There’s no shortage of live music in New York City—on any given night, you can find an artist (household name, up-and-coming or totally fringe) performing. The same can be said for NYC and gala dinners — in the financial capital of America, there’s no paucity of fundraiser galas any night of the week. That’s no knock on organizations or their events—many of them are for important if not downright essential causes—but that fundraising abundance can sometimes create fatigue.

With that in mind, a New York real estate broker (Greg Williamson), a corporate event planner (Nicole Rechter) and a fashion legend (John Varvatos) joined forces one decade ago to try something a little bit different. Instead of a luxe dinner augmented by an endless parade of speeches, what about just putting on a kick-ass rock show with A-list talent? It’s not reinventing the fundraising wheel—just switching it into a higher gear.

In 2017, the first annual Love Rock NYC concert—a benefit for God’s Love We Deliver, a nonprofit that delivers medically tailored meals (10,000 a day!) to New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other serious illnesses—took over Beacon Theatre, with Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne, Mavis Staples and more performing. Since then, Williamson, Rechter and Varvatos (the event’s co-founders and executive producers) have welcomed a staggering list of talent to the Beacon stage—Robert Plant, Alicia Keys, Norah Jones, Cyndi Lauper, Dave Matthews, Keith Richards, John Mayer, Jon Bon Jovi, Cher—and raised $65 million for the organization.

For anyone who has attended a Love Rocks concert, it’s easy to understand why. Rock, soul, blues, pop and R&B legends don’t just perform at the gala—they bring something special, whether it’s Cher wearing Elvis Presley drag to sing Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis,” Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart reuniting onstage or Jackson Browne, Michael McDonald and the Blind Boys of Alabama teaming up to cover “I Shall Be Released.” With comedy legends (Conan O’Brien, Martin Short, Bill Murray) entertaining the audience in between acts, it’s one of the most reliably thrilling annual concerts in NYC of any stripe, charitable or otherwise. (A lot of that credit goes to the house band led by Will Lee.)

This year, Hozier, Mary J. Blige and Paul Simon headline a sold-out Love Rocks NYC at the Beacon on March 5. For those who want to watch and support from the comfort of home, the concert for God’s Love We Deliver will be livestreamed one time only on Veeps.com at 8 p.m. ET on March 5; buying a $24.99 ticket here will support the organization.

Ahead of the 10th annual Love Rocks NYC, Billboard sat down for coffee with Williamson, Rechter and Varvatos—who at this point have become close friends, ribbing one another and finishing each other’s sentences—to talk about how a pie-in-the-sky idea from music business outsiders turned into an ongoing feast that helps feed thousands of New Yorkers each day.

This interview has been edited for brevity.

How did you get involved with God’s Love We Deliver initially, Greg?

Williamson: I got involved with my wife shortly after we married. We both lost parents to cancer and remember that feeding people who were sick was integral to their situation. The mission has always resonated with me but the people there are so wonderful it makes you want to keep coming back. You want to be involved in that place because it’s a special community.

Greg, you and Nicole were aligned first around 2015, 2016, talking about a charity concert for God’s Love We Deliver. I gather that you didn’t know John before he got involved—why did you reach out to him?

Greg Williamson: I reached out to John because I thought he was a legend.

Nicole Rechter: And he dressed head to toe in Varvatos (for the meeting).

Williamson: I loved the fact that he was so music but not in the music business per se. If I approached somebody who was in the music business, they would have been too jaded. And I loved his sensibility. Eleven years later, we’re all such close friends.

Rechter: Greg walked into his office, pitched this idea and he said yes. John probably thought he’d never see him again. Ten years really makes you stop and look back. We’ve raised $65 million for this organization and funded 6.5 million meals for people.

Williamson: I knew I wanted to align with him but I didn’t know him, at all. I just said, “This is my vision: I want to start the biggest, coolest benefit concert in New York City.” He had been familiar with God’s Love We Deliver. This was 11 years ago, he looked at me and he said, “I’m in.” And he gave me a pound. I walked out and I called Nicole, and I said, “He’s in, that’s it.”

John, why did you say yes? Are you always that open?

John Varvatos: It was because of God’s Love. I’d been to the fundraising dinners they’d (previously) done. It was aligned with my thoughts philanthropically and from a music standpoint. It wasn’t a hard decision. The hard part came after that.

Love Rocks has been at the Beacon Theatre since the inaugural 2017 show. How did you decide on the Beacon?

Rechter: We only looked at one other venue. Greg was down the street from the Beacon; he’s a lifelong New Yorker. We looked at the Apollo, too.

Williamson: First we looked at the Apollo but we realized we wanted to go a little bigger. And we went to the Beacon and thought that location might be better for the donor base of God’s Love. About 10 months of planning and about two months before the show it really started to come together. I remember John calling me and telling me he got Joe Walsh around the time that Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi and Jackson Browne were locked in — one of the guys in our band was in Jackson Browne’s band. It all started to click at the end.

Rechter: They get the talent and I use my event planning skills: scale the room, build sponsorship packages. I remember the day we broke even (the first year), when we had enough ticket sales to cover what we’d spent.

Varvatos: But the tickets are a small part of the fundraising. They are the energy and the people there and some of them become sponsors after coming or associated with God’s Love in a bigger way. But without the sponsorship…. It’s not like you do an event and you sell tables for $50,000, $100,000, whatever. You’re selling tickets that don’t add up.

Rechter: That was year one. But now we’re sold out of sponsorships before we even announce the lineup.

Williamson: You maybe get $40,000 from ticket sales but we’re raising six million this year. Back then we were raising one, two, three million dollars a year. To John’s point, it comes down to sponsorships. It’s unlike any other fundraiser for an organization because they’re showing up for the artist and the music and then they’re hearing about God’s Love. So there are stories where someone shows up for Keith Richards but afterwards they get involved with God’s Love and donate a building to God’s Love.

Rechter: That’s a true story.

Varvatos: Yes, and it’s a very expensive piece of real estate. There’s the volunteer part of it, too: when we started there was around 12,000 volunteers a year and now it’s about 20,000. That number is staggering. And some do it every day; it’s a big part of their lives. They’re donating their time to working the kitchen for free. It’s pretty crazy.

How many days a week are you guys working on the Love Rocks show?

Williamson: This is something we have worked on 365 days a year for the last decade. Literally, the day after the concert, we start planning the next one. During the concert, I lean over to John and say, “Should we go after this one next year?” And we start fundraising the day after. If you didn’t have such an intense passion for building community around music—and the cause, plus the great friendship the three of us have—it wouldn’t be possible.

Varvatos: Music is healing like food is healing. Music is a very important thing to a lot of people—to most people. That’s part of the reason (Love Rocks is) music centric.

Rechter: And for people who don’t want to do another gala dinner, they can come by and table here and their table is 10 seats in the first row of the theater and they see this incredible show. The idea picked up steam.

Williamson: A lot of the sponsors are taking massive sponsorships and they get a lot of seats with that. But we always wanted to keep it intimate. We could be doing this show at MSG but we wanted it to be in a holy place like the Beacon. Selling out is not the issue.

Rechter: We want the show to be a mix of sponsorships and the God’s Love community. We want people from the organization there and seats open to the public.

Varvatos: It’s become a huge part of the DNA of God’s Love. They all talk about how it’s changed the organization.

Rechter: We bring artists through the kitchen; Cher went there last year.

Williamson: It’s almost like an international concert happening for a local New York charity. One year John got Robert Plant. He flew here from the U.K. Hozier is coming this year, another one of John’s friends. He’s flying from Ireland.

Varvatos: This is his third or fourth time. It’s special when someone says, “I’ll take a week out of my life to do this.” And the other thing is, they don’t want anything. Not that we’re paying anybody, but they don’t want any of their expenses covered, anything. That’s kind of crazy, right?

Williamson: We might cover expenses for some artists, but some don’t want it.

Rechter: Everyone coming is a mensch. But there are people, rightly so, who need some expenses.

Williamson: It’s become big in the artist community, and that’s a huge credit to Nicole. They are often being treated better than they are on the road.

I’m always amazed at how seamlessly this show segues from one act to the next. I’ve seen plenty of comparable shows, and even when they have a house band, it’s usually a bit clunky.

Rechter: A lot of these multiact shows are a mess, and artists don’t want to sign on for that because they’re not well organized and the production is a mess. Our production team is so tight; these guys are so good. There are people who watch our stage moves more than our show: they’re interested in how seamlessly we go from one act to another.

Williamson: A lot of that is our house band. Most of the time it’s backed by our 21-piece house band led by Will Lee, and each one of these artists can just plug in. They get into the Beacon on Monday to rehearse and play on Thursday. So by the time Mavis Staples shows up, a comfy bed is made for her.

Rechter: But from the production side, everyone has their own amps and they need to plug in—it’s incredible.

Varvatos: It’s a very fast three-and-a-half to four-hour show.

Rechter: We’ll look at each other sometimes, John especially, and say, “Well, 25 songs left to go.”

It’s not a bad problem to have. “Oh no, we have too many amazing artists.”

Varvatos: Listen, the enthusiasm we have sometimes gets out in front of us. And the artists want to do more. That’s the other thing.

Rechter: And what do you say when they want to come?

Williamson: Some people invite themselves. We have artists all the time and we sometimes have to politely say, “The boat is full, we’d like to consider you another year, we’re so appreciative of how generous you are with your time and talent.” And we mean it all. We all feel so blessed and privileged to be behind this show.

Varvatos: Every year, we ask so many people. And every year, we have to ask again. You’re working around tour schedules, spring breaks with families, recording sessions, writing sessions. It’s not an easy thing and so many artists we do talk to want to do it but it’s not working with the schedule.

Williamson: And the expectations go up. Once you have Cher and Alicia Keys and John Mayer and Jon Bon Jovi and Dave Matthews it just… part of that is self-imposed pressure, but some of it is real pressure.

Rechter: Almost every name on our lineup this year is a household name.

Varvatos: Greg is a concert producer in his own right. His tentacles are out there — also his testicles.

Rechter: (Laughs) He does mean it; it takes huge balls to go out there.

Varvatos: He’s been working it and getting to know everybody. It’s not an easy thing to do with this amount of talent and to keep it fresh.

How do you determine the run of show? Balancing who goes first, who closes, fitting in videos about God’s Love….

Williamson: Some of that is set from years prior. We know where we have the God’s Love video, where we have the CEO speak. In terms of the artists, sometimes the music director will take a stab at it and me and John will look at it and make tweaks. A lot of times the headliner—and when I say the headliner, it’s tricky because there’s often multiple headliners—but someone like Cher you might say, “of course she has to close the show.” But in a three-and-a-half-hour show, you might want to put her 70% into the show because that’s when all your top donors are there and some of them might leave a little early. It’s a balance.

Varvatos: Some people who could be closing the show don’t want to. Like, Alicia Keys opened.

Rechter: It’s all very thought through.

Williamson: And then there’s a guy called Bill Murray who always shows up and makes the show even longer. But he’s so great that it’s okay.

Rechter: And some (stage) moves need longer—if a piano is coming on, we might have the host talk longer.

Varvatos: And a lot of these artists want to watch the show; they don’t want to sit up in their rooms. A lot want to watch from the side and sing along. Or the hosts want to watch from the side. There’s always craziness on the side stage. There’s no room for anyone to walk.

How much do you weigh in on what songs the artists play?

Williamson: If it’s a no-brainer like “Empire State of Mind” [for Keys], we’ll want her to do that. A lot of times we’ll ask for a cover and an original or John and I will make a suggestion or the music director will make a suggestion, but it’s a balance.

Varvatos: A lot of the artists are very open to hearing what we have to say. Robert Plant for example is a guy who is always changing. His whole career, he doesn’t want to look back in time, he wants to look forward. So even though he asks, he very seldom listens to me. (Laughs) But he listens about coming.

Williamson: But they get it, that it’s for a benefit and they don’t want to be too hip for the room.

I saw Conan O’Brien open the 2024 Love Rocks benefit by singing Elvis’ “Suspicious Minds.” It was shockingly good.

Rechter: That was such a great opener.

How does that come about? Who suggests something like that?

Williamson: Some of these guys who are comedians, one of the ways to get them to come is to allow them to play. “Will you introduce a couple of artists? And feel free to do a song.” He exceeded expectations. I heard Bill Murray wants to do a song this year, he’s been doing “Werewolves of London.”

Yes, I saw him do “Love the One You’re With” at the 2025 benefit. So for a Thursday show, you start rehearsing around Monday, right?

Rechter: By the time the artist walks on stage for their rehearsal, the band knows the songs so well. Everyone wants to take our band on tour with them.

Varvatos: Some people after the first rehearsal are like, “We’re done.” For us, there’s a lot of magic in the rehearsals, watching it come together and the camaraderie.

Williamson: They are the heartbeat of the thing, the house band. Everyone in that house band is a music director in their own right. They all leave egos at the door and they all come to play together. They’re all like surgeons in how they execute and deliver.

How did you connect with Will Lee for this?

Williamson: A year before Love Rocks started, I got sober. And Will had been sober at that point well over 20 years. I had reached out to him to get some advice in early sobriety and we became friends. And when the idea for the concert came up, I asked him to be music director and we picked a lot of the band together. He picked all the horn players from SNL, the singers, but we both picked Larry Campbell. I had suggested Eric Krasno, he suggested Steve Gadd, everyone knows Shawn Pelton in New York.

Varvatos: Other than a couple of times when someone had to go on tour, the house band is the same every year. Including our sound man, who is the same every year. He’s given up a tour. They block it out of their schedules.

Earlier you mentioned that you could be doing Love Rocks at Madison Square Garden. Have you talked about moving to a bigger venue?

Rechter: We’ve been through that.

Williamson: We want to stay at the Beacon.

Rechter: We had a discussion about moving to Radio City this year. It’s the 10-year anniversary (of Love Rocks) and the 40th anniversary of God’s Love.

Williamson: But we got a generous $10 million gift. Aside from more people wanting to go to the show, the argument of going to a larger venue is to raise more money—and that was a tough argument to push against even though we wanted to stay at the Beacon. Someone gave us that $10 million gift and now we can have the best of both worlds.

Rechter: They let us keep the soul of our show. Anyone at the Beacon totally understands why we’re not in a bigger space and why the show just makes sense there.

So 10 years from now, you’ll still be at the Beacon?

Williamson: That $10 million gift is allowing us to go to year 15. [The amount will be donated over the course of five years.] I don’t know if we’ll go another 10 years, we might kill ourselves, but we know we’re doing another five.

Rechter: We’ve always had the date of the next (year’s) show at the show.

Williamson: It’s very stressful. You’re raising a lot of money and you want to deliver something of the highest caliber.

Rechter: It’s not getting easier.

Varvatos: Last year was such a monstrous show. The expectations for this year… there’s a point with anything; you can only go so high.

Williamson: We don’t need to top it, we just need to put out really high-quality shows.

I think that’s a fair way of looking at it. People have come to expect a certain level from this benefit show, and you deliver it reliably. How do you decide which artists are the right fit for the Love Rocks benefit?

Varvatos: Some names that come across our desk, they might be a big name but not right for it.

Williamson: And sometimes we have different opinions of who we want on the show.

Varvatos: You build a DNA of being eclectic but still at a certain level. There’s certain genres that are right and you have to think about demos—and our demo is pretty broad—but you have to think about sponsors, too. Somebody may have billions of streams, but does anybody in this house know them?

Rechter: Almost anything fits, but some things don’t.

Williamson: And some things fit more than others.

How do you balance working on this and your day jobs?

Williamson: I’m always working two day jobs.

Rechter: We have for 10 years.

Williamson: We all have multiple things going.

Varvatos: Some days it’s crazy, some days it’s just another call. We talk about it all the time. We gotta beg, borrow and steal with the artists and then you gotta beg, borrow and steal with the sponsors. It’s not like they automatically say yes. Some great sponsors we have over time have fallen out because the corporation is changing their whole thing. It’s not about Love Rocks: “We have X amount of money, and this year we’re pulling back because business is bad,” that sort of thing.

Williamson: If you told me 12 years ago we would have one of the most iconic benefit concerts in the country, Mike Bloomberg would be the presenting sponsor, the three of us would be working together and have had the experiences we’ve had with these rock stars, I never would have believed it.

So… what made you think you could do it?

Williamson: Total ignorance. And total passion. I could give you a list—although I’m not going to give you any names—of industry people who told me the entire first year, “This is a really great idea but I suggest you just write a check to a charity you like.” Even though John is in his DNA so music and fashion, I think what attracted me to him in the beginning is he isn’t in the music business per se. If I had approached another executive, they would have been jaded.

Rechter: A lot of music executives don’t look at it the same way. It’s their business. John isn’t in the music business. He’s able to look at it the way we do.

Varvatos: A big part that drives it is the passion. I got into the things I did because of passion, not because of the bottom line. Not everything you do is always perfect or successful, but we went into this thinking, “We can make this happen.”

Rechter: And we did. I remember being at the first one and thinking, “holy sh-t.”

Varvatos: We’re proud of it. We’re proud of everybody that works on it. It isn’t us alone.

Williamson: Building community around music is what it’s about. To be able to bring people together through music feels more and more relevant with each year.

The van pulls up to my hotel, and to my surprise, Laura Pausini is waving from the passenger window, welcoming me to Rome.

I flew all night from New York to interview Pausini about her new album. The original plan was to meet at the Roman Forum, but Italy’s prima diva has come to pick me up herself.

She asks how my flight was, and I tell her that I rewatched Laura Pausini: Pleasure to Meet You — Ivan Cotroneo’s 2022 documentary, which portrays her life in Italy — on the plane. Seeing Pausini in her element is completely different from seeing her in any of the many other countries where she is extremely popular. Over the years, I’ve interviewed her or met her in New York, Miami, Las Vegas, and Seville, Spain; at the lattermost, she was honored as the Latin Recording Academy’s Person of the Year in 2023. But here, in her adopted city of Rome, she radiates a particular pride and brilliance.

“This church that you see here is very important,” she makes sure to tell me as we pass by the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, pointing out that Pope Francis was buried there last April in an event that broke with the centuries-old tradition of burying popes in the Vatican.

Upon reaching the Colosseum, she points out the imposing facade of the nearly 2,000-year-old amphitheater — where she sang in 2020, at a charity event during the coronavirus pandemic — continuing in her role as “tour guide.” Some locals recognize her on this Monday morning in February: “Laura, bellissima!” one exclaims upon seeing her. With her large dark glasses, she can easily go unnoticed. If this was the summer, with the influx of tourists from Spain and Latin America, it would be much more difficult.

These are busy days for Pausini, who from early in her career has sung in both her native language and Spanish, with equal success in both. In the last few weeks, she released Io Canto 2, a collection of covers of Italian pop classics, through Warner Music Italy; performed the Italian national anthem at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina; and at the end of February, she will return to Sanremo, the song festival she won in 1993 and which catapulted her to fame, as co-host.

Pausini will cap off this breathless stretch with the March 13 release of Yo Canto 2, the Spanish-language album of her dual covers project, featuring classics from the pop songbooks of Latin America and Spain. As a tribute to the countries in the region that have welcomed her, and the artists who have inspired her, the 18-song set (plus three more in the deluxe edition) includes tracks as iconic as “Bachata Rosa” by Juan Luis Guerra, “Livin’ La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin, “Oye Mi Canto” by Gloria Estefan and “Antología” by Shakira.

“For me, it’s a privilege that such an admired and beloved artist as Laura Pausini recorded ‘Bachata Rosa.’ Her voice is beautiful and unique, and she has the gift of imbuing everything she sings with a special sensitivity,” Guerra tells Billboard.

The album also includes the previously released singles “Turista” by Bad Bunny, “Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos” by Gianluca Grignani, and “Eso y Más” by Joan Sebastian, in a duet with Yami Safdie. “Laura is not only one of the best performers in history, but also a generous, sweet and fun woman. Working with her was one of the greatest gifts music has given me,” says Safdie, the young, up-and-coming singer-songwriter from Argentina, adding that she used to listen to Pausini with her mother as a child.

This afternoon, Pausini will be filming the music video for her take on Fito Páez’s “Mariposa Tecknicolor.” She’s also preparing for the Yo Canto World Tour 2026-2027, which kicks off on March 27 in Pamplona, ​​Spain.

With nearly 80 million records sold and 6.5 billion streams globally in her more than 30-year career, according to Warner Music, Pausini is the most universal Italian voice and an undisputed icon of global pop.

“I love working with great singers, and Laura Pausini is one of the best in the world,” says award-winning American songwriter Diane Warren, with whom she shared the Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination in 2021 for best original song for “Io Sì” (“Seen”). “When I wrote ‘Seen’ for the movie The Life Ahead, I thought there was no better artist to write the Italian lyrics and perform it. Performing the song with Laura at the Oscars will always be one of my favorite experiences ever.”

One might think that after so many achievements — also including four Latin Grammys, a Grammy, and the Icon Award at the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards, among others — she would feel ready to take a break. But she remains more relevant than ever, with an ambition she confesses she didn’t feel in the early years of her career.

“Laura Pausini has not only built an extraordinary career; she has forged an authentic and lasting connection with audiences around the world,” says Brenda Carrasco, senior vp, marketing & artist strategy at Warner Music. “Her voice is unmistakable, but it is her artistic honesty, her consistency, and her profound emotional connection that truly set her apart.”

Sitting in the Cine3 studio outside of Rome, Pausini discusses her new album and upcoming tour; her relationship with fame, motherhood and her family; and the song that has most impacted her life. (Editor’s note: Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.)

Yo Canto 2 includes collaborations with multigenerational artists, from newcomer Yami Safdie to a veteran like Ricardo Montaner. How did you choose your guests?

I was very interested in seeing the perspective, especially of a young female artist like Yami Safdie, on a song that isn’t from her region. The song we sing together is “Eso y Más” by Joan Sebastian, so it’s Mexican. It’s beautiful for me that we’re three [nationalities], because Yami is Argentinian, Laura is Italian and the original Joan Sebastian, who has left us not only that song, but a whole host of wonderful songs, [is Mexican].

Something different happened with Ricardo. The song I sing by Ricardo Montaner [“Cuando Nacen Amores”] is a song I’ve known since I was a child, because the original version [“Quando Nasce Un Amore”] was Italian, by a singer who is my idol, Anna Oxa. When I traveled to Venezuela for the first time, I heard this song on the radio and I said, “But in Spanish, sung by a man?” And the driver told me, “Yes, of course, that’s a very important song by Ricardo Montaner.” And from then on, I started buying his music, getting to know his voice. He’s fantastic.

You also recorded Bad Bunny’s “Turista.” What did he say when he heard it?

He sent me a wonderful message. He said he never expected me to sing one of his songs, that he loved it. And the words he used are very typical of Benito, because Benito is very sensitive, very gentle, and he also uses very affectionate language when you speak to him, but never fake. I think he’s the kind of person who, if he doesn’t like something, won’t say anything, but if he wants to show you affection, he will. He’s also a little shy, isn’t he? When he speaks to you, he looks you in the eye, at least he always did with me. But he tells you what he feels, and it’s very sweet.

It caught my attention that there are two Gloria Estefan songs, “Oye Mi Canto” and “Hoy.” She’s the only artist who appears twice on the tracklist.

Yes, although “Hoy,” which represents Peru on this album, was actually written by Gian Marco. Everyone knows it from Gloria’s version, but the song is a very personal dedication from Gian Marco to his country, to Lima, when he had to leave it.

When I was in the hospital about to give birth to my daughter Paola, I prepared a playlist to accompany us during her arrival, and the second song was “Hoy,” in Gloria’s version. She was born at that exact moment. February 8 was Paula’s 13th birthday, and I posted a story on social media with Gloria’s version, but with the certainty of paying tribute not only to Gloria, but also to Gian Marco, who were with me during this very special time in my life.

What can you tell us about the Yo Canto World Tour?

It’s a very new tour for me, because normally I record the album in Italian and the Spanish version is identical, but sung in Spanish. In this case, the Italian album is dedicated to songs by Italian artists and the Spanish album to Spanish [and Latin American] singer-songwriters. That means that when I’m in Spain and North, Central, and South America, I’ll have a different repertoire than what I’ll sing in France, Germany, or Italy.

We’ve already rehearsed and had a lot of fun, because some of the songs we’re singing for Yo Canto 2 are actually Latin American and Spanish classics, and the lyrics and the beat of all the songs aren’t Italian; it’s different from our style. So for us, it was a lot of fun, but also challenging. It made us study, and put our hearts into it.

You’ll also be returning to Sanremo in a few days as a host. How does it feel to be going back?

It’s strange that I said yes to that offer, because they’ve been asking me every year for 15 years and I’ve always said no. I think it’s partly due to the passage of time and the confidence a woman gains as she grows. Also, the person who was the artistic director of Sanremo in 1993 when I won, the person who chose the singers to compete that year — his name is Pippo Baudo and he was also the host — passed away a few months ago, in 2025. And before he went to heaven, I called him to tell him that they had asked me to host Sanremo, and he said to me, “Why are you still hesitating? You’re ready.” I feel protected by those words.

But they adore you there, Laura. Sanremo is your home.

Yes, but Italy is a very demanding country. Besides, I understand. In my case, there’s no other woman who’s had my experience. And so the audience is also experiencing for the first time certain emotions or situations where, you know, you win something and then they want more, always more. The Italian public demands that I always do better, and I feel that pressure a lot… I feel freer when I’m away from home.

Many people know you from Sanremo, but you were just a child when you started singing in a piano bar with your dad. What do you remember from that time, and how did it prepare you for what came later?

I’m absolutely certain that the musical dynamics I know, vocally, even now, come from there, from the piano bar. I started when I was eight, and I didn’t know much back then. I just watched my father, who’s a singer, keyboardist, and bassist in a piano bar, and I copied him. I learned what it meant to arrive in the afternoon, set up the instruments. I did my homework with the restaurant’s waiters, and then people would arrive, and I’d stand there with my father and another musician who was with us.

I started singing in English at 12 and in Spanish at 14. My father would translate for me to explain what a song meant. The first one he translated was “We Are the World.” That’s when I understood that songs are written to say something, and it has helped me so much. When I’m on stage, I’m not afraid, and I think it’s because of the piano bar.

I imagine this also instilled a lot of discipline in you as a child.

It still does, because I don’t know if you know, but my father has always traveled with me. When I won the Sanremo Festival, I did my first tour in ’93. And he’ll go on this new tour with me too, even though he’s 80 now. I remember he gave me rules, of course, but I didn’t have one of those fathers who pressures you, who forces you. No.

Besides, my father is very amusing; he used to tell me stories. Even though our trips weren’t long, he’d spend that hour telling me about his life and asking about me, what was happening in my life. And I’ve never been afraid to tell my father anything. I told him about the first time I kissed someone, the first time I made love. I’ve told my father everything. It’s beautiful.

Speaking of family, I know it took you a while to become a mother, and it was something you really wanted. How has motherhood changed you? Has it made you more sensitive in any way?

Only in one way. Sometimes, during the first five years of my daughter’s life, I didn’t want to sing certain kinds of songs because I felt — I don’t want to say dirty, because that’s not the right word — but I wanted to be more saintly than ever. I felt she didn’t deserve a daring mother. After that, I think every woman changes depending on the child she has in her life, because my daughter lets me do the things I do, and I feel completely free with her to be myself. She has a personality that allows me to be who I am.

And your daughter has two musicians as parents. [Pausini is married to guitarist and producer Paolo Carta.] Do you think she’ll follow in your footsteps? What advice would you give her?

She might because she plays bass, guitar and piano, and she sings well. She sings very differently from me, and that’s a bit of a relief, because I could never bear it if someone compared her voice to mine. On the other hand, I’ve let her choose what she wants to do, but she knows — because we’ve been talking about it for years — that in our country, in Italy, being the child of a famous person isn’t very easy.

I think that’s true anywhere…

But in the rest of the world, there are children of celebrities who have had respectful careers. Here in Italy, I don’t know anyone and many of them have suffered that, and I obviously don’t want my daughter to suffer. So, I told her this: “You’ll do what you want, but I hope you don’t want to be famous, because it’s a very complicated job.”

What are the three songs that you feel marked, or were extremely important, in your Spanish-language career?

“En Cambio No,” “Víveme,” and I’m a little undecided between “Se Fue” and “Amores Extraños.”

Which of those could you never stop singing?

“En Cambio No.” It’s my favorite song in my repertoire. We wrote it when my grandmother passed away. She waited for me to say goodbye, and that was a unique experience. Anyone who can do that is fortunate. I was in Milan when my mother called to tell me the doctors had said she would be going to heaven that very day. So I got in the car and drove to the hospital in Faenza, the city where I was born. Her eyes were closed, she wasn’t speaking, she was just breathing. I held her hands, and she opened her eyes and said my name. Then she took one last breath and died. It was shocking, but my immediate reaction wasn’t to scream and cry. I dressed her, washed her and we decided how to have the funeral.

Afterward, on my way back to Milan, I cried a lot. When I got home, I thought about how many people are afraid to tell their relatives who they are and then they regret it. I told her everything, but in the days leading up to our final farewell, many in my family cried because they hadn’t. “En Cambio No” is about that. It is dedicated to those who perhaps need someone to tell them: “Don’t be afraid.” Or: “I love you. Don’t worry, I’ll be here.”

What an important and beautiful message. Thank you for reminding us. What does Laura Pausini still have to do professionally?

I don’t know, but while a few years ago that was a question that terrified me, making me think about retiring, today that question is what keeps me going — and the answer “I don’t know” means that something will come. I don’t know what it will be yet, but it will.

La Industria — the Medellín, Colombia-based music management company and record label — has officially expanded to the sports industry with the launch of La Industria IRC, Billboard Español can exclusively announce.

Founded by entrepreneur Juan Diego Medina, renowned for developing Latin urban artists like Nicky Jam, Manuel Turizo and Chocquibtown, among others, La Industria Inc. is now bringing its proven talent management model into the world of sports. This strategic new division, La Industria IRC, focuses on the comprehensive development and management of athletes, offering support from their early career stages to high-performance levels.

To lead this initiative, Medina has partnered with former Colombian National Team captain and international football star Iván Ramiro Córdoba, whose decades-long career — most notably with Inter Milan — brings a wealth of experience in guiding athletes toward excellence. Together, Medina and Córdoba aim to set a new standard in sports representation with a holistic approach that combines expertise in talent development and business strategy.

“La Industria Inc was created to develop talent and take careers to the next level. That vision is expanding. Talent is not only sung, it is also played,” said Medina in a promotional video announcing the launch. “When experience identifies talent, strategy takes it to the highest level. Legacy inspires new generations and entrepreneurial vision builds the future.”

La Industria IRC is also supported by Daniel Vélez and Daniel Gregorio, partners in the new division and FIFA-certified agents, who bring essential expertise in regulatory frameworks, athlete representation, and football development at both the national and international levels.

According to the press release, La Industria IRC has been created to raise the “standards of sports management by combining business vision with sports expertise, delivering an integrated approach that extends beyond competition and focuses on the athlete’s professional and personal growth.”

Sneakers and music have shared a symbiotic relationship since the birth of hip-hop and R&B. From block parties in the Bronx to sold-out arenas around the globe, artists have long used footwear as an extension of self-expression, a wearable signature that speaks before the mic ever does. Fans don’t just buy the shoes; they buy into the ethos of their favorite artists.

Few silhouettes embody that intersection like the Adidas Superstar.

Before it became a lifestyle staple, the Superstar was built for basketball. But culture, not sport, made it immortal. That shift can be traced back to Run-D.M.C., the legendary hip-hop trio who turned a shell-toe into a symbol.

When Run-D.M.C. dropped “My Adidas” in the mid-’80s, they weren’t chasing a brand deal. They were documenting devotion. The song came first. The endorsement followed. “We were doing it because we loved the sneaker,” Rev. Run once told Billboard. D.M.C. famously recalled placing his first pair on the dresser and waving goodnight to them before bed.

It wasn’t transactional, it was cultural. And when adidas signed the group, it marked the first time a major sportswear brand formally partnered with a hip-hop act. The deal didn’t just move product; it changed how sneakers were marketed forever. From that moment on, footwear wasn’t just athletic gear. It was identity.

Now, in 2026, adidas is reframing the narrative once again. This time, Samuel L. Jackson leads the charge, wandering through a surreal “Hotel Superstar” in search of the next generation of icons defining time on their own terms.

Along the way, he encounters style icon Kendall Jenner, global music powerhouse JENNIE, soccer prodigy Lamine Yamal, rap innovator Baby Keem, NBA veteran superstar James Harden, skateboarding legend Tyshawn Jones, and pop’s rising force Olivia Dean, each laced in the same-shell toes that once shook arenas alongside Run-D.M.C.

The metaphor is clear: the Superstar doesn’t belong to a moment. It belongs to those who move culture forward.

But here’s where the conversation gets interesting.

The campaign frames this as the “next era” of the Superstar. And that’s where I disagree.

Calling this a new era suggests the Superstar ever left.

It didn’t.

The silhouette has been quietly and loudly embedded in fashion, music, sport and street culture for decades. I’ve personally owned 15 pairs since 2015, roughly one a year. Not because they were trending. Because they never stopped meaning something.

What adidas is really doing isn’t reviving the Superstar. It’s reminding us who qualifies to wear it.

JENNIE represents borderless stardom. Her dominance on global charts and influence through BLACKPINK cement her as a cultural bridge between East and West.

Lamine Yamal, fresh off a historic run with Barcelona and already stacking individual accolades, is redefining what a prodigy looks like in real time.

Baby Keem continues to carve his own lane in hip-hop, unconventional, unpredictable and unapologetically modern.

James Harden’s longevity speaks for itself. Eleven All-Star selections. Sixteen seasons deep. Still elite. Still culturally relevant.

Tyshawn Jones carries New York skate DNA with authenticity, reshaping street skating’s global impact.

Olivia Dean’s rise has been a masterclass in patience. Not overnight hype, sustained artistry that resonates across generations.

And Kendall Jenner? She represents fashion infrastructure, visibility at scale.

Together, they form a cross-generational, cross-disciplinary lineup that mirrors the Superstar’s own journey: born in sport, adopted by music, refined by fashion and validated by culture.

Samuel L. Jackson’s presence ties it all together. There’s humor in watching him search for his “Superstar,” a playful wink to his iconic “Where is my super suit?” line in The Incredibles, but beneath that charm is something sharper. He’s a generational constant. From ’90s blockbusters to fantastic Marvel movies dropping today, he embodies longevity. And longevity is the true definition of iconic.

So, is this campaign a Flex, Trade or Fade?

It’s a Flex.

Not because it’s new. Not because it’s nostalgic.

Because it proves the Superstar never needed saving.

The real flex isn’t the casting. It’s the consistency. The Superstar has always found its way onto the feet of individuals who define culture instead of chase it.

Superstars don’t join crowds.

They build them.

Gnarls Barkley is back after an 18-year hiatus. On Thursday morning (Feb. 26), the Grammy-winning duo comprised of singer CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse released their first single from what they say is their third and final album, Atlanta, the dreamy pop tune “Pictures.”

The song is a memory experiment by singer Green, who reminisces about his childhood days whiling away the hours on Atlanta’s MARTA transit line, staring out the window and watching the world go by. “Looks like motion pictures/ Staring out the window of the MARTA train/ On an adventure/ Then back home again/ Looks just like pictures,” Green croons in his signature falsetto over DM’s simple, hypnotic organ and spare drum beat backing. “Staring out the window of the MARTA train/ It’s an adventure/ Till I make it back home again.”

“The song came from a childhood experience. I had a middle school principal who, every Friday would tell me to go when I would get to school,” Green said of the single that reminisces about the pair’s teenage years in the 1990s. “Without fail. I was in 8th grade and I would leave school and ride the train alone from 8am until 2:30pm. The hook of the song is literally about being on the train. When you are in transit it’s like a motion picture passing you by…staring out the window of the MARTA train.”

Atlanta, due out on March 6 from 10k Project/ Atlantic Records, is the long-awaited follow-up to the duo’s 2008 sophomore album, The Odd Couple, which spawned the Billboard Hot 100 No. 88 charting single “Going On.” The pair’s Grammy-nominated, multiplatinum debut album, 2006’s St. Elsewhere, spawned the massive hit “Crazy,” which ran up to No. 2 on the Hot 100 in May 2006 while topping the U.K. charts for nine weeks.

According to a release announcing the return, the Atlanta natives had always intended to record a third album, but “life and other creative pursuits intervened,” before they reconnected last year to record the final chapter in their story. Green described “Pictures” as a return to “square one, it’s a full-circle moment. The spirit of Gnarls Barkley is always self-discovery. The sweet, the sad, and the strange. The universe, the adventure inside of yourself.”

In the intervening years, Green released four solo albums and two LPs with his hip-hop crew Goodie Mob and appeared as a judge on The Voice and Danger Mouse (born Brian Joseph Burton) worked on albums by Beck, Sparklehorse, U2, the Black Keys, Norah Jones, Portugal. The Man, A$AP Rocky and many others while releasing three albums as Broken Bells with the Shins’ James Mercer.

At press time, the group, who often performed in costume, have not revealed whether they will support the new album with a tour.

Listen to “Pictures” and check out the tracklist for Atlanta below.

Atlanta tracklist: