This story is part of Billboard’s Global World Cup Series, a collection of 11 cover stories which pairs top soccer stars across the world competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with highly-touted musicians in accompanying countries.

There is one word that footballers and singers have in common: play. In the case of Ernia, one of the most important rappers in Milan and in Italy, it is also about playing with words. He is an AC Milan fan since childhood, despite never having played football. It may seem strange, but Santiago Giménez was also a fan too and now he fulfilled the dream of being Rossoneri’s striker. His idol has always been Kaká. For his footballing quality, but also for his relationship with God. Religion helped him when the dream of becoming a professional footballer was about to be shattered by a serious health problem.

Eight years on, things have changed. Santi has won the La Liga MX and triumphed with the national team. The next milestone will come on June 11, when he will kick off the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil. The Italian national team sadly won’t be there: “If you don’t deserve it, it’s right that you don’t go,” Ernia explains. A statement that reflects his philosophy: things must be earned on the pitch.

Billboard Italy: Bebote and Ernia: Two nicknames, two stories. 

Giménez: It was my family who gave it to me because I was a very big baby. The translation of “Bebote” is literally “big baby.” A friend of my father’s, a television journalist, when I scored my first goal in the First Division shouted: “Goal from El Bebote!” From that moment on, everyone started calling me that.

Ernia: My stage name goes back to middle school. I had a classmate, a close friend of mine, who had a hernia, and I used to call her that affectionately. Since everyone kept hearing me repeat that word all the time, it became my nickname.

Santi, what do you feel about the idea of playing the World Cup at home?

Giménez: It’s an incredible dream. When you wear the national team shirt you represent an entire country, so you have a great responsibility, but at the same time it’s a wonderful thing. I know that Mexico, with its people, at home, is very strong.

The first match will be Mexico vs. South Africa at the Azteca, a special stadium for you, Santi.

Giménez: The first time I stepped on that pitch was with Cruz Azul. It’s a bit like coming home for me, I will relive many beautiful moments. For me, it’s the stadium with the most history at international level. It is hosting the World Cup for the third time, and Pelé and Maradona became world champions on that pitch.

What do you remember about the first time you found yourself playing or performing in front of a large crowd?

Ernia: The biggest concert I’ve done was at the Unipol Forum in Milan. For me it was like reaching a destination after a long journey. You’re never aware of your real following, which isn’t tangible until you perform. 

Giménez: The most beautiful feeling is when you walk onto the pitch and see the stadium full of fans. It’s not a given, because before you turn professional you basically play without an audience. The first time you find yourself playing in front of all those people is unique.

Ernia, would you like to perform at San Siro one day?

Ernia: You always dream of raising the bar. In my case, though, it’s not a deep-rooted dream, because it wasn’t something I had in mind as a child. When I was young, the Italian music market was much smaller, and only major international artists performed in stadiums. It was unthinkable that an Italian, let alone someone doing rap, could even aspire to something like that.

Who is the Milan player who inspired you the most?

Ernia: Definitely Paolo Maldini.

Giménez: Excellent choice. (Laughs.) I choose Kaká, because I’ve admired him since I was a child, and because we share a deep faith.

What do you think about the fact that for the first time there will be a halftime show at the World Cup final?

Ernia: It was predictable, given that it’s in the U.S. They simply applied their own entertainment model. It could be an opportunity for European football to understand whether it can work over here too. 

Giménez: I think it can be a good moment to release the tension, because in a final, you’re always on edge. It can also be more useful to have more time to rest. In general, I think it’s a wonderful thing that football and music come together. Art is part of life, just like football.

Was there a moment in your career when you had to overcome a difficult challenge that almost made you give up on your dream?

Giménez: When I was 17, due to thrombosis, the doctors told me I would never be able to play football again. It was then that I clung to my faith and God worked a miracle, allowing me to come back and play. I think I’ve learned, in the few years I’ve lived, that the moments that make you grow the most are precisely the difficult ones. There’s a phrase I really like: “Diamonds are formed under pressure.” Life is exactly like that. 

Ernia: About 12 or 13 years ago, for a period, I decided to stop making music. I had been trying to break through for so long and couldn’t. But then, after a couple of years, I started again. Being a little older and more mature, I managed to turn it into a profession.

You are both very close to your family. Incidentally, Santi, your father is a former footballer and a coach.

Giménez: Yes, I’ve always been very close to my family and, even though I left home at 18, I’ve always maintained a strong bond with them. My father gave me a lot of advice about football, but he had to train, so the one who took me everywhere by the hand was my mother. She made many sacrifices and I owe her everything.

Paul McCartney’s latest studio album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, debuts in the top five on six Billboard charts (dated June 13), including a No. 1 arrival on Top Album Sales, Vinyl Albums and Indie Store Album Sales. The set also launches at No. 2 on Top Rock Albums, No. 2 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums and No. 5 on the overall Billboard 200.

The Boys of Dungeon Lane marks the 22nd top 10 for McCartney on the Billboard 200, inclusive of his solo top 10s and his albums with Wings. The Beatles, of which McCartney is a member, has 32 top 10s. The Fab Four scored its first top 10 on Feb. 8, 1964 with Meet the Beatles!

McCartney landed his first solo Billboard 200 top 10 more than 56 years ago, with his McCartney album on the May 16, 1970-dated chart. A living soloist last logged a longer top 10 span on the Oct. 16, 2021-dated survey, when Tony Bennett’s Love for Sale, with Lady Gaga, debuted at No. 8. It gave the then-95-year-old Bennett a 59-year top 10 stretch, dating to I Left My Heart in San Francisco in October 1962.

The Boys of Dungeon Lane earned 63,000 equivalent album units in the United States in its debut frame (week ending June 4), according to Luminate. The album’s sales (59,500) were bolstered by its availability across 18 physical variants, including more than 10 vinyl editions. Vinyl purchases accounted for 32,000 of the album’s opening-week sales.

All Billboard charts dated June 13 will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on June 9.

McCartney earned his first solo Billboard 200 top 10 a little over 56 years ago, when McCartney rose 14-3 on the May 16, 1970-dated chart; it peaked at No. 1 a week later (May 23, 1970).

Breaking down McCartney’s 22 top 10s by decade: 10 in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, one in the ‘90s, four in the 2000s, three in the ‘10s and two in the 2020s.

McCartney is among a handful of acts with at least 20 top 10-charting albums on the Billboard 200, from March 24, 1956, when the list began publishing on a regular, weekly basis, through the new, June 13, 2026-dated chart.

Here’s an updated leaderboard of acts with at least 20 top 10s on the Billboard 200:

Most Billboard 200 Top 10s:
38, The Rolling Stones
34, Barbra Streisand
33, Frank Sinatra
32, The Beatles
27, Elvis Presley
23, Bob Dylan
23, Madonna
22, Elton John
22, Bruce Springsteen
22, Paul McCartney/Wings
21, George Strait
20, Drake
20, Prince

Notably, the Kidz Bop Kids music brand has collected 24 top 10s, in 2005-16, with its series of kid-friendly covers of hit singles. The franchise’s early albums were performed mostly by anonymous studio singers, although later releases focused on branding named talent.

While catalog music has traditionally referred to songs released anywhere from three years to decades ago, music investment company Duetti said on Tuesday it is acquiring songs released as recently as 6 months ago, and it is launching a new in-house remixing program with indie artists to work those new songs.

Duetti says it is hiring independent artists to remix, cover and create new derivative works from the more than 30,000 tracks in its catalog. Artists will earn a share in the future royalties of the new songs, and Duetti will cover distribution and marketing costs.

As competition for investing in masters and publishing royalties has increased in the years since streaming introduced stable cash flows and reams of consumption data to music, Duetti’s strategy has, since 2022, been to buy songs released as recently as two years ago. While major music companies and catalog acquisition funds have considered these to be riskier assets, Duetti CEO Lior Tibon says they’ve invested in the data and forecasting tech to confidently underwrite investments and project future cash flow for much newer songs.

“It’s just another step in the innovation in what we’re trying to bring to the market,” Tibon tells Billboard. “What we do best is predict future performance and value music, simplify business processes that are notoriously difficult to automate and make easy, and find new audiences and improve revenue potential [through] marketing. [What] we are developing will allow us to offer more options and products.”

The initial 2-year parameter was somewhat “arbitrary,” Tibon says, and the company’s investments in data engineering, forecasting and “proprietary AI-driven predictive models [enable it] to materially lower the master acquisition age threshold from two years to six months following the initial commercial release.”

The company has already worked with more than 200 artists, including RxPapi, Jesse Barrera, and Ingrid Contreras, to acquire stakes in tracks that were released less than two years ago. Financing for acquisitions of these songs will come specifically from an existing $75-million credit facility Duetti has with Viola Credit. (In January, Duetti said it raised $200 million through equity investment and debt financing, bringing the total amount it has raised to $635 million.)

“We underwrite data and track record, and we’ve had a long relationship with Duetti that … has never been a creative one; it has been grounded in alignment on underwriting and risk management,” Viola Credit partner Michael Chen. “The beauty of what Lior has built is a technology platform that gets to the bottom of [consumption data] to provide meaning in the data.”

The remixing program adds a key pillar to Duetti’s marketing strategy, Tibon says. To date, Duetti has released 200 remixes and derivative works from over 100 artists across genres, including rap, baile funk, and house music, across North America, Europe, and Latin America. The company says collaborators include Satin Jackets, Kowloon, MC Leleto and  rising hip-hop performer zai1k.

The collaboration with zai1k started with Duetti reaching out and pitching him songs from its catalog they hoped he would remix. After Zai1k selected “Dangerous” by David Hugo, Duetti connected the two, booked a studio for them to track new vocals and tweak production of the original record. Later, Duetti helped finance a music video for the track, paid zai1k a fee for co-creating the song, which he and David own stakes in, and the company began promoting the song across its owned playlists, through influencer campaigns and other means.

“By using AI insights and analytics, we’re able to identify the right remixing artist and pair them with a globally rich catalog built for reinterpretation – all while ensuring collaborations are fully authorized and artist-approved,” Elliot Baumohl, Duetti’s Head of Music Growth, said in a statement. “We’re creating the fastest, simplest remix process in the industry.”

The company says it plans to expand the remixing program to songs in its catalog from genres like phonk, dancehall, and reggaeton, which it hopes will deepen its footprint in key markets outside the US, including Germany, France and Latin America. 

Blink-182 appear to be preparing something special for the 25th anniversary of Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.

The pop-punk trio sparked speculation among fans this week after sharing the album’s iconic artwork on social media alongside a link inviting fans to sign up for more information. While the band has yet to reveal exactly what’s planned, the timing points squarely to the 25th anniversary of the record, which was released on June 12, 2001.

The teaser arrives ahead of the album’s milestone anniversary on Friday (June 12), prompting fan theories ranging from an expanded reissue and previously unreleased material to a commemorative tour announcement.

At the time of publication, Blink-182 has not publicly confirmed any details.

Released on June 12, 2001, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket marked a major commercial breakthrough for Blink-182. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with more than 350,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming the first punk-rock album ever to open atop the chart.

The set spawned several of the band’s most enduring singles, including “The Rock Show,” “First Date” and “Stay Together for the Kids.” While the first two tracks leaned into the band’s trademark humor and youthful energy, “Stay Together for the Kids” showcased a more serious side, tackling divorce and family breakdown through some of the most personal songwriting of the group’s career.

The album also arrived during a period when Blink-182 were reaching new commercial heights. Fronted by guitarist Tom DeLonge and bassist Mark Hoppus alongside drummer Travis Barker, the band spent much of 2001 and 2002 touring globally behind the record, including the high-profile Pop Disaster Tour with Green Day.

The anniversary tease continues a recent trend of Blink-182 revisiting key moments from their catalog. In 2019, the group celebrated the 20th anniversary of Enema of the State by performing the album in full on tour, while recent years have seen renewed interest in the band’s classic-era releases following DeLonge’s return to the lineup.

The announcement also follows a busy period for the band. Their 2023 reunion album, One More Time…, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, giving Blink-182 their third chart-topper and their first since Take Off Your Pants and Jacket more than two decades earlier.

For now, fans will have to wait until June 12 to learn exactly what Blink-182 has planned for one of the most beloved albums in pop-punk history.

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Nashville’s iconic Grand Ole Opry House has played host to some of country music’s most special occasions, from its first broadcast of the famed Grand Ole Opry radio show on WSM in 1974 to the premiere Opry performances of the genre’s greatest and most legendary names. But on the Sunday before CMA Fest 2026, the Opry stage introduced a brand-new experience.

Hosted by Chase Sapphire Reserve, “Dinner at the Opry” invited an intimate group of cardholders to dine on the stage of the Opry. The evening was part of Sapphire Reserve’s “Dinner On…” series, which reimagines cultural landmarks as immersive dining venues alongside influential talent.

The talent on this night: ACM Award-winning country music breakout star Ella Langley. Fresh off a plane in between tour stops (she’s headlining her own “Dandelion Tour” and opening for Morgan Wallen on his “Still The Problem Tour”), Langley took to the Opry stage to perform three of her viral hits: “Be Her,” “Loving Life Again,” and her history-making number one hit, “Choosin’ Texas.”

After the performance, cardholders enjoyed a family-style meal from one of Nashville’s only Michelin starred restaurants, Bastion. Attendees took home more than memories of an unprecedented night too: Tecovas set up a gifting suite for VIPs who were able to personalize a pair of boots onsite. Everyone also received a copy of Langley’s latest album, Dandelion.

With eight times the points on all purchases through Chase Travel, four times the points on flights, and four times the points on hotel bookings, it’s easy to see why frequent flyers like Langley choose Chase Sapphire. In fact, when Billboard asked Langley to share her travel must-haves, she didn’t hesitate to mention the card.

“[I need] my wallet with my Chase Sapphire Reserve Card inside,” she says, dutifully. “Having lounge access makes travel way easier, and my team uses it to book hotels when we’re on the road,” she adds.

What else does Ella need on the road? The country star shared some of her must-have items with Billboard and you can follow our links below to shop the same products online now.

THE GOOD BOOK

ESV Thinline Bible (Natural Leather Cover With Strap)

$66.79 $109.99 39% off

Buy Now On Amazon

“I always travel with my Bible because it helps keep me centered when life gets hectic,” Langley shares. “Having quiet moments to reconnect with my faith is something I really lean on while traveling.”

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Amazon shoppers love this “thinline” Bible, which measures just one-inch thick — great for packing into a bag when traveling. The English Standard Version Bible comes with a genuine leather cover that folds over and ties up with a leather strap. Readers also like that the words spoken by Jesus in the Bible are highlighted in this edition in a red colorway.

EYE CARE

Lumify Eye Drops for Red Eye

$19.00 $21.99 14% off

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“I swear by Lumify eye drops, especially after long travel days and those in-between moments when I’m going straight from one thing to the next,” Langley says. “They instantly make me look more awake and refreshed.”

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These Lumify eye drops are a bestseller on Amazon with more than 67,000 verified reviews. More than 86% of reviewers give the drops a full five-star review, praising their ability to reduce redness in as little as one minute.

MEAT CUTE

Chomps Nashville Hot Chicken Jerky Meat Snack (24-Pack)

$54.99

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What does the country star snack on while on tour? “Chomps meat sticks are my favorite snack on-the-go because they’re high in protein and easy to throw in my bag,” Langley says.

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Amazon has a range of Chomps meat sticks available to buy online, including this Nashville Hot Chicken flavor, which is made with no antibiotics, sugar or nitrites, and clocks in at just 80 calories. See more Chomps flavors (available in beef, turkey, chicken or venison) here.

SIGNATURE SCENT

NOYZ x Be Her by Ella Langley Perfume

Of course Langley doesn’t show up to a concert or appearance without a few spritzes of her “Be Her” perfume, created with the fragrance company, NOYZ. “Having my own fragrance has always been a dream, and who doesn’t want to smell good all the time?” she says.

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Langley’s signature scent features notes of violet, bergamot and peonies, mixed with “salted amber,” a hint of tobacco, soft woods and tonka bean.

LIP SERVICE

ChapStick Summer Bundle (6 Count)

$29.99

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“I probably have 10 ChapSticks or lip glosses in my bag at a time,” Langley shares. “I like having options for whatever tones and vibe I want on any given day.”

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She’s in luck because this ChapStick set gets you a six-pack of summery flavors, like a creamy ice cream trio, light and juicy mocktails, and refreshing fruit flavors like watermelon and grapefruit.

Of course there’s one other thing Langley always takes on tour: “I love having my dogs Crue and Bee with me,” she says. “They are my little pieces of home while on the road.”