We’re one-fourth of the way through 2026 already, and a busy year for pop stardom continued through its third month with the long-awaited returns of perhaps the two biggest male acts in global pop music — one solo and one group — with new albums, new singles and music videos, new Netflix-streamed concerts and new tours still on the horizon. Meanwhile, a pair of women stayed unmovable around the top of the Hot 100 (and busy in its lower stretches), and perhaps the most pivotal rapper of the 21st century made his full presence felt once again, for better and/or worse.

This week on the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, we looked back at another full March in pop stardom. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Kyle Denis and Michael Saponara to share and debate our respective March top five lists, while also naming some honorable mentions, some disappointments, and some artists who we’re looking forward to in the next few months of the new year. (If you want to listen back to our January and February 2026 recaps, or any of our monthly recaps from 2025, you can check them all out here.)

While recapping the month, we ask all the most pressing questions about March 2026 in pop stardom: Did BTS do what it had to do with its insanely anticipated return? Is Harry Styles at risk of one of his revived old hits lapping most or all of the songs off his new album? Everyone was talking about Ye the past month, but what are people actually saying about Bully? How did we not get either RAYE’s new album or its hit lead single just one spot higher on the Billboard charts? How much s–t do we give Jack Harlow about either his new album’s performance or his now-infamous Popcast quote? And perhaps most importantly: Is Kacey Musgraves really about to play the ACM Awards for the first time?

Check it out above, and subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) for weekly discussions every Thursday about all things related to pop stardom!

And as we say in every one of these GPS podcast posts — if you have the time and money to spare, please consider donating to any of these causes in the fight for trans rights:

Transgender Law Center

Trans Lifeline

Destination Tomorrow

Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

Human Rights Campaign – In Your Area

Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.

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If you’re thinking about joining Paramount+, a free trial is the best way to test out a streaming platform to see if it’s a good fit. The service is the home to hit originals, like Halo, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, 1883, Mayor of Kingstown, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and others, as well as hot music programming, such as Hip Hop Was Born Here, Behind the Music, From Cradle to Stage, Clive Davis: Most Iconic Performances and more.

Although the streaming service no longer offers a free trial to try before you commit, we found a clever workaround to get Paramount+ for free.

You can get Paramount+ for free, if you sign up for Walmart+. The retailer’s rewards program offers access to Paramount+ at no extra cost, while Walmart+ also offers a 30-day free trial to take the service out for a test drive.

Shoppers can receive a free subscription to Paramount+ included with any Walmart+ subscription, the retail giant announced last September. A Walmart+ subscription is $98 for the annual plan (about $8.17 per month) after a 30-day free trial and unlocks free access to Paramount+.

Paramount+ on Walmart+

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Sign up for Walmart+ 30-day free trial

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Afterwards, the Paramount+ Essential Plan, which gives you access to tons of TV shows and movies with limited commercials, increased a dollar to $8.99 per month (or $89.99 per year). The ad-free plan got a small price bump as well to $12.99 per month, but it now includes Showtime, along with everything in the Essential Plan and access to your local CBS station.

After the free trial ends, your plan will automatically renew at the regular rate, but you can cancel anytime.

Paramount+ features a mountain of entertainment with a growing list of original programs. You can reality TV shows on Paramount+ including Teen Mom, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta, Are You the One?, Survivor, and Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out.

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How to Watch Paramount+ on Prime Video

Amazon Prime members can subscribe to Paramount+ through Prime Video and receive a free trial for a week. The free trial only applies to the ad-free Paramount+ Premium plan.

An angry Taylor Swift fan who sued StubHub after her $14,000 Eras Tour tickets were voided on the day of the concert cannot pursue her allegations in federal court, a judge says.

Alexis Christensen filed a class action suit last year over claims that her pricey tickets to Swift’s December 2024 show in Vancouver were suddenly swapped for a “side view of the stage.” Those new tickets were worth only $3,600, Christensen said, and StubHub “pocketed the difference.”

But in a new ruling, a federal judge says Christensen and her lawyers have got problems: She signed an arbitration agreement when she purchased her tickets, meaning she waived her legal right to sue StubHub over the dispute.

“[StubHub’s] notices explicitly notified Christensen that by signing into her account and by purchasing the tickets, she was agreeing to StubHub’s terms and conditions,” Judge Jamal N. Whitehead wrote in the Tuesday (April 7) decision, which was obtained by Billboard.

The ruling means that Christensen must instead pursue her accusations via arbitration, a private dispute resolution process, rather than federal litigation. Crucially, that means her case cannot be a class action — a big blow after her lawyers said they wanted to represent “hundreds of thousands if not millions” of people who allegedly faced similar treatment.

Reps for both sides did not immediately return requests for comment. Swift is not named in the lawsuit nor accused of any wrongdoing.

Christiansen sued StubHub in October, claiming she’d dropped five figures on tickets for Swift’s Vancouver show that were supposed to be directly in front of the stage, but that they were changed at the last minute to seats almost parallel with the stage and with a bad view of Swift.

“With less than forty minutes until the once-in-a-lifetime concert began, and with no alternative option or recourse provided by the defendant, Ms. Christensen was forced to use the inferior tickets that StubHub provided,” her attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. “StubHub exploits the consumer’s lack of alternatives and coerces them into using tickets that are significantly less valuable than those they purchased.”

Her attorneys claimed that the switcheroo violated StubHub’s “FanProtect Guarantee,” which promises fans that if tickets purchased aren’t legitimate, the company will “find you comparable or better tickets to the event” or offer a refund or credit.

Christensen’s case was just one of many legal battles sparked by the infamously pricey market for Swift’s tour, which wrapped in December 2024 with a record-shattering haul of more than $2 billion in face-value ticket sales over a two-year run. Numerous fans filed class action suits against Ticketmaster, and the Federal Trade Commission is suing an Eras re-seller who jacked up prices. Prosecutors in New York even filed criminal cases against a “cybercrime crew” that stole Eras tickets and resold them at a huge profit.

But in Tuesday’s decision, Judge Whitehead said the case was clearly barred by StubHub’s arbitration clause. He said a link to the terms “appears in legible text, positioned in immediate proximity to the action button,” and that Christensen had agreed to them when she bought the Swift tickets.

StubHub is hardly alone in forcing fans to sign arbitration agreements — a common requirement when purchasing tickets and other services from many companies. Live Nation is currently embroiled in a long-running lawsuit over the issue, in which an appeals court ruled that its arbitration clauses were “unconscionable and unenforceable” because they make it “impossible” for fans to fairly pursue claims against the company.

Latin music’s meteoric rise in the U.S. shows no signs of slowing down, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) annual report, revealed Thursday (April 9). Celebrating its tenth consecutive year of growth, 2025 marked a major milestone: $1 billion in wholesale revenue. While retail revenue had previously surpassed $1 billion in prior years, this marks the first time Latin music’s wholesale revenue alone has reached that milestone. This feat underscores the genre’s growing dominance, which now accounts for 8.8% of total U.S. recorded music revenue — the highest share in its history.

“With rising global reach and fresh pathways connecting artists and fans, this sector just keeps delivering as labels work to grow the market with innovative new partnerships and opportunities,” says Rafael Fernández Jr., RIAA’s senior vp of state public policy and Latin music, in a press release. “It’s great to see new generations discover and build on the sounds I grew up on in Miami, taking music to new places and breaking down walls between formats, services, genres and styles so more fans than ever can experience the lure of Latin music.”

Streaming remains the backbone of this expansion, delivering a staggering 98.2% of the genre’s earnings in 2025 — 0.2% higher than the previous year. Paid subscriptions alone raked in $557.5 million, making up more than half of total Latin music revenue. Easy access, diverse discovery, and an expanding menu of Latin music legends and buzzy newcomers have only strengthened Latin music’s grip on digital platforms and listener engagement.

“Latin music has been on the upswing for a decade, as artists keep breaking new ground and fostering a deeper connection with their fans,” adds Matt Bass, RIAA’s vp of research and gold & platinum operations. “Streaming remains the top driver, bringing in 98.2% of total revenue with its huge menu of traditional icons and new stars for anywhere, anytime listening. As technology advances, labels keep finding even more ways to listen, create, interact – pushing the boundaries of possibility and growth for Latin music.” 

The genre’s hitmakers like Bad Bunny, Peso Pluma, Karol G, Fuerza Regida and Rosalía have been instrumental in driving the genre’s streaming success. For instance, Bad Bunny released Debí Tirar Más Fotos on January 5, 2025 and immediately impacted the charts. He entered nine titles on the year-end Global Excl. U.S. Songs chart, and eight on the Global 200 roundup. Fuerza Regida also made a huge impact with 111XPANTIA across the charts, including debuting at No. 2 of the Billboard 200.

While streaming certainly took the lion’s share, other formats are quietly making their presence known. 2025 saw continued interest in physical formats, particularly vinyl, hinting at new opportunities to tap into superfans craving collectible music. Vinyl sales accounted for a small but vital 1.5% of Latin music earnings, validating the niche but significant demand for tangible releases.

According to IFPI’s recent Global Music report Latin America was the “fastest growing region in the world due largely to broadened access to streaming,” states the press release. “These parallel trajectories also indicate more room to grow fan-to-artist engagement and label investments continue to pay off with new experiences, connections and revenue streams.”