What time is it? Almost Winter Olympics time, which these days means that Public Enemy hype man Flavor Flav is picking which Team USA squads he’s going to support in the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Flav, 66, who has cooked up a high-profile side gig as a rabid vocal, and financial, supporter of a number of American olympians, was announced as the official hype man for USA Bobsled and Skeleton on Monday (Oct. 27) according to the Associated Press.

“The partnership is a blessing. It’s cooler than Cool Runnings,” Flav said in reference to the beloved 1993 sport comedy loosely based on the story of the 1988 Jamaican bobsleigh team. “It’s Coolest Runnings.” The AP reported that Flav spent time with the bobsled and skeleton teams this past week, traveling to Park City, Utah, where he raced down the track in a bobsled and also wanted to try out skeleton, in which athletes roar down the icy track at speeds that can reach 80 m.p.h. or above.

In an accompanying video announcing his new gig, Flav, wearing his red, white and blue official team gear, said, “Just to let y’all know I am definitely excited to be a sponsor of the bobsled/skeleton team, boy. Yeah g, it’s going down for real! I’m a sponsor, I’m a sponsor!”

“We are thrilled to welcome Flavor Flav as an official sponsor and hype man for USA Bobsled/Skeleton,” USA Bobsled and Skeleton CEO Aron McGuire said in a statement. “It’s clear he has a genuine passion for sports and an authentic love for the USA team. Flavor Flav embodies the same grit, dedication, and pride that define our athletes, and we’re excited to have him bring that excitement to our team and fans across the country.”

While team officials wanted first-time slider Flav to start from a low spot on the track for safety reasons, the veteran rapper wasn’t having it, insisting on starting higher up as he managed to hit 67 m.p.h. on his second run. In the video after his thrilling run, Flav can be heard howling in delight at the white-knuckle ride down the icy shoot.

“Oh my gosh, he’s one of the coolest, most adventurous men that I’ve ever met,” U.S. skeleton athlete Dan Barefoot told the AP. “He was upset that he couldn’t go from higher up on the track. … I was kind of upset at how good he was. It’s a sport that takes a lot of skill, but he made it look straightforward.”

Flav plans to be with the team at the XXV Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, which will take place from Feb. 6-22.

“We have all been so hyped to have him with us,” Barefoot added. “Put aside the fact that Flav is one of the greatest hype men of all time, the energy in the room… you had people who often aren’t talking to each other high-fiving and hugging because of the experience of being around him. There’s a lot of energy and a lot of confidence around us right now.”

Not only is Flav promising to be in the stands in February, he also gave many members of the team his personal cell pone number and invited a few to join him at a Maroon 5 show over the weekend in Salt Lake City.

It won’t be Flav’s first turn as an Olympic supporter. He was all over the 2024 Paris summer games, acting as the hype man for the U.S. women’s water polo team, giving them financial support and free cruises and helping to cover rent for discus thrower Veronica Fraley. Flav has also put in his bid to be one of the official USA torchbearers at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Check out video of Flav watching practice, posing with members of Team USA and ripping down the track in a bobsled and skeleton.

Despite the challenge flags thrown by Donald Trump and some fellow Republicans, Jay-Z is 100% firm in his support for Bad Bunny playing the Super Bowl halftime show next year. Amid criticism from the President and a number of commentators on the right decrying the choice of one of the world’s most popular artists to play at the game in February, Jigga — whose Roc Nation has been tasked with booking the most-viewed musical TV performance of the year since 2019 — told TMZ that he is unwavering.

When asked by a TMZ photographer about the hate coming Benito’s way, Jay reportedly told the site that the Puerto Rican superstar is way more beloved in the U.S. than some would have you think. “They love him. Don’t let them fool you,” Jay said.

After Roc Nation tapped Benito in late September, Trump reacted a week later with disdain, claiming to conservative outlet Newsmax, “I’ve never heard of him… I don’t know who he is. I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s, like, crazy.” In addition, Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem threatened that U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agents will be “all over the place at the Super Bowl.

While Trump seems unlikely to watch the game, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has no misgivings about the booking. “He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell told CBS Sports. “That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s an important element to the entertainment value. It’s carefully thought through.” To be fair, the commish added, he doesn’t think the league has ever “selected an artist without some blowback or criticism.”

Turning Point USA, an ultraconservative youth organization founded by the late activist Charlie Kirk, has announced its intention to host an alternate halftime show out of protest; a line-up for that show has not yet been announced.

Though Trump claimed to have never heard of Bad Bunny, the singer’s chart bona fides speak for his broad appeal. Benito holds records as the first Latin artist to have 100 career Billboard Hot 100 songs, as well as having the first all-Spanish album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart (2020’s El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo). He has also tied Taylor Swift for having the most No. 1s on the Billboard Global 200 of any solo artist, has rolled up nearly 80 million Spotify listeners over his career and was ranked the most-streamed artist on Spotify three years running (2020-2022).

Super Bowl LX will air live on Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. ET and be broadcast on NBC and Telemundo and stream on Peacock and NFL+.

In fall 2026, Live Nation will open the 4,400-capacity indoor music venue The Truth in Nashville.

“Live Nation wanted to be sure that we were adding something that was going to speak to the core of Nashville,” Sally Williams, president of Nashville Music & Business Strategy for Live Nation, tells Billboard.

The Truth will be led by general manager Mickey Davis, and will join AJ Capital Partners’ 18-acre, mixed-use Wedgewood Village development in Nashville’s Wedgewood-Houston.

The venue will highlight talent ranging from global headliners to local Nashville favorites representing an array of musical genres. The Truth, designed by Live Nation’s in-house design and development group Blueprint Studio, will offer a flexible floor plan with three levels in close proximity to the stage, with configurations able to accommodate capacities ranging from 1,800 to 4,400, including standing-room and fully-seated shows.

“This is going to give us the flexibility to host everything from comedians who maybe don’t want a standing room audience to bigger shows where people want to stand,” Williams says. “We will shine the light on Nashville, but we’re going to bring in the biggest stars on the planet, too, from outside of Nashville.”

Williams noted that Live Nation’s Blueprint Studio team spent time in Nashville venues and spoke with Nashville artists, music industry members and historians in creating a venue design intended to honor Nashville’s community.

Throughout, the venue will pay homage to Nashville’s music creators. The Truth takes its name from a quote from late country songwriting legend Harlan Howard, who called country music “three chords and the truth.” Howard, known as a writer on classics including Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces” and the Buck Owens hit “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail,” is also honored through the venue’s whiskey bar, named Harlan’s. Howard’s signature quote is also emblazoned on the front of the venue’s building. Having Howard’s legacy represented within the venue is a full-circle moment for Williams, who recalls that when she first moved to Nashville, one of the first events she attended was the annual Harlan Howard Birthday Bash.

“It represents to me the community that I have found,” Williams says. “It was all of these songwriters singing their songs, and everyone supported. To have his quote, to have people talking about him, means they are talking about songwriters in general, which means they are talking about the foundation of our community. I am beyond proud of that, because I think those are things that we, as a city, have to hold on to.”

The Truth’s two-level, up to 300-person capacity listening lounge, Vinyl Room, will offer a space for gathering and listening to music. Williams tells Billboard that United Record Pressing will be involved in curating vinyls to be displayed in The Truth, as well as providing music for Vinyl Room and the venue’s five backstage dressing rooms. Williams says the Vinyl Room will also be a space that can hold VIP listening sessions and other similar events.

The food and drink menus will highlight local Nashville whiskeys and spirits. Meanwhile, Live Nation teamed with Isle of Printing’s Bryce McCloud to add another visual element to the venue.

“We are going to have an old-school letterpress printing set lists each night for fans to buy and take home,” Williams says. “Set lists are going to be our sort of living art exhibit backstage, too, because every time a show plays here, we will put the set list up and as we move along, it will tell our story visually.”

The backstage will also be outfitted with a family and friends suite overlooking the stage, a large crew lounge, an artist game room/lounge, a multi-use production room and an intimate industry suite.

As part of the venue’s launch, Live Nation has also partnered to support Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and the W.O. Smith Music School, aiding songwriters and the next generation of musicians.

Live Nation also hopes to hold local music industry events at the venue, such as industry awards and other charitable gatherings.

“People are going to begin to feel like this is their venue, which is what they’re hoping for,” Williams says. “The mission has been to create something other than the sort of box with a stage that you could put anywhere in the world. We wanted to do something completely Nashville-centric.”

The Truth will join other Live Nation venues in Nashville, including Brooklyn Bowl Nashville and Ascend Amphitheater.

Billboard‘s Live Music Summit will be held in Los Angeles on Nov. 3. For tickets and more information, visit https://www.billboardlivemusicsummit.com/2025/home-launch.

When Jerrell Melton and Ralph Edwards sang “I Lose Control” on NBC’s The Voice, they weren’t telling the whole truth.

Team Snoop’s singers went toe-to-toe Monday night (Oct. 27) for season 28’s fourth and final Battle night, hitting a rendition of Teddy Swims’ mega-hit from 2024. Both oozed control, not a lack of it.  

Edwards, the 30-year-old native of Fresno, California, with his burly, oak-flavored tones, and Melton, the 29-year-old from Fayetteville, Georgia, whose soulful voice has a hint of sweetness, could barely be separated.

Mind, this is no ordinary song. “Lose Control” in July became the first number in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to spend triple-digit weeks on the chart, as it cleared its milestone 100th frame. 

Niall Horan “loved” Melton’s voice, remarking that it’s “really pure, really clean.” And Edwards, the Irishman remarked, his energy, his power and rasp, “it’s aggressive but it’s controlled.”

Reba McEntire read from her notes a performance she described as “powerful, smooth like butter. Raspy, smooth like velvet.” The country ace admitted the decision to split them would be a tough one. If she had to, she’d pick Melton.  

Both contestants laid it all out. Melton with a “gorgeous smoothness,” was reminiscent of the very best in the business, Michael Bublé remarked.  While Edwards, or “Wreck-It Ralph,” as the Canadian crooner and others like to call him, should “go far on the show.”

Just how far was up to Snoop Dogg, who had the final call.

“You just showed the world that you two are superstars,” the rap legend noted. “Jerrell, you overachieved. We gave you something that was out of this box, and you did what you were supposed to do,” he added. “Ralph, knock it out of the park. This is what we do.”

Snoop took a moment to consult with the “Gangsta Holy Ghost” and he called it. “Wreck-It Ralph” Edwards wins, and progresses to the Knockouts, which start next Monday, Nov. 3. Melton won’t be there, an unlucky loser.

The Knockout episodes will air every Monday on NBC until Nov. 24. Then, the Playoffs will beam out on Monday, Dec. 1 and Monday, Dec. 8 on NBC, with the Season 28 Live Finale set to spread over the two nights of Dec. 15 and 16.

Watch Melton and Edwards’ Battle below.