Christmas has come early for Gwen Stefani. The veteran pop singer will reunite her old band No Doubt for a residency at the MSG-owned Sphere in Las Vegas. She has a new Christmas song, “Shake the Snow Globe,” which appears in a holiday movie. And her yuletide album from 2017, You Make It Feel Like Christmas, has had an updated deluxe release. All of them gifts, for Stefani and her fans.

Stefani stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a chat about her busy year-end, and her dream realized by locking away that weeks-long slot at Sphere.

“We’re excited,” she tells the late-night show’s host. “We did Coachella (in 2024) and it was so unbelievably amazing. It was like, amazing. And we were kinda talking for a while. We do everything slow, it seems like. But we were talking for years, again. And trying to find that thing that would be, you know, as good, you know? And I think the Sphere is, like, the future. It’s kind of a cross between a concert and a movie.”

As previously reported, an initial stretch of 12 No Doubt shows were booked for May 2026. The goal was to sell it out, she tells Fallon. Mission accomplished, immediately. Another six have been added for next June, which are billed as “final” dates of the residency.

No Doubt burst out of the Anaheim, CA ska and punk scene in 1986, eventually becoming one of the defining pop-rock bands of the 1990s. Their breakthrough album, Tragic Kingdom, topped the Billboard 200 for nine consecutive weeks, and is one of five top 10s on the all-genres albums tally. Over time, No Doubt earned two Grammy Awards and nine nominations, and landed eight hits on the Billboard Hot 100. After nearly three decades together, the band went on hiatus in the mid-2010s as Stefani pursued a successful solo career.

Stefani is hoping those Sphere shows will be like stepping into a time machine. “I want people to come and make it feel, like, really nostalgic. Like they’re back in time. Like, ‘remember this? Remember this, guys?’” Like, this is what we did together.” They bandmates are already mapping out the show, the setlist, she insists. “It’s gonna be so awesome.”

No Doubt has only performed twice since breaking up in 2015, most recently at the 2025 FireAid benefit concert in January.

But first, Christmas. It’s a time of year that Stefani loves to shine. You Make It Feel Like Christmas has been reissued as an Amazon-exclusive deluxe edition with two new songs, including “Shake the Snow Globe,” an addition to the holiday film Oh. What. Fun.

Has Stefani hung out with the film’s stars, Michelle Pfeiffer and Denis Leary? Well, of course. “I was like, ‘am I in high school right now?” she recounts. “Like it’s so weird. I’m standing in a room with these guys. And they’re really just icons.”  

Stefani sprinkled the Christmas spirit with a performance of the song for Fallon’s studio audience. Watch below.

Taylor Swift is still the showgirl Australians can’t get enough of.

The U.S. pop superstar comes out on top of Spotify’s Wrapped results for Australia, doing so for a third consecutive year. Swift leads a top 5 that’s dominated by artists from North America, ahead of Drake, Morgan Wallen, The Weeknd, and Billie Eilish, respectively.

TayTay’s popularity in Australia is unsurpassed. Her most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl blasted to No. 1 on the national ARIA Chart, extending her record for the most leaders by a female artist (14). The collection is recognized as the most-streamed week one album in ARIA history and notched the biggest vinyl sales debut, while “The Fate of Ophelia” became her 13^th No. 1 single.

When Showgirl dropped, Swift swept the entire top 12 on the ARIA Singles Chart, a feat never before achieved.

Meanwhile, the most streamed song on Australian Spotify accounts this year was Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” ahead of Gracie Abram’s “That’s So True.” Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feature” completes the podium.

After dominating the Netflix rankings in the second half of 2025, the companion recording, KPop Demon Hunters, was Australia’s top album for the past year.

For the year, the most popular homegrown artist on Spotify’s platform down under was The Wiggles, ahead of The Kid Laroi, whose album The First Time was the most-streamed homegrown LP. AC/DC, whose POWER UP tour is currently rocking stadiums around the country, comes in at No. 3 among most-streamed Australian acts, and the rock legends sweep the top 3 of Top Throwback Songs (pre-2000) with “Thunderstruck,” “Highway to Hell” and “Back in Black,” respectively.

Australia has a population of about 25 million, half of them are said to be on Spotify every month.

As previously reported, Bad Bunny dominates Spotify’s year-end Wrapped, the streaming giant’s listening summary, for which he comes in at No. 1 on the Global Top Artist tally for 2025 with more than 19.8 billion streams worldwide.

It’s the fourth time Bunny has held Spotify’s global streaming title, after ruling in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Check out the Spotify Wrapped Australia results below.

Australia Top Artists:

Australia Top Local Artists:

Australia Top Songs:

Australia Top Local Songs:

Australia Top Albums:

Australia Top Local Albums: 

Australia Top Podcasts:

Australia Top Local Podcasts:

Australia Top Audiobooks in Premium:

Australia Top Throwback Songs (pre-2000):

Australia Most Discovered Artists (i.e. users streaming an artist for the first time):

The fifth annual ASCAP Foundation Holiday Auction kicked off Wednesday (Dec. 3). Running through Dec. 17, the online auction features more than 50 exclusive items and experiences donated by ASCAP members and friends.

Donors range from pop hitmakers (Chappell Roan, Rosé, Cardi B, Alex Warren, EJAE) to singer-songwriters (Noah Kahan, Laufey, Brandy Clark). Country stars (Kacey Musgraves, Old Dominion, Jordan Davis), music icons (Lionel Richie, Alicia Keys, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Coldplay) and rising artists (Lola Young, Jessie Murph) also donated items. Additional donors include film and TV composers Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) and John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon), plus author James McBride (The Color of Water).

Among the items and experiences up for bidding are an autographed KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack, a Tate McRae emblazoned T-shirt and meet-and-greet tickets to watch R&B star Ne-Yo perform in Hell’s Kitchen. Additional items include VIP tickets to concerts and sporting events, autographed guitars and personalized videos. To view the entire list of auction items and learn more details, visit the ASCAP Foundation website.

Auction proceeds support the ASCAP Foundation’s goal to foster the next generation of songwriters and composers. Over the last year, the foundation’s music education and talent development programs have assisted more than 300,000 people, including 70,000 K-12 students from 1500 schools across the U.S.

In announcing the holiday auction, ASCAP Foundation executive director Nicole George-Middleton said, “We are always inspired by, and deeply grateful for, the extraordinary generosity of the ASCAP members and friends of the ASCAP Foundation whose incredible contributions help us raise the critical funds needed to support the next generation of music creators. It’s been a true joy to partner with the ASCAP creative community to curate more than 50 special experiences and one-of-a-kind gifts to bring music fans a little extra holiday magic this season.”

Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, who played on seminal recordings by such artists as Otis Redding, Booker T & the M.G.’s, Wilson Pickett and many more, died Wednesday (Dec. 3) in Nashville. He was 84.

Cropper’s son confirmed his father’s death on Facebook. “It’s with the heaviest of hearts that I share the news that my amazing Dad passed away this morning,” Stephen Cropper posted. “He certainly lived an incredible life and enjoyed every minute of entertaining you all. Please lift prayers of comfort for my family.”

As the guitarist for Booker T & the M.G.’s, which served as Stax Records’ house band during the 1960s, Cropper was an architect of the sound, with his ringing, often spare guitar work and deft touch heard on R&B and pop classics including Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,”  Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood,” Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour” and Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man” (Sam Moore immortalized Cropper with his “Play It, Steve,” ad lib on “Soul Man”).

“Steve Cropper was a towering figure in the history of rock and R&B,” says Steve Greenberg, reissue producer of 1991’s Grammy-winning The Complete Stax-Volt Singles box set, who frequently worked with Cropper. “As one of the all-time great electric guitarists, his unique playing style brought deep character to hits ranging from ‘Green Onions’ to ‘Dock of the Bay’ to Rod Stewart’s ‘Tonight’s the Night.’ Add to that his songwriting and production on classics like ‘In the Midnight Hour,’ ‘Knock on Wood’ and, of course, ‘Dock of the Bay,’ and Steve Cropper goes down as one of the key creators of popular music in the 1960s.”

Greenberg also notes the role of Cropper and the band in a racially divisive time. “Steve, along with Duck Dunn, Al Jackson and Booker T. Jones, recording as Booker T. and the M.G.’s, were the rare mutiracial group that dared defy the South’s awful color line in the early ’60s. Working together at Stax Studios in segregated Memphis during the most tumultuous years of the civil right movement, they, in a spirit of equality and fraternity, created an indelible body of American music.”

Cropper, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of Booker T & the M.G.’s, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, was also a noted producer, telling The New York Times in 2018 that he finished producing “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” under great duress following Redding’s death in a plane crash in 1967. “If I had a week to work on it, it probably would have been overembellished,” he said. Instead, he finished it in less than 24 hours.

The song earned Cropper one his two Grammys, winning for best rhythm & blues song at the 1969 ceremony. Cropper was nominated for nine Grammys, including most recently in 2024 for best contemporary blues album for his set, Friendlytown. In addition to “Dock of the Bay,” he won at the 1995 ceremony for best pop instrumental performance for the Booker T. & the M.G.’s track “Cruisin’.”

Cropper experienced a renaissance in 1979 when The Blues Brothers emerged. He got a phone call from John Belushi, who was half of the fictional blues duo Jake and Elwood Blues, with his “brother,” Dan Aykroyd, and recorded with the pair and made a suggestion that was golden. “What they wanted to do probably would have made it anyway, I don’t know, was basically all slow, kind of medium-tempo blues songs. Nothing wrong with blues songs, but there was nothing in there commercial to dance to,” Cropper recalled in an interview for the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum in 2019.

“So, at the end of the rehearsal one day I said, ‘John, why don’t you do something you can dance to?’ He said, ‘Like what?’ I said, ‘Like Sam & Dave,’” he continued. I looked at [keyboardist] Paul Shaffer and said, ‘Remember “Soul Man”?’ and they started going crazy and dancing. So, when they get through with it… John turns around to me and says ‘Steve, I love that song, but it’s too high for me,’ and I just dropped it down.” The remake reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979 and introduced the classic to a new generation.

“Every note he played, every song he wrote, and every artist he inspired ensures that his spirit and artistry will continue to move people for generations to come. and countless musicians and fans whose lives he transformed through his extraordinary gift,” his family said in their statement.

“Steve Cropper’s offerings to American music are significant but his contribution to soul and R&B music are immeasurable,” Pat Mitchell Worley CEO, Soulsville Foundation — which includes the Stax Museum, Stax Music Academy, and Stax Charter School — said in a statement. “As a founding member of Booker T. & the M.G.’s and a cornerstone of the Stax Records sound, his songwriting and guitar work shaped the very language of soul music. A gifted songwriter, producer, and musician, Cropper helped create timeless hits that continue to influence artists and people worldwide. His signature style helped define an era and cemented his legacy as one of the most important guitarists in modern music history.”

Survivors include wife Angel Cropper and children Andrea, Cameron, Stephen and Ashley.