It is a rare alignment of the stars that allows a self-proclaimed, multi-hypehnate “model, actress, whatever” to live both of their biggest dreams at the same time and then have one of them turn into her main gig. But that’s where English singer/actress/model Suki Waterhouse finds herself these days as she prepares to release her second studio album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin.

After a memorable turn as keyboardist Karen Sirko in the 2023 Amazon Prime musical drama series Daisy Jones & the Six, Waterhouse, 32, tells Billboard the show “definitely” helped her to get more focused on her musical dreams. “I guess that show was really special, because it kind of put me in that world for a long time,” she says of the courage the show about a fictional Fleetwood Mac-style battling band gave her to pursue her music with renewed energy.

“When I started doing that show, I still was, like… ‘you could never do that,’” she says of the pervasive thoughts convincing her that she couldn’t pull off her character, or a tour, or release a follow-up to her debut 2022 Sub Pop full-length LP, I Can’t Let Go. “I was very much in this like, ‘Oh no, you’re, you’re not good enough to do that. Or, like, you just that just won’t happen for you’… that was just where I was mentally.” But after spending hours and hours a day in L.A.’s legendary Sound City Studios working on songs for the series and learning new chords she realized that all that pretend rocking could be turned into the songs for her about-to-be-released sophomore album, which drops on Friday (Sept. 13).

“It as very special to be able to do something that combines [my two loves and] really moves you in your own life as well, it’s very unique,” says the veteran of such films as Detective Pikachu, A Rainy Day in New York and Billionaire Boys Club and one of the hand-picked opening acts on Taylor Swift’s August 17 Eras Tour gig at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The London native got her start as a teenage model before breaking into movies in 2012 and then pivoting to music in 2016 with her debut single, “Brutally.” She says the process for recording Sparklemuffin was a world away from that of her debut because when she first started in music she didn’t have a label or anyone behind her after nearly a decade of self-releasing songs.

“And then Sub Pop said yes, but I had to kind of really bang down the door,” she says. “It took like, six months of writing emails, and they said, ‘No, we don’t want to listen to any songs from models or actresses, whatevers.’ So it was a completely different experience this time. I’ve been able to collaborate with different people and have different artists that I could call up, and a few more people wanted to get in the room with me than they did before. So it was, like, very, very different in that way.”

The other thing that was very different was that Waterhouse was pregnant with her first child with fiancé actor Robert Pattinson; she gave birth in March of this year. That was news she was trying to keep secret until she got sick during a car ride to the studio, at which point the cat was out of the bag. “I was really like, glad to have a project that I was so into whilst also being pregnant, because it was like, you know, you’re just powering through,” she says. “And it was great to have a distraction. And I kind of had this thing in my head where I’m like, ‘I’m just going to power through. Who cares? I’m going to vomit sometimes.. and then you feel fine afterwards.”

For more about the album and the inspiration behind the guys-going-way-too-hard at the club single “Blackout” and the great tips Alison Wonderland gave her for touring with a baby check out the video above.

Attention for Linkin Park’s catalog has soared following the release of the rockers’ comeback single “The Emptiness Machine” on Sept. 5.

On Sept. 6, the first full day for U.S. streams after “The Emptiness Machine” premiered at 6 p.m. ET on Sept. 5 and following a multi-song concert and livestream introducing new band members Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain, Linkin Park’s catalog earned 11.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to initial reports to Luminate.

That’s a 71% gain in streams over Sept. 5, which saw the band rack up 6.9 million streams. And it’s a 103% leap over Sept. 4, the day before the new song, livestream and album/tour announcement, when the band accrued 5.8 million streams.

Attention around Linkin Park’s catalog continued into the weekend, when the overall count was 10.1 million streams on Sept. 7, 14% down from Sept. 6. Its streaming sum on Sept. 6-7 was 21.8 million, nearly as much as the preceding four days (Sept. 2-5), during which period the band accumulated 22.8 million listens.

Of course, a not-insignificant chunk of those streams on Sept. 5-7 is from “The Emptiness Machine” itself; after a partial Sept. 5 of 680,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, the song received 2.8 million on Sept. 6, followed by 1.9 million on Sept. 7.

Removing “The Emptiness Machine” from the equation, the band’s pre-Armstrong and -Brittain catalog still sports meaningful movement: 9 million streams Sept. 6, up 46% from Sept. 5 (6.2 million) and 55% from Sept. 4 (5.8 million). On Sept. 7, its music earned 8.2 million streams, down 9% from Sept. 6, and its two-day count (17.2 million) nearly outpaced the preceding three days (Sept. 3-5, 17.5 million).

“Numb” is the most-streamed song of the group in the measured time frame. It received 858,000 official U.S. streams on Sept. 6, up 25% from Sept. 5 (689,000) and up 30% from Sept. 4 (662,000). On Sept. 7, it added another 851,000 streams. “Numb” is one of 12 No. 1s for Linkin Park on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart, reigning for 12 weeks beginning in late 2003. It also peaked at No. 11 on the Hot 100 in March 2004.

There’s interest in purchasing music from Linkin Park’s catalog past and present, too. On Sept. 5, digital song sales of the band’s output totaled 2,000 downloads, with 1,000 from “The Emptiness Machine.” On Sept. 6, that number swelled to 4,000 (2,000 from “The Emptiness Machine”), followed by another 4,000 on Sept. 7 (2,000 again from the new single).

As for digital album sales, the band sold 1,000 copies Sept. 5-7 across its entire catalog, a 791% leap from the previous three-day period (Sept. 2-4).

Myriad chart activity for Linkin Park will occur on the Sept. 21-dated Billboard rankings, which includes consumption from Sept. 6 to 12. That includes first-full-week numbers for “The Emptiness Machine,” which is challenging for strong starts on the Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay surveys after debuting at No. 24 on the Rock & Alternative Airplay list dated Sept. 14 after just one day of data, as previously reported. Its aforementioned stream and sales count was also enough for a No. 7 premiere on the multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs tally.

From Zero, Linkin Park’s eighth studio album, is due Nov. 15, the six-piece’s first release since 2017’s One More Light. Singer Armstrong and drummer Brittain join the band after the 2017 death of co-frontman Chester Bennington as well as the departure of longtime drummer Rob Bourdon this year.

The multi-billion-dollar self-help industry might go into a slump if more people went to a Lindsey Stirling concert. 

“I want [the audience] to have a great time and, like, smile and feel all that joy,” the effervescent violinist tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast while on tour to support her latest album, Duality. “But I also want people to leave the concert always feeling empowered. I want them to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, if this random girl decided once upon a time to dance around and play her violin and make her own costumes, if she can do it, I can do it. I can believe in myself. I can be better. I can be happy.”

Other than the yoga sessions at Coachella or Bonnaroo, a Lindsey Stirling concert may be the only place to you get an inspirational message and communal relaxation interspersed with genre-bending music and a dazzling stage show. “I actually do a guided breath work for the audience” during the song “Between Twilight,” she says, “where as I play, they close their eyes, and there’s a voice that guides them to breathe in and out in different breathing patterns.” It’s an opportunity to slow down the pace after a “very heavy” opening part of her performance, she explains, and has become “something fun that’s cool for me to get to share from my own life.”

Stirling first caught America’s attention as a contestant on the America’s Got Talent TV show in 2010, reaching the quarterfinals before being dismissed. Her mix of classical-influenced pop music and dancing — while playing violin — didn’t connect with judge Piers Morgan. But by 2013, Stirling had built a YouTube following and was managed by Troy Carter, Lady Gaga’s then-manager. 

A decade later, Stirling has a string of successful albums, tours the world and uses her popularity to fund her non-profit, The Upside Fund, that to date has paid off $15 million of people’s medical debt. Stirling says she donates $1 from each ticket sale and 10% from her tour merchandise sales to the charity, and will donate the entirety of the proceeds from her Master of Tides Cruise in May 2025. “It’s something I’m really passionate about after watching people I love go through the stress of the medical system,” she explains. 

Listen to the entire interview with Lindsey Stirling at the embedded Spotify player below, or go to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music or Everand. 

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.

Ahead of Sonic The Hedgehog 3, due in theaters on Friday, Dec. 20, you can get ready for the third movie with the Knuckles spinoff (no pun intended) series. Although it was made for the Paramount+ streaming service, you can now buy the physical media version.

Starting at $16.99, Knuckles is now on DVD and Blu-ray at Target and other retailers.

And if you’re a Target Circle member, you can order now and get Knuckles delivered straight to your home in two days (with orders more than $35).

Not a member? Sign up for a free membership to take advantage of all that Target Circle has to offer, including access to “deal of the day” products, instant savings on select items, three months of Apple TV+ to watch hit originals, access to exclusive shopping events — such as Target’s Deal Days and early Black Friday deals — and other perks.

If you want to take it a step further, you can sign up for the Target Circle Card (with no annual fee), which offers an extra 5% discount on all purchases, two-day free shipping with no order minimums and more. Learn more about the Target Circle Card here.

In addition, Knuckles on DVD and Blu-ray is ready to buy at Amazon.

‘Knuckles’

Buy Now at Target

Buy Now on Amazon

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Taking place between Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the Knuckles TV series follows Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba) showing deputy sheriff Wade Whipple (Adam Pally) how to be a fierce Echidna warrior.

The spinoff also stars Cary Elwes, Edi Patterson, Stockard Channing, Julian Barratt, Rory McCann, Scott Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, Tika Sumpter, Ben Schwartz, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Christopher Lloyd and others.

Knuckles is available on DVD and Blu-ray starting at $16.99 at Target. Watch a trailer for the TV show below.

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