Maverick City Music has won a court order halting a competing Christian music project launched by its estranged co-founder — at least for now.   

A New York judge granted Maverick City’s request for a preliminary injunction on Wednesday (April 29) against Tony Brown, who sold his shares of the Grammy-winning worship collective to current CEO Norman Gyamfi for $5 million in 2023. A bitter legal battle is now waging over the terms of that buy-out deal, with Maverick City’s Gyamfi alleging Brown violated a non-compete provision by launching another Christian music group called God Aura after his departure.

Brown alleges the non-compete is void, along with the rest of his buy-out agreement, because Maverick City has underpaid him by roughly $2 million. Judge Nancy M. Bannon ruled Wednesday that whether the contract holds up remains an open question that will depend on the evidence — and that until a fulsome decision is reached, Brown cannot release any new music.

Among other things, the injunction requires Brown to pull God Aura’s December 2025 album Wonderful Child down from streaming services. The lawsuit now moves into the discovery phase, meaning Maverick City and Brown will exchange evidence with each other.

A lawyer for Maverick City, Steven Cooper of Reed Smith, said in a Friday (May 1) statement to Billboard that his clients “are very pleased that the court shut down Anthony Brown’s improper competitive activities.”

“Mr. Brown tried repeatedly to avoid this hearing, and ultimately his attempts failed, and his bad acts were exposed,” added Cooper. “Mr. Gyamfi and his companies will continue to aggressively pursue those who violate contracts and engage in wrongdoing against them.”

Attorneys for Brown declined to comment on the injunction.

Brown co-founded Maverick City in 2018 alongside Jonathan Jay. The Atlanta-based music collective has won five Grammy Awards and topped Billboard‘s Christian and gospel charts with members and collaborators including Chandler Moore, Naomi Raine and Brandon Lake.

Gyamfi joined Maverick City as a part-owner and executive around 2021 and helped grow Maverick City’s Christian music empire. He eventually bought out Brown, but Brown alleges Gyamfi failed to complete the promised payments based on unsubstantiated sexual harassment complaints against him.

Brown initially sued Maverick City in Georgia, but the dispute was kicked to New York in February due to a forum selection clause in the buyout deal. In that decision, an Atlanta judge rejected Brown’s claim that he was coerced into signing the contract due to threats from Louis Burrell, a music industry veteran and the brother of MC Hammer.

Meanwhile, Maverick City is also dealing with separate litigation tied to Moore’s abrupt departure from the group last month. Moore is alleging that Gyamfi stole his royalties, but the group denies this and says Moore failed to fulfill his contract before exiting.

Just like in the Brown lawsuit, Maverick City tried to get an injunction to stop Moore from pursuing a solo career while the dispute plays out. But the group was unsuccessful in that attempt, and Moore is now releasing music on his own.

Noah Kahan’s “The Great Divide” becomes the sole longest-leading No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart this decade, as well as in nearly 10 years, spending its 11th week atop the tally dated May 9.

The song’s command, which began on the Feb. 28-dated chart and has run consecutively, equals the 11-week lead for Portugal. The Man’s “Feel It Still” in 2017.

“The Great Divide” is one of just three songs to spend at least 10 weeks at No. 1 on Adult Alternative Airplay in the 2020s, following 10 each for Mumford & Sons and Hozier’s “Rubber Band Man” (2025-26) and Hozier’s “Too Sweet” (2024).

The all-time leader, U2’s “Beautiful Day,” dominated for 16 weeks beginning in 2000. (The chart’s history dates to January 1996, with the list currently measuring weekly plays on nearly 50 stations in the format.)

“The Great Divide” has more than doubled Kahan’s previous longest No. 1 stay on Adult Alternative Airplay, besting the five weeks for “Northern Attitude,” with Hozier, in 2024.

Previously, “The Great Divide” notched six weeks at No. 1 on Alternative Airplay. It’s also continuing its ascent at pop radio: it bullets at No. 19 on Adult Pop Airplay and rises 26-25 on Pop Airplay.

The song is set to gain on this week’s multimetric Billboard Hot 100, when its parent album of the same name, released April 24, will make its chart start. The track debuted at its No. 6 Hot 100 high in February, becoming Kahan’s second and highest-charting top 10.

All Billboard charts dated May 9 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, May 5.

Hilary Duff‘s “What Dreams Are Made Of” is a graduation staple — now, she can add commencement speaker to her lengthy resume.

On Wednesday (April 29), Duff addressed Northeastern University’s graduating class of 2026 at Fenway Park in Boston, delivering an inspiring speech that pulled nuggets of wisdom from her pop culture journey. She began her speech joking that she was “envious” of the graduates because her “formal education ended around third grade” due to her blossoming career as a child actor and then-teen superstar. From there, the “Roommates” singer reflected on some of the key lessons she learned as she navigated her career in entertainment.

“Just because something is a good opportunity or a good paycheck doesn’t mean it’s right,” she reminded the graduates. “By simply accepting what the world was offering to me, I was losing my own voice; I was reacting, instead of asking myself what I really wanted. That realization was a paradigm shift for me.”

“I knew I had to change my pattern of saying ‘yes,’ so I took a break from making music,” she continued. “Not because I didn’t know exactly what kind of album I wanted to make or what kind of stories I wanted to tell through my music, because I knew precisely what I wanted. But I somehow knew that I couldn’t authentically make it, yet.”

After reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with Dignity in 2007, Duff took a hiatus from her music career, shifting her focus to acting, production and penning her New York Times bestseller Elixir trilogy. She returned to the music scene with Breathe In. Breathe Out. in 2015, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100 hit “Sparks” (No. 93).

“So I made a choice, and I took a step back. I pivoted. I rebuilt myself, I refilled my tank, I put effort into my relationships, into building my family and building a business,” Duff explained. “I waited until I was ready to meet the moment. I realized that saying ‘no’ wasn’t rejection, it was redirection… I took back control of what I was building, and I reclaimed my story. And I realized my own agency. I’m grateful I had the ability to take that pause… the key is that I was choosing where my energy went instead of letting others choose for me. Don’t forget to pause and appreciate how far you’ve come.”

If the stadium’s thunderous applause was anything to go by, Duff’s speech was a hit, adding another win to her collection this year. At the top of the year, Duff returned to the road on her Small Rooms, Big Nevers Tour, which led to the release of her latest album, Luck… Or Something. Co-written and co-produced with husband Matthew Koma, Luck hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and landed a radio hit in “Roommates,” which reached No. 25 on Pop Airplay.

Next month, Duff will kick off her Lucky Me Tour with two shows at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Fla. (June 21-22). The trek will take her to amphitheaters and arenas in major cities across North America, Australia and the U.K., including New York City, Toronto and London, before concluding with two shows at Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes next year (Feb. 12-13, 2027).

Check out Hilary Duff’s complete commencement speech for Northeastern University’s graduating class of 2026 below.

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The 61st Academy of Country Music Awards are right around the corner, and country fans are abuzz with excitement for this year’s nominees.

The country music-centric ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The show will be hosted by multi-time ACM Awards recipient and country music icon Shania Twain. The 2026 ACM Awards will be available to stream live exclusively on Prime Video, Twitch and Amazon Music at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT. Doors to the venue open at 3:30 p.m.

Where to Buy Tickets to the ACM Awards at a Glance:

Lucky for country fans, the ACM Awards are one of the few award shows that people can buy tickets for, so fans can get in on all the action. If you’re looking to buy official tickets to the show, you’ll want to go via AXS.com. A quick look through the website and you’ll find pricing for as low as $131.41 for upper sections.

As you go down the map of the arena provided, pricing goes up to $903; however, we’ve seen closer seating around the floor for $430.71, which is a steal given how close to the stage you’d be. Of course, floor seating is going to be the most expensive at around $1,563 and above, depending on the seating chosen.

This year’s nominees are a star-studded bunch, featuring well-known names like Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson, Kelsea Ballerini, Miranda Lambert and many more. Women dominated the nominees list this year, racking up a slew of awards nods, including Megan Moroney, who leads the top four with nine nods, followed by Lambert at eight and Langley and Wilson with seven each. This marks the second year in a row that female solo acts have led the nominations. Host Twain is a three-time ACM Awards winner.

You’ll want to keep your eye out for categories like Entertainer of the Year, with nominees like Wilson going up against superstars Wallen and Jelly Roll, along with the Song of the Year field with fierce competition from Moroney, Lambert, and Langley. You can read more about all the nominees here.