Things are looking up for Jennifer Lopez, who says she’s happy to be single again following her split from Ben Affleck.

While speaking to Nikki Glaser in an Interview conversation published Wednesday (Oct. 9), the “I’m Real” singer opened up about her positive post-divorce mindset less than two months after she filed to legally end her two-year marriage to the Gone Girl actor. “I was thinking about this time in my life, and I’m like, ‘That’s not what I thought it was going to turn out like,’” Lopez told the comedian. “And then I thought, ‘No, this is exactly where I needed to be, to lead me to where I want to go.’”

The Bronx native also added that she regrets “not one second” of the pain she felt as her marriage to Affleck came to a close, even if it did “almost take [her] out for good.” “Now, on the other side of it, I think to myself, ‘F–k, that is exactly what I needed,’” she continued. “Thank you, God. I’m sorry it took me so long. I’m sorry that you had to do this to me so many times. I should have learned it two or three times ago. I get it.”

The lesson learned is that Lopez doesn’t need a partner to get through life’s challenges, the Marry Me star explained. “I finally got it!” she said. “Now I’m excited, when you say you’re just going to be on your own. Yes, I’m not looking for anybody, because everything that I’ve done over the past 25, 30 years, being in these different challenging situations, what can I f–king do when it’s just me flying on my own … What if I’m just free?”

Lopez filed to divorce Affleck Aug. 20, exactly two years after the pair tied the knot in Georgia. Their date of separation, however, was listed as four months prior on April 26, 2024.

The motion closed out Lopez and Affleck’s second attempt at romance, with the “On the Floor” artist and Good Will Hunting star first getting together in 2002 after meeting on the set of Gigli. They soon got engaged, but called off their wedding in 2004, nearly two decades after which the pair would rekindle their relationship in 2021.

Lopez — who was previously married to Ojani Noa, Cris Judd and Marc Anthony — heavily documented her and Affleck’s love story in her film The Greatest Love Story Never Told, as well as on her album This Is Me … Now. “I never thought that he and I would get back together,” she told Billboard in February of Affleck, who was previously married to Jennifer Garner, ahead of the premiere of the documentary. “I just just couldn’t give up on idea that there was something amazing out there for me, even when it got really bad — and it did at times. I always believed deep, deep down to not give up completely.” 

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Last week, rising British pop acts Rachel Chinouriri and Cat Burns released the emotional new single “Even.” The song addressed the pair’s respective rise over the last few years. Chinouriri released her debut album What A Devastating Turn Of Events in May and enlisted actor Florence Pugh for the “Never Need Me” music video; Burns, meanwhile, hit No. 2 on the U.K. Singles Charts with “Go” and was nominated for a Mercury Prize for her debut LP, Early Twenties.

The song speaks to the double standards Black artists are held to in the U.K. music industry, as well as the mislabeling of their releases. Despite their love of indie music and varied inspirations across genres, they’ve been frustrated with the battles they’ve faced to be heard.

“Wish I didn’t have to climb twice as high / For them to see me, isn’t it crazy,” Burns reflects on “Even,” while in the chorus, the pair asks: “We talk the same, dress for fame / Why does no one else believe in / Us the same?”

Fellow British artist Master Peace – real name Peace Okezie – is credited as a songwriter on “Even” and knows the issues all too well. He released his debut album, How To Make A Master Peace, earlier this year, which featured contributions from alternative legend Santigold and dance producer Georgia. The record was infused with indie rock stylings and nods to Bloc Party and The Streets, but he says he still faces misrepresentation of his music and feels some opportunities have passed him by.

“We are from a place where we have to work a hundred times harder than the average white guy, because people see as Black artists and just chuck us in the R&B space. It’s a cop-out,” Peace tells Billboard.

In 2020, Tyler, The Creator spoke out against the categorization of his music as rap while collecting a Grammy Award and criticized the use of the ‘urban’ music category. There’ve been similar issues in the U.K. A 2021 study by Black Lives In Music reported that 63% of Black music makers had faced racism in the U.K. music industry, and included testimonies by artists of microaggressions and mislabeling of their music.

“For the work that we’ve put in, we should be further than we already are,” he says of Chinouriri, Burns and himself. “You can easily fall victim to it and think ‘it’s never going to work because there’s no Black U.K. pop stars,’ or you could be like us and step up and cut through.”

How to Make A Master Peace was released in March this year and charted at No. 30 on the U.K.’s Official Album Charts. He’s since landed an Ivor Novello Award for their rising star trophy, collecting alongside fellow ceremony winners like Bruce Springsteen. He supported Kasabian at their massive homecoming show in Leicester, England, earlier in the summer and recently landed a nomination at the Independent Music Awards (AIM) in the best music video category. A run of live dates is now taking place in the U.K., but he still feels like people within the industry and potential listeners need convincing of his credentials.

“On paper when you look at all the achievements you think ‘why would he complain?’”, Peace says. “I wouldn’t say I feel like an outsider in my scene, but do I feel like I’m held up the same way as certain bands or artists? Probably not.”

He signed to Universal’s EMI in 2020 and had a string of releases under the label. He says that hype around his live shows – particularly given the lack of releases – was what got the majors involved. “As a result,” he says, “people had nothing to reference [my music] to” beyond a YouTube freestyle which saw him creatively rap over a-ha’s “Take On Me.”

When his A&Rs left EMI, he followed them and inked a deal with PMR Records, whose previous success stories include Disclosure, SG Lewis and Jessie Ware.

“At EMI it was about dropping tunes, but I don’t think they understood what we wanted to build; maybe at the time I didn’t even understand.” He started again from scratch as an independent artist, but refined his direct, party-starting sound and continued collaborating with songwriters and producers like Julian Bunetta, who has credits on Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and her 2022 single “Nonsense.”

His album’s release dovetails with the ‘indie sleaze’ hype in recent years, a moment where younger fans on have revisited works by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Strokes and more, and been enraptured by Lizzy Goodman’s Meet Me In The Bathroom oral history and documentary. “Where I’ve come from and my background, I’ve always been in fight-or-flight mode. I’ve always wanted to take a leap and risk things,” he says. “It was a big risk making an indie sleaze-inspired album when no one knew about what that was all about.”

Now Peace is keeping the momentum up with How To Make A(nuva) Master Peace, a new EP that acts as a deluxe record to his debut. “Dropping the album when I did got me so many amazing opportunities, so I want to keep it up,” he tells Billboard.

But most of all, he wants the music world to recognize his work and what his contemporaries are doing without stereotyping. “I’m a Black, alternative artist that makes pop music and sits in that space. I want to be that guy who people look at and think, ‘His thing is valid’.”

Now, that’s how to get your day off to a good start, with a phone call from Brothers Osborne, the reigning CMA Award winners for vocal duo of the year, informing you that you are a 2024 CMA Broadcast Award winner. That’s just what happened on Wednesday (Oct. 9) for six teams of broadcast personalities and four radio stations.

Any full-time, on-air broadcast personalities and radio stations in the U.S. and Canada were eligible to submit entries. The entries were judged by a panel of broadcast professionals, representing all market sizes and regions.

The categories are established by market size based on population as ranked by Nielsen. Entries for broadcast personality of the year are judged on aircheck, ratings, community involvement and biographical and impact information. Candidates for radio station of the year are judged on aircheck, ratings, community involvement and leadership and impact information.

CMA Broadcast Awards winners are not eligible to enter the same award category in consecutive years; therefore, those who received trophies in 2023 were not eligible in 2024.

The 58th Annual CMA Awards — co-hosted by Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning and the reigning CMA entertainer of the year, Lainey Wilson — will air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville  on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Brothers Osborne is nominated for vocal duo of the year for the 10th consecutive year.

Here’s the full list of 2024 CMA Broadcast Awards nominees, with winners marked.

Broadcast personality of the year (by market size)

Weekly national

“American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Cumulus/Westwood One

“Country Gold with Terri Clark” (Terri Clark) – Westwood One

WINNER: “Crook & Chase Countdown” (Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase) – Jim Owens Entertainment

“Highway Hot 30 with Buzz Brainard” (Buzz Brainard) – SiriusXM

“Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence” (Tracy Lawrence and Patrick Thomas) – Silverfish Media

Daily national

WINNER: “The Bobby Bones Show” (Bobby Bones, Amy Brown, “Lunchbox” Dan Chappell, Eddie Garcia, Morgan Huelsman, “SZN Raymundo” Ray Slater, “Mike D” Rodriguez, Abby Anderson, “Kick Off Kevin” O’Connell, and Stephen “Scuba Steve” Spradlin) – iHeartMedia

“Michael J On Air” (Michael J. Stuehler) – iHeartMedia

“Nights with Elaina” (Elaina Smith) – Westwood One / Cumulus Media

“PickleJar Up All Night with Patrick Thomas” (Patrick Thomas) – PickleJar / Cumulus Media

“Steve Harmon Show” (Steve Harmon) – Westwood One / Cumulus Media

Major market

“The Andie Summers Show” (Andie Summers, Jeff Kurkjian, Donnie Black, and Shannon Boyle) – WXTU, Philadelphia, Pa.

“Chris Carr & Company” (Chris Carr, Kia Becht, and Sam Sansevere) – KEEY, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

WINNER: “Frito & Katy” (Tucker “Frito” Young and Katy Dempsey) – KCYY, San Antonio, Texas

“The Morning Wolfpack with Matt McAllister” (Matt McAllister, Gabe Mercer, and “Captain Ron” Koons) – KKWF, Seattle, Wash.

“The Most Fun Afternoons With Scotty Kay” (Scotty Kay) – WUSN, Chicago, Ill.

Large market

“Dale Carter Morning Show” (Dale Carter) – KFKF, Kansas City, Mo.

“Heather Froglear” (Heather Froglear) – KFRG, Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.

WINNER: “Jesse & Anna” (Jesse Tack and Anna Marie) – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio

“Mike & Amanda” (Mike Wheless and Amanda Daughtry) – WQDR, Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

“On-Air with Anthony” (Anthony Donatelli) – KFRG, Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.

Medium market

“Brent Michaels” (Brent Michaels) – KUZZ, Bakersfield, Calif.

“Joey & Nancy” (Joey Tack, Nancy Barger, and Karly Duggan) – WIVK, Knoxville, Tenn.

“New Country Mornings with Nancy and Woody” (Nancy Wilson and Aaron “Woody” Woods) – WHKO, Dayton, Ohio

“Scott and Sarah in the Morning” (Scott Wynn and Sarah Kay) – WQMX, Akron, Ohio

WINNER: “Steve & Gina In The Morning” (Steve Lundy and Gina Melton) – KXKT, Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa

Small market

“Dan Austin Show” (Dan Austin) – WQHK, Fort Wayne, Ind.

“Dave and Jenn” (Dave Roberts and Jenn Seay) – WTCR, Huntington-Ashland, W. Va.

WINNER: “The Eddie Foxx Show” (Eddie Foxx and Amanda Foxx) – WKSF, Asheville, N.C.

“Hilley & Hart” (Kevin Hilley and Erin Hart) – KATI, Columbia, Mo.

“Officer Don & DeAnn” (“Officer Don” Evans and DeAnn Stephens) – WBUL, Lexington-Fayette, Ky.

Radio station of the year (by market size)

Major market

KCYY – San Antonio, Texas

KKBQ – Houston, Texas

KYGO – Denver, Colo.

WXTU – Philadelphia, Pa.

WINNER: WYCD – Detroit, Mich.

Large market

WIRK – West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.

WMIL – Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.

WINNER: WQDR – Raleigh-Durham, N.C.      

WSIX – Nashville, Tenn.

WWKA – Orlando, Fla.

Medium market

KXKT – Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa

WBEE – Rochester, N.Y.

WIVK – Knoxville, Tenn.

WLFP – Memphis, Tenn.

WINNER: WUSY – Chattanooga, Tenn.

Small market

WCOW – La Crosse, Wis.

WKML – Fayetteville, N.C.

WKXC – Augusta, Ga.

WXFL – Florence-Muscle Shoals, Ala.

WINNER: WYCT – Pensacola, Fla.

Ariana Grande doesn’t care how popular Wicked is — she still doesn’t want to make jokes about it during her upcoming hosting stint on Saturday Night Live.

In a new promo video posted Wednesday (Oct. 9), the pop star meets with a group of the comedy show’s cast members to discuss sketch ideas. “Guys, I’m so excited to be hosting this week,” says Grande, who’s dressed in a chic, baby pink top and skirt. “But before we start, I just wanna say: I would really prefer to not do anything Wicked or Wizard of Oz-related.”

The camera then cuts to Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, Marcello Hernández and Andrew Dismukes, who are respectively dressed as Lion, Dorothy, Scarecrow and Tin Man from the iconic 1939 film. “Mhmm,” Dismukes ponders. “May we come back in one hour?”

“Sure,” Grande replies, sighing as the quartet stands up defeatedly and leaves the room.

The clip comes three days ahead of the “Yes, And?” singer’s return to 30 Rock, which will find her hosting the Oct. 12 episode of SNL featuring Stevie Nicks as musical guest. And though viewers just saw her lay down the law in the promo, it seems a little unrealistic to expect that the upcoming Wicked films — in which Grande stars as Glinda opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba — won’t come up at all during the show. After all, fellow Wicked star Bowen Yang is also an SNL cast member, and the premiere of the duology’s first installment is just over a month away (Nov. 22).

This weekend’s stint will mark Grande’s second time helming SNL, following her hosting debut in 2016. Following the release of her Billboard 200-topping album Eternal Sunshine earlier this year, the Grammy winner served as musical guest on a Josh Brolin-hosted episode of the show in March, and participated in a couple sketches, including a Moulin Rouge parody with Yang.

Watch Grande’s SNL promo clip above.

Shortly after the April release of his breakout smash single, “Million Dollar Baby,” Tommy Richman and his close collaborator and good friend Kavi made a “club pop-out” appearance together. The club, Abigail in Washington, D.C., holds about 250 people — but it was soon clear to Kavi that that wasn’t going to be nearly big enough.

“The second we stepped out, there was actually, like, paparazzi taking photos of us. I’m walking down to the club, and there’s a line around the block, packed out,” Kavi recalls. “Around 700 people showed up… It was just such a wonderful night.” He pauses, then stipulates with a laugh: “At least for me and Tommy. I don’t know if everyone else [thought so], because it was just so packed at the club!”

Such flashbulb moments have quickly become commonplace for Richman, Kavi and the rest of their inner creative circle — which also includes “Baby” co-producers Max Vossberg and Jonah Roy, recording artist Paco (currently opening for Richman on his Before the Desert mini-tour) and videographer Josh Belvedere, whose kinetic behind-the-scenes clips of the song’s recording helped it catch prerelease fire on TikTok. Kavi says his role on the team is as much executive producer as producer: “When [Tommy] sets down a vision, I can think of people that can collaborate on it that would be best for it and sounds that we can chase — just sort of creatively direct which way it should go.”

While the 21-year-old Los Angeles-based producer is one of five credited on the sublimely smoked-out, falsetto-led “Baby” — with Mannyvelli and Sparkheem rounding out the group — Kavi was responsible for the song’s “aha” moment. He was going through a sample pack of Canadian producer DJ Smokey’s that he found on Reddit and heard the vocal chop that ended up inspiring the song’s striking, pitched-down opening hook. “I was just like, ‘Oh, this is sort of hard!’ ” Kavi recalls. “And Tommy agreed… So we catered that vibe based off of the chop that I found and just built it into its own world.”

Born Kavian Saleh in Iran, where he grew up in Shiraz and Tehran, Kavi moved to L.A. at the age of 11. Growing up in Iran, Kavi says his musical influences were a mix of alternative rock bands like Muse and The Cure and EDM acts such as Skrillex and Knife Party, “a mishmash of what my parents showed me and what any 12-year-old on YouTube would find.” Not hip-hop, though: “Rap music doesn’t really exist in Iran,” he says. “And if it does, it’s pretty ass.”

That changed upon his U.S. arrival in the mid-2010s, when the future producer was exposed to rappers like Future and Chief Keef. “Wow… This is what it’s about!” he recalls thinking. “It really, like, tweaked me out.” His infatuation with those artists led him to study the techniques that then-rising producers like TM88 and Southside used on their records. “My main focus at first was very, very much just trap beat-oriented,” he says. “That’s all I did for a good four years.”

His relationship with Richman began about three years ago, when Kavi DM’d the singer-songwriter after catching his 2021 song “Chrono Trigger” on TikTok. The two began a creative relationship and friendship, and after pausing on collaborating while Kavi continued his trap production work, they reunited in 2023. When they started recording again, two of the first songs they worked on together were “Million Dollar Baby” and its follow-up, “Devil Is a Lie,” released in June.

Kavi admits that the immediate success of “Million Dollar Baby” — which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent its first 17 weeks in the chart’s top 10 — was not something his crew saw coming. “We were like, ‘Oh, this is a good vibe, this is sick,’ ” he remembers. “It wasn’t anything where we all sat down and were like, ‘Wow, this is a headbanger! This is crazy!’ It just was another record we worked on.” (Kavi says that he personally prefers the more “swagged-out” groove of “Devil Is a Lie” — which did not quite match the runaway success of “Baby,” but has shown impressive legs, debuting and peaking at No. 32 and spending 13 weeks on the Hot 100.)

Still, he is grateful for the exposure “Baby” has granted his close-knit team — “the best part about this is… all of us are coming up together, and we keep the sound and the circle very sacred and tight,” he says — and for the opportunities it’s now affording him, both as one of the central collaborators on Richman’s debut full-length, Coyote, and with his own work. Since his “Baby” breakout, Kavi has linked up with A$AP Rocky and also has been doing more pop-oriented productions for the first time with Disney Channel star Kylie Cantrall. Kavi says he has begun studying the work of pop super producers like Jack Antonoff and Max Martin as he tries to expand his skills and his portfolio: “I think I’ve developed my sound more now to not necessarily just be one-sided when I’m in the room.”

Meanwhile, Kavi is also working on his own solo music, which he likens to enigmatic alt-R&B singer-songwriters like Jai Paul, and plans on having his newly minted star buddy make an appearance on his upcoming debut project as well — though Kavi hopes that ultimately, his own name starts to stand out.

“Tommy’s my main priority because that’s like my best friend — we’re developing something great here,” he explains. “But I’m trying to build my own legacy as a producer as well. I don’t mind being the guy in the background… But also, I want my name to be known as, like, ‘Oh, this is Kavi’s production. Wow, that’s great.’ Build a legacy around it and just make some amazing music, you know?”

This article appears in the Oct. 5 issue of Billboard.