Rihanna is a Billie Eilish fan!

In an interview with an 11-year-old journalist at her recent launch event for her new Fenty x Puma collection this week, RiRi was asked who her dream musical collaborator would be. “If I could only do a song with Billie Eilish. She’s so good,” she shared.

New music has been a longtime desire for RiRi fans. The “Love on the Brain” singer hasn’t released an album since Anti dropped in 2016 , and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The project also featured three Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits, including the No. 1 “Work,” featuring Drake. In July 2017, she hit No. 2 with Bryson Tiller on DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts.”

Most recently, just before she headlined the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show, Rihanna dropped “Lift Me Up,” featured on the soundtrack of the Marvel sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Rihanna also revealed that she’s starting over with her elusive ninth studio album, and the beauty mogul’s “prepared” to get back in the studio with her newfound perspective. “Yeah, I’m starting over,” RiRi declared to Entertainment Tonight. “But I don’t want to neglect the songs that I have, so I actually want to go back and listen to stuff with new ears, with my new perspective and then see what applies and what I’m still in love with.”

Watch her full interview at the Fenty x Puma launch event below.

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BTS fans can travel through Jung Kook’s Golden moments in a pop-up exhibition opening in Los Angeles next month. Jung Kook Exhibition ‘Golden: The Moments’ offers an immersive, deep dive into Golden, the K-Pop star’s debut solo album.

Golden: The Moments launches at Ace Mission Studios in Los Angeles on Nov. 1. According to the description, the exhibition takes fans on a visual and audible journey sharing the story behind Jung Kook’s solo debut and “capturing key moments that shaped his musical world.”  

Tickets for Golden: The Moments are priced at $26.86 for general admission, plus an additional $2 for parking and another $2.58 in fees. Tickets are selling fast, but a select number of passes are available for opening weekend, in addition to Nov. 6-10 and Nov. 13-17. The exhibit lasts for 60-90 minutes and opens from 11:40 a.m. until 6:40 p.m.

Golden: The Moments opened in Seoul, South Korea in late August. The traveling exhibit, which features Samsung Frame speakers with photos of Jung Kook, lands in Los Angeles ahead of the first anniversary of Golden, released on Nov. 3, 2023.  

The BTS Army can learn more about Golden in Jung Kook: I Am Still – Party Edition, an updated edition of his documentary releasing in select theaters on Oct. 11.

Jung Kook’s solo effort, featuring the Latto-assisted, hit single “Seven,” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Charts and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

Although Jung Kook, Jin, Jimin, V, Suga, RM and J-Hope, have been focused on their respective solo projects and completing mandatory military service, the Bangtan Boys will be back together soon. BTS is scheduled to reunite in 2025.

 

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.

Thursday Night Football is back with its biggest season yet. The Los Angeles Rams will host the Minnesota Vikings for the latest TNF game of the 2024-2025 season, streaming exclusively on Prime Video on Thursday (Oct. 24).

Like other TNF games, pregame coverage will launch at 7 p.m. ET, one hour before the Rams vs. Vikings matchup. A total of 17 games will stream on Prime Video including the Black Friday game and the NFL Wild Card Game.

Amazon secured exclusive rights to stream Thursday night NFL games on Prime Video in 2022, marking a new era for sports fans. According to The Wrap, TNF’s season opener snagged nearly 15 million viewers making it the third, most-watched TNF game in Prime Video history despite a small, one percent drop in viewership compared to last year.

Last year’s Black Friday game between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins averaged around 11.18 million viewers in total but the TNF season opener hit a streaming high with 15.05 million people tuning in to watch the Philadelphia Eagles win over the Vikings (34-28). At the time, the ratings increased by two million from the previous season, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Prime Video scored another ratings high this season after Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce made a surprise appearance at the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos game last October and witnessed Kansas City triumph over the Broncos (19-8). Ratings for the game spiked to 13.83 million viewers — a 57 percent increase compared to a TNF football game around the same time last year, per Deadline. Swift also attended a TNF game this month.

The Grammy winner is no stranger to Prime Video and TNF. Swift premiered a teaser trailer for her Midnights album during a TNF game in 2022.

The Chiefs are expected to play in this year’s Black Friday game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 29, but Swift might not be there. The “Fortnight” singer will be on the road for the second leg of her Eras tour launching next month.

In other music news, Garth Brooks headlined the Amazon Music Live Concert on Black Friday last year. The Grammy winner treated fans to a “Diver-Bar” concert event live streamed from the grand opening of Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk, Brooks’ new bar in Nashville. The first-of-its-kind Black Friday concert streamed live on Prime Video and Twitch.

Amazon Music Live returned Oct. 17 with a performance from Jelly Roll. The weekly concert series airs after Thursday Night Football. Season 2 featured performances from stars such as Ed Sheeran, Lil Durk, Feid and Metro Boomin.

Viewers can log in to Prime Video to begin streaming tonight’s TNF game in addition to other football programs including previous games from last season that are available to stream right now.

Not familiar with Prime? Read on for the 2024 Thursday Night Football schedule and a step-by-step guide on how to join Amazon Prime for free.

What Is Prime Video?

Prime Video is Amazon’s streaming platform where you can watch Thursday Night Football and other sports, including NBA, MLB, WNBA, One Championship and soccer.

Additionally, Prime Video has a mega-library of movies and countless TV episodes, plus Prime Originals and a ton of sports documentaries and docuseries such as Kelce, about retired NFL player Jason Kelce featuring his brother, Travis. Also streaming on Prime: The Money Game: LSU, Coach Prime and All or Nothing featuring the Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles and other football, soccer and hockey teams.

How Much Does Prime Video Cost?

Prime Video is included with Amazon Prime memberships, but there’s also an option to join Prime Video by itself under a free, 30-day trial.

Not a Prime member? Subscribe now and get the first month free. The membership, which is $14.99 a month after the free trial, unlocks instant access to Prime Video and Amazon Music, along with free shipping on millions of products, member-only discounts and a year free membership to GrubHub+, so you can order food while you enjoy Thursday Night Football.

How to Save on Your Prime Membership

Amazon Prime’s annual membership ($139.99 a year) saves you around $40 a year. Prime also provides a 50% discount for eligible students and young adults (ages 18-24) and recipients of SNAP, Medicaid and other government assistance.

How to Watch Thursday Night Football Games on Prime Video

Prime Video is the exclusive streaming destination for Thursday Night Football. All games will begin streaming live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Pre-game coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. 

How to Stream Prime Video on Your TV & Other Devices

To stream Thursday Night Football, download the Prime Video app (or sign in online via Amazon.com) from a smart TV, laptop or another compatible streaming device to log into the platform. You can also save programs to your watchlist and view them later. This season, Prime Video will introduce nine AI-powered features to “enhance the NFL viewing experience,” according to Amazon.

Thursday Night Football recordings are free on Prime Video, which means that you can pause, rewind and replay any TNF games or related programming this season. The final TNF game of the year is scheduled for Dec. 26.

To help Prime members secure exclusive deals during games, Amazon offers a selection of discounts on holidays gifts, game-day gear, NLF gear for golf lovers and must-haves for tailgating parties.

See the full 2024 schedule of TNF games below.

Prime Video Thursday Night Football Schedule:

A Georgia judge is weighing whether to declare a mistrial in Young Thug’s long-running Atlanta gang trial, a move that would require prosecutors to either start from scratch or drop a case that has already lasted more than two years.

The motion for a mistrial was sparked by an incident Wednesday (Oct. 23) in which a state’s witness accidentally revealed sensitive information to the jury. Defense attorneys said the mistake was caused by prosecutor missteps, and the judge quickly chided government lawyers for “sloppiness.”

A mistrial would mean an abrupt end to a criminal trial that has stretched across 10 months of jury selection and 11 months of testimony to become the longest-ever in state history. Prosecutors have meandered through a vast list of witnesses, and the case has been beset by unusual delays — including a jailhouse stabbing of one defendant and a bizarre episode over a secret meeting that saw the presiding judge removed from the case.

Since taking over the case this summer, Judge Paige Reese Whitaker has expressed frustration with how the Fulton County District Attorney’s office has been handling the case. Last month, she blasted the prosecutors for “poor lawyering, “baffling” decisions and steps to repeatedly “hide the ball” amid a “haphazard” trial.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Whitaker refused outright to declare a mistrial with prejudice, which would have permanently ended the case. But she said she would consider doing so without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could attempt to retry their case from scratch in front of a new jury.

The specter of such an outcome has prompted prosecutors to discuss plea deals. According to X posts by Cath Russon, managing editor at Law&Crime, each defense team was set to meet individually on Thursday with District Attorney Fani Willis to discuss potential deals.

As a result of the negotiations and the pending mistrial motions, all trial proceedings before Whitaker on Thursday (Oct. 24) and Friday (Oct. 25) have been postponed and the trial is currently scheduled to resume on Monday morning (Oct. 28), according to Russon.

Thug (Jeffery Williams), a chart-topping rapper and producer who helped shape the sound of hip-hop over the past decade, was indicted in May 2022 along with dozens of others over allegations that his “YSL” was not really a record label called “Young Stoner Life” but rather a violent Atlanta gang called “Young Slime Life.” The case, built around Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law, claims the group committed murders, carjackings, armed robberies, drug dealing and other crimes over the course of a decade.

While the slow-moving trial has dragged on, Thug has been sitting in jail for more than two years, repeatedly denied bond over fears that he might intimidate witnesses. If the judge grants a mistrial and prosecutors decide to retry their case, he could have years more in jail until a verdict is reached. Such an outcome could potentially motivate defendants, too, to consider a negotiated resolution.

The Wednesday incident that sparked the calls for a mistrial took place as prosecutors were questioning a witness named Wunnie Lee (aka Slimelife Shawty), a former defendant in the YSL case who signed a plea agreement in exchange for testifying.

While on the stand, prosecutors asked Lee to identify certain defendants by showing him social media posts. While reading one of the posts, Lee read aloud the hashtag #freequa — a reference to a previous prison sentence for Marquavius Huey (aka Qua), one of Thug’s current co-defendants.

That was a crucial error by prosecutors. The jury was not supposed to know which defendants had previously been incarcerated, and defense attorneys argued that the government was supposed to redact the post and prep Lee not to mention it. After the admission before jurors, defense attorneys quickly moved for a mistrial.

“We’re not going to be able to unring this bell,” defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland said in court. “It is painfully obvious that the state is not prepping their witnesses.”

The misstep quickly drew another sharp critique from Judge Whitaker, who attempted to reach a solution that would allow the case to move forward: “What I’m trying to do is fix your sloppiness so that everybody won’t have wasted 10 to 12 months of their lives in this trial.”

UnitedMasters has reached a new multi-year licensing agreement with TikTok. News of the deal comes just weeks after Billboard broke the news that TikTok “walked away” from talks to renew its license with Merlin, a collective that negotiates digital licensing deals for more than 30,000 indie labels and distributors.

Instead, TikTok noted that it wished to forge deals with most of the labels and distributors individually and cited previous issues with Merlin’s members delivering “fraudulent content” as the reason why they were not renewing with Merlin. Merlin read this move as TikTok “fragmenting” its membership to try to “minimize” licensing payments for indie music.

UnitedMasters — which has worked with more than 2 million independent artists, including FloyyMenor, Brent Faiyaz, BigXthaPlug, Tobe Nwigwe and Anycia — will include its full, expansive catalog in the new deal. The agreement will also provide additional commercial opportunities for UnitedMasters artists via TikTok’s Commercial Music Library.

A press release states that TikTok and UnitedMasters “share the vision and understanding that commercial use of music on platforms offers significant revenue and promotional opportunities for artists” — and that having access to TikTok’s Commercial Music Library will give UnitedMasters talent access to new revenue and promotional streams for their talent.

Beyond just TikTok, licensing music for commercial purposes is a crucial focus for UnitedMasters. Previously, it has landed its artists deals with major brands like Bose, Walmart, ESPN, Coca-Cola, IKEA, Dove and more.

“Our partnership with TikTok provides UnitedMasters artists unparalleled access to a vast global audience, while TikTok creators and users gain early exposure to some of the most impactful independent music today,” said Steve Stoute, founder/CEO of UnitedMasters, in a statement. “TikTok recognizes the power of music and creativity, which is why we are excited to formalize this partnership.”

“TikTok has proven that it’s a launchpad for artists, turning viral moments into chart-topping hits,” Stoute added. “With this partnership, I look forward to seeing our artists thrive on TikTok and extend their reach and influence across the music industry. We’re building a future where they can own their success and grow their careers on their own terms.”

“We want to make the world’s best music available to our global community of over a billion music fans,” added Ole Obermann, head of music business development at TikTok. “That’s why we are so excited to be entering into a direct deal with a prominent independent label like UnitedMasters, with its deep, diverse roster of independent artists. Together, we’re ready to amplify these voices and bring their music to a global stage, unlocking new opportunities for discovery.”

Merlin’s license with TikTok is set to expire on Oct. 31. Labels or distributors that have not reached an individual agreement with TikTok by then will become unlicensed and removed from the platform.