While Colombia grapples with the aftermath of its highest-magnitude earthquake recorded in the 21st century, the music industry is mobilizing to support relief efforts.

Artists in the United States and Colombia are joining forces, using their influence and music to raise funds for organizations and communities that need support in rebuilding cities and assisting families in need. 

Colombian artists including Maluma, Karol G, Feid and Carlos Vives and artists from other countries such as Puerto Rico, Cuba and Venezuela are participating in events and fundraisers, or simply using their nonprofits and social media for visibility and assistance as Colombia and Venezuela recover from devastating earthquakes.

On Monday, just six weeks after Venezuela was struck by two earthquakes of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude in June, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook Colombia’s Pacific Coast, with the epicenter in San José del Palmar, a city in the department of Chocó, 150 miles west of Bogotá. According to The Associated Press, as of Thursday, at least 281 people had died, 348 had been rescued, more than 3,900 had been injured, and nearly 400 remained missing. Civilian databases listed more than 4,200 people as missing. The earthquake destroyed 10,600 homes and damaged another 65,800. Rescue efforts continued Friday, though the likelihood of finding survivors was declining.

Following Monday’s earthquake, Colombian artists including Shakira, Camilo, Greeicy and Maluma spoke out on social media platforms to offer their support and raise awareness about the devastation of the earthquake.

Here are the events and initiatives underway to support earthquake relief efforts in Colombia and Venezuela.

Unidos Por Los Nuestros

Taking place on Sunday (Aug.16) at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Unidos Por Los Nuestros — previously promoted as Unidos por Venezuela, before Colombia’s earthquake disaster took place on Monday — the benefit concert will bring together more than 30 artists. Marc Anthony, Jay Wheeler, Ricardo Montaner, Luis Fonsi and Gilberto Santa Rosa are among the biggest names in the lineup.The benefit concert, along with an international telethon and a global fundraising campaign, aims to raise funds for key programs such as food assistance, health care, shelters, housing, child protection, mental health, education and infrastructure reconstruction. The concert will be available at 6 p.m. ET and PT/ 5 p.m. CT across various platforms, including Univision and ViX.

Read more here

Colombia, Medellín Te Quiere

On Saturday (Aug. 15), more than 25 artists will come together at Centro de Eventos La Macarena in Medellín, Colombia, for a benefit concert called “Colombia, Medellín Te Quiere,” or “Colombia, Medellín Loves You.” The lineup includes Kapo, Pipe Bueno and Juan Duque.The event will collect monetary donations and supplies for families affected by the earthquake. One-hundred percent of ticket proceeds will go directly to disaster victims. Doors will open at 11 a.m., and the event will run from noon to 8 p.m.

Si Nos Organizamos, Cabemos Todos

“Si Nos Organizamos Cabemos Todos” is a marathon of interviews featuring comedian and actor Alejandro Riaño and some of Colombia’s biggest music stars. Riaño, host of The Juanpis Live Show, will appear as his character Juanpis González, a satirical portrayal of a member of Colombia’s upper class, at Movistar Arena on Aug. 29 from 4 to 11 p.m. The lineup includes Feid, Carlos Vives, Piso 21, Manuel Turizo, Kapo, Mike Bahía, Monsieur Periné and ChocQuibTown, among others. The event will feature both performances and interviews.

Nicky Jam launches “Adopta Un Hogar” initiative

Nicky Jam and Grupo Empresarial Argos have launched “Adopta Un Hogar (Adopt a Home),” a campaign supporting the reconstruction of homes in Colombia’s hardest-hit regions. The partners will donate COP 13 billion in cement and concrete and match public contributions peso for peso, with a goal of raising COP 26 billion to rebuild or repair homes in Chocó, the Coffee Region and Valle del Cauca.

“Colombia, my people, my heart is with you,” Nicky Jam said in a press release.“To all the artists and everyone who can join us, I’m calling on you: Let’s adopt homes and stand with those who are losing everything in this tragedy. Together, we are stronger. Colombia is not alone.” 

Morat partners with UNICEF

Morat is turning its six-concert Bogotá residency into an opportunity to support Colombia beyond the stage. During their shows, which take place at the Movistar Arena on Aug. 14, 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23, there will be donation points available for fans who want to contribute to the cause. They also announced that part of the proceeds will go to UNICEF, with a focus on rebuilding schools in the areas most affected by the earthquake, including Chocó, Quindio, Valle del Cauca and Antioquia.

La Magdalena Fest 

La Magdalena Fest will take place this weekend (Aug. 15-16) in Honda, Colombia, to support families and communities affected by the recent earthquake. Artists, partners, vendors and attendees are looking to turn the festival into a benefit to bring aid to those most in need. There will be collection points throughout, and the proceeds from the festival’s official store will also go to communities impacted by wildfires in Tolima.

John Summit has added a Los Angles date to his upcoming CTRL ESCAPE tour, and it’s a big one. The producer will play the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which has a capacity of roughly 77,500, on Dec. 12.

A press release about the show advises that this will be Summit’s biggest headline show to date. It will also be the final show of the 20-date arena run, which begins Oct. 1 in Champaign, Ill., the city where Summit studied accounting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Organizers report that tour stops in Boston, Fort Worth and Brooklyn are sold out. See the complete tour schedule below.

“Over the years LA has made some of the most special moments of my career,” Summit wrote in his post announcing the show, referencing the pipeline of local venues he’s risen through. “From the Palladium to the Shrine, then BMI Stadium to Kia Forum.. we knew we had to end the album tour on the highest note in Los Angeles.”

Summit recently closed his 2026 Ibiza residency at [UNVRS] and headlined Lollapalooza on July 30.

CTRL ESCAPE Tour Dates

October 1 – Champaign, IL – State Farm Center
October 23 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell
October 24 – Hamilton, ON – TD Coliseum
October 25 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
October 29 – Boston, MA – TD Garden (SOLD-OUT)
October 30 – State College, PA – Bryce Jordan Center
October 31 – Washington, D.C. – Capital One Arena
November 5 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
November 6 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
November 7 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena (SOLD OUT)
November 8 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
November 13 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
November 14 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
November 15 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
November 20 – Miami, FL – Kaseya Center
November 21 – Miami, FL – Kaseya Center
November 24 – Chicago, IL – United Center
November 25 – Chicago, IL – United Center
November 27 – Philadelphia, PA – Liacouras Center
November 28 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center (SOLD-OUT)
December 4 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
December 5 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
December 12 – Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

California’s most comprehensive ticketing bill to date, AB 1720, failed to make its way out of the state’s Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday (Aug. 13). The bill, originally introduced by state assembly member Matt Haney in February, would have made it illegal to resell a concert, theater, comedy or other live entertainment ticket (sports were not included) at a price higher than face value (the cost of the ticket plus fees from the primary ticketing source) plus 10% for shows taking place in California.

“AB 1720 would have helped remove the incentives that fuel predatory ticket resale while still allowing someone who can’t attend a show to resell their ticket and recover their costs,” Haney said in a statement provided to Billboard. “I’m disappointed the bill did not advance, but this outcome doesn’t change the reality that fans, artists, and venues are losing out while middlemen extract more and more profit.”

Haney continued: “It’s not surprising that a bill designed to put power back in the hands of fans, artists, and venues faced opposition from an industry that profits from speculation and artificial scarcity.”

The California bill faced aggressive lobbying efforts from secondary ticketing companies like StubHub, which spent $3.4 million opposing the legislation, according to publicly available records. (The Hollywood Reporter was first to report on the lobbying sum.)

“Started in California 26 years ago, StubHub exists to give fans access to live events on their own terms through a secure, verified marketplace — including fans who couldn’t get tickets during the original on-sale, or who want the option of grabbing a great deal as prices shift closer to the event,” a StubHub spokesperson said in a statement to Billboard. “We believe that more choice, flexibility, and access put fans first and help everyone get into the events they love.”

The bill was backed by the nationwide National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), the local NIVA CA chapter and musician advocacy group Music Artists Coalition.

Since AB 1720’s introduction in February, the language of the bill was stripped back to only include a resale ticketing cap for independent venues with a capacity of 3,000 or fewer. With those amendments, the bill would no longer have impacted larger arena and stadium shows that fans have felt priced out of in recent years.

“Anyone who has tried to buy tickets to a concert, comedy show or live event knows the frustration. Tickets go on sale and, within moments, professional brokers and bots buy up large blocks of inventory, only to relist them at two, three, sometimes ten times the original price,” Haney’s statement continued. “By the time real fans reach the front of the line, affordable tickets are already gone. And none of that markup supports the people who actually create live events. It doesn’t go to artists, independent venues, touring crews, workers, or the staff who make these experiences possible. Those profits go to middlemen whose business model depends on scarcity and speculation.”

Haney continued, “This isn’t a fringe idea, and it isn’t partisan. From Kid Rock to Noah Kahan, artists across genres have called for solutions to runaway ticket resale practices. Independent venues have spoken out. Fans have demanded change. Several states and countries have already adopted resale caps because they recognize the urgency of this issue.”

“I’m going to keep working with the coalition of fans, artists, and venues who recognize the urgency of this issue and continue pushing for solutions that put tickets back in the hands of the people they were intended for,” he added.

Ticket resale cap bills have been popping up all over the country. In May, Vermont governor Phil Scott signed a resale cap bill into law, making it the second state in the country to pass such legislation after Maine. Most recently, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey introduced An Act Relative to Closing the Great Divide between Ticket Prices and Affordability, or The Great Divide Act, named after Noah Kahan’s Billboard 200 No. 1 album The Great Divide. The proposed bill would cap resale prices of concert tickets at 110% of the original ticket’s face value. It would also limit the service fees and charges that can be imposed by secondary ticketing platforms on tickets for both sporting and non-sporting events to no more than 10% of the total price.

KATSEYE are just about to unleash their new album Wild on Friday, but first, the global girl group dropped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday (Aug. 12) to make their late-night performance debut — and Billboard was inside Studio 6B for their latest visit.

We were also in the building when KATSEYE visited Fallon for their first sit-down back in February, but this time, they took the stage for the television performance debut of their latest single “Animal,” the Ed Sheeran-co-written hit that debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Global 200. “The spirit of Ed is alive in ‘Animal,’” Lara said during Wednesday’s chat.

Of course, when KATSEYE first visited the late-night show earlier this year, it was as a six-piece group; but since that first appearance, two members — Manon in February and Sophia just last week — have taken hiatuses from group activities to focus on their mental health. The remaining quartet (Lara, Daniela, Yoonchae and Megan) expressed their love for their groupmates when Fallon asked about the absent members, with Lara adding that they were grateful to their EYEKONS fanbase who “continue to support us” amid the shifting lineup.

Even before their interview and performance, KATSEYE popped up during Fallon’s monologue to fill in for various members of the Tonight Show crew: Yoonchae took Black Thought’s spot with house band The Roots; Megan was in announcer Steve Higgins’ place at his podium; Lara stepped in for cameraman Hank; and lastly Daniela took Jimmy’s place at center stage to close out the bit.

Also on Wednesday’s show: Matthew McConaughey is the night’s other guest, and he even pops out do a bluegrass cover of Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” the massive 17-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash, with Fallon joining in on harmonies and struming a washboard.

Tune in to catch KATSEYE on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT tonight on NBC and streaming next day on Peacock.

Sabrina Carpenter‘s “Taste” music video was already cinematic and jaw-dropping, and apparently, its storyline even extends to its props, with one of its most memorable ones having a Sabrina-inspired name.

Jenna Ortega, who starred opposite of Carpenter in the bloody, campy 2024 video, recently revealed a behind-the-scenes detail about the chainsaw she wielded near the end of the video. According to the actress, the prop had a name that referenced Carpenter, although she couldn’t quite recall the exact name.

“I think the chainsaw had some crazy name and reference to Sabrina as well. It was called like the Espresso 3000 or something,” Ortega told Esquire.

The name would be a fitting nod to Carpenter’s hit “Espresso,” which kicked off the pop star’s blockbuster Short n’ Sweet era in the spring of 2024. The chainsaw itself gets interesting screen time in the “Taste” video, which sees Ortega and Carpenter repeatedly trying to kill each other in increasingly elaborate fashion. Ortega said the chainsaw sequence was her favorite part to film, calling it “really camp and fun” and noting that the pair had “nice little outfits” for the scene.

Despite how elaborate the finished video looks, Ortega said there wasn’t actually much time to prepare for the shoot. She revealed that she found out she would be involved only days beforehand and said much of the action wasn’t choreographed in advance.

“Nothing about that music video was choreographed,” Ortega said. “Like we were just running around. We had no time to prep or really talk about it.”

“Taste,” released as the third single from Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, became one of the album’s biggest hits, reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100 and spending multiple weeks in the chart’s top 10. Meanwhile, the accompanying video helped establish the song’s darkly comic visual identity, with Carpenter and Ortega battling through a series of increasingly gruesome encounters.

Watch the full interview with Ortega below.