The month of December was an eventful one for the Kennedy Center. In the leadup to Christmas, the institution was controversially renamed Trump-Kennedy Center, with new signage installed. Then came the boycotts, the threat of retaliatory lawsuits, and the Dec. 23 broadcast of the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, which delivered all-time low ratings.

And this after Donald Trump, who became the first sitting president to host the show, had predicted it would be “the highest-rated show that they’ve ever done.”

That soft viewership result didn’t reflect what was a “successful night,” say reps for the Kennedy Center.

“Comparing this year’s broadcast ratings to prior years is a classic apples-to-oranges comparison and evidence of far-left bias,” Roma Daravi, vp of public relations for the Kennedy Center, said in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “The program performed extremely well across key demographics and platforms, despite industry and timing disadvantages, including a Tuesday air date two days before Christmas.”

According to THR, Nielsen Live + Same Day Panel + Big Data reported the special averaged 4.1 million viewers, representing a 26% drop in viewership year-on-year.

Since the 2024 show, however, Nielsen changed its methodology by launching its Big Data + Panel system that combines its traditional panel data with data from smart TVs and set-top boxes.

Also, notes, THR, the previous show was broadcast on a Sunday with an NFL lead-in, the Kennedy Center outlined on background.

“With overall television usage down roughly 20 percent year over year, the broadcast still tied for the #1 spot among adults aged 25–54, alongside a live NBA doubleheader,” Daravi adds. “And on social media, Honors garnered 1.5 billion impressions in just one night — up from only 50 million similar impressions last year. This was a successful night celebrating the outstanding achievements of our Honorees at the Trump Kennedy Center.”

While the serving president traditionally sits in the balcony with the honorees, Trump took the stage three times during the 48^th annual event, which this year feted Sylvester Stallone, KISS, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor and Broadway legend Michael Crawford.

The annual presentation took place Sunday, Dec. 7, and aired later in the month on CBS and Paramount+, following the announcement of plans to rename the Kennedy Center to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

Efforts to rename the Kennedy Center, reportedly approved by its board, could face legal hurdles. The original laws that guided the creation of the Kennedy Center specifically prohibited the renaming of the building. It would take an act of Congress to change that now.

That board looks a lot different than it did a year earlier. In February 2025, Trump abruptly fired members and installed himself as chair, writing in a post on Truth Social at the time, “At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN.”

Weeks later, the newly installed members of the Kennedy Center board, handpicked by Trump, officially elected Trump as board chair.

Celebrities who have disassociated themselves from the Kennedy Center this year include Rhiannon Giddens, Issa Rae, Renee Fleming, Shonda Rhimes and Ben Folds. The landmark musical Hamilton and play Eureka Day soon cancelled performances at the center, while jazz supergroup The Cookers pulled out of a planned New Year’s Eve concert, and musician Chuck Redd scrapped a Christmas Eve performance.

Cometh the hour, cometh Dom Dolla.

The Australian EDM superstar was behind the decks and had countdown honors at Beyond The Valley festival, which celebrated its 10th anniversary. Dom (real name Dominic Matheson) kept the tunes pumping into the New Year, footage of which can be seen below.

Presented at Victoria’s picturesque Barunah Plains, BTV this year welcomed 40,000 party-goers and sold out “instantly,” according to organizers Untitled Group.

The lineup across the four days from Dec. 28 to Jan. 1 also featured Addison Rae, who made her first-ever festival appearance; Kid Cudi in his first Australian performance in over a decade; along with Turnstile, The Temper Trap and many more.

“Man, bringing in the New Year at BTV was the most epic s— ever!!!,” Kudi wrote on his Instagram. “I had the best time w u all!!! So much love, bouncing back from me to u. Such a beautiful experience.”

Handing countdown duties to Dolla made a whole lot of sense. Dom has now performed at eight editions of BTV, and made history on Dec. 20 with a show at Allianz Stadium –the first stadium date in these parts by a homegrown DJ. He established another mark in December 2024, when he sold more than 170,000 across a four-date national tour. Untitled produced all those shows, and has a career-long relationship with the Grammy-nominated, multiple ARIA Award-winning producer and DJ.

“Reaching ten years of Beyond The Valley is something we’re incredibly proud of,” comments Untitled Group co-founder and managing partner Nicholas Greco. “Moments like Addison Rae’s debut festival performance, Kid Cudi’s return to Australia, Dom Dolla counting down the new year and the response to our surprise sets really capture what BTV is all about – discovery, connection and shared experiences.”

The party didn’t end there. Dom, Rae, Cudi and others carried on with performances at Wildlands festival at Brisbane Showgrounds on Thursday, Jan. 1, and they head west for the second and final date Saturday, Jan. 3 at Perth’s Arena Joondalup.

Kelsea Ballerini and actor Chase Stokes are kicking off 2026 together again.

The pair called off their romantic relationship in September after three years of dating, but with the new year comes an apparent reunion — with both Ballerini and Stokes sharing their views on love via Instagram on Wednesday (Dec. 31).

“Something I’ve learned this year: don’t take advantage of the most beautiful things that in 33 years of life are fleeting,” Stokes wrote in a post featuring photos of him snuggling with the country singer. “Take accountability, learn from mistakes. Lean into love and say it often. 2026 my year of growth, my year of truth. Starting here, starting now. Happy new years.”

Meanwhile, Ballerini took to her Instagram Stories to share, “Messy year for the heart, messy year for the outside coming in, messy year for the way it became an out of our hands portrayal of it. But what i’ll say, and all i really care to share indefinitely with my personal life anymore, is that i really love love. I believe in it, i believe in him, and i believe in breaking patterns.”

 “go kiss your person and stop speculating,” she added in her New Year’s Eve update.

The “Emerald City” singer and the Outer Banks star originally confirmed they were a couple back in 2023, walking the CMT Awards red carpet together that year. They’d first connected in 2022, when Ballerini introduced herself to Stokes through a direct message on social media.

In early December, Ballerini told fans, “I’m trying to make my personal life personal for now. Unless it comes from me, it’s not from me, and that is really important in protecting my peace right now.”

The singer-songwriter’s most recent release is her six-song EP Mount Pleasant, which arrived in November via Black River Entertainment. The EP followed her Top Country Albums No. 1 Patterns.

Yungblud is teaming up with the Smashing Pumpkins for a darker reimagining of his song “Zombie.”

On Thursday (Jan. 1), the 28-year-old British singer announced that the collaboration and its accompanying music video will drop on Friday (Jan. 2).

“Zombie with The Smashing Pumpkins out worldwide midnight,” Yungblud captioned an Instagram photo of himself alongside Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan. “Music video out tomorrow. Happy new year.”

The post includes black-and-white photos of Yungblud (real name: Dominic Harrison) with the other Pumpkins members, as well as a snapshot of him rocking out with Corgan — likely a still from the forthcoming music video. Yungblud also teased a snippet of the collaboration on his Instagram Stories.

“Zombie,” which is nominated for best rock song at the 2026 Grammy Awards, appears on Yungblud’s fourth studio album, Idols, also nominated for best rock album.

Yungblud shared the story behind the collaboration in an interview with Loudwire.

“When I was making ‘Zombie,’ I was really channeling Siamese Dream,” he told the publication. “It was really the sadness and the melancholic emotion mixed with the aggression of Billy’s f—king guitars … Billy, as a songwriter, was really at the forefront of my inspiration when I was making this album. When ‘Zombie’ came along, I knew I wanted to do a new version if it.”

The rocker explained that the original version of “Zombie” was heavier, but he adjusted it because he worried it might sound too much like the Pumpkins. While he’s happy with the album version, he always imagined another take.

“I called Billy and I was like, ‘Billy, please help me scratch this itch. I want this record to dig in harder,’” Yungblud said. “There still needs to be an almost Jekyll and Hyde element, there needs to be the version that’s full of light and full of life and optimism, but then there needs to be this dark version that is pessimistic and a little bit bitter and a bit aggressive.”

Within 10 days of the conversation, Yungblud flew to Chicago, the Pumpkins’ hometown, to record the song and its music video.

This isn’t Yungblud’s first collaboration with a famous rock band. In September, he released “My Only Angel” with Aerosmith, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart. The track was part of a five-song collaborative EP, One More Time, released in late November.

Yungblud released Idols in June, which topped the U.K. Albums Chart and reached No. 15 on Billboard’s Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart.

Check out Yungblud’s Instagram post about the collaboration here.

Nick Jonas is welcoming 2026 with brand new music.

On Thursday (Jan. 1), the 33-year-old singer released his emotionally charged new solo single “Gut Punch,” along with an accompanying lyric video on YouTube.

“Gut Punch is out now everywhere,” Jonas wrote on Instagram. “Couldn’t ask for a better way to ring in the new year than hearing these lyrics that mean so much to me being sung back. Here’s to being kinder to ourselves in 2026. Thank you. Love you.”

The Jonas Brothers member shared a short clip of himself performing the song live as the crowd sang along. He’s been performing “Gut Punch” throughout the JoBros’ Jonas20: Greetings From Your Hometown anniversary tour, which launched Aug. 10 in their native New Jersey and wrapped Dec. 22 in Brooklyn.

“Hit me like a gut punch/ I hurt my own feelings/ How did I get so good at being mean to myself?” he sings on the song’s driving chorus.

Fans first got a taste of the moody ballad in mid-December, when Jonas debuted it during one of his Sunday Best Brunch events in Toronto. He was joined onstage by his younger brother Franklin Jonas (who is not part of the Jonas Brothers), as well as album collaborator JP Saxe.

“Gut Punch” will appear on Sunday Best, Nick’s first full-length solo album in five years. The 11-track project explores his life as a husband to actress Priyanka Chopra and a father to their daughter, Malti. The set is scheduled for release on Feb. 6.

A previous news release described the album as drawing inspiration from Jonas’ musical roots and early years singing in church choirs, featuring “unguarded storytelling and moments he has never previously shared publicly,” while offering listeners “an intimate look into his world and [exploring] honesty, growth and rediscovery.”

Meanwhile, the Jonas Brothers rang in the New Year with a two-hour performance at Florida’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Wednesday (Dec. 31). The show was livestreamed exclusively on Samsung TV Plus and featured a mix of early hits, fan favorites and tracks from their latest album, Greetings From Your Hometown.

Check out the lyric video for Nick Jonas’ “Gut Punch” below.