Blake Shelton’s first studio album in four years, For Recreational Use Only, debuts in the top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales (No. 6), Top Country Albums (No. 8) and Independent Albums (No. 8) charts (all dated May 24). It’s his first studio set since Body Language, which was released in May of 2021.

The new project is also his first with BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville (via Ten Point Productions/Wheelhouse Records), after a career with Warner Music Nashville. Shelton signed to BBR/BMG Nashville in September 2024.

On Top Country Albums, the set lands Shelton his 18th top 10 – all of which have come since 2001. Notably, this century (2000-present), only six total acts have tallied at least 18 top 10s: Shelton and Tim McGraw have 18 each, while Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith and George Strait are all tied with 20 each.

Over on Top Album Sales, For Recreational Use Only marks Shelton’s 18th top 10-charting set (it launches with 10,500 copies sold in the United States in the week ending May 15, according to Luminate).

Elsewhere in the top 10 of the all-genre Top Album Sales chart, five more titles debut in the region, including the No. 1 debut from Sleep Token’s Even in Arcadia.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album (TEA) units and streaming equivalent album (SEA) units.

As earlier noted, Sleep Token’s Even in Arcadia debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales. The set, the band’s first leader, launches with 73,500 copies sold – the group’s best sales week ever. Kali Uchis’ Sincerely, debuts at No. 2 with 38,000 copies sold – marking the third top 10 for the singer. P1Harmony collect its fourth top 10 as DUH! debuts at No. 3 with 22,000 sold. The Weeknd’s chart-topping Hurry Up Tomorrow rallies 35-4 with 15,000 sold (up 540%) after new vinyl and CD editions of the album were released. Forrest Frank rounds out the top 10, and secures his second top 10 (and first top five set) as Child of God II debuts at No. 5 with 12,000 sold.

PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake’s $ome $exy $ongs 4 U reenters the chart at No. 7 with 9,000 sold (up 8,558%) after its vinyl release, Kendrick Lamar’s former leader GNX falls 7-8 (7,000; up 5%), Ghost’s chart-topping Skeletá slips 5-9 (6,500; down 37%) and Arcade Fire’s Pink Elephant bows at No. 10 with 6,000 sold (notching the band its sixth top 10).

Universal Music Group (UMG) and the Beastie Boys have both reached confidential settlements to end lawsuits in which they accused restaurant chain Chili’s of using their music in social media advertisements without permission.  

Two court filings on Wednesday (May 21) informed federal judges that Chili’s owner Brinker International agreed to settlements with both UMG and the Beastie Boys during a mediation session two weeks earlier. The terms of the settlements have not been revealed, as is typical in these types of lawsuits.

UMG and the Beastie Boys both sued Brinker in 2024, alleging Chili’s featured their copyrighted music in advertisements on TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms without buying so-called “synch” licenses.

While social media platforms provide huge libraries of licensed music for users to add to their videos, a brand must purchase a special synch license if it wants to include a song in any commercial or promotional content.

The Beastie Boys, who are famously averse to their music appearing in advertisements, claimed in a July lawsuit that Brinker used their iconic 1994 song “Sabotage” in a promotional video without permission.

To add insult to injury, the Beastie Boys said this Chili advertisement also showed three men in “70s-style” wigs, fake mustaches and sunglasses carrying out a “robbery” of food ingredients from a Chili’s. The rap trio claimed these visuals clearly evoked the “Sabotage” music video, which featured Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, Michael “Mike D” Diamond and the late Adam “MCA” Yauch in similar attire.

UMG followed up with its own lawsuit this past October, alleging that dozens of Chili’s social media advertisements used unlicensed music from the label. UMG said the restaurant company’s wrongdoing extended to more than 60 songs by artists including Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, Lana Del Rey, ABBA, Luke Bryan, Travis Scott, Bruno Mars, Lil Nas X, Earth Wind & Fire and The Weeknd.

According to Wednesday’s court filings, both UMG and the Beastie Boys have reached agreements “in principle” to end their claims against Brinker. The settlement deals are currently being finalized, and both lawsuits are expected to be closed by early July.

A UMG rep declined to comment on the settlement news. Spokespeople for the Beastie Boys and Brinker did not immediately return requests for comment.

Numerous brands have faced lawsuits in recent years from music companies and artists over the use of copyrighted songs in social media ads. All three major labels sued drink maker Bang Energy for this in 2021, leading to closely-watched judgments in favor of UMG and Sony.

In July, Kobalt and other music publishers brought lawsuits against more than a dozen NBA teams over the use of songs in social media videos, leading to a bevy of settlements earlier this year. And just last month, a Detroit-area Ford dealership settled claims that it unlawfully featured Eminem’s “Lose Yourself in TikTok videos.

PinkPantheress delivered her acclaimed nine-track Fancy That mixtape this month, and fans are hoping she’ll get back on the road soon to tour around the new project.

Pink has been critiqued as a performer in the past, and she sat down with Capital Buzz where she agreed that the criticism has been “fair” and that she doesn’t make music for the stage.

“I don’t do music to perform, I think is the thing, and that’s perfectly fine,” she said around the 23:55 mark of the interview. “I think that people are probably used to and also expect a singer to be able to perform well. And I don’t blame anyone for thinking that. I’m not the best performer. Again, it’s one of those things where I’m like ‘I’m going to get better.’”

PinkPantheress continued: “But the thing is, no amount of rehearsals can make a difference when you’re in front of like 10,000, 50,000, 100,000. No amount of rehearsal you can do, and as somebody that has got very bad stage fright… I think one of the things people say is like, ‘Oh, I think her performances are a hindrance to her career.’ And I do think there is a level of if you want to make it as like a big, big pop-diva.”

The British artist is at peace in more intimate settings and doesn’t think the performance aspect is a hindrance to her blossoming career. Pink also caught up with Billboard earlier in May, which saw her reveal that touring with Olivia Rodrigo made her learn that she’s “not an arena artist.”

“Watching her and how she combats an arena and how she actually does the arena made me realize, ‘Wow, some people are arena artists and some people are not.’ I’m not an arena artist,” she admitted. “That’s something I learned about myself. What I learned from her is there are ways you can approach an arena and interact with people in the up theres or the far backs. She did that and is amazing at it.”

PinkPantheress added: “What happened when I watched her was, I saw my own failing and my own incapabilities, and I was like, ‘I’m not an arena artist.’ That’s not for a lack of trying. It just made me realize there are some things in life as an artist you’re told you should try one day — but for me, I think I’m one of those artists where I’m comfortable is where I always strive.”

The 24-year-old opened for Rodrigo for six or seven shows before leaving the tour for personal reasons related to her health in 2024.

As for Fancy That, Pink heavily tapped into the drum and bass genre and pulled on inspiration from Basement Jaxx and Calvin Harris to complete the cohesive work, which she thinks is her sonic magnum opus.

Stream the mixtape below.

Lady Gaga took home a Sports Emmy on Tuesday night (May 20) for her pre-Super Bowl performance of “Hold My Hand” in tribute to victims of the New Orleans terror attack on New Year’s Eve, Hurricane Helene in Florida and Georgia in the fall, and the January wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles County.

In a pre-taped segment that aired ahead of the Fox broadcast of Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, the pop superstar performed behind a piano on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, introduced by NFL legends Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Terry Bradshaw. She sang a stripped-down version of her Oscar-nominated Top Gun: Maverick single “Hold My Hand” as various police officers and firefighters looked on around her.

Gaga earned the 2025 Sports Emmy for outstanding music direction alongside her fellow producers Seth Dudowsky, Bill Richards, Joel Santos, Jesse Weiss and Brad Zager, as well as music editor Joe Nargi.

In the category, they were up against Prime Video’s Evolution of the Black Quarterback, HBO Max’s The Lionheart, ESPN+’s Noche UFC: For Mexico, For All Time, and Netflix’s The Turnaround.

After winning an Oscar for best original song with “Shallow” from A Star Is Born and 14 Grammys over her career, Gaga is now only a Tony shy of the coveted EGOT honor. While there is debate over whether only the Primetime Emmys should count toward the EGOT, the Emmys social accounts were trumpeting Gaga’s three-letter accomplishment on Tuesday night after her Sports Emmys victory.

“Putting the ‘E’ in @ladygaga’s E-G-O…she’s just short of the T!” read a post on @TheEmmys X account.