There’s big changes afoot in the leadership team at Universal Music New Zealand, with longtime Managing Director and Chairman Adam Holt announcing his retirement.

News of the leadership transition was announced by Universal Music Australia & New Zealand President and CEO, Sean Warner on Tuesday, March. 4 (New Zealand time). Holt’s decision to retire comes after 24 years successfully leading the company, and 34 years spent at Universal Music Group and predecessor company Polygram. Holt’s retirement will take effect on April 30, with successors Myra Hemara and Matt Kidd being promoted to Co-Managing Directors, effective May 1.

“Adam’s commitment to our company, our artists, our people, and the greater New Zealand music industry has been nothing short of exemplary,” Warner said in a statement. “Throughout his tenure he consistently promoted a positive culture of both UMNZ and UMA garnering him enormous respect from both employees and artists alike. Adam is a passionate music man, caring mentor and consummate professional, who led from the front and made lifelong friends across the UMG, the artist community artists and with our partners around the world.”

“Leading the New Zealand company for UMG has been the experience of my life,” added Holt. “I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and the challenges we have successfully navigated over the years, but it’s time for me and the company to start the next chapter. A big thank you to Sir Lucian Grainge and Sean for trusting me with UMNZ for so long, and a huge thank you to the entire Universal Music team across New Zealand and Australia. You are an amazing group of people and I will miss you immensely. Most importantly, thank you to all the artists I have had the honour to serve in my time at Universal. I remain in complete awe of you all.”

“I am thrilled to announce that the current UMNZ General Managers, Myra Hemara and Matt Kidd, will become the new Co-Managing Directors of the company,” Warner continued. “Matt and Myra have incredible experience within UMNZ and have been at the forefront of the changes we have made in New Zealand over the past couple of years, Together, with the support of UMNZ Chief Financial Officer & Commercial Director, Tony Jenks, they will form a strong executive leadership team that will drive a new era of success for Universal Music New Zealand.”

Hemara joined UMNZ in 2006, working on establishing their digital department and strategy upon her addition to the team. In 2017, Hemara was appointed General Manager, taking on the additional responsibilities of leading UMNZ’s international artist marketing and audience development teams.

Kidd, meanwhile, has been with UMNZ for the past 12 years, having begun his career in promotions and public relations before leading their domestic repertoire and business development teams. Since 2017, Kidd’s role as General Manager has seen him focus on exporting New Zealand talent on a global scale.

“Being given this opportunity to lead Universal Music New Zealand alongside Matt is a great privilege and honour,” Hemara said. “The legacy Adam has created for our artists and staff has provided an incredible foundation for Matt and I to build on. I’m looking forward to fostering a culture of connection, creativity and collaboration and delivering even more success for our incredibly talented artists.”

“Thank you to Sean for giving Myra and I the opportunity to lead this great company,” added Kidd. “It’s exciting to take on this new role at a thrilling point in the business, where the landscape and scope for how we can work with and develop our artists is changing dramatically. I’m beyond excited to be a part of the best team in the country and to continue driving excellence and innovation for our artists in New Zealand, and around the world.”

Fans hoping for a future reunion announcement from Hall & Oates needn’t hold their breath, with Daryl Hall claiming such a possibility will never happen.

Hall made his recent comments in an interview with The Times, where he reflected on the “betrayal” he felt from longtime bandmate John Oates that soon led to a lawsuit which split the pair. When asked about whether the enduring pop-rock duo could ever reunite, Hall was concise in his response.

“That ship has gone to the bottom of the ocean,” he explained. “I’ve had a lot of surprises in my life, disappointments, betrayals, so I’m kind of used to it.” Though he didn’t elaborate on the latter, he did allude to having “been involved with some pretty shady characters over the years.”

The Hall & Oates dissolution first began back in November 2023 when the pair became embroiled in a legal dispute. Described by Oates as “a very boring business issue,” the crux of the issue began when Hall filed suit against his former partner over Oates’ attempt to sell his half of the duo’s joint venture Whole Oates Enterprises to Primary Wave Music without Hall’s consent.

Though Hall still isn’t able to speak to the specifics of their legal showdown, both men agreed in 2024 that their creative partnership was over.

“John and I did not have a creative relationship for decades; the last song I wrote with John was in 2000 and that was with somebody else,” Hall told Billboard in June 2024. “We toured and we toured and we toured, and it was very restrictive to me, and to John. The real truth of it all is John just said one day he didn’t want to do it anymore. I said ‘OK,’ but the problem is (Oates) didn’t make the parting and breakup easy, and that’s where the difficulties lay and still lay, and that’s all it is.

“I always say I’ve been a solo artist my whole life, I was just working with John, mostly.”

Having first formed in 1970, the Pennsylvania performers rose to fame throughout the ‘70s thanks to albums such as 1976’s Bigger Than Both of Us, which peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, and spawned their first single to top the Hot 100, “Rich Girl.”

The duo reached their commercial zenith in the early ’80s, where albums such as Voices, Private Eyes, and H₂O all went Platinum, with the latter giving them their highest album peak, hitting No. 3. Across two years, Hall & Oates would chart atop the Hot 100 four times thanks to “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” and “Maneater.” They’d nab their final chart-topper with 1984’s “Out of Touch.”

Despite not splitting until 2024, Hall & Oates’ last studio album arrived 18 years earlier by way of Home for Christmas. Their last full album of original material was 2003’s Do It for Love.

The Oscars might be the biggest night for the film industry, but the 2025 awards show included some pretty epic music moments as well.

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie tells Keith all about her night inside the Dolby Theatre for the 97th Academy Awards, where the Wicked duo of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo opened the show; LISA, Doja Cat and RAYE teamed up for a three-part tribute to the music of James Bond; and Queen Latifah paid joyful tribute to Quincy Jones. And that was just the performances — there was also Mick Jagger, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez presenting awards and more music tucked into the four-hour telecast.

Listen to the latest episode to hear all about it:

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Tate McRae lands her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as So Close To What debuts atop the tally — and with the biggest debut for a studio album by a woman in five months. Plus, the legendary James Brown returns to Billboard’s charts in a most unexpected way.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

The late Joe Cocker is a contender for this year’s class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, and Paul McCartney is on his side.

The Beatles star wrote a letter to the Rock Hall — an international voting panel composed of more than a thousand artists, historians and music industry professionals — suggesting that Cocker be chosen for induction. “Joe was a great man and a fine singer whose unique style made for some fantastic performances,” McCartney wrote of the “Woman to Woman” singer in the letter obtained by Billboard. “He sang one of our songs ‘With a Little Help From My Friends,’ a version produced by Denny Cordell which was very imaginative.”

He continued, “All the people on the panel will be aware of the great contribution Joe made to the history of Rock and Roll. And whilst he may not have ever lobbied to be in the Hall of Fame, I know he would be extremely happy and grateful to find himself where he deserves to be amongst such illustrious company.”

The “Let It Be” singer sweetly signed the note, “Paul (McCartney).”

McCartney is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoree, as he was inducted in 1988 as a member of The Beatles and in 1999 as a solo artist.

Cocker, who died in 2014, is a first-time nominee. He’s up for the Rock Hall’s Class of 2025 alongside 13 other musical greats, including Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Mariah Carey, Chubby Checker, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, Oasis, Outkast, Phish, Soundgarden and The White Stripes.

The Class of 2025 will be revealed in late April, and this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Los Angeles this fall, with more details to be announced in the coming months.

Just over an hour after the 97th Academy Awards came to a close, the annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award Party was preparing for its hotly anticipated performance from the Grammy-winning artist Chappell Roan. 

Taking place just 10 minutes south of the Dolby Theater, at West Hollywood Park, a mix of fellow artists (from Brandi Carlile to Diplo), actors and industry insiders packed the largest of three rooms as the hour inched past 9:00 p.m. Following an introduction and thank you from Sir Elton John himself, Roan kicked her off her hour-long set at 9:10 with the rousing “Femininomenon” followed by “Naked In Manhattan.” 

“Can you believe it?” she asked. “We’re at a dog park behind The Abbey.” She later spoke of the famed gay bar for its role in inspiring her breakout hit “Pink Pony Club” – which she performed alongside John, who stayed seated for its verses but jumped up to sing and dance to the chorus while donning a sparkling pink cowboy hat placed on his head by Roan herself. To which he said: “Yeah, baby!”

“I would just like to say thank you, Elton, for believing in ‘Pink Pony Club.’ He played it first, y’all. And I’m so grateful that you would have me here,” Roan said. She also stressed the importance of his event while wiping away a tear and holding John’s hand. “You have sacrificed so much for the queer community, and you made it so I could be the artist I could be.”

Prior to duetting on a hit of Roan’s, the pair performed a stunning rendition of John’s Hot 100 No. 1 “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” with John on keys. And earlier, Roan had tucked in another ode to the legend with an incredible cover of his touching top 10 track “Your Song.” 

“It’s kind of scary singing it in front of the person who wrote it,” Roan admitted with a laugh, adding it’s “maybe the best song of all time.” She dedicated the song to parents, both of whom were in attendance, and thanked them for introducing her to John’s discography.

Still, the majority of Roan’s set was filled with her own charting hits, including “Casual,” “Hot To Go!” “Red Wine Supernova,” “Good Luck, Babe!” and “My Kink Is Karma.” But no matter what song Roan was performing, she delivered a potent combination of her soaring vocal range and spirited physicality (she rarely stayed in one spot on stage for long and proved to be well acquainted with a high kick). And while nothing about her set was inhibited by the black tie attire and table seatings scattered throughout the room, she had no problem calling out those in the back row who were a bit more reserved.

“Cut loose, baby!” she said with a laugh. “Let’s have fun.” Meanwhile, those packed near the stage had no need for such instructions, as their dancing made the floor shake (coincidentally, an earthquake hit Los Angeles minutes after her set ended). 

As John said himself of the superstar while on stage: “You’re the best, baby. I love you so much.”