For the last few years, Post Malone has been consistently popping up in Indio, Calif. – and each time, his presence becomes greater. 

In 2023, he was a surprise weekend one guest at Coachella during Bad Bunny’s historic headlining set. In 2024, while teasing his first foray into country music, he was booked to perform at Stagecoach. In 2025, Post returned to the desert to headline Coachella himself, and on Sunday (April 26), he returned to the desert to close out the third and final night of Stagecoach. In doing so, Post Malone became the first artist to ever headline both Coachella and Stagecoach — let alone in back-to-back years.

“It makes sense that Post has headlined both events,” says Paul Tollett, president and CEO of Goldenvoice, which promotes the fests. “He’s perfectly comfortable performing to such different audiences.”

Following Post’s Stagecoach debut in 2024, during which he performed a set of country covers, Goldenvoice/AEG executive VP Stacy Vee was eager to book him again – and for an even bigger role.

“We had Post play after Willie Nelson and before Miranda Lambert at Stagecoach 2024,” she recalls. “The Stagecoach fans loved his set of covers, [but] at the time he had yet to release a solo country project. After the weekend finished, I wasted no time talking about the right time to bring him back to headline the show.”

For his headlining set on Sunday night, Post pulled out his biggest country hits from his 2024 album F-1 Trillion, including the Country Airplay chart-topper “Pour Me a Drink” and Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “I Had Some Help.” And despite having teased a second upcoming country album to Billboard last year — and even more recently revealing on social media the possible title of the two-disc set to be The Eternal Buzz — no new music made its way into his Stagecoach performance.

Still, even without different material, Tollett says Post managed to make the show feel entirely different from when he headlined Coachella one year ago. “[It was] interesting to see how he has uniquely built his live show based on the setting,” he says. Adds Vee: “I feed off of his energy. He is so genuinely happy to be in the country space when out at the show.”

As further proof, next month Post is heading out on his Big Ass Stadium Tour Part 2 – teaming again with Jelly Roll and also welcoming opener Carter Faith. “There’s nothing Post Malone can’t do, and he does it all with total sincerity, versatility and commitment,” says Vee. “Whatever he does, he does it his own way.”

That singularity is exactly why Tollett says he hopes to “see him again in the desert – it’s always a good time.”

Alicia Keys has been working in the music industry for more than two decades, but according to her, it’s still as much of a boy’s club as it was when she first started out.

In a recent interview with The Times, the 17-time Grammy winner opened up about the inequality she’s witnessed as a woman who writes, sings and produces. “The music world becomes a good old boy network, and all the incredible women working as engineers and producers are not given an open door,” she told the publication. “Women make up 2 per cent of the entire business. I’m a producer and here we are, doing a bunch of work, killing it, so it’s shocking that the number is so small.”

Merriam-Webster defines “old boy network” as an “informal system in which wealthy men with the same social and educational background” help one another advance professionally. “No one tells you these things,” Keys continued in the interview. “You deal with all these executives and lawyers who love to take their percentages and overcharge you, but they never say, ‘How can we ensure you’re here to stay?’”

“Rather than just being pissed off about that,” she added, “it was time to create opportunities.”

The four-time Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping musician is referring to She Is the Music, a nonprofit she cofounded that facilitates songwriting sessions, mentorships and educational opportunities for women in music. In February, the organization hosted its second annual Women Sharing the Spotlight event, where Keys honored Megan Moroney and her all-women team.

“Tonight’s event is about being able to say, ‘Wait, I do have this position, and I can open the door,’” Keys said at the ceremony. “It’s one thing when you’re banging on a door to be let in; it’s another thing when someone opens the door and says, ‘Come in and join me.’”

The multi-hyphenate last dropped an album in 2021, with Keys reaching No. 41 on the Billboard 200 — a chart she’s topped five times. She told The Times that she’s currently working on a new LP.

“The music is very close to being cooked, and I’m excited,” she said. “There is a craft, an ability to write songs that mean something to people, which has given me longevity and you’ll hear that in the new album.”

Lexie Brown is distancing herself from the online gossip mill amid rumors linking her to Klay Thompson, whom Megan Thee Stallion recently alleged cheated on her.

In a Sunday (April 26) post on Instagram Stories, the WNBA star wrote, “I’ve seen what’s being said online, and I want to be clear, none of it is true.”

“I have no involvement in this situation,” she continued. “This week marks the start of an important and exciting new season for me, and my focus is fully on that.”

At press time, it’s unclear where the speculation tying Thompson to Brown came from. One person on X alleged that the Seattle Storm guard had shared screenshots of incriminating messages between herself and the NBA player on her private Story, but Billboard was unable to verify. Billboard has reached out to Thompson for comment.

Brown’s statement comes one day after Meg put Thompson — whom she dated for a little under a year — on blast, writing on Instagram Stories, “Cheating, had me around your whole family playing house… got ‘cold feet.’”

The hip-hop star also accused the Dallas Mavericks athlete of “HORRIBLE mood swings and treatment towards me during [his] basketball season,” adding, “Now you don’t know if you can be ‘monogamous’????”

In a statement shared with Billboard shortly afterward, Meg confirmed that she’d “made the decision to end” things with Thompson. “Trust, fidelity and respect are non-negotiable for me in a relationship, and when those values are compromised, there’s no real path forward,” she continued.

The breakup was shocking to fans, as the hitmaker had seemed blissfully in love with Thompson in the months leading up to the split. After first getting together in summer 2025, the now exes often shared sweet videos together, such as Meg filming their (now-deleted) couple’s workout routine at one point. While making their red carpet debut together in July at the musician’s Pete & Thomas Foundation Gala, she told Page Six, “I have never dated somebody so kind. This is my first relationship where I’ve ever been with somebody who’s genuinely a nice person, and he makes me genuinely happy.”

Billboard unveiled a slate of presenters and additional honorees for its 2026 Women in Music event on Monday (April 27), broadening the scope of the annual ceremony with a mix of established artists, global acts and industry figures set to take part.

The presenters announced are Bella Poarch, Brandi Carlile, Cara Delevingne, Ciara, Coco Jones, Dionne Warwick, Eva Longoria, Victoria Monét, Kim Petras, Lainey Wilson and Tyla.

The event, set for April 29 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, will stream live on Billboard.com and the Billboard YouTube channel.

In addition to the presenter lineup, Billboard revealed the new Global Force honorees, with BINI receiving the Billboard Philippines Global Force Award and The Beaches set to be recognized as Billboard Canada’s Global Force, presented by FACTOR.

The announcement builds on a previously revealed list of award recipients, highlighting a wide cross-section of artists and executives across genres and markets. Among the key honors, KPop Demon Hunters‘ HUNTR/X (EJAE, AUDREY NUNA and REI AMI) will receive Women of the Year, while Elizabeth Matthews has been named Executive of the Year.

Other honorees include Kehlani (Impact Award), Laufey (Innovator Award), Mariah the Scientist (Rising Star Award), Tate McRae (Hitmaker Award), Teyana Taylor (Visionary Award), Thalía (Icon Award) and Zara Larsson (Breakthrough Award).

Host Keke Palmer is also set to perform during the ceremony, alongside appearances from several honorees.

On the digital side, Billboard is expanding audience engagement around the event. Creator Drew Afualo and Billboard executive editor Lyndsey Havens will cohost the red carpet livestream, with Afualo inviting fans to submit questions via social media for use during the broadcast.

The Global Force additions further emphasize Billboard’s international strategy, spotlighting artists who have built audiences beyond their home markets. The inclusion of BINI and The Beaches reflects the increasing role of regional scenes in shaping global pop consumption, particularly as streaming continues to blur geographic boundaries.

Now in its latest iteration, Women in Music remains one of Billboard’s flagship events, bringing together artists, executives and creators to recognize achievement across the industry while also serving as a platform for performance, collaboration and cross-market visibility.

Sometimes dreams do come true. Just ask Geese bassist Dom DiGesu, who achieved a lifelong wish when he got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the New York Mets game on Sunday (April 26) at Citi Field against the Colorado Rockies.

And, unlike so many celeb first pitchers, southpaw DiGesu nailed it, hurling his effort right down the middle, if a little high. He was joined by his bandmates on the mound — singer Cameron Winter, guitarist Emily Green and drummer Max Bassin, all wearing their own custom Mets jerseys — and he enthusiastically celebrated afterward with a big bear hug from his home team’s mascot, Mr. Met, and his bandmates.

A caption on an Instagram Story from the band celebrating the windup, the pitch and the Mr. Met embrace, read “Absolutely honored,” with DiGesu adding “Best day ever.” The Brooklyn-proud band have a history with Mr. Met, with the ball-headed mascot showing up to pose with the group backstage at their Brooklyn Paramount show in October and DiGesu rocking a Mets shirt for the band’s NPR Tiny Desk concert in December.

In an interview with WNYC last week, DiGesu said he was “really excited” about the first pitch, explaining that after Mr. Met showed up to the Paramount show last year “he made it clear he was a fan, and that if we wanted to work together in the future on something that [the team] was down to do something. I immediately was like, ‘Oh my God!’ It’s always been an idea of mine to have Geese throw out the first pitch. I’ve wanted to do that my whole life, ever since I was a kid.” He also noted that his bandmates are “casual” Mets fans, revealing that they will throw on sports radio in the van on tour and listen to games at his request.

The bassist, who play a bit of Little League and messed around on the field with friends in high school, admittedly did practice a bit, just to brush the “dust off.” Luckily for DiGesu, his spotlight pitch came after the Mets stopped a franchise-record 12-game losing streak by beating the Minnesota Twins 3-2 on Apr. 22. The Mets are currently tied with the Phillies for last place in the National League East with a 9-19 record; the Mets lost Sunday’s game to the Rockies 3-1, completing a clean sweep of the three-game weekend series.

Last week, Geese announced the dates for their fall 2026 Getting Killed Again North American tour in support of their fourth album, last year’s Getting Killed.