Odeal is the latest addition to the Sony Music Publishing roster.

Announced today, Dec. 8, the British-Nigerian singer and songwriter strikes a worldwide deal with the major music publisher, several weeks after the release of his album The Fall That Saved Me.

“Signing Odeal was more than a business move. It was the natural next step in a relationship built on passion, respect and a shared vision,” comments Sony Music Publishing senior director, creative A&R Shauni Caballero in a statement. “I’ve always admired his artistry and the incredible team behind him — Charles, Hanz, AB and the OVMBR family. They’re hardworking, inspiring and an absolute pleasure to collaborate with. I’m truly grateful to be part of their journey and their history.”

Odeal caught the buzz in 2024 with the viral hit “Soh-Soh,” which proved a launch pad into the awards circuit. This year alone, he has collected MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards for best newcomer and best R&B act; shortlisting for the BET Awards’ inaugural best new international act; Amazon Music’s 2025 breakthrough artist; Spotify’s 2025 artist to watch; entry to YouTube Music’s 2025 Foundry program, and a nod as Billboard’s 2025 African Rookie of the Year.

His shape-shifting sound earned him studio time with a string of artists within the last year, including Kaytranada, Jermaine Dupri, Kehlani and DJ Maphorisa. Justin Bieber is a fan, and has shared Odeal’s music on his Instagram Stories and posts.

“My vision has always been to make music that touches people around the world,” comments Odeal (real name: Hillary Dennis Udanoh) on the Sony Music Publishing deal, “so choosing partners who truly believe in that vision is important to me. I’m excited to be working with Shauni and a team I trust and who genuinely believe in what I’m building.”

Born in Germany (where his mother lived) and raised in Spain (where his father lived and his parents met), Odeal settled down in the U.K. at age 17. His career took off with the self-produced single “Be Easy,” and went to the next level with the release of his 2022 EP Lustropolis, which has accumulated over 80 million worldwide streams.

The Fall That Saved Me cut “Miami” crashed Spotify’s Global Viral chart, and has captured more than 23 million global streams.

Outside of DJ’ing Paris Fashion Week parties, Odeal has graced festival stages around the world, including Afro Nation Portugal, the world’s biggest Afrobeats festival, and Wireless Festival.

Romeo Santos and Prince Royce make a splash across Billboard charts with their collaborative album, Better Late Than Never, as set opens at Nos. 1 and 2 on the Top Tropical Albums and Top Latin Albums charts (dated Dec. 13).

Better Late Than Never was announced as a surprise launch on social media just days prior to its Nov. 28 release via I Love Amiguita/Sony Music Latin. It debuts at No. 1 on Top Tropical Albums with 23,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the tracking week ending Dec. 4, according to Luminate.

Of the 13-track set’s opening total, streaming accounts for 17,000 units, equal to 24.1 million official on-demand audio and video streams of the album’s songs. This secures a debut at No. 41 on the Top Streaming Albums chart, marking the first appearance for both Santos and Royce. Meanwhile, 7,000 units stem from album sales, enough for a No. 38 debut on Top Album Sales.

Better Late Than Never marks the seventh No. 1 for both artists, tying them with Juan Luis Guerra for the fifth-most chart-topping albums among all acts on Top Tropical Albums. They trail Gilberto Santa Rosa and Victor Manuelle who both lead with 12 No. 1s, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico with 10 hits, and Marc Anthony with nine.

Santos’ previous effort, Formula. Vol. 3, dominated for 16 weeks between 2022-23. As for Royce, the new release arrives just six months after his album Eterno secured a No. 3 high in May.

In addition to its No. 1 arrival on Top Tropical Albums, Better Late Than Never also starts at No. 2 on the overall Top Latin Abums chart and at No. 32 on the all-genre Billboard 200, their seventh career entry each on the latter.

A Weekly Record on Hot Latin Songs: Better Late Than Never ushers in nine total appearances for the album’s tracks on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart, a weekly debut record for both artists among tropical acts. Additionally, Royce lands another entry with “I Want It That Way” at No. 30. Among the new debuts, “Dardos” leads with a No. 8 start with 3.3 million official on-demand streams earned during the tracking period. This new top 10 becomes Royce’s highest entry since his collaboration on “Sensualidad,” with DJ Luian & Mambo Kingz, Bad Bunny and J Balvin (2017). Santos achieves his 23rd top 10, tying with Gloria Estefan for the third-most among tropical acts, trailing only Marc Anthony’s 27 top 10s.

Here is the full rundown of Better Late Than Never songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart:

No. 8, “Dardos”
No. 12, “Lokita Por Mí”
No. 13, “Estocolmo”
No. 14, “Better Late Than Never”
No. 28, “Jezabel”
No. 29, “Ay! San Miguel”
No. 36, “Celeste”
No. 40, “La Última Bachata”
No. 41, “Encerrados”

All charts (dated Dec. 13, 2025) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Dec. 9. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram. Plus, for all chart rules and explanations, click here.

Two Australian Metallica fans have been hit with lifetime bans from Perth’s Optus Stadium after climbing a speaker tower during the band’s Nov. 1 show on the M72 World Tour.

According to local outlet PerthNow, 20-year-old Beau William Loch Rollings and 23-year-old Rory Hugh Culbert jumped a safety barrier and scaled the central tower inside the stadium bowl, clinging to the structure at heights reportedly between 10 and 50 meters for around 20 minutes while the concert continued.

The stunt triggered a major security response as venue staff and police moved in, with thousands of fans watching the incident unfold mid-show. Police later seized the pair’s phones, which contained footage of the climb, as part of the trespass investigation.

Magistrate Ruth Dineen was blunt in her assessment, describing the tower climb as “an incredibly stupid thing to do and a good way to ruin your night out,” noting that what “seemed funny at the time” had escalated into a serious safety issue.

Defence lawyer Rachael Gemmell characterized it as “just stupid behavior,” arguing the experience had been sobering for the young fans.

Both Rollings and Culbert entered guilty pleas to trespassing charges, acknowledging the gravity of the situation without offering a motive. Rollings was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $308.80 in court costs. Culbert received a similar penalty.

Throughout their Aussie tour, Metallica have delighted fans with surprise covers of local hits, such as “Zebra” by John Butler Trio during their signature “doodle” segment.

Butler, who is currently touring across Europe and the U.K., shared his bluesy interpretation via Instagram, using a custom-made Indian slide guitar known as a Chaturangui. “@metallica ‘Enter Sandman,’ but make it John Butlery,” he captioned the clip.

“It’s taken me a minute to pull my sh*t together after Metallica covered my song ‘Zebra’ last weekend in Perth/Boorloo… I thought I’d tackle one of their lesser-known tracks. I hope you like it.”

In Adelaide on Nov. 5, Hammett and Trujillo mashed up INXS’ “Need You Tonight” with the Angels’ “Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again,” blending two Australian staples into a blistering live medley.