BTS dominates Billboard’s latest charts (dated April 4) following the release of the group’s new album, ARIRANG.

Released March 20 via BigHit Music/Geffen/Interscope Capitol, the LP launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 641,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in its opening week, according to Luminate. It marks the biggest week of 2026 and the largest since Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl debuted with 4.002 million in October. It also earns the eighth-biggest week of the 2020s decade.

ARIRANG earns BTS its seventh No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and first since Proof in 2022.

The release also powers BTS back to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart, where it leads for a 22nd total week and for the first time since June 2022. Since the chart launched in 2014, only four acts have spent more weeks at No. 1: Taylor Swift (137), Drake (38), Morgan Wallen (34) and The Weeknd (29).

On the Billboard Hot 100, BTS charts 13 songs from ARIRANG, led by “Swim” at No. 1. Here’s a recap:

Rank, Title
No. 1, “Swim”
No. 25, “Body to Body”
No. 35, “Hooligan”
No. 36, “FYA”
No. 41, “Normal”
No. 47, “Aliens”
No. 50, “2.0”
No. 52, “Merry Go Round”
No. 53, “Like Animals”
No. 56, “They Don’t Know ‘bout Us”
No. 61, “One More Night”
No. 63, “Please”
No. 68, “Into the Sun”

With 13 debuts, BTS ups its career total to 39 Hot 100-charting hits. The group first appeared on the chart dated Oct. 7, 2017, with “DNA,” which peaked at No. 67. To date, 18 of the act’s entries have reached the top 40, 10 peaked in the top 10 and seven hit No. 1: “Dynamite”; “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” with Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo; “Life Goes On”; “Butter”; “Permission to Dance”; “My Universe” with Coldplay; and “Swim.”

The Artist 100 measures acts’ activity across key metrics of music consumption: album sales, track sales, radio airplay and streaming. Using a methodology comprising those metrics, the chart provides a weekly multidimensional ranking of artist popularity.

The Eurovision Song Contest is expanding to Asia this year. The annual musical extravaganza will host its first Asian edition in Bangkok on Nov. 14 with an initial slate of 10 countries lined up to participate so far, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, with more countries to be announced later, according to a release on the expansion.

“As we mark the 70th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest, it feels especially meaningful to open this next chapter with Asia, a region rich in culture, creativity and talent,” said contest director Martin Green in a statement on Tuesday (March 31).

The Asian version will take flight after the original contest takes place in Vienna in May, with 35 countries competing in the singing contest known for outrageous costumes, towering ballads and high-energy performances. The participating Asian countries will host their national selection rounds soon, with the winners going to the grand final in Bangkok.

This is the latest expansion of the contest that last year drew more than 160 million viewers from around the world. Back in 2022, organizers put on the American Song Contest, which featured singers from all 50 states and hosts Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg. Unlike the wildly popular European version, though, tune in was soft and the show did not get a second-season pickup.

The global contest, which always attempts to set aside politics and global conflict to focus on music, promises on the event’s website to make sure “every vote will count” and, as always, spotlight the “celebration of original pop music.”

Though political lyrics and statements have long been verboten, the Vienna edition is being boycotted by Slovenia, Iceland, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands due to the inclusion of Israel in the wake of the country’s war in Gaza. Last year’s Eurovision was hit by protests inside and outside the venues over the inclusion of singer Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack by Hamas on Israel in which more than 1,200 Israelis were murdered and 250 were kidnapped.

In addition, Russia has been banned from participating in the contest since 2022 over its ongoing war against Ukraine.

Check out the teaser trailer for Eurovision Song Contest Asia below.

Saturday Night Live UK is set to continue its debut season momentum with Tuesday’s (March 31) announcement of its latest musical guest, British soul singer Jorja Smith. The 28-year-old, who is gearing up for a huge co-headline show at All Points East this summer (Aug. 16) with Tems, will grace the SNL UK stage next weekend (Apr. 11) alongside host Jack Whitehall.

Sky’s U.K. iteration of the iconic live sketch show first hit screens earlier this month (March 21), with the first episode featuring indie-rockers Wet Leg and SNL alum Tina Fey. The following week welcomed appearances from host Jamie Dornan and a set from Wolf Alice.

Smith rose to prominence with her 2018 debut album Lost & Found, which earned her a BRIT Award for British female solo artist and a Mercury Prize nomination. She followed up with second LP Falling Or Flying in 2023, reaching No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. Since then, she has remained a fixture on major festival stages, including a performance at Glastonbury Festival in 2025. Smith also recently released a standalone track, “Price Of It All,” which features in the Amazon Prime original series Bait.

London-raised comedian Whitehall, meanwhile, is best known for his work on the sitcom Bad Education and travel-based stand-up series Travels With My Father. He has also hosted The BRIT Awards six times – more than any other presenter– including this year’s edition at the Co-op Live in Manchester.

SNL UK shares many of the components of its famous American counterpart, with each 75 minute episode including ​an opening monologue, topical sketches, live music and a British take on SNL’s satirical news segment, Weekend Update. It has premiered to mixed reviews from critics in the U.K., though its first series was recently extended to eight episodes from six.

This weekend (Apr. 4), British rock band Kasabian will hit the SNL UK studios for a performance, while actor Riz Ahmed is lined up for hosting duties. Viewers can watch the episode live on Sky One at 10 p.m. GMT before it drops in the U.S. the following day at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Peacock.

SNL UK features a cast of up-and-coming British comedy actors and comedians, including Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi, Paddy Young and more.

A U.S. federal judge has ruled largely in favour of Amyl and the Sniffers frontwoman Amy Taylor in her ongoing copyright dispute with photographer Jamie Nelson.

Judge George Wu denied Nelson’s anti-SLAPP motion, ordered the parties to mediate within three weeks, and warned the photographer that “things are only going to get worse” if the matter proceeds to trial.

At a hearing before district court Judge George Wu in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Monday (March 31), Taylor’s lawyer Jonathan Pink described the outcome as a near-total victory.

“The U.S. district court today ruled almost entirely in favour of plaintiff, Amy Taylor, giving her the right to amend her federal court action, keeping alive her state-based claims, and leaning on defendant, Jamie Nelson, to settle this lawsuit,” Pink said in a statement. “In summary, today’s hearing was a near-complete victory for Amy Taylor and nearly the complete opposite for Ms. Nelson.”

Judge Wu set a mediation deadline of April 23, ahead of an April 27 hearing, and issued a stark warning to Nelson. Absent a course-correction, Wu indicated he would enter a default judgment against Nelson’s company, Jamie Nelson Studios LLC, on April 29.

He also dismissed Nelson’s attempts to question the legal expertise of Taylor’s counsel — a 30-year copyright attorney — and declined to assist Nelson with her claims, noting that such assistance was not the role of the federal judiciary. In comments from the bench, the judge told Nelson directly: “Settlement is worth it even if you have to pay more than you want. Things are only going to get worse for you if you go forward.”

Nelson, for her part, maintained that her own copyright claims remained active. “My copyright counterclaims remain active and will continue to move forward against Amy Taylor, Amyl and the Sniffers, John Angus Stewart, and PHC Films,” she told Rolling Stone AU/NZ on Tuesday. “This case highlights the realities independent artists face when navigating disputes against well-funded and highly aggressive legal pressure, and I will continue to assert my rights as an artist as this matter proceeds.”

The dispute stems from a 2025 photo shoot for Vogue Portugal, for which Nelson photographed Taylor in a series she later titled Champagne Problems.

Taylor’s side maintains she agreed to the shoot on the understanding the images would be used exclusively for the magazine. Nelson subsequently proposed selling a selection of the photographs as fine art prints — priced at $3,600 each — and a limited-edition zine, both of which Taylor’s management rejected. Taylor’s lawsuit, filed in California district court in late 2025, alleges Nelson proceeded to list the prints for sale anyway and continued using the images across her website and social media without authorisation.

The dispute had escalated sharply at the end of last year. In December 2025, Nelson filed a civil harassment restraining order petition against Taylor in Los Angeles Superior Court, which the court declined to grant.

Nelson has since filed copyright counterclaims of her own, alleging a third party connected to Taylor posted her images without permission. The latest hearing marks the most significant legal development yet, with the court firmly signalling that settlement is the preferred path forward.

Formed in Melbourne in 2016, Amyl and the Sniffers have become one of Australia’s most prominent rock exports. Their 2022 album Comfort to Me debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart and earned widespread international acclaim, including nominations at the Brit Awards and Australian of the Year recognition for Taylor.

Rosalía opened her four-night residency at Madrid’s Movistar Arena on Monday (March 30) — the first stop of her Lux Tour in Spain — just days after being forced to cut short her concert in Milan due to what she described as “food poisoning.” The Catalan superstar appeared fully recovered and completely committed to her audience in a large-scale show sustained by constant emotional tension.

“How are we feeling tonight? I’m so happy to be here,” she said at the beginning of the concert. “Last week, I wasn’t feeling too well, but I’m much better now,” she added, earning the first round of applause from a crowd that responded with unusually focused attention for a venue of this scale — respectful silences, measured reactions, and occasional eruptions during the most demanding moments of the setlist.

The show maintains the structure debuted at its premiere in Lyon on March 16, featuring a setlist of more than 20 songs divided into four acts. At the center of the venue, an orchestra of about 20 musicians sets the pulse of the concert, while Rosalía moves seamlessly between theatrical moments and more electronic ones.

The connection with Madrid was palpable throughout the evening. “Madrid, tonight is special… it’s the first night in the capital with all my ‘chulapos’ and ‘chulapas,’” Rosalía said. “I’ve been coming here for more than a decade… it’s a city I love deeply and one that holds so many memories for me.”

She also reminisced about one of her first performances at Casa Patas, a historic flamenco venue in the city. “I remember feeling the magic there like nowhere else. Who would have thought that a decade later I’d be here, filling this arena? It’s incredible… life really comes full circle,” she added, visibly emotional.

One of the most celebrated moments came with “Mio Cristo,” one of the most challenging pieces in the repertoire. “Who here knows it, even if it’s in Italian?” she asked. The response was immediate: the audience sang it along with her.

The concert also had lighter moments, such as her rendition of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” during which Rosalía posed as a contemporary Mona Lisa before stepping off the stage to join her fans, smiling all the while. In the same segment, she invited several audience members onto the stage and sang to them face-to-face.

The interaction was constant and, at times, intimate despite the size of the venue. Before performing “Sauvignon Blanc,” seated at a piano, Rosalía addressed a fan in the audience in a brief exchange that broke down the distance between the stage and the crowd. The concert balanced monumental production with moments of closeness throughout. Humor made an appearance with the participation of content creator Soy Una Pringada (Esty) in an onstage confessional, where she humorously confessed her “sins” before Rosalía performed “La Perla,” one of the most enthusiastically sung along numbers of the night.

Later, she brought the arena to life with “Despechá.” “Madrid loves mambo. Long live Dominican mambo, and long live flamenco too!” she exclaimed during one of the evening’s most euphoric moments.

The show closed with “Magnolias” in a scene evoking her own funeral, taking the performance to its most minimalist point. Without theatrics, the artist disappeared in a single beam of light after the final note.

Following this first show, the Lux Tour will continue with three more dates in Madrid (April 1, 3, and 4), before heading to Lisbon, Portugal (April 8 and 9) and wrapping up the Spanish leg in Barcelona (April 13, 15, 17, and 18). The tour will arrive in the U.S. in the summer, kicking off on June 4 in Miami and stopping in cities like Boston, New York, Chicago and Las Vegas.