Trent Reznor, Jeff Toyne and More Honored at 2025 ASCAP Screen Music Awards

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were passed over for an Oscar nomination for their acclaimed score for Challengers, but Reznor’s fellow members of the ASCAP composer and songwriter community voted that score the year’s best — and on Wednesday (April 30), Reznor was honored with the ASCAP Composers’ Choice Award for film score of the year at the 2025 ASCAP Screen Music Awards, held at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

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Elsewhere, Jeff Toyne won two ASCAP Composers Choice Awards — television score of the year and television theme of the year, both for his work on work on Apple TV+’s Palm Royale. Toyne earlier won a Primetime Emmy in September for outstanding original main title theme music for his work on the show. He was also nominated for a second Primetime Emmy for outstanding music composition for a series (original dramatic score).

Chosen by the ASCAP composer and songwriter community, ASCAP Composers’ Choice Awards are presented in five categories. Here’s a complete list of this year’s winners:

●          Film Score of the Year: Challengers – Trent Reznor

●          Television Score of the Year: Palm Royale – Jeff Toyne

●          Television Theme of the Year: Palm Royale – Jeff Toyne

●          Documentary Score of the Year: Jim Henson: Idea Man – David Fleming

●          Video Game Score of the Year: Tales of Kenzera: Zau – Nainita Desai

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In other categories, Andrea Datzman was honored with top box office film of the year for the animated family film Inside Out 2. Composer Jeff Cardoni earned top network television series for the sitcom Young Sheldon, while John Sereda received top cable television series for the historical drama When Calls the Heart.  David Vanacore was the top winner in the most performed themes & underscore category.

In addition, ASCAP recognized some of the top composers of the past year’s hit streaming series and films. The top streaming series winners include Bear McCreary for the epic fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Michael Abels for his tone-setting score in the sci-fi mystery-thriller The Acolyte, Jamie Jackson and WAZ for the comedy crime drama Bad Monkey, and Rupert Gregson-Williams for his score and Josh Kear & Meghan Trainor for their theme to the whodunit crime drama The Perfect Couple.

Among the top streaming films winners, Hans Zimmer was honored for his score to the historical World War II drama Blitz, Lorne Balfe received recognition for the action thriller Carry-On, Amelia Warner was recognized for the biographical sports film Young Woman and the Sea, and Siddhartha Khosla was celebrated for the romantic book-to-film adaptation of The Idea of You.

The complete list of winners is available on the ASCAP website: www.ascap.com/screenawards25.

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L.A. Kings Put Koreatown Senior Center Harmonica Class at Center Ice for Stanley Cup Playoffs National Anthem

So far, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings have played three home games in their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. For all three of those games, the Koreatown Senior and Community Center harmonica class was also in Crypto.com Arena.

The L.A. hockey team invited the amateur harmonica troupe to play the national anthem at Game 1 of the series, on April 21, after they were so well-received during the Kings’ Korean heritage night celebration last month. Then, when the Kings won that first match, the seniors were invited back for Game 2 on April 23 — and they went 2-for-2 with their lucky-charm opening act.

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Unfortunately, even though the Koreatown Senior and Community Center harmonica class was back for Tuesday night’s Game 5 this week, that home winning streak snapped, and now the Oilers lead 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. The two teams meet next on Thursday night at Edmonton’s Rogers Place arena.

While Sophia Ko from the class was hoping for a win heading into their Tuesday night “Star-Spangled Banner” performance, she tells Billboard that “it’s hard to put into words” what this overall Stanley Cup Playoffs experience has meant to her.

“It feels like South Korea has grown so much, and that growth has brought us this amazing opportunity,” Ko tells Billboard. “I can truly feel the rising status of the Korean community here in L.A.”

She also says she’s “truly grateful” for the response from the Kings organization and the fans in supporting the repeat anthem performances. “As someone older, being treated with such warmth and respect has been incredibly moving,” Ko says. “It honestly feels like a dream — I can’t tell if this is real or not.

“This is our fourth performance, but I still clearly remember the emotions and excitement of that very first time performing in such a big arena. I’m so thankful to all the Kings staff who’ve been so kind to us, and above all, I thank God from the bottom of my heart.”

Below, watch the class’ Game 5 performance from Tuesday night:

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Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars’ ‘Die With a Smile’ Video Hits 1 Billion Views on YouTube

If the party was over and our time on Earth was through… could you say you’ve watched Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars‘ “Die With a Smile” video?

Since its release more than eight months ago, the music video has officially racked up 1 billion views on YouTube — so yes, a few people can say they have.

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The country-styled video — featuring Mars in an off-white cowboy hat and Gaga with a mile-high bouffant and an ever-present cigarette in her mouth — was released at the same time as the superstar duet on Aug. 16, following the pair’s live debut of the song as part of Mars’ venue-opening concert at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

“Die With a Smile” spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year — first hitting the top of the chart dated Jan. 11 — and was included on Gaga’s Mayhem, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 albums chart last month. In February, the duet picked up the 2025 Grammy for best pop duo/group performance.

This marks Mars’ 10th video to join YouTube’s Billion Views Club and Gaga’s fourth. It’s Mars’ second video to hit the milestone this year, after his “APT.” duet with ROSÉ became the fifth fastest music video to reach the milestone in February, 105 days after its release. (Adele’s “Hello” remains the fastest, hitting 1 billion views in just 87 days back in 2015.)

If you want to give it one more view, watch the “Die With a Smile” video below:

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The Weeknd Is Ready for His ‘Seal Moment’ After ‘The Batman’ Director Says ‘Call Out My Name’ Inspired Superhero Sequel

While The Weeknd is starring in his first feature film next month with Hurry Up Tomorrow, one of his old hits is inspiring a different film.

Matt Reeves, who directed 2022’s The Batman starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz, had previously told IGN that Pattinson’s titular character will be heartbroken in the beginning of the sequel, The Batman Part II. And earlier this month, Reeves told IndieWire: “The Weeknd’s ‘Call Out My Name’ was a big inspiration for what Bruce is dealing with when we see him again.”

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“Call Out My Name” is the opening track from the Canadian-Ethiopian superstar’s 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy. The song reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. And the music video, which has surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube, starts off with the artist walking down an empty street before a cauldron of bats flies out from his mouth when he belts out the hook.

The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) posted a snippet of the IndieWire article on his Instagram Story on Wednesday (April 30) with the pair of eyes, broken heart and bat emojis. He later shared a still from the bat scene in his “Call Out My Name” visual and wrote, “lemme know if ya’ll want that seal moment” while Seal‘s smash “Kiss From a Rose” plays in the background of the IG Story slide.

“Kiss From a Rose” was initially released as the second single from Seal’s 1994 self-titled sophomore album, but didn’t gain much traction. Joel Schumacher, who directed the 1995 film Batman Forever, reached out to him about needing a song for a love scene between the late Val Kilmer as Batman and Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridian and picked “Kiss From a Rose,” while later including it in the end credits and the film’s official soundtrack. Boosted by the film, the song eventually hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 and won best video for a film at the MTV VMAs that year, as well as three Grammys for record of the year, song of the year and best male pop vocal performance in 1996.

The Batman Part II is currently slated for a theatrical release on Oct. 1, 2027.

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Metallica Prepping the Mother ‘Load’ With Reissue of 1996 Album Featuring 245 Unreleased Tracks

Metallica will revisit their 1996 album Load with a sprawling 301-track box set that will feature 245 unreleased tracks as well las demos, rarities and outtakes. The massive set due out on June 13 will be released in a number of formats, including a 2LP 180G vinyl package, as well as CD, cassette and digital, in addition to an expanded 3CD version and what they are calling a “mammoth” deluxe box set.

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The “ambitious and comprehensive time capsule of 1995-1997 era Metallica” will feature the entire remastered Load album on 180g double vinyl, the extended version of “The Outlaw Torn,” which was originally edited for release due to the running time limits on CDs at the time, as well as a “Mama Said” picture disc and Loadapalooza ’96, a 140g triple album recorded live during their headlining Lollapalooza show at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Aug. 4, 1996.

Also included in the 15-CD set are 245 never-before-released tracks, including “riffs, floor takes, demos and rough mixes, B-sides and rarities,” as well as “tons” of live material. The box will also come with four DVDs including behind-the-scenes, in-studio and live footage, as well as on-air and TV appearances and their Polar Beach Party visit to Tuktoyaktuk, Canada.

The massive 10 pound, 1,800-minute box remastered by Reuben Cohen chronicling the group’s second LP to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart will be filled out with special goodies, including 14 Rorschach Test cards, a Pushead patch, an 11×17 Lollapalooza poster, a reproduction of their Rolling Stone cover from the time, a five-pack of guitar/bass picks, lyric sheets, two laminated tour passes and a deluxe 128-page book featuring unreleased photos and stories from the era.

Click here to see all the formats and to pre-order the set; fans who pre-order the deluxe box set now will receive a handful of instant free tracks: “Until It Sleeps (Remastered),” “Until It Sleeps (Herman Melville Mix),” “F.O.B.D. (‘Until It Sleeps’ Rough Chorus Vocal Idea Mix)” and “Until It Sleeps (Live at Slim’s, San Francisco, CA – June 10th, 1996).”

The band released a new lyric video for “Until It Sleeps” in advance of the set’s release, check it out below.

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Barbra Streisand Announces ‘The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two’ – Featuring a Duet With Mariah Carey & Ariana Grande

Eighteen months ago, Barbra Streisand released My Name Is Barbra, an anecdote-rich memoir about her 60-plus years of blazing trails in music, film, Broadway, activism and beyond. But the story isn’t over. On Wednesday (April 30), the eight-time Grammy winner and five-time Billboard Hot 100 topper announced a new studio album, The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two, is coming out on her longtime label Columbia Records on June 27.

A sequel to 2014’s Billboard 200-topping album Partners, this new project also features a cross-genre, cross-generational list of duet partners. And some of the names on this tracklist are likely to leave more than a few jaws on the floor.

There are duets with classic rock royalty, including Sir Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, James Taylor and Sting (separately); Irish rocker Hozier; Icelandic jazz singer-songwriter Laufey; English crooner Sam Smith; country hitmaker Tim McGraw; Josh Groban, fresh off his celebrated Broadway stint in Sweeney Todd; and British soul mainstay Seal. Plus, there’s a duet with not just one but two vocally dynamic divas – Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande — that is sure to set the Internet aflame when it lands.

The first taste of the album, Streisand’s duet with Hozier, is already here. Listen to their take on Roberta Flack’s 1972 Hot 100 No. 1, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” out now.

“Barbra Streisand is one of the most enduring and iconic vocalists of our time, and somebody who defined an era with the sheer force of her voice, her talent, charisma and vision. To be asked to join her on a duet was a huge honor and came as a wonderful and welcome surprise,” Hozier said in a statement. “Ewan MacColl’s ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’, made famous by the stunning Roberta Flack recording, has always mystified me. It is, to me, one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. Like so many, I was deeply saddened to hear of her recent passing. Along with the honor I have to sing on this record with Barbra, I hope this duet offers something of a gesture to Roberta Flack’s incredible legacy.”

“I’ve always loved singing duets with gifted artists. They inspire me in unique and different ways…and make our time in the studio a joy,” Streisand said in a statement. “My new album, The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two, gave me the chance to work and play with some of my old friends, label mates, and new artists too. I admire all of them… and I hope that you’ll enjoy listening to our collaborations as much as I enjoyed recording with all of my wonderful partners.”

Check out the full tracklist for The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two below. The album is produced by Walter Afanasieff and Peter Asher, with orchestrations provided by William Ross and David Campbell. Streisand and Jay Landers, her longtime A&R executive, are the album’s executive producers.

Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand

  1. THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE with Hozier
  2. MY VALENTINE with Paul McCartney
  3. TO LOSE YOU AGAIN with Sam Smith
  4. THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU with Bob Dylan
  5. LETTER TO MY 13 YEAR OLD SELF with Laufey
  6. ONE HEART, ONE VOICE with Mariah Carey & Ariana Grande
  7. I LOVE US with Tim McGraw
  8. SECRET O’ LIFE with James Taylor
  9. FRAGILE with Sting
  10. WHERE DO I GO FROM YOU? with Josh Groban
  11. LOVE WILL SURVIVE with Seal
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Amyl and The Sniffers, Troye Sivan, Kevin Parker Win Big at 2025 APRA Music Awards

Australian punks Amyl and The Sniffers have taken out the song of the year at the 2025 APRA Music Awards, held Wednesday (April 30) at Melbourne Town Hall.

The Melbourne group received the coveted peer-voted award for their track “U Should Not Be Doing That,” which was released as the lead single for their 2024 album Cartoon Darkness. The record itself became the group’s second consecutive release to hit No. 2 on the ARIA charts, while the single received a nomination for best video at the 2024 ARIA Awards.

The award caps off an impressive run for the four-piece, having recently wrapped up two weekends at Coachella as part of their North American tour, and taking out both best live act and best LP/EP at the 2025 Rolling Stone Australia Awards.

Troye Sivan, meanwhile, was named songwriter of the year, just shy of the one-year anniversary of “Rush” being named song of the year at the 2024 ceremony.

“Songwriting is my favorite thing that I get to do. I think it’ll be something that I do for the rest of my life,” Sivan said of his win. “I feel like it’s, one of the greatest gifts that I was born with. Not even the ability to write a good song, just the ability to create at all.”

While Otis Pavlovic and Royel Maddell of Royel Otis received the emerging songwriter of the year award just months after winning four trophies at the ARIA Awards, Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker emerged as the night’s big winner, being honored in the categories of most performed Australian work and most performed pop work.

In both instances, Parker’s win was for Dua Lipa’s “Houdini,” which he co-wrote alongside Lipa and international writers Caroline Ailin, Danny Harle and Tobias Jesso Jr. Released in November 2023, the single topped the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, and reached a respectable No. 11 on the Hot 100.

Sia’s “Unstoppable” was named most performed Australian work overseas, while Tate McRae’s “Greedy” took out most performed international work. King Stingray, Ziggy Alberts, Make Them Suffer, Kaiit, Lithe, and Dom Dolla also emerged victorious in their respective genre categories, while Kylie Minogue took out the previously-announced Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music.

The 2025 edition of the APRAs cemented “another huge year for Australian music, both at home and overseas,” comments APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston.

“It’s heartwarming to see so many first-time winners this year, showcasing the incredible breadth of talent Australia produces, and it’s a testament to the opportunity of Australia becoming a global songwriting powerhouse,” he added.

“With an election just days away, we hope that both sides of government can see the immense talent we have here, and the opportunities to build a stronger, fairer, more vibrant future for Australian music, recognising our music as the global cultural powerhouse and valuable export that it so clearly is.”

Established in 1982, the Australasian Performing Right Association’s annual songwriters’ ceremony is one of the Australian music industry’s most treasured events, a worthy counterpart to Britain’s Ivor Novello Awards.

Full List of 2025 APRA Music Awards winners:

Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year

Title: U Should Not Be Doing That
Artist: Amyl and The Sniffers
Writers: Declan Mehrtens / Fergus Romer / Amy Taylor / Bryce Wilson

Songwriter of the Year

Writer: Troye Sivan
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing

Emerging Songwriter of the Year

Writers: Otis Pavlovic & Royel Maddell (Royel Otis)
Publishers: Kobalt Music Publishing obo Ourness Songs

International Recognition Award

Keanu Torres (Keanu Beats)

Most Performed Australian Work

Title: Houdini
Artist: Dua Lipa
Writers: Kevin Parker / Dua Lipa*^ / Caroline Ailin / Daniel Harle / Tobias Jesso Jr.^
Publishers: Sony Music Publishing / Warner Chappell Music* / Universal Music Publishing^

Most Performed Australian Work Overseas

Title: Unstoppable
Artist: Sia
Writer: Sia Furler / Christopher Braide*
Publishers: Sony Music Publishing / Concord Music Publishing ANZ*

Most Performed Alternative Work

Title: Paradise
Artist: Coterie
Writers: Brandford Fisher / Conrad Fisher / Joshua Fisher / Tyler Fisher / Robby De Sa*
Publishers: Concord Music Publishing ANZ / Sony Music Publishing*

Most Performed Blues & Roots Work

Title: New Love
Artist: Ziggy Alberts
Writer: Ziggy Alberts
Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing

Most Performed Country Work

Title: Take Forever (Hally’s Song)
Artist: Cooper Alan
Writers: Kylie Sackley* / Timothy Cooper^ / Justin Morgan+
Publishers: I Love You More Music Worldwide* / BMG^ / SHOUT! Music Publishing+

Most Performed Dance/Electronic Work

Title: Saving Up
Artist: Dom Dolla
Writers: Dominic Matheson / Clementine Douglas* / Toby Scott^ / Caitlin Stubbs^
Publishers: Sony Music Publishing / Mushroom Music Publishing* / Kobalt Music Publishing^

Most Performed Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Work

Title: Epitaph
Artist: Make Them Suffer
Writers: Sean Harmanis / Nicholas McLernon / Jordan Mather / Alexandra Reade / Jeff Dunne
Cooking Vinyl Publishing

Most Performed Hip Hop / Rap Work

Title: Fall Back
Artist: Lithe
Writers: Josiah Ramel* / Omid Khasrawy
Publisher: Concord Music Publishing ANZ obo Boss Level*

Most Performed International Work 

Title: Greedy 
Artist: Tate McRae 
Writers: Tate McRae / Amy Allen* / Jasper Harris^ / Ryan Tedder
Publishers: Sony Music Publishing / Warner Chappell Music* / Concord Music Publishing ANZ^

Most Performed Pop Work

Title: Houdini
Artist: Dua Lipa
Writers: Kevin Parker / Dua Lipa*^ / Caroline Ailin / Daniel Harle / Tobias Jesso Jr.^
Publishers: Sony Music Publishing / Warner Chappell Music* / Universal Music Publishing^

Most Performed R&B / Soul Work

Title: Space
Artist: Kaiit
Writers: Kaiit Waup / Jake Amy / Anthony Liddell / Jaydean Miranda / Justin Smith

Most Performed Rock Work

Title: Through The Trees
Artist: King Stingray
Writers: Theo Dimathaya Burarrwanga / Roy Kellaway* / Campbell Messer / Yirrŋa Gotjiringu Yunupingu* / Yimila Gurruwiwi / Lewis Stiles
Publisher: Sony Music Publishing*

Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Service to Australian Music

Kylie Minogue

Licensee of the Year

Lazybones Lounge Restaurant & Bar

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Charli XCX Books Next Acting Gig — Starring In & Producing Japanese Horror Director Takashi Miike’s Next Film

Charli xcx has lined up yet another major acting gig. According to Variety, the singer will star in and produce the next movie from Japanese horror director Takashi Miike (Yakuza Apocalypse, Ichi the Killer).

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At press time no information was available about the film’s plot, but the unnamed film will be the second project Charli will produce through her new Studio365 banner, following the upcoming A24 drama The Moment, which is based on the singer’s original idea. Miike is a legendarily prolific director who has helmed more than 100 films over the past three decades, many of them known for their graphic violence.

The script for the Miike movie will be written by Ross Evans (How to Save a Marriage).

In addition to ruling last summer with her Grammy-winning Brat album — and seemingly this summer as well — Charli has been building up an impressive acting resume as well. Along with director Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment, she will appear in Julia Jackman’s period drama 100 Nights of Hero, as well as Pete Ohs and Jeremy O. Harris’ Erupcja and director Daniel Goldhaber’s horror remake of the legendary shock cult film Faces of Death.

Her long list of upcoming big screen projects also includes director Greg Araki’s I Want Your Sex and Romain Garvas’ adventure comedy Sacrifice, as well as The Gallerist, in which she’ll appear alongside Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. As if all that wasn’t enough, the singer/actress is also reportedly in talks to join Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Narnia film as Jadis, the White Witch.

Charli will also be storming the small screen thanks to Benito Skinner’s upcoming Prime Video comedy series Overcompensating (May 15), which she produced music for in addition to shooting a cameo.

After crushing it at Coachella earlier this month with a set that included guest spots from Lorde, Billie Eilish and Troye Sivan, Charli continues her 2025 road trip with an upcoming four-night stand at Barclays Center in Brooklyn beginning tonight (April 30).

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