Cody Johnson brought some slow jams to this year’s Stagecoach.

During his headlining set on Friday (April 24), the 38-year-old country star welcomed Boyz II Men to the stage for a performance of the legendary R&B vocal group’s 1994 hit “On Bended Knee.”

Johnson began singing a cover of the classic love song before being joined by Boyz II Men’s Nathan Morris, Wanyá Morris and Shawn Stockman, who helped carry the performance as festival-goers in Indio, California, swayed along in nostalgia.

“On Bended Knee,” from the group’s sophomore album, II, spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1994.

This isn’t Boyz II Men’s first crossover performance in recent memory. In March, the Philadelphia soul act made a surprise appearance at the Listening Room’s 20th anniversary at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, where they joined Brett Young for his song “In Case You Didn’t Know.”

Johnson’s Stagecoach performance comes after the announcement of his upcoming album, Banks of the Trinity, set for release June 26 through COJO Music/Warner Records Nashville.

The project follows Johnson’s 2023 album, Leather (and its deluxe edition), which featured hits including “Dirt Cheap” and “The Fall” and was named album of the year at the 2024 CMA Awards.

Elsewhere at Stagecoach on Friday, rising star Ella Langley surprised the crowd by bringing out comedian Theo Von for a duet of her Riley Green collaboration, “You Look Like You Love Me.”

Stagecoach 2026 continues with a headlining performance by Lainey Wilson on Saturday (April 25), followed by a closing set from Post Malone on Sunday.

Ella Langley had a surprise in store for her Stagecoach debut.

While some fans may have expected Morgan Wallen, the 26-year-old country star instead brought out comedian and podcaster Theo Von during her Friday (April 24) set in Indio, California.

Following performances of “Bottom of Your Boots” and “Broken,” from her just-released album Dandelion, as well as “20-20” from the deluxe reissue Still Hungover, Langley welcomed Von to the stage for a duet of her Riley Green collaboration, “You Look Like You Love Me.”

After reaching the second verse — typically reserved for Green — Langley invited Von onstage. Dressed fittingly in a denim shirt, blue jeans and a cowboy hat, he jumped right in.

“And that’s when I realized that she was every cowboy’s dream come true,” a thrilled Von declared, pointing to Langley.

The pair then launched into the chorus as festivalgoers sang along, “You look like you love me/ You look like you want me to want you to come on home.”

Langley, who recently appeared on Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, joked as he exited the stage, “Bet you didn’t expect that… keep ’em guessin’!”

“You Look Like You Love Me” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in December 2024.

Langley closed her Stagecoach set with “Choosin’ Texas” — which recently logged a seventh nonconsecutive week atop the Billboard Hot 100 — and “Weren’t for the Wind.”

The singer-songwriter is currently dominating both the Hot 100 and the Billboard 200, with Dandelion debuting at No. 1. She also recently premiered her new duet, “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” with Wallen during his stadium show in Alabama on April 18.

Demi Lovato is exhausted, but — looking effortlessly glamorous in a white, furry jacket — you’d never be able to tell as she lists her current favorite women in pop music. “Zara Larsson, of course,” she tells Billboard. “Adela. I’ll always be a huge fan of Lady Gaga. Sabrina [Carpenter]’s great.”

“Oh God, I’m trying to think of who else,” the singer continues. But it’s nearly midnight, and the post-show brain fog is taking over. “Sorry, I just played a concert.”

We’re standing backstage at New York’s Madison Square Garden — which Lovato just headlined for the first time in their career on Friday (April 24) — as the star snaps photos with about a dozen fans during a quick meet-and-greet. All of them have noticeably clean-smelling breath as they exhale incredulously when she first enters the room, thanks to brand partner TheraBreath, which provided samples of Lovato’s favorite mouthwash at the gathering.

“I mean, all the pop girlies are great,” adds the equally fresh-breathed performer, who, just a few years ago, probably never would’ve thought that she’d be considered among those same proverbial Main Pop Girls.

After distinctly switching to rock music on 2022 album Holy Fvck and declaring their pop music dead — literally, Lovato held a funeral — the hitmaker switched right back in October 2025, releasing It’s Not That Deep, a Billboard 200 No. 9 LP of electronic dance-pop bangers. Earlier today, she unveiled the deluxe version, It’s Not That Deep (Unless You Want It to Be), featuring eight brand new songs, including “Low Rise Jeans,” which fans went crazy for when Lovato debuted the sultry track on the opening night of the It’s Not That Deep Tour.

Lovato tells Billboard that they think the new songs “add so much” to the already deeply (no pun intended) meaningful It’s Not That Deep era.

“They are great additions to the body of work that was already created,” the vocalist continues. “I knew I wanted to get back into the studio after I released the album. We started working on these songs — I think ‘Pretty Catatonic’ was the first one that came out of that writing process, and I fell in love with it. It just kind of unfolded from there.”

At MSG, Lovato kept the crowd energized with a mix of It’s Not That Deep standouts and older smashes, including Billboard Hot 100 hits “Heart Attack,” “Sorry Not Sorry” and “Cool For The Summer.” She also had two surprises in store for the New York City crowd, singing “Too Little Too Late” with special guest JoJo before performing live for the first time ever with husband Jutes. (They adorably belted “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, which was the couple’s first-dance song at their wedding.)

At opening night in Orlando, Florida, Lovato treated the crowd to a performance with one of their first major duet partners: Joe Jonas. The duo belted out beloved Camp Rock classic “This Is Me” ahead of Camp Rock 3, which both are executive producing. It’s one of several throwback programs Disney Channel has been green-lighting from Lovato’s era; Selena Gomez, who attended that Orlando show and reunited with her childhood friend backstage, has been involved in an ongoing Wizards of Waverly Place reboot, while Miley Cyrus recently unveiled her Hannah Montana anniversary special.

“I think the age that we’re at is really loving nostalgia right now,” Lovato tells Billboard. “For all the people who are in their 30s and have lived through the Disney era with me, Selena, the Jonas Brothers and Miley, they’re craving it, and it’s fun to go back and relive those moments.”

Lovato says that the public’s hunger for that Disney Channel golden era has also allowed the stars to reconnect with each other and rekindle old friendships. “Oh, definitely,” she adds. “Yeah, I think that’s why it’s all coming together again in this day and age.”

Olivia Rodrigo has earned her fourth U.K. No. 1 single as “Drop Dead” hits the top spot in its opening week (April 25).

The song dethrones Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s “Rein Me In,” which had been at the top spot for the past five weeks, and eight non-consecutive weeks in total.

“Drop Dead” is the first track from her upcoming third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, which is due for release on June 12. The song got its live debut at Coachella last weekend where she appeared on stage with Addison Rae.

The song now joins “drivers license” (2021), “good 4 u” (2021) and “vampire” (2023) as U.K. chart-toppers. Her first two studio albums, SOUR and GUTS, hit the top spot of the Official Albums Chart.

“Rein Me In” falls just one spot to No. 2, though Dean is celebrating the start of her global The Art of Loving tour, which kicked off in Glasgow, Scotland, on Wednesday (April 23). 

Following his Coachella takeover, Justin Bieber continues to see a number of hits spiking in the U.K. “Beauty and a Beat” is up to No. 3 to give the 2012 song a new all-time peak, while 2025’s “Daises” is up 10 places to No. 5; the latter hit No. 1 upon its original release. There’s also appearances for “Baby” (No. 17) and Bieber’s Sean Kingston collaboration “Eenie Meenie” (No. 32) inside the top 40.

Tame Impala’s “Dracula” falls two places to No. 4 and there’s top 10 appearances for Alex Warren (“Fever Dream,” No. 5) and Sombr (“Homewrecker,” No. 7).

On the U.K’s Official Albums Chart, Skindred pipped Jessie Ware to the No. 1 spot with their ninth studio album, You Got This, their first to reach the summit. After a close battle throughout the week, Ware’s Superbloom finishes at No. 2 while Zayn’s Konnakol closes at No. 4.

Tributes from across Australia’s music and media sectors continue to emerge following the death of James Valentine, with artists including Jimmy Barnes and Iva Davies reflecting on his wide-ranging impact.

Valentine, a saxophonist best known for his work with Models before becoming a longtime broadcaster with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, died at age 64 using voluntary assisted dying at home two years after a cancer diagnosis, according to ABC.

Barnes shared a tribute on social media, writing, “James and I have known each other a long time. He loved music and I heard him play the saxophone many times with the Models. He was a funny and insightful interviewer, and I will miss hearing his gentle voice on ABC radio every afternoon. RIP James. You will be missed.”

Davies, frontman of Icehouse, also shared a detailed statement reflecting on their decades-long connection. “The ICEHOUSE team and I were very saddened to hear of the passing of James Valentine yesterday,” he wrote. “We’d known James since the early ‘80s when we met him on the road with Models. He was a great musician and I asked him to play saxophone on our Code Blue album, which he did with his renowned sense of skill and joy.”

He continued, “His move to be an innovative and much loved broadcaster at Australia’s ABC radio network meant we’d cross paths regularly – he was always engaged and fun to be around with a story or anecdote to share. James will be missed by many tens of thousands, by our ICEHOUSE team and by me. We send our heartfelt condolences to his family.”

Members of INXS also paid tribute, recalling their shared history on the Australian Made tour in the mid-1980s. “We are very much saddened to hear of the passing of our old mate James Valentine,” the band wrote. “James was an incredible musician and an amazing human. Always smiling, always positive, caring and involved.”

The statement continued, “Our lives crossed paths during the ’80s and we all became mates with James on the Australian Made tour in ’86-87 when he was a member of the Models. He of course then became a member of Absent Friends with Garry for an album and live performances.”

They added, “James later had an amazing career in TV and radio and as a writer — his wit and warmth was loved by everyone. Our sincere condolences to Joanne, Ruby and Roy. Travel safe mate — we miss you.”

The responses highlight the dual nature of Valentine’s career, which spanned both music and broadcasting. As previously reported, he performed on Models’ Out of Mind, Out of Sight, which peaked at No. 84 on the Billboard 200 and produced the single “Out of Mind, Out of Sight,” a Billboard Hot 100 entry in 1986. His work as a session and touring musician extended across multiple Australian acts throughout the decade.

In later years, Valentine became a defining voice on ABC radio, hosting programs for more than three decades, including a long-running tenure on 702 ABC Sydney’s Afternoons show. His conversational style and curiosity-driven interviews helped him build a broad national audience, expanding his influence well beyond the music industry.

Additional tributes from across the industry have emphasized that crossover impact. Valentine’s ability to move between performance and broadcasting roles positioned him as a rare figure within Australia’s creative landscape — equally at home onstage and behind the microphone.

His passing also comes amid renewed recognition of his contributions. Australia’s Governor-General Sam Mostyn recently confirmed that Valentine had been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), acknowledging his service to both music and media.

For industry figures, the response to his death reflects not only his legacy as a musician, but also the enduring reach of his broadcasting career, which brought his voice into the daily lives of listeners for decades.

Valentine is survived by his wife and two children.