Nearly four decades into Mariah Carey’s still-vital career, three goals have remained constant for her: to love, heal and uplift.

“I’ve always tried to incorporate messages into my songs like ‘Make It Happen’ and ‘Hero,’ ” says Carey, 56, on a day off from her recent December holiday residency at Las Vegas’ Park MGM. “It’s just an interesting thing to be able to give back in that way. I didn’t grow up with money. And if you grew up like me, it means even more to be able to give back.”

Carey’s long-established commitment to giving back, as well as her prodigious career, will get the spotlight on Jan. 30 when the five-time Grammy Award winner is honored as the 2026 MusiCares Person of the Year. She will join an illustrious circle of prior honorees that includes the Grateful Dead, Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson, Joni Mitchell, Gloria Estefan, Billy Joel and Dolly Parton.

“Mariah Carey’s influence extends far beyond her remarkable artistry,” MusiCares executive director Theresa Wolters said upon the announcement of Carey as Person of the Year. “She has used her platform consistently to provide tangible support to communities, whether through disaster relief, youth empowerment or programs that help those facing barriers to opportunity. Her work exemplifies the values at the heart of MusiCares: creating systems of care that lift people up and ensure music professionals and communities can thrive.”

Read the full Billboard cover story about Mariah Carey, MusiCares’ 2026 Person of the Year, here. The MusiCares Person of the Year gala is on Jan. 30.

Cher: Part One by Cher and Matriarch by Tina Knowles are among the audiobooks nominated in the autobiography/memoir category at the 2026 Audie Awards, which recognizes audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment.

Cher narrated her own audiobook along with Stephanie J. Block, who won a Tony for playing her in the Broadway musical The Cher Show. Tina Knowles narrated her own audiobook with help from her daughters Beyoncé and Solange, niece Angie Beyincé, and Bey’s Destiny’s Child colleague Kelly Rowland.

In other categories, Blair Underwood is nominated for best non-fiction narrator for narrating Lionel Richie’s audiobook, Truly. The autobiography and its audiobook equivalent took its title from Richie’s first solo single, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982.

A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever, written and narrated by Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, is nominated in the non-fiction category. The other nominees in that category include Separation of Church and Hate, written and narrated by veteran TV host and personality John Fugelsang.

Pajammin’, written and narrated by Ziggy Marley, is among the nominees in the young listeners category. Marley, the oldest son of Bob and Rita Marley, is a nine-time Grammy winner.

The nominations for the 31st annual Audie Awards were announced today by the Audio Publishers Association (APA), which received a record 2,300+ submissions. Four new categories were added this year: adaptation/original work, ensemble performance, new voice award, and production & sound design.

“This year’s Audie Awards finalists represent the extraordinary range, innovation, and creative excellence shaping today’s audiobook landscape,” Sean McManus, president of the APA, said in a statement.

Winners across 27 competitive categories will be revealed on Monday, March 2 at Pier Sixty in New York. Tickets for the event are $300 for members and $400 for non-members through Feb. 6, with ticket prices going up $50 in both classifications after that date.

Here are 2026 Audie Awards finalists in five key categories.

Audiobook of the Year

The Devil Reached Toward the Sky by Garrett M. Graff; Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, a full cast, and Garrett M. Graff; Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby; Narrated by Adam Lazarre-White; Published by Macmillan Audio

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Lulu Raczka; Narrated by Marisa Abela, Harris Dickinson, Glenn Close, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Bill Nighy, Sophie Wilde, Jessie Buckley, Toheeb Jimoh, Patricia Allison, Bertie Carvel, Leah Hazard, David Gyasi, Rosalind Eleazar, and a full cast; Published by Audible Originals

Shield of Sparrows: Book 1 in the Shield of Sparrows series by Devney Perry; Narrated by Samantha Brentmoor and Jason Clarke; Published by Tantor Audio, a division of RBMedia

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins; Narrated by Jefferson White; Published by Scholastic Audio

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy; Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, Katherine Littrell, Cooper Mortlock, and Steve West; Published by Macmillan Audio

Autobiography/Memoir

Cher: Part One by Cher, Narrated by Cher; Stephanie J. Block; Published by HarperAudio

Code Name: Pale Horse by Scott Payne; Narrated by Scott Payne with Michelle Shephard; Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou; Narrated by Uzo Aduba; Published by Penguin Random House Audio

Matriarch by Tina Knowles; Narrated by Tina Knowles, Beyoncé, Solange, Kelly Rowland, and Angie Beyincé; Published Penguin Random House Audio

Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre; Narrated by Thérèse Plummer and Gabra Zackman; Published by Penguin Random House Audio

Best Non-Fiction Narrator

Martin Sheen for Ghosts of Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino; Published by Blackstone Publishing

Dion Graham for Remember Us by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter; Published by HarperAudio

Blair Underwood for Truly by Lionel Richie; Published by HarperAudio

Helen Stern for The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz by Anne Sebba; Published by Macmillan Audio

Dion Graham for The Zorg by Siddharth Kara; Published by Macmillan Audio

Non-Fiction

Death in the Jungle by Candace Fleming; Narrated by Karen Murray; Published by Penguin Random House Audio

Everything Is Tuberculosis Written and narrated by John Green; Published by Penguin Random House Audio

A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever; Written and narrated by Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer; Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

On the Hippie Trail; Written and narrated by Rick Steves; Published by Hachette Audio

Separation of Church and Hate; Written and narrated by John Fugelsang; Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

Young Listeners

Benny on the Case by Wesley King; Narrated by P.J. Ochlan; Published by Dreamscape Media, a division of RBMedia

How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith and Sonja Cherry-Paul; Narrated by Clint Smith; Published by Hachette Audio

Pajammin’; Written and narrated by Ziggy Marley; Published by HarperAudio

Prince Among Slaves by N. H. Senzai; Narrated by Junior Nyong’o and N. H. Senzai; Published by Penguin Random House Audio

Secrets of the Purple Pearl by Kate McKinnon; Narrated by Kate McKinnon and Emily Lynne; Published by Hachette Audio

Few rappers kicked off the 2010s with more buzz than A$AP Rocky, who along with his A$AP Mob collective swept through New York and eventually the whole country with his easy swagger, woozy beats and electric rhymes. After 2018’s lukewarmly received Testing, though, he continued to pop up on new songs here and there, but declined to release a full-length follow-up, as he pursued other ventures and started a family with pop superstar Rihanna.

Until this month. After many years of waiting, Rocky returned on Jan. 16 with his fourth official LP, Don’t Be Dumb. This week, the 15-track effort debuts atop the Billboard 200 — Rocky’s third album to reach the top spot — with 123,000 units moved, while also notching 11 tracks on the Billboard Hot 100, including three in the chart’s top 40.

How did he manage such a resounding debut after so much time off? And which 2010s rappers are we still waiting on to have a similarly big moment? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. A$AP Rocky’s Don’t Be Dumb debuts atop the Billboard 200, with 123,000 first-week units moved. On a scale of 1-10, how impressive a comeback performance is this for Rocky on his first new album of the 2020s?

Kyle Denis: I’ll go with an 8. Headed into release week, more than a few people doubted that Rocky would even drop the album on the announced date, let alone score a six-figure first-week total. Given that Testing couldn’t even crack 80,000 in an era that was relatively kinder to hip-hop on the Billboard 200 — as well as the eight years of false starts and the lack of true pre-release hit — Don’t Be Dumb pulled off something just short of a miracle.

Angel Diaz: I’m stuck between a 7 and an 8, so I will go with a solid 7.5. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the album. It was better than I expected after such a long wait, especially after the disappointment that Testing was — even if it has an all-time Rocky song on it in “Praise the Lord (Da Shine).”

Carl Lamarre: I’m conflicted because I struggle with Rocky. Three albums in 13 years — and none in the last eight — would be a career-ender for any rapper. That said, his absence didn’t mean invisibility: Dating Rihanna, headlining Rolling Loud festivals, acting alongside Denzel Washington, and strapping himself to the jetpack that is Playboi Carti kept his cultural currency intact. And it never hurts when you’re the self-anointed Fashion Killa with a slick merch bundle in tow.

Michael Saponara: 9.5. This rollout couldn’t have gone much better for Rocky. A six-figure sum in a tight race to earn his first No. 1 album in over 10 years, which comes at a time when some were counting out his commercial star power. He also earned the best streaming week of his career, which includes a staggering 78.02 million on-demand official streams from the album itself. 

Andrew Unterberger: Maybe a nine? I was very ready to bet the under with Rocky, given how long it had been and how none of the advance songs from the album really seemed to catch on. But he proved me wrong with this first-week performance, and proved that he still has a built-in audience at the ready when he’s back in full effect.

2. It’s been seven years since Rocky’s last album Testing, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and was somewhat lukewarmly received. What’s the biggest reason he’s been able to maintain the commercial standing to still bow atop the charts like this?  

Kyle Denis: In his expansion into other domains like fashion and film, he’s trained his fanbase to both bear with him through length waits and buy whatever new product he’s selling them, bet it Puma sneakers or Ray-Ban sunglasses. And it’s not like Rocky’s been completely musically absent since Testing. He scored a surprise viral hit in 2023 as a part of Clams Casino’s Imogen Heap-assisted “I Smoked Away My Brain (I’m God x Demons Mashup),” and 2024 releases like “Tailor Swif” and “Ruby Rosary” ushered him back onto the Hot 100 and into the center of the cultural conversation.
 
It also helps that Rocky has remained a stalwart of cool for multiple generations. Obviously, his style and relationship with Rihanna give him some points in that department, but Rocky is also behind AWGE, his self-founded record label imprint that brought the world Playboi Carti, a new-age hip-hop leader with near unlimited cachet with Gen Z. Carti’s rage rap sound inspired the Atlanta rapper’s own Opium record label and collective, which boasts next-gen rap star Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang. With Carti ruling the Billboard 200 last year and touring stadiums alongside one of the biggest pop stars in the world, Rocky’s fingerprints have been all over the past eight years of music and culture.

Angel Diaz: Honestly? General curiosity, the drama between himself, Rihanna and Drake, and because Rocky has become one of the more underrated trendsetters in hip-hop. He’s never been afraid to push the envelope with his music, while also being able to maintain a distinct sound that could be heard in songs like “Stay Here 4 Life” and “Stop Snitching.” People also forget that Playboi Carti, who himself is someone the younger generation looks to when it comes to pushing the sound of rap forward, is also Rocky’s artist.

Carl Lamarre: I’ll refer back to my first answer. Despite an underwhelming release with Testing, he at least had a moment with “Praise the Lord.” Going into Don’t Be Dumb, it’s tough to predict the breakout hit, though I’m especially drawn to “Stay Here 4 Life” and “Stole Ya Flow.” Rocky stepping away from rapping didn’t mean he disappeared — he just stayed active elsewhere. And curiosity always wins. Who wouldn’t want to hear if he still has barbs for his caustic friend-turned-foe, Drake? His high-octane flow and 2013 masterwork alone keep fans wondering if he can still compete.

Michael Saponara: Rocky has long been a tastemaker and trendsetter in the worlds of music and fashion as well as other pockets of culture, when it comes to defining what’s “cool.” He’s moved into the legacy act phase of his career and it appears the 2010s rap titans are the last generation of traditional superstars with massive followings, while newer artists have more of a niche appeal. On a smaller scale, I think he gets respect from the next generation for discovering and signing Playboi Carti, who has become a king of the youth. It doesn’t hurt to be dating Rihanna either. 

Andrew Unterberger: Cool really is timeless, and none of Rocky’s less-resounding commercial returns in recent years seemed to stick to him. Plus, the fact that he had gone so long without a new album allowed fans who came of age with his early projects to really miss him.

3. Don’t Be Dumb also notches Rocky’s first three top 40 hits as a lead artist on the Hot 100 since “F—kin’ Problems” with Drake, Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz back in 2013 with “Stay Here 4 Life” (No. 23), “Helicopter” (No. 24) and “Stole Ya Flow” (No. 33). Do any of these seem like long-lasting chart hits to you?  

Kyle Denis: Woah, that stat is kind of crazy! But none of these songs feel like long-lasting chart hits to me, perhaps “Stole Ya Flow” if I had to put money on one.

Angel Diaz: As a betting man, I’ll put my money on “Stay Here 4 Life” because Brent Faiyaz sounds angelic and it’s tailor-made for radio play and to be shared on social media. I also think it’s one of the most “pop” songs on the album.

Carl Lamarre: “Stay Here 4 Life” is a calm, charming record anchored by another indelible Brent Faiyaz hook. He’s been shooting lights out on features — from Wizkid’s “Piece of My Heart” to Summer Walker’s “Number One.” Add a Rihanna cameo to the video and this one could skate deep into summer territory.

Michael Saponara: I don’t think any of the three will stick around as top 40 staples. Although Rocky and Brent Faiyaz put forth the best performance on the album with the starry six-minute expedition “Stay Here 4 Life” — so if I were to make a bet, my eggs would be in that basket. 

Andrew Unterberger: Honestly, all three have a chance: “Helicopter” feels the most live-moment-friendly, “Flow” has the most explosive lyrics, and “Stay” just feels like the fullest and most satisfying song. My first instinct was to say “Helicopter” as an immediate turn-up fixture, but if radio sinks its teeth into “Stay,” all bets are off.

4. Because he emerged with so much fanfare near the beginning of the 2010s, Rocky can feel particularly culturally emblematic of that decade. How good a job do you think this album does of re-introducing him and bringing him into the 2020s?  

Kyle Denis: I think he could have done a better job introducing himself as a guy who can crank out bonafide hip-hop hits, but that’s not really ever been Rocky’s game. What Don’t Be Dumb does effectively, however, is reestablish Rocky’s auteur-ish tendencies for 2020s hip-hop, drawing throughline between his mixtape days and the raucous, rage-minded sounds that course through much of contemporary rap.

Angel Diaz: I think it does a great job. He debuted at No. 1 and I think a handful of songs will have some legs. It also helps that he takes his visuals seriously, so I’m sure we’ll be getting at least another cool music video or two. Rocky was headlining shows the last two or three years with no new music, and people still mobbed out to the hits. I’m sure the Don’t Be Dumb tour will do just fine.

Carl Lamarre: I still miss that Yams and Clams Casino sound that defined his early 2010s run, but Rocky’s rapping on Don’t Be Dumb is solid. Anyone who buried him over a perceived lack of hunger or his MIA status should reconsider after this project.

Michael Saponara: Rocky injected his tastemaking magic into Don’t Be Dumb, which finds him experimenting with futuristic sounds, pitching his flows and twisting melodies while still putting his rapping on display with a range of special guests. Admittedly, the pair of previously-released singles were underwhelming to me, so my expectations were initially tempered — but he over-delivered with DBD, and erased any doubts and frustrations that came with the delays of a seven-plus year wait following TESTING. 

Andrew Unterberger: Better than I expected, for sure. Much as I enjoyed a lot of Rocky’s 2010s material, his inability to really connect with any of his features or one-off releases in the past half-decade made me think that maybe his moment had come and gone a little. But this album certainly doesn’t feel behind the times; it actually feels pretty on point for what a big rap album in 2025 should sound like, without particularly feeling like it’s chasing anything.
 
5. Now that Rocky has returned fairly triumphantly, who’s another mostly-2010s rapper who you’d like to see make a big chart splash with a 2026 album?

Kyle Denis: We’re almost 15 years removed from Travis Porter’s From Day 1 — one of the greatest party rap albums of all time — so I’d love to see the ATL trio have a chart comeback in 2026.

Angel Diaz: This is such an interesting question, and I can maybe want Big Sean or Rick Ross to return to form because it would make for a cool story, but in my heart of hearts, I’ve really just been waiting around for a Ratking comeback. I’ll also root for Offset and Quavo to make a tape together. I think that will chart just off curiosity alone.

Carl Lamarre: Wale is a sneaky pick for me. After an acclaimed comeback album in 2025, he’s more than capable of landing another Hot 100 hit. “On Chill” came out of nowhere in 2019 and nearly cracked the top 20. Whether he drops a deluxe or pushes “Watching Us” with Leon Thomas as the next single, I hope the momentum from last year doesn’t slow down.

Michael Saponara: Big Sean.

Andrew Unterberger: How about Rocky’s old A$AP Mob-mate Ferg — a pretty major hitmaker in his own right for most of the 2010s? It’s about time for a revival moment of some kind.

  

It’s the news Guns N’ Roses fans have been waiting 17 years to hear: a new album is on the way. Okay, to be fair, that’s a headline you could have read dozens of times over the past decade-plus. But now guitarist Slash has given a bit more insight into the famously slow-to-record band’s process and it seems like new/old music is definitely on the way.

In a recent interview with Sylvia Alvarado of Las Vegas radio station KOMP 92.3, Slash described what might be a two-fer: a possible collection of older tracks the band has slowly been releasing over the past few years as well as the (very) long-awaited follow-up to 2008’s eternally delayed Chinese Democracy, which itself was the serially delayed sequel to 1991’s double album of original tunes, Use Your Illusion I and II.

Reacting to the recent release of two new songs, “Atlas” and “Nothin’,” which dropped in December, Slash said it was “good to have a couple of songs that we’re promoting and then a tour that’s really a long tour.”

“Atlas” and “Nothin’” were the first new songs from GNR since their 2023 one-off singles “The General” and “Perhaps.”

When Alvarado asked if the singles are the prelude to the first full album from GNR to feature him and fellow OG member bassist Duff McKagan since the Illusion LPs, Slash dropped a double-dose of good news. “We took a bunch of material that [singer] Axl [Rose] had and we sat down and listened to it and we sort of picked out all the different songs that we wanted to do, and what Axl wanted to do, and we just took all of the guitars and bass off and re-did it,” he said of the recent singles.

Slash said getting back in the studio was fun and the sessions were spread out over a long period of time, giving him a chance to really think about what he wanted to play on them.

In a transcript of the interview posted by Blabbermouth, Slash then went deeper, revealing that there might be two new GNR albums in the works. “I think in this instance it’s what we’re doing, because we only re-recorded those songs — like a couple of songs here, a couple of songs there. These were the last two that are left to do, and we actually did them not even back to back,” Slash said of ‘Nothin’” and “Atlas.”

“And then there’s really no more of that sort of old rehash stuff to release,” he said of the vault-clearing. “But I think what we’re gonna do, we’re gonna take all those songs and put them on something and release that as a package. And then the next record that we’re gonna do is gonna be all new original stuff, and that’ll be an actual album.”

Slash also promised that the band will play both of the new/old songs on their upcoming 2026 world tour. The pair of songs were the first music from GNR since 2023’s “The General” and while Rose has not sat for a formal interview in nearly a decade, Slash has kept the new album fire burning over the past few years with periodic teasers of what’s to come.

After saying in 2021 that after five years back in the fold, the refreshed GNR had not started writing new songs together yet, in December of last year, he told Guitar Player magazine, “There’s so much material at this point — it’s a matter of having the discipline to sit down and f—ing get into it. Slash promised at the time that a new LP is “coming,” though he didn’t offer a time frame for release and the band’s label did not respond to requests for comment on a timeline.

“But the thing with Guns is, in my experience, you can never plan ahead. You can never sit down and go, ‘We’re going to take this time, and we’re going to do this.’ Every time we’ve done that, it falls apart,” Slash said.