When HYBE chairman Bang Si-Hyuk approached Isaac Lee about launching HYBE’s Latin American division in 2023, he says his first reaction was, “I am not the right person for this job.”

Lee had long understood the power of music as a content driver, but he had never run a music company. Two years later, he is in charge of a handful of them as chairman/CEO of the newly named HYBE Americas — which includes North America and Latin America — following Scooter Braun’s departure from the Korean music giant.

In his current role, Lee oversees HYBE Latin America and its operations in Mexico, Miami and Medellín, Colombia, as well as Big Machine Label Group in Nashville, QC Media Holdings in Atlanta and HYBE’s investments with Universal Music Group in artists like KATSEYE.

Lee, 54, comes to the job as an outsider. Born and raised in Colombia to Russian and Polish Jewish immigrants, his career began as a reporter at Colombian newsmagazine Cambio, then, at the age of 26, as editor-in-chief of the country’s leading newsmagazine, Semana, during a particularly volatile time in the country’s history.

He joined Univision in 2010 and, in 2015, became chief content officer of Univision and Televisa, which included overseeing music programming and launching and acquiring properties for the growing U.S. bilingual population. Then-Univision chairman Haim Saban became a mentor, teaching him the Japanese principle of nemawashi, which involves laying the groundwork and building a consensus on deals before they are formally announced.

When Lee left Univision in 2018, he launched Exile Content, which produced projects for the Latin market with an emphasis on music. An early success was the HBO Max scripted series Vgly about rising regional Mexican artists battling to make it big. (It has been renewed for a third season.) Vgly’s success and Lee’s launch of Exile Music caught the eye of Bang, who acquired the label (but not Exile Content) as an entry point into the Latin market.

Lee spoke with Billboard from his offices in Los Angeles, where he lives with his husband and their two black Labs, Luna and Picasso.

Your involvement in music dates back to the production of a Shakira concert for Semana in 1997, but you never ran a label before joining HYBE. Was that daunting?

Yes, but I also think that music and all our entertainment businesses are changing and evolving so rapidly that nothing is as it used to be. What matters to HYBE is creating a global company focused on intellectual property and the long-term success of that IP. It’s more important to understand that. For the music part, Bang is a genius. I have the best resource internally to be able to answer any question that I have. I have a very powerful A&R department. We have been bringing the right people on board and have a very strong partnership with Universal Music Group. So I’m not concerned about my lack of direct expertise.

What has surprised you about working for a music company?

The potential of growth that there is, the amount of possibilities that are still untapped and how HYBE’s formula, which has been incredibly successful in Asia, can also be a hit in other parts of the world, as it has demonstrated with KATSEYE. It’s a perfect example of Bang’s vision to take the training and development model of HYBE and create a successful girl group that is conquering markets everywhere. And that will also be happening in India, China, Latin America and expanding in the U.S. and so on.

What’s another example of untapped opportunities?

HYBE is focusing on [identifying] the biggest areas of growth in terms of markets, genres, demographics, and that’s why they are investing in China and India. And they are betting on Latin music, which has a huge potential to grow — to get out of the region and become a global force. Latin music is the most important IP in the Latin content world today.

More than film and audiovisual?

It travels incredibly well. It has the ability to appeal to youth audiences, it can happen in multiple languages, it can have collaborations that are easily made with different markets, and definitely, nothing has been more successful than the Latino artists who have become global sensations, from Bad Bunny coming out of Puerto Rico, Karol G coming out of Medellín and Peso Pluma, who came out of Mexico with a genre that was not even known [broadly] to this world five years ago.

How exactly do you work with Big Machine and Quality Control?

Both of those labels are under HYBE Americas, and the most important focus for us is, where can collaborations happen and how we can play with our different synergies to do things that have not been done before? When you have Lil Yachty, a QC artist, in the studio, creating content with BTS, you are already reaping the benefits of a strong collaboration, which is all in-house. Some of the best writers today are part of Big Machine’s publishing arm. They are writing music and lyrics for the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Morgan Wallen. To have that level of resources inside the company is incredibly important, and it allows you visibility and access into different genres other than K-pop. It turns HYBE from an Asian pop company into a global music company that is playing in regional Mexican music, country music, hip-hop, pop, Japanese music and Indian music.

There will be more and more collaboration between each of the labels that HYBE owns. That’s one of chairman Bang’s and [CEO] Jason Lee’s goals, and I am implementing that vision, connecting with all the other areas of the company. You will start to see how Latin America and Japan will be connected, how country music and regional Mexican music are brothers, how Latin rap and hip-hop can do things together. There is no such thing as puritanism in different genres today.

Your first project at HYBE ­Latin America was creating a Latin pop band, Santos Bravos, which debuted at Billboard Latin Music Week in October.

Yes. Our goal is to adapt the methodology that has worked so well with KATSEYE to the Latin American market. That’s why we established a training and development center in Mexico City. We had an audition project that started with many young boys coming from all over the region and ended up with a group of five from Puerto Rico, Los Angeles, Mexico, Peru and Brazil. I already released the first song, and we are creating a strong fan community in the Americas. The results are making us very happy, and these are just the first baby steps.

What are you excited about in the non-Latin realm?

I’m incredibly excited with the success of KATSEYE. The second group that’s going to come out in partnership with Geffen, Prelude, is going to be very cool. And our boy band with Ryan Tedder is going to be a rocket. Those are all projects signed to HYBE Americas.

Does chairman Bang need to approve all new signings to HYBE Americas?

Everyone has the autonomy to do whatever they think is right. Now, it would be a lack of judgment if people didn’t use him as a resource. It’s an advantage, not an imposition.

What can you offer an artist that you sign now?

Success. The batting average of HYBE is incredible.

Does HYBE Americas provide any support to the company’s K-pop operations?

They don’t need us to help create successful groups. But we are here to be their anchor support when they visit and tour the Americas and to be the best possible marketing and promotion arm of their music and content.

You are known for taking risks. What do you say no to?

I say no to things that cannot scale or are not sustainable. I trust my gut, but I do make decisions very much based on research. I’m very into data and research and identifying trends. It’s something I’ve done all my life. I have a very close relationship with Luminate. When something is mainstream, it’s too late. 

2025 is the year that the world finally took Yungblud seriously. Between releasing his fourth studio album Idols, the Doncaster-born rocker hosted the second edition of his own festival Bludfest in Milton Keynes, England, stole the show at Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell concert, and collaborated with Aerosmith on a brand new EP. He closes the year with three Grammy nominations, two U.K. No. 1 Albums and a No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock & Alternative Charts.

“I’m sitting here at the end of the year feeling a little bit f—ing shellshocked to be honest,” he tells Billboard U.K. on Zoom from Los Angeles. “I’ve always tried to convert fans and critics one step at a time… but the whole thing just went BANG!,” he adds, throwing his arms wide open, his eyes following suit. “I’m just trying to comprehend it all.”

For much of his career Yungblud, real name Dominic Harrison, has been something of an outsider. Since his 2017 debut single “King Charles”, he has cultivated a dedicated fanbase, but felt shunned by industry gatekeepers who weren’t catching the wave. His 2020 sophomore Weird! and its self-titled 2023 follow-up both hit No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart. But his gobby, outsized persona rubbed some up the wrong way, and he was at the butt of barbs from The 1975’s Matty Healy and Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher. He pushed on.

Then in July 2025, it appeared to click with people. At the star-studded Back to the Beginning concert in Birmingham, his show-stopping rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” won over a 45,000-strong crowd in five minutes. He showcased his range as a rock vocalist, hitting the tough notes in the chorus and sustaining the song’s original emotion. He did this while holding the microphone about a yard away from his mouth – his vocals are that strong.

The cover – his only appearance on the day – secured a Grammy nomination for best rock performance and looks to be the runaway favorite in the category. Idols landed a nod in best rock album, and its single “Zombie” in best rock song, but it’s the performance nomination that makes him most proud.

“It’s the greatest honor you can have as a singer,” Harrison says of the moment, knowing that he had no chance to do a second take. “I dreamed of knowing Ozzy my whole life. I met him, got to know him, his family asked me to honor him, and then I lost him. The fact that [Ozzy] was the one that made the world take notice [of me]… it’s just so crazy.”

Harrison and Ozzy first met on set for the former’s 2022 music video “The Funeral”, with Ozzy giving Harrison a necklace and some advice: “don’t compromise, they’ll get it later.” They kept in close contact with Sharon – Ozzy’s wife and manager – offering career guidance, notably on Bludfest, his version of the late rocker’s touring live event Ozzfest. 

On the day of Back to the Beginning, Harrison gifted Ozzy a necklace to match one he received years earlier. In a viral video of the moment, Ozzy calls it “fucking unbelievable” and pulls Harrison in for hug and kiss on the cheek. A fortnight later, the Prince of Darkness died of a heart attack, aged 76, following a number of health complications in recent years.

“Idols was written about loving artists and looking up to them, and how they give you hope and courage to build your own platform to exist,” he says. “I’m just trying to unpack all of what’s happened this year. It’s f—ing tripping me out.”

A second performance, this time at the MTV VMAs in August, proved this was no fluke. At the request of Ozzy’s family, Harrison appeared during another all-star tribute, this time alongside Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, and Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt. They reprised “Changes” and Ozzy solo hits “Crazy Train” and “Mama I’m Coming Home,” with Harrison appearing bare-chested and headbanging in a faux fur coat and leather trousers. Reception this time was split, with a member of British rock band The Darkness calling the performance “cynical, nauseating and, more importantly, s–t” on their social media profile.

“The criticism at the VMAs was coming from people that were trying to be doormen at a party that they weren’t invited to. That’s the harsh reality of it,” Harrison says today. He says that the people he’s met this year – Tyler, Ozzy – always had something to prove in their career, and that fuels him. “If you don’t have that fear that you need to prove something, you’re not on the right path and journey. If people are indifferent about you, then you’re not truly anything at all.”

Yungblud’s career kicked up another notch in September. He announced that he would be teaming up with Aerosmith for One More Time EP, the group’s first original material since 2012 and their aborted farewell tour. One More Time saw a fusion of the rock legends’ classic sound and Harrison’s spunky spirit. “I was so appreciative that Aerosmith were down to go down that road and do something new and experimental,” he says. “I didn’t want to make something that sounded like ‘70s Aerosmith in 2025.” 

The release was Aerosmith’s first-ever No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart (Yungblud’s fourth overall), landed atop Billboard’s top rock & alternative charts, and at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 to put the band in elite company. Only Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and James Taylor have also achieved a top 10 placing in six different decades. 

That it was Idols which turned heads is something that Harrison finds richly rewarding. His first few records were sharp but juvenile, showing off a formidable force but one not quite harnessing its potential. His 2023 Yungblud, his final with Geffen Records, was a commercial success (No. 1 in the U.K., No. 45 on Billboard 200) but its radio-friendly, pop-leaning direction was not one he was enamored with. It was a record people expected him to create, but not the one he wanted to.

Idols, released via his new home of Capitol Records, saw him reclaim his narrative. A love letter to the rock canon – primarily Pink Floyd and David Bowie – was recorded in Leeds, Yorkshire, near to where he grew up. He enlisted composer Bob Bradley to help flesh out his sound with an orchestra and plotted out a narrative that will continue to unfurl over a double album (Idols 2 is finished, and slated for release in 2026). Its lead single (and opening track) “Hello Heaven, Hello” soars past the nine-minute mark, while “Fire” is as ambitious as U2’s “Desire”.

“I completely lost myself and I was listening to the world and critics of my work too much,” he says of his output prior to Idols. “I really risked it all. I thought, ‘If people don’t like this one, then maybe it’s the end,’” he says. “When you’re a young artist it can be hard to take criticism, but now you’ve got to laugh at it.”

Fully committing to his love of rock music was a decision he had to fight for, but he’s now seeing a change in tact. “My record label is now like, ‘Yeah man, got to keep on the rock thing!’ It’s like, fuck off. It’s not a ‘thing’. It’s what I’ve grown up around,” he says.

He offers the raw numbers that prove Idols has connected amidst the risk, pointing out that he’s doubled his Instagram follower count from 3.5m to 7.2m in the past six months. Next year, Harrison will headline arenas in the U.K. and mainland Europe, and hit the U.S. for his biggest run of shows yet, including a stop at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.

Harrison’s canny business acumen is also reaping rewards. Following Idols’ release in June, he headlined the second edition of Bludfest in Milton Keynes, a festival he curates and partners with AEG Presents to execute. Beyond big name stars, the festival has hosted performers from ascending British talent such as Lola Young and Rachel Chinouriri, and built a home for artists who feel unrepresented in the mainstream. Initiatives to welcome solo attendees and affordable ticket prices have set a new standard for the British festival scene; discussions to bring the event to Prague in 2026, and the U.S. in 2027 are ongoing.

A partnership with Firebird Music Holdings saw the company invest “tens of millions of dollars” in a “transformational deal” that supports his recorded output, live offering and more. “Yungblud is the prototype of the artist of the future – creatively boundless, with an innate entrepreneurial sense and a deep understanding of his fan base,” Nathan Hubbard, co-founder and chief executive of Firebird, tells Billboard U.K. “He’s met the moment at every opportunity with a unique combination of authenticity and confidence, and we at Firebird are fortunate to be allowed to come along for this amazing ride.  

Harrison’s ambition has put him at the forefront of a new British invasion of the U.S. and global music market alongside Young, Olivia Dean, RAYE, and Central Cee, all of whom have had success on the Billboard charts in 2025. “I think it’s the accent and wit,” he says of the reasons behind the resurgence of U.K. musicians on the world stage. He says Dean is someone “who is completely new and original”, while Lily Allen’s acclaimed West End Girl LP has succeeded due to “depth to her lyrics.” 

There has been just as much shade with the light, however. Ozzy’s death hit Harrison hard. He’d lost a staunch believer in his vision, as well as a musical “north star” throughout his life. A series of shows for late November were postponed after he exhibited signs of exhaustion. He was grateful that his fans were accepting of the decision, his heroes like Amy Winehouse and Chester Bennington “lived in a world where taking time off wasn’t a conversation.”

The mental toll of being a musician – one that has been in the firing line for critics and online trolls – is similarly demanding. “You can see in real time the reaction to the art that you put out,” he explains. “If you’re in the ‘90s and you have a shit gig, it’s not plastered on your phone for everyone to see and nor do you want to see that feedback.”

Not long before we speak, British pop icon Robbie Williams reached out to Harrison with advice. Williams had been on a similar journey following his departure from Take That in 1995, someone seeking approval and reckoning with their mental health in the public eye. Williams and Harrison are both larger than life characters who can make people bristle, but also garner utter devotion from staunchly loyal fanbases; they are hated, adored, but never ignored. 

“He wrote me this letter when it really needed to come,” says Harrison. “He related himself to me, saying that he knew what it was like to be a 28-year-old who was trying to figure out who they were, while also dealing with a million opinions about what he could be or never be. People don’t give Robbie the credit for his mind and the way he sees things.”

Harrison remains inspired and ready to strike while the iron’s hot. He’s begun working on a new album – separate to Idols 2 – with producer Andrew Watt, whose credits include work with Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran, alongside rock icons The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Iggy Pop and Ozzy. “He’s such a visionary and interested in the new,” Harrison says of his close collaborator.

“I think especially in the rock community everyone is keen to say, ‘This person is the new Slipknot’, or ‘This person is the new Freddie Mercury’, but we want to try and alleviate that idea and do something totally original. This is going to be the biggest challenge on my next album.”

But first, downtime. Over the holidays he’s heading home to Doncaster to see his family and take stock of the past 12 months. “This year I have fucking lived 10 years in one,” he laughs, shaking his head. “You can look back on years that don’t show you what life truly is – the highs and the lows – because you’ve been numb to it or you’ve not taken it in. I’ve silenced a lot of demons this year and it’s been a lot more fun to be in my head.”

Does he feel like the world is ready for another Yungblud takeover in 2026? “I don’t know if everyone takes me seriously yet, but I think they’re more inclined to give me a chance,” he concludes. “And I’ll take that.”

Cardi B made one big promise to fans after giving birth to her fourth child last month, a son with NFL boyfriend Stefon Diggs: she would start hitting the gym as soon as she could to get in shape for her upcoming arena tour.

In an Instagram video posted on Saturday from Saudi Arabia, where she was headlining the MDLBEAST Sounstorm 2025 festival in Riyadh, Cardi made good on her vow by sharing a clip in which she was running on a treadmill in a hotel gym while dressed in a full black modesty covering, complete with matching hijab.

“We is Saudi Arabia baby, I told ya’ll after I give birth imma be getting ready for the Little Miss Drama tour!” Cardi said while running on the exercise machine. “It is two months away,” she added before moving over to a stationary bike.

“Everyone always asks me, ‘Cardi, how did you lose all that weight after the baby? What did you do? You look great,’” she said. “I’ll tell you how I did it: Stress! It is Christmas, it is Kwanzaa, it is Hanukkah [and] get your tickets now, because in January don’t be hitting me up, like, ‘Cardi, there’s no tickets left. There’s no tickets!… I ain’t go nothin’ but this tour to give ya’ll!”

Cardi gave birth to her fourth baby, a so far unnamed son, on Nov. 4, her first with Diggs; she shares three children with ex-husband Migos rapper Offset.

Before her workout clip, Cardi posted a video cued to her Am I the Drama? track “Hello” in which she modeled a form-fitting black halter top dress with exposed shoulders and a matching black hijab covering her hair. “Hello Saudi Arabia… Halal B has arrived,” she wrote.

Cardi has been chronicling her fitness journey as she gears up for her first headlining arena tour next year. “I haven’t started tour rehearsals yet but I’m doing light workouts to not only get my body back in shape but my joints and bones.. I’m 33 honey I’ma ol’ lady,” she said in. Nov. 20 Instagram Story after her first day back in the gym.

The Little Miss Drama Tour is slated to kick off on Feb. 11 in Palm Desert, Calif., with North American stops in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Vancouver, Seattle, Sacramento, San Francisco, Phoenix, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Detroit, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Chicago, New York, Newark, Toronto, Boston, Hartford, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C before winding down on April 17 in Atlanta.

Dame Shirley Bassey is now officially part of the Harry Potter universe, decades after inspiring a cult favourite character.

The Welsh singer has contributed three original songs to the Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions, a new audio version of the famous book series produced by Pottermore and Audible. Check out an exclusive preview clip of “You Stole My Cauldron But You Can’t Have My Heart” here.

Bassey was the original inspiration for the character Celestina Warbeck when J.K. Rowling was writing the novel series and has made appearances in books, video games and more. Writing in 2015, Rowling said that “Celestina is one of my favourite ‘off-stage’ characters in the whole series,” and that she “always imagined her to resemble Shirley Bassey in both looks and style.”

Speaking on the casting, Bassey says: “I’m honoured to have been an inspiration for the original character of Celestina Warbeck in the Harry Potter series. Bringing her music to life in this ambitious project from Pottermore Publishing and Audible was a joy, and I hope these songs throughout the audiobooks offer a truly magical listening experience for fans worldwide.”

Three original songs for the series, blending her iconic voice with a 17-piece big band. She recorded her parts at Miraval Studios in France, with the band recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. Bassey released her most recent original music in 2020 on the LP I Owe It All To You.

The songs appear in the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets audio cast which is released on Tuesday (Dec. 16).

Bassey is the latest A-list star to join the new Audible productions, which will continue to be released over the coming months. The cast is led by Hugh Laurie, who voices Albus Dumbledore, with Matthew Macfadyen as Lord Voldemort, Riz Ahmed as Professor Snape and Michelle Gomez as Professor McGonagall.