Texas and country music are always a winning combination. Some of country music’s biggest stars shone bright in the heart of the Lone Star State over the weekend, when the iHeartCountry Festival Presented by Capital One again descended upon Austin, Texas on Saturday, May 2.

Kane Brown, Luke Bryan and Parker McCollum were a few of the major artists bringing their musical talents to the Moody Center, while this year’s lineup also featured Riley Green, Carly Pearce, Shaboozey, Dylan Scott, Russell Dickerson, and Gretchen Wilson.

The mix of top country artists and a major country music-loving locale resulted in several memorable festival moments. Among them, Shaboozey bringing everyone to their feet with his smash hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” while Riley Green closed out the fest with songs including “Worst Way” and welcomed Pearce to join him on “Don’t Mind If I Do.”

Green also joined Pearce earlier in her set to perform their collaboration “If I Don’t Leave,” while Pearce also offered up hits including “Happy Now.” Bryan regaled the crowd with his party anthems including “That’s My Kinda Night,” while Brown kept the festivalgoers’ energy high with songs including “Bury Me in Georgia” and “Famous Friends.” Wilson also showcased her enduring vocal power on songs including “Here For The Party” and her new song, “Redneck Shit.”

Meanwhile, the iHeartCountry Festival’s Daytime Village featured performances from Lauren Alaina, George Birge, Chase Matthew, RaeLynn and Josh Ross.

iHeartRadio top on-air personality Bobby Bones returned to host the event, which was also broadcast on iHeartCountry stations across the country and on the iHeartRadio app. Disney+ and Hulu also livestreamed performances from the festival, further expanding the festival’s reach.

Partners for this year’s fest included Capital One, America250, Bobcat, booking.com, Electric For All, She Rises Studios and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Below, see a collection of Billboard’s behind-the-scenes photos from the 2026 iHeartCountry Festival.

After a previous pair of runner-up results, Kehlani achieves their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with their self-titled album, released April 24 on Tsunami Mob/Atlantic Records. Kehlani begins with 69,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States for tracking week of April 24-30, according to Luminate.

Of Kehlani’s first-week total, streaming activity contributed 45,000 units, from 45.37 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs. Another 24,000 units derived from traditional album sale purchases, with a negligible amount of activity from the third and final metric, track-equivalent sales. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 1,000 paid/subscription tier or 2,500 ad-supported tier of official on-demand audio and video streams for a song on the album.)

Before the new leader, Kehlani, who received the Impact honor at Billboard’s 2026 Women In Music celebration on April 29, managed a career high of No. 2 on two occasions: SexySweetSavage debuted and peaked the runner-up rank in February 2017, as did It Was Good Until It Wasn’t in May 2020. The new album extends their perfect streak of seven consecutive top 10-charting releases on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Elsewhere, Kehlani opens at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums as their fourth chart-topper and starts at No. 4 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

Kehlani’s triumph mirrors the breakthrough achievements of its big single, “Folded.” Among other feats, the song became their first top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 6 in January, and first No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, where it reigned for five weeks. The track is also approaching the No. 1 record on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay – at 15 weeks in charge, it’s one shy of the mark held by Future’s 2022 hit “Wait for U,” featuring Drake and Tems.

The album’s impact is best seen on the Hot R&B Songs chart, where “Folded” heads 12 titles on the 25-position ranking. With 10 making their first entry, Kehlani ascends to 60 career appearances on the 13-year old chart.

Here’s a review of Kehlani cuts on this week’s list:

No. 2, “Folded” (prev. five weeks at No. 1)
No. 11, “Shoulda Never,” feat. Usher
No. 14, “Anotha Lova,” feat. Lil Wayne
No. 15, “I Need You,” feat. Brandy
No. 17, “Oooh”
No. 18, “Out the Window” (prev. peaked at No. 7)
No. 20, “No Such Thing,” feat. Clipse
No. 21, “Pocket,” feat. Cardi B
No. 23, “Sweet Nuthins,” feat. Leon Thomas
No. 24, “Lights On,” feat. Big Sean
No. 25, “Still”

Two billion people have taken a trip to a gangsta’s paradise.

The music video for Coolio‘s classic 1995 hit “Gangsta’s Paradise” reached 2 billion views on YouTube. The visual was helmed by film director Antoine Fuqua, who is recently back in the public eye for his work on Michael, the new Michael Jackson biopic. It is the first video by the late rapper to reach this milestone.

“Gangsta’s Paradise” comes from the 1995 thriller film Dangerous Minds and features vocals by the singer L.V. The track served as the lead single of Coolio’s second studio album of the same name. “Gangsta’s Paradise” is Coolio’s biggest chart hit, spending three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995. Gangsta’s Paradise the album was also successful, spending 62 weeks on the Billboard 200 and peaking at No. 9 on the chart.

“Gangsta’s Paradise” topped the Hot 100 Year-End chart in 1995. In 1996, the song earned Coolio his first and only Grammy, for best rap solo performance, as well as two MTV Video Music Awards and a Billboard Music Award. In 2023, Billboard ranked “Gangsta’s Paradise” as one of the 500 best pop songs of all time.

“Gangsta’s Paradise” was given new life in 1996 after “Weird Al” Yankovic dropped the parody “Amish Paradise” which has millions of streams on YouTube and Spotify. Other stars who have covered the legendary rap song — the original, not the parody — include Maneskin, Brittany Snow and Falling in Reverse.

Watch the “Gangsta’s Paradise” music video below.

SYDNEY, Australia — RAGEFLOWER is ready to bloom, through a new management deal with Weird Fishes.

Spearheaded by songwriter and musician Madeleine Powers, RAGEFLOWER made ripples in the domestic music industry last year with its debut EP INFINITE HIGHS, END OF TIMES and impressive performances at BIGSOUND 2025, plus the release of the singles “Desk Job” and “Control,” both of which have enjoyed high-rotation on triple j.

Key Spotify playlists have added RAGEFLOWER, from New Music Friday AU/NZ, to Pop n Fresh, Hits Different, Glow, Fresh Finds AU and Tapestry, in addition to several Apple Music playlists. Also, support slots have opened up with The Temper Trap and The Darkness.

Classically trained at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Powers changed tac and found creative freedom in distortion pedals, vulnerable lyrics, and shimmering synths. It’s channeled into an indie rock/pop act that is “without doubt the most exciting new artist we have seen in the last few years,” comments Weird Fishes co-founder Aidan McLaren.

“The creativity, the songwriting, the captivating live show, the connection, it’s all there,” McLaren continues. “What Maddy is creating is something really unique, very special and strikingly authentic. We couldn’t be more pleased than to be joining the team to help bring the RAGEFLOWER world to life, and to bring it to people around the globe.”

“There’s a magnetic intensity to RAGEFLOWER that you just don’t see every day,” adds Weird Fishes’ Alanna Vullo. “She isn’t afraid to push boundaries or bare her soul, and the result is art that genuinely moves people and leaves a lasting mark. We are absolutely thrilled to step in as her management team and back such a fiercely creative talent”. Vullo, who joined the company late last year, assists McLaren on day-to-day management.

It’s all falling into place for RAGEFLOWER, which recently signed to Select Music (Rob Giovannoni) for Australian live bookings, and caught the eyes and ears of Paul Wilson and Nikos Kazoleas at CAA, who represent for U.K./European live bookings; Paul Wilson books Sam Fender, Lianne La Havas, Tracey Chapman, Dermot Kennedy, while Kazoleas served with as a music agent at UTA for more than a decades, and has worked with the likes of Sombr, GAYLE, Rebecca Black, Trixie Mattel, BANKS, Joshua Bassett, and others.

At Weird Fishes, which opened for business just nine months ago, RAGEFLOWER joins a roster that includes Boy & Bear, Tim Hart, The Dreggs, Steph Strings and Pete Murray. The team, led by McLaren, Joe Miles and Rhett McLaren, was nominated for manager of the year at the 2026 AAM Awards, presented last week in Sydney.

Your favorite performer is coming to a movie cinema near you.  

Bebe Rexha, Paris Hilton, Maren Morris and Kim Petras are among the first wave of artists participating in new, interactive concert experience that will beam the show into hundreds of theaters across the United States.

Arena One, the new live entertainment company, and AMC Theatres, the giant theatrical exhibitor, join forces for Arena One at AMC, a real-time, interactive concert format that will be pumped into 300 AMC locations in 89 markets from June.

The concerts are an upgrade from the cinecast experience that found traction with some a-list artists and their fans in the late 2000s, when a slew of live concerts and exclusive events were fed into participating cinemas.

Through this new concept, announced this week, the artist will perform on Arena One’s purpose-built stage, while “seeing and responding to fans at AMC locations through innovative interactive technology,” reads a statement from organizers.

The advantages are obvious. For the artist, the initiative enables them to reach more fans, in more places, without hitting the road. And for those fans who can’t physical get to see their hero, due to cost, distance or other reasons, they now have a virtual front-row seat.

“The next chapter of live shows isn’t about proximity to big venues, it’s about creating visceral, intimate, affordable live connection between artists and fans no matter where they are,” explains Rohit Kapoor, founder and chief creative officer of Arena One. “Arena One gives artists a new cinema-native canvas to create live performances, while amplifying the raw energy and shared fandom that makes live shows unforgettable.”

First up, Bebe Rexha will perform an Arena One at AMC concert June 17, followed by Paris Hilton (June 18), Kim Petras (June 19) and Maren Morris (June 20).

Ticketholders will soak up an atmosphere that’s “designed to feel immediate and electric, featuring powerful sound, massive screens,” comfortable seats, and more, reads a statement.

“We consider this to be a major announcement,” explains Adam Aron, chairman and CEO of AMC Entertainment, and an “innovative step forward” for the business.

Additional artists and dates will be announced in the coming weeks, with ticket prices varying by market.

“We built a cinematic stage optimized to translate seamlessly to cinemas, but artists are defining what it becomes,” adds Peter Hamilton, CEO of Arena One. “They’re not adapting tours; they’re building something new. That’s when a medium sparks reinvention.”

Showtimes are available on AMCTheatres.com, the AMC Mobile App, and at arenaonelive.com/shows.