A month after winning his second Primetime Emmy for his music for Severance, Theodore Shapiro was honored again for his scoring work on that Apple TV+ series at the 2025 World Soundtrack Awards. The awards were presented on Wednesday (Oct. 15) at the annual WSA Ceremony & Concert during Film Fest Gent, Belgium’s biggest international film festival.

Shapiro beat, among others, Volker Bertelmann, who was nominated for The Day of the Jackal, Dune: Prophecy and The Count of Monte Cristo. But the busy Bertelmann won film composer of the year for Conclave and The Amateur.

Composer Daniel Blumberg, who won an Oscar for best original score in March for The Brutalist, lost film composer of the year to Bertelmann, but he turned around and won discovery of the year.

The award for best original song went to “El Mal,” from Jacques Audiard’s groundbreaking musical Emilia Pérez. The song also won the Oscar in that category. It was written by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard, and performed in the film by Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón.

Philip Glass and Michael Nyman each received lifetime achievement awards.

Here’s the full list of nominations for the 2025 World Soundtrack Awards, with winners marked.

Best Original Song

“Beautiful That Way” from The Last Showgirl – written by Andrew Wyatt, Lykke Li, Miley Cyrus; performed by Miley Cyrus, Andrew Wyatt, Matt Dunkley

WINNER: “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez – written by Clément Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard; performed by Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón

“I Lied to You” from Sinners – written by Ludwig Göransson, Raphael Saadiq; performed by Miles Caton

“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late – written by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, Bernie Taupin; performed by Elton John, Brandi Carlile

“Winter Coat” from Blitz – written by Nicholas Britell, Steve McQueen, Taura Stinson; performed by Nicholas Britell, Saoirse Ronan

Film Composer of the Year

WINNER: Volker Bertelmann – Conclave; The Amateur

Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist

Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot

Clément Ducol and Camille – Emilia Pérez

Alberto Iglesias – The Room Next Door

John Powell – How to Train Your Dragon

Television Composer of the Year

Volker Bertelmann – The Day of the Jackal; Dune: Prophecy; The Count of Monte Cristo

David Fleming, Gustavo Santaolalla – The Last of Us (Season 2)

Ariel Marx – Dying for Sex

Bear McCreary – The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 2)

Martin Phipps – Black Doves

WINNER: Theodore Shapiro – Severance (Season 2)

Discovery of the Year Award

WINNER: Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist

Robin Carolan – Nosferatu

Jung Jae-il – Mickey 17

Dave Metzger – Mufasa: The Lion King

Hania Rani – Sentimental Value

Public Choice Award

Buio come il cuore (Dark is the Heart) – David Cerquetti

WINNER: Hola Frida – Laetitia Pansanel-Garric

Ni chaînes ni maîtres – Amine Bouhafa

Reagan – John Coda

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – Stephen Gallagher

WSA Game Music Award

WINNER: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Lorien Testard

Doom: The Dark Ages – Alex Klingle, Brian Lee White, Brian Trifon, Jay Wiltzen

Dune: Awakening – Knut Avenstroup Haugen

Farewell North – John Konsolakis

Neva – Berlinist

Belgian Film Composer of the Year

Vincent Cahay – Maldoror

WINNER: Ruben De Gheselle – Young Hearts; There was, There was not

Frédéric Vercheval – Largo Winch: Le prix de l’argent

Best Original Composition by a Young Composer

Neville Bharucha

Théo Cascio

WINNER: Bongseob Kim

Lifetime Achievement Award

Philip Glass

Michael Nyman

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When did wired earbuds become cool again? From Harry Styles to Charli XCX, stars have been spotted ditching their wireless earbuds in favor of being tethered to their phones, and it seems the previously-dated look is now an instant status symbol.

Model and influencer Romeo Beckham recently posted photos of himself using the wired earphones while getting ready for Fashion Week. And Dua Lipa revealed that she keeps not one, but three pairs of wired earbuds with her at all times.

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Of course there are many reasons why wired earbuds are better than wireless ones: for starters, they’re less likely to fall out of your ears and disappear into some crack or crevice on the road, or on your commute. Many people also find them more comfortable, since they’re pretty “locked in” to your ears rather than dangling from your lobes precariously.

Wired earbuds are also better for sound quality, owing to the direct connection to your music source rather than relying on Bluetooth pairing. Dropped calls or music fading in and out? That’s not a problem with wired earbuds (well… at least not dropped calls due to phone pairing issues). And wired earbuds never require a battery source or charging, since they plug directly into your phone. Wireless earbuds require you to keep them charged or carry them in an accompanying charging case.

Of course, wired earbuds (and wired headphones) saw a decline in popularity a few years ago when cell phone providers got rid of the headphone jack on most units. But you can now find wired earphones with USB-C connections, including the popular Apple Earbuds (seen above). The USB-C plug lets you easily affix your earbuds to your phone, using the same slot you would use for charging.

Apple’s official wired earbuds are dubbed the “EarPods” (get it? Compared to the Bluetooth AirPods?) and they feature two ergonomic earbuds attached to an approximately three-foot cord. The cord has a built-in remote that lets you adjust the volume, change songs and even answer calls with just the push of a button.

It’s not just for listening to music or watching videos — Apple says the EarPods have a built-in microphone that automatically focuses on your voice when you’re on a call, so you always come in loud and clear. Amazon says more than 10,000 shoppers have picked up these buds in the last few weeks alone — another sign of the wired comeback.

The Apple EarPods with USB-C connection support iPhone models 15 and up. Have an older phone and still want to connect with a pair of wired earbuds? Pick up the EarPods with a lightning cable connection above. It has all the same features as the USB-C pair, only with a different plug-in tip.

You can also find an Apple EarPods alternative on Amazon, with these USB-C wired earphones above, which are compatible with both iOs and Android devices. This pair also comes with a mini remote control plus three eartip sizes to help you find your most comfortable fit.

There is one annoying issue with wired earbuds — the dangling cords. Without a charging case to tuck your earbuds into, the cords can quickly become a tangled mess in your pockets or bags. Fortunately, you can pick up a basic cord organizer or earphone wrap, like the one from Amazon below.

For more product recommendations, check out ShopBillboard’s roundup of the best earbuds under $25 and the best earbuds under $50 here.

Attorneys for Tim Leiweke are asking for more time to prepare the defense of the former Oak View Group (OVG) chief executive and arena developer in his federal criminal trial in Austin.

Criminal defense attorney David Gerger filed an 11-page motion on Friday (Oct. 10), requesting that presiding Judge Susan Hightower postpone the December 2025 trial date to at least October 2026. Gerger argues that Leiweke’s legal team needs additional time to review roughly seven million pages of evidence produced by the government.

The filing also outlines what could be Leiweke’s early strategy to have the Department of Justice’s case dismissed, claiming prosecutors are misapplying the law in what the defense calls a misguided prosecution of an accomplished arena executive.

On July 9, the DOJ’s Antitrust Division unsealed an indictment accusing Leiweke and the leadership of Legends Hospitality of conspiring to rig a bid to develop the Moody Center in Austin for the University of Texas. Prosecutors allege Leiweke colluded with then-Legends CEO Shervin Mirhashemi to prevent Legends — partly owned by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones — from submitting a competing bid for the arena project.

OVG agreed to pay a $15 million penalty under a non-prosecution agreement, while Legends agreed to pay $1.5 million. Leiweke faces a single charge of violating Section 1 of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

“We say that is not true; that OVG won the contract by competition, not collusion, and provided a world-class arena at excellent terms for the University,” Gerger writes. He argues that OVG “could not itself provide all the services needed to build and operate the arena, so it had to put together a team. Legends was not an arena developer but wanted to provide certain services to the arena such as food and beverage concession stands.”

That distinction is key, Gerger continues, maintaining that Legends was not a competitor to OVG in 2017. “Even Legends has told DOJ that it was not in the arena development business during the relevant time,” he writes, noting that Mirhashemi testified before a grand jury that “Legends would support the development-led bid for this project by OVG in lieu of supporting and providing services for another developer’s bid.”

“According to the government, an arena developer may not agree that its ‘teammates’ or subcontractors will support its team and not join another ‘team’ to bid against it: that is an unlawful ‘restraint,’” Gerger writes. “Our research shows that theory is wrong on the law, and courts have rejected such ‘literal’ readings of the Sherman Act as ‘overly simplistic.’”

Gerger also points to a 2024 DOJ review of AEG’s sale of ASM Global to Legends, during which a Legends attorney reportedly described the University of Texas deal as “lawful” and “an appropriate business practice.”

Regarding the requested trial postponement, Gerger said he’s unsurprised the government is “ready for trial,” writing, “It should be — it investigated this case for over two years and then decided when to bring an indictment.”

“In sum, discovery is voluminous and ongoing, and the defense needs more time to review it — and time to follow leads,” Gerger continued. “There is no way to accomplish this — and file motions and prepare for trial — on the schedule proposed by the government.”

A DOJ representative did not respond to Billboard’s request for comment by press time.

As any artist knows, it’s a tough task to score a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The feat usually requires some blend of the following ingredients: a strong song, a charismatic artist, aggressive promotion efforts, a devoted fan base; and, more recently, a viral live performance, meme or other stroke of luck. And that’s just to do it once. To rise (and stay) at the top of the game, demands a consistency that few artists ever achieve. But when artists lock onto that golden combination, they can accomplish a string of hits in rapid succession.

To celebrate those artists, Billboard compiled a roll call of artists who cemented their pop dominance by landing five or more top 10 hits from a single album. Not only does such a feat rely on the same qualities listed above, but for an album to sustain, it needs to recreate those moments for a mass audience over the course of months.

It should come as little surprise, then, that the first album to house five top 10s was Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the best-selling album of all time. At the time, Jackson set the benchmark of seven top 10s from one album – a feat later equaled by Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA (1984-85), Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989-91) and Drake’s Scorpion (2018). The record then quickly changed hands multiple times: Drake’s Certified Lover Boy scored nine top 10 successes in 2021, but was soon eclipsed by Taylor Swift’s 2022 album Midnights, which upped the record to 10. Swift repeated the perfect 10 with her 2024 release, The Tortured Poets Department, and 2025’s The Life of a Showgirl.

Check out our rundown of albums that have produced five or more top 10 hits on the Hot 100. Drake owns the most projects on the list, with four different albums – while Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen are the only other acts with multiple appearances. The who’s-who covers a cross-section of genres, including pop, rock, R&B and hip-hop and includes superstars such as Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston and Katy Perry.

(Note that this list only covers original editions of albums, though three albums – Usher’s Confessions, Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad and Taylor Swift’s Fearless – would qualify if expanded to deluxe editions and reissues.)

Almost two months after Billboard exclusively announced that Loud and Live partnered with the City of Doral in Miami, Fla., for the launch of the new Doral Amphitheater, its doors have officially opened. 

The new concert and event venue was inaugurated during a private event in Miami on Tuesday night (Oct. 14) with Leila Cobo, Billboard’s chief content officer for Latin/Español, serving as the evening’s host. 

“Miami is going to have a new state-of-the-art venue right here in the heart of Doral,” said Cobo, who was also honored with the key to the Doral Amphitheater. “This is the first new music venue built in Miami in 20 years. The fact that it’s centered around Latin music is so profoundly significant. This is a very visionary project, it’s a bold project, and that requires a visionary to execute it.” 

“From the very beginning, the [City of Doral] mayor’s [Christi Fraga] vision was to create a space that enriches the culture and social fabric of this community, where music, business and entertainment come together,” said Nelson Albareda, CEO of Loud and Live. “Most importantly, we create live opportunities across multiple sectors. It’s an economic entrance for not only the City of the Doral, but the [Miami-Dade] county. Our belief is that entertainment should be accessible, inclusive and community-driven. This is an open venue that’s available to all communities and organizations, to all promoters, artists and anyone who wants to bring events to this incredible stage.” 

The evening continued with an hour-long performance by Gente de Zona, joined by a seven-piece band and four dancers, who sang some of the group’s biggest hits such as “Hablame de Miami,” “La Guagua,” “Bailando” and “La Gozadera.” 

Located in the 78-acre Doral Central Park, the open-air venue holds 4,689 people and is designed to accommodate seated and standing general admission, as well as VIP box seating. The venue — which also features a covered professional stage, premium acoustics and full power capabilities — will host touring artists, cultural festivals and civic events. Additionally, Loud and Live will operate the venue’s programming, marketing, ticketing and event production.  

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.

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