The Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective (BMC) will host the fourth annual Recording Academy Honors , celebrating the careers of Pharrell Williams, Brandy and Kirk Franklin, on Thursday, Jan. 29. The Grammy Week event will take place at the Fairmont Century Plaza, just three nights before the 68th annual Grammy Awards are presented at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Williams will be presented with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, recognizing not only his musical achievements but also his entrepreneurial innovation, philanthropic efforts and cultural influence. Brandy and Franklin will receive the Black Music Icon Award, recognizing Black music creators whose artistry, innovation and service have shaped the industry and inspired generations around the world.

Franklin was initially set to be honored during the 2025 event prior to the Recording Academy’s decision to condense Grammy Week programming to prioritize Los Angeles wildfire response.

Franklin, 55, is a 20-time Grammy winner. He is nominated again this year for best gospel performance/song for “Do It Again.” Williams, 52, is a 13-time Grammy winner. He has four nominations this year, including album of the year as producer of Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out. Brandy, 46, has won one Grammy, best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal for “The Boy Is Mine,” her Hot 100-topping collab with Monica.

“Pharrell, Brandy and Kirk are true visionaries and masters of their craft,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “Each has built a legacy that transcends genre, defies convention and shapes culture. Their artistry continues to inspire generations of artists around the world. I’m thrilled to join the Black Music Collective in honoring three of music’s brightest stars in January and celebrating their immeasurable contributions to the industry.”

Since its inception, the BMC has been dedicated to championing and empowering Black music creators and industry leaders. Past honorees include Alicia Keys, Dr. Dre, JAY-Z, John Legend, Lenny Kravitz, Lil Wayne, Mariah Carey, Missy Elliott, and Sylvia Rhone. In further support of its mission to cultivate the next generation of Black leaders in music, the BMC awarded $85,000 in scholarship grants last year to Black college students and HBCU music programs.

Returning for the fourth consecutive year to produce Recording Academy Honors is MVD Inc, with Adam Blackstone also returning as music supervisor.

Billy Joel will be feted at New York’s Carnegie Hall on March 12 where an all-star group of performers will play his songs to benefit music programs for kids. Among the guest vocalists who will be joined by Joel’s live band are: Matchbox20 singer/songwriter Rob Thomas, Joel’s daughter singer Alexa Ray Joel, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Train’s Pat Monahan, Gavin DeGraw, Bettye Lavette, Matt Nathanson, Joy Oladokun, Tanya Tucker, War & Treaty and Rufus Wainwright, with more artists to be announced soon.

The show is latest gig from promoter Michael Dorf in support of his Music Of benefit series that has raised more than $2 million for music education programs in New York over the past twenty years. Previous honorees in the series have included Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Patti Smith, Prince, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, R.E.M. and more.

General admission tickets for the Joel event have already sold out, but VIP packages are still available here.

Joel is on a break from touring while he recovers from the neurological condition normal pressure hydrocephalus, which earlier this year caused the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer to cancel all of his planned 2025 shows due to the diagnosis. In an interview with Bill Maher in July, Joel said that he was feeling okay at the time, but cautioned, “it’s not fixed… it’s still being worked on.”

Seated at a piano, Joel told Maher that he felt “fine,” but admitted that, “My balance sucks. It’s like being on a boat. [My condition] used to be called ‘water on the brain.’ Now it’s called normal pressure hydrocephalus.”

Jack Black took a moment during his visit to Late Night With Seth Meyers on Tuesday night (Dec. 16) to pay tribute to late Hollywood legend Rob Reiner. Just days after Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner were found in their Los Angeles home after police say they were stabbed to death — the couple’s 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, has been charged with two counts of first degree murder in the case — Black said he would “feel weird” if he didn’t talk about Reiner’s influence on his career.

“I don’t really want to talk about anything other than Rob Reiner because he was such an incredible inspiration to me,” said Black of the producer/writer/director and actor who began his nearly 60-year career on Normal Lear’s landmark All in the Family sitcom before going on to direct such beloved films as This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, A Few Good Men and modern other classics.

“There is no Tenacious D without Spinal Tap,” Black said of the profound influence Reiner’s directing debut about a hapless group of heavy metal has-beens had on his bombastic, joketastic hard rock duo with partner Kyle Gass. “And anyone out here, any of the young millennials that haven’t seen Spinal Tap do yourself a favor. There’s no School of Rock without Spinal Tap,” Black noted of his beloved 2003 comedy about a school teacher/frustrated rocker who whips a group of fifth graders into a proper rock back for a crucial Battle of the Bands competition to raise rent money.

“I love so many of his movies. It’s like an incredible oeuvre of films that he made. What a genius,” Black added of the much-praised and beloved second-generation Hollywood talent who was also a die-hard supporter of many charitable causes and loud and proud liberal activist who supported same-sex marriage after California passed Prop 8, which banned it in the state, and who also helped chair the campaign to create early childhood development services funded by a tax on tobacco products in the state.

“I just wanted to really quick give a shout-out to one of the biggest inspirations of my life and send love to the universe to one of the greats. He brought so much joy,” Black said.

He joined a massive list of political, entertainment and public figures who paid homage to Reiner following what appears to be the shocking alleged double parricide, a list that includes such friends and contemporaries as Albert Brooks, close friend Billy Crystal, Paul McCartney, Larry David, Jamie Lee Curtis, Princess Bride star Cary Elwes, Stephen King, Jerry Seinfeld, Howard Stern, former Presidents Clinton, Obama and Biden and hundreds of others.

Not included on that list is Donald Trump, whose initial post on Reiner’s death he claimed was “reportedly… due to the anger he caused others,” blaming the tragic incident on what he deemed “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” an apparent reference to Reiner’s loud and frequent criticism of the president. The comments drew angry rebukes from a number of Reiner fans, with Gracie Abrams decrying Trump’s “poisonous & vile narcissism,” Jimmy Kimmel, who slammed Trump’s comments as “hateful and vile” and Jack White, who dubbed Trump’s dark eulogy as “vile” and “narcissistic.“

During his visit, Black also reminisced about hosting Saturday Night Live 20 years ago on the episode that featured Lonely Island’s breakthrough viral video, “Lazy Sunday,” a song Black said he remembered Beck calling “a legit banger.”

“And I was like, ‘yeah it is,’ and that’s when I knew these guys were, you know, for real,” Black said of the trio comprised of lifelong friends Andy Samberg and director/writers Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. Black can be seen in the new remake of the 1997 Jennifer Lopez/Ice Cube camp horror classic Anaconda alongside pal Paul Rudd, Steve Zahn, Thandie Newton and Selton Mello, which is out on Christmas Day.

Watch Black on Late Night below.

Music fans came out in full force to support their favourite artists on Bandcamp in 2025. The online music marketplace has reported sales for its Bandcamp Fridays initiative, closing out 2025 with $19 million directed to musicians and labels, and a year-on-year rise for 2024.

Originally launched as a single-day effort in March 2020, to help artists at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as touring revenue collapsed, the recurring event has generated more than $154 million to date. On each Bandcamp Friday, the platform waives its revenue share, so that money spent on music goes straight to the creators.

The final Bandcamp Friday of the year, held earlier this month (Dec. 5), was the most successful of 2025, generating $3.8 million. The initiative will return in 2026 with eight scheduled dates, the first being Feb. 6.

In a statement, Dan Melnick, general manager at Bandcamp, said: “Five years on, Bandcamp Fridays continue to show just how powerful direct fan support can be. 2025 was another brilliant year for artists and labels, capped by our strongest Friday yet, and we’re incredibly excited to bring even more opportunities to the community in 2026.”

Bandcamp was established in 2008 by Ethan Diamond in Oakland, California. The platform has since become renowned for its direct-to-fan sales of digital music, merch, and vinyl, and has paid out more than $1.4bn to date to independent artists and labels, who get approximately 82% of the money made from each sale.

The site also has a community culture, where fans can curate wishlists, leave reviews of albums they have purchased, and message artists directly. 

According to Bandcamp’s 2025 roundup, the year’s best-selling albums on the platform included King Gizzard and The Wizard Lizard’s Phantom Island, Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee, Westside Gunn’s Heels Have Eyes 2 and Are Playing Where??? Vol. 1, a Bandcamp-exclusive release from the Foo Fighters.

Popular merch, meanwhile, ranged from a Bikini Kill fundraiser t-shirt for trans youth charities, alongside items from the likes of Magdalena Bay, Burial, Castle Rat and more.

BRISBANE, Australia — The Ten Tenors were handed the keys to the City of Brisbane on Wednesday evening, Dec. 17, an honor that sees the classical crossover outfit join the likes of local heroes the Bee Gees, Savage Garden and Powderfinger.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner presented members of TTT, past and present, and their producer D-J Wendt, with the award for “exceptional contributions” to the river city, coinciding with the ensemble’s 30^th anniversary.

“Tonight is one of those wonderful Brisbane moments where culture, talent, and history, and a bit of magic come together,” Schrinner remarked during a special function at City Hall.

“The highest honor that a city can give is the keys to the city,” he continued. “And tonight, that’s happening, and it is so well deserved. Now, that’s not something that we do lightly. It’s reserved for individuals or groups who have made an outstanding contribution to the city.”

The tradition dates back to mediaeval times, when cities were fortified by walls and with gates. To receive the keys “was a symbol of trust that the city is yours,” remarked Schrinner. “The city trusts you. The city is open to you.” In years past, that cohort has been selected largely from the city’s deep pool of world-class athletes.

With The Three Tenors as the template, TTT was established back in 1995 with a goal to make opera accessible and entertaining, blending pop, rock, classics and more.

To date, the group has sold over 3.5 million concert tickets for performances in 37 countries, covering 639 cities. Also, their 17 studio albums have sold more than 1.5 million units.  

“Like the song says, we still call Australia home,” Wendt told guests at Brisbane City Hall. “But for The Ten Tenors, Brisbane is home. Always will be. Together we’ve achieved so many incredible milestones, and this means the world to us.”

With the Lord Mayor looking on, Wendt made a cheeky pitch for the services of his act to perform the national anthem during the 2032 games.

And why not. Career highlights include shows at the Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, a private party celebrating the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, and 100 other dignitaries in Petra in 2007, a performance for an official FIFA World Cup event in Poland, and for Oprah Winfrey’s “Ultimate Australian Adventure” at Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays back in 2010.

This evening’s 90-minute function was hosted by TV personality Melissa Downes; featured Q&As, covering life on the road, the origin of bandmates’ nicknames and more; navigating the challenges of the global financial crisis and the pandemic; and ended on a booming note as members of the TTT family took the stage for a rousing performance of “Nessun Dorma.”

“This business has taken us all around the world, many times,” Wendt remarked. And they’ll go again next year, for an extensive 30th anniversary run kicking off with shows in North America, then Europe, Asia, New Zealand, and Australia.