A$AP Rocky has had a very busy year. In addition to two well-received turns as an actor in the Spike Lee joint Highest 2 Lowest and Mary Bronstein’s psychological drama If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, he’s also been prepping his fourth studio album, Don’t Be Dumb and just dropped a new collab with Puma.

But of all the projects he’s worked on this year, none are more significant than his newborn daughter with longtime partner Rihanna. In an interview with Complex about his big year and the Puma collection, Rocky, 37, admitted that he’s done “a whole lot” in 2025, but one thing is by far his favorite creation. “My daughter. That’s my favorite thing I created this year. Shout out to Rocki Irish, man,” he said about the daughter they welcomed on Sept. 13.

The child, his third with the singer, joins the pair’s three-year-old son RZA and two-year-old baby boy Riot Rose. Before Rocki was born, the rapper was very candid about what the couple hoped for when it came to baby No. 3. “I hope it’s a girl. I really do,” Rocky told Elle in an interview published just before Rihanna announced the news. “We’re praying for a girl… I feel like it’s going to be a girl,” he added at the time. “This pregnancy is so different from the other two. You can tell from the experience. I hope it’s a baby girl, man. I need that.”

In a cover story chat with Billboard in August, Rocky boasted that Don’t Be Dumb — which has not yet received an official release date after being pushed from Aug. 30 — is the best LP of his career. It is slated to feature a wide range of collabs with friends and fellow hip-hop icons including Tyler, The Creator and producers including Pharrell Williams, Mike Dean, Hitkidd, Madlib and Metro Boomin.

Robbie Williams performed a show of two halves at London’s Dingwalls on Thursday night (Oct. 9), marking his smallest-ever ticketed gig, and revealed how Taylor Swift forced him to delay the release of his 13th studio LP, Britpop.

At the 600-capacity venue in Camden, the singer performed his iconic debut Life Thru A Lens in its entirety, before airing tracks from his upcoming album Britpop (due Feb. 6). Those in attendance were required to put their phones in Yondr pouches, to avoid new songs being filmed and leaked online.

The show was initially slated to coincide with the release of Britpop, though the record had recently been pushed back due to “scheduling issues.” Towards the end of the night, Williams confirmed that this was to avoid the arrival of Taylor Swift’s The Life Of A Showgirl (Oct. 3) and its subsequent chart domination, which will likely continue over the coming month.

If Britpop reaches the summit next year, Williams will secure his 16th U.K. No.1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, breaking a tie with The Beatles in the all-time rankings. “We’re all pretending [the scheduling change] is not about Taylor Swift, but it f–king is, you can’t compete with that,” Williams said.

“I was worried about making you [fans] all wait for the record. But then I was like, ‘F–k it’. I’m sorry, but I’m f–king being selfish. How many times in your life do you get to have the most No. 1 albums the U.K. has f–king ever had?”

Earlier on in the evening, accompanied by a full backing band, Williams reimagined the songs from Life Thru A Lens with a rockier edge. The 11-track effort, which formed the foundation for one of the most successful solo careers in British pop history, features mega-hits “Angels” and “Let Me Entertain You.” Its artwork, meanwhile, sees its author posing in a swarm of paparazzi and was recreated for the poster of Williams’ recent biopic, Better Man.

Upon release in 1997, Life Thru A Lens initially saw modest sales, though it eventually topped the Official U.K. Albums Chart and went eight times Platinum in the U.K. Its enduring popularity proved that a boy band member could successfully transition into a solo act, paving the way for others including Justin Timberlake and Harry Styles in later generations.

Taking to the stage at 10:45 p.m., Williams played the album in order, kicking off a two hour-long performance with a rollicking rendition of “Lazy Days.” Like the majority of the fans along the barrier, he donned a red Adidas tracksuit in homage to his trip to Glastonbury Festival in 1995, which has also become the cover image for Britpop. 

Williams was greeted with huge cheers by the crowd. “I never get to do gigs like this, and I always say to myself that I want to play smaller places,” he began. “But then I finish my tour and I am knackered, I can’t be arsed. Turns out, I can be arsed tonight!”

“If you don’t mind, I’d just like to perform as Robert tonight. I just want to stand and sing my s–t,” he continued. “Turns out, Robert is in really good shape.”

As Williams prepared to launch into “Angels” — describing it as his “Hail Mary” — the room began chanting his name, before he informed them: “My career is what it is because of this song.” A staple at weddings, funerals, and public events, the track holds a deep cultural resonance and is one of the most-awarded and commercially successful British songs of all time.

After storming through the rest of Life Thru A Lens, including “South Of The Border” and “Hello Sir,” a poem Williams wrote for one of his former school teachers, he took a short break before returning to the stage for the latter portion of the set.

In the summer, Williams unveiled a mock plaque — installed next to the iconic Camden Lock Bridge — to mark the release of his single “Spies,” while also paying playful tribute to the genre that defined an era. It read: “Robbie Williams recovered from a severe case of ‘long 90s’ and returned to the home of Britpop with the album he always wanted to make.”

He would repeat this sentiment multiple times in between playing unreleased material, describing how swaggering tracks like “Rocket,” “Bite Your Tongue” and “Cocky” represented “the artist I always wanted to be.” Later on, new single “Pretty Face” was dedicated to Williams wife, actress Ada Field, while he joked how the psychedelic chord progression of “Spies” sounds similar to the Oasis classic “Champagne Supernova.” 

Album track “Human,” with lyrics that reference “protein pills in a dopamine package” and a call to “make the most of being alive,” was preceded by a speech centered on the future of AI, with Williams concluding that “we shouldn’t be scared” of the technology’s capabilities.

In an even wilder left turn, Williams aired electro-pop thumper “Morrissey,” named after the songwriter and former Smiths frontman of the same name. The track seemed to play on Williams’ fandom for the music icon, while also drawing comparisons between their outspoken natures. “I’m a little like you but a lot less worthy,” he sang at one point, before describing the song as “weird” and adding that “‘Gay For Morrissey’ would make a great t-shirt.”

Williams will repeat the Dingwalls setlist at a string of underplay shows next spring, including a billing at O2 Brixton Academy (Feb. 8). The full schedule and ticket information can be found at his official website.

Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

This week, it’s all about collabs — between two alums from blockbuster megapop groups, a couple veteran indie favorites, and a pair of genre-crossing TDE s–t-talkers — as well as a couple longtime hitmakers still going it solo.

JISOO with ZAYN, “Eyes Closed”

If pop groups stocked with breakout solo stars is your thing, you’re undoubtedly very excited about the arrival of “Eyes Closed,” a meeting of BLACKPINK and One Direction alums. JISOO and ZAYN team up here for an emotional, tender ballad with pulsing synths and booming drums — not dissimilar from mid-’10s ZAYN duets “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” (with Taylor Swift) and “Dusk Till Dawn” (with Sia). Both those songs have stream counts in the multiple billions, so perhaps this one will also prove to be catnip on DSPs.

Khalid, After the Sun Goes Down

After taking a half-decade for third album Sincerely, hybrid hitmaker Khalid is back with LP4 in just over a year’s time: After the Sun Goes Down, his first full-length since coming out as gay in late 2024. The breezy 16-track, no-guest effort features a return to big pop sounds and hooks, with regular Ariana Grande collaborator Ilya serving as executive producer, and Khalid finding inspiration in the “Rihannas and the Britneys and the Janets,” as he explained to Rolling Stone: “I feel like with this album, I knew that I wanted to go back to pop, but I wanted to do it in the way that I felt connected to it the most. I look at this as more like an homage or just thanks to the icons that paved the way for me.”

HAIM & Bon Iver, “Tie You Down”

It’s a pairing made in early-’10s indie heaven: L.A. pop-rock sister trio HAIM and indie-folk stalwart Bon Iver — with Rostam, formerly of Vampire Weekend, helping out on production, no less. Justin Vernon provides lovely harmonies over the top of frontwoman Danielle Haim’s lamenting here of a relationship she wants to maintain but may have to let go of: “I want you here/ But I don’t know how not to tie you down.” The lilting acoustic ballad previews HAIM’s upcoming deluxe version of its I Quit album, with three new tracks, out next Friday (Oct. 17).

Gorillaz feat. Trueno and Proof, “The Manifesto”

There’s always been a globetrotting flair to the Damon Albarn-led Gorillaz project, with guests and musical influences hailing from all over the map. That seems to be truer than ever on upcoming album The Mountain, which Albarn recorded in India, and whose second single not only features traditional Indian instruments like the tablas and the sarod, but also guest vocals from Argentinian rapper Trueno. The most surprising contribution on this one comes from an American, however: late D12 rapper Proof, who appears halfway through via an early freestyle.

Alemeda & Doechii, “Beat a B!tch Up”

TDE singer-songwriter Alemeda showed great promise with the crunching pop-punk and gauzy alt-rock of her 2024 EP FK IT, which she continues to pay off this year with the blackout anthem “Beat a B!tch Up.” This time, she’s also got a starry guest in tow with rapper Doechii, warning “Don’t put my hand on that Bible, please,” before the song reaches its incendiary chorus. For those who got in the pit for SZA’s SOS rager “F2F,” you’ll undoubtedly love this new collab between her TDE labelmates.

A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, “Part of Me”

One of New York hip-hop’s preeminent MCs of the late ’10s and early ’20s is back with his new single, “Part of Me,” and he’s drawing from a Billboard Hot 100-topping pop classic. No, it’s not Katy Perry’s 2012 smash of the same name, but rather Mariah Carey’s 20-year-old “We Belong Together,” which A Boogie interpolates the chorus and even some of the verses to in this heartbreak anthem. It’s an effective lift, and should help satiate both A Boogie fans eagerly awaiting the rapper’s new set and Lambs still craving more Mimi post-Here for It All.

Gwen Stefani might dream of a “Simple Kind of Life,” but she recently agreed to a monumentally huge opportunity, which will make her the first woman to headline the MSG-owned Sphere in Las Vegas.

Billboard can confirm that Stefani will reunite with her band No Doubt to play a run of six shows at the iconic arena visible from the famed Las Vegas Strip. First reported by TMZ, the booking will make Stefani the first woman to headline the 17,600-seat arena, which has hosted concerts from U2, Dead & Company, Eagles, Backstreet Boys and more since opening in late 2023.

The concerts are scheduled to take place some time in 2026; the building’s event calendar is booked up mostly through mid-April with concerts by Zac Brown Band, Eagles, Backstreet Boys and Illenium.

No Doubt has only performed twice since breaking up in 2015, most recently at the 2025 FireAid benefit concert in January, when they played a medley of hits from the band’s Tragic Kingdom album to help raise funds for victims of the deadly Pacific Palisades fire. Prior to that, the band reunited for two performances at Coachella in 2024, where they delivered an energetic 80-minute set spanning fan favorites like “Just a Girl,” “Don’t Speak” and “Hella Good” and included a guest appearance by Olivia Rodrigo on “Bathwater.”

No Doubt emerged from Anaheim, California’s ska and punk scene in 1986, eventually becoming one of the defining pop-rock bands of the 1990s. Their breakthrough album, Tragic Kingdom, topped the Billboard 200 for nine consecutive weeks, catapulting the group to global fame. Over the course of six studio albums, No Doubt earned two Grammy Awards and nine nominations, including recognition for Tragic Kingdom in the best rock album category and “Don’t Speak” as best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals. After nearly three decades together, the band went on hiatus in the mid-2010s as Stefani pursued a successful solo career, beginning with her 2004 debut album Love. Angel. Music. Baby and the four-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Hollaback Girl.”

If you thought we were at peak biopic, you may have been wrong — as a new deal suggests you should probably expect many more films and documentaries about music legends in the future.  

Warner Music Group (WMG) is “close to an agreement” with Netflix to create movies and documentaries based on the company’s artists and songs, according to Bloomberg. WMG, which shut down its internal division that produced film and TV shows earlier this year and is looking to outsource that work, the report claimed.   

Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime conference on Wednesday (Oct. 8), WMG CEO Robert Kyncl did not confirm a pending partnership but laid out numerous reasons why the company should work with a global streaming platform. “Our company has a tremendous catalog: Prince, Madonna, Fleetwood Mac,” Kyncl said. “It just goes on and on and on. The stories we have are incredible, and they haven’t really been told. We’re like Marvel [Comics] for music.” 

Kyncl, who as a Netflix executive helped the company launch its streaming service in 2007, added that “it makes a lot of sense for us to partner with a company that can bring it to life all around the world.” Netflix, which has more than 300 million subscribers in over 190 countries, would provide WMG with a massive audience for video content without the additional costs involved with theatrical releases.  

Netflix has created numerous music-focused documentaries, including Martin Scorsese’s Rolling Thunder Revenue: A Bob Dylan Story; Miss Americana, a look at Taylor Swift’s career and personal life; Quincy, a history of celebrated producer and musician Quincy Jones; and Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé.  

Music biopics have become an increasingly popular piece of content as companies have invested billions of dollars in artist catalogs and name and likeness rights. The 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody “turbocharged” demand for Queen’s catalog and played a role in its lofty $1.27 billion valuation when it was purchased by Sony Music in 2024. The 2022 film Elvis boosted the value of the late singer’s estate from $600 million in 2020 to $1 billion in 2022, a source told Billboard. Likewise, the upcoming Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen biopics could help Sony Music improve its return on its investments in those artists’ catalogs.  

But the time required to develop films means the payoff — synch royalties and increased streams and radio play — aren’t immediate. As Natalia Nastaskin, chief content officer at Primary Wave, told Billboard in 2024, that lag time could mean the peak of music biopics “may take several years.”