut Tennessee Orange reached the top five of the Billboard 200, while Langley scored her first No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with “You Look Like You Love Me” featuring Riley Green.

The three artists represent a broader shift in a genre that has historically struggled to give women equal footing on radio and at awards shows.

The comments come at a significant moment for women in country. Wilson took home four CMA Awards in 2023 and has since become one of the genre’s biggest live draws. Moroney’s debut Tennessee Orange reached the top five of the Billboard 200, while Langley scored her first No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with “You Look Like You Love Me” featuring Riley Green.

The three artists represent a broader shift in a genre that has historically struggled to give women equal footing on radio and at awards shows.

Morris herself has long been among country’s most outspoken advocates for that change, having publicly addressed industry pay disparities and the underrepresentation of women on country radio throughout her career. Her 2019 single “The Bones” spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart — a record at the time for a female solo artist — and her album Girl won Best Country Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. Her 2016 debut Hero produced the top five country hit “My Church” and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.

Morris released her most recent studio album, Intermission, in 2023. The full interview with Mack and Jen airs on SiriusXM Hits 1, channel 2, Monday through Friday at noon ET.

Post Malone will headline Australia’s Strummingbird festival this October, the touring country event’s organizers announced Tuesday.

The Grammy-nominated artist tops a lineup that also includes Bailey Zimmerman, Cooper Alan, Cam, Sons of the East and a substantial supporting cast of international and Australian country acts across three dates in Ballarat, Newcastle and the Sunshine Coast.

Presented by Kicks Entertainment, Strummingbird 2026 will play Victoria Park in Ballarat on Oct. 10, Newcastle Foreshore on Oct. 17 and Kawana Sports Precinct on the Sunshine Coast on Oct. 18. Presale tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 13, with general admission on sale Thursday, May 14 via strummingbird.com.au.

Malone’s headlining slot follows the release of his country crossover album F-1 Trillion, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album and featured collaborations with Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll. The appearance follows recent performances at Coachella and Stagecoach Festival, marking his return to Australia three years after a sold-out run at Splendour in the Grass.

Zimmerman, one of country’s fastest-rising acts, joins as second-billed headliner behind a breakout run that includes his debut album Religiously. The Album. and its 2025 follow-up Different Night Same Rodeo, which featured a collaboration with Luke Combs. His cover of Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” at Stagecoach earlier this year became a viral moment. Cooper Alan, the North Carolina singer known for “Plead the Fifth” and “Take Forever (Hally’s Song),” rounds out the top-tier international bookings.

The wider lineup includes LA-based country act Stella Lefty, Texan outfit Dexter & The Moonrocks, Cowboy Carter songwriter Cam, Cigarettes @ Sunset, CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2025 alumna Kaitlin Butts, rising Californian Noah Rinker and Brad Cox.

Australian contingent includes Sydney’s Sons of the East, back-to-back CMAA Female Artist of the Year Max Jackson, Central Queensland cattle station turned global streaming sensation Mack Geiger, Brisbane native and 2026 Countrytown Breakthrough Artist of the Year nominee Briana Dinsdale, and Sara Berki. Country DJ Willie Pake will headline late-night sets across all three stops, with line dancing sessions led by Maddison Glover.

Local artists Lewis Love (Ballarat), Gamilaraay artist Loren Ryan (Newcastle) and Sammy White (Sunshine Coast) will each perform at their respective hometown dates.

Malone first crossed into country territory with F-1 Trillion, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2024 and produced the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “I Had Some Help” featuring Morgan Wallen. The album marked a significant commercial and artistic pivot for the artist, who had previously dominated the Hot 100 across pop and hip-hop with hits including “Sunflower,” “Rockstar” and “Circles.”

The Eagles have added more 2026 dates to their Sphere residency, extending their run as the artist with the most dates at the Las Vegas immersive venue to 64.

The new dates extend their run into the fall: Sept. 18-19, Nov. 13-14 and Nov. 27-28.

The most recent shows had ended April 10 and 11. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees had previously announced 12 shows for this year: Jan. 23-24, Jan. 30-31, Feb. 20-21, Feb. 27-28, March 20-21 and March 27-28.

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Artist presale registration is available now. The  presale begins May 15 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets start at $175 and include all taxes and fees.

The group includes Don Henley, the only original remaining who co-founded the band with the late Glenn Frey in 1971, as well as guitarists Joe Walsh and Vince Gill, bassist Timothy B. Schmit and Frey’s son Deacon.

The Eagles’ Sphere stint started in September 2024, and the band added dates a handful at a time, setting the record for the most shows with the announcement of the February dates in October at 52. The previous record belonged to Dead & Co. at 48 shows.

Billboard praised the Eagles show, writing after the Sept. 20, 2024, opening: “For more than 50 years, the Eagles have been painting vivid pictures with their music, from the dark desert highway of ‘Hotel California’ to the billion stars all around of ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’ to the cold, cold city of ‘Life in the Fast Lane.’ On Friday night, those images came to intense life at Las Vegas’ Sphere, where the technology of 2024 finally caught up to the band’s enduring artistry and created a technicolor display worthy of their classic, illustrative songs from the 1970s and beyond.”

The 2026 Met Gala has come to an end, and the stars really showed out on the red carpet (which was not actually red). Before we put fashion’s biggest behind us and start speculating on next year’s theme, let’s take a look at some of the best outfits worn on Monday (May 4).

Helmed by co-chairs Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, Anna Wintour and Beyoncé—who made her first appearance at the annual event in 10 years—the 2026 Met Gala was all about the intersection of fashion and art, embodying the Met’s Costume Institute’s spring exhibition “Costume Art” and its celebration of diverse bodies.

“Pairings between fashions and artworks will present a spectrum of connections and experiences: from the formal to the conceptual, the aesthetic to the political, the individual to the universal, the illustrative to the symbolic, and the playful to the profound,” reads a description of the exhibit on the Met’s website.

To complement the exhibit, this year’s Met Gala dress code was “Fashion Is Art,” a theme that left much room for interpretation. And interpret the stars did. With such an open-ended concept to play with, attendees experimented with color, texture, references, inspiration and more. No two looks were the same, unlike in previous years. Although not every look was memorable, there were certainly some red carpet showstoppers worth writing home about. In particular, 10 looks sported by musicians caught Billboard’s attention more than others. (Though many other artists wore incredible looks, too, which you can check out here.)

From SZA’s upcycled couture to Bad Bunny’s senior citizen cosplay to Beyoncé’s show-stopping grand return to the Met Gala, here are Billboard’s top 2026 Met Gala looks.

Madonna is gearing up to return to the dance floor on July 3 with Confessions II, but on Monday (May 4), the Queen of Pop brought witchy wonders to the 2026 Met Gala red carpet in Manhattan.

Flanked by four women holding her grey veil trains, Madonna, imperious as ever, walked the red carpet wearing a black outfit with a gossamer, old-timey seacraft fixed to the top of her head. With the veils surrounding her headpiece, the effect was of a storm-tossed ship at sea. Designed by Anthony Vaccarello, it was a custom Yves Saint Laurent look inspired by British-Mexican painter Leonora Carrington’s painting The Temptation of St. Anthony, per Harper’s Bazaar. Centered around the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new exhibit “Costume Art,” the Met Gala dress code this year is “Fashion Is Art,” so Madonna’s campy, surrealist look is right on theme (as she always is at the Met Gala).

Madonna recently teased Confessions II with the release of “I Feel So Free” and lead single “Bring Your Love,” a duet with Sabrina Carpenter that dropped last Friday, following Madonna’s surprise appearance during Carpenter’s headlining set during Coachella weekend 2. The Man’s Best Friend singer also walked the Met Gala red carpet, draped in a gown made out of film strips taken from 1954’s Sabrina, a romantic comedy starring Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, which Carpenter called “one of my favorite films of all time.”

Beyoncé is one of the 2026 Met Gala co-chairs; for her red carpet look, she brought out daughter Blue Ivy and husband Jay-Z, making her appearance a family affair. To see what other musicians hit the 2026 Met Gala, check out this photo gallery.

The Queen has arrived.

Beyoncé made her first appearance at the Met Gala in 10 years — and she showed up looking like royalty. The legendary singer arrived in a fully bejeweled gown designed to look like a skeleton, paired with a matched jeweled headpiece and a large feather shawl.

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Beyoncé is more than just a Met Gala guest: She co-chaired this year’s event alongside Anna Wintour, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams. The singer turned the gala into a family affair, walking the red carpet with her husband, Jay-Z, and eldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. Blue Ivy is notably one of the youngest people in attendance at the event; since 2018, the Met Gala has implemented an 18+ rule for its attendees, though it looks like they made an exception for the co-chair’s daughter, who is just 13 years old. Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Blue Ivy stopped for photos on the red carpet together, posing as a family unit.

Making what was already a momentous occasion even bigger, Beyoncé gave a rare interview with red carpet host La La Anthony.

“This is the moment that everybody’s been waiting for,” Anthony said in introducing Queen Bey, before asking the singer how it felt to be back at the gala for the first time since 2016.

“It feels surreal because my daughter’s here,” Beyoncé replied. “She looks so beautiful. It’s incredible to be able to share it with her.”

Beyoncé shared that what she’s most excited for is being able to see the gala through her daughter’s eyes, and for being able to relax. She also shared what excites her most about her beautiful look.

“I’m wearing Olivier Rousteing, who is someone that has been so loyal to me, and I’ve done so many incredible, iconic looks with him,” the star said of the designer, who served as the creative director for Balmain for 14 years before leaving the fashion house in 2025. “So it’s really about representing him.”

Anthony and Beyoncé also expressed their excitement to celebrate diverse bodies — a large part of The Met Costume Institute’s spring exhibition theme of “Costume Art.”

“The different juicy, curvy, thin, tall, whatever. Just celebrating whatever God gave you,” Beyoncé said.

With Beyoncé’s appearance at this year’s Met Gala, many online are speculating that she may use the event as an opportunity to announce Act III, the rumored capper to an expected album trilogy that started with Renaissance and Cowboy Carter. However, fans shouldn’t get their hopes up too high: The singer’s longtime publicist responded to an X post by a fan account speculating that the Met Gala will launch the singer’s Act III era by saying, “This is unequivocally false!!” At the time of publication, Beyoncé herself has not yet shared anything about the album.


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Bad Bunny is no stranger to turning a look, but at the 2026 Met Gala on Monday (May 4), the Latin superstar had everyone doing double takes–even if it gave them a crick in the neck afterward.

Artificially aging himself with white hair and wrinkle makeup, Benito strolled down the Met Gala carpet, cane in hand, in an all-black suit with a large, flowy bow. (Presumably, the Puerto Rican artist was hoping to score the senior discount on Met Museum tickets.) Beyond hair and makeup, his body language sold the senior citizen look, too–no surprise, given that he’s set to star in a film about Puerto Rico directed by Residente following acting turns in Bullet Train and Happy Gilmore 2.

Vogue red carpet co-host La La Anthony asked the Billboard Hot 100-topping, Grammy-winning Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner how he continues to one-up himself at the Met Gala. “I don’t know,” he replied. “It’s getting a part of my life, trying to do something different. This day of the Met is a perfect day to explore and be creative and express yourself in a different way.”

As for how long the look took to put together, Bad Bunny joked to Anthony, “53 years exactly. It took a little bit but it’s worth it. I hope I look good,” he said.

Elsewhere at the 2026 Met Gala, Maluma, Madonna, Beyoncé (one of this year’s co-chairs), Charli xcx, Sam Smith, Doja Cat, Sabrina Carpenter and all four members of BLACKPINK—JISOO, JENNIE, LISA and ROSÉ—all walked the red carpet. Check out a gallery of the many musicians at the 2026 Met Gala here. The 2026 Met Gala theme is “Fashion Is Art,” centered around the “Costume Art” exhibit.

SZA might have a song called “Saturn,” but at the Met Gala, she embodied the sun.

The singer hit the red carpet in a vibrant yellow dress and jeweled floral headpiece designed with Emily Adams Bode Aujla of Bode. The gown included a corset, structured skirt and a long train in various shades of yellow. In an interview with red carpet host La La Anthony, SZA shared the fascinating story behind the dress’ creation.

“This entire look is made with reworked pieces purchased on eBay,” the star explained. “This is like my ethereal body. This is how I see myself.”

SZA went on to share that the look represents “the divine feminine,” pointing out different details, such as the cowries, pieces of saris bought from the secondhand marketplace and the real flowers on her head.

“It just wanted to express joy,” she said.

The star then made a joke about her bust in the dress, saying, “I was looking at how big my boobs look on this camera.” SZA followed by telling Anthony what makes her want to be fearless with fashion.

“I just love a character and I love playing and I love attention,” SZA said, showing off the crystals incorporated into her outfit. “I just love expressing our culture. And I just love celebrating all cultures.”

In a story on SZA’s sustainable look, Vogue shared that the fashion publication and eBay teamed up with Bode to create the look.

“SZA’s look for this year’s Met Gala is both tied to her own whimsical personal narrative and has an art-based historical significance,” the designer told Vogue.


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BLACKPINK members JENNIE, JISOO, LISA and ROSÉ all hit the Met Gala red carpet on Monday (May 4), walking the red carpet individually and flaunting distinct fashion sensibilities.

For her Met Gala debut, JISOO was decked out in a sparkly pink floral gown, which she told Vogue red carpet co-hosts Ashley Graham and Cara Delevingne was a custom Dior by Jonathan Anderson. “It’s my first Met Gala. I’m so excited and a little nervous too,” JISOO told them with a laugh. “We’re trying the flowers,” she said. “It’s so exciting.”

In addition to the Dior fit, she was wearing a vintage Cartier necklace. The BLISOO boss told Graham and Delevingne the outfit took “four to five hours” to pull together, which they acknowledged was more than worth it.

Jisoo at The Mark Hotel before the 2026 Met Gala: "Costume Art" on May 4, 2026 in New York, New York.

Jisoo at The Mark Hotel before the 2026 Met Gala: “Costume Art” on May 4, 2026 in New York, New York.

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ROSÉ spoke to Vogue red carpet co-host La La Anthony about her look, an Yves Saint Laurent dress with an avian theme. ROSÉ explained she was talking with celebrity stylist Law Roach about fashion and art ahead of the Met Gala and “the bird stood out because of the theme of the Met Gala this year,” she said, referencing the “Fashion Is Art” dress code for the “Costume Art” exhibit. “It helped do my homework and learn the history of Yves Saint Laurent. It was a privilege to learn the inspiration YSL had with art,” she said, referencing the Georges Braque painting The Birds on the ceiling of the Louvre in Paris, which inspired her dress.

Rosé at The 2026 Met Gala Celebrating "Costume Art" held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 04, 2026 in New York, New York.

Rosé at The 2026 Met Gala Celebrating “Costume Art” held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 04, 2026 in New York, New York.

Lexie Moreland/WWD

LISA arrived at the Met Gala red carpet in a sculptural look designed by Robert Wun. “I’m just so happy to showcase myself in an art form like this,” LISA said, explaining that the arms winding around her veiled gown were her own arms recreated via 3D printer. She also teased her upcoming Las Vegas residency. “It sold out!” she beamed. “I can’t wait to show my fans what I prepared.”

Lisa at The 2026 Met Gala Celebrating "Costume Art" held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 04, 2026 in New York, New York.

Lisa at The 2026 Met Gala Celebrating “Costume Art” held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 04, 2026 in New York, New York.

Gilbert Flores/Variety

JENNIE was the last member of BLACKPINK to hit the Met Gala, strolling down the carpet in a shimmery, silver Chanel dress by Matthieu Blazy. JENNIE told Vogue‘s Anthony her dress was made out of 15,000 sequined leaves. “I feel like a mosaic art work come alive,” she said, adding she was excited to see her BLACKPINK bandmates inside the Met Gala.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 04: Jennie attends the 2026 Met Gala celebrating "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 04, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Julian Hamilton/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 04: Jennie attends the 2026 Met Gala celebrating “Costume Art” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 04, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Julian Hamilton/Getty Images)

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Sabrina Carpenter attended the 2026 Met Gala in a custom Dior by Jonathan Anderson look made of an unconventional material: camera film.

“It’s all made of film, which is my dream,” Carpenter said in an interview with Vogue red carpet host La La Anthony. “Jonathan Anderson, the genius that he is.”

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Carpenter shared that Anderson and the Dior team crafted all of her Coachella looks, and afterwards “hopped right into making this dream dress.” The film stills are all from the 1954 film Sabrina, which Carpenter named as “one of [her] favorite films of all time.”

After Carpenter shared the vision behind her Met Gala look, Anthony asked her what it was like headlining Coachella.

“I don’t know, I blacked out a bit. And then I did it, and then I was driving in the car. And then that was it,” Carpenter said before calling the performance “electric.” She added, “I will remember it forever.”

Carpenter also talked about how her music and fashion intersect, sharing that she has been having a lot of fun playing with her look.

“At this point, I’m like, ‘the crazier the better.’ The more risks you take, the better the payoff,” the singer said.

Carpenter closed out her chat with Anthony by saying she’s most looking forward to seeing friends who are also in attendance at the Met Gala, along with this year’s performances and the costume exhibit.

This year, Carpenter is more than just a guest at the Gala; she’s also a member of the host committee. Also on the committee alongside the “Espresso” singer are Doja Cat, LISA, Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor and more.


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