How to Watch the USA Network to Stream the 2026 Winter Olympics Live Online Without Cable for Free

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Want to watch USA Network on TV? Having a cable package is the easiest way to watch the USA Network at home. However, if you’ve recently cut the cord, there are still options for streaming the channel without cable including live TV streamers.

In February, along with NBC and CNBC, USA Network showcases a number of events during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, such as curling, ice hockey, snowboarding and other competitions. Check out a complete Winter Olympics TV schedule here.

To help you save money and watch the USA Network without cable, ShopBillboard listed all the streaming options available below.

get directv free trial here

How to Watch USA Network Online Without Cable At Home

Peacock is the official streaming platform for NBC and all of the channels owned by the media company — including USA Network. You can watch on the streaming platform in addition to the USA Network’s original TV series and movies. If you already have a Peacock subscription, you can watch the channel instantly for no additional cost when you log into the platform.

Don’t have Peacock? There is no free trial for new subscribers, but the streaming platform does come with various plans starting at $10.99 per month. However, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial for Walmart+, which comes with access to Peacock as part of the service. Learn more about Walmart+ here.

Peacock

Peacock

Get Peacock

There are two Peacock plans you can choose from: the Premium Plan that’s ad-supported and the cheapest option at $10.99 per month or the Premium Plus plan for $16.99 per month that comes with everything in the Premium Plan in addition to you local NBC channel and the ability to download and watch offline. Save additional cash when you choose an annual plan, which will give you an entire year of access for the cost of 10 months.

Outside of USA Network, Peacock comes with its own collection of original TV shows and movies as well as programs from NBC, CNBC, Bravo and others. TV Shows you can look forward to watching includes Poker Face, The Traitors, Couple to Throuple, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Bel-Air, Love Island, Love Island Games, One of Us Is Lying, Dr. Death, Yellowstone, Suits, The Office, Modern Family and Parks & Recreation. Bravo fans can also tune into reality series, like Vanderpump Rules, Below Deck, The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip and Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard.

The streaming service is also the home to exclusive music programming, such as Girl You Know It’s True, Toby Keith: American Icon, When Metal Ruled the World, America’s Got Talent and others.

How to Watch USA Network Online Without Cable for Free

Live TV streamers are hosting a variety of promos and free trials that’ll give you access to the USA Network online to stream for free or at a discounted cost. Keep reading to learn more.

How to Watch USA Network Without Cable: Livestream TV Channel Free

DirecTV

Get 5-Day Free Trial

You can watch USA Network on DirecTV, which also comes with your local NBC station. New users are eligible for a five-day free trial through DirecTV when you sign up for one of its four packages. The streamer’s “MySports” streaming package goes for $69.99 per month and includes USA Network, as well as CNBC, ESPN and dozens of other channels.

How to Watch USA Network Without Cable: Livestream TV Channel Free

Sling TV

Get Sling Blue

With prices starting at $34.99 for the first month of service ($69.99 per month afterwards), Sling TV lets you watch the USA Network with the streaming service’s Blue package. There are a total of three plans you can choose from, but only the Blue package and the Orange + Blue package will get you the USA Network. Within the Blue Package, you’ll receive the USA Network in addition to NBC and more sports, news and entertainment channels, plus 50 hours of DVR storage.

Please note: Pricing and channel availability varies from market-to-market.

How to Watch USA Network Without Cable: Livestream TV Channel Free

Hulu + Live TV

Get 3-day Free Trial

You can watch USA Network on Hulu + Live TV. It’s the one option that offers the most for less. Not only will you get access to the USA Network, you’ll also get more than 95 channels (including NBC and CNBC) in addition to access to the entire Hulu library — and starting at $89.99 per month once the promo is over.

What we like: your Hulu + Live TV plan includes Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited for exclusive sports coverage and programming from ESPN, and all the Disney+ originals.

Want more? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.

/by

The Greatest Pop Star By Year: 1981-2025 (Updated Staff Picks)

(This list is a project that the Billboard staff initially published in 2019, and which we’ve updated in some form every year since. In honor of our associated Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century list finally nearing its conclusion, we republished the project, now updated until 2025, and in a more easily navigated form. Check it out here, and be sure to catch up on our entire 2025 Greatest Pop Stars top 10 — along with our Honorable Mentions runner-ups, Comeback and Rookie of the Year Artists — all right here!)

Pop stardom is, in many ways, a competitive sport. Not one that demands a lone winner as justification for the whole enterprise, exactly, but one that still entrances those of us watching from the sidelines to see who’ll come out on top. Who’s No. 1 this week? Who outsold who? Who’s playing the biggest venues? Who’s racking up Grammys, BBMAs, VMAs? Listeners can love and admire their artists of choice without them winning these many mini-battles — but when they do, it provides the same rush as a home-team victory, since it still provides some measure of that most important validation in fandom: Our fav is better than your fav. 

Now, we here at Billboard obviously play no small part in the declaration of these victors, as success on our charts has long been one of the biggest measures by which pop stardom is sized and graded. But we also know that while chart success is an essential factor, pop stardom carries too many intangibles to be judged solely on any combination of numerical calculations. It’s not just hit singles and best-selling albums: It’s music videos, it’s live performances, it’s image, it’s headlines and controversy and cultural impact and overall ubiquity. It’s the answer to the question, “Could you have lived through this year without having an opinion on this artist?”

Of course, it’s a far more subjective assessment than simply which team scored more points by the final buzzer. But it’s a discussion that has long been ongoing for rappers, and now something our staffers and most trusted contributors have been working on for many months to bring it to the pop world — with our list of the greatest pop stars from each year since 1981. 

Now, understand that when we say “pop star,” we’re not just meaning solo artists in the classic triple-threat, top 40 dead-center mold of Madonna and Michael Jackson. Those two artists appear, of course, as do many of their most obvious acolytes. But we define “pop star” broadly enough for it to also encompass rappers and singer-songwriters, rock bands and R&B groups. As long as they were impactful and wide-reaching enough to have a profound impact on that vague concept we know as the mainstream — and even more amorphously, the culture — they’re up for consideration here. 

Why 1981 as a starting point? Well, gotta start somewhere, and ‘81 was the year that forever changed modern stardom, with the premiere of MTV cementing the music video as an elemental factor in pop iconicity. Though its true impact on the top 40 landscape wouldn’t really be felt for a couple years after its debut, videos forever changed the scale of pop stardom, making the biggest artists three-dimensional figures, as present in our lives as our favorite sitcom stars and talk show hosts, if not more so. The new competitive landscape of MTV rotation forced them to think bigger, to try harder — and from Janet to Alanis to Rihanna to Drake, it’s impossible to envision the past 40-plus years of pop stardom without its impact. 

And what does “greatest” mean, exactly? Well, it’s not exactly “most popular,” though that’s certainly a large part of it. And it’s definitely not our personal favorites, strictly speaking — we love these artists, but this wasn’t the place for any of us to stump for our Should Be Bigger pet causes. Mostly, we’re looking for the pop star that best defines each year; the one whose impact was most deeply felt across the most spaces. How much of the year the artist is active for also matters: For instance, Taylor Swift might have released 1989 in 2014, but the album didn’t drop until October — so she’s more likely to be in play for 2015, when the set spun off most of its hit singles and videos and she spent most of the year on her victory lap world tour. 

Of course, our perception of pop stardom is unavoidably colored by personal experience — and our decidedly North American perspective — and you might very well see some of our picks and think that based on your own memories, we couldn’t be more wrong. Totally fair: We’ve done the best we could with the objective stats and the emotional reactions we all have, but several of these come down to coin-flip situations where we had to just sigh and go with our gut. To acknowledge some of the artists we passed over, though, we’ve also included some honorable mentions for each year — along with awarding rookie of the year (for emerging pop stars then still new to the mainstream) and comeback of the year (for veteran stars who had their first big year in a while) distinctions for each year. 

Read on below to find our essays attempting to justify our picks for each year — along with a handful of sidebar discussions that we couldn’t get to in our primary pieces — and feel free to let us know how we did your favorite artist wrong. Do try to remember, though: In pop music as in sports, there’s always next year. 

/by

How to Watch NBC Online for Free: The Best Ways to Stream Super Bowl LX, 2026 Winter Olympics and Other Live Sports

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

With Super Bowl LX, 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy and 2026 NBA All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome (home of the Los Angeles Clippers) in Inglewood, California all coming up in February, the best live sports events are found on NBCUniversal networks, like NBC, USA Network, CNBC, Telemundo, MS Now (formerly MSNBC), Bravo, NBC Sports and other networks.

In addition, Fubo and NBCUniversal are in dispute over access carrier and network fees, so here’s how Fubo subscribers get access to NBC too. There are a few other ways to livestream NBC networks online, including ways to watch them online for free. Keep reading to learn the streaming options available.

How to Watch NBC Without Cable at Home

The simplest way to get instant access to NBCUniversal networks is through the channel’s official streaming platform, Peacock. While there is no free trial for new users, the platform offers cheap plans starting at just $10.99 per month, or you can get an annual plan for $109.99 per year (which gets you 12 months of streaming for the price of 10).

Peacock

Peacock

Get Peacock

You can look forward to streaming live sports, such as NBA on NBC, Premiere League, MLB on NBC, 2026 World Cup and other sporting events.

It has TV shows, includes Poker Face, The Traitors, Couple to Throuple, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Love Island, Yellowstone, Suits, The Office, Modern Family and Parks & Recreation. The streaming service is also the home to exclusive music programming, such as Girl You Know It’s True, Toby Keith: American Icon, When Metal Ruled the World, America’s Got Talent and others.

How to Watch NBC Without Cable for Free Online

For the most amount of content options, live TV streamers let you watch NBCUniversal networks without cable, along with hundreds of other networks. Plus, through free trials and promos going on you can save money and watch NBC at home for free.

You can get access to NBC and other NBCUniversal networks through live TV streamers, such as DirecTV — which is currently offering a free trial. Below are the best ways to watch NBCUniversal networks online.

How to Watch NBC Online Without Cable: Livestream TV Channel Free Here

DirecTV

Get 5-Day Free Trial

A subscription to DirecTV — which comes with NBC, USA Network, CNBC, MS Now, Bravo, NBC Sports and other NBCUniversal Networks — gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels, starting at $84.99 for the first month of service ($89.99 per month afterwards) for signature packages. The service even offers a five-day free trial to watch for free, if you sign up now.

You can watch local networks such as ABC, CBS, FOX and PBS, while you can watch many cable networks, including FS1, Lifetime, FX, AMC, A&E, Bravo, BET, MTV, Paramount Network, Cartoon Network, VH1, Fuse, CNN, Food Network, CNBC and many others.

How to Watch NBC Online Without Cable: Livestream TV Channel Free Here

Sling TV

Get Sling Blue

Sling TV offers the Blue package, which goes for $54.99 per month and comes with NBC, USA Network, CNBC, MS NOW, Bravo and others. Blue is one of the most affordable options and comes with more than 40 channels and can be streamed on up to three device at a time. Please note: Pricing and channel availability varies from market-to-market.

How to Watch NBC Online Without Cable: Livestream TV Channel Free Here

Hulu + Live TV

Get 3-day Free Trial

For the most content offerings, you can sign up for Hulu + Live TV and get access to the Hulu library with more then 95 live TV channels (including NBC, USA Network, CNBC and others). The streaming platform starts at $89.99 per month.

And, for even more programming, Hulu + Live TV now comes bundled with Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited, which gives you everything within the Hulu library, as well as exclusive content on ESPN for even more sports coverage.

Want more? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.

/by

Watch Sabrina Carpenter Fall for the Perfectly Salty Manchild in Pringles’ Super Bowl Commercial

“I like all my men incompetent,” Sabrina Carpenter sings on her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Manchild,” and that’s exactly what she manifests in her Super Bowl ad for Pringles, which dropped on Tuesday (Feb. 3).

Related

KATSEYE in State Farm's Super Bowl 2026 ad

KATSEYE Rocks Out to ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ in Hilarious Super Bowl Ad Starring Hailee Steinfeld

Ludacris

Ludacris Invites Chingy — and a Rapping Goat — Over for the Ultimate Super Bowl Party in Frank’s RedHot Ad

Ring's 2026 Super Bowl ad

Ring Aims to Reunite Lost Dogs With Families in Super Bowl Ad Soundtracked by This ’70s Hit Ballad

In the 30-second clip set to air during the game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots on Sunday (Feb. 8), the two-time Grammy winner admits to a pal on the phone, “I need a man!” That’s when the Pringles canister in her hand suggests in a whisper, “Buuuuuuild him!”

After some careful but quick stacking, a huge smile spreads across the singer-actress’ face as she looks up into the eyes of … Pringleleo, her new boo. Together, the lovebirds share a romantic meal, where Pringleleo’s hand falls off as he feeds her a bite; play footsies under the table; go for a sweet ride in a convertible as his potato-chip “hair” goes flying off; and cuddle in bed. (Oh, but the crumbs in the sheets!)

Carpenter seems happy until one night, after a show, she exits the venue to greet her love. That’s when she hears a screaming swarm of fans she assumes are running to meet her. Instead, the crowd goes wild for Pringleleo and tackles him, shattering the salty, crispy man into thousands of pieces. The singer looks devastated as the fans literally eat him up … before she joins them in popping a chip into her mouth, proving the campaign’s tagline: “Once you pop, the pop don’t stop.”

Pringles announced that the Billboard-charting star would make her Super Bowl ad debut in a teaser that dropped Jan. 14. Since then, she’s kept busy with a surprise cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live alongside musical guest A$AP Rocky, meeting her idol Miss Piggy in a teaser for The Muppet Show reboot, being named Billboard‘s No. 5 Greatest Pop Star of 2025 and kicking off the 2026 Grammy Awards with a performance of “Manchild” on Feb. 1.

Watch Sabrina Carpenter’s Super Bowl ad with Pringles below. The Big Game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday (Feb. 8).


Billboard VIP Pass

/by

Live Nation Launches ‘Next On’ Program for Emerging Artists in Australia and New Zealand

Live Nation has announced the first artists selected for Next On, a new initiative designed to support emerging talent across Australia and New Zealand by providing rent-free access to major venues, production and marketing support, and the opportunity for artists to retain 100% of ticket and merchandise revenue.

The inaugural round of Next On showcases will roll out across Live Nation venues in the coming months, with performances confirmed from Peach Fuzz, Robbie Mortimer and MOHI. More artists and dates are set to be announced.

According to Live Nation, the program is aimed at artists at a key growth stage, removing financial barriers that often limit touring and allowing performers to reinvest directly into their careers.

Michelle Lucia, senior vice president of product and innovation at Live Nation APAC, said the initiative was designed to intervene at pivotal moments in an artist’s development.

“Next On is about creating opportunities at the moments that matter most in an artist’s journey,” Lucia said in a statement. “These artists are ready for the room, ready for the audience, and ready for that next step.”

Melbourne indie rock band Peach Fuzz will headline a Next On show at the Palais Theatre’s On The Stage in Melbourne on March 10. The four-piece have been building momentum following the release of their EP Isn’t It Obvious? and a sold-out hometown show at Howler.

“Being part of Next On feels like a real milestone for us,” Peach Fuzz said. “Getting the chance to play an iconic venue at a point where our live show and music are really coming into focus means so much to us.”

Australian country rock artist Robbie Mortimer is set to perform at Anita’s Theatre in Thirroul on March 27. Raised on a farm in regional New South Wales, Mortimer has seen recent success with tracks including “Blow The Speakers” and “You Got That Love,” the latter of which reached No. 1 on CMT. He was also named a CountryTown Breakthrough Artist nominee in 2025.

“Next On feels like a really significant moment for me,” Mortimer said. “Playing a room like this allows the songs to be heard the way they were always meant to be.”

New Zealand artist MOHI will bring his neo-soul sound to Auckland’s The Tuning Fork on April 10. The award-winning Māori artist’s debut album The Flowers That Grow From Concrete Pavements earned major recognition, including Best Te Reo Māori Album and Best Male Artist at the 2024 Māori Music Awards.

“My songs were written to be shared live,” MOHI said. “Next On gives me the chance to bring my reo and my stories into an iconic room and let the music do what it’s meant to do.”

Live Nation said the Next On program will continue to expand across Australia and New Zealand, with venues opening their stages to developing artists and applications remaining open via Live Nation’s regional websites.

/by

Sharon Osbourne Calls 2026 Grammys Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne a ‘Moment Carved Into Musical History’

The emotion was painted on her face. During an all-star tribute to late metal icon Ozzy Osbourne at Sunday night’s (Feb. 1) Grammy Awards, Sharon Osbourne could not help welling up with tears from behind a pair of round, tinted shades as a group of rockers honored her late husband with a run through Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”

In an Instagram post on Monday (Feb. 2), Osbourne wrote, “Last night was bigger than a performance. It was a moment carved into musical history. Reminding everyone that rock isn’t nostalgia – it’s alive, evolving, and still the heartbeat of music.”

Her praise was for a performance during the In Memoriam section of the Grammys in which Post Malone and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash led a group that also included Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, GNR bassist Duff McKagan and producer Andrew Watt, who was behind the boards for Osbourne’s final two studio albums, 2020’s Ordinary Man and 2022’s Patient Number 9.

The hard rock septet thundered through the 1970 Sabbath anti-war song, with Malone emoting the still-relevant Vietnam-era lyrics about greedy, cowardly politicians who hide behind their desks and then plead on their knees for mercy from Satan after sending young, poor soldiers to die while they make “war just for fun/ Treating people just like pawns in chess.”

Re-posting a shot from the performance that included footage of Sharon getting emotional alongside the couple’s adult children Jack and Kelly, Sharon continued, “Post you were pure magic, a shapeshifter with a voice that can bend into any genre. Slash, Duff, Andrew, Chad you are the master of your craft and complete icons. Truly from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Ozzy was definitely in the building.”

Jack Osbourne was also blown away by the performance in a separate Instagram post featuring the same footage of the overwhelmed-by-emotion family, in which he wrote, “Zero Notes — PERFECT.”


Billboard VIP Pass

/by

Gracie Abrams Gushes Over Boyfriend Paul Mescal on Actor’s 30th Birthday: ‘Thank You For Making Everything Better’

Gracie Abrams celebrated boyfriend Paul Mescal’s 30th birthday on Monday (Feb. 2) by shouting her love for the Hamnet actor from the rooftops. Okay, it was from her Instagram, but the 26-year-old “Felt Good About You” singer made no secret of how much Mescal means to her in a series of pictures in which the couple that have mostly kept their relationship private, are seen smiling, cheek-to-cheek and lips-to-lips.

The carousel opens with a photo booth strip of black and white snaps in which Abrams and Mescal, who reportedly began dating in the summer of 2024, are seen kissing and goofing around, while in another they enjoy a day out at a baseball game where they are both wearing Red Sox hats. Elsewhere, they stare deeply into each other’s eyes as Mescal embraces Abrams at what looks like a dinner out, the table littered with bottles of Perrier, candles and plates of food.

The post was actually a dual tribute to both Mescal and Abrams’ childhood bestie, Clementine, with the caption reading, “Clemmy❤️ My whole heart!!!!!!!!! I love February 2… Happy birthday❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️I love you both more than words could ever describe. Thank you for making everything better.” The love is in the air in another snap in which they are in a deep embrace on the floor of an empty stadium, as well as a close-up of Mescal laying in bed and laughing over a meal.

The roll also includes shots of Abrams and Clementine goofing off over the years and a final pic of Clementine blowing out the candles on her cake.

The photos of the actor come a week after director Sam Mendes released the first images of the cast of his upcoming four-part Beatles biopic project, The Beatles — a Four-Film Cinematic Event, with Mescal earning praise for his eerily dead-on take of a young Paul McCartney. Abrams, the daughter of director J.J. Abrams, is gearing up to make her acting debut in A24’s upcoming movie Please, directed by Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies); the movie’s plot has not yet been revealed.


Billboard VIP Pass

/by

BTS Gearing Up For Long-Awaited Comeback With Netflix Livestream Concert, ‘BTS: The Return’ Documentary

The BTS comeback is heating up. After announcing that their fifth full-length album, Arirang, is coming on March 20, the Bang Tang Boys are doubling down with a pair of upcoming specials heralding their return from a nearly four-year hiatus.

On Monday (Feb. 2), it was announced that the K-pop supergroup’s first live show in three years will stream exclusively on Netflix the day after the LP’s release. BTS the Comeback Live | Arirang will debut on the streamer at 7 a.m. ET on March 21, less than a day after the album’s drop. It will find members RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook taking the stage at Seoul, South Korea’s historic Gwanghwamun Square, the main gate of the historic Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul.

In even more good news for ARMY, the group’s long-awaited comeback will also be chronicled in BTS: The Return, a full-length documentary slated to premiere on Netflix on March 27. The special directed by Bao Nguyen (The Greatest Night in Pop) is a companion to the live concert and will pull back the curtain on the the preparations for their return and the making of the new album.

“The film offers rare behind-the-scenes access as the group comes back together and charts an unprecedented path forward together after a nearly four-year hiatus,” read a statement from Netflix. Following their mandatory military service, the septet regrouped in Los Angeles to record the new album and according to the release, “they return to a shared creative space after being shaped by time apart and personal change. For their next chapter, they reflect on their whirlwind past as they contemplate what the future of BTS will look and sound like.”

The doc promises an intimate look at the performers as they “work through doubt and share in moments of laughter and rediscovery. BTS contemplates how to begin again, how to honor the past without being bound by it, and how to define an ever-evolving identity as the bandmates grow as artists and global icons.”

The Netflix two-fer will set up the group’s recently announced 79-show 2026-2027 global tour, their first road trip since 2022’s BTS Permission to Dance on Stage. The tour is slated to kick off on April 9 with the first of three nights in Goyang, South Korea, before hitting Tokyo and touching down in the U.S. in April for the first stateside shows on April 25-26 in Tampa, Fla.

Arirang is BTS’ first studio album since 2022’s Map of the Soul: 7.

Check out the poster for the Netflix concert and doc below.


Billboard VIP Pass

/by

Keo to Headline Billboard U.K. Stage at The Great Escape 2026

Billboard U.K. is heading down to the seaside city of Brighton for a second consecutive year, as part of an exclusive stage takeover at The Great Escape.

The festival, which takes place May 13-16, will play host to the latest Billboard U.K. Live event, following last year’s headline performance from English Teacher. 

For the 2026 edition, rising rockers Keo will top the bill, continuing a hot streak that has seen them sell out a spring U.K. and Ireland headline tour, and land a major label deal with Island.

Having formed on the London gig circuit shortly after lockdown, the band came to prominence last summer with the release of their Siren EP. They have appeared at festivals such as Reading & Leeds and ESNS, and also opened up for Kings of Leon at BST Hyde Park.

Related

Billboard U.K. Ones to Watch Graphic

10 Rising U.K. & Ireland Acts to Watch in 2026

Speaking on the announcement, Thomas Smith, editor of Billboard U.K. says: “The Great Escape has long been a champion for spotlighting and supporting emerging talent, and this is a passion shared by the Billboard U.K. team. Following last year’s stage takeover, we’re thrilled to be returning once again in 2026 and to be hosting a stellar headline set from Keo, one of the most exciting (and loudest) prospects in the U.K. scene right now. See you in the pit.”

The Great Escape takes place each May, showcasing up-and-coming talent from the U.K., Ireland, and beyond. Over the course of four days, a plethora of artists spanning the musical spectrum perform across Brighton’s numerous independent venues. The event also features industry panels and networking. Tickets are available through the festival’s official website.

Alongside Keo, over 130 additional names have been announced for this year’s festival, including genre-clashing icon Peaches, who will headline a Spotlight Show at Brighton Dome Concert Hall on May 15.

Other names on the lineup include: Bleech 9:3, Lord Apex, Villanelle, Ladylike, Casual Smart, Bathing Suits, Theatre, Jamaica Moana, Pozzy, Blue Bendy and Natalie Wildgoose. 

Stay tuned for further announcements related to the Billboard U.K. Live stage and The Great Escape.

/by

‘American Idol’: 16-Year-Old Ruby Rae Moves Judges With ‘Vampire’ Cover

A 16-year-old contestant delivered one of the most emotional auditions of the season so far on American Idol.

During the Feb. 2 episode of the show’s 2026 auditions, Ruby Rae earned a golden ticket to Hollywood Week after a stripped-back performance of Olivia Rodrigo’s hit “Vampire“, channeling personal grief into the song’s aching lyrics.

Before performing, Ruby Rae explained to the judges that she had been directly affected by the Palisades Fire, sharing that the experience had left her struggling to process loss and displacement. “It’s been really hard to find a way to talk about it,” she said. “Music is the only place where I feel like I can let it out.”

Accompanied by piano, the teenager delivered a restrained, emotionally raw rendition that visibly moved judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Carrie Underwood. “I am so happy for us. I’m so happy for you,” Richie remarked. “Wow. That was right on the money.”

Bryan agreed, stating, “If there were a thousand things on a list, I think you checked them all. I don’t think we’ve seen a star, star, star like you yet.”

One judge described the audition as “brave” and “heartbreaking,” noting that Ruby Rae never over-sang the moment. Another pointed to her ability to convey lived experience at such a young age, calling it “the mark of a real artist.”

After a brief deliberation, the judges unanimously sent Ruby Rae through to Hollywood Week, awarding her a golden ticket as the audience applauded. The audition quickly became one of the episode’s most talked-about moments on social media, with viewers praising the singer’s vulnerability and storytelling rather than vocal theatrics.

Ruby Rae joins a growing group of young contestants advancing to the next round of American Idol’s 2026 season, which continues airing weekly as auditions roll on across the country.

/by