This past Oct. 18-19 in Miami, III Points celebrated its 11th anniversary with a lineup that included Jamie xx, Justice, Rezz, Kaytranada, Sara Landry, DJ Koze and many other greats of the electronic genre.

“Each of the departments really locked in, and I feel like we did a really good job as a team,” III Points co-founder David Sinopoli tells Billboard of producing this year’s fest. “It was reflected right back at us with all the bands and the DJ’s in the community coming out and supporting… Everyone was locked in this year, mimicking that focus and energy to their craft.”

One of the many artists showing off their craft at III Points was Canadian producer Jacques Greene, who played a Saturday night set that got right to business, staring with Fonzo’s swaggery 2024 track “Ring Ring” then traversing 90 minutes of techno and experimental electronic music. Hear Greene’s complete set below.

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Sinopoli calls this year of III Points a “special one, because we had all the right people in their respective paths, working with absolute focus and doing an incredible job in their spots – they put on a masterclass with their work. From our sound, tech, lighting, to site operations, site flow, to the music side with [festival staff] Shailee Ben-David, Santi Vidal and Davide Danese’s office helping me put together the lineup. Everyone was really synced up, we have learned over the last few years in this footprint, how to make things flow so that the experience felt a little bit more controlled and comfortable.” 

Founded in 2013, the festival puts a strong focus on Miami artists, typically booking more than 50% local acts and bringing in local food vendors and visual artists. This year, as in years past, the two-day fest happened at Miami’s Mana Wynwood event space.

Sinopoli adds that over the festival’s run at the venue, he and the team have “really mastered the site and understood how to lay it out better. Our marketing team helped us fill the space by driving ticket sales and making sure we sold the experience during our sales cycle to the new fan. Laura Kirkpatrick, Leo Piscioneri, Caterina Haddad and the whole team that worked on the marketing killed it. Alexis Sosa-Toro who basically kept it all together for me on every front throughout the year, helped keep all the chaos together with calm and clarity in her leadership.”

III Points partnered with electronic events company Insomniac Events in 2019, with Sinopoli also calling out Insomniac, along with the “OG production team at III Points” for “how well they helped us make this year’s experience so special.”

On Wednesday (Dec. 18), SZA unveiled the album artwork for Lana, the long-awaited deluxe edition of her blockbuster album SOS.

On the cover, the superstar metamorphosed into a shimmering bug-eyed creature with a golden camouflage jacket and cargo pants in her natural outdoor habitat.

SZA officially announced Monday that Lana would arrive Friday via Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA Records. Ben Stiller starred in a teaser video that she posted on Instagram, which features an unreleased track titled “Drive.”

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She first revealed the Lana title during a concert at New York’s Brooklyn Navy Yard in September 2023, saying the deluxe version of SOS “is like a whole ‘nother album, and it’s called Lana. It’s seven to 10 songs, and it’ll be out this fall.” In a British Vogue interview last month, she described Lana and the SOS deluxe as two entirely different albums. “I think I am making music from a more beautiful place. From a more possible place versus a more angsty place,” she told the publication. “I’m not identifying with my brokenness. It’s not my identity. It’s sh– that happened to me. Yeah, I experienced cruelty. I have to put it down at some point. Piece by piece, my music is shifting because of that, the lighter I get.” But earlier this month, she confirmed Lana is the title of the SOS deluxe album and teased the track list.

The deluxe set comes more than two years after SZA dropped SOS. The 23-song LP included five Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit singles: the No. 1 “Kill Bill,” plus “Snooze,” “I Hate U,” “Good Days” and “Nobody Gets You.” It spent 10 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — the most of any R&B/hip-hop album by a woman since Mariah Carey’s self-titled debut spent 11 weeks at the top in 1991. Instead of its impact being limited to the final weeks of 2022, SOS became one of this and last year’s biggest releases. SOS was nominated for album of the year and best progressive R&B album at the 2024 Grammy Awards, when SZA was the most-nominated artist with nine total nods.

See the Lana album artwork below.

The legal war between Jay-Z and attorney Tony Buzbee intensified on Wednesday (Dec. 18), with both a new lawsuit accusing the star of orchestrating a conspiracy of “shadowy operatives” and a motion warning a judge that Buzbee might destroy evidence of his own alleged misconduct.

The filings came less than two weeks after Buzbee launched a lawsuit accusing the star (real name Shawn Carter) of raping an unnamed 13-year-old girl in 2000 alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs — a shocking allegation against one of the music industry’s most powerful figures.

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In Wednesday’s new case, Buzbee accused Jay-Z’s company (Roc Nation) and its lawyers (attorney Marcy Croft, as well as the law firm Quinn Emanuel) of offering money to one of his former clients (Gerardo Garcia) to coax him into filing bogus lawsuits against his firm. Buzbee claims the incident, allegedly caught on tape, is part of a broader illegal effort to derail his case against Jay-Z.

“Defendants have conspired to obstruct justice by engaging shadowy operatives to illegally seek out more than two dozen current and former clients of The Buzbee Law Firm to convince those clients to bring frivolous cases against [the firm],” Buzbee wrote in the new complaint, filed in Houston court.

“This conduct was specifically targeted at our firm so we would not pursue cases related to the Diddy litigation,” Buzbee said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “But, we will not be bullied or intimidated. The defendants overstepped, got sloppy, and stupidly got caught in their illegal scheme on tape.”

In a statement to Billboard, a Roc Nation spokesperson responded by saying: “Tony Buzbee’s baloney lawsuit against Roc Nation is nothing but another sham. It’s a pathetic attempt to distract and deflect attention. This sideshow won’t change the ultimate outcome and true justice will be served soon.”

In her own statement, Croft offered a similar reaction: “Tony Buzbee has now conjured up fantastical allegations against me and my firm — well-known corruption fighters — in a desperate attempt to distract from his mounting legal woes.  We look forward to addressing these false allegations and having them dismissed.”

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The rape allegations against Jay-Z have sparked a broader legal war between his team and Buzbee, whom the superstar has called a  “fraud.” Jay-Z secretly sued Buzbee for extortion last month, accusing him of concocting a “cynical” scheme to extract settlements from innocent celebrities by threatening to link them to Diddy. And Buzbee previously filed a lawsuit in Texas against Quinn Emanuel over similar allegations of retaliatory behavior.

Separately on Wednesday, attorneys for Jay-Z formally asked the federal judge overseeing the rape lawsuit to dismiss him from the case, citing a bombshell NBC News interview on Friday (Dec. 13) in which his accuser admitted inconsistencies and “mistakes” in her story and her own father contradicted her story.

“The timeline, location, and occurrence of events alleged in plaintiff’s complaint are rendered impossible by these admissions,” Jay-Z’s lawyers write. “Plaintiff’s unsupported allegations crumble under scrutiny, as the evidence—and lack thereof—reveals glaring inconsistencies and outright impossibilities in her story.”

The new motion once again pinned the blame for the problems squarely on Buzbee, accusing him of failing to properly vet the allegations against Jay-Z before filing them in court. It cited his own quotes in the NBC story, in which he said the claims had been vetted by another law firm.

In addition to seeking to dismiss the case, Wednesday’s filing warned that Buzbee might destroy evidence of such missteps and demanded a court order prohibiting him from doing so.

“The fundamental inconsistencies in Plaintiff’s case revealed in the NBC interview, coupled with Buzbee’s chronic inability to follow the rules in this case and others, creates a substantial risk that Buzbee will destroy evidence damaging to Plaintiff’s case, including evidence of his own misconduct,” the star’s lawyers write.

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Get ready for one final round of big reveals! Season 12 of The Masked Singer concludes tonight, with a one-hour season finale on Fox.

The singing competition series, hosted by Nick Cannon, airs its Season 12 finale tonight, Wednesday, December 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. You can watch The Masked Singer finale on TV through your local Fox affiliate.

Two identities will be unmasked tonight, with either Buffalos — composed of three singers — or solo artist Wasp, announced as the winner. Nick Lachey will also perform on the finale.

Read on for ways to watch and stream The Masked Singer finale online.

How to Watch The Masked Singer for Free

No cable necessary! The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox, which means that you don’t need a cable (or satellite) subscription to watch — but if you already have one, check your local listings for channel information or stream the show on Fox.com.

Viewers who don’t have access to live television can stream The Masked Singer with an HD antenna or join a streamer like DirecTV Stream or FuboTV to stream for free. Both live TV streamers offer a live Fox feed as part of their channel lineups, so you can watch The Masked Singer finale online without cable (Fox is available on Vidgo and Sling TV in select areas).

On a budget? DirecTV Stream and Fubo offer a free trial for up to a week, so you can sign up for a free trial to livestream The Masked Singer finale online for free. And if you who want to stream The Masked Singer internationally, try ExpressVPN or NordVPN.

Not interested in streaming The Masked Singer live? Stream the season finale for free on Hulu a day after it airs on Fox. New episodes will drop on the streaming platform the day after they premiere.

Hulu starts at $9.99/month after a 30-day free trial and you’ll get access to tons of shows and movies including exclusive programs. Additionally, Hulu has a bundle option with Disney+ and ESPN+ and a student discount that drops the base price down. See all the latest Hulu offers here.

Season 12’s Masked Singer cast features 15 contestants, including fan favorites Ice King, Bluebell, Woodpecker and Strawberry Shortcake (who was eliminated last week), in addition to Buffaloes and Wasp.

Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong and Jenny McCarthy all returned as judges for the new season, with Rita Ora also returning for the second consecutive season to fill in for Nicole Scherzinger, who is currently starring in Sunset Boulevard on Broadway.

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.

Christmas and New Year’s aren’t the only reasons to celebrate this season; the NCAA College Football Playoff and NCAA Bowl Games are just around the corner too. And one of the best (and most affordable) ways to watch college football games is with a subscription to Sling TV — especially since YouTube TV just recently announced a price hike for their streaming service.

The NCAA Bowl Games start on Wednesday, Dec. 18, with the Boca Raton Bowl: James Madison vs. Western Kentucky. The bowl game takes place at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, with kickoff at 5:30 p.m./2:30 p.m. PT. You can watch the game on ESPN via Sling TV. Check out a complete schedule for all of the bowl games this season here.

How to Watch NCAA College Football Games on Sling TV

A subscription to Sling TV Orange + Blue — which comes with ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT and Fox for the NCAA Bowl Games and the NCAA College Football Playoff — gets you access to live TV and local and cable channels, starting at $30 for the first month of service ($60 per month afterwards). That’s right: You’ll get 50% off your first month of service for all of Sling TV’s plans, which are considerably less than YouTube TV’s $82.99 per month starting price.

You can watch local networks such as NBC, while you can also watch many cable networks, including NFL Network, FS1, Lifetime, FX, AMC, A&E, Bravo, BET, Cartoon Network, Fuse, CNN, Food Network and many others. (CBS and The CW aren’t available on Sling TV.)

Please note: If you subscribe after Friday, Dec. 20, the monthly price goes up starting at $45.99 per month for Sling Orange. Prices and channel availability depends on your local TV market. Learn more about Sling subscription prices here.

If you’re looking for an affordable alternative to YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV, then start with Sling TV.

For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox dealsstudio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.

Nick Jonas and Elon Musk might be at the start of a new bromance, with the singer/songwriter playfully reacting to the billionaire using an old Jonas Brothers meme on Tuesday.

The interaction started with Musk retweeting a post from the Tesla Owners Silicon Valley account that claimed the automotive company is “up 100% since Donald Trump won” the 2024 presidential election. “My, how the tables have turned!” the X owner wrote in response, adding a GIF from a beloved old video of Nick and Kevin Jonas lifting up a brown coffee table and rotating it 180 degrees.

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In the original clip, Joe Jonas then bursts into the room and announces: “Oh, how the tables have turned.”

After seeing that Musk had used a GIF of him and his brothers, the “Jealous” singer retweeted the post with a photo of the businessman knowingly smiling and wrote, “Take us to the Year 3000.”

The exchange was enough to get some people talking, as Musk is one of the world’s most polarizing figures — in large part due to his partnership with the current president-elect. Shortly after beating out Kamala Harris in November, Trump appointed the tech titan as the co-head of a new U.S. government department of efficiency with Vivek Ramaswamy; now, some fans are interpreting Nick’s post as a subtle endorsement of Musk and, by extension, the twice-impeached ex-POTUS.

“Is this a trump post?!” one person commented, tagging Nick’s wife, actress Priyanka Chopra, and adding, “get your man.”

“tweeting at elon musk is definitely a choice,” another person replied, while a different upset fan wrote, “I DID NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON NICK JONAS FOR THIS TO HAPPEN OH MY GOD.”

Billboard has reached out to Nick’s reps for comment.

The Camp Rock alum is currently gearing up to star in The Last Five Years on Broadway, opening March 18. He also stars in Robert Schwartzman’s The Good Half, which premiered in theaters over the summer and became available for streaming on Hulu in November.

Nick hasn’t dropped a solo album since 2021’s Spaceman, but he and his brothers did release The Album in May 2023, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Two and a half months after wrapping their world tour in Poland, the Jonas Brothers are now slated to perform on this year’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.

Billie Eilish celebrated her 23rd birthday a day early on Tuesday night (Dec. 17) when her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour made its way to the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

There were plenty of celebratory moments throughout the night, including the superstar’s older brother Finneas bringing out a cupcake onstage to lead the venue in singing “Happy Birthday” to Eilish.

Additionally, she invited Charli XCX to the stage for a surprise debut performance of the duo’s “Guess” remix, which was included on the latter’s remix album, Brat and It’s the Same but There’s Three More Songs So It’s Not.

Eilish has two more sold-out nights at the Kia Forum on Friday (Dec. 20) and Saturday (Dec. 21) before she heads down to Australia in February and early March, followed by spring/summer 2025 tour dates across Europe.

In the midst of the tour, Eilish is nominated for seven Grammys at the 2025. Hit Me Hard and Soft is up for album of the year and best pop vocal album, while “Birds of a Feather” snagged nominations for record of the year, song of the year and best pop solo performance. The “Over Now Extended Edit” of “L’Amour De Ma Vie” is nominated for best dance pop recording, while the Charli XCX “Guess” collaboration received a nod for best pop duo/group performance.

To celebrate the show, check out some of the best photos from the Los Angeles performance in the gallery below.

Part of the new wave of Latin artists testing tropical waters, Rauw Alejandro is back on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart, as he wraps a four-year hiatus and returns with his second top 10 since 2020.

The classic salsa romantic “Tú Con Él” by the late Frankie Ruiz, covered by Rauw Alejandro, makes its top 10 entrance on the Tropical Airplay chart (dated Dec. 21) as the song flies 14-7 in its second week assisted by a robust 107% gain in audience impressions, to 2.6 million, on the Dec. 6-12 tracking week, according to Luminate.

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While the late Ruiz placed 11 entries on Tropical Airplay, including seven top 10s and two No. 1s, the 1985-released “Tú Con Él” did not enter as the chart officially launched almost a decade later, in 1994. The cover by Rauw Alejandro takes the Puerto Rican to his second entrance and top 10 on the ranking, after “Fantasías,” with Farruko, sent both artists to No. 2 in 2020. (The Latin rhythmic tune arrived before Tropical Airplay changed from a station-based to a genre-based tally).

It’s not the first time a song by Ruiz finds its way to a Billboard chart after his passing. Victor Manuelle incorporated excerpts from his 1989 hit “Deseándote” into “Otra Noche Más,” which added a new top 10 to both salsa singers’ Tropical Airplay careers in March. Further, it gave Ruiz his first entry since 2012 and first top 10 after the No. 7-peaking “Vuelvo a Nacer” in 1998. For Victor Manuelle, meanwhile, the time-traveling collaboration turned into a record-extending 65 top 10s.

Further, Charlie Cruz’s take of Ruiz’s “Tú Con Él” peaked at No. 19 on Tropical Airplay in 2018.

“Tú Con Él” also grants Rauw Alejandro a 32nd entry on the overall Latin Airplay chart, where it opens at No. 45. There, the song joins another Rauw track from his No. 1 album Cosa Nuestra: “Que Pasaría,” with Bad Bunny, surges 43-31 with 4 million audience impressions, up 28% from the week prior. Rauw’s fifth studio album debuted atop Top Latin Albums and Tropical Albums charts (Nov. 30) with the largest streaming week of 2024 for a Latin album.

In sum, “Tú Con Él” has translated into a profitable revival for Rauw Alejandro, with multiple entries across Billboard charts. Let’s look at those recaps:

Peak Position, Chart
No. 69, Billboard Hot 100
No. 65, Billboard Global 200
No. 98, Global Excl. U.S.
No. 6, Hot Latin Songs
No. 45, Latin Airplay
No. 7, Tropical Airplay
No. 5, Latin Streaming Songs
No. 5, Latiin Digital Song Sales

Over on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart, while radio airplay surges, streams for “Tú Con Él” drop by 1%, to 3.4 million, and sales rise by a 6%.

Chlöe Bailey and Burna Boy were seen getting cozy, which quickly turned into fan speculation of their relationship status. Keep watching to learn more!

Tetris Kelly:

Are Chlöe Bailey and Burna Boy more than just friends? Well, Spotify is fanning the flames on their ‘Love Language’ playlist. Chlöe and Burna have set dating rumors ablaze after being spotted hanging out in Lagos, Nigeria. Rumors started swirling when the “Boy Bye” singer landed in Lagos on Sunday and was welcomed with a massive bouquet of flowers. But things really heated up when she and Burna Boy were spotted arriving at a venue in his signature purple Lamborghini. Clubgoers saw them dancing together, and then they were later seen exiting the spot holding hands. With cuffing season in full swing, it looks like these two might have found their perfect match. Billboard has reached out for comment. Neither Chlöe nor Burna Boy have commented on their relationship status at the time of this reporting. For more hip-hop news, keep it locked here at Billboard.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for Rhythm + Flow season 2 are included in the content below.

First came American Idol and shows like The Voice, and then Netflix put its own spin on the format with its first hip-hop competition series Rhythm + Flow in 2019. Following a five-year hiatus, the streaming giant rolled out the red carpet for season 2’s return of Rhythm + Flow in November.

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R+F fielded aspiring artists auditioning across the country, from Atlanta to a basement music hall in Michigan that Eminem once roamed, with a check for $250,000 on the line.

Although their fate would be held in the judges’ hands as Netflix tapped the trio of DJ Khaled, Latto and Ludacris to step into the hot seat and find the last one standing, they had some help in discovering the next star with guest judge appearances from Eminem, Big Sean, GloRilla and more throughout season 2.

“I think it gives people an inside look at what really goes into becoming an artist,” Latto — who won The Rap Game in 2016 — tells Billboard. “I think social media gives this perception that you blow up overnight and some people are lucky enough to do that, but I think a lot of times all three of us can attest that this is blood, sweat and tears. It’s a lot of being put on the spot and come up with the plan.”

While the judges dished out plenty of constructive criticism and praise throughout the season, the process was also reciprocally rewarding for Ludacris, who was inspired creatively by some of the contestants’ hunger.

“It’s so good for me being in the game for so long to get that hunger and energy of when you are trying to prove to the world that you are that motherf—–r,” Luda explains. “I was loving every minute of just from that perspective of putting myself in a room full of people that had so much to prove.”

Back when he had a fear of flying, DJ Khaled grinded for years on the road before becoming the We The Best mogul he is today. He preaches that same mantra to emerging artists to not skip steps and embrace the process laying the foundation for what’s to come.

“When you win overnight, you win so big on top and now you gotta find a way to keep going,” the Miami hitmaker says. “You might be going down now. I want to remind artists: Don’t try to skip the steps. Enjoy it, enjoy every moment of it.”

Khaled continues: “We gotta make sure that we tell the young artists make that music that will play forever. You might not be able to make that record today. But your process will and then you’ll enjoy it more. I always look at that blueprint with Quincy [Jones]. It doesn’t matter how old you are… They always try to put a time cap on hip-hop… You could do this forever.”

John Legend also returns as a producer of the rap competition series. “What I love about this show is you really get to know these artists and they’re creating original music that’s based on their real life,” he relays to Billboard. “I think that’s something that no other competition show can offer.”

Season 2 champion DreTL ended up hoisting the trophy and taking home the six-figure check after edging out California native Jay Taj in the final round, which the judges described as “a close call.”

Every time Ludacris attempted to put a ceiling on DreTL’s ability, he surpassed expectations and eventually couldn’t be denied.

“He just kept surprising me in areas where I thought he would only reach a certain amount of expectations,” Luda says of giving Dre the nod. “If your trajectory is starting a certain way, but you continue to ascend, that lets me know I don’t know how far you can get past someone I’m looking at that’s already considered great. You might go into another stratosphere of greatness. I just saw him ascend the entire show.”

From the camaraderie to the competition and bars, all 10 episodes from the rap competition series are now available for streaming on Netflix. Watch our full interview with the three superstar judges below.