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With the box-office success of Michael (taking in nearly $219 million worldwide so far), fans are itching to watch the Michael Jackson biopic again and again in the best picture and audio quality at home. Although it’s still in theaters, you can preorder the movie right now.

With prices starting at $29.96, Michael (2026) is available for preorder on Amazon, and the listing is the No. 1 best-seller from the retail giant.

As of this writing, Lionsgate hasn’t announced a release date, but it’s likely that Michael would drop on physical media sometime in late July or early August. Meanwhile, the biopic comes on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook.

How to preorder 'Michael' (2026) 4K Ultra HD Steelbook online

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‘Michael’ (2026)

Release date: TBA


And since the home video release is from Amazon, you can get Michael shipped to you for free if you’re a Prime member. However, if you’re not a Prime member, your online shopping basket has to be over $35 for free shipping.

Not a member? Sign up for a 30-day free trial to take advantage of all that Amazon Prime has to offer, including access to Prime Video, Prime Gaming and Amazon Photos; fast free shipping in less than two days with Prime Delivery; in-store discounts at Whole Foods Market; access to exclusive shopping events — such as Prime Day and Black Friday — and much more. Learn more about Amazon Prime and its benefits here.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Michael follows the early life of Michael Jackson (Jaafar Jackson) from stardom with The Jackson 5 to going solo and becoming the biggest and most popular entertainer in the world as the “King of Pop.”

The movie also stars Nia Long, Juliano Valdi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Laura Harrier, Jessica Sula, Mike Myers, Miles Teller, Colman Domingo and others.

Michael is available for preorder on Amazon. Prices start at $29.96 for the biopic on DVD. Once the release is ready to ship, Amazon would send you an email notification letting you know when you’d the movie delivered to your home.

In the meantime, watch the trailer for Michael below:

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

Chris Brown is urging a judge to bar any reference to his infamous 2009 domestic assault of Rihanna during an upcoming trial over his housekeeper’s dog bite injuries.

Trial is slated to begin this June in the case brought by Maria Avila, who claims Brown’s 200-pound dog Hades “viciously and brutally mauled” her while she was cleaning the R&B star’s Los Angeles-area house in 2020. Avila is seeking financial damages from Brown, who denies any liability for the alleged incident.

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With the trial fast approaching, lawyers for the two sides are now debating what evidence will be admissible for the jury to hear. Brown’s attorneys want the judge to exclude any references to the singer’s domestic violence record, including his felony plea for notoriously assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.

“Allowing the jury to hear of these domestic violence incidents at trial would encourage the jury to decide the case based on character or emotion, rather than the facts and applicable law,” wrote attorneys Michael Schonbuch and Abigail Morelli in a pretrial motion this past January.

Brown’s lawyers similarly asked the judge to bar any mention of his pending U.K. criminal case for allegedly assaulting a music producer with a bottle at a London nightclub. They argued that referencing these charges, which Brown denies, would “invite jurors to draw improper character inferences and view the defendant as a criminal or otherwise morally blameworthy.”

Avila’s attorney, Nancy Doumanian, countered in a Monday (April 27) response filing that Brown’s motions should be rejected as “overbroad, premature and legally unsound.” Doumanian said it’s too soon to say whether evidence of Brown’s criminal record will be relevant at the trial. Such evidence might be appropriate material for cross-examination, she argued, “if defendants or their witnesses testify in a manner that portrays defendant as law-abiding or non-threatening.”

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A judge is set to rule on the pretrial motions at a final hearing on June 5. The trial is then slated to begin on June 15.

Reps for Avila, Brown and Rihanna did not immediately return requests for comment on the matter on Tuesday (April 28).

Avila’s lawsuit, in which she is joined by her husband and her sister, alleges she was taking out the trash at Brown’s Tarzana home when Hades, the dog, attacked her out of nowhere and began “ripping off large chunks of her skin.” She claims Brown saw what happened and fled the scene with Hades, leaving her “alone and bleeding profusely.”

According to Avila, Brown is to blame because he should have known that this breed of dog, known as the Caucasian shepherd, had a propensity for unprovoked violence. She now wants the star to pay for her “permanent and debilitating injuries,” including facial disfigurement, scarring, vision loss and nerve damage.


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In conversation with Billboard and Honda Stage, Mariah the Scientist reflects on the early days of her career, the moment she decided to fully commit to music, and what it’s felt like to grow from intimate performances to bigger and bigger stages. Honest and introspective, she opens up about trusting herself, navigating uncertainty, and embracing the evolution of her artistry and connection with fans.

Mariah the Scientist: I discovered my love for music in elementary school when I joined the chorus, and it created a love for the intricacies of music, the sonics, the lyrics, the art form, but I got a scholarship to go to St John’s for science. The science that I was most interested in is biology. I really started to feel, hmm, college is cool, but if I want to go to medical school, they don’t really give scholarships out for medical school. And I started thinking, Well, what else am I good at? I was looking on YouTube every single night, all night seeing what was inspiring me searching insert artists Type Beat. I just had so many significant changes going on in my life. There were so many factors that made me think I should move in that direction. I never regarded music or the music industry as something that I would be a part of. I feel like I started to see my flowers when I started doing shows. What really shocked me is that I’ve gone to a lot of these places, like in Europe, South Africa. Now sometimes the English is not their first language, so to know that they have learned these songs has blown my mind. When it’s all said and done, I want people to think of Mariah the Scientists to have been hard working, creative, a lover, not just lover of art, but creator of art.

It’s a big week for Kany García who celebrates a double triumph as “1+1,” with Maluma, claims the No. 1 spot on both the Latin Airplay and Tropical Airplay charts (dated May 2). The dual victory marks García’s first No. 1 on each ranking. Maluma adds a 26th Latin Airplay chart-topper and fourth on Tropical Airplay.

“1+1” is the first single from Maluma’s seventh studio album, Loco X Volver, expected for a May 15 release via Sony Music Latin. The Colombian announced the album (on April 27) on his Instagram account as “something super important for me” and a return to his essence with a project he has worked on for two years. “I missed that dreamer boy,” he says. “I am strong, happy. This has helped me heal.”

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“1+1” takes the lead on both charts after a 40% airplay surge, earning 9.3 million audience impressions in the United States during the tracking week ending April 23, according to Luminate.

The song becomes the third salsa track to reach the top spot on both charts in 2026, following Luis Fonsi and Feid’s “Cambiaré” and Marc Anthony and Nathy Peluso’s “Como En El Idilio.” While both songs ruled the overall Latin Airplay chart for a single week in April, “Como En El Idilio” dominated Tropical Airplay chart for three consecutive weeks.

García achieves double success with her Maluma partnership. She previously reached a career-best No. 15 high on the Latin Airplay chart with “Feliz” in 2009. On Tropical Airplay, “1+1” marks her fourth top 10 hit, following the No. 7-peaking “Búscame,” with Carlos Vives, in 2021.

For Maluma, “1+1” adds to his solid track record, marking his 26th Latin Airplay No. 1 –his last being “Bronceador” (one week atop in Oct. 2025). On Tropical Airplay, “1+1” extends his dominance, after securing three No. 1 entries, each reigning for one week between 2014-16.

Across the United States some of the music industry’s legacy indie stores have been reporting their best day ever thanks to this year’s Record Store Day (RSD 2026) release line-up. As usual, Retail Track implemented the annual RSD store crawl on Saturday (April 18), visiting 10 stores that day to witness first-hand how RSD was performing. 

But unlike past years when Retail Track started further afield — in Poughkeepsie one year, in Patchogue another, and once in South Jersey — and stop by stores on the way back to New York City, this year the Crawl consisted of visiting stores in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, with the road trip culminating, as it usually does, at Rough Trade in Rockefeller Center for its annual Indie Plaza event.

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Retail Track began the day a little before 7:30 a.m. in my hometown of Astoria, Queens, with a visit to Pancakes Records on Steinway Street. There were already 60 people in line before the store’s scheduled 8 a.m. opening, including Kyle, who arrived first at 1 a.m. He said he was hoping to buy Laufey’s A Matter Of Time: Live at Madison Square Garden and Pink Pantheress’ Girl Like Me. Second in line was Jose, who got there at 2:30 a.m., whose coveted record list included Paramore’s All We Know Is Falling (Deluxe), Carly Rae Jepsen’s 7-inch “Disco Darling” and Dijon’s How Do You Feel About Getting Married.

Retail Track didn’t wait for Pancakes Records to open. Instead, he hopped into his jalopy at 7:40 a.m. and took off for Vinyl Veritas — which opened its flagship location in 2024 — to see how long the Brooklyn store’s line was ahead of its scheduled 8 a.m. opening. It was the only other store on the Crawl list scheduled to open that early, and — with Google Maps promising it was only nine miles and 19 minutes away — there was just enough time. However, an overturned car on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) stymied that plan and Betsy III — Retail Track’s 2000 Buick LeSabre — didn’t turn onto Front Street in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Dumbo until 8:30 a.m. Nevertheless, there was still a line of customers about 50 people long, suggesting the queue was even longer when the store opened.  

Rather than get my ass kicked by trying to jump the line, Retail Track figured it was safer to interview Vinyl Veritas owner Will Grandberg, via phone later. He reported two people were in line the midnight before RSD, with a third arriving at 3:45 a.m. on Saturday. By the time he got to the store at 5 a.m., he says there were about a dozen people waiting.

The store hosts two locations in the same building, including a street-level store on Front Street, and another on the seventh floor. On the seventh floor, customers received refreshments and discount offers (as well as a few giveaways) while four DJs continued to spin throughout the day— all livestreamed on Vinyl Veritas’ Instagram account. Grandberg declared it their best day ever since opening their doors in January 2024, with the Grateful Dead set being their top-seller for the day. Although, Grandberg shared, he wished the store had more inventory of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Disco Darling” single. 

Vinyl Veritas

Vinyl Veritas

Retail Track then made his way to 5th Avenue Records in Park Slope, which the internet claims is open at 10 a.m. on Saturday, but by 9:05 a.m., there wasn’t any line. Since there was a parking spot out front and the next group of stores on the crawl list wouldn’t open until 10 a.m., Retail Track decided to investigate. Across the street was Smith’s Tavern, a splendid dive establishment which was already open and had an impressive 10 customers. Since Retail Track was driving, it seemed wise to forego asking for the usual can of PBR or Budweiser, and instead requested a Diet Coke, which subsequently turned out to be the worst Diet Coke ever. Regardless, Retail Track persisted in his informational quest, and queries to the customers and bartender yielded information that the store had been closed for some time. But, customers said, every once in a while, the store would seemingly open for a day or two before once again shuttering for weeks on end. 

Next up, Retail Track drove to nearby Psychic Records, also in Park Slope, and, by 9:30 a.m., saw a line of about 15 people waiting ahead of the store’s 11 a.m. opening. Henry was first in line, and was looking to buy the Stax B-sides record and Ray Charles Live set. Peyton was second in line — even though, she claimed to have been the first to arrive at 7 a.m. However, she says she had gone across the street for a coffee, thus losing her spot to Henry. But not to worry, her desired RSD titles were different than Henry’s as she was looking for Taylor Swift and Steely Dan records and some jazz records for her dad. Peyton told Retail Track she chose to shop at Psychic for RSD because researched and heard people don’t line up at the store as early as they do at other participating places. 

Retail Track left before the store opened, but spoke to Psychic Records owner Chris Lentz via phone on Sunday, who said his store’s big seller was Sonic Youth’s Diamond Seas. He also said that he sold many copies of the Springsteen album and a few Pink Floyd albums. Lentz also admitted that he wished he had more copies of the RSD pop records like Charli xcx and Jepsen. Overall, he says the store has a wide customer base, so he carries everything for Taylor Swift to Throbbing Gristle. 

For the last stop in the Park Slope segment of the RSD crawl, Retail Track headed to Sterling Records, arriving at 9:58 a.m. According to the internet, the store usually opens at 10 a.m. on Saturday. But, in celebration of the RSD festivities, the store opened earlier than expected, at 9:15 a.m. Sterling Records owner Gary Giddens reported to Retail Track that there were about 30 people in line when he opened the store. A perusal of the inventory showed that at a little after 10 a.m., the store still had plenty of copies of The Cure, Pink Floyd and Jeff Buckley RSD releases, but Sterling noted he could have used more of the Bruce Springsteen Live From Asbury Park 2024 boxset.  

After Retail Track left, Giddens called to report the Buckley and Pink Floyd and Cure titles had sold out by noon. Other titles that did well were Olivia Dean’s “BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge,” the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack and Ariana Grande/Cynthia Erivo Wicked: One Wonderful Night (Live) titles, he said. 

Sterling Records was a fairly new two-year old store. Giddens, who is 69, told Retail Track he got the urge to open a record store. “I have never been a very smart person but wanted to do something that makes me happy,” he said. “And I am friends with Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yahoo, and Erasure) and was talking to him and said aloud that I wanted to open a record store; and Clarke said ‘I’m in.’” Clarke serves as an investor for the store.

Retail Track opted to browse Sterling Records for his own purchases, taking home the Lunachicks’ We Can Be Worster, Stax Killer B’s, The Westbound Sound: Single Minded and the non-RSD title, Cramps’ Bad Music For Bad People.

Since it was still early and most other stores on Retail Track’s crawl list weren’t opening until noon, a trek to VP Records in Jamaica Queens, which opened at 10 a.m., seemed like the next logical store to visit. VP Records Retail is a unit of Jamaican-born record label and music company. The company was founded by husband and wife Vincent “Randy” and Pat Chin.

The store’s website claims that VP Records is the largest indie reggae label in the world. Throughout the years, they’ve put out releases from artists including Yellowman, Lee Scratch Perry, Gregory Isaacs, Buju Banton, Maxi Priest, Beenie Man, Shaggy and Sly & Robbie. Like the label, the store on Jamaica Avenue is mainly dedicated to dance hall, reggae and all its sub-genres, but the store also carries a mix of R&B and soul.

When Retail Track arrived at VP Records at 11 a.m., there was a beehive of activity in the parking lot next to the store. Store manager Rashan Mykoo reported that the RSD Festivities would begin at noon, with merch tables and four DJs scheduled to entertain during the day. Recording artist I Wayne was also due to make an appearance to help sell merchandise, sign autographs, and take photos with fans. The vinyl showcase featured “legendary sound system King Addies, alongside Massive B, DJ Proud, and DJ Anthony, with hosting duties were led by Killa Boo and sound powered by Next Level Sound,” according to a subsequent press release. After I Wayne performed, Buju Banton surprised guests with an appearance.

“Presenting the sound systems each year has been a great way to connect with the community and today will be well remembered,” Chris Chin, CEO of VP Records, said in a statement.  

Record Rouser

Rebel Rouser

Meanwhile, inside the store, featured RSD titles included the Bruno Mars “Collaboration,” Elton John “The Remixes,” the Ariana Grande/Cynthia Erivo Wicked: One Wonderful Light (Live), The Soundtrack, the Taylor Swift “Elizabeth Taylor” 7-inch single; and Ziggy Marley’s Brightside. Besides official RSD titles, the store’s own highlighted selections were Jackie Mittoo’s “The Myestro — In Cold Blood,” Congo Ashanty’s “Congo,” Ziggy Marley albums and Randy’s 50th Anniversary Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, the latter compilation titles named for the company’s late co-founder, Mr. Chin. 

While the store still had the Bruno Mars title in stock when Retail Track arrived, Mykoo said every copy of the Taylor Swift single had been bought up by a woman who had arrived in time for the store’s opening. As it was, Retail Track scored the RSD title Skeeter Davis’ “The End of The World: Navy Hoedown Sessions,” quipping the store’s buyer must have purchased the title by mistake. Instead of sticking around for the party to begin next door in the parking lot, Retail Track headed back to Brooklyn for the next RSD stop on his list, but first he went to grab some sustenance, i.e. lunch.

By 1 p.m., Retail Track pulled up to Octopus Records for the Bushwick leg of his crawl. Store owner Nigel Filson reported he had about 20 people waiting when he opened at 11 a.m., with the first bunch of arrivals rewarded with cupcakes. The big sellers during the day at that point had been the Pink Pantheress and Charlie xcx titles, while store associate Celine Mancuri noted that Cam’ron’s “Killer Season” was also popular. Filson also acknowledged that some customers were asking for the Taylor Swift record, “Which I didn’t carry.”  

At Octopus Records, Retail Track scored RSD titles Power Pop! American Power Pop for the Now Generation: 1977-1981, Teenage Fanclub & Jad Fair’s Words of Wisdom and Hope and the Misfits Famous Monsters

Next up was the nearby Rebel Rouser, which didn’t participate in Record Store Day because, in the words of sales associate William Martin, “We don’t do corporate discs.”

Rebel Rouser primarily carries used records and is in a long shed in an alley off Broadway, in Bushwick, about a mile from the Williamsburg Bridge. It has a huge selection of punk, glam rock, power pop, new wave, garage rock and old soul music, both albums and 7-inch singles, as well as many old classic rock magazines and fan zines. The only new product it carries are largely local indie band releases. 

“Our idea of record store day is loading up on local indie bands and selling vinyl LPs at 25% off,” Marten said. 

At Rebel Rouser Retail Track bought The Charly Black Music Sampler, two Millie Jackson albums: E.S.P. (Extra Sexual Persuasion) and Get It Out’cha System, Candi Staton’s eponymously named album, Little Anthony and the Imperials’ “I’m on the Outside (Looking In)” and Johnny Thunder’s “Loop De Loop.” 

Finally, Retail Track arrived at what would be the last Brooklyn record store stop of the day at Superior Elevation Records, also located in Bushwick. The used record store caters to the DJ and the dance music crowd, carrying electronica, house, disco and soul music; sales associate Alex Feldherr says the store and even has a school for DJs. Despite the store not participating in Record Store Day, Feldherr shared that business on the day was good.

“That’s because “we get everybody who is tired of waiting on lines,” he told Retail Track. At Superior Elevation Retail Track bought two Laura Lee albums, Women’s Love Rights and her eponymously named album; and an album from 100 Proof (Aged In Soul).  

Around the same time, elsewhere in Brooklyn, Billboard’s executive digital editor, east coast, Joe Lynch served as a Retail Track deputy for the day and visited the Record Grouch and the Academy Records Annex, both in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint. 

After participating in Record Store Day celebrations for several years, Record Grouch in Greenpoint chose to opt out of the vinyl holiday the last few years. But even without a trove of exclusives on offer, the highly curated store of reasonably priced rarities and obscurities was packed on Saturday afternoon. Walking past an 8.5 x 11-inch piece of paper proudly proclaiming, “THIS IS NOT A RECORD STORE DAY CELEBRATION,” patrons browsed the stacks while an assortment of local and indie artists performed in the small space. The Retail Track Brooklyn deputy caught a punishing but impressive experimental set from Outdoor Horse Shrine (one of five artists playing Record Grouch that day) while picking up used copies of Jobriath’s second album, the soundtrack to Forbidden Zone by Oingo Boingo and a single by ANOHNI and the Johnsons. 

Moving toward Williamsburg, but still in Greenpoint, the Academy Records Annex was also doing banger business despite opting out of the official celebration. Patrons munched on free Peter Pan donuts while browsing the store’s extensive, eclectic collection of new and used vinyl (and if you wanted to enjoy the fabulous weather, 40-some boxes of music were out on the curb). Academy Records owner Cory Feierman says he stopped participating three years ago — not just because it was becoming too corporate, but for business reasons. 

“I might make $20,000 in a day, but I spent $13,000 to get there, and I’m left with a bunch of product that won’t move,” he tells Retail Track’s Brooklyn deputy. In his eyes, the early years of RSD included “warranted” reissues of rarities, but the recent glut of RSD exclusives are much less interesting to him and his shoppers. Retail Track picked up a clear-vinyl copy of Rosalía’s Lux (which he notes is about as mainstream as the store’s product gets) as well as used copies of Isaac Hayes’ Shaft soundtrack plus Eartha Kitt’s 1955 album Down to Eartha

Pancake Records in Astoria

Pancake Records in Astoria

For the last stop of the day before heading into Manhattan for the annual Rough Trade Indie Plaza RSD celebration, Retail Track returned to his hometown of Astoria to re-visit Pancake Records and see how it was doing since opening, arriving there at 3:30 p.m. (Before joining Billboard, Retail Tracked worked in three record stores on the same block on Steinway Street— Words ’n’ Music, Record Scene/Record Spectacular and Sound City — in the 1970’s and 1980s.)

Pancakes Records co-owner Tanya Gorbunova reported that the big sellers were John Frusciante’s “To Only Record Water For Ten Days;” Ethel Cain’s Inbred, and Hemlock Springs going…going…GONE! Meanwhile she said the Springsteen and Pink Floyd titles were slow movers on RSD, but she wasn’t worried about the latter, “because Pink Floyd fans are known for sleeping in.”  

For RSD, the store was offering customers a selection of CDs for only 50 cents, as well as 10% off used records. Overall, she said the store’s customer base was a cross between the “pop echo chamber, but still have people looking for niche stuff.”  

For the last purchase of the day, at Pancakes Records, Retail Track scored Robert Plant’s Savin Grace All that Glitters with Suzi Dian.  

Alas, the day unfortunately ended without Retail Track scoring the four RSD titles was still looking for: Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted, Bob Brady and the Con Chords, Bruce Kulick’s Transformer, and T. Rex’s Songs from ‘Marc.’

Joe Lynch provided assistance in preparing this story. 


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Madonna’s “I Feel So Free,” the first song released from her forthcoming Confessions II studio album (due July 3 via Warner Records), debuts on four Billboard charts (dated May 2), including a No. 1 arrival on the Dance Digital Song Sales tally. It also takes a bow on Digital Song Sales, Hot Dance/Pop Songs and Dance/Mix Show Airplay.

The track arrived exclusively via iHeartRadio’s Pride Radio on Friday, April 17, before becoming widely available through streaming services and digital download stores, alongside an official visualizer.

In addition to its No. 1 entrance on Dance Digital Song Sales (Madonna’s second leader on the 16-year-old chart), “I Feel So Free” arrives at No. 6 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales, marking her first appearance on the ranking since 2024, when “Like a Prayer” debuted on the ranking, 35 years after its release, following its appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine. “Free” becomes her 10th top 10 on Digital Song Sales, which started in 2004.

Speaking of “Like a Prayer,” DJ Josh Fawaz’s cover of “Like a Prayer” climbs 5-3 on Dance Digital Song Sales, debuts at No. 19 on Digital Song Sales and starts at No. 11 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.

“I Feel So Free” also opens at No. 12 on Hot Dance/Pop Songs — her first entry on the one-year-old chart, following seven appearances on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (the latter chart is now a DJ-centered ranking).

Plus, the track debuts at No. 14 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay, her 17th entry on the 23-year-old ranking, and first since “Populate,” with The Weeknd and Playboi Carti, in 2023. It’s also her highest-charting song on the list in 14 years — dating to “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., in 2012 (No. 11 peak).

Even more impressively, only four songs have had higher debuts on Dance/Mix Show Airplay this decade: “Looking for Me” (Paul Woolford, Diplo and Kareen Lomax; No. 4 debut in 2020), “Don’t Forget My Love” (Diplo and Miguel; No. 12 in 2022), “Favour” (FISHER and Tones And I; No. 12 last week) and “You” (Regard x Troye Sivan x Tate McRae; No. 13 in 2021).

The May 2-dated charts reflect the April 17-23 tracking week, as reported by Luminate.

Dance Digital Song Sales ranks the week’s top-selling download songs in the dance genre, while Digital Song Sales is the overall weekly sales chart for all downloaded songs. Hot Dance/Pop Songs is a multi-metric chart that blends streams, airplay and sales to rank the week’s most popular dance/pop tracks and the Dance/Mix Show airplay tally ranks the week’s most popular songs ranked by radio airplay detections at dance-formatted stations and mix show plays on mainstream top 40 and select rhythmic stations.

A man accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and plotting to attack one of superstar singer Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna nearly two years ago pleaded guilty as his trial began on Tuesday, his lawyer said.

The plot was thwarted, but Austrian authorities still canceled Swift’s three performances in August 2024. The singer’s fans, known as Swifties, who had flown to Austria from across the globe to attend a performance of her record-setting Eras Tour were devastated, but rallied to turn Vienna into a citywide trading post for friendship bracelets and singalongs.

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The defendant, a 21-year-old Austrian citizen known only as Beran A. in line with Austrian privacy rules, faced charges including terrorist offenses and membership in a terrorist organization. He could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, and has been in custody since August 2024.

The Vienna plot drew comparisons to a 2017 attack by a suicide bomber at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people. The bomb detonated at the end of Grande’s concert as thousands of young fans were leaving, becoming the deadliest extremist attack in the United Kingdom in recent years.

Defendant regrets his actions

Anna Mair, his defense attorney, said her client pleaded guilty to the charges related to the concert plot.

“Of course, he deeply regrets it all,” Mair said outside the court, adding that “he says it was the biggest mistake of his life.”

Austrian media reported that he also pleaded guilty to being a member of a terrorist organization.

Beran A. is facing trial alongside Arda K., whose full name also has not been made public. They, along with a third man, planned to carry out simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan in 2024 in the name of the Islamic State group. Beran A. and Arda K. never carried out their attacks.

Only Beran A. was charged in connection with the concert plot. He pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the plot for simultaneous attacks.

He allegedly planned to target onlookers gathered outside Ernst Happel Stadium — up to 30,000 each night, with another 65,000 inside the venue — with knives or homemade explosives. The suspect hoped to “kill as many people as possible,” authorities said in 2024. The U.S. provided intelligence that fed into the decision to cancel the concerts.

Beran A. also allegedly networked with other members of the Islamic State group ahead of the planned attack. Prosecutors say they discussed purchasing weapons and making bombs, and that the defendant also sought to illegally buy weapons in the days ahead of the performance. In addition, he swore allegiance to the militant group.

Authorities searched his apartment on Aug. 7, 2024, and found bomb-making materials. The concerts were scheduled to begin the next day.

“Having our Vienna shows canceled was devastating,” Swift wrote in a statement posted to Instagram two weeks later. “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows.”

A representative for Swift did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.

The trial is being held in Wiener Neustadt, about an hour south of Vienna. The proceedings are set to continue May 12.

Three attacks planned in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE

Prosecutors have also filed terrorism-related charges against Arda K. in the trial in connection with the plan for simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

The third man in that plot, Hasan E., allegedly stabbed a security guard with a knife at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on March 11, 2024. He was arrested and remains in pretrial detention in Saudi Arabia, Austrian prosecutors said.

Beran A. and Arda K. did not carry out their plans in Turkey and the UAE. Beran A. returned to Vienna and then allegedly began plotting to attack a Swift concert there.

This story was first published by The Associated Press.


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Kacey Musgraves is teaming up with musicians from her home state of Texas on a trio of upcoming album release shows, with the country star announcing Tuesday (April 28) that she’ll be joined by The Mariachi Brothers — aka the three boys who were detained by ICE earlier this year despite previously performing on Capitol Hill — on the outing.

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The shows will take place at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas, on May 3, 4 and 5, kicking off two days after Musgraves’ new LP Middle of Nowhere is set to drop. The Grammy winner got the word out by simply sharing a poster for the event on Instagram reading, “Kacey Musgraves … with special guests The Mariachi Brothers.”

Below that, the names of McAllen residents Antonio, Caleb and Joshua Gámez-Cuéllar — the sons of Gámez Martínez and Emma Guadalupe Cuéllar López — are displayed. The whole family was arrested by ICE and detained in Texas for about two weeks before they were released in March amid growing unrest over the Donald Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies, which has included mass deportations and widely protested raids across the country.

Antonio, who is 18, is an award-winning mariachi trumpeter. His band with 14-year-old Caleb and 12-year-old Joshua played on Capitol Hill last year at the invitation of Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican congresswoman who has been a vocal supporter of the twice-impeached president and his immigration policies. When the brothers and their parents were arrested, however, she called for their release and described them as “valued members of the community.”

Like dozens of other musicians, Musgraves has previously spoken out against ICE. In June 2025, she wrote on X, “If protesters can’t wear masks ICE shouldn’t be able to either.”

Arriving Friday (May 1), Middle of Nowhere will mark her sixth studio album and follow up 2024’s Deeper Well, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The project features collaborations with Miranda Lambert and Willie Nelson. So far, fans have only heard two tracks: lead single “Dry Spell” and the title track.

See Musgraves’ announcement for her performances with The Mariachi Brothers below.

With Offset and Quavo on better terms, there appears to still be hope for a Migos reunion.

Quavo took to his Instagram Story on Monday (April 27), laying out plans for his next creative endeavors, which include a posthumous TakeOff album, another joint album with his late nephew, who was killed in 2022, and then he left room for what appears to be a possible Migos project.

“Warriors Never fold. Jobs Not Finished. TAKEOFF ALBUM. UNC N PHEW 2. LAST ????? ALBUM. REAL MIGO BLOOD RUN IN MY VIENS!!! AINT NO NEW CHAPTER JUST THE NEXT ONE,” Huncho wrote alongside a photo of himself with TakeOff.

Offset followed up with a post of his own to his Instagram Story a few hours later, which included a photo of the ATL trio. “On dat,” he wrote.

Migos have four studio albums to date, with the most recent arriving in 2021 with Culture III, which was billed as the final installment from the Atlanta group. The LP debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 130,000 total album units earned.

TakeOff (born Kirshnik Khari Ball) was shot and killed during a Halloween party he attended at 810 Billiards & Bowling in downtown Houston with Quavo on Nov. 1, 2022.

Just a few weeks before TakeOff’s death, Quavo and Take teamed up to release their first joint project with Only Built for Infinity Links in October 2022, which reached the Billboard 200’s top 10 (No. 7).

During a 2023 interview, Quavo teased that TakeOff had hundreds of songs in the stash that could be used down the line. “We’ve got a lot of songs,” he said. “In this phone alone, it’s 150 songs. Every phone probably has 350 songs. He’s got songs I never heard, ‘I’m like, bro, ‘Why you never played me this?’”

Quavo released a posthumous collaboration with TakeOff in 2025, which saw the uncle and nephew combination join forces for “Dope Boy Phone.”

As for Offset, he’s currently recovering from being shot outside the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida, earlier in April. The “Ric Flair Drip” rapper returned to the stage days after the shooting for a performance at the University of Arkansas on April 11.

Billboard has reached out to reps for Quavo and Offset for comment.

It looks as if there is still bad blood between Zach Bryan and Gavin Adcock.

The two artists have had a lengthy feud, one that previously almost turned into a physical fight between the two singers last year. Though the two have not had much to say about each other on social media in recent months, Adcock has spoken out after Bryan received backlash from some fans online.

On April 25, Bryan’s show in Nebraska had to be cut short due to weather, after which he took to social media and apologized to fans. He also posted the setlist, showing that only about six songs had to be cut from the set.

Some fans expressed their disappointment online. One commenter wrote on X, “Partial refunds need to be given…I know a lot of this was out of your control but we got half a show. Very disappointing.” Bryan responded to the commenter, writing, “Karen ahhh tweet.”

Another commenter on X lashed out at Bryan for that response, writing, “What a scum response to a fan who probably waited all night to see you and the opening artists, I paid over a thousand dollars to see this show and waited in my car for over 4 hours. Minimal communication by the stadium and Zach Bryan himself. Ridiculous.” Bryan responded with the same message, “Karen ahhh tweet.”

Adcock commented on a Billboard Country Instagram post about the situation, writing of Bryan, “Still don’t know how to treat fans.”

The public animosity between Bryan and Adcock began last year, after a fan (who later asserted they were a teenager) expressed disappointment after Bryan did not take a photo with them during his three-night run of shows at MetLife Stadium. Bryan responded in a TikTok, writing, “You’re not entitled after someone plays two and a half hours to a picture or a hello,” and adding the expletive acronym “GOMD.” Adcock then criticized Bryan during an appearance on Rolling Stone‘s Nashville Now podcast, characterizing Bryan’s response as disrespectful toward the young fan. “It wasn’t about not wanting to sign autographs after a show, it’s like letting a 14-year-old kid rant, without saying, ‘get off my d–k.’ You’re bigger than that,” Adcock said.

Last September, video showed Bryan scaling a fence at Oklahoma’s Born & Raised Festival and confronting Adcock, as people separated the two.

In March 2026, Bryan launched his With Heaven On Tour, in support of his new album With Heaven On Top. The album also features the single “Plastic Cigarette.”

Adcock just released his new project Country Never Dies, a collection of cover versions of classic songs from artists including Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Johnny Cash and more legendary artists. He will launch his The Day I Hang It Up Tour in May.