Robert Irwin tangles with snakes during the day, nails dolphin dives at night. And based on his latest performance on Dancing With The Stars, the Australian wildlife conservationist should go far in the competition.

On Tuesday night (Oct. 21), the DWTS celebrities celebrated the forthcoming sequel to Jon M. Chu’s Wicked with routines set to songs from the popular musical-turned-film. Chu even stopped by to join regular judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli.

Irwin gave it his best shot with a jazz performance of “Dancing Through Life”. The 21-year-old and his professional partner Witney Carson completed an energetic, free-flowing performance with smiles glued to their faces. Irwin gave viewers a little more than they bargained with a perfect dolphin dive early in their routine, and pulled off a floor slide that’d make Bruce Springsteen proud.

When the votes were counted, 39 out of a possible 40 points went to the pairings of Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa, and Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas, while Irwin and Carson nabbed nines from all four of the judges, for 36/40.

Irwin, the son of the late “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, will be hoping to emulate the success of his older sister Bindi, who won the 21st season of DWTS, in 2015.

The remaining contestants in this 34th season of Dancing With the Star includes TV personality Dylan Efron and influencer Jen Affleck. However, Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying and Rylee Arnold are no longer competing for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, following their elimination on Tuesday evening. 

Dancing with the Stars airs live Tuesdays on ABC and Disney+, and streams the next day on Hulu. The finale will be on Nov. 25.

See the full list of scores from “Wicked Night” (week six) of DWTS season 34 below.

Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy: 35/40

Robert Irwin and Witney Carson: 36/40

Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas: 39/40

Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach: 32/40

Andy Richter and Emma Slater: 27/40

Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten: 36/40

Jen Affleck and Jan Ravnik: 32/40

Danielle Fishel and Pasha Pashkov: 36/40

Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa: 39/40

Scott Hoying and Rylee Arnold: 28/40 (ELIMINATED)

John Williamson, the Australian “bush music” legend, has criticized a nationwide anti-immigration protest where his signature song, “True Blue,” was reportedly played without his approval.

Thousands gathered in several Australian capital cities last Sunday, Oct. 19 for the “March for Australia” rallies, which formed as a collective voice against the federal government’s immigration policies, and for counter protests. Williamson, not for the first time, has called out the unauthorized use of his music.

Turning to Facebook, Williamson writes: “‘True Blue’ is a song for all Australians and should not be hijacked by any group that seeks to use the song to sow division. I believe in a multicultural society – one where all Australians come together in unity to celebrate our unique multicultural nature and freedoms.”

A decade ago, the ARIA Hall of Famer put conservative event organizers on blast for attempting to weaponize his famous song. Back in 2015, he shared a post on Facebook in which he noted that “True Blue” was reportedly being used at rallies by various groups including the Reclaim Australia movement, and “did not have my approval to use it.” On that occasion, he wrote, “I would prefer the song be used to celebrate togetherness in our great country. How about holding a rally for ‘Love’ and see who turns up. Hatred never solves anything.”

A musician and conservationist, Williamson’s career spans more than 50 years. The 79-year-old has sold more than 5 million albums and accumulated upwards of one billion streams. Over time, he has collected 28 Golden Guitar awards, four ARIA Awards, and on Australia Day 1992, was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) “for service to Australian country music and in stimulating awareness of conservation issues.” Williamson performed at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and in 2010 he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Since its release in 1982, “True Blue” song has become part of the fabric of Australian culture, and is regularly played at sporting events and ceremonies, including Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin’s public memorial service, where he performed it twice on acoustic guitar.

Kali Uchis does a superstar q&a with Billboard’s Associate Editor of Billboard Español, Isabela Raygoza at Billboard’s Latin Music Week 2025.

The sheer number of artist signings announced on a weekly basis makes it difficult to keep up, no matter how closely you pay attention to the industry news cycle. That’s why every other Tuesday, Billboard compiles the latest signings to labels, distributors, agencies, management companies and more, in an effort to provide a snapshot of the latest moves in the artist space, from household names to indie stars to emerging acts.

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The top story this go-round is Virgin Music Group’s partnership with Spice Girls icon Melanie C and her indie label Red Girl Records, which kicked off with the release of the singer’s new single “Sweat,” which came out Friday (Oct. 17). The singer is slated to release her ninth studio album, also titled Sweat, next year.

“I’m thrilled to be releasing my new music with Virgin Music Group,” said Melanie in a statement. “It feels like a homecoming after the successes we shared working together with Spice Girls and my first two solo albums. They are paving the way for more artist-led deals and have an incredibly strong international team. I’m really excited to see what we can achieve together.”

156/Silence, a metalcore band that hails from Pittsburgh, signed with Pure Noise Records. The label released the band’s newest track, “Our Parting Ways,” on Wednesday (Oct. 15). 156/Silence is currently on the road, with fall dates stretching through early December. The band’s most recent album, People Watching, was released last year.

See the rest of the latest signings below.

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Broke Records is facing a lawsuit from ATLXS, the 18-year-old Italian artist behind the hit dance track “Passo Bem Solto,” who alleges the indie label is refusing to release him from a distribution deal he signed as a minor.

Broke, co-founded by Andre Benz and Brandon De Oliveira in 2023 in partnership with Create Music Group, has carved out a niche identifying viral songs and turning them into streaming hits. This is precisely what the label did with “Passo Bem Solto,” which is currently No. 6 on Billboard‘s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and has more than 450 million Spotify streams across various remixes.

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But the artist behind “Passo Bem Solto,” 18-year-old ATLXS (Diego Basile), is now suing Broke to get out of his contract. ATLXS’ attorney, Douglas Johnson, writes in a Monday (Oct. 20) federal complaint that he signed over the “Passo Bem Solto” masters to Broke in January, and Johnson tells Billboard that the agreement also included publishing rights.

The lawsuit alleges the deal was “predatory,” and that a provision of California’s family code allows a contract signed by a minor to be later “disaffirmed” — that is, made void. ATLXS, who was only 17 when he signed with Broke, sent a legal notice to the label terminating his contract under this provision last month.

According to the lawsuit, Broke refused to honor the termination notice and is continuing to monetize “Passo Bem Solto” on streaming platforms. ATLXS is seeking a court order requiring his masters and publishing rights to be reverted back, as well financial damages for copyright infringement.

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“Defendant has retained revenues, royalties and profits derived from the exploitation of the subject works after disaffirmance,” reads the complaint. “Defendant has continued to exploit the works through all of its streaming distribution channels, including continuing to stream the subject works on several streaming services, including but not limited to YouTube and Spotify.”

Speaking with Billboard on Tuesday (Oct. 21), Johnson says California law is clear that minors can rebuke their contracts and that an artist like ATLXS can regain his copyrights. “I find it to be a straightforward case,” he says.

Reps for Broke declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday.

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From feminism to sexuality, a conversation between legendary icon, Ivy Queen, and an icon in the making, Tokischa.

As Taylor Swift sang on last year’s Tortured Poets Department: “We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.” Maybe the pop singer/songwriter just needs his next era to get even bigger than he already is (the man has four Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits, including the 12-week No. 1 “See You Again” with Wiz Khalifa, after all). And that next era is on the horizon, with the announcement of his fourth studio album Whatever’s Clever!, due in March, and the release of the lead single “Changes” last week.

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Over the past month, Puth has been testing out some of his new material during a 16-show residency across Blue Note New York (Sept. 25-28) and Blue Note Los Angeles (Oct. 16-19), bringing jazzy reimaginings of some of his biggest hits to the legendary jazz club stage. Billboard was inside the final Los Angeles concert over the weekend, and on the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie is telling Keith all about seeing Puth play at such an intimate venue.

Katie was mostly struck by what a good fit the venue was for Charlie and his catalog, as “Professor Puth” (known for sharing his music education with the TikTok audience) led an incredibly talented band of instrumentalists and backup singers through a masterclass of live pop. And as for the new songs — we heard “Beat Yourself Up” and “Changes” from the upcoming album on Sunday night — the crowd was just as into the brand-new tunes as they were into “Attention,” “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” “How Long” and, of course, “See You Again.” It seems that this new Dad Rock vibe Puth is leaning into (appropriately, the “Changes” music video also doubled as a pregnancy announcement for him and his wife Brooke) is going to be a perfect match.

Listen to the full conversation here:

And speaking of Taylor Swift… also on the show, we’ve got chart news about how Swift continues to hold down the No. 1 spots on both the Billboard 200 albums and Billboard Hot 100 songs charts with The Life of a Showgirl and lead single “The Fate of Ophelia,” while Olivia Dean makes gains on the Billboard 200 with The Art of Loving.

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.)

Wu-Tang Clan will return to Australia in 2026 for what’s being billed as their final performances in the country — with all original members reuniting for Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber.

Presented by Untitled Group and TEG Dainty, the legendary hip-hop group will perform arena shows across Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in March 2026, marking the end of an era for Australian Wu fans.

The announcement follows the group’s first-ever hip-hop residency in Las Vegas and the North American leg of the Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber Tour, which reaffirmed the group’s place as one of the most influential acts in music history.

In an August interview with Billboard, the group’s manager Tyler Childs hinted that Australia was already in their sights. “There are a lot of different options,” he said. “Certainly Europe, Australia, Asia and then definitely coming back to North America next year. What shape does that take? It’s going to be arenas again, and we want to go to markets that haven’t been repeated.”

All nine members of the Wu will be onstage—RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Masta Killa and Cappadonna—making this a rare and final chance for Australian fans to see the full Clan together.

RZA, who founded the group in Staten Island in the early 1990s, added, “As we continue adding on to the cypher, The Chamber moves from local to global.”

Audiences can expect tracks from the group’s 4× platinum sophomore album Wu‑Tang Forever, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1997, as well as cuts from their 1993 debut Enter the Wu‑Tang (36 Chambers) — including “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Protect Ya Neck.” Wu‑Tang Clan has released seven studio albums, and have sold more than 40 million records worldwide

Tickets go on sale to the general public at 1 p.m. local time on Thursday, Oct. 30. A Telstra Plus pre-sale runs from Monday, Oct. 27 at 11 a.m. to Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 11 a.m. local time. Additional pre-sales via My Ticketek, Untitled Group, TEG Dainty and venue partners begin Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. and run until Thursday, Oct. 30 at 12 p.m. VIP packages will also be available, offering premium seating and exclusive merchandise.

Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber Tour Australia

March 25, 2026 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre
March 27, 2026 — Rod Laver Arena
March 28, 2026 — Qudos Bank Arena

Jorge Mejia from Sony Music Publishing accepts the Publishing Corporation of the Year Award from Billboard’s Leila Cobo.

Alex Gallardo from Sony Music Latin accepts the Top Latin Albums Label of the Year Award from Kapo.