A$AP Rocky is applying Burtonesque touches to his next studio album.

In a collaboration that fans have been tracking, with little success, for more than a year, the U.S. hip-hop star reveals Tim Burton is on board with his next project.

In an all-caps post, A$AP Rocky announces the end of a near-eight-year drought with Don’t Be Dumb, what will be his fourth studio album.

Burton, the legendary director behind such films as Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and Mars Attacks, created the artwork, which can be Rocky posted on his social accounts.

Rocky also alludes to a “movie,” which is understood to be the visual assets connected with the release.

“SORRY 4 THE WAIT DON’T BE DUMB FINALLY HERE! THANKS TIM BURTON FOR HELPING ME MAKE THIS MOVIE! COMING SOON,” he writes.

The Mob frontman has teased the album on several occasions, including his performance last month at Camp Flog Gnaw, where he donned a hoodie with a set of numbers emblazoned across the right sleeve.

Those numbers, “01162026,” were seen as the strongest of hints at a Jan. 16, 2026, release date for the album. Or perhaps not.  That date also happens to be National Nothing Day, and Rocky has separately said the album is still slated to drop this year.  

“Danny Elfman, he just did my album with me that I’m putting out this year,” Rocky said during a conversation as part of Variety‘s Hollywood Issue. “He scored a bunch of the songs on my album.”

Elfman, for those keeping score, has frequently worked with scoring Burton’s films.

As part of his August 2024 cover story with Billboard, Rocky revealed he intended to have the Oscar-nominated director design the cover, but their schedules didn’t align to properly collaborate on the artwork.

That’s no longer the case.

“I sat and I played the album for Tim Burton, and he was f–king with it heavy,” he said of Burton’s reaction to the music. “He was rocking his head and he’s like, ‘Wow! I didn’t know you made that kind of music!’” Elfman reportedly contributed to certain songs, including one produced by The Alchemist.

A$AP Rocky’s last album arrived in 2018 with TESTING, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, one his three top 10 appearances. The Harlem native has led the all-genres albums chart on two occasions, with 2013’s Long.Live.A$AP, and 2015’s AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP.

Don’t Be Dumb was originally intended for an Aug. 30, 2024 release, and has been beset with multiple delays.  Previously announced tracks on the collection include “Highjack,” “Tailor Swif,” “Ruby Rosary” and “Pray4DaGang.”

In the Chinese pop music scene, the name Zi Yu is quickly becoming one to watch. Not long ago, a special joint initiative by Billboard China and Tencent Music culminated in the 2025 Billboard Global No.1s China honors, where Zi Yu emerged as the country’s representative winner. After two rounds of fan voting and recommendations, the rising Mandopop artist clinched the No. 1 spot with his song “Quagmire,” earning him the title of China’s Global No. 1s honoree.

Released in August this year, “Quagmire” became Zi Yu’s first single to reach No. 1 on the Tencent Music charts. And beginning this summer, his popularity began to soar rapidly. Several subsequent singles such as “Too Deep,” “Say It Before Sunrise” and “Sunny Day After Rain” all went on to top the TME Uni Chart. He became one of the very few highly popular young artists in recent years to score five No. 1 hits in his debut chart year. Meanwhile, his music festival schedule has grown increasingly packed, and he recently announced his solo concert. Zi Yu is like a vibrant fish leaping into the vast ocean. Even if there are brief moments of panic, he still swims firmly toward the distance.

Lyricist-composer Li Shijue, who wrote “Quagmire,” once spoke about the inspiration behind the song in an interview: “I believe everyone has experienced a ‘quagmire moment,’ a low point in life. It’s not about the inspirational idea of ‘getting out of the quagmire,’ but about the courage to ‘stand firm inside it.’”

Zi Yu’s interpretation, he said, revealed a kind of “restrained resilience” in the young musician’s voice. This may also be an honest reflection of Zi Yu’s own path: before standing under the spotlight were countless moments of brave striving and trying; behind the current heat and attention were times of confusion and uncertainty. The once-introverted child now stands steady at center stage, passing strength to those who watch him, drawing continuous motivation from the listeners who love him.

Today, Zi Yu is growing at high speed as he explores the infinite possibilities within his music. “Too Deep” blends electronic and pop elements, challenging him with singing and dancing; “Her Path, Our Light” is a grand, emotional anthem; “Say It Before Sunrise” lets him release pure romance; “Sunny Day After Rain” expresses the strength of breaking free from a cocoon and the strength to emerge from the mud. His style has no fixed boundaries, but running through all his work is the same upward-moving, warm love and energy he insists on conveying.

As the 2025 Billboard Global No.1s China representative, Zi Yu now stands on a larger stage, being seen and recognized. And ahead of him, a vast future is slowly unfolding, waiting for him to keep swimming forward toward the boundless blue.

This story originally appeared on Billboard China.

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Passionate about music? Here’s your chance to learn from some of the best in the business with MasterClass, the online learning site that features on-demand video classes from some of the biggest celebrities and thought leaders in the world.

Even better: MasterClass is offering a 50% off holiday deal when you sign up for any of its plan. That means users can get the Premium Plan, which lets six users share a subscription for just $10/month (normally $20/month). If you need a last-minute gift, all gifting subscriptions are also included in the limited time discount.

As a point of comparison: you can also get the standard plan for only $5/month (normally $10/month), which makes this the cheapest MasterClass price online.

What Musicians Are on MasterClass?

Music lovers can take classes taught by Mariah Carey, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Usher, Herbie Hancock, Reba McEntire, Alicia Keys, Nas, Questlove, Metallica, Timbaland, Yo-Yo Ma, Ringo Starr and other singers, songwriters, musicians and producers.

And it’s not just music, MasterClass features top-rated courses in science, tech, sports, gaming, wellness, business and leadership, design, style, photography, cooking, writing, acting and other genres.

The service features more than 200 video lessons taught by celebrities, political figures, fashion designers and other figures including Serena Williams, Steph Curry, Simone Biles, Tony Hawk, RuPaul, Issa Rae, Shonda Rhimes, Kevin Hart, Martha Stewart, Amy Poehler, Tan France, Mindy Weiss, Wolfgang Puck, Marc Jacobs, Anna Wintour, Diane Von Furstenberg, Naomi Campbell, Kris Jenner, Richard Branson, Gordon Ramsey, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, celebrity stylist Karla Welch and other professionals in entertainment, tech, fashion, sports, gaming, wellness, writing, etc.

How Much Does MasterClass Cost?

The platform starts at $120 a year (which works out to $10/month for a single subscription). The subscription gives you unlimited access to all classes, including new courses launched monthly.

The Premium Plan costs $240 a year (which works out to $20/month) but you can share this plan with six users in total. That brings the price down to just $3.33/month per user. While the site sometimes offers promotions for Black Friday and the holidays, this is the best MasterClass deal we’re seeing online right now.

Your membership unlocks access to the streamer’s mobile and TV apps, high-definition videos, and class workouts that you can download and watch on a smartphone, computer and other devices such as Apple TV, Fire TV, and Roku devices. MasterClass also provides Audio Mode for certain courses, so that members can download classes and watch them offline from the plane and other modes of transportation.

From beginners to novices, MasterClass courses are designed to suit all skill levels. Every class includes around 20 videos that are approximately ten minutes each, and a detailed workbook. The course instructor will walk students through the curriculum, which comes with a step-by-step instructions, but also encourages students to explore their own creativity by going “beyond the session content.”

For more music-related product recommendations, read our roundup of the best Masterclass music courses to take, best portable recording booths and instruments to grab on sale.

Of the dozens of songs that were written for 2025 films, just 15 are still in contention to win the Academy Award for best original song.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences released its shortlist of 15 songs on Tuesday (Dec. 16). It includes one of the year’s biggest global hits, “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters, and two songs each from two films – Sinners (“I Lied to You” and “Last Time (I Seen the Sun)”) and Wicked: For Good (The Girl in the Bubble” and “No Place Like Home”).

The list includes five stars who have topped the Billboard Hot 100 as artists – Miley Cyrus, Mark Ronson, Billy Idol, Ed Sheeran and EJAE from HUNTR/X. Cyrus and Ronson are among the writers of “Dream as One” from Avatar: Fire and Ash. Idol is among the writers of “Dying to Live” from Billy Idol Should Be Dead. Sheeran co-wrote “Drive” from F1: The Movie. EJAE co-wrote “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters.

Diane Warren secured her usual position on the shortlist with “Dear Me” from the aptly titled documentary about her career, Diane Warren: Relentless. This keeps her hopes alive of becoming the first songwriter in Oscar history to land nine consecutive nominations in that category. She is currently tied with the late Sammy Cahn with eight consecutive nominations each.

Members of the music branch culled this shortlist of 15 songs from a master list of 65 eligible songs. They will vote again to determine the five nominees, which will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 22. The full membership of the Academy will vote to determine the winner, which will be announced when the 98th Oscars are presented at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Sunday, March 15.

But why wait? We’re asking our readers to weigh in: Which of these 15 shortlisted songs would you most like to see win the Oscar?

ASCAP is facing a lawsuit claiming it “severely underpays” for so-called production music used by talk and sports radio stations, wrongfully withholding more than $120 million in royalties from their rightful owners.

The case claims ASCAP’s policies pay out royalties for only a fraction of the actual performances of such songs (also known as stock or library music), which often play on news, talk or sports radio programs as background music or during segment transitions.

Filed by Alibi Music and several other production music publishers, the lawsuit claims ASCAP is wrongfully diverting more than $15 million per year, totaling more than “$123 million in misallocated royalties” over eight years — a hit that’s been “financially devastating” for publishers and composers.

“ASCAP intentionally deprives [production] music owners and publishers of valuable performance royalties,” writes veteran music attorney Richard Busch, who represents the publishers, in a lawsuit obtained by Billboard. “Plaintiffs are forced to bring this action to rectify and obtain fair and just compensation for ASCAP’s blatant abuse of discretion and breach of its contracts.”

In a response statement to Billboard, ASCAP said: “These allegations are baseless. ASCAP operates on a not-for-profit basis and ASCAP follows its publicly available distribution policies, which are fair, transparent and set by its member-elected Board of Directors.”

ASCAP is one of the country’s primary performance rights organizations (PROs), which collect performance royalties for American musical compositions. Bars, stadiums, retail stores, radio stations and many others pay ASCAP and other PROs for the right to publicly perform huge catalogs of music to the public.

According to the new lawsuit, when it comes to radio plays, ASCAP has imposed “unfair, discriminatory and abusive treatment” on “non-feature” production music, leaving it a second-class citizen to more traditional “feature music” by credited musicians.

The problem is two-fold, according to the lawsuit. For one, ASCAP allegedly uses an unfair “weighting formula” that skews radio payments away from production music. It also allegedly uses “wholly inadequate methods and technology” to detect such plays, meaning only a small percentage of such spins are even counted in the first place.

The lawsuit cites 1010 WINS, a large New York City AM news radio station. In 2021, the station allegedly played 41,597 individual performances of the production music, which ASCAP “paid on exactly zero of.” Ditto, allegedly, for Los Angeles news station KNX, which allegedly performed 27,480 production songs without ASCAP paying out for any of them.

“ASCAP’s arbitrary, capricious and intentional failure to use readily available technology to obtain a fair count of non-feature music on domestic radio has unfairly diverted millions of dollars annually from non-feature music writers and independent publishers who rely on this income,” the lawsuit reads.

In addition to Alibi Music, the case was also filed by Capp Records, Cushman Entertainment Ltd., Epic Music LA, Terese Hanses, Lab Hits LLC, Manhattan Production Music, Rock Talk Inc., Slipstream ICPO LLC, Songs To Your Eyes, and The Brian Nimens Corp. Ltd. Only ASCAP