Nick Jonas Performs Emotional ‘Gut Punch’ on ‘Tonight Show’ Accompanied By Ballet Dancer, Taiko Drummers

Nick Jonas was definitely feeling all the feels on Wednesday night (Feb. 4) during an emotional performance of “Gut Punch,” the first single from his first solo album in five years, Sunday Best. Taking to the Tonight Show stage to hype the LP that drops on Friday (Feb. 6), Jonas began the performance seated at a white upright piano covered in colorful handprints.

“I think my hair stopped growing, is that even a thing?/ Haven’t lost any of it, but something ain’t the same/ Maybe it’s a metaphor, is it even that deep?/ I think my hair stopped growing, or is it me?,” he sang in a soft voice as he gently played the keys while a ballet dancer spun and dipped beside him, giving a visual to the lyrics about giving yourself a break when you feel stuck.

By the time the full-throated chorus came around for the first time, Jonas hopped up and crooned it as the studio audience howled in delight. “Hit me like a gut punch, I hurt my own feelings/ How did I get so good at being mean to myself?/ I should turn the heat down, tell myself to chill out/ Damn, I really hate the way I talk to myself,” Jonas sang emotionally as a pair of Taiko drummers punctuated the punchy refrain with thwacks at their instruments and a pianist took over on the keys.

“Gut Punch” dropped on New Year’s Day and in a video accompanying the track he said, “There’s a lot of pressure to be the perfect version of yourself at the start of the year, and that’s just not possible and that’s okay.” In a statement about the song he said tackles his feelings of self-doubt, Jonas, 33, added, “I tend to by hyper critical of myself, not typically about my appearance or getting older, but I was wondering, ‘Am I doing everything to be the best version of myself? Am I a present and thoughtful husband? Am I a good father?”

Watch Jonas perform “Gut Punch” on The Tonight Show below.


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Britney Spears Says She’s ‘Incredibly Lucky’ To Be Alive Given How Her Family Treated Her: ‘Now I’m Scared of Them’

Britney Spears is once again speaking out about her strained, painful relationship with her family. In fact, in an Instagram post on Wednesday (Feb. 3), Spears, 44, claimed that she is “lucky to be alive” given how her have treated her over the years.

And while Spears did not name names or get into specifics, the lengthy post accompanied by an image of a baby holding a woman’s hand appeared to be a form of catharsis for the pop star who has effectively retired from public life. “As people, all we really want is to feel connected to each other and never feel alone … for those of you in your family that have said to help you is to isolate you and make you feel unbelievably left out … they were wrong,” Spears wrote.

“We can forgive as people but u don’t ever forget. Yearning and longing for contact is always crucial !!! I’m incredibly lucky to even be alive with how my family treated me once in my life and now I’m scared of them. It’s weird how God works in mysterious ways,” she continued. “My friends, what do you think he is saying today ??? Because to be totally honest with you, no matter what he says, they will never take responsibility for what they did.”

Since the end of her restrictive 13-year conservatorship in 2021 — during which her estranged father, Jaime, and a lawyer were appointed by a court to control her personal and professional affairs — Spears has frequently posted about her strained relationship with her dad, mom Lynne and sister Jamie Lynn.

In fact, over the holidays, Spears posted a pic of a Christmas tree with a snarky caption wishing a “merry late Christmas to my beautiful family who have never disrespected me, harmed me, ever done anything completely unacceptable or caused unbelievable trauma, the kind you can’t fix. To my dear sweet innocent family… so so sorry I was busy this Christmas but I will definitely show up and surprise you soon.”

She also alluded to the difficult conservatorship period and how it strained her relationship with her family in her best-selling 2024 memoir, The Woman in Me, in which she wrote, “I became a robot. But not just a robot — a sort of child-robot. I had been so infantilized that I was losing pieces of what made me feel like myself. The conservatorship stripped me of my womanhood, made me into a child. I became more of an entity than a person onstage. I had always felt music in my bones and my blood; they stole that from me.”

That post appeared to be a response to a festive shot shared earlier in the week by younger sister Jamie Lynn that showed her celebrating the holiday with her husband, two daughters, as well as Lynne Spears and Britney’s son Sean Preston Federline.

While the mood was heavy in Wednesday’s post, Spears ended it on a lighter note, writing about how she made a cheesecake on Wednesday that was, if she’s being honest, “pretty damn good,” and she shared it with a neighbor over a glass of milk. She also noted that she hasn’t filmed one of her famous dancing videos in a month because she broke her toe, twice.


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Abbey Road Studios to Hold First-Ever Rave with Soulwax

In a move that is set to redefine what can happen inside one of music’s most historic rooms, Abbey Road Studios will host its first-ever rave.

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Studio One will team up with Belgian electronic innovators Soulwax for a one-off event titled Abbey Road After Hours, taking place on Feb. 21 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. The north west London studio will welcome 300 attendees for what Abbey Road describes as “a world-first experience.”

Admission will be free via a public ballot, which is now open. Fans can enter by calling the ‘Soulwax rave hotline’ at +447886 072699.

Soulwax – brothers David and Stephen Dewaele – were invited by Abbey Road to curate the night. Programming will include DJ sets from their long-running alter ego 2manydjs, along with special guests yet to be announced. The event will also mark the first major showcase of the DEEWEE Soundsystem, a custom-built speaker array inspired by the legendary Paradise Garage system in New York, which the Dewaele brothers acquired for their regular DEEWEE club nights.

Abbey Road After Hours will also feature brand-new Soulwax material created specifically for the event. The duo will spend the day prior recording in Abbey Road’s iconic Studio Two alongside a full live band. The sessions will be cut direct to record, with the resulting tracks played in Studio One during the rave.

“It’s hard to say whether we have a perverse or healthy attraction to crazy ideas – that’s for others to decide,” Soulwax said in a statement. “But being approached with a crazy idea by the most iconic recording studio in music history makes it impossible to refuse. We embrace the challenge and sincerely hope this won’t be the last rave at Abbey Road.”

Abbey Road’s Director of Marketing & Creative, Mark Robertson, added: “I’ve talked about hosting a rave here for years, so it’s a genuine thrill to have Soulwax curate the first night. Studio One has been home to countless era-defining firsts – from Elgar to John Williams – and opening it to bold new forms of creativity feels both true to our heritage and excitingly audacious.”

Abbey Road reopened Studio One in spring last year following an extensive restoration to the iconic recording studio space. The room closed in late 2024 for the first time in its history to allow for the work to take place. The room has also been used by a variety of contemporary musicians in recent years, including Harry Styles, U2, Noel Gallagher, Little Simz and Sam Smith.


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Finnea Rips ‘Very Powerful Old White Men’ Who Were ‘Outraged’ By Billie Eilish’s Grammys Speech

Billie Eilish spoke at the Grammy Awards. And a whole lot of wealthy old geezers listened, complained and, well, they ought to be ashamed.

That’s the gist of a message posted by Finneas on Instagram Stories, following his sister’s rousing speech Sunday, Feb. 1 at the Grammys.

“Seeing a lot of very powerful old white men outraged about what my 24 year old sister said during her acceptance speech,” he writes. “We can literally see your names in the Epstein files.”

A gold rush wasn’t expected, but that’s what panned out as Eilish came out on top in the Grammys song of the year category for “Wildflower,” from her 2024 album Hit Me Hard and Soft. With that win, the pop superstar added an 11th golden gramophone to her imposing tally, and used the platform of her speech to put the Trump administration on blast.

Eilish took the stage with her writing partner, musical foil and brother Finneas, to accept the award from songwriting legend Carole King.

“As grateful as I feel, I honestly don’t feel like I need to say anything but that … no one is illegal on stolen land,” she remarked. “And, yeah it’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now,” continued Eilish, who, like many in the audience at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, was wearing an “ICE Out” pin as part of a protest against Trump’s immigration enforcement surge, which in January resulted in the killing of two American citizens by immigration enforcement agents.

“I feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter and the people matter,” Eilish continued. She sounded off with, “And f–k ICE is all I wanna say, sorry.”

As previously reported, Eilish has spent the past several weeks vocally criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration actions, calling ICE a “terrorist group” after its killing of 37-year-old poet and mother of three Renée Nicole Good, and blasting the organization’s Minnesota operation while accepting the MLK Jr. Environmental Justice award in January.

Finneas, too, has been vocal about ICE and the hypocrisy of conservative commentators.

The producer, songwriter and artist stepped in, and promised to keep speaking up, when USA Today published an op-ed titled “PSA to celebs: Stick to performing, stay away from politics,” written by Ingrid Jacques.

In a Threads post, Finneas writes: “You just can’t do both. You can’t say it doesn’t matter what musicians or celebrities say or think but then talk about it for days. You’re out here making it matter. I’ll keep speaking up especially if it keeps bothering you.”

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Empire of the Sun, Spacey Jane, Holy Holy Line Up For Record Store Day Australia Exclusives

Empire of the Sun will shine on Record Store Day Australia 2026.

The electronic duo leads the first batch of Australian releases for the annual celebration of independent music retail, which this year lands on April 18.

Emperor Steele (Luke Steele) and Lord Littlemore (Nick Littlemore) will contribute the expanded edition of Walking On A Dream (via Universal), the act’s hit debut album from 2008. Walking On A Dream collected four ARIA Awards, crashed the top 10 in Australia, and housed the hit singles “We Are the People” and its title track, which crashed the Billboard Hot 100, at No. 65, after it was synced to a Honda Civic campaign some eight years later.

Record hunters and collectors can also score special releases from Spacey Jane, Ruel, Bluey and much more.

One of the highlights in round one, announced Thursday, Feb. 5, is the vinyl debut of Holy Holy’s Sweet Bitter Sweet, the indie band’s final release before entering indefinite hiatus.

Released digitally in 2025, the vinyl version has two distinct halves, with five newly written songs alongside five reimagined versions of beloved tracks drawn from across the group’s 14-year career.

The RDS exclusive release is “an intimate parting gift for fans,” reads a statement from Holy Holy.

RDS Australia launched in 2008 and, like the editions in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and across Europe and elsewhere, drops the needle on the third Saturday of April.

Its goal, to elevate and promote the contemporary music community and support Australian independent labels, artists and the country’s network of 200-plus record stores “with a hope to reach a broader audience and grow the event each year.”

The Australian music industry always chips in, with the likes of Ninajirachi, You Am I, Pond, Ocean Alley, Underground Lovers, Montaigne, Confidence Man, The Wiggles, creating and sharing RDS exclusives.

On the big day, all 400-plus exclusive releases, including local and international titles, will be available over the counter only at independent record shops.

There is still plenty more to come in 2026, with more Australian release announcements shortly, reps say.

Visit for recordstoreday.com.au for more.

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Ahead of U.S. Concerts, Hatchie Rides on With ‘Carousel’

Hatchie is strapped into the Carousel.

On the eve of another United States run, and the announcement of new shows closer to home, the Australian dream-pop practitioner drops “Carousel,” the latest single from her third studio album Liquorice.

“Carousel” explores themes of fixation, longing and emotional suspension, all of it dripping in shoegaze and swirling guitars, almost thick enough to touch. Stream it below.

Hatchie is the project of Melbourne-based, Brisbane-raised singer-songwriter Harriette Pilbeam. And she has come out firing in the New Year.

In support of Liquorice, she plays the Lodge Room this evening, Feb. 5, in Los Angeles, followed by a show Feb. 20 at New York’s Music Hall of Williamsburg. She’ll return to Sydney for a headline show May 3 at The Vanguard, as part of The Great Southern Nights 2026, a weeks-long lineup across New South Wales that includes Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, Thelma Plum, Jet, 3% and many others.

As previously reported, Hatchie features on the new Yo Gabba GabbaLand! Season 2 soundtrack, alongside Santigold, CHVRCHES, Ziggy Marley and Sharon Van Etten, with her original cut “Movin’ My Body,” now streaming as part of the series on Apple TV+.

“I had never watched YGG but admired from afar,” she tells Billboard. “A Hatchie fan who worked on the show reached out to us about contributing to the soundtrack and we thought it would be a fun project. We were sent a few songs to choose from and instantly clicked with ‘Moving My Body.’”

Liquorice is Hatchie’s first album release through a global deal with Secretly Canadian. 

Led off by the singles “Lose It Again,” “Sage,” and “Only One Laughing, the LP was recorded by producer Melina Duterte’s (Jay Som) at her home studio in Los Angeles, alongside Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint, Courtney Barnett) on drums, with Alex Farrar (Wednesday, MJ Lenderman) on mixing duties at Asheville’’s Drop of Sun studios, and Greg Obis (Dutch Interior, Slow Pulp, Wishy) mastering in Chicago. 

“I can’t wait to finally play my new album to my Australian fans,” Hatchie enthuses. “It feels like forever since I’ve played a show in Sydney and it just feels right to do it with our old friends GAUCI. I’ve been blown away by the response to Carousel and can’t wait to share more sweet moments on the road.”

Hatchie ‘Liquorice Tour’ 2026:

Feb. 5 — Lodge Room, Los Angeles
Feb. 20 — Music Hall of Williamsburg, New York
Feb. 27 — Bergy Ballroom, Melbourne, Victoria (*Sold Out)
May 3 — The Vanguard, Sydney, NSW (*New Show)
April 12 — Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL @  (*New Show)

Tickets at hatchie.net.

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TEG Live Expands, Recruits Former Sony Music ANZ CEO Vanessa Picken

SYDNEY, Australia — Vanessa Picken has resurfaced at Ticketek Entertainment Group (TEG) in a newly-created role.

The former CEO of Sony Music ANZ leads a class of top recruits to the Sydney, Australia-based live entertainment, data and tech giant, which unveils an “important evolution” of its touring business, TEG Live, and maps out strategies in country, electronic and other hot genres.

Announced Thursday, Feb. 5, Picken is named global director, music strategy at TEG Live, where she will drive music strategy and global advocacy, working closely with promoters and partners worldwide.

From June 2022, Picken served as chair and CEO of Sony Music Australia and New Zealand, becoming the first woman to lead the major music company’s operations across both countries.

Picken finished up with Sony Music in late 2025, more than three years after taking the top job. In that time, Picken is credited with modernizing the music giant’s organizational structure, enhancing its digital and marketing capabilities, and fueling new growth through experiential and licensing ventures.

She joins TEG with a stack of international experience, having owned and operated the digital agency and label services firm Comes With Fries, and served as managing director at independent music giant [PIAS].

Also joining TEG Live is Sam Sharma, in the role as head of South Asia & Desi touring. Sharma will lead a new focus within the platform, a statement explains, and will be expected to drive expansion of touring across a region that’s seen as a hotspot for growth.

Alex Kelsey joins as head of country touring, overseeing the growth and commercial expansion of country music touring across Australia and New Zealand. Veteran former Sony Music executive Clay Doughty will support Kelsey as head of strategy, country music, lassoing long-term market development, international partnerships and artist pipelines within the genre.

As TEG Live builds its electronic music business across the region, Chris Watson is promoted to head of electronic, Asia Pacific. Watson launched the Palm Tree Festival Singapore in April, and further announcements in the electronic space are “expected shortly,” a statement reads.

U.K.-based Toby Leighton-Pope, currently managing director of TEG Europe, formed in 2022, will continue to be a key advisor to the group.

The new-look TEG Live, now a platform business, is led by TEG’s global head of touring Tim McGregor, who will oversee its strategic direction and portfolio performance.

“The move marks a significant step in TEG’s touring strategy,” reads a statement. “Creating a platform that empowers talented Promoters to operate with entrepreneurial autonomy, while being supported by Ticketek Group platforms and technology that make it easier to build, find and attend live experiences.” The model is designed to accelerate growth across established and emerging genres and “back the next generation of live entertainment leaders.”

Country music is a big part of the TEG Live growth strategy. TEG will ramp up those ambitions by opening a Nashville office in the early part of this year, focusing on artist relationships, touring partnerships and long-term pipeline development, strengthening the connection between the U.S. and Australian markets and more.

“Live music is evolving quickly, and touring models need to evolve with it,” comments McGregor. “TEG Live is investing in a platform that’s built for collaboration, adaptability and one that supports today’s promoters while setting up the next generation for success.”

Further announcements are expected shortly, including major expansion plans across Asia-pop, and rock, metal.

TEG brings together ticketing giant Ticketek, plus TEG Live, TEG Sport, TEG Experiences, and Ovation. Last November, TEG announced the “strategic acquisition” of Twenty3 Live, a leading marketing, media, sponsorship and activation agency, which the company said at the time would enhance its in-house marketing and digital capability in its global touring portfolio.

Earlier this week, TEG announced UFC 325 (Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2) has become the highest-grossing indoor arena event in Australian history. The bout, staged Sunday, Feb. 1 at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, owned by TEG and operated by Legends Global, set a new national box office record with A$14.4 million ($10 million) in ticket sales.

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Melanie Martinez Sets Fourth Studio Album ‘HADES’

Next stop, HADES.

After sharing the new single “POSSESSION,” her first new music in three years, Melanie Martinez is taking us on a trip to HADES, her fourth studio album that’s set to drop March 27.

“Each song on this record explores a different trap set by the kind of evil, patriarchal energy that is HADES. It isn’t about predicting a dystopian future,” she explains in a statement announcing the new collection. “It’s about recognizing destructive patterns that already exist. The same dynamics repeating in different places. Control disguised as protection. Cruelty framed as logic. Exploitation sold as opportunity. Once you start noticing those threads, it becomes hard to ignore them.”

HADES is an appropriately hot theme for this alt-pop phenom. Following its release last month, “POSSESSION” was by some distance the favorite new cut of the week, as chosen by readers of Billboard.com. Also, the track debuted with more than 2.7 million Spotify streams in its first 24 hours and has surpassed 10 million to date, according to reps at Warner Music. It’s now Martinez’s fastest-streaming release and the biggest female debut of 2026.

HADES is the followup to 2023’s Portals, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, her third consecutive top 10 appearance on the chart. Portals went all the way to No. 1 on Australia’s ARIA Chart. Her debut album from 2015, Cry Baby, peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, and her sophomore album from 2019, K–12, hit No. 3 on the all-genres tally.

Martinez burst into the public consciousness in 2012 as a contestant on season 3 of The Voice. Although she didn’t claim the crown, she’s been winning ever since. Career streams top 30 billion, including upwards of 5.5 billion official YouTube views with more than 62 million followers across platforms.

Meanwhile, Cry Baby spawned the perfume of the same name, which was self-released the year after the album’s release. It was a sell-out. Later, she partnered with Flower Shop Perfume on a perfume line, the first of which arrived in 2023 — with similar success to its predecessor. 

Pre-save HADES here.

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Barry Manilow Postpones Las Vegas Residency Following Cancer Surgery

Barry Manilow is fit and fine after surgery, but he’s pushing back his upcoming concert dates in Las Vegas to focus on the road ahead.

The pop veteran was initially booked for residency dates at Westgate Las Vegas, from Feb. 12-21, but has scrapped those plans on his “doctor’s guidance and recommendation,” he writes in a social post.

The Grammy winner recently went under the knife after a scan revealed stage one lung cancer. The operation was deemed a success, but he needs more time out.

“I’m doing great and recovering very well after my surgery,” he writes. “I’ve been getting exercise and spending some time in the studio, which has been fantastic.”

With some additional downtime, he continues, “I can stay focused on healing and getting ready for the tour that’s kicking off at the end of February. Having a few extra weeks to rest and prepare is what the doctor ordered!”

No replacement dates have been announced for the postponed Vegas shows, and tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase, reps say. Manilow will return to the Westgate March 26, 27 and 28, part of a national swing that starts Feb. 27 at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, FL.

Despite his health setback, Manilow is in record-breaking form. He extends a chart milestone with his latest release, “Once Before I Go,” which enters Billboard’s Adult Contemporary tally (dated Feb. 7) more than half a century — 51 years and three months, to be precisde — since he first appeared on the list dated Nov. 7, 1974, with his breakout ballad “Mandy.”

Barry Manilow 2026 Arena Shows:

Feb. 27 — Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena

March 1 — Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center

March 2 — Norfolk, VA – Chartway Arena

March 3 — Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena

March 5 — Cincinnati, OH – Heritage Bank Center

March 6 — Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena

March 7 — Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena

March 9 — Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena

March 11 — Charleston, SC – North Charleston Coliseum

March 13 –– Orlando, FL – Kia Center

March 14 — Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena

March 16 & 17 — Estero, FL – Hertz Arena

April 13 — Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena

April 14 — Newark, NJ – Prudential Center

April 16 — Wilkes-Barre, PA – Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza

April 17 — Reading, PA – Santander Arena

April 19 — Portland, ME – Cross Insurance Arena

April 20 — Albany, NY – MVP Arena

April 22 — Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center

April 24 — Greensboro, NC – First Horizon Coliseum

April 27 — Jacksonville, FL – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena

April 29 — Duluth, GA – Gas South Arena

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Don’t You Sweat It, Baby: Taylor Swift ‘Opalite’ Music Video Is On the Way

Four months after the release of The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift has announced a second music video from the project: The “Opalite” music video will arrive on Spotify and Apple Music first thing Friday morning (Feb. 6).

The pop star made the announcement on her website, unveiling a countdown clock to midnight ET on Thursday night. Following the Apple and Spotify premiere, the music video will be available Sunday (Feb. 8) on YouTube.

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“Opalite” will be the second visual unveiled from the project, following a video for lead single “The Fate of Ophelia,” which first arrived as part of Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl in movie theaters before hitting YouTube two days later. Fans will have to wait and see whether the “Opalite” video is the same as the version that was shown during the album’s theatrical release party or different.

The Life of a Showgirl debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 following its Oct. 3 release and spent a total 12 weeks atop the chart. It moved a record 4 million album-equivalent units in its first week, with “The Fate of Ophelia” debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that week, followed by “Opalite” at No. 2 — which is so far its peak on the chart.

Swift’s decision to premiere the video first on Spotify and Apple Music follows YouTube’s December announcement that it was withdrawing its streaming data from all of Billboard‘s charts. YouTube’s withdrawal followed Billboard‘s Dec. 16 announcement of a change to chart methodology that will continue to weigh subscription streams more favorably than ad-supported streams, in a bid to better reflect changing consumer behaviors and the increased revenue derived from streaming in the industry. The change means that paid/subscription streams will be weighted against ad-supported streams at a 1:2.5 ratio, narrowed from the previous 1:3 ratio.

In addition to the music video, Swift also announced an “Opalite” 7-inch vinyl single available to purchase for only 48 hours on her web store, set to ship on or around Feb. 9.

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