“‘Til You Can’t,” with its message of following dreams and seizing opportunities as they come, became a breakthrough hit for Texan Cody Johnson, reaching No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts and garnered CMA and Grammy accolades.

In February, when Kid Rock performed at Turning Point USA’s alternative Super Bowl halftime show, he surprised viewers by not only performing “‘Til You Can’t,” but adding a new, faith-referencing verse to the song’s end. Shortly after Kid Rock’s TPUSA performance, he officially released that new version of “‘Til You Can’t,” which became his first song to reach No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Christian Songs chart.

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During a recent episode of the Rodeo Time With Dale Brisby podcast, Johnson detailed just what made him agree to let Kid Rock perform and record the song.

Johnson noted that when he had to cancel a concert at Arizona’s Hondo Rodeo Fest in November while recovering from burst eardrum surgery, Kid Rock filled in for him. It was there that Kid Rock debuted that new rendition of “‘Til You Can’t.”

“Kid Rock filled in and he played that last verse. And I was like, ‘That’s pretty cool.’” Johnson said, adding that Warner Records Nashville head Cris Lacy then gave him the heads-up that Kid Rock wanted to do more than just cover his song in concert.

“Cris was like, ‘He’s going to call you. … He wants your blessing on him releasing this version of the song,’” Johnson explained, adding, “I actually said, ‘What do Ben Stennis and Matt Rogers think about it?,’ because they’re the writers.” Lacy replied that the songwriters didn’t want to sign off on it unless Cody also signed off on it. “I was like, ‘That’s really respectful.’ That was really cool to feel the admiration from those guys , of taking their song that they wrote and making it what it is,” Johnson said.

He continued, “[Kid Rock] texted me, and I called him and was just like, ‘Man, I love it. I think you’ve done a great job.’ … He said, ‘I feel that Ben and Matt did such a great job writing this song, I don’t want to insinuate that they didn’t write it good enough,’” Johnson said, adding that Kid Rock listed off several top lines in the song, before telling Johnson, “‘But they just didn’t include God.’ And he’s like, ‘I just felt like you can only ask for forgiveness and get to know Jesus until you can’t.’”

Johnson’s reaction to that new line was instant. “I was like, ‘What a great’ – and coming from Kid Rock? It raised the hair on your arms. That was a conversation I never thought I’d have in my life, you know? And I was like, ‘I 100% sign off on it.’”

Johnson watched Kid Rock’s performance of that version of “‘Til You Can’t” on Turning Point USA’s alternative halftime show, saying, “I watched it, had tears in my eyes. I was like, ‘Freakin’ Kid Rock singing my song, that’s cool. That’s pretty neat.’ I wish he’d have worn a Cody Johnson hat, but I couldn’t talk him into that.”

See Johnson’s full interview below:

Billboard caught up with Miley Cyrus, Jason Earles, REI AMI and more on the red carpet of the ‘Hannah Montana’ 20th Anniversary Special to find out which Hannah Montana song they’d choose to remix.

Which Hannah Montana song would you remix? Let us know in the comments!

Tetris Kelly:

A lot of hits came from this show, a lot of nostalgic bops. If you could remix one of them, what would it be? 

Jason Earles:

Of the songs? 

Tetris Kelly:

Yeah. 

Jason Earles:

I mean, “Best of Both Worlds” is so classic. I would probably, I’d probably mess with that one.

Tetris Kelly:

Who would you remix it with? Who’s the feature on this new version of “Best of Both Worlds”? 

Jason Earles:

Stray Kids. 

Tetris Kelly:

Oh, wow. Are you repping the Stray Kids right now? Guys… 

Jason Earles:

This is DWAEKKI. 

Tetris Kelly:

Iconic, the Stray Kids “Best of Both Worlds” remix, we’re coming for you. 

REI AMI:

I still go like, “mmmmmwoaaahyeah!” I want to sample it like…

Tetris Kelly:

Come on. That’s bomb. Come on. It gets the nostalgia. It brings a new age.

REI AMI:

I mean, I am recording after this, so… 

Tetris Kelly:

There we go. I’ll see you at the studio, girl!

Anna Maria Perez de Tagle:

It has to be “Nobody’s Perfect.”

Tetris Kelly:

Oh that is my favorite one. 

Anna Maria Perez de Tagle:

Did no one say that yet?

Tetris Kelly:

Oh, no one said that. I always do the little shimmy. It’s so good. Okay, so who would you put on “Nobody’s Perfect” if you had to add a feature to the remix? 

Keep watching for more!

South Korea’s entertainment industry is experiencing a fundamental structural shift as established artists increasingly exit major agencies to launch independent operations. These one-person entertainment companies — termed il-in gihoeksa (일인 기획사) in Korean — allow performers to retain intellectual property rights, negotiate contracts directly, and capture substantially higher revenue shares than traditional agency arrangements permit.

Government data obtained by National Assembly member Jeong Yeon-wook indicates that registered entertainment agencies increased 73% between 2021 and 2025, reaching 6,140 total entities. A January 2026 Korea Creative Content Agency survey documented a corresponding shift in artist affiliation patterns: Solo label representation rose from 2.5% to 4.3% between 2020 and 2024, while major agency affiliation declined from 14.8% to 9.1%.

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The migration reflects significant tax arbitrage opportunities. South Korea’s top marginal personal income tax rate reaches 45% on earnings above approximately $730,000, while corporate rates cap at 25%. Solo label structures enable expense deductions unavailable to individual taxpayers, creating substantial advantages for high-earning performers.

BoA, whose 25-year tenure at SM Entertainment established early templates for Korean pop exports, terminated her contract on Dec. 31. She then launched BApal Entertainment in March 2026, framing the venture as an artist-fan collaboration. BLACKPINK members pursued parallel strategies when their individual YG Entertainment contracts expired in 2023, maintaining group activities through the original agency while establishing separate entities for solo work: Jennie founded Odd Atelier, Jisoo launched BLISSOO, and Lisa started LLOUD, while Rosé signed with producer-run boutique TheBlackLabel.

The regulatory implications surfaced dramatically in January. Seoul’s National Tax Service assessed actor and ASTRO member Cha Eun-woo approximately 20 billion won ($14.5 million) in unpaid taxes, reportedly the largest individual entertainer assessment in Korean history. Investigators determined that a maternal family-managed company holding a service contract with his agency, Fantagio, lacked operational substance, and reclassified income under personal rather than corporate tax treatment. Fantagio received separate assessments totaling $6 million for alleged false invoicing.

Cha Eun-woo has filed for administrative review contesting the determination. The timing — disclosure occurred during his mandatory military service — compounded the reputational exposure. The case represents one of multiple high-profile assessments: actors Lee Ha-nee, Yoo Yeon-seok, Jo Jin-woong, and Lee Jun-ki all received tax bills in 2025 linked to solo label arrangements, with reported amounts ranging from approximately $660,000 (Lee Jun-ki, 9 billion won) to $5.1 million (Yoo Yeon-seok, 70 billion won). All have initiated dispute proceedings.

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The investigations exposed institutional gaps in regulatory architecture. Entertainment agency registration operates through municipal governments without centralized coordination, as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism lacks statutory authority to aggregate operational data, monitor compliance or enforce standards across thousands of registered entities.

In March, National Assembly member Jeong introduced legislation establishing central oversight mechanisms. The proposed framework mandates annual reporting to the Ministry of Culture and prohibits individuals with criminal tax convictions from operating or working within entertainment agencies. Industry observers have characterized the measure as a response to the Cha Eun-woo case.

“It is natural for entertainers to leave agencies and set up companies in their own names,” Jeong stated. “But an agency that has no actual management function and exists only to reduce taxes — that’s what a lot of people in the industry will tell you is fairly common. What we’re trying to fix is the regulatory blind spot, not the concept.”

The tension is fundamentally structural. Solo labels represent legitimate pathways to artistic and economic autonomy for performers who have built substantial global brands. Simultaneously, tax optimization advantages are material, and distinguishing aggressive but legal tax planning from impermissible evasion requires clear adjudicatory frameworks. South Korean courts have frequently ruled favorably for artists in final determinations, particularly when companies demonstrate documented staffing and business operations. Industry advocates contend that National Tax Service initial assessments exhibit systemic overreach and impose disproportionate reputational and financial costs on artists who ultimately prevail.

What remains undisputed is regulatory lag relative to industry evolution. As more performers pursue independence in a sector generating billions in global revenue, the central question shifts from whether artist-operated companies should exist to whether government infrastructure can effectively distinguish legitimate enterprises from tax optimization structures in real time.

This story was originally published by Billboard Korea.


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Suge Knight, one of hip-hop’s most polarizing figures, will set the record straight from behind bars with the release of his Your Pain Is My Joy memoir, which is slated to arrive on Aug. 4.

Through his intimidating negotiating style, brutal business practices and ties to the Bloods gang, Knight became one of the most feared executives in hip-hop. The Compton native guided Death Row to dominance in rap’s golden age of the mid-90s, with a roster that included titans like 2Pac, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

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Your Pain Is My Joy is set to take readers on a “thrilling ride” and will shed light on his “brawls” with rival Diddy and detail 2Pac’s murder in Las Vegas for the first time from his perspective as a passenger in the 1996 drive-by shooting.

Published by Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books imprint, a synopsis for the “unapologetic” memoir reads: “Suge Knight was handed nothing in life. Anything he ever had, he fought for, knowing that he had to take what he deserved. Now in this unflinching memoir from behind bars, Suge takes readers on a thrilling ride through the Golden Age of Rap and the streets of Compton.”

The synopsis continues: “Everyone in the rap game has a story about Suge Knight. Now, for the first time, Suge is telling his side. From his legendary encounter with Vanilla Ice to blow-out brawls with P. Diddy and the night when he and Tupac got shot in Vegas, Suge doesn’t shy away from the controversy that has followed him his entire life. He pulls no punches, asks for no forgiveness, and explains exactly how he battled his way to the top.”

Knight was a central figure in the vicious East Coast-West Coast beef of the ’90s, but has dealt with a plethora of legal trouble in the decades since. He’s currently serving a 28-year sentence in a California prison for voluntary manslaughter after running over and killing Terry Carter with his car in January 2015.

BTS will be first up to bat as Major League Baseball returns for another year. As revealed Tuesday (March 24), songs from the band’s new album ARIRANG will soundtrack MLB’s social content in honor of opening week.

The news dropped via the first of three hype videos the Bangtan Boys and MLB will jointly promote across their social channels. The clip features “FYA,” one of the most adrenaline-pumping tracks on BTS’ new LP, playing over exciting footage of players such as the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and the Mets’ Juan Soto taking big swings and scoring big on the diamond.

A second video will go live Wednesday, the same day the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants will play the first game of the 2026 season at Oracle Park in California, which Netflix will stream live. Thursday will serve as baseball’s traditional opening day, with 13 scheduled games.

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A third and final BTS x MLB video will drop at some point the following week.

The boy band’s pro baseball partnership comes shortly after BTS knocked its long-awaited comeback out of the park, dropping ARIRANG on Friday and following it up with a massive concert in Seoul. It’s a good time for the septet to join hands with America’s pastime, as members RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook are currently in the United States for ARIRANG promo. Following a Spotify fan event on Monday, they’ll appear on two back-to-back episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon airing Wednesday and Thursday.

Earlier this month, MLB celebrated the World Baseball Classic by releasing the first official soundtrack for the tournament, helmed by Latin superstar producer Tainy. For the three-track project, the Puerto Rican hitmaker recruited Mexican-American singer/songwriter Becky G, K-pop sensation YEONJUN of TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Puerto Rican rappers Myke Towers and Young Miko, and Japanese artist Fujii Kaze, for a global (and multilingual) sound that mirrored the international spirit of the World Baseball Classic.

Check out BTS’ first MLB hype video celebrating opening week above.


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Universal Music Group (UMG) and other publishers have reached a climactic point in their lawsuit against Anthropic, urging a federal judge to rule that the artificial intelligence giant was not legally allowed to use millions of song lyrics to train its Claude AI model.

In a motion filed Tuesday (March 24), the music companies asked the judge to grant them summary judgment (an immediate victory) on the critical question in the case: Whether Anthropic made “fair use” of the lyrics when it took them without permission to train Claude.

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That question — which is at the heart of dozens of lawsuits and could have trillion-dollar stakes for the booming technology — is an easy one to answer, UMG and the other publishers write in Tuesday’s filing.

“Anthropic is a $380-billion artificial intelligence company that scrapes and copies publishers’ copyrighted song lyrics on a massive scale without asking permission or paying a cent,” they write in a brief obtained by Billboard. “Anthropic’s actions are quintessential infringement — not fair use.”

UMG, Concord Music Group, ABKCO and other music companies sued Anthropic in 2023, making it one of the earliest music copyright cases. The case was later overshadowed by larger litigation filed by all three major music companies against Suno and Udio.

More than two years later, the publishers say it’s time for the court to decide the pivotal fair use issue, arguing that the doctrine was not designed to shield “unabashedly commercial” exploitation of copyrighted works in a way that directly competes with the originals.

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“To be clear, this case is not a referendum on AI technology,” lawyers for the music companies write. “Publishers embrace the promise of lawfully created AI and have licensed their works for use by numerous AI companies. Publishers rightfully object, however, to Anthropic’s copying of their lyrics to build an AI product that reproduces those lyrics and generates limitless AI rip-offs, all without permission or payment.”

In a statement to Billboard, a rep for UMG and the other plaintiffs said that Anthropic had “committed copyright infringement on a massive scale” and has never denied it.

“Having established that Anthropic copied and ingested songwriters’ lyrics without permission or compensation, trained its Chatbot (Claude) to serve up those lyrics on demand, and spit out AI-generated derivatives that compete directly with human songwriters, the plaintiffs move for summary judgement. The evidence in this case is overwhelming.”

A rep for Anthropic did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.


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Billboard’s Dance Moves roundup highlights the biggest movers and shakers across Billboard’s many dance charts, including new No. 1s, notable debuts, chart milestones, first-timers and rising tracks and artists.

This week, on charts dated March 28, Harry Styles, John Summit and Rohaan, and Milky and Mall Grab achieve new feats. Check out the key movers below.

Harry Styles

Styles returns to No. 1 on the latest Dance/Mix Shows Airplay chart, as “Aperture” rises a spot to No. 1 with an 11% increase in plays (among 24/7 dance reporters and pop stations’ mix show hours) March 13-19, according to Luminate.

The lead single from the superstar’s reigning Billboard 200 No. 1 album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally., marks his second Dance/Mix Show Airplay No. 1, after “As It Was” led for two weeks in 2022. His latest is his eighth entry on the chart and first since “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” in 2022.

“Aperture” has become a smash across Billboard’s charts. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February, becoming Styles’ third leader, after “Watermelon Sugar” (2020) and “As It Was.” It has also topped Hot Dance/Pop Songs and the Billboard Global 200.

Of Billboard’s 25 weekly radio charts, Styles has earned No. 1s on five:

Pop Airplay: “Adore You,” “Watermelon Sugar,” “As It Was,” “Late Night Talking”
Adult Pop Airplay: “Watermelon Sugar,” “As It Was,” “Late Night Talking”
Adult Contemporary: “Adore You,” “As It Was”
Dance/Mix Show Airplay: “As It Was,” “Aperture”
Radio Songs: “As It Was”

Styles has also charted songs on Rock & Alternative Airplay, Adult Alternative Airplay, Alternative Airplay, Rhythmic Airplay and Latin Pop Airplay.

John Summit & Rohaan

Summit and Rohaan’s “SATA” debuts at No. 20 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. Released March 11 on Experts Only/Darkroom, the song drew 700,000 official U.S. streams in the tracking week.

“SATA” earns Summit his 26th career entry on the chart and fourth this year, after “Lights Go Out” (No. 7 peak), “Shadows,” with Lavinia (No. 9), and “With Me,” with Julia Wolf (No. 10).

As for Rohaan, “SATA” earns the York, U.K.-based DJ his first appearance on Billboard’s charts. Outside of Summit, he has collaborated with the Caracal Project, Flowdan and Kill Miami, among others.

Milky & Mall Grab

The acts’ “Just the Way You Are” continues climbing Billboard’s charts, as it pushes 7-5 for a new high on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (2.6 million streams, up 1%). It also debuts at No. 36 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay.

“Just the Way You Are” is a remix of Milky’s 2002 hit of the same name, which spent five weeks at No. 1 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay and has since become a house classic. Australian DJ/producer Mall Grab released his remix of the song Jan. 30, and it became his first Billboard chart entry when it debuted in February.

Australian electronic trio PNAU released a new remix of the song on March 20.

Earlier this year, Chinese singer-songwriter Tia Ray made a surprise appearance at UCLA, treating students to an exclusive campus exchange and an electrifying flash-mob performance.

Connecting face-to-face with young fans, Tia shared her profound passion for music before performing a medley of her classic hits and teasing her highly anticipated debut English album, New Day. Despite the roaring energy of the crowd, the moment felt remarkably intimate.

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“Even though it’s my first time at UCLA, it feels like home,” Tia shared with a smile.

We caught up with Tia after the event to discuss her new era and her deep musical ties to Los Angeles. Crafted over three years of intensive cross-continental travel between Shanghai, Beijing, and L.A., much of New Day was born right in the city’s recording sessions. She recalled her experience collaborating with top Grammy-winning producer Khris Riddick-Tynes.

“He was incredibly strict, which was really stressful at first,” she told Billboard China. “But when I heard the final tracks, I realized I had found a fresh, exciting new musical direction.”

Now available globally, New Day represents a bold artistic evolution. Speaking on the album’s core message, Tia explained, “I wanted to continue exploring my own possibilities in different ways; the challenges actually sparked more creativity. I also want to inspire people through this album — no matter what you’re going through, when you get through it, it’s a completely new day.”

Jay-Z has broken his silence. The Brooklyn rap legend sat down with GQ on Tuesday (March 24) and graced the cover of the publication’s April issue, which serves as his first cover story in nearly a decade.

Hov touched on plenty of topics throughout the lengthy interview, which included his thoughts on the Drake-Kendrick feud, the dropped 2024 sexual assault lawsuit, regrets battling Nas, Blue Ivy, 4:44, J. Cole, capitalism, what a potential new album would have to look like, among other things.

“We played enough defense, 2026 is all about offense,” Jay teased. All of the Hov activity has fans’ minds hopeful this could culminate with a new album in 2026, which would serve as Jay-Z’s first solo outing since 2017’s 4:44 confessional.

Outside of sitting down for a rare interview, Jay-Z will also be making his return to the stage this year. He’s slated to headline Roots Picnic in Philly in May and he’s set to return to Yankee Stadium for three sold-out shows in July, which will celebrate the 30th anniversary of his Reasonable Doubt debut and 25 years of The Blueprint.

The 56-year-old has continued to drop clues hinting at a potential comeback in 2026. Earlier this year, he already launched a new website, released songs to streaming for the first time, dropped vinyl records of classic tracks and reverted his stage name back to JAŸ-Z, which he had used in the mid-90s, featuring an umlaut.

Here are 10 things we learned from Jay-Z’s GQ interview. Watch the video accompanying the sit-down below.


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The executors of Michael Jackson’s estate say Paris Jackson doesn’t have any reason to complain about their spending on the long-anticipated biopic Michael, arguing that objections lodged by the late King of Pop’s daughter “betray a complete lack of understanding about how the motion picture industry works.”

Paris is fighting over finances with lawyer John Branca and A&R executive John McClain, co-executors who’ve overseen Michael’s fortune since his death in 2009. The estate is still in Los Angeles probate court, where a retired judge has been appointed to referee disputes like this one with the star’s 27-year-old daughter.

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After losing an earlier challenge to the executors’ spending, Paris’ attorneys filed an objection this fall focused on the estate’s 2021 account statements. This objection accused Branca and McClain of aiming to “enrich and aggrandize” themselves and criticized their roles as producers on the upcoming Michael biopic, including Branca’s casting of Miles Teller to play a younger version of himself.

Branca and McClain have now filed their own document saying there’s zero validity to Paris’ complaints: “These meritless objections are a profound waste of the court’s time and, ironically, the estate’s money,” reads the executors’ Thursday (March 19) response in probate court.

The co-executors said their work has generated billions of dollars for Michael’s estate, $65 million of which has already gone to Paris. Much of that revenue has come from entertainment projects produced by Branca and McClain, including the Broadway show MJ The Musical and the 2009 documentary Michael Jackson’s This Is It.

Branca and McClain say this experience made them uniquely qualified to produce the Michael biopic, and Paris’ claims to the contrary “just cannot be taken seriously.” The filing notes that This Is It is the highest-grossing concert documentary in history, even beating out Taylor Swift’s 2023 The Eras Tour theatrical release.

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“Paris and her attorneys also betray a complete lack of understanding about how the motion picture industry works and the role of producers in it,” writes attorney Jonathan Steinsapir on behalf of Branca and McClain. “The objections complain about the executors’ qualifications to act as producers but seem to be wholly ignorant of the fact that the executors have produced several projects involving Michael Jackson. Those efforts have been wildly successful.”

The executors say there’s similarly no merit to Paris complaining about their 2021 financial settlement with Michael’s producing partner Quincy Jones, arguing that the deal was a prudent business decision made “to effectively guarantee peace with Quincy Jones and his heirs forever.” The same goes for Paris’ complaints about the estate’s failure to invest its money in stocks and bonds in 2021; according to Branca and McClain, the IRS required them to keep their cash in escrow during that time due to tax litigation over the sale of Michael’s stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

“The executors recognize that they are, by definition, the ‘grown-ups’ here — that is the whole point of a fiduciary,” reads the response filing. “Because of that, the executors must refrain from responding to most of the irrelevant and highly incendiary, personal attacks on them. No payment made by this estate, in its 16 year history, has been disallowed. The executors are human of course and not beyond error, but they have been meticulous and conscientious in their management of the estate.”

In a statement sent to Billboard on Tuesday (March 24), Steinsapir said, “Ms. Jackson and her attorneys are once again abusing the courts and the legal system by making a series of false allegations as part of a media campaign to distract from their legal setbacks and the inherent weakness of their case.”

A source close to Paris, meanwhile, told Billboard on Tuesday, “It’s a shame the executors are lobbing personal attacks against a beneficiary instead of providing basic transparency and accountability. If the estate is interested in clarifying the facts, they could just release all the years of financial records Paris has been requesting. Without them, Paris and the rest of the Jackson family are totally in the dark.”


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