Don’t ever let it be said that Flea is predictable. The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ mega-star bass player shifts gears for Honora, his debut solo album which arrives in full today, March 27, via Nonesuch Records.

Honora is a jazz album, a passion project, a personal collection. And it represents a new beginning for Flea, as he flexes his trumpeting chops. The rocker spent two years honing his talents on the trumpet for Honora, an instrument that fired him up in his youth, a time when Dizzy Gillespie was his hero and his father’s jazz albums were his musical candy.  

Flea’s new collection is a temple of American culture, tackling the timely subjects of civil war, peace and love, and doing so in its own meditative time and space.

Largely recorded in February 2025, the album features collaborations with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke (“Traffic Lights”), Nick Cave (“Wichita Lineman”), Ann Ronell (“Willow Weep for Me”), plus interpretations of Frank Ocean and Shea Taylor’s “Thinkin Bout You,” George Clinton and Eddie Hazel’s “Maggot Brain” and more.

For the sessions, Flea assembled a team of studio top guns, including album producer and saxophonist Josh Johnson, guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Anna Butterss, and drummer Deantoni Parks, and welcomed contributions from the likes of Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Atoms for Peace), Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes) and Warren Ellis (The Dirty Three, The Bad Seeds).

Earlier this week, Flea and Co. made their live TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a performance of “Thinkin Bout You.” Speaking with the late-night show’s host, Flea said getting back to the trumpet “was just the process, the learning process. And I’m so happy that I had the opportunity to do it.”

Fun fact: Flea (real name: Michael Balzary) is one of a small handful of Australian-born artists inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Now aged 63, Flea made a whistlestop trip to his homeland last month, where he was spotted courtside at a Sydney Kings NBL game and stopped by the city’s Church Street Studios for an intimate album listening party. Presenting the album to media and industry guests, Flea looked right at home wearing flip flops on hot summer’s day.

This May, Flea and the Honora band will embark on a sold-out international tour, playing intimate venues in North America, the U.K. and Europe.

Stream Honora below.

“Honora” 2026 Tour Dates
May 7 — Thalia Hall, Chicago, IL
​May 9 — The Opera House, Toronto, ON
​May 10 — Théâtre Beanfield, Montreal, QC
​May 12 — Webster Hall, New York, NY
​May 13 — Black Cat, Washington, DC
​May 16 — The Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
​May 21 — Heimathafen, Berlin, Germany
​ May 22 — Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
​May 26 –Koko, London, U.K.
​May 28 — Alhambra, Paris, France  

Next stop, HADES.

Melanie Martinez returns with her fourth studio album, HADES, the songwriter and alternative pop artist’s social commentary on today’s world.

Arriving in full today, March 27, the collection spans 18 tracks and houses lead track “POSSESSION,” her first release in three years, and followup “Disney Princess.”

“I started this album thinking I was writing a futuristic dystopia,” she explains in a statement from Warner Music, her label home, “but I realized I was just documenting the world we’re already living in. HADES is a cracked mirror. Beneath the rage, it’s a refusal to go numb – a call to feel, to see clearly, and to ask if we can still create something beautiful from the chaos we’ve been given.”

HADES is the New York-born, Latin-American artist’s first new music since 2023’s Portals, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, her third consecutive top 10 appearance on the chart. Portals went all the way to No. 1 on Australia’s ARIA Chart.

Martinez’s entered our lives back in 2012 as a contestant on season 3 of The Voice. Although she didn’t collect top prize, she won the long game. In her career to-date, she’s accumulated 30 billion-plus career streams, upwards of 5.5 billion official YouTube views and more than 62 million followers across platforms.

Her debut album from 2015, Cry Baby, peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the perfume of the same name, which was self-released the following year and was a sell-out. Later, she partnered with Flower Shop Perfume on a perfume line, the first of which arrived in 2023 — with similar success to its predecessor. The collection has since expanded to include candles, body sprays, and perfume pendants. ​

Martinez has presented the new album to fans at sold-out listening parties in London, Amsterdam and Toronto. HADES will get a push with a small run of special performances, kicking off tonight at New York’s United Palace, then visiting Mexico City, and Los Angeles, where on April 8 she’s locked-in for an exclusive spot at the Grammy Museum’s Clive Davis Theater. There, she’ll give an in-depth exploration of her creative process, and perform a mini set for 200 guests.

Stream HADES below.

After these wins, Taylor Swift must be feeling pretty enchanted.

Swift accepted the award for Artist of the Year — as well as six other prizes — at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Thursday night (March 26).

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Olympic gold medal-winning ice skater Alysa Liu presented Swift with five of the awards, including the night’s top prize, and it was a moment of mutual admiration between the Olympian and singer.

“First of all, to receive this award from Alysa,” Swift started her speech. “You brought me so much happiness and everyone else so much happiness with your performances.”

Swift then spoke about her dedication to her craft and how much she loves what she does.

“I love being an artist. I love writing songs more than anything in the world,” Swift said. “And I didn’t think I was an artist when I first started doing it. It was a hobby. It was a hobby, and then it was my favorite hobby.”

The “Opalite” singer continued by speaking about what it was like being a child who enjoyed making music. She shared that she would rush home after school to play her guitar and write songs.

“I was 12 years old, I had the luxury of spending thousands of hours working at my craft, practicing, making mistakes through trial and error, and that was all completely unobserved,” Swift said.

Swift then turned her attention to the musicians in the crowd, referring to them as “ambitious, cool, smart, awesome people who have dreams.” She spoke about what it’s like to create in today’s day and age, where feedback is both instant and constant. Then, talking directly to the crowd of artists, she shared a word of advice and her hopes for all of them.

“If I had one hope for you, I would say that I hope that you get to nurture your hobby and your passion, just between you and that craft, and you give yourself time,” she addressed the audience. “Give yourself time to make mistakes. Give yourself time to hone your craft.”

Swift then concluded her speech with one last bit of wisdom and heartfelt hopes for her peers. “I’m a firm believer that anything you feed your mind, it will internalize,” Swift said. “Anything you feed the Internet, it will attempt to kill, and I don’t want that for your dreams.”

Earlier in the evening, the pop star was also presented with the award for Best Pop Album for The Life of a Showgirl. With seven total wins at this year’s ceremony, Swift — who already held the record for most wins in the awards’ history — brings her overall number of iHeartRadio Music Awards up to 41.

The Hannah Montana 20th anniversary isn’t the only thing Miley Cyrus is celebrating this week.

Cyrus took home the Innovator Award at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Thursday night (March 26). The award was presented to Cyrus by Lainey Wilson, who once worked as a Hannah Montana impersonator. Wilson called Cyrus “one of my biggest inspirations.”

“Miley Cyrus is what happens when fearlessness meets evolution,” said Wilson. “She didn’t just grow up in front of the world. She redefined herself in front of it over and over — and then over again — from breaking out of a box that people tried to put her in.”

As Cyrus walked up to the stage and was about to begin her acceptance speech, the crowd chanted her name over and over again.

“They’re gonna ‘Luda’ me,” she said, referring to the speech cut-off sound at this year’s ceremony, hosted by Ludacris. “Someone tell Luda this does not count as my 45 seconds.”

Cyrus went on to shout out the milestone Hannah Montana anniversary, saying that this week celebrating has been “a dream come true.”

Hannah Montana inspried me so much in my own career,” Cyrus said. “I fell in love with the idea that you can create a persona that gives you the confidence and the courage to perform authentically.”

Cyrus shared what innovation means to her and that it’s about making the journey of finding herself a fun one.

“I’ve always written songs and stories because I love it, and winning awards for that work is of course rewarding, but it is not my compass,” she said. “Because if it was I’m sure I’d end up very lost.”

She continued by speaking directly to her fans, with a note on how connecting with people across the world through her work is meaningful to her.

“When the win isn’t recognition, but making art that reaches the hearts of people I may never meet, it brings me a kind of joy that is deeply meaningful,” the innovator said. “Younger me is so honored to share this moment with you. I’m proud to stand here and tell you how much you mean to me.”

Cyrus concluded with a reference to Hannah Montana: “This really is the life.”

Primary Wave Music partnered with the estate of Eartha Kitt and her daughter, Kitt Shapiro. The deal encompasses Kitt’s music catalog as well as her name, image and likeness.

Kitt’s music catalog includes 17 studio albums, eight live albums and more than 50 singles, including such classics as “Santa Baby,” “C’est Is Bon” and “Let’s Do It.”

“I am very excited to partner with Primary Wave to further share my mother’s legacy, and to continue spreading her message of kindness, love, acceptance and empowerment, to future generations,” said Shapiro, Kitt’s only child and the executrix of her estate, in a statement.

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Added Primary Wave’s Dana DuFine, “Eartha Kitt was a true icon with one of the most distinctive voices in music. We are thrilled to partner with Eartha’s daughter, Kitt Shapiro, and are honored she has entrusted us to preserve the legacy of her mother’s legendary catalog of music.”

In addition to her music career, Kitt worked on Broadway and in film and TV, including her role as Catwoman in the 1960s Batman TV series. During her lifetime, she was nominated for Tony, Grammy and Emmy Awards and won two Emmys for her voice role of Yzma in the Disney TV series The Emperor’s New School.

Kitt was also known for her activism. After speaking out against the Vietnam War at a 1968 White House luncheon, her career suffered for years in the U.S. The following decade, her starring role in the original 1978 production of the Broadway musical Timbuktu! brought her the first of two Tony nominations.

Read about more recent music industry deals below.

After more than two years together, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce finally made their awards show debut.

Kelce accompanied Swift to the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, on Thursday night (March 26).

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Though Swift’s appearance was previously announced, Kelce’s was a surprise. Rather than making their red-carpet debut at the ceremony, the two arrived separately. Swift walked the carpet solo wearing an embellished mint green corset and skirt set, while Kelce joined her inside wearing a brown leather jacket.

Midway through the show, while accepting the Pop Album of the Year award for The Life of a Showgirl, Swift shouted out Kelce in the crowd as being part of the inspiration behind the album.

“I think that this album probably also feels very happy and confident and free,” Swift said. “Because that’s the way that I get to feel every single day of my life because of my fiancé, who’s here.”

Swift holds the record for most iHeartRadio Music Awards with a total of 34 prior to Thursday’s ceremony. With nine nominations this year, the “Opalite” singer also leads this year’s pack of nominees. Her attendance at this year’s ceremony marked her first awards show appearance of 2026 as well as her first time attending this particular ceremony since 2023.

In an interview with Billboard ahead of the show, host of this year’s ceremony Ludacris also shouted out Swift’s appearance as something to look forward to.

“I know there’s not a surprise with Taylor Swift making an appearance,” the rapper said. “She hasn’t done that in a long time, so just that alone is going to get a lot of people excited.”

Watch Kelce in the crowd during Swift’s acceptance speech below:

Jason Aldean caught up with Billboard’s Tetris Kelly on the red carpet at the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2026.

Ella Langley caught up with Billboard’s Tetris Kelly on the red carpet at the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2026.

Tinashe caught up with Billboard’s Tetris Kelly on the red carpet at the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2026.

Kehlani caught up with Billboard’s Tetris Kelly on the red carpet at the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2026.