The Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA) has announced the launch of a new music award called MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN, with the inaugural event set for May 22, 2025, at the Rohm Theatre Kyoto.

This award will recognize more than 60 categories, led by the six major ones including Song of the Year and Artist of the Year, for works and artists that have been popular from January 29, 2024 to January 26, 2025. Candidates will be automatically selected using objective metrics linked to data from Billboard Japan and more. Five nominees will be selected from these candidates by domestic voting members, and the award winners will be decided from among the nominees through a rigorous selection process by domestic and overseas voting members.

The categories include genre-specific ones including J-pop, hip-hop and idol culture, special categories such as dance performances, music videos, Vocaloid culture and DJing, and global categories by regions such as Asian countries and Europe. The best work and artist will be revealed at the awards ceremony on May 22.

The voting members consist of around 5,000 music industry professionals from various fields, including artists, creatives, managers, recording directors, engineers, promoters, music video directors, music distribution businesses, dealers, distributors, music critics, writers, media, music publishers, judges of overseas music awards, plus creatives, promoters, and music distribution businesses based overseas. There will also be a category inviting votes from general music listeners.

“Post-COVID, the way we enjoy entertainment as a whole has changed,” says CEIPA’s Chair of the Board Shunsuke Muramatsu, who believes that with the recent wave of digitalization, global success and possibilities are expanding within the music industry. “We have seen that the way hit songs and artists emerge has changed with the growth of the digital landscape and the increasing popularity of streaming services. Having witnessed a rapid, borderless connection to the rest of the world, we are now focused on supporting young, talented Japanese creators through an awards show with a global reach.” 

The five major organizations in the Japanese music industry — Recording Industry Association of Japan, Japan Association of Music Enterprises, the Federation of Music Producers Japan, Music Publishers Association of Japan, and All Japan Concert & Live Entertainment Promoters Conference — have transcended boundaries to collaborate with the global music industry to establish this award, which is based on the concept of “connecting with the world and lighting the future of music.” 

The awards show is said to be an “Asian version of the Grammy Awards,” as Commissioner Shunichi Tokura of the Agency of Cultural Affairs has said in the past. “We established the awards as a way to increase interest in Japanese music and to have Japanese music heard globally,” Tatsuya Nomura, board member of CEIPA, explains. He notes that CEIPA will also focus on promoting the awards outside of Japan. “Additionally, we will also promote the awards in other Asian countries and the world through terrestrial broadcasting stations, livestreaming on YouTube, news coverage, and more.” 

Nomura says the awards will also provide an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of overseas artists and bring more attention to them. “The Japanese music market has traditionally been economically viable only within Japan. I believe it is necessary to change this and cultivate a global mindset among artists. Japanese artists are becoming increasingly active abroad, which we will continue to support. At the same time, we aim to establish　categories that focus not only on K-POP (which is highly popular in Japan) but also on Western and other Asian music. As a result, there is a possibility that artists from around the world will be honored at MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN.”

The MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN ceremony on May 22 is also set to be broadcast live on terrestrial TV. The event will also be streamed worldwide via YouTube (excluding some regions). MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN week will take place Saturday, May 17 through Friday, May 23, and there will be seminars and showcases by people involved in the music industry from Japan and overseas during this period.

MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2025 KYOTO 

Date of Ceremony: Thursday, May 22, 2025

Venue: ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

Live broadcast on terrestrial TV and global livestream on YouTube scheduled (some regions excluded)

Eligible Works & Artists

Works and artists popular from January 29, 2024 through January 26, 2025 (regardless of release date, including older works)

Awards: More than 60 categories planned including the six major categories

Six major categories: Best Song, Best Album, Best Artist, Best New Artist, Best Global Song, Best Asian Song 

Awards

Song of the Year: Domestic and international songs are eligible.

Album of the Year: Domestic and international albums are eligible.

Artist of the Year: Domestic and international artists are eligible.

New Artist of the Year: Domestic artists are eligible.

Top Global Hit from Japan: Honors domestic songs that have become hits around the world.

Best Song Asia: Honors Asian songs that have become hits around the world.

Voting Process

Candidates will be automatically selected using objective metrics linked to data from Billboard Japan and more. Five nominees will be selected from these candidates by domestic voting members, and the award winners will be decided from among the nominees through a rigorous selection process by domestic and overseas voting members.

Voting Members

Voting members will consist of around 5,000 artists, creatives, managers, recording directors, engineers, promoters, music video directors, music distribution businesses, dealers, distributors, music critics, writers, media, music publishers, judges of overseas music awards, plus creatives, promoters, and music distribution businesses based overseas. The nominees and award winners will be selected and honored through a rigorous voting process by these members. There will also be a category with a different selection process.

About CEIPA

Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA)

President: Tatsumi Yoda

Chair of the Board: Shunsuke Muramatsu (President, The Recording Industry Association of Japan)

Deputy Chair of the Board: Takeo Nakanishi (President, All Japan Concert and Live Entertainment Promoters Conference)

Senior Board Member: Hideichi Kurita (Vice President, Music Publishers Association of Japan)

Board Members: Masatomo Takito (President, Japan Association of Music Enterprises), Tatsuya Nomura (President, The Federation of Music Producers Japan), Yutaka Inaba (President, Music Publishers Association of Japan)

CEIPA Members: Japan Association of Music Enterprises (JAME), Federation of Music Producers Japan (FMPJ), Music Publishers Association of Japan (MPA), All Japan Concert and Live Entertainment Promoters Conference (A.C.P.C.), Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ)

Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” rules both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts for an eighth week.

The ballad now solely claims the longest Global 200 reign this year, surpassing the seven weeks that Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” posted at No. 1 in February-April. It also equals the longest Global Excl. U.S. command in 2024, tying the eight-week stays for “Beautiful Things” (February-April) and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” (May-July).

Plus, Jennie’s “Mantra” debuts at Nos. 2 and 3 on Global Excl. U.S. and the Global 200, respectively. It marks the BLACKPINK member’s fourth solo top 10 on the former and her third on the latter.

The Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

“Die With a Smile” leads the Global 200 with 110.3 million streams and 8,000 sold (down 5% week-over-week in each metric) worldwide Oct. 11-17. The song, which became Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ first No. 1 each since the chart began, has drawn over 100 million streams globally in each of the last seven weeks, the most such frames in a row since Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” also linked seven triple-digit weeks from its chart start in January 2023.

Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” holds at No. 2 on the Global 200, following three weeks at No. 1 beginning in August.

Jennie’s “Mantra” debuts at No. 3 on the Global 200 with 74.9 million streams and 15,000 sold worldwide in the first full week following its Oct. 10 arrival. The BLACKPINK member adds her third solo top 10 on the chart; the group has collected four top 10s, while fellow members LISA (three top 10s), Jisoo and Rosé (one each) have also hit the tier as soloists.

Rounding out the Global 200’s top five, Carpenter’s “Espresso” holds at No. 4, following three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in June, and her “Taste” drops 3-5, after reaching No. 2.

“Die With a Smile” tops Global Excl. U.S. with 89.7 million streams (down 4%) and 4,000 sold (down 7%) outside the U.S. Oct. 11-17. As on the Global 200, the ballad became Gaga and Mars’ first No. 1 each since the survey launched.

Jennie’s “Mantra” enters Global Excl. U.S. at No. 2 with 69 million streams and 12,000 sold outside the U.S. Oct. 11-17. She adds her fourth solo top 10 on the chart — matching the four top 10s that BLACKPINK and the group’s LISA as a soloist have each notched; Jisoo and Rosé boast one solo top 10 apiece.

Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” dips 2-3 on Global Excl. U.S., following three weeks at No. 1 beginning in August; Carpenter’s “Espresso” descends 3-4; and Karol G’s “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” falls 4-5, after reaching No. 2.

Plus, Carpenter’s “Taste” ranks at No. 6 on Global Excl. U.S., after hitting No. 4, and “Please Please Please” places at No. 10, following a week at No. 1 in June; already the only artist with multiple weeks with three songs in the top 10 simultaneously this year, she logs an eighth week earning such a triple.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Oct. 26, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Oct. 22. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

Between Megan Thee Stallion‘s “Hiss” and Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar‘s “Like That,” hip-hop rang in 2024 with war. Now, as Halloween approaches, peace might be the new name of the game.

On Friday (Oct. 18), Young Thug wrote on X, “@Drake @1future @MetroBoomin we all bruddas. Music aint the same without us collabin.” The Billboard Hot 100-topping rapper — who has collaborated with all three of the rappers he mentioned — appeared on We Don’t Trust You, the Billboard 200-topping joint album between Future and Metro, which ignited the Lamar-Drake feud by way of “Like That.” Future did not respond to Thugger’s post, but he did share it on his own page, prompting fans to speculate about a truce that would bookmark one of the most shocking battles in modern hip-hop.

Lamar, for his part, did not acknwoledge the post — but he did sit with SZA for an interview in the latest issue of Harper’s Bazaar, in which he details what “Not Like Us” means to him. Megan, whose “Hiss” also took aim at Drizzy, announced the release of Megan: Act II, a deluxe reissue of her self-titled June LP, which topped R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Out Oct. 25, the revamped set will arrive just six days before her In Her Words documentary premieres on Prime Video on Halloween (Oct. 31).

In legal news, Diddy was hit with yet another round of lawsuits on Sunday (Oct. 20), including one shocking allegation that he “drugged and raped a thirteen year-old girl at a house party” in the presence of unnamed celebrities (who also participated in the assault) following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.

With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Dajah Dorn’s ode to the ’90s to Jordan Adetunji and Lil Baby’s new link-up. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.

Freshest Find: Dajah Dorn, “90s Fine”

The current era’s obsession with the ’90s is already insufferable, but if it gives us more records like Dajah Dorn’s “90s Fine,” then, by all means, let it continue. “They love my Southern demeanor/ Doing what I want, I’m a R&B diva, okay/ I’m just having my way/ Ain’t nothing bringing me down, I’m up now,” rap-sings over a laid-back drum-heavy hip-hop soul beat reminsicent of the subtle sensuality of ’90s Mary J. Blige. As the pre-chorus comes in and morphs into the hook, Dajah sharpens her delivery into straight singing, her honeyed tone and gentle vibrato complementing Buda and Grandz & Saint Cassius’ unfussy soundscape. It’s not often that a song inspired by the ’90s doesn’t sound like paint-by-numbers creation of a track from that era, but leave it to Dajah to truly deliver.

Nija, “Unruly”

In between penning Hot 100-topping hits for Ariana Grande (“Positions) and tracks for Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning Renaissance LP (“Cozy”), New Jersey multi-hyphenate Nija still finds time to write some bangers for herself. “Unruly,” her first solo offering since 2022’s “Love Like This,” extends her stay in the moody drill-meets-R&B lane she helped cultivate with 2022’s Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You. “Rude, unruly/ They don’t come as bad as this, no/ One of one,” she proclaims over a skittering beat that nods more to sexy drill than its brasher forefather. With her lyrical embrace of raucous freedom when it comes to her love life — and life in genreal — Nija offers up a worthy female perspective to the still-raging slizzy era of New York drill.

Ari Lennox, “Smoke”

Back with her first solo singe of the year, Ari Lennox is throwing it back to Motown. Lennox has been open about both her struggle with social media and her sobriety journey, and she lets out all of her frustration on “Smoke.” “Talk shit now/ I might just slap a bitch in the face/ It could blow up/ You’re lucky I’m just lightin’ my sage,” she promises in the second verse of the doo-wop-infleceted, BongoByTheWay-helmed track. The driving force of “Smoke” is Ari’s impassioned vocal performance, her piercing timbre ringing across the track and nailing the sense of urgency that the hook is anchored by. “Save all your f—s for me/ I want all the smoke,” she proclaims — and she gives us no choice but to wholeheartedly believe her.

Lexa Gates & Zeelooperz, “Sweet.. Time”

Lexa Gates is here with her Elite Vessel debut album after spending the final 12 hours until the project’s arrival inside a glass box case in the middle of an NYC park. Brass woodwinds produce a jazzy backdrop for Gates to nestle her way through a timeless beat that could’ve arrived any of the last few decades. “Sweet.. Time” displays Gates’ full repertoire as a talented singer-rapper and she doesn’t waste a second packing a punch through listeners’ chests. “I love you so much I want to kill myself,” she pleads, before eventually handing the baton to Detroit’s Zeelooperz for a spicy assist. 

Jordan Adetunji & Lil Baby, “Options”

If something’s not broken, don’t fix it. Jordan Adetunji builds off of the massive success of his Billboard Hot 100 hit “Kehlani” with “Options,” featuring an appearance from Lil Baby. JA continues experimenting with melodies, but installs a similar bass drum pattern that became looped in fans’ heads on “Kehlani.” Partners are only as faithful as their options and Adetunji has plenty of avenues to explore, but he prefers to hone in on a certain love interest. Lil Baby makes it two for two when connecting with singers recently following his 4batz collaboration last month. 

Sofia Ly, “Needy”

Romance and an acoustic guitar have been a cathartic formula for R&B success throughout the genre’s existence. Sofia Ly returns with her second single “Needy” as the Cambodian-Canadian singer peels back the layers of a turbulent relationship while vulnerably sifting through her insecurities. “I wanted Needy to feel like having a conversation with myself,” she says about the poignant track. “It’s about battling that inner voice when you’re not sure if someone still cares, and how easy it is to second-guess everything when they start pulling away.” Essentially, love fades but the scars last forever. The 19-year-old recently inked a deal with LiveHelpLive/Pulse Records and is a name to keep an eye on going forward. 

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.

Monday Night Football is back with another doubleheader! The Baltimore Ravens take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, plus the Los Angeles Chargers face the Arizona Cardinals for MNF Week 7 on Monday (Oct. 21).

The Buccaneers are set to host the Ravens at Raymond James Stadium for tonight’s game, airing live on ESPN and ABC.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals will host the Chargers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The Phoenix Children’s Chorus will perform the national anthem ahead of the game.

For the football fans who want to watch the teams face off in person, there’s still time to score tickets at an affordable price. The cheapest tickets for the Ravens vs. Buccaneers game are currently priced from around $125 and up at StubHub and Gametime. Tickets for the Cardinals vs. Chargers game cost around $41 and up.

Read on for a schedule of upcoming games, plus ways to watch and stream tonight’s games live and on-demand (with and without cable).

How to Watch Monday Night Football on ABC, ESPN & More

Good news for fans who don’t have cable: MNF has expanded into network TV! ABC will simulcast select games this season, as the network announced last September, per The Hollywood Reporter. This season, six additional games will be simulcast across ABC and ESPN, the network announced last week.

You can stream MNF games on DirecTV, Fubo, Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV.

Although the Ravens vs. Buccaneers game will simulcast across ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+, tonight’s Chiefs vs. Cardinals game will be the first NFL game to stream exclusively on ESPN+. As with most MNF games, the Ravens vs. Buccaneers game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT. (Monday Night Kickoff with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman is at 7:15 p.m. ET).

The Chargers vs. Cardinals game is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

DirecTV customers offers a free trial at sign up and over 90 cable and local channels including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ABC and ACCN. New customers can save $30 off for a limited time.

Not interested in DirecTV Stream? For sports fanatics looking for streaming alternatives, Fubo, Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV are some of the streamers that provide instant access to ABC, ESPN and other channels.

Depending on which package you choose, DirecTV’s streaming plans lets you access specialty channels like Big Ten Network, ACC, SEC, MLB Network, CBS Sports Network, Starz, Encore, Max, Ion, NHL Network and more.

There are also several other affordable ways to watch local channels such as ABC, NBC and CBS. For example, you can buy an HDTV antenna like this one on sale at Amazon for $22 (free shipping for Prime members), and of course, football lovers can subscribe to streamers such as FuboTV and Sling TV.

For around $20-$75, you’ll get to stream live TV and on-demand content, including sports channels and DVR storage. And now that the football season has officially arrived, many of your favorite streamers are offering streaming deals for the NFL season and beyond.

For example, you’ll get a free trial with Fubo to watch your favorite football games for free for up to a week and a discount at sign up.

Looking for more streaming deals? Sling TV is half off for your first month. That means you can subscribe and stream all TV shows, movies, football games and other sports content starting at just $20. One of Sling’s best streaming deals is the Orange & Blue packages and the Sports Extra bundle starting at $199 when you prepay four months in advance.

Looking for another affordable option? Subscribe to Fubo and save $20 off your first month.

Fubo’s streaming plans start at $59.99/month (reg. $79.99) after a week free. Fubo Pro, one of the cheapest among the aforementioned streaming plans, includes 202 channels, 1000 hours of Cloud DVR and streaming on up to 10 screens. For Spanish speakers, Fubo Latino is $19.99/month (regularly $32.99/month) to stream 62 channels.

You can also watch NFL games on YouTube TV and NFL+, the latter starts at $6.99/month for the base subscription and $14.99/month for NLF+ Premium.

With NFL+, football fans can watch or listen to games live and on-demand, plus enjoy recaps and more.

How to Watch Monday Night Football Games on ESPN+

Gone are the days of simply switching channels to catch all of your favorite NFL games, and it can be hard to keep track of which games are streaming on which platforms. For example, Prime Video is the streaming home for Thursday Night Football, while Sunday football games are available on NBC, CBS, Paramount+ and Peacock, and some Monday Night Football games are scheduled to simulcast on ESPN+ and ABC.

With ESPN+, you’ll get access to football and more for $11.99 a month (or bundle with Disney+ and Hulu). Watch the NFL, college football, soccer, MLB, NBA, NHL, UFC, PGA Tour, Top Rank, PLL Playoffs, Premiere League, La Liga, cricket and other sporting events on ESPN+.

What else can you stream on ESPN+? Sports lovers can binge dozens of must-watch series and TV shows, and original content such as PPV fights, the entire 30 for 30 series and tons of other exclusives such as Shohei Ohtani: Beyond the Dream, In the Arena: Serena Williams, The Captain, Tom Brady: Man in the Arena, Al Davis vs. The NFL, Vick, Be Like Water, Breakaway, More Than An Athlete with Michael Strahan, Eli’s Place, Abby’s Place, The Place’s Universe, Why Not Us: Grambling Dance and Our Time Baylor Basketball.

ESPN+ isn’t on sale right now, but you can subscribe to the annual plan ($119.99) to save around $22 off the monthly price. Also, Hulu offers a student discount for just $1.99/month and bundle deals allow you to save on streaming packages. For example, the Disney+ Trio Basic bundles Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ for $16.99/month.

Keep in mind, while there are different ways to watch football games from your TV, phone, laptop or computer, the price will vary depending on the platform. Fortunately, ESPN is available on several streamers including Fubo, Sling and Hulu + Live TV.

Hulu + Live TV gives you access to 90+ channels in edition to ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+, and DVR storage, for $59.99/month under the limited promo. Click below to redeem the promo before it ends.

Monday Night Football: Games, Dates & Time

Monday Night Football kicked off on Sept. 9 and will continue into January 2025. The season’s debut game between the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers averaged 20.5 million viewers, down from the previous year.

By comparison, last year’s MNF kickoff game between the Jets and Bills drew a record-breaking 22.6 million viewers, making it the most watched MNF game in history beating out the previous record-holder, a 2009’s game between the Packers and Vikings.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2023 win over the Chiefs last November drew a record 29 million viewers in total, a 27-year ratings high and the highest numbers of the season for a single game since the Super Bowl.

Beyond the game itself, NFL ratings have received a boost thanks in part to Taylor Swift who appeared at the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens season kickoff, and has shown up to a few other games to support for her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Swift attended the Chiefs vs. Saints MNF game earlier this month.

NFL ratings hit another high mark last Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Last year’s Thanksgiving game between the Cowboys and Commanders snagged a whopping 44 million viewers, the third-largest audience for a regular season game in history. The game, where the Cowboys beat the Commanders 45-10, aired on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.

The NFL team is no stranger to Thanksgiving games as the Cowboys have played a game on Thanksgiving day nearly every year since 1966. Next month, the Cowboys will play the New York Giants in one of three NFL games on Thanksgiving. Lainey Wilson is slated to perform at halftime.

Will this new season score even bigger ratings? We’ll have to wait and see, but fans who want to watch games live, either from home or on-the-go, can easily stream select NFL games and more on ESPN+.

MNF sounds a bit different this season. That’s because ESPN enlisted the help of J Balvin to curate the music for select games. Chris Stapleton, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake curated the music for last year’s games, preceded by Marshmello in 2022, Drake in 2021, DJ Khaled in 2020 and Diplo in 2019.

To kick off the collaboration, the NFL debuted a remix of Balvin’s song “DOBLEXXO” featuring Feid from his new album Rayo.

“ESPN’s Music curation program with Monday Night Football continues with an artist that will amplify the bold and new music strategy,” said Curtis Friends, ESPN vice president of sports marketing. “J Balvin is a global icon whose influence hits with diverse cultures and genres. His music choices embrace the anticipation and excitement the ESPN football season offers, and we can’t wait for him to come along the season-long ride with us.”

With the season is nearly halfway over, there are a ton of games left on the MNF schedule, and plenty of opportunities to watch them live. Click here to get tickets to see your favorite NFL games in person.

Want to stream MNF from outside of the U.S.? With ExpressVPN, NordVPN and PureVPN you can access several streaming platforms and channels.

See the full 2024 MNF schedule here.