It’s a good time to be Lainey Wilson. In the span of a few weeks in November, the country troubadour nabbed two Grammy nominations, hosted the CMA Awards and won three trophies that night, including the coveted entertainer of the year award. And this week, she earned her fifth No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for her wistful, mid-tempo ballad, “Somewhere Over Laredo.”

The past five years have marked an incredible run for Wilson, who toiled away in Nashville for 10 years before achieving any measurable success. But now she’s unstoppable and is, undeniably, one of the biggest acts in country music. 

Wilson has smartly built her career at radio by alternating solo songs — such as “Things a Man Oughta Know” and “Watermelon Moonshine” — with savvy collaborations, including “Never Say Never” with Cole Swindell and “Save Me” with Jelly Roll, all four of which have gone to No. 1 on Country Airplay. But she always stays authentic. “At the heart of every song she writes and sings is the heart of Lainey,” says Lee Adams, vp of promotion at Broken Bow Records (BBR), who began working at BBR in 2001 and has been in her current position since 2007 (BMG acquired BBR in 2017). “All the elements of what Lainey does best is in each of her songs.” And Wilson’s latest success earns Adams the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.

Here, Adams discusses why “Somewhere Over Laredo” resonated so quickly with fans and radio programmers, what it meant to land Wilson’s first No. 1 on Country Airplay since 2023, and why 2026 could be her biggest year yet. 

What did you think the first time you heard the song from the deluxe edition of Whirlwind and the “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” interpolation?

The first time I heard “Somewhere Over Laredo,” the one word that came to mind was “powerful.” Some songs are fun, some are serious, and some contain power. It evoked nostalgic emotions from “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” but took it to another level by making it personal. When you hear it, it’s not about someone else. You feel yourself flying high in the sky, heading towards your home, your state, with memories of loved ones from the past. Only an incredible team of songwriters paired with the perfect artist creates that power and emotion. And Lainey, Trannie Anderson, Andy Albert and Dallas Wilson did just that.

The song is a bit of a departure for Lainey. How did it show a different side of her?

Lainey is multi-faceted in her style and sound. Her voice is strong and pure, and it allows her to stretch boundaries and showcase her vocals. This song, paired with a dynamic video, showed her ability to pair a heartfelt song with a fun visual, which is who she is. She loves to laugh and have fun, and perfectly blends it with her ability to show emotion.

The song was most added at radio, receiving play on 129 stations in its first week. Was that a high for her?  

“Somewhere Over Laredo” was the No. 1 most-added first-week single for Lainey, and it also served as her highest debut to date. Consequently, it moved quickly. It was world premiered on nearly every country station, putting it immediately in higher rotations. It was her highest debut in streaming as well, making it fast-moving from the start. 

“Somewhere Over Laredo” is her first No. 1 from Whirlwind and the deluxe version, and her first solo No. 1 since “Watermelon Moonshine” two years ago. How important was it to land another No. 1 after three intervening songs had done very well, but not reached the pinnacle? 

No. 1 singles on the country radio charts are always important for an artist, songwriters, label and promotion team. It’s our job in promotion to secure the most radio airplay, and the status of saying “No. 1” is invaluable. Lainey is a superstar, and her songs are wildly successful, with or without that number, but it remains very important. Radio is the premier way we reach our audience in country music. Having the most-played song at radio is never taken for granted and is always the goal. The song is strong, Lainey is country music’s reigning female superstar, and both earned the top spot. It was also important for Broken Bow Records.

How much did her hosting the CMA Awards and winning three awards, including entertainer of the year, push the song over the top? 

It continues to add to the many accolades and achievements Lainey has had in her career. It’s all a part of what makes her, and her songs, continue to succeed. She keeps reaching higher levels and new milestones. “Somewhere Over Laredo” was well on its way to No. 1, but we can never underestimate how success begets more success. When we get a No. 1 at BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville, we honor every facet of what made it work: the artist, songwriters, label, management, touring, but also the individual teams — promotion, marketing, digital, streaming, publicity, socials, creative and so much more go into every song we release. It’s hard to say that one thing pushes it over the top when it requires all of it combined to garner a No. 1.

What kind of bump did you see, if any, after the song received two Grammy nominations? 

The Grammy nominations were song-specific to “Somewhere Over Laredo” and were a huge nod to what an amazing song it is. It’s not easy to get one Grammy nomination for a song, much less two. It speaks volumes. Any statistic, metric, or attention brought to a song helps propel it. And the Grammys are a big one.

Were there any other key decisions you made that helped propel it to the top? 

We rely heavily on programmers when making our decisions for a No. 1 run. So much thought and planning go into the week where we are maximizing airplay, and we start planning for it months in advance. Research on “Somewhere Over Laredo” was strong in many major markets, causing the conversions to power, which further solidified it had No. 1 potential. The timing coming off Lainey hosting the CMA Awards, the Grammy nominations, the powerful research and where she was on the charts came together to create the right timing with the right song.

The song also reached No. 1 in the U.K., No. 2 in Australia and No. 3 in Canada. Is this her biggest international song? How has she been building her international audience? 

The success of “Somewhere Over Laredo” has only continued her expansion into the international market. Lainey was an early adopter of embracing the international audience in her career and has built her global groundswell through repeat touring in those markets. There was even a time when Lainey herself stated that she had more fans internationally than she did domestically. We’re all excited to see her impact soar with each new single and tour. 

What’s coming up for Lainey in 2026? 

Lainey’s 2026 starts with a tour of Australia and New Zealand, continuing her strong international brand. She’ll bring it home to the U.S. with another major headlining tour and exciting, chart-topping new music. Lainey will continue to be a force and a “whirlwind” in country music in 2026 and far into the future. We’ll also get to see her make her feature film acting debut in next year’s adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Reminders of Him. 

The cast for director Sam Mendes’ upcoming four-part Beatles biopics, The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, continued to fill out this week with the announcement of the actors tapped to play a number of the Fab Four’s most crucial inner circle confidants and family members.

Among the names on the roster is one with a familiar ring to it: Leanne Best (Line of Duty, Star Wars: The Force Awakens). The niece of original Beatles drummer Pete Best will play John Lennon’s beloved Aunt Mimi Smith, who was his guardian when he was as child.

In addition, The Walking Dead‘s David Morrissey will portray Paul McCartney’s father, Jim McCartney, James Norton (Bob Marley: One Love) will play manager Brian Epstein with Harry Lloyd (Game of Thrones) has been confirmed as “fifth Beatle,” producer George Martin. Bobby Schofield (Cherry) has been tapped to portray the band’s road manager and McCartney and George Harrison’s lifelong pal music biz executive Neil Aspinall, Daniel Hoffman-Gill will step into the shoes of road manager and personal assistant Mal Evans, Arthur Darvill (And Mrs) is on board as journalist/publicist and producer Derek Taylor and Adam Pally (Sonic the Hedgehog 3) is slated to play the band’s quarrelsome music manager, Allen Klein.

They join the previously announced main cast — Paul Mescal (McCartney), Harris Dickinson (Lennon), Barry Keoghan (Starr) and Joseph Quinn (Harrison) — as well as the actresses portraying their wives: Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) as McCartney’s wife Linda McCartney, Shogun‘s Anna Sawai as Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono, The White Lotus‘ Aimee Lou Wood as Harrison’s wife Pattie Boyd and How to Have Sex‘s Mia McKenna-Bruce as Starr’s wife, Maureen Starkey.

Check out the Instagram announcement about the latest cast additions here.

The four films are currently in production with all of them slated to hit theaters at the same time in April 2028.

WWE superstar and actor John Cena is facing a lawsuit over the iconic horn riff from his entrance theme song “The Time Is Now” – a questionable legal case, but one that shines a light on a tortured history of samples and credits behind the famed song.

The lawsuit was filed by the daughter of Pete Schofield, whose 1974 recording of “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” is the undisputed source of the blaring horn blasts at the start of Cena’s 2005 track. In it, she claims that Cena and the WWE failed to properly clear the sample and breached an earlier $50,000 settlement over the dispute.

“Every effort at informal resolution has been met with threats, misrepresentations, and intimidation tactics, leaving plaintiff with no recourse but to seek relief from this court,” Kim Schofield writes her Dec. 2 lawsuit, obtained by Billboard.

 “The Time Is Now,” in which Cena raps over a beat created by producer Jake One, was released in 2005 by Columbia Records and WWE Music Group. The track served as a theme song during Cena’s rise to superstardom, and later became a popular track in social media memes. The track will likely play at some point during his final WWE appearance next week before he retires from wrestling.

The song is also something of a crediting nightmare. The famed horns are pulled from Schofield’s recording of “The Night the Lights Went,” which is a cover of a composition by songwriter Bobby Russell that’s also been released by multiple other artists, including Vicki Lawrence and Reba McEntire. Cena’s song also samples heavily from M.O.P.’s 2000 hip hop classic “Ante Up,” which itself drew on samples from Sam & Dave’s “Soul Sister, Brown Sugar.”

That complex audio lineage has already led to previous legal battles. Back in 2008, M.O.P. sued WWE over Cena’s use of the “Ante Up” sample, claiming that they had expressly refused to approve the use of their track and that WWE had cleared it by getting a signature from a receptionist at an unaffiliated company. But that case was quickly dropped a few months later on undisclosed terms.

In her new lawsuit, filed without the help of lawyers, Kim Schofield paints a muddled picture of her allegations. She says her family didn’t know about Cena’s use of the song until 2015, and that they then signed a settlement deal in 2017 with WWE for $50,000 covering the sample of the sound recording. But at some point later, she claims they realized they also owned publishing rights to aspects of Schofield 1974 song that were distinct from Russell’s original composition.

Such allegations will likely face an uphill climb in court. Decade-old claims of copyright infringement could very likely be barred by the statute of limitations, or by the earlier settlement. It’s also not legally clear that Schofield can claim the rights she says she owns, nor that she can blame WWE for the fact that she was unaware of them when she signed the earlier deal.

Reps for Cena and the WWE did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday. But in her own lawsuit, Schofield says lawyers for WWE told her that the 2017 settlement was final and binding on any claims related to “The Time Is Now,” and that she could not later reopen negotiations merely because she had “seller’s remorse.” They also allegedly told her that they had fully cleared the sample by inking a license with the heirs of Bobby Russell, the songwriter who wrote the song that Schofield recorded.

The lawsuit also names Russell’s heirs as defendants. The younger Schofield claims they have improperly been receiving the royalties for Cena’s use of the sample, and that they have recently threatened to sue her if she does not stop claiming her own rights to the song.

The Russell heirs could not immediately be located for comment, but they might have a point. While cover artists can get sound recording copyrights to their specific performance, they cannot typically claim composition rights – a commonsense rule since the underlying music in a cover was necessarily written by someone else. In fact, making substantial changes to the underlying song can turn a legal cover track into an unauthorized derivative.

“The Fate of Ophelia” is now Taylor Swift’s longest-running U.K. No. 1 single after notching a seventh non-consecutive week at the summit of the Official Singles Chart (Dec. 5).

The song, which features on The Life of a Showgirl, first hit the top spot back in October for three consecutive weeks. It was knocked off the top spot by Kpop Demon Hunters’ “Golden” for two weeks and has since returned to score a further four consecutive weeks.

“The Fate of Ophelia” now surpasses 2022 track “Anti-Hero” as her longest-running U.K. No. 1 single. The latter held the top spot for six consecutive weeks upon release. Swift has five U.K. chart-toppers in total: 2017’s “Look What You Made Me Do” (two weeks at No. 1); 2023’s “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version)” (one week at No. 1); and 2024’s “Fortnight” (one week at No. 1).

The Life of a Showgirl is Swift’s 14th U.K. No. 1 album. Swift boasts the most No. 1s on the U.K. Albums Charts for an international artist, and ties for second overall with The Rolling Stones (14). The top spot is also currently a tie between The Beatles and Robbie Williams, who both have 15 apiece.

Elsewhere, RAYE’s “Where Is My Husband!” holds steady at No. 2, while festive classics such as WHAM!’s “Last Christmas” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” make moves into the top 5 at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

HAVEN’s “I Run” charts at No. 16 despite ongoing controversy on the song’s use of artificial intelligence. The song first came to attention on TikTok with fans noting a similarity to British singer Jorja Smith’s vocals, and the singer herself questioning who the vocals were provided by. Speaking to Billboard HAVEN, a new artist project from British producers Harrison Walker and Jacob Donaghue, did not deny that AI-assisted programs had been used in the making of the track, but said that Smith’s vocals were not used in the model’s training process.

The song was removed by a number of streaming services, and the Official Charts Company deemed it ineligible to appear on the Official Singles Chart. A new version of the track now features vocals by Kaitlin Aragon and has remained on streaming services. This week FAMM, Smith’s label, demanded a share of royalties on the track, writing in a statement that “this isn’t just about Jorja. It’s bigger than one artist or one song.”

Jin is all about ARMY in the official trailer for the BTS star’s upcoming concert film, #RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR THE MOVIE. The minute-long look at the documentary chronicling Jin’s debut solo tour without his bandmates opens with an overhead shot of a massive, sold-out stadium show with Jin agonizing over whether he’s up for being the only star on stage.

“Performing without my members?” he says in voiceover as the camera follows the singer to the stage while he does his pre-show vocal warm-ups. “Not in my wildest dreams. I think I was nervous.” The scene then turns to a confident Jin on stage hitting a big red button to kick off the “DOJEON Challenge,” expressing his desire to meet every member of the group’s ARMY fanclub.

With the music swelling, Jin says, “I’m starting another challenge with ARMY,” officially kicking off the tour to the strains of his Billboard Hot 100 No. 53 single “Running Wild” from his 20222 debut solo EP, Happy.

The doc from distributors Trafalgar Releasing and CJ 4DPLEX directed by Junsoo Park will screen in cinemas worldwide on Dec. 27 and 28, with select territories, including France, the Netherlands and the Philippines, opening the film on Jan. 10 and 11; for movie times and a list of participating territories click here.

“Capturing the vibrant energy spanning 10 cities and 20 performances — from South Korea’s Goyang Auxiliary Stadium to Japan, North America, Europe, and back to Incheon — the movie celebrates Jin’s commitment to ARMY with the message: ‘Dojeon! (Challenge!) Until the day I meet every ARMY,’” reads a release. “The most thrilling moments of the tour such as dynamic live performances, heartfelt interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, a mission-based costume change, and other special moments that can only be seen in theaters are now ready to unfold on the big screen.”

With the word “challenge” as the tour’s theme, the release promises that the movie will bring “Jin’s signature energy to the cinemas, featuring him laughing, singing, and completing five energetic missions with ARMY. The cinematic event is packed with exclusive bonuses, including a “cookie video” revealing tour preparations and the interactive ‘Sing Along Game’ mission with a karaoke version of ‘Super Tuna’ designed for fans to connect and sing along.”

Elsewhere in the trailer fans get glimpses of the massive, fire- and confetti-spewing stage, Jin’s costume changes and his dedication to always delivering what ARMY expect from him. “A performance isn’t complete without ARMY,” he says. “It makes me think, ‘This is why I perform.’ Ultimately, it’s the roar of the crowd that keeps me going.”

Jin wrapped his first-ever tour a month after releasing his second solo effort, Echo, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Watch the trailer below.