As country icon Dolly Parton continues to convalesce from an undisclosed illness that has kept her close to home for the past month the singer sent a heartfelt thank you message to Monday’s (Nov. 17) gathering of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), where her Dollywood theme park was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“Hey there it’s Dolly! And I sure wish I could be with you in person today,” Parton said in a thank you video posted on her Instagram on Wednesday (Nov. 19). “But you probably heard that I been dealing with a few health challenges this fall and my doctors told me to take it easy for just a little while.”

Dressed in a bedazzled light blue jumpsuit and looking bright-eyed and energetic while seated in front of a blue backdrop next to a vase of white flowers, Parton, 79, said she was “truly sorry” she could not be there in person, adding that she wanted to say thank you for the “incredible honor.” She also thanked her partners of 40 years in the park, giving them props for always listening to her “big ideas” for changes to the park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. that averages around three million visitors a year, making it one of the state’s biggest ticketed tourist attractions.

She recalled when she first had the idea for Dollywood she dreamed of a destination in the Smoky Mountains where her family could perform, she could provide steady work for the members of her community, as well as a place where families could come to laugh, play and make memories together. She told the story of taking over the old Rebel Railroad park in 1986 and being nervous on opening day, wondering if anyone would show up.

“I peeked out the window of my bus and saw all those cars lined up and would you believe it, they’re still lined up today!,” said Parton, who is only the second woman to be inducted into the IAAPA Hall of Fame on her own and the fourth total woman in the organization’s 100-year history. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for this honor. For me and for everyone who makes Dollywood what it is. And to all my friends and partners and to all of you out there helping families make magic everyday in your own parks and places, remember that I will always love you.”

Parton was also unable to attend Sunday night’s (Nov. 16) 2025 Governors Awards in person to accept the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award due to her recent health issues. Back in early October, Parton’s sister Freida sparked some concern among the singer’s fans when she asked for prayers for the singer as she dealt with the undisclosed health matter, then apologized for scaring them. “She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer. It was nothing more than a little sister asking for prayers for her big sister. Thank you all for lifting her up. Your love truly makes a difference,” Freida said at the time.

A day later, Parton posted an Instagram video assuring folks that she’s under the weather but still busy. “I’m here doing some commercials for the Grand Ole Opry, which is why I’m dressed kinda like a country-western girl, but before I got started, I wanted to say, I know lately, everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am … do I look sick to you?! I’m workin’ hard here,” she said.

“Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate,” she added. “I want you to know that I’m OK. I’ve got some problems as I mentioned. Back when my husband Carl was very sick, that was for a long time, and then when he passed, I didn’t take care of myself. I let a lot of things go that I I should’ve been takin’ care of, so anyway when I got around to it, the doctor said, ‘We need to take care of this, we need to take care of that.’ Nothin’ major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, where I’m kinda havin’ a few treatments here and there.”

Though her team has not discussed what has laid the country icon low, in that video message Parton assured her followers that she’s “not dying.” Parton’s beloved husband of 59 years, Carl Dean, died earlier this year at age 82 and in September Parton announced that she was postponing her Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace — which was due to kick off next month — due to some health challenges. The residency is now slated to begin in 2026.

The Stone Roses bassist Gary “Mani” Mounfield has died at age 63.

His death was first reported by the Manchester Evening News, and confirmed by Mani’s brother Greg on Facebook Thursday (Nov. 20). “IT IS WITH THE HEAVIEST OF HEARTS THAT I HAVE TO ANNOUNCE THE SAD PASSING OF MY BROTHER GARY MANI MOUNFIELD,” he wrote. “RIP RKID.”

Ian Brown, the band’s singer, also confirmed the news writing on his X profile: “REST IN PEACE MANi X.”

Mani was born in Crumpsall, Manchester, on Nov. 16, 1962. A cause of death has not yet been revealed.

The Stone Roses was formed in Manchester in 1983 by Brown and guitarist John Squire. Drummer Alan “Reni” Wren joined the group the following year, and Mani completed the lineup in 1987. The band fused the city’s burgeoning dance scene with a “baggy” psychedelic rock sound and earned widespread acclaim from the British press.

In 1989, the group released its seminal self-titled debut album, which peaked at No. 5 on the U.K. Official Albums Chart, and went on to inspire a number of bands from the local area such as Oasis. Liam Gallagher said in 2011 that seeing the Roses perform live made him “obsessed with music” and was what made him want to join a band.

Following the release of The Stone Roses’ debut album, the band was embroiled in a lengthy legal dispute with its label, Silvertone. The group eventually signed with Geffen in 1991, and three years later, released The Second Coming to mixed reviews. The LP’s labored production put tensions on the group, and Reni left in 1995. A year later, Squire announced he was also departing, leaving Brown and Mani as the sole two members of the group. After a disastrous performance at Reading Festival in 1996, the band called it quits.

Mani then joined Scottish band Primal Scream as its bassist in 1996, and performed with the band until 2011. He also formed the group Freebass with fellow Manchester bass players Andy Rourke (formerly of the Smiths) and Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order) and released one studio LP in 2010.

In April 2011, Brown and Squire reconciled at the funeral of Mani’s mother. Several months later, The Stone Roses announced its reformation for a number of shows at Manchester’s Heaton Park for June and July 2012. In May 2016 the group released its first single in 20 years, “All for One,” though relations soon broke down again and sessions for a comeback album were eventually scrapped. Despite tensions, the group toured steadily until 2017, including shows at London’s Wembley Stadium. In 2023, Mani’s wife, Imelda, died following a bowel cancer diagnosis.

On Nov. 14, Mani announced a U.K. speaking tour for the U.K. titled The Stone Roses, Primal Scream and Me – An Intimate Evening With Gary “Mani” Mounfield. The tour was set to begin in September 2026 and run until June 2027. 

Tributes have been pouring in from a number of Manchester artists. Liam Gallagher said on his X account: “IN TOTAL SHOCK AND ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED ON HEARING THE NEWS ABOUT MANI MY HERO RIP RKID LG”

The Charlatans’ singer Tim Burgess wrote on X, “I shared this photo a week or so ago on Mani’s birthday  – It never failed to bring a smile to my face – and that was exactly the same for the man himself. One of the absolute best in every way – such a beautiful friend.”

Mani and Imelda are survived by twin sons Gene Clark and George Christopher.

Nelly is demanding that a lawyer for one of his former St. Lunatics bandmates repay more than $78,000 he spent in legal bills to defeat her “frivolous” lawsuit over the rights to his debut album Country Grammar.

The case, filed by ex-bandmate Ali, was dropped in April after Nelly argued it was obviously filed years after the statute of limitations had expired. Last month, a federal judge ruled that the case was so bad that Ali’s lawyer must repay his legal bills as punishment for pursuing it too far.

In a court filing on Wednesday, Nelly’s attorneys handed Ali’s lawyer the tab: $78,007 in legal fees for three copyright litigators, covering 142 hours they say they spent working on the case after it was clear it should have been dropped.

“These rates are reasonable because they reflect the market rate for similar services to our quality of work in the New York City area,” Nelly’s attorney Kenneth Freundlich writes in the filing.

Ali’s attorney, Precious Felder Gates, will have a chance to argue for a lower fine before the judge settles on a final number. In a statement to Billboard on Thursday, she said she still believes the sanction itself was “unwarranted,” saying she’d “acted with the honest conviction that our client’s claims merited judicial consideration.”

Wednesday’s filing highlights the risk of filing questionable lawsuits against well-heeled defendants – and a potential weapon for top musicians who have complained about a rise in such cases. Ed Sheeran, Cardi B, Jay-Z and many other stars have warned that such lawsuits are often aimed at extracting quick settlements by exploiting the hassle and expense of litigation.

The case against Nelly was filed last year by members of St. Lunatics, a hip-hop group also composed of St. Louis high school friends Nelly, Ali (Ali Jones), Murphy Lee (Tohri Harper), Kyjuan (Robert Kyjuan) and City Spud (Lavell Webb). It centered on Country Grammar, the star’s debut solo album that spent five weeks atop the Billboard 200 and helped launch a career that reached superstar heights with his 2002 chart-topping singles “Hot in Herre” and “Dilemma.”

The lawsuit alleged that Nelly had cut his former crew members out of the credits and royalty payments for the hit album. It claimed the star had repeatedly “manipulated” them into falsely thinking they’d be paid for their work.

But three of the St. Lunatics quickly dropped out, saying they had never actually wanted to sue Nelly and hadn’t given authorization to the lawyers who filed the case. Though Ali initially moved ahead alone, he dropped the case entirely in April. That move came as Nelly’s lawyers were seeking to dismiss the decades-delayed case under the Copyright Act’s three-year statute of limitations.

Though the case was over, Nelly’s attorneys refused to let Ali and his lawyers walk away. They asked for sanctions — meaning legal penalties — over a “vexatious” lawsuit that “should never have been brought.”

In the American legal system, each side usually pays its own legal bills, even including defendants who win a lawsuit that they feel they shouldn’t have faced. Only in rare cases, including as punishment for misconduct, do judges order the loser to repay the winner’s fees.

Last month, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger said the case against Nelly was that kind of rare situation. He said it should have been “patently obvious” to Felder Gates that the case was doomed by last November, but that she had instead “doubled down.”

Felder, the judge said, should face punishment for “vexatiously protracting the proceedings in bad faith by her attempt to obfuscate the facts she knew barred Jones’s claims and her subsequent refusal to withdraw the amended complaint in the face of overwhelming arguments that the claims could not possibly succeed.”

At the time, Freundlich said he hoped the ruling “sends a message to lawyers that there will be consequences for dragging a defendant into an action that is frivolous on its face.”

Wednesday’s filing explained the amount that Nelly’s lawyers say Felder Gates should pay under that order. Freundlich, a veteran music industry litigator, says he spent 19 hours at his rate of $725 per hour; a senior counsel at his firm, Jonah A. Grossbardt put in 88 hours at $575 per hour; and an associate, Hugh H. Rosenberg, worked 35 hours at $375 per hour.

Such rates are typical for attorneys at those levels in major law firms in New York and Los Angeles. Many lawyers at bigger firms charge even more, and complicated cases can cost millions to litigate. But the judge is not required to grant the entire request and could very well settle on a lower number.

Felder Gates will have a chance to file a motion next week seeking a lower fine, but the judge’s order means that she will eventually have to pay Nelly some amount of fees. In her statement to Billboard, she continued to defend her firm’s conduct in the case.

“Our firm pursued a legitimate claim in good faith to protect rights expressly afforded to our client,” she said. “Based on the information available and the applicable law, we held a reasonable and well-supported belief that viable arguments existed to [extend] the statute of limitations, and we accordingly advanced those defenses.”

Billboard’s Dance Moves roundup serves as a guide to the biggest movers and shakers across Billboard’s many dance charts — new No. 1s, new top 10s, first-timers and more.

This week (on charts dated Nov. 22, 2025), Calvin Harris and Jessie Reyez crown the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart with “Ocean.” It becomes Harris’ 18th No. 1 at the format and Reyez’s first career No. 1 on any Billboard chart. Plus, chart moves for DJ Snake, Fred again.., Danny Brown and nate band.

Check out the key movers below.

Calvin Harris & Jessie Reyez

In July 2017, Jessie Reyez debuted on Billboard’s charts for the first time, thanks to her featured appearance on Calvin Harris’ “Hard to Love,” which debuted and peaked at No. 30 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. Now, eight years later, she reaches No. 1 on a Billboard chart for the first time, also thanks to a Harris collaboration.

Harris and Reyez’s “Ocean,” released Sept. 5 on Columbia Records, rises 3-1 on the latest Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart. It earns Harris his 18th No. 1 at the format and Reyez her first No. 1 on any Billboard chart.

Harris’ 18 No. 1s mark the second-most in the chart’s 22-year history. Here’s an updated look at the artists with the most No. 1s:

“Ocean” is Harris’ second No. 1 of 2025, following “Blessings,” featuring Clementine Douglas, in July. Before that, he notched three leaders in 2024 (“Free,” “Lovers in a Past Life” and “Body Moving”). Harris has now spent 108 total weeks at No. 1 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay, extending his record.

Although this is her first No. 1, Reyez has had a steady presence on Billboard’s rankings since her chart arrival. She’s charted five songs on the Hot R&B Songs chart and earned radio hits on Alternative Airplay, Latin Airplay, Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay. Plus, her album Before Love Came to Kill Us reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200 in 2020.

DJ Snake

The Algerian-French DJ banks his third entry on the Top Dance Albums chart as his new album, Nomad, debuts at No. 7 with 6,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Luminate. His previous two entries, 2016’s Encore and 2019’s Carte Blanche, both hit No. 1. The new project includes collaborations with J Balvin, Travis Scott, Peso Pluma and Stray Kids, among others.

One of the album’s breakout tracks, “Tsunami,” featuring Future and Scott, debuts at No. 6 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. It earns DJ Snake his 12th top 10 on the chart. The J Balvin collab, “Noventa,” spent a week at No. 1 on Latin Airplay in October.

Fred again..

The superstar debuts two tracks on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart: “Beto’s Horns (Fred Remix)” with Argentinians CA7RIEL and Paco Amoroso (No. 15), and “Talk of the Town” with Sammy Virji and Reggie (No. 24).

The former becomes CA7RIEL and Amoroso’s first U.S. chart hit, following four entries on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100. “Beto’s Horns” was boosted by a mix with Ezra Collective. As for “Talk of the Town,” the song is a remix of Irish rapper Reggie’s 2022 track of the same name.

Both “Beto’s Horns (Fred Remix)” and “Talk of the Town” are part of Fred’s ongoing USB project — a concept beginning in 2022 that he’s called an “infinite album,” with new one-off mixes being released continuously.

Fred again.. has now charted 32 tracks on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, all since 2021.

Danny Brown

The trailblazing rapper appears on Billboard’s dance charts for the first time, as his new album Stardust debuts at No. 25 on Top Dance Albums with 3,000 units.

Stardust marks a fresh sonic turn for Brown, who has long embraced experimenting with new genres and styles. The project features Brown’s signature raps and leans into EDM and hyperpop textures. It includes guest appearances from genre fixtures Frost Children, Jane Remover and underscores.

Prior to Stardust, Brown charted four albums on the Billboard 200 and two top five entries on Top Rap Albums.

nate band

The up-and-coming DJ claims his first career entry on Billboard’s charts as “Miss Your Body” debuts at No. 14 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. The track, released Oct. 17 via moshpit projects/Thirty Knots, opens with 1.1 million official U.S. streams.

The vocals on “Miss Your Body” are sung by Lily Kaplan, who’s credited as a cowriter and coproducer on the track. She previously wrote songs for Central Cee, Ice Spice, Lil Durk, Stormzy and $uicideboy$. She reached the Billboard Hot 100 as a cowriter and coproducer on Ice Spice and Central Cee’s “Did It First” (No. 51 peak, 2024).

Band has released two other songs on DSPs: “Drugs I Like” (plus a remix with AVELLO) and “Falling.”