Howie Klein, the influential and forward-thinkinrecord executive and political activist whose artist-first philosophy helped bring alternative music into the mainstream, died Wednesday (Dec. 24) after a battle with pancreatic cancer, his sister announced on social media. He was 77.

Widely respected for championing creative freedom and resisting censorship, Klein left his mark on the music business through influential roles at Sire Records and Reprise Records, as well as earlier work in radio and independent labels.

Born in Brooklyn, Klein began his music career while attending Stony Brook University in the late 1960s, where he wrote about music and booked concerts. After relocating to San Francisco in the 1970s, he emerged as a prominent DJ at KSAN-FM and co-founded 415 Records, an indie label that became a key incubator for punk and new wave acts including Romeo Void, Translator, Wire Train and the Nuns. At 415, Klein also developed forward-thinking ideas about record promotion, arguing as early as 1980 that labels should target college radio stations strategically rather than flooding the system with unwanted promo copies — an approach that anticipated modern data-driven marketing.

In the mid-1980s, Klein joined Seymour Stein’s Sire Records, working closely with a roster that included Lou Reed, the Ramones, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode and Uncle Tupelo. When Stein moved Sire’s distribution from one Warner Music label to another (Warner Bros. Records -> Elektra) in the mid-1990s, Klein hung back and was named president of Reprise Records. During his six-year tenure, he oversaw a remarkably eclectic lineup, including Green Day, Alanis Morissette, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Wilco, Fleetwood Mac, Paul Westerberg and Enya.

Known for his hands-on, artist-friendly leadership style, Klein earned deep loyalty from musicians, particularly those who felt marginalized elsewhere in the industry. All-female rockers Babes in Toyland, for example, publicly praised his accessibility and respect for artists. “He came out and met us, and he was very excited about the record and was really pumped up,” the band’s Lori Barbero told Billboard in 1995. “They have a lot of women that work there, and they are not just secretaries… They don’t treat us like we’re stupid, and if we have a problem, we feel we can call Howie Klein, and he’ll talk to us.”

Klein’s steady leadership at Reprise made the label a haven for artists, and his sudden departure in 2001 following the Time Warner–AOL merger triggered a rift with one of its most acclaimed acts: Wilco. Soon after he left, execs asked the band to alter its finished album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Confident in the record as it stood, Wilco refused, sparking tense negotiations. Ultimately, the band bought back the rights to the album and exited its contract, which had called for several more releases.

Beyond music, Klein was a passionate advocate for free expression and progressive causes. He supported Rock the Vote, opposed censorship and received honors including the Spirit of Liberty Award (his co-honoree? Rob Reiner) and the ACLU’s Bill of Rights Award. In 1994, while still at Sire, he curated the pro-choice compilation Just Say Roe, emphasizing music’s ability to spark debate on prickly topics.  “[Sire’s] goal as a label is to expose Sire artists and to sell records — I readily admit that,” he told Billboard. “But why can’t we also evoke positive thought and debate about important issues?”

After leaving Reprise, Klein turned his focus to political activism, serving on the board of People for the American Way and launching the ultra-liberal blog DownWithTyranny!. “From the beginning of time, singers and songwriters have always had a special role to play in alerting the public in current affairs,” Klein told Billboard‘s Steve Knopper following the election of Donald Trump in 2016. “This isn’t just a regular situation, of a Richard Nixon or Ronald Reagan, or, for a Republican, a Barack Obama. This is something unique in American history. Donald Trump is an anomaly.”

In 2011, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum archived the Howie Klein Collection, preserving materials from his career that document a transformative era in modern music history.

Celine Dion definitely got the Christmas assignment. The iconic pop superstar went fully method for her holiday video this year, slipping into a lime green Grinch costume on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) for a recitation of the holiday baddie’s overstuffed schedule.

In a clip shared this week, the singer posted up in a chair by a fire pit in the backyard and crooned her indelible cover of Eric Carmen’s maudlin ballad “All By Myself,” which Dion first recorded for her fourth English-language album, 1996’s Falling Into You. Of course, the sight of famously well-attired Dion goofily crooning the song while wearing a Santa getup over her green, furry costume was enough of a gift.

But then Dion made it a notch sillier by cutting to a shot of her holding one of her little pups on her lap while reciting a version of the Grinch’s lament about his busy schedule from the 2000 Ron Howard-directed, Jim Carrey-starring How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

“The nerve of those Whos, inviting me down there on such short notice. Even if I wanted to go, my schedule wouldn’t allow it!” Dion says as the dog wearing antlers like the Grinch’s pooch, Max, wriggles out of her grasp. “4:00 — exercise my voice. 4:30 — wake my children up. 5:00 — solve world hunger. Tell no one. 5:30 — jazzercize. 6:30 — dinner with me. I can’t cancel that again! 7:00 — wrestle with my creative ideas.”

The dramatic recitation goes on, as Dion-as-Grinch honks, “I’m booked! Of course, if I bumped my creative ideas to 9:00, I’ll still have time to lay in bed and scroll TikTok videos endlessly. Or I can just simply wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year,” she adds mock contentedly before shouting, “boring!”

The video winds down with Dion crooning a bit more of the song, casually singing, “When I was young/ I never needed anyone.”

The appearance was one of the rare public outings this year from Dion, who was diagnosed with the neurological disorder stiff-person syndrome in 2022, which seriously affected her voice and caused uncontrolled tremors, forcing her to cancel a planned 2023-2024 world tour to focus on her health.

There are muses, and there is Coco Jones — an R&B artist who gives NBA star Donovan Mitchell a lift when she’s in the house.

Mitchell is an elite scorer for his Cleveland Cavaliers, a walking highlight package who combines deep range with flair for getting to the hoop, and impressive hops.

When the Cavs stopped by Madison Square Garden on Christmas Day to face off with the New York Knicks, Jones sat courtside as her fiancé got to work, notching 34 points, along with seven rebounds and six assists.

The six-time NBA All-Star and 2018 Sam Dunk Contest champion Mitchell also got up for some nasty slam dunks, inspired by his partner. The 6’2” shooting guard was mic’d up for the game, which aired on ESPN, and admitted Jones gave him wings. “I ain’t dunk in like three months. I only dunk when she here,” remarked Mitchell, per SportsCenter.

Their combined efforts weren’t enough as the Knicks ran out winners 126-124. It’s a long season.

Mitchell and Jones announced their engagement in July 2025, after dating for more than a year. Earlier, in March, Jones confirmed they were dating during an appearance on Club Shay Shay. “I love the Internet because they definitely clocked my tea. Little spies everywhere,” she told Shannon Sharpe. “I’m happy and I will say, my music is my outlet where I tell my stories and my truth. Some things I keep for myself because this is my life, too. I say some things and you can hear it on my album.”

Jones continued: “Secrecy is not what I prefer. I don’t want to feel like I have to be somebody secret. I don’t want to make anybody feel like they’re mine. For me, I’m trying to protect myself, and I’m trying to protect my family and who I love, so I am more private.”

While Mitchell is balling out in the NBA, Jones dropped her anticipated Why Not More? debut album in April, following the release last year of several singles, including her Grammy-nominated hit “Here We Go (Uh Oh),” which was up for best R&B song and best R&B performance at this year’s awards show. “Here We Go (Uh Oh)” also became her first No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay and received a remix with Leon Thomas. 

Peso Pluma (real name Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija) and Tito Double P (real name Jesús Roberto Laija) might have been second cousins, but they never actually met in their native Mexico until Peso moved to Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa in Northwestern Mexico.

There, at a party, the 18-year-old Peso met his 20-year old cousin Tito for the first time. Both were aspiring musicians, but Peso already came with a sound and a style: he sang the corridos tumbados that were beginning to make the rounds with the likes of Natanael Cano and Junior H, about lifestyle and drugs, a far cry from the “corridos de hombres” about heroes and anti-heroes that most Mexicans had grown up with.

Even then, his nasal, piercing vocals struck a chord. And, more than anything, says Tito, so did his energy.

“I made music as a hobby then,” says Tito today. “And from the moment he arrived, I said, come here. I’ll write, you sing.”

It was the beginning of a musical partnership and a close friendship that first propelled Peso to super-stardom (with Tito co-writing many of his biggest hits) and more recently, Tito. The cousins ended 2025 at No. 4 (Tito) and No. 5 (Peso) on Billboard’s year-end Top Latin artists chart, and are considered leaders of the new Mexican music movement. Now, more than five years after their first encounter, the two are releasing their first-ever album together.

Dinastía, released right after Christmas, at midnight on Dec. 26, features Tito and Peso dueting in 14 tracks, ranging from ballads and love songs to hard-hitting corridos that tell tales of life and heartbreak, all rooted in Mexico and its rich arsenal of tradition.

Many of the songs ooze musicianship, from the virtuoso chops required from the accompanying musicians to a level of sophisticated execution that’s uncommon in any pop genre. Listen carefully to focus track “dopamina” and enjoy the initial ambient background vocals, the crescendos and decrescendos of the tuba, the contra punctual syncopated beats under the percussive vocals, Peso’s higher tenor in contrast to Tito’s more aggressive delivery.

The album, in the works for over a year, got a major rehaul this summer following Mexico’s growing ban on narcocorridos, a staple of both Tito and Peso’s repertoire. Instead, the cousin re-worked lyrics to reflect other, equally compelling realities, from life on the streets, to sheer bragadoccio to pain of loss.

Rich in symbolism, the album’s cover features dueling biblical brothers Jacob and Esuú, who in their Peso-Tito reading are also different but bonded by family, friendship, music and country.  

The album was teased with an “intro” video, featuring lucha libre imagery and Mexican actress Kate del Castillo (who played the lead in the series La Reina del Sur) and shot in stunning black and white cinematography. At the end, Jasiel Núñez and Chivo, part of the next generation of regional Mexican music artists, take off their masks to reveal their faces.

“We might have our differences, but beyond those, we’re one. What matters is the unity — what we’re doing for family, for Mexico, and for corridos as a genre. That’s the message we want to leave behind,” says Peso.

Peso and Tito spoke exclusively to Billboard via Zoom, Peso from his home in Los Angeles and Tito from his home in Mexico.

Billboard: You’ve recorded several songs together, and Tito is signed to your label, Double P records. But this is the first time you actually put out an album together. How long was this in the works?

Peso: From the moment we started working together, and when I invited Tito to be my exclusive songwriter, I always had the idea that “Double P” wasn’t just me — it was both of us. When Tito decided to pursue his own solo career, I was so happy and proud that he chose that path. This album is something we’ve wanted to do for years. We never really sat down and planned it out properly until recently, but we’ve always loved creating music together. When we were on the road, we’d write songs in hotels, and some of our biggest hits — like “PRC” and “AMG” — came from those late-night sessions. We officially started working on Dinastía on December 10 of last year.

So, it’s been cooking for a while?

Peso: Definitely! It’s like a Christmas dinner — you have to let it sit in the oven for a while. The genre is evolving, and we’re taking the lead in shaping it. We’ve had to navigate changes, like the bans on certain lyrics. It’s similar to what happened with reggae and rap back in the day. But we’re proud to step up, take the hits and push the genre forward. Other artists are watching us closely to see what we do. We’re setting the standard and we want to do it right. That’s why this project took time. We also wanted to work with the best songwriters in the world of corridos and make them part of this project and create something meaningful.

The timing makes the message even stronger. Tito and I wanted to show everyone—Mexicans and the Latin community—that you can create beautiful corridos without glorifying crime or drugs. Corridos are part of our roots, our culture.

Peso Pluma

Mexico’s crackdown on narcocorridos has intensified this year, impacting live shows and music releases. How did that affect the album?

Peso: We initially planned to release the album in the summer, but fate had other plans. Now that it’s coming out on Christmas, I think the timing makes the message even stronger. Tito and I wanted to show everyone — Mexicans and the Latin community — that you can create beautiful corridos without glorifying crime or drugs. Corridos are part of our roots, our culture, so we wanted to bring that essence back and celebrate it. That’s why we wanted to involve all these elements of Mexican culture.

Tito: Yeah, we had to pull some songs, change lyrics, and go back to the studio. It wasn’t easy because the album was originally set for a summer release and the music changed, the producers, the sound. Other artists do their music and take sounds from us. We took out songs, changed lyrics, added more songs, which I loved. The album feels complete now — it’s packed with emotion and meaning.

There’s a lot of romantic songs on the album. That took me by surprise.

Tito: It’s about singing to the girls too. That’s what I told Hassan — I said, “We need to include love songs.” The album’s heavy on corridos, but they’re “clean” corridos. You don’t need to sing about crime to make impactful music.

But your songs still have that edge.

Tito: Definitely. You don’t have to sing about the streets directly — it’s all in the tone [aggressive] and the instruments. But we’re telling stories, sharing day-to-day experiences, and capturing emotions, that’s it.

Peso:  I told Tito from the beginning, “You’ve got an ear for what’s trending right now — for what the streets, the kids, and the women want to hear. Help me choose the songs and shape this project.” We started with over 30 songs and narrowed it down to just over half. This album has everything — songs to cry to, corridos to drink to, songs to dance to, love songs, and heartbreak anthems. Corridos are for everyone, not just people involved in crime. This album represents that duality perfectly.

The album cover features Jacob and Esau. What’s the story behind that?

Peso: The idea is that we’re a duality — two people with the same last name. We’re opposites, like black and white, yin and yang, angels and demons. The biblical story of Jacob and Esau — two brothers who fought even before they were born — captures that tension. Tito and I might have our differences, but at the end of the day, we’re united. This album is about family, about Mexico, and about what we’re doing for corridos. That’s the bigger picture.

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Heated Rivalry has been all anyone’s been talking about, and for good reason.

The show, which is a queer hockey-meets-romance, follows two top male players and fierce rivals working through the trials and tribulations of maintaining a public image, while secretly seeing each other off the ice. One, an Ottawa-born go-getter, Shane Hollander and bad-boy Russian Ilya Rozanov. The pair’s relationship is complicated, but it gets you hooked from the first episode on.

It’s a game of cat and mouse, a “will they or won’t they” situation that we at ShopBillboard can’t get enough of. The sixth and final episode of the first season is set to air via HBO Max on Dec. 26 at midnight ET and 9pm PT, a great Christmas gift from the streaming service. Not to fret, though, this isn’t the end of the star-crossed hockey romance. The show has already been renewed for a second season. If you didn’t know, the show was created by Jacob Tierney and adapted from a book of the same name by author Rachel Reid, a book which you can shop below.

The show hasn’t just been a hit with TV-watchers and hockey fans. Among music fans, the show’s soundtrack has done some big things. The show’s first three episodes featured tracks from Feist, Wet Leg and Wolf Parade, have all received Heated Rivalry-assisted bumps in streaming — and the numbers are just getting bigger and bigger. In episode four, a chaotic and tension-filled moment at a Canadian nightclub set to t.A.T.u.’s All the Things She Said, gave the song a major bump in streaming, creating a viral moment for the show and the track.

If you’re as eager as we are to catch the final episode of the season, we’ll be showing you how to do so, for free, down below. Gird your loins and grab your popcorn, this episode is surely going to be a stellar one.

How to Watch the Season Finale of Heated Rivalry for Free

HBO Max does not offer a free trial directly, but we’ve found a hack that will save you time and money. DIRECTV offers a five-day free trial and includes HBO Max access in certain plans, which means you can get a free trial to DirecTV with acess to HBO Max, to watch Heated Rivalry, for free for a limited time.

DIRECTV offers complimentary access to HBO Max in its MyEntertainment and Premier packages. The Entertainment package offers 50+ channels, like A&E, Discovery, FX, Hallmark, plus Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max ad-supported bundles with unlimited cloud DVR. After your free trial, you’ll be paying $29.99 for your first month and then $35 a month. Then you’ve got the Premier package which features a whopping 185 channels including ESPN, Hulu, Disney+, STARZ, and Paramount+, as well as HBO Max. Premier will run you $169.99 a month, but you get $45 off your first month and $20 off months 2-24.

Another way to watch the show’s season finale is by subscribing to the Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max bundle, a three streaming service deal that will give you the best band for your buck. Unfortunately, triple threat service does not offer a free trial, however the pricing is relatively cheap. With ads, you’re looking to pay $19.99 a month. Without ads, you’re looking at $32.99 a month. The subscription gives you access to all of the content you could dream of, that includes Heated Rivalry.

The final way to watch Heated Rivalry is to add HBO Max to your Amazon Prime for $18.49 a month for a standard plan or $10.99 a month for HBO Max’s Basic plan with ads. To add, simply go to the Prime Video app or website, find the “Channels” or “Subscriptions” section, search for Max, and subscribe through your Amazon account.

While you’re waiting for the season finale, why not hold yourself over by shopping the books the queer hockey romance show was based on? The series has become a best-seller on Amazon, and it’s easy to see why with the show’s immense popularity. The book’s sequel, “The Long Game,” is also available on Amazon.

“Heated Rivalry” by Rachel Reid 

$17.70 $18.99 7% off

Buy Now On Amazon

A queer romance novel by Rachel Reid.

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“The Long Game” by Rachel Reid 

$8.99

Buy Now On Amazon

The sequel to “Heated Rivalry” by Rachel Reid.

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Rachel Reid 

Watch the Heated Rivalry Trailer via HBO Max Here