We’ve all seen an Oscar recipient played off by the orchestra before, so why did it feel especially brutal when the songwriting team behind best original song winner “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters was cut off on Sunday night?

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are discussing the moment, which has been nine months in the making, ever since the animated hit premiered on Netflix in June. The breakout smash song from the project, “Golden,” ended up spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Golden Globe and a Grammy on its way to Oscar glory. Many viewers — especially younger fans and K-pop listeners — were likely tuning in for this award, in addition to the dynamic performance of the HUNTR/X song minutes earlier. So when EJAE gave her heartfelt speech and then began to pass to her fellow songwriters only for them to be cut off by music and a commercial break, it felt like a missed opportunity not to be able to hear from Yu-Han Lee and Mark Sonnenblick about the historic win — though the two songwriters were able to share their speeches backstage after the show, if not to the millions of viewers at home.

Listen to Katie & Keith’s full conversation about the moment below:

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Harry Styles goes 4-for-4 on the Billboard 200, scoring his fourth No. 1 debut, which is the entirety of his charting releases. Has anyone else seen their first four chart entries debut at No. 1?

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

Pooh Shiesty thinks Nike owes him a check.

During a recent episode of Complex’s Sneaker Shopping, host Joe La Puma brought up A$AP Rocky‘s appearance on The Questlove Show, where the Harlem rapper revealed that he throws on a balaclava —which has since become synonymous with the Memphis rapper — whenever he hops on a train to maneuver through his hometown unnoticed.

“When I take the train, I put a Pooh Shiesty on,” Rocky told Questlove. “Sometimes I’m by myself. Sometimes I’m with security. I take the train to keep myself grounded.”

Someone off camera then tossed La Puma a package of a Nike Hyperwarm Knit Hood and the two got into how the fashion accessory has become known as a “shiesty,” with Pooh saying, “Come on, man. That’s supposed to me right there, man.” Adding, “For real, these junks get you through some places, you know? Like he told you, he snuck through the subway. Wouldn’t be able to do that with no regular [look.]”

When asked if he knew him throwing on a “shiesty” would become so influential, he replied that he never really thought anything of it at first. “Nah, I ain’t think that,” he answered. “But you know a lot of stuff a man do, a lot of people gravitate to.”

Pooh Shiesty’s bubbling career hit a snag back in 2022 when he was sentenced to five years in prison for a gun case, but hit the ground running after his release last October with the single “FDO” that has been on the Billboard Hot 100 going on 12 weeks now.

You can watch the full episode below.

The Kennedy Center’s board of directors voted on Monday to shut down operations for two years following this summer’s July 4 celebrations. The widely expected decision comes in the wake of numerous resignations and cancellations during President Donald Trump’s second term, although Trump himself has cited the need for repairs as a reason for the closure.

“We’re going to ensure it remains the finest performing arts facility of its kind anywhere in the world,” Trump told reporters at the White House before the board met Monday.

The board also voted to install Matt Floca as CEO and executive director, replacing Trump ally Richard Grenell, who oversaw far-reaching changes at the venue that prompted an outcry from many artists and exacerbated the operation’s financial challenges. Trump praised Grenell on Monday, saying he had been a longtime friend, and wished Floca “good luck with everything.”

The Kennedy Center said the vote was unanimous, though Rep. Joyce Beatty didn’t cast a vote. The Ohio Democrat is an ex officio member of the board and sued to preclude the Trump administration from excluding her from Monday’s meeting. Over the weekend, a federal judge ruled she was entitled to participate in the meeting but didn’t require that the board allow her to vote.

Trump hosted the board meeting at the White House in a reminder of the influence he has held over the Kennedy Center during his second term. Shortly after returning to office last year, Trump ousted the center’s previous leadership and replaced it with a hand-picked board of trustees that named him chairman. He also brought in Grenell, who served in a variety of capacities during Trump’s first term, when the president mostly ignored the Kennedy Center.

The center’s lineup has since included more Trump-friendly programming, including serving as the venue for the premiere of first lady Melania Trump’s documentary, “Melania.” The board also announced it had renamed the facility the Trump Kennedy Center, a change scholars and lawmakers say must be initiated by Congress, and physically added the president’s name to the building’s facade.

The fallout from the arts community was swift and intense. Actor Issa Rae, musician Bela Fleck and author Louise Penny were among the numerous artists who withdrew from appearances, while consultants such as musician Ben Folds and singer Renée Fleming resigned. Earlier this month, the executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra, Jean Davidson, left to head the Los Angeles-based Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Without mentioning the abandoned performances, Trump said in February he would close the Kennedy Center to fix what he has described as a dilapidated building.

Ahead of the closure, Grenell warned staff about impending cuts that will leave “skeletal teams.”
Floca, Grenell’s successor, had been serving as vice president of operations. According to his LinkedIn page, he joined the Kennedy Center in January 2024, during the Biden administration.

A center press release from the time describes him as “an experienced facilities management professional with a construction management background and an appreciation for whole building design principles.”

Previous experience for Floca listed on LinkedIn includes a handful of positions with the District of Columbia government, among them associate director of sustainability and energy and director of facilities management. He graduated from Louisiana State University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in construction management.

This story was originally published by The Associated Press.

State attorneys general have resumed the antitrust trial against Live Nation — just as Senate democrats released a new report decrying “half measures” in the Department of Justice’s settlement with the company.

Monday (March 16) marked the first day of Live Nation’s trial since the DOJ revealed a surprise settlement — after witnesses began testifying last week. The deal calls for Live Nation to change certain practices that have allegedly stifled competition in live music, including by capping ticketing fees and relaxing exclusivity policies, though it does not require the company to divest Ticketmaster.

Breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster was the original goal stated by both the feds and dozens of states when they teamed up to sue back in 2024. Many states, including officials in New York and California, say this is still a sticking point and have refused to sign onto the DOJ settlement. These states brought back the jury on Monday, picking up the trial right where their now-absent federal colleagues left off.

“California is excited to get back to work, present new evidence to the jury, and to fight for a better deal for consumers,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a statement Monday. “Any resolution in this case must actually serve consumers, the marketplace and the law.”

These states received a vote of confidence Monday from Democrats on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which released a minority report titled, “So Casually Cruel: How Ticketmaster’s Monopoly Supercharges Prices and Fees.”

The result of a three-year investigation, including the review of more than 100,000 pages of internal documents, the report claims Ticketmaster is largely to blame for the rising cost of concert tickets. The subcommittee says this is because Ticketmaster has pushed artists to “aggressively” ramp up the use of dynamic pricing and make their tickets available for resale before general on-sales begin.

The report ultimately concludes that Live Nation and Ticketmaster should be split up, with ranking member Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) writing that the DOJ’s settlement “will do little to protect musicians, their fans and independent venues.”

“As state attorneys general move to continue this important antitrust case, this report reinforces what DOJ said when filing its suit in 2024, but which the Trump Administration has evidently forgotten: ‘It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster,’” wrote Blumenthal.

Ticketmaster representatives criticized the report in a statement on Monday, saying it “misrepresents how the live events industry works.” The company added, “Secondary ticketing creates industry-wide challenges faced by every tour no matter which promoter or ticketing company is used. This is why we’ve long called for industry resale reform, including price caps, while also developing tools to empower artists and protect fans.”

Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia are proceeding full steam ahead with the trial in New York federal court. Three states have officially signed onto the DOJ settlement (Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota), while a handful of others are still negotiating with Live Nation. Any states that do settle will be paid financial damages out of a $280 million fund created by Live Nation as part of the DOJ deal.

The trial resumed on Monday with AEG Presents CEO Jay Marciano, who’d been testifying when news of the settlement pulled the proceedings to a screeching halt last week. Next up on the witness stand was Bob Roux, Live Nation’s president of U.S. concerts.

The jury is expected to hear testimony for several more weeks. Billboard is providing weekly one-sheet trial recaps each Friday, where we’ll sum up all the major testimony and courtroom fireworks and tell you why it matters.