Zara Larsson gives a lot of credit to Tate McRae for inviting her to open on the Miss Possessive Tour last year, a major steppingstone that helped the Swedish pop star reach her still-unfolding breakout moment in 2026. But at the time, some of her fans questioned why she wasn’t the one headlining major arenas instead of the Canadian hitmaker.

On a new episode of Call Her Daddy posted Wednesday (April 22), Larsson addressed those comments. Starting off by calling McRae “incredible” and noting that their pairing was a “perfect match,” the 28-year-old performer speculated that certain people may have pitted her against her tourmate because she’s “been doing this for longer.”

“I’m older,” Larsson continued. “And maybe some people felt like I deserved to be in the arena.”

Her response to those people? “I’m like, ‘Well, buy the ticket then,’” Larsson said frankly. “That’s not Tate’s fault.”

The “Midnight Sun” singer opened for McRae for about two months on the Miss Possessive trek, playing arenas such as Madison Square Garden in New York City, the United Center in Chicago and the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. At the very end of the stint, Larsson released what would become her breakthrough album, Midnight Sun, in late September. (She’s now gearing up to drop a deluxe featuring a bevy of guest artists, including Shakira, PinkPantheress, Robyn and more.)

After her final show on the tour, Larsson also shared a photo with McRae on Instagram and wrote, “It’s been strange seeing some people putting us against each other when we’re just two pop girls who love and support each other back stage!”

But on Call Her Daddy, she elaborated, “I think it’s just the nature of how people speak about girls in pop.

“We are similar in the sense that we both dance, although she’s a way better dancer,” Larsson added. “And I do pop, she does pop. I think it’s easier to root for someone who’s an underdog, you know?”

Both performers will be honored at this year’s Billboard Women in Music ceremony, with Larsson set to take home the Breakthrough prize and McRae to receive the Hitmaker recognition.

Watch Larsson’s full interview on Call Her Daddy above.

Between mixed reviews from critics and feverish anticipation from fans around the world, Michael is all but guaranteed to dominate the global box office this weekend. But a key figure from the King of Pop’s young adult years is conspicuously absent from the new film.

On Thursday (April 23), Kat Graham — who was cast as Diana Ross in the film back in March 2024 — took to her official Instagram Story to explain why she no longer appears in the Antoine Fuqua-helmed musical biopic.

“I want to share that certain legal considerations affected a few scenes, including ones I filmed with an incredible cast,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, those moments are no longer part of the final cut, though the team worked hard to preserve as much of the story as possible.”

Not only was Ross’ alleged discovery of The Jackson 5 a key part of Motown’s marketing and promotional plan for the then-burgeoning family band, but The Supremes frontwoman would also appear on the silver screen alongside MJ in 1978’s The Wiz. And that’s not to mention the close friendship the two legends shared outside of the industry.

In addition to Graham, who’s best known for her work in The Vampire Diaries, that March 2024 casting announcement also confirmed the involvement of Larenz Tate (as Motown founder Berry Gordy), Kendrick Sampson (as Quincy Jones), Jessica Sula (as LaToya Jackson), Kevin Shinick (as Dick Clark) and Liv Symone (as Gladys Knight). Each of those actors, save for Graham, still appears in the blockbuster biopic, which hits theaters on Friday.

Michael has been plagued by legal issues throughout its production process. One version of the script reportedly had to be stripped of all references to Jackson’s child sexual abuse allegations after his estate discovered a settlement clause that forbade any mention of Jordan Chandler, one of MJ’s accusers, in the film.

Penned by John Logan, Michael covers Jackson’s legendary life and career from his 1960s Jackson 5 days to his seismic late-’80s Bad Tour. Jaafar Jackson, the son of Jermaine Jackson and MJ’s nephew, portrays his uncle, leading a cast comprised of two-time Oscar nominee Colman Domingo (as Joe Jackson), Emmy nominee Miles Teller (as entertainment lawyer John Branca), three-time NAACP Image Award winner Nia Long (as Katherine Jackson), Actor Award nominee Laura Harrier (as Suzanne de Passe), and Emmy winner Mike Myers (as music industry executive Walter Yetnikoff).

Click here to read Kat Graham’s full explanation for Diana Ross’ absence in the Michael biopic.

April, DJ Chase B told Billboard, is “always weird.” Like athletes, DJs and other touring musicians making money in numerous states each year are responsible for filing multiple state tax returns. Since the majority of artists don’t make as much money as top professional athletes, they can risk falling behind if they’re not careful to pay quarterly taxes based on earnings estimates — otherwise, they can rack up unpaid bills and penalties. “That’s probably the biggest lesson I learned,” says the Houston DJ and producer who has worked with Travis Scott, Ty Dolla $ign, Don Tolliver and others.

“It’s not fun,” adds Jamie Cheek, owner and business manager at Nashville-based FBMM, which represents artists and songwriters. “If you’re big enough, and it’s big enough money, you’ll file a tax return in every state. You’ve got to watch it if you’re touring.”

According to the New York Times, early in the year, athletes, umpires, coaches and broadcasters receive a separate W-2 whenever they make money in any state. For some artists who receive income from top promoters such as Live Nation or AEG, the process is similar — although it gets complicated in circumstances where promoters pay advances in one year and the actual tour doesn’t take place until the following year.

Many smaller artists who perform at clubs are considered self-employed gig workers and often receive 1099s, as opposed to W-2s like those on tours promoted by Live Nation or AEG, or an athlete playing for a major league sports team, such as the Boston Red Sox.

“A touring band thinks, ‘Hey, I live in Nevada or Florida, I don’t pay any income tax,’” says Wendy On, managing partner for Fineman West & Co., a business-management firm whose roster includes Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, producer J.R. Rotem and Maroon 5’s Sam Farrar. “Well, every state wants a piece of their pie.”

Income from sales, streaming and songwriting royalties are more straightforward — generally, artists can report from a single state, as opposed to filing multiple state tax returns. The key nuance here, Cheek says, is making sure to report this income as self-employment tax on Schedule C: “Because that’s their primary source of revenue.” 

For artists lucky enough to have lucrative publishing catalogs — like those sold in recent years by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks — Cheek advises paying attention to obscure but powerful tax nuances. Royalties received through a record label are similar to making a wage from a company, and taxed federally as ordinary income at roughly 40%. If the same songwriter owns master recordings, and decides to sell them to another company, the revenue is taxed as capital gains — or at 20%. That makes for a big difference.

While it’s tempting for artists to sell as soon as the master recording reverts to them 35 years after signing an initial record deal, per copyright law, business managers note it’s best to wait at least one year before doing so. That allows them to avoid costly short-term capital gains, which can be taxed at 40% of the sale price, as opposed to just 20% for long-term gains. “I’ve seen a deal get 80% done, where nobody thought of that,” Cheek says, “and you’re like, ‘Whoa! You might want to wait 10 months.’”

Wardrobe is often the most common expense artists try to deduct when tax season comes around, Cheek says. Generally, it’s not a wise choice to go on a shopping spree for stage outfits with the intent of deducting the extravagance the following April 15. 

“If you wear a black T-shirt and blue jeans on stage, they’re not going to let you deduct that, because you can also wear the same black T-shirt and blue jeans going to the grocery store the next day,” he says. But if an artist were to buy matching black T-shirts and blue jeans for the entire band to wear on stage, then that might qualify for a deduction. 

“A client in the entertainment space got audited, and had to prove [to the I.R.S.] why hiring security and flying private planes for their travel is important — because they get swarmed by people,” On says. “I try, if I [am] in front of the auditor, to be able to justify it.”

Authorities say a former North Carolina law enforcement officer planned to kill Black people in a mass shooting at a major New Orleans festival but was arrested at a Florida hotel with a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Authorities in several states did not name the event, but the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, commonly known as Jazz Fest, runs from Thursday (April 23) through May 3. The gathering attracted about 460,000 people last year, organizers said.

Christopher Gillum of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was wanted for “terroristic threats,” the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in Florida posted online Thursday. Federal authorities told the sheriffs office that Gillum was in the Florida Panhandle “heading to do a mass shooting at a large festival in Louisiana.” The sheriffs office did not name the federal agency, and the FBI office in New Orleans did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Okaloosa sheriff’s office said Gillum was arrested without incident Wednesday night at a hotel in Destin, and posted a photo of him being led away in handcuffs. Deputies recovered a handgun and about 200 rounds of ammunition from the hotel room, the statement said.

Gillum was arrested as a fugitive from justice and will be extradited to Louisiana to face charges there, the sheriff’s office said. It was not immediately known if he had a lawyer. The Associated Press left a message at phone numbers listed for him.

Gillum’s family reported him missing on Tuesday and he had a history of self-harm, according to Lt. Clint Lyons of the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina. Gillum’s family told law enforcement he had a gun and “expressed recent threats to harm ‘Black people,’” according to a bulletin from police in Burlington, North Carolina.

Lyons said Gillum crossed state lines before his agency could prepare the paperwork to involuntarily commit him to psychiatric treatment. Lyons said that there were no criminal grounds to detain Gillum despite his comments about Black people “because there was no victim.”

“But we felt that there was definitely something there that needed to be shared, so that’s what we did,” Lyons said.

Gillum was located and stopped by law enforcement in Oklaloosa County on Wednesday, according to Lyons and the Burlington police bulletin.

However, Gillum “did not present any grounds for involuntary commitment or criminal charges” and was allowed to continue on his way, the bulletin stated. Gillum told officers that he was “en route to New Orleans,” the report added.

Okaloosa deputies were initially asked to make a “welfare check” on Gillum on Wednesday morning and were “not aware” of any threats he had made, sheriff spokesperson Michele Nicholson said. Later that day, after the sheriff’s office learned Gillum was being investigated, deputies surveilled him until a signed warrant arrived from Louisiana, she added.

Gillum had been hired as a detention officer by the sheriff’s office in Orange County, North Carolina, in October 2023 but he left in July 2024, department spokesperson Alicia L. Stemper said.

“We hired him again as a deputy on Jan. 13, 2025,” she said in an email. “He resigned his position on Sept. 21, 2025, and we terminated him accordingly.”

Gillum also served as a sworn police officer for Chapel Hill from 2004 until his resignation in 2019, town communications manager Alex Carrasquillo said.

“He returned as a non-sworn employee in 2024 before leaving for another job by the end of that year,” Carrasquillo said in an email.

Louisiana State Police spokesperson Trooper Danny Berrincha said the agency is still investigating the episode with the FBI.

“At this time, there are no known direct threats to any festivals in Louisiana,” he added.

In a statement, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival said it works closely with law enforcement and applauded their efforts, saying ”we look forward to another safe and joyful Jazz Fest.”