When headliners Eric Wilson, Bud Gaugh and Jakob Nowell took the stage shortly before midnight at the Teragram Ballroom on Dec. 11 in Los Angeles for a benefit concert for Bad Brains frontman H.R., they didn’t officially have a band name. It wasn’t until the second song during the rousing set that Nowell announced he was now leading the band his late father, Bradley Nowell, first launched with Wilson and Gaugh in 1998 — the beloved Long Beach alternative, rock and reggae group Sublime.

One week later, on Monday (Dec. 18), Rome Ramirez, lead singer of the group Sublime with Rome — the Sublime spinoff that has performed classic Sublime songs and Ramirez’s original material since 2009 — announced he was ending his run performing with the group. The announcement followed news that the Nowell family, along with Wilson and Gaugh, had effectively laid the groundwork for the younger Nowell to take over his father’s role and lead the band into a new era.

Briefly, in 2009, Wilson and Ramirez toured under the name Sublime but were sued by the Nowell family and eventually reached a legal settlement and license agreement with Nowell’s wife, Troy Dendekker, to tour under the moniker Sublime with Rome.

While Wilson and Ramirez were touring and performing, Jakob was developing his own musical talents, forming the Long Beach band LAW in 2013. Earlier this year, Jakob and his mother agreed with Wilson and Gaugh to relaunch Sublime with Jakob at the helm under the management of Kevin Zinger and Joe Escalante.

What this development means for Rome Ramirez is not totally clear. In a statement, the singer announced that “after almost two remarkable decades, I am announcing my departure from Sublime with Rome at the close of 2024. The upcoming performances over the next year will allow us to reflect on countless incredible memories together!”

Sublime with Rome currently has four dates on its website scheduled for 2024: Feb. 16 at Cali Vibes Festival in Long Beach, April 12 at Cattle Country Festival in Gonzalez, Tex., April 20 at Hard Rock Live in Atlantic City, N.J., and an April 27 headliner show at Red Rocks.

“Over the last 2 years I’ve been spending countless hours pouring my soul into my solo music, and the excitement to share these songs with you is building up! I’ve got some really big news that I can’t drop yet. Just wait,” Ramirez’s statement continued. “Singing and playing guitar for this iconic band has been a lifetime opportunity and just flat out, absolutely epic. Carrying on the Sublime legacy has been a trust I’ll forever cherish. This is only the beginning…”

Sublime with Rome has put out a total of three albums, including its 2011 debut record, Yours Truly, which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. They followed that up in 2015 with Sirens, which peaked at No. 34 on the tally, followed by Blessings in 2019. The band has consistently headlined festivals and in 2023 collaborated with Slightly Stoopid on the track “Cool & Collected,” along with a joint 27-date summer tour.

Jung Kook is the ARMY’s favorite foodie, and the 26-year-old superstar enjoyed some of his favorite snacks while celebrating his Latto collaboration, “Seven,” reaching one billion Spotify streams.

In a video posted to Spotify’s Instagram account on Monday (Dec. 18), Jung Kook finds his plate-shaped plaque honoring the milestone underneath a pile of his favorite foods — fittingly, seven of them. Among the BTS star’s picks are soy sauce eggs, banana milk, tuna kimbap, shrimp crackers, turtle chips, japchae and castella.

“Producer Bang Si-Hyuk sent a song to me to listen. It was so great. I thought, this is such an amazing song, what if I mess it up?” Jung Kook recalled of the song’s inception. “I wasn’t working on an album, but after listening to ‘Seven,’ I came out of a break. We rushed to record the music, shoot the music videos, and album photos. Since ARMY have been waiting for so long, we worked very fast.”

He continued, “Because I felt the song needed a rapper — Latto has a great voice and cool presence — so, we reached out to her and everything worked out.”

Latto even sent in a clip to thank Jung Kook for putting her on the song and allowing her to “make history” with him. “Seven” became the fastest song to reach 1 billion streams in Spotify history,  achieving the record in 108 days since it was first released.

It’s hardly the only record Jung Kook’s Latto collaboration has broken, as it landed upon its release at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published July 21, for the highest-charting debut by a solo Korean act. Additionally, “Seven,” launched at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated July 29). The song marked the first leader on the lists for a member of BTS as a soloist, as well as Latto’s first No. 1.

Watch Jung Kook eat his seven favorite snacks off his billion streams plaque here.

If any Taylor Swift fans missed her appearance the Kansas City Chiefs vs. New England Patriots game, here’s everything they’ll want to see.

The Chiefs played against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Sunday (Dec. 17), and won. Swift attended the game to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce, tight end for the Chiefs, and she brought along some family and friends.

Spotted with Swift in a suite at the stadium were dad Scott Swift, Brittany Mahomes, and longtime friends Alana Haim and Ashley Avignone.

Swift and her dad coordinated in Chiefs sweatshirts (Taylor in grey, Scott in a vintage red find). The pop icon also sported a hand-crocheted Chiefs beanie with Kelce’s number, 87, that was made for her by Kut the Knit, who reacted appropriately on Instagram: “TAYLOR SWIFT IS WEARING THE HAT I MADE HER BRB PASSING AWAY RN.”

Clothing shop Westside Storey, one of many Kansas City local businesses benefiting from the buzz about Swift and Kelce’s romance, recently sold Swift a bundle of vintage Chiefs apparel. After Swift wore a red Chiefs sweatshirt at their game last weekend, shop owner Chris Harrington told Billboard that Westside Storey’s online store had an unprecedented number of orders in the days that followed.

Dad-and-daughter duo Scott and Taylor were seen smiling and taking selfies together Sunday, and at one point Mr. Swift seemingly brought out a birthday cake to share with others nearby. Taylor turned 34 earlier in the week, on Dec. 13.

See some clips captured of Swift at Sunday’s game below.

Every time Taylor Swift shows up in Kansas City, people eat more donuts. 

Last July, Donutology’s two stores in the city made 20,000 donuts in a single weekend after marketing “Tayl-gating” 30-packs, including Lavender Glazes and Caramel Is a Cat bismarcks, to meet the demand of 74,000 Swifties at two Arrowhead Stadium concerts. The stores hastily hired former employees for around-the-clock frying and assigned their marketing director, Abby Meyer, to help in the packaging department. “It hasn’t really died since then,” Meyer says.

Unlike other U.S. cities on last summer’s Eras tour, Kansas City’s Swiftie boom continues, thanks to the singer’s high-profile presence in the city this fall with her boyfriend, Travis Kelce of the NFL’s Chiefs. And Donutology isn’t the only one cashing in on the buzz: Local businesses such as clothing shops Westside Storey and Made In KC and restaurants Piropos and Prime Social have significantly boosted their sales, social-media views and website traffic over the past few months. 

“We can’t attach a number to it,” says Tim Cowden, president/CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council. “It’s an incredible opportunity that she is providing our region.”

According to the city’s Economic Development Council, Eras tickets across the United States sold at an average price of $1,200, so the Kansas City shows generated $88.8 million in revenue. Additionally, Swifties bought $1,300 to $1,500 worth of meals, merch and other goods throughout the tour, and for Kansas City, that amounted to an overall financial impact of $185 million to $200 million. Then, after Swift’s widely viewed appearance last Sunday in a vintage Chiefs sweatshirt during the team’s game against the Green Bay Packers, Westside Storey, which sold her the item, landed an unprecedented 100 online orders in the two or three days after the game, according to the store’s owner, Chris Harrington.

“It’s quite insane,” says Harrington. “It’s just driven traffic like we’ve never had before. We’re waiting to see when it ends.”

Piropos, the Argentine restaurant where Swift and Kelce had a Kansas City dinner date in late October, reports a similarly massive word-of-mouth reaction. “We didn’t put up any sign. People just called us,” says Cristina Worden, the restaurant’s owner. “We got more reservations, we have more commentary. It’s been great for every business.”

The Eras-related sales spike in Kansas City took Keith Bradley, co-owner of the 11-store gift-and-apparel chain Made In KC, by surprise. Ticketholders streamed into town, buying apparel, jewelry, candles and hats, and the stores scrambled to adapt by launching Swift-themed drinks and friendship bracelets. Nearly three months later, when Swift attended her first Chiefs game, “it felt like that was a new wave,” Bradley says, adding that his shops’ most popular holiday-season products are “anything Taylor and Travis,” such as candles and T-shirts.

The Swift-Kelce romance is a feel-good, fast-moving story and a “buzzworthy partnership,” as Katie Essing, a University of Missouri assistant teaching professor of marketing, describes it — which allows brands to attach themselves for exposure without fearing backlash or consequences. After Swift publicly ate chicken fingers with ketchup and what appeared to be ranch dressing at a Chiefs game in late September, KFC referred to Swift on social media as its “Ranch Queen” and Heinz launched a new flavor called Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch. “Brands having anything to do with ranch could jump on social media,” Essing says. “And that’s what we see happening with the brands in the Kansas City area with this relationship.”

The Eras Tour was so huge — grossing $900 million plus, with 63,000 ticket sales per show, or 3.3 million overall, according to Billboard estimates — that officials and businesses in host cities had to be asleep to not take advantage of the marketing opportunities. Tampa named Swift “honorary mayor”; Las Vegas lit up its Gateway Arches in colors representing all of her albums; and Seattle’s Japonessa Sushi Cocini racked up $10,000 in sales of “Reputation” sushi rolls and cocktails packed with glitter. But only Kansas City has extended its Swiftie effect beyond Eras.

Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas says the NFL Draft in April, which reportedly drew 312,000 attendees and generated $164.3 million, led to “flack” from some local businesses. (Owners complained about street closures, excessive traffic and high parking costs that kept regular customers away.) “Taylor Swift was the opposite — for almost no municipal investment, we’re getting a heck of an investment,” he tells Billboard. “Any mayor would love to have Taylor Swift just start randomly coming to their city. This is great for our economy. It’s great for our culture. It’s great for letting people know we have this dynamic city. Life kind of sucks, so it’s nice to just see two happy people enjoying life.”