Jewel is revisiting one of the most surreal and dangerous chapters of her early career — a real-life encounter with Mexican police during a drug bust that would later inspire one of her most enduring songs.

Speaking during her Not Alone Summit at Wynn Las Vegas in November, the singer, who has reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 with six albums, reflected on the experience in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, which first reported the story exclusively.

According to Jewel, the incident took place in the summer of 1994, when she was 20 years old and traveling through Mexico with longtime collaborator Steve Poltz during a break from writing music.

What began as a quiet songwriting retreat quickly escalated into something far more perilous. While spending time on a remote beach in Baja California, Jewel and Poltz were approached by armed men in uniform identifying themselves as Mexican federal police.

After casually asking if the officers knew where they could go whale watching, the pair were invited onto a small boat — only to learn mid-trip that the officers were in the middle of an active drug bust.

“They said, ‘We’re on a drug bust,’” Jewel recalled. When she asked if the situation was dangerous, she said the officer responded simply: “Sí.”

The singer later realized that the wooden bench she was sitting on doubled as storage for automatic weapons. As the boat chased a fleeing vessel that refused to identify itself, Jewel said she watched officers pursue suspects, uncovering large quantities of marijuana hidden under rocks along the shoreline.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Jewel recalled moments of disbelief and dark humor, including fears that she and Poltz could be framed or imprisoned.

“I was really paranoid we were gonna end up in a Tijuana prison,” she said.

Photographs from the incident — including one showing Jewel holding a rifle alongside officers — later circulated online, becoming a piece of ’90s music lore.

In the aftermath, Jewel and Poltz remained in Mexico briefly, continuing to write music. One of the songs born from that period would become “You Were Meant for Me,” released in 1995 on her debut album Pieces of You.

Fat Joe has revealed what he describes as one of the most surreal moments of his career — claiming he was once invited to “shoot rockets” by alleged members of the Taliban while performing in Lebanon.

The Bronx rapper shared the story during the Dec. 2 episode of his Joe and Jada podcast, where he and co-host Jadakiss were joined by comedian Bill Bellamy. The trio had been discussing the unpredictable scenarios that can come with international travel when Joe launched into a tale that left both his co-host and guest stunned.

“I was in Lebanon,” he began. “I do a show in Lebanon, it’s so incredible. I come back to this hotel, and when I come back, three guys stand up like synchronized swimming.”

According to Joe, the men approached him with a cryptic message: “The guys, they wanna shoot rockets with you.”

When he asked who “the guys” were, the response instantly sent up red flags.

“‘The Taliban, they love you,’” Joe recalled being told. “My a**hole got this tight, okay,” he joked, before clarifying that the situation didn’t feel like a joke at all. “I met the Taliban, it’s no f***ing bullshit. The real Taliban came through and was like, ‘Yo, shoot rockets?’”

Joe says he declined the invitation and immediately made moves to get out.

“I rushed upstairs, packed my bags and went to the airport at one in the morning,” he explained. But even that escape wasn’t easy. “This s*** ain’t take off until 10 in the f***ing morning. We stood in the airport overnight just shook to death.”

While Joe didn’t specify the exact year, he has performed in Lebanon multiple times, including appearances at Beirut’s Pier 7 nightclub in both 2011 and 2012. The incident allegedly took place following one of those shows.

“We really thought something was about to happen,” he said. “That was one of those nights I’ll never forget.”

Warner Music Canada has laid off at least 24 people, Billboard Canada has learned. The cuts come amidst global restructuring and layoffs at Warner Music Group.

According to multiple former staffers, the layoffs came on Nov. 18, the same day Julia Hummel and Madelaine Napoleone were announced as new Warner Music Canada co-general managers.

A companywide email reportedly went out on Nov. 17 informing the staff that the office would be closed the following day and that they should make themselves available for meeting invitations from human resources. Many staffers were informed during those video meetings that their position had been eliminated.

The layoffs reportedly affected departments companywide, including positions in business, catalogue, design and video production, publicity, sales and more, including significant reductions in A&R and marketing. They also included executive vice president and general manager Andy West, as previously reported by Billboard Canada.

According to a 2025 annual report by Warner Music Canada, there were previously approximately 185 employees working in Canada, which would mean the layoffs represent at least 12 to 13% of the workforce — though some have suggested the percentages could be higher.

In a statement to Billboard Canada, Warner Music did not confirm the number of layoffs or budget or resource details for Canadian operations, but affirmed their commitment to investing in Canadian artists and staff.

“Canada is rich with musical talent,” a Warner Music spokesperson says. “We remain committed to growing our presence here. These changes will help us focus on the most extraordinary local artists and help them have a greater global impact.”

The company’s roster includes developing Canadian talent including Ari Hicks, Crash Adams, Jade LeMac and Diamond Cafe. The spokesperson declined to answer whether or how their deals would be affected by the company changes.

The layoffs follow a tumultuous period for Warner Music Canada. In September, former president Kristen Burke departed the company, with New York City-based president of East West Records and head of global A&R at Warner Music Group Eric Wong stepping in to lead business in Canada. In an email to staff, Burke wrote that the appointment would mean Warner Music Canada would “now be connected more directly to the U.S. team.”

Burke’s departure followed a Warner Music Group global restructuring and a series of layoffs across territories.

Read more here. — Richard Trapunski

Billboard Canada 2025 Year-End Charts: The Biggest Chart Trends and Stories of the Year

What a year it’s been for music in Canada. We saw some huge chart runs, major breakthroughs from Canadian artists and global heavy-hitters keeping their grip on the top spots. Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” had the year’s biggest chart run, with the sentimental ballad challenging for a Billboard Canadian Hot 100 record set by Shaboozey last year. Was he successful?

Internationally, Taylor Swift proved once again she’s the queen of album sales, though country music’s main man, Morgan Wallen, challenged her for the Top Artist and Canadian Albums crowns. The charts were buzzing with a mix of viral TikTok hits, surging K-pop tracks and Punjabi music hits, showing us how Canadian audiences are finding their tunes.

This year, Billboard Canada debuted seven Canadian Airplay charts, which you can find on our charts page every week. This year, we’re rolling out year-end versions of all seven, along with the top overall Radio Songs year-end chart. There’s also the debut of the Top Canadian Artists chart, which is topped in 2025 by a surprising winner: Tate McRae.

Billboard Canada has also just dropped the year-end versions of several other key Billboard Canada charts, as well: the Canadian Hot 100, Canadian Albums, Top Artists (which pulls data from both), Canadian Airplay, Canadian Streaming and Canadian Digital Song Sales.

Every chart tells a unique story about the Canadian music landscape in 2025. 

This year’s song of the year was hotly contested. Towards the end of August, Alex Warren’s anthemic ballad “Ordinary” approached the record for the most weeks at No. 1 on the Canadian Hot 100, reaching 21 weeks. But while the 2025 hit arguably earned the song of the summer title, the song it was chasing still couldn’t be shaken for song of the year: Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”

The country singer’s ditty dominated 2024’s year-end charts, after spending a record 25 weeks at No. 1 — and it’s stayed at the top. The song holds No. 1 on the year-end Canadian Hot 100 chart for 2025, with Warren’s “Ordinary” following at No. 2.

The Beaches were the Billboard Canada Women of the Year 2025 — and it’s clear to see why they were deserving of the accolade — the first given to a group in the award’s history. 

The beloved Toronto-based band has kept a hold on their home country, becoming a mainstay on the Modern Rock chart, securing four spots on the year-end ranking, including their hit “Last Girls At the Party,” which held the No. 1 spot on the chart earlier this year for 11 weeks, and comes in at No. 3 on the year-end chart. 

Female artists played a big role on the rock charts this year, and on the airplay charts in general.

Read more here. — Richard Trapunski, Heather Taylor-Singh

Divide Between Québec Institutions, Artists and Consumers Grows as Government Debates French Music Streaming Quotas

Debate over Québec’s Bill 109 is resurfacing with new force, as fresh consumer data adds a critical layer to the conversation.

A Léger survey released in late November shows that most Québec music streaming users oppose government intervention in determining what music appears on digital platforms — a notable finding as the province continues to deliberate on the bill.

As Billboard Canada recently reported, the legislation would require digital platforms to prioritize French-language cultural content. Escalating debate has widened the divide between the streaming industry and the cultural sector.

The Digital Media Association (DiMA), which represents platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music, has been among the most vocal critics, warning the legislation could negatively impact consumer experience, artist revenues and platform operations in the province.

The new survey, commissioned by DiMA, found that 66% of Québecers believe the government should not influence the music available on streaming services, while 76% say they would oppose the bill if it resulted in higher subscription prices. Only 4% of respondents consider regulating streaming platforms a government priority, placing it far below concerns such as affordability, housing and health care.

The findings land as Québec’s National Assembly debates the bill, introduced on May 21, 2025, by Culture and Communications Minister Mathieu Lacombe. The bill — formally titled An Act to affirm the cultural sovereignty of Québec — aims to strengthen the visibility of francophone cultural content on digital platforms and would impose new obligations on major global streaming services and connected-device manufacturers.

Québec cultural organizations and industry representatives have pushed back against claims that Bill 109 would limit consumer choice, instead framing the proposed legislation as a necessary tool to support French-language culture in an increasingly globalized digital environment.

Last spring, several major organizations and artists featured in Quebec media — including ARRQ (the Quebec Directors’ Guild), GMMQ (the Quebec Musicians’ Guild), SARTEC (the Quebec Society of Radio, Television and Film Authors) and UDA (the Quebec performers’ union) — voiced their support for stronger regulatory measures on streaming platforms. Their comments, published in Le Devoir, Radio-Canada and other Québec outlets, argued that market-driven discoverability alone has not been enough to ensure the long-term visibility of francophone works. ADISQ, which represents Québec’s music and live performance industries, has also consistently supported regulatory intervention.

While major cultural institutions have largely rallied behind Bill 109, the response on the ground tells a very different story — especially within Québec’s multilingual and underground communities. Artists working in hip-hop, anglophone pop and folk, electronic, Afro-diasporic, Latin and other non-francophone genres say the bill overlooks their realities and risks deepening long-standing disparities in cultural visibility.

Laval producer High Klassified — a multi-platinum artist known for his futuristic sound and collaborations with global acts including The Weeknd, Drake, Future, Migos, A-Trak, Metro Boomin, as well as Damso and Hamza — is a central figure in Québec’s electronic and hip-hop scenes. He argues the legislation fails to reflect how music is consumed today, pointing to what he describes as “a huge generational gap” at the core of the debate.

“Streaming services give us the freedom to listen to what we want, when we want. It’s a new era, a new way of consuming music,” he tells Billboard Canada. “The government shouldn’t decide what we listen to. People choose for themselves — that’s the whole purpose of streaming.”

Read more here. — Yasmine Seck

To ring in her 29th birthday this week, Hailee Steinfeld is sharing her 29 favorite things about the past year — including a sweet home video of husband Josh Allen cradling her growing baby bump, revealing that the couple are expecting their first child.

In her Beau Society newsletter titled “This is 29!!,” Steinfeld shared “29 moments I loved this year… in no particular order,” including her first college football game and “jumping into a recording studio again — and realizing how much I’d missed it.” Her final favorite moment? “This video,” she wrote, posting a clip of her Buffalo Bills quarterback husband kissing her belly in a snowy field. At the end of the video, they adorably reveal a tiny snowman representing their soon-to-be first child.

Steinfeld and Allen later shared the video to Instagram too. Watch below:

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The actress/singer and NFL star were married in June in a Southern California ceremony after getting engaged last year.

Steinfeld and Allen were first linked romantically in spring 2023, after being spotted dining together in New York City. Months later, Allen confirmed the relationship but asked The Associated Press not to mention Steinfeld by name in an attempt to maintain privacy.

When Steinfeld mentioned getting back into the recording studio this year, she was likely referring to the music she recorded for April’s Sinners, the Ryan Coogler-directed film in which she co-starred alongside Michael B. Jordan. “We were all so tuned into the vision, and because I was both inside the story as an actor, and helping shape it through music, it created this really fluid creative loop,” Steinfeld exclusively told Billboard about her song “Dangerous” from the Sinners soundtrack, which she co-wrote with Sarah Aarons and Sinners composer Ludwig Göransson (who just picked up a best score Golden Globe nomination this week).

In addition to her acting career, Steinfeld has also released music over the years, including five Billboard Hot 100 hits between 2015 and 2017, led by the No. 12-peaking “Starving” with Grey and featuring Zedd in 2016.