SYDNEY, Australia — Lizzie Butterworth is appointed chief executive of the Australian Festival Association (AFA).

Butterworth brings to the role a wealth of policy expertise, government experience and industry knowledge. Previously, she worked for six years alongside minister for the arts, music and the night-time economy John Graham in the New South Wales parliament and government, serving as director of policy — arts, music and night-time economy, jobs and tourism.

There, Butterworth helped shape some of the most significant policy developments in NSW’s contemporary music sector.

The incoming AFA CEO’s major contributions have included the formation of Sound NSW, reforms to festival regulation, protections for live music venues, and the development of new regulatory and funding frameworks that support artists, venues and festivals.

AFA chair Adelle Robinson welcomes Butterworth to the trade body.

“Lizzie has spent her career working at the intersection of music, government and public policy. She knows how government works from the inside, she knows our industry’s challenges, and she knows how to bring people together to drive change,” Robinson remarks in a statement.

Butterworth joins the Australia’s festivals industry at a time of complex regulatory, financial and operating pressures, and changing ticket-buying behaviors, and other issues, Robinson notes.

Looking ahead, she continues, “Lizzie has built trusted relationships across government and industry and is exactly the kind of leader the Association needs as we continue advocating for a strong, sustainable and thriving festival sector.”

Butterworth succeeds Olly Arkins, who departs this Friday, Aug. 21 after five years with the association.

The AFA publicly launched in December 2018, representing festival organizers, suppliers and stakeholders across Australia’s music festival sector. Its mission, to advocate the festival industry, promoting best-practice safety and operational standards, providing a unified voice, and facilitate policy reform and investment.

Today, its members include Fuzzy, CMC Rocks, Live Nation, Hardware, Laneway, Groovin’ The Moo, Lost Paradise and many others.

“Festivals are a vital part of Australia’s cultural identity and music industry,” comments Butterworth. “They have launched the careers of countless Australian artists, connected fans with unforgettable live experiences and created opportunities for workers, businesses and communities across the country. I’m excited to work with our members, Board and industry partners to build on the AFA’s strong foundations and continue advocating for a festival industry that is creative, resilient and sustainable.”

Calle 24 has canceled the remaining dates of his Eterno Tour in the U.S. after his U.S. work visa was unexpectedly revoked. The Mexican singer, whose real name is Diego Millán, announced the news Tuesday (Aug. 18) in a statement posted on Instagram.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond my control related to the unexpected revocation of my U.S. work visa, we have made the difficult decision to cancel our upcoming scheduled performances in the United States,” he wrote. “This decision is being made out of the utmost respect for the laws, regulations, and processes established by the U.S. authorities.”

The seven affected performances are the Aug. 15 show at Payne Arena in Hidalgo, Texas; Aug. 21 at The Underground in Charlotte, N.C.; Aug. 22 at the Tabernacle in Atlanta; Aug. 23 at House of Blues in Buena Vista, Fla.; Sept. 12 at The Aztec Theatre in San Antonio; Sept. 13 at 713 Music Hall in Houston; and Sept. 18 at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago.

The artist performed the tour’s first seven dates — from July 30 in San Jose, Calif., through Aug. 14 in Irving, Texas — after Billboard Español exclusively announced the trek in May.

“Our team is actively working to resolve this matter and completing the necessary steps, with the hope of returning to U.S. stages very soon and reuniting with our amazing fans,” he continued. “It is important to note that this situation affects only the performances scheduled in the United States. All other commitments and appearances outside the U.S. will continue as planned.”

As of press time, the exact circumstances that led to the revocation of his work visa remain unclear. Billboard Español reached out to Live Nation and Street Mob Records for comment on the cancellation. The label shared with a reel posted by Calle 24, in which the artist spoke directly to his fans about the situation.

“I’m very, very sad to tell you that the Eterno Tour in the United States is canceled until further notice because my visa was revoked,” he said in Spanish. “And I truly ask for your forgiveness. I wanted to fulfill all of those dates and all of those commitments […] I’m sorry. It’s out of my hands.”

Calle 24 was named one of Billboard’s Latin Artists on the Rise in 2023, the same year his breakthrough hit “Qué Onda,” with Fuerza Regida and Chino Pacas, debuted at No. 61 on the coveted Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 5 on Hot Latin Songs. More recently, the Chihuahua, Mexico-born artist earned his first Billboard No. 1 when his Fuerza Regida collaboration “Noche Perfecta” topped both Latin Airplay and Regional Mexican Airplay in August. The song also marked his second top 10 on Hot Regional Mexican Songs.

Read the full statement below, second slide for English.

And watch the reel below:

The nominees for video of the year at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards run the gamut. Four of the six nominated visuals accompanied smash hits: Ariana Grande’s “hate that i made you love me,” Bruno Mars’ “I Just Might” and Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” all topped the Billboard Hot 100, and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Tears” peaked at No. 3.

Madonna is a video of the year nominee for the first time in 22 years for Confessions II – The Film, a 14-minute film that includes excerpts from six songs from her Billboard 200-topping album Confessions II. (One of them is her collab with Carpenter, “Bring Your Love,” giving Carpenter a cameo appearance on a competitor to her own entry in this category.)

GENER8ION’s “STORM” starring Yung Lean may be the biggest surprise among the nominees. GENER8ION is an audiovisual collaboration between French DJ Surkin and director Romain Gavras. Set in an all-boys British boarding school class of 2034, the film follows a disruptive and aggressive student portrayed by Swedish rapper Yung Lean.

Swift has won a record five times in the category. Grande won last year for Brighter Days Ahead, and Madonna won in 1998 for “Ray of Light.” If Grande wins again this year, she’ll become only the second artist to win back-to-back awards in the category, following Swift, who won in 2022, 2023 and 2024. If Madonna wins, she’ll establish a new record for the longest span of video of the year wins – 28 years. (The current record is held by Swift, with a nine-year span of awards, which could stretch to 11 years if she wins.) If Madonna wins, this would be the second year in a row that a longer-form film took the award. Brighter Days Ahead ran 26 minutes.

Swift directed her own video. Mars co-directed his clip with Daniel Ramos. As noted, Gavras directed “Storm.” The directors of the other nominees were Christian Breslauer (“hate that i made you love me”), Bardia Zeinali (“Tears”) and TORSO, the team of David Toro and Solomon Chase (Confessions II – The Film).

Several of the videos feature performances by big-name stars. Two-time Oscar nominee Colman Domingo appears in Carpenter’s “Tears.” Justin Long has a starring role in Grande’s “hate that i made you love me.” Confessions II – The Film features 16 guest stars, including Carpenter, Feid, Benedict Cumberbatch, Julia Garner and Kate Moss.

Here are the six nominees for video of the year. Who would you like to see win? Vote!

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It’s late afternoon in Seoul and the air is thick with humidity as throngs of sun-soaked fans push toward the main stage at Waterbomb, the K-pop music festival that merges stripped-down artist performances with over-the-top hydrotechnics and water gun battles.

Backstage, Karina is surrounded by a team of handlers fussing about, each tasked with making sure the aespa star is ready for her solo headlining performance on stage. A hairstylist adjusts the singer’s middle part to make sure it is sitting just right, while another woman adjusts her outfit, which on this day consists of a mesh football jersey layered over a lime green bodysuit and leopard-print shorts. Representatives from Sprite, which sponsors Waterbomb and employs Karina as a brand ambassador, mill about, eager to get a product plug in during the “Up” singer’s set.

The Sprite team has hired an interpreter for Karina’s backstage interviews and she stands to the side waiting to be called into action, but the singer politely declines and insists on speaking for herself.

“I’m so excited,” the singer tells Billboard about her performance. “The energy of Waterbomb is amazing because so many people will be watching me perform, and I always feel the crowd’s love and support for me.”

Still, there’s one thing she’s nervous about: “I’m excited, but I’m afraid of getting water on my face,” Karina admits, blushing. “I have to be careful of the makeup.”

The singer’s answer seems to sum up the duality of Karina perfectly: at once carefree and cautious, eager to let loose onstage and perform for her fans, but always in total control of her vocals, choreography and — on this day — her job as a global model for Sprite.

Indeed, the singer’s Waterbomb set is peppered with Sprite shout-outs, from Karina taking a big sip of the brand’s new Sprite Zero With Tea release, to performing her songs against a giant green background. After her set, she’ll head to the Sprite side stage (in a branded green tank top) where she’ll dutifully answer pre-approved questions about her favorite drink flavor (the Sprite Zero With Tea, of course) and pose for photos under a giant blow-up can of the lemon-lime soda. The Sprite reps can take a breather. This girl always delivers.

It’s been six years since Karina burst onto the scene as the leader of aespa, the K-pop group known for their hyperpop sound and futuristic style. Since then, she’s been consistently in the limelight, fronting countless magazine covers and campaigns, while landing award nominations for everything from her singing and rapping, to brand cache. In 2024, Karina released her first solo endeavor, with the hip-hop track “Up,” taken from aespa’s digital single album, SYNK: Parallel Line. The song debuted at number 27 on the Billboard Global 200 chart in its first week — no small feat considering other artists on the chart that week included Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish and Sabrina Carpenter. “Up” has since accumulated almost 200 million streams on Spotify to date.

Waterbomb was only the singer’s “second solo stage,” as she explains, and Karina says she’s eager to showcase more of what she can do on her own, though she knows it will take time to find her individual sound apart from the group (for what it’s worth, the medley of aespa songs that she performed on stage at Waterbomb drew some of the loudest cheers of her set, and she would reunite with her group mates days later at Lollapalooza 2026).

She’s also been busy on aespa’s SYNK : COMPLæXITY trek, the group’s fourth world tour, while fulfilling her brand partnership obligations with everyone from Sprite and Prada, to Converse and Chanel. As the face of the the former’s “It’s That Fresh” campaign, Karina joins Spanish singer Omar Montes to promote Sprite’s commitment to championing music and community, while celebrating “fresh takes, street culture and authentic self-expression,” per a release. Go anywhere in Seoul and you’re bound to see billboards of the singer with a can of Sprite in hand (though she sheepishly admits that coffee is her go-to drink these days: “I can’t eat a lot before a performance, but honestly, I drink a lot of iced coffee,” she says).

Despite her busy schedule, the artist says she’s been enjoying some downtime too, catching up on books (“I’m reading ‘The Alchemist’ in Korean,” she shares), relaxing with a face mask, and keeping a notepad-style journal to record her thoughts. What kinds of things does she write down? “I write down favorite lines from my books and memories from my travels,” she says. “And I’m always writing lyrics.”

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While Karina can’t share too much about what she’s working on, she says she’s always excited to travel and tour to “see the fans.” It’s a sentiment shared by Sprite, who tapped Karina as a brand ambassador back in 2025, and calls her one of the “most culturally resonant voices in the world.”

“Sprite’s role in music has always been to serve as a platform for the freshest voices and freshest experiences,” offers Oana Vlad, VP Sprite Global Brand. “You see it through the partnerships that we have now with artists like Karina, who we’ve been partnering with for several years. I think she’s much more well-known than when we started our partnership.”

“Music has always been a core part of Sprite’s cultural DNA and one of the ways we connect with culture around the world,” Vlad adds. “We’re championing the people and communities shaping what’s next, from festival experiences to original music collaborations.”

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As Vlad explains, “If I could summarize the Sprite brand for you in one sentence, we refer to it as ‘ultimate refreshment with cultural edge.’”

Why sponsor Waterbomb? “We always say that for Sprite live experiences, refreshment has to be tasted, seen, felt and heard,” she says.

Back at the festival, Karina is approaching the end of her set when she finally steps behind the massive yellow water canons on stage, which performers ranging from Kiss of Life to Shownu and Hyungwon from Monsta X have been using to soak the crowd throughout the three-day outdoor event. “Thank you Waterbomb!” Karina shouts from the stage, as she aims the super soakers towards fans who have been lapping up every second of her set.

The cameras zoom in on the K-pop superstar as she smiles and waves goodbye. Her hair is now a little wetter, yet still perfectly in place, and her outfit has held up to her energetic stage performance, which saw her dancing, jumping and even running into the crowd at one point. As Karina’s face is beamed onto the big screen, you can’t help but feel caught up in the same excitement she had gushed about just before she stepped foot on that stage.

And there’s one more thing you notice.

With the sun beginning to set, sweaty fans raucously chanting her name, and droplets of water still hanging in the air, the singer is literally glowing. And her makeup is perfectly in place.