The long-out-of-print self-titled album from Buckingham Nicks debuts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 30,000 copies sold in the United States in the week ending Sept. 25, according to Luminate. The set was originally released in 1973 before Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac and is the only album from the pair as a duo.

Buckingham Nicks also arrives on Top Rock Albums, Indie Store Album Sales, Catalog Albums (No. 1 on each); Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Vinyl Albums (No. 2); and the Billboard 200 (No. 11).

Originally issued through Polydor, Buckingham Nicks has been out of circulation (though widely bootlegged) until its official remastered Rhino reissue on Sept. 19. The project also made its official debut on CD, streaming services and as a digital download through Rhino, alongside a number of vinyl variants.

Upon the album’s reissue, Buckingham and Nicks shared on their respective Instagram accounts: “We’re so happy this album is getting a second life. We hope you love it.”

With 30,000 sold, Buckingham Nicks tallies the biggest sales week in over a decade for any album by Buckingham, Nicks or Fleetwood Mac. The last time a set from any of those acts had a larger sales week was on the Top Album Sales chart dated Oct. 25, 2014, when Nicks’ 24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault, sold 33,000 copies in its opening week (No. 7).

Further, with 18,000 copies sold on vinyl, the album notches the largest sales week in the format in the modern era (since Luminate began electronically tracking sales in 1991) for any project by Buckingham, Nicks or Fleetwood Mac.

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Pop supergroup *NSYNC is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

It’s been 30 years since the boy band consisting of Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick and Lance Bass was formed on Oct. 1 1995, and ShopBillboard is ready to celebrate. To commemorate the legacy that was, and still is, *NSYNC, we recommend both casual and die-hard fans of the band pick up this *NSYNC 30th Anniversary Celebration: We Want You Back! book available on Amazon.

The book was penned by journalist Selena Fragassi and currently retails for $14.48. A Kindle version is also available for $11.99 if you’d rather digitally flip through the fan-forward novel. The book is fully illustrated and is curated by a fan, for the fans.

*NSYNC's 30th Anniversary Biography: Buy Online

*NSYNC 30th Anniversary Celebration: We Want You Back!

$14.48 $24.99 42% off

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A book celebrating *NSYNC’s 30th anniversary.


The book begins where most fans did, with the group’s 1997 self-titled debut album spearheaded by the famed single “I Want You Back.” The group gained major star power from the release, following it up with their 2000’s work No Strings Attached, which became one of the fastest-selling albums in history with over 1 million copies sold in just one day.

From their success on the charts, we’re taken through their life on the road where the boy band completed five nationwide concert tours before going on hiatus in 2002. The book takes us through when *NSYNC reunited in 2023 after almost two decades apart, releasing their single “Better Place.” On the Billboard side, the track peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which was a tie for their highest Hot 100 debut with their first single, “I Want You Back” in 1998. This marked the group’s return to the Hot 100 for the first time in over 20 years.

For those curious, these days, *NSYNC is focused on solo activities but has come together for special appearances here and there. If reading isn’t your thing, we won’t judge, Amazon also features a bunch of official *NSYNC merch that you can shop right now. We’ve picked out a few of our favorites, from hoodies to tank tops, that you can shop below.

Shop our official Amazon *NSYNC merch picks here.

*NSYNC's 30th Anniversary Biography: Buy Online

*NSYNC Official Name Stack T-Shirt

A red t-shirt spelling out all the *NSYNC member’s names.


*NSYNC's 30th Anniversary Biography: Buy Online

*NSYNC Official No Strings Attached Raglan Baseball Tee

A black and white long-sleeve baseball tee with *NSYNC’s No Strings Attached album art on it.


*NSYNC's 30th Anniversary Biography: Buy Online

*NSYNC Official Retro Neon Logo Tank Top

A black tank top with the *NSYNC members on the front in a colorful graphic.


*NSYNC's 30th Anniversary Biography: Buy Online

*NSYNC Official Gonna Be Me Pullover Hoodie

A blue hoodie with *NSYNC’s No Strings Attached album art on it.


*NSYNC's 30th Anniversary Biography: Buy Online

*NSYNC Official Right Through You V-Neck T-Shirt

A blue v-neck t-shirt with an *NSYNC graphic on the front.


THE BIG STORY: Sean “Diddy” Combs essentially won his criminal case, right? After all, the jury acquitted him on the central racketeering and sex-trafficking charges that could have sent him to prison for life. The feds overreached and the jury slapped them down, the narrative goes — let’s get those White Parties going again.

But the star was convicted, albeit on lesser charges of interstate prostitution. And these weren’t misdemeanors: Prosecutors want at least 11 years in prison, and the probation office says he deserves seven years. Combs’ lawyers, on the other hand, want just 14 months — a sentence that would send him home almost immediately on time served.

When Combs is sentenced by a federal judge on Friday (Oct. 3), how much time will he actually get? Legal experts told me that it will largely depend on one tricky question: How much the judge separates the “acquitted conduct” that was rejected by the jury from the actions on which Combs was actually convicted.

That might seem like common sense, but it’s actually a controversial issue and the key dispute between Combs and prosecutors ahead of sentencing. Experts say it’s also a serious challenge for a federal judge: “It will be hard for the judge to unhear everything he has already heard about Combs,” one former longtime Manhattan federal prosecutor told me.

For more, go read my full story here. And stay tuned at Billboard — we’ll keep you updated when the sentence is issued.

You’re reading The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday, go subscribe here.

Other top stories this week…

NO NEW TRIAL – Separately in the Diddy case, Judge Arun Subramanian denied a motion seeking to overturn his prostitution convictions, clearing the way for both sentencing and appeals. The ruling rejected Combs’ various arguments, including his eyebrow-raising claim that the “freak-off” sex parties at the heart of the case were just porn movie shoots protected by the First Amendment. “Illegal activity can’t be laundered into constitutionally protected activity just by the desire to watch it,” the judge wrote.

GET A GOOD LAWYER – A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit claiming Taylor Swift stole lyrics for 15 of her songs from a self-published Florida poet, ruling that accuser Kimberly Marasco was trying to claim ownership over “common words” and basic ideas: “Plaintiff’s poems amount at most to ideas, metaphors, contexts, and themes — none of which is a proper subject of copyright protection,” the judge wrote.

PROTECT YA SECRETS – A federal judge said that Martin Shkreli must face a lawsuit over Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album that he once owned. The judge refused to dismiss the case because she said the ultra-rare album might be considered a “trade secret” — and that Shkreli potentially broke the law by retaining copies after he forfeited it to prosecutors. But she acknowledged that such a ruling was “uncharted territory” for trade secrets law.

NIRVANA COVER CASE – The iconic grunge band won a court ruling dismissing a long-running lawsuit filed by Spencer Elden, the man who appeared as a nude baby on the iconic cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind. Elden claimed the image amounted to child pornography, but the judge ruled it was not the kind of sexualized photo that would break the law: “This image … is most analogous to a family photo of a nude child bathing.”

KIM K SUES RAY J – Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner filed a defamation lawsuit against Ray J over allegations that he falsely claimed during a podcast that federal authorities are investigating the mother and daughter pair for criminal racketeering. The case, filed by lawyer Alex Spiro, said the singer had waged a “malicious campaign of harassment” against the Kardashians because he was intent on “reviving his own fading notoriety.” Ouch.

METRO BOOMIN VERDICT – The superstar producer won a jury verdict clearing him of wrongdoing in a civil lawsuit filed by Vanessa LeMaistre, who claimed that he sexually assaulted and impregnated her in 2016. It took only a short deliberation for the jury to reject those accusations, which Metro’s lawyers repeatedly told them had been conjured up while LeMaistre was high on the psychoactive drug ayahuasca during a trip to Peru.

“COMPLETE BOONDOGGLE”Thomas St. John, a former longtime business manager to Calvin Harris, fired back against the DJ’s recent allegations of fraud, calling the accusations “categorically false.” In a response statement, St. John said he did not steal money from anybody and that Harris had willingly agreed to invest in the Los Angeles real estate plan at the center of the dispute — a project Harris says was a “complete boondoggle.”

MJ ABUSE CASES – Michael Jackson’s estate revealed in court filings that Wade Robson and James Safechuck — two men who have long accused the late pop star of sexually assaulting them as children — are seeking a whopping $400 million in their court cases. The revelation came amid an intra-estate dispute with Jackson’s daughter, Paris Jackson, who claims the estate executors have paid too much in legal bills to certain law firms.

NOT AGAIN – Tekashi 6ix9ine pled guilty yet again to breaching the plea deal he secured by testifying against his former Brooklyn gangmates, marking his third violation of supervised release in less than a year. At a court hearing, Tekashi admitted that he attacked a man in a Florida mall last month after the man taunted him for flipping on his crew.

RAP ON TRIAL – A New York appeals court ruled that Brooklyn prosecutors shouldn’t have used a rap song as evidence in a murder trial, saying the lyrics had “inherent ambiguity” and that the defendant was “deprived of a fair trial.” The decision, which centered on a prosecution expert witness who merely “guessed” when explaining what the lyrics meant to jurors, came amid a nationwide debate about rap in criminal cases.

GRACELAND SCAMMER – Lisa Jeanine Findley, the woman who tried to sell off Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion for millions of dollars in a bizarre scheme, was sentenced last week to more than four years in prison. Last year, Findley used a fake company and forged documents to try to conduct a foreclosure sale of the legendary Memphis home – an outlandish scam that befuddled media outlets and officials alike.

CLUB CLASH – A trio of Miami club operators who run the city’s famed Club Space venue fired back at a lawsuit brought by dance music giant Insomniac Events by filing a countersuit accusing Insomniac and its CEO Pasquale Rotella of “predatory tactics and greed.”

AI BATTLE IN GERMANY – One of the first major AI music cases in the European Union went before a Munich court this week. The case — pitting German music royalties group GEMA against OpenAI — raises the same question at play in the billion-dollar U.S. lawsuits: Do AI companies need to pay for the vast numbers of copyrighted works they use to train their machines? Billboard’s Rob Levine has a breakdown of the case and its implications.

ROYALTY ROW – T.I. was hit with a new lawsuit from veteran hip hop producer Sir Jinx over accusations that the rapper has failed to pay proper royalties for his 2016 Dr. Dre collaboration “Dope.” Jinx — Dre’s cousin who rose to fame with Ice Cube in the 1980s — has become a prolific litigant in recent years, filing lawsuits seeking more compensation for his work with Cube, Yo-Yo and others.

BAND BREAKUP BATTLE – The metalcore band Hatebreed and its frontman Jamey Jasta fired back at a lawsuit filed by bassist Chris Beattie over his ouster — calling it a “garden variety band break-up case” filed by a “disgruntled” former member who is improperly claiming a legal right “to remain a permanent member” of the band.


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Jay Pharoah and Sommore are headlining the third annual Because They’re Funny (BTF) Comedy Festival, which returns to Washington, D.C.’s The Wharf on Oct. 10-12. The event is being presented by the entertainment company Nice Crowd in partnership with Events DC, the official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia. 

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“Because They’re Funny’s momentum continues to grow and D.C., with its deep roots in comedy, is the perfect home for it,” said Nice Crowd CEO Jeff Friday and the company’s president Nicole Friday in a statement released with the news. “This festival showcases many of the top comics in the business while creating space for the next generation. We’re thrilled to have both Sommore and Jay Pharoah headlining two nights at the Anthem this year.”

Pharoah, whose comedy credentials include a six-season run on Saturday Night Live and Comedy Central’s Out of Office, will appear Oct. 11 at the Anthem and also host BTF’s flagship competition “Breakout Comedian of the Year.” Six finalists will be vying for the $10,000 grand prize plus the opportunity to sign with Hollywood talent agency Innovative Artists.

Nicknamed the Queen of Comedy, Sommore is known for her stand-up specials as well as roles in films such as Friday After Next and Soul Plane. She will hit the Anthem stage on Oct. 12 and host the Hey Ladies Comedy Experience, whose lineup includes actress-singer Tisha Campbell, who starred in the popular television series Martin and My Wife and Kids.

“We’re thrilled to present the third annual Because They’re Funny Comedy Festival,” said Events DC president/CEO Angie M. Gates in the press announcement. “This event not only positions the District as a premier comedy destination but also shines a spotlight on emerging talent. We’re excited to welcome major acts, including Jay Pharoah, to our city, and I can’t wait for comedy fans from around the world to experience the unforgettable performances and vibrant energy of this world-class festival.”

BTF will round out its three-day fest with panels, podcasts and an open mic event for local Washington, D.C, comics among other offerings. See the BTF events schedule on the festival’s website.

Because They're Funny DC Comedy Festival

Because They’re Funny DC Comedy Festival

Courtesy Photo


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Billie Eilish, Gracie Abrams and hundreds of other artists are taking a united stand against threats to free speech.

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As announced Wednesday (Oct. 1), Jane Fonda is relaunching the Committee for the First Amendment — an entity that was first founded at the beginning of the Cold War by the actress’ father, Henry Fonda — with the help of 600-plus creators. In addition to the aforementioned pop stars, John Legend, Barbra Streisand, Janelle Monae, Bonnie Raitt, Finneas, Maggie Rogers and Patti LuPone have also joined the cause, which aims to call out and stand against infringements on free speech.

“Today, we relaunch the Committee for the First Amendment,” reads a statement signed by all of the new committee members. “This Committee was initially created during the McCarthy Era, a dark time when the federal government repressed and persecuted American citizens for their political beliefs. They targeted elected officials, government employees, academics, and artists. They were blacklisted, harassed, silenced, and even imprisoned.”

“The federal government is once again engaged in a coordinated campaign to silence critics in the government, the media, the judiciary, academia, and the entertainment industry,” it continued. “We refuse to stand by and let that happen.”

Emphasizing that the committee’s mission is “not a partisan issue,” the statement ended with a poignant message. “To those who profit from our work while threatening the livelihoods of everyday working people, bowing to government censorship and cowering to brute intimidation: We see you, and history will not forget,” it concludes. “This will not be the last you hear from us.”

A full list of signatories backing the cause is available to view on the organization’s website, as is more information on the original Committee for the First Amendment. Banding with fellow Hollywood stars such as Lauren Bacall, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, Henry Fonda originally founded the committee to hit back at the Red Scare, which saw its leader Sen. Joe McCarthy interrogating suspected communist sympathizers in the entertainment industry, the federal government and in society at large.

The relaunch comes as many in the entertainment business have been voicing concerns over perceived threats to free speech, most notably the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in September. ABC temporarily paused production on the program after affiliates — under the veiled threat of the FCC revoking their licenses — stopped airing the show due to comments Kimmel had made about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Following protests from SAG-AFTRA, the ACLU and countless entertainers, ABC reinstated the show after five days.

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. 

This week: Bad Bunny surges on streaming as he closes one triumph and begins on another, a hip-hop couple sees gains for tying the knot while a pop ex-couple draws big numbers for its breakup songs about one another, and more.

Bad Bunny’s Streams Up Following Residency Finale, Super Bowl Announcement

It’s been a year of massive wins for Bad Bunny, as his sneak-releaed January album Debí Tirar Más Fotos returned him to the center of global pop culture, and well-received supporting roles in the movies Happy Gilmore 2 and Caught Stealing have cemented him as a force in multiple mediums. Now, he’s closing out his 2025 by wrapping one of his biggest live endeavors yet and starting up an entirely new one — both of which have brought major gains to his catalog. 

Last week, Billboard’s latest cover star closed out his No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí concert residency at Puerto Rico’s José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum — a run which lasted for over two months and 30 shows — with a just-announced 31st concert on Sept. 20, one live-streamed worldwide through Amazon Prime and Twitch, commemorating the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s devastating impact on the island. The attention from the residency finale and record-breaking streaming event helped the global superstar pull over 93 million official on-demand U.S. streams across his catalog for the tracking week ending Sept. 25, a 13% bump over the previous week, according to Luminate. 

But Bad Bunny wasn’t done making headline news for September, of course. On Sunday (Sept. 28), it was announced that El Conejo Malo will be headlining the halftime show of Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The news of the singer-rapper landing the world’s most coveted televised gig sent his streams way up the day following the announcement — with his catalog racking up nearly 18 million streams that Monday (Sept. 29), up 31% from the Monday the prior week. 

Of course, these bumps will likely just be a prelude to the massive spikes he’s likely to see after the show itself — with Kendrick Lamar proving this year that even huge contemporary pop stars can still be taken to a whole new level by the exposure granted by the most-viewed 15-minute gig in America. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER


Monaleo & Stunna 4 Vegas’ Pink Nuptials Lift Both Rappers’ Catalogs, Including Leo’s New ‘Sexy Soulaan’ Single 

On Sept. 19, Houston rapper Monaleo and North Carolina MC Stunna 4 Vegas tied the knot after four years of dating. The pink-themed wedding not only played out in front of nearly 200 in-person guests, but it also earned over 100,000 viewers on a TikTok livestream. In the days following, clips and videos of the nuptials have dominated social media — and resulted in streaming increases for both rappers’ catalogs. 

During the week before the wedding (Sept. 12-18), Monaleo’s catalog earned 2.82 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate. By the week following the wedding (Sept. 19-25), that figure jumped 76% to over 4.97 million official streams. Moreover, Leo’s catalog clocked over 2.45 million streams during her wedding weekend (Sept. 19-22). That number ballooned by 92% to over 4.7 million official streams the following four-day period (Sept. 26-29), according to early data provided by Luminate. 

Stunna’s catalog earned just over 400,000 official streams that same week leading up to the wedding. In the week following, that number rose by 32% to over 532,000 official streams. During his wedding weekend, Stunna’s also catalog collected 298,000 official streams, with that number spiking by nearly 50% to over 445,000 official streams the following four-day period.

Building on her recent momentum, Monaleo dropped a pro-Black banger called “Sexy Soulaan” on Sept. 26. In its first four days of release, “Soulaan” has pulled over 968,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, playing a big part in her overall catalog bump. – KYLE DENIS


Tate McRae’s ‘Tit For Tat’ Scores Hot Streaming Start — While The Kid LAROI’s Post-Breakup Track Also Rises

“Let’s go song for song, let’s go back to back/ Let’s go tit for tat, boy, you asked for that,” Tate McRae sings on “Tit for That,” challenging an ex who may just so happen to also be a musician. While the pop star’s latest single is rumored to be a shot at The Kid LAROI, and his own recent kiss-off “A Cold Play,” following their breakup, “Tit for Tat” also appears to be another major win for McRae, capping off a year that included a string of top 40 hits, an arena headlining tour and the first No. 1 album of her career.

“Tit for Tat” earned 11.4 million U.S. on-demand streams in its first four days on streaming services following its Sept. 26 release, according to early data provided by Luminate. That’s a strong enough start to put McRae in position for another lofty Hot 100 debut — and indeed, “Tit for Tat” also topped Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart for the first time on Wednesday (Oct. 1), as its momentum continues to surge.

Meanwhile, the perceived response to “A Cold Play” has also led more listeners back to The Kid LAROI’s single, which was released three weeks before “Tit for Tat.” While “A Cold Play” earned 1.57 million streams from Sept. 19-22, that number jumped to 2.12 million in the first four days of “Tit for Tat” being out — a 35% jump from week to week. – JASON LIPSHUTZ


Chicken Joe TikTok Trend Revives 17-Year-Old Kid Cudi Track 

“Day ‘n’ Nite” was the brooding breakout hit from Kid Cudi’s 2008 debut mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi, but, 17 years later, the tape’s much brighter “Maui Wowie” is enjoying its moment in the sun. 

Thanks to an Aug. 15 TikTok that paired the laidback cool of Chicken Joe, a beloved character from the 2007 animated film Surf’s Up, with the breezy vibes of “Maui Wowie,” the song has earned a new life on social media, which its recent streaming increases reflect. In more recent weeks, “Maui Wowie” has gained traction on TikTok due to the fart sound at the end of the track, as well as a trend featuring young men nonchalantly hanging from lampposts and lip-syncing the hook. The official “Maui Wowie” TikTok sound now boasts over 131,000 posts. 

Over the past four weeks, streaming activity for “Maui Wowie” has jumped a whopping 379%. During the week of Aug. 22-28, the first full week after the first Chicken Joe videos took off, the song pulled over 516,000 official on-demand U.S. streams — but streams just kept rising steadily over the next month, and by the week of Sept. 19-25, “Maui Wowie” was earning over 2.47 million official streams.  

In September, Cudi notched his 11th Billboard 200 entry with Free (No. 192). Now, the “Maui Wowie” revival proves he can still capture people’s ears with old and new music alike. – KD


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Actor Jharrel Jerome is officially picking up the microphone. In an exclusive premiere with Billboard, The When They See Us star drops off a fiery new single called “Chu Know,” the first preview off his upcoming mixtape More Than a Bronx Tale.

While Jerome has dabbled in rap over the years, things got serious this past year when he partnered with Feeture to make his hip-hop dreams come true. His debut tape, which drops Oct. 9, explores Jerome’s New York upbringing through raw penmanship and plenty of bars. Aided by beats from 6ix and Rob Knox, Jerome is also partnering with Feeture to help carve out his own lane in the rap game before the year is out.

“I’ve had a ton of moments, too many to count, where it is actually harder to find the right collaborator than making the music itself,” Jerome says in a statement to Billboard. “Especially collaborators who don’t believe jumping in with me is a risk. I know some other artists who are always jumping in with other people because they have a community, I’ve always wanted to plant myself in that community but it’s tricky. But then I put my pen to paper or I explain the stories I’m trying to tell and that when I get the collaborator on board.

“But that’s also tricky as well,” he continues. “I love when I can find a collaborator who off rip is just like, ‘Listen man, I don’t care about the music. I don’t care about the TV. I care about you, I care about your story. What is your story?’ Because that’s what feeds the artist in me. That’s what made me want to become a Feeture Artist Partner so I can identify collaborators who are as hungry as I am and are looking to change the game.”

Feeture CEO Jareiq JQ Kabara adds: “Jharrel is an extraordinary artist whose vision continues to shape the pulse of culture. He embodies the true power of collaboration, and we couldn’t be more excited to stand alongside him as he evolves.”

Jharrel Jerome · Chu Know


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Morgan Wallen gets bruised and battered in his latest music video, for his top five Billboard Country Airplay single “I Got Better.”

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The Justin Clough-directed clip uses imagery of a car accident as a metaphor for a romantic relationship that’s careened and ended in wreckage, with Wallen emerging as a survivor. The video’s initial scenes show Wallen lying on the ground in the middle of the wreckage after the pickup truck he’s riding in has flipped and crashed.

Wallen then stumbles to his feet in the middle of the road, as rain pours down, with close-up images showing Wallen in tattered clothes and covered in scrapes and cuts. He begins walking away from the crash site and as he makes his way, the cuts and scrapes begin to disappear, a nod to the emotional healing in the song.

Wallen teased the video on last month with an image that showed the singer-songwriter in bloodied clothing. He captured the clip “Interesting bye week lol.”

“I’m finally back to being who I am,” he sings in the track, which is fueled by a sense of relief from the benefits that came with ending the relationship. Wallen co-wrote “I Got Better” with HARDY, Chase McGill, Blake Pendergrass, ERNEST and Ryan Vojtesak.

Beyond releasing his new video, Wallen recently wrapped his stadium-headlining I’m The Problem Tour, and has seen his I’m The Problem album spend 12 weeks reigning atop the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. The album has earned four No. 1 hits on the Country Airplay chart so far, with “Lies Lies Lies,” “I’m The Problem,” “Love Somebody” and “Just In Case.”

Watch the “I Got Better” video below:

Okeechobee is back. After a three year hiatus, the south Florida festival is returning in 2026 with a lineup featuring Australian dance star Fisher, two performances from bass-funk producer Griz, hip-hop/R&B royalty T-Pain and indie folk stars The Lumineers.

The fest will also announce additional headliners in the coming months.

The rest of the sprawling lineup is largely dance music focused and features Alison Wonderland, LP Giobbi, Big Gigantic, Big Wild, Gramatik, LSDream, Tycho, Ganja White Night and The Disco Biscuits, along with artists from outside the genre including Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Flipturn, BigXthaPlug and Young The Giant. See the complete lineup below.

Music will happen across myriad stages, with the festival’s Junge 51 area featuring DJ sets happening each night from sunset to sunrise. Artists playing this stage include Moodymann, Derrick May, Nightmares on Wax, Special Request, Riva Starr and Okeechobee co-founder Rechulski.

Okeechobee happens March 19-22, 2026 at Sunshine Grove, the 830-acre outdoor live music venue located near the Atlantic coast roughly three hours north of Miami. Ticket for the festival are on sale now.

Okeechobee is owned and produced by Soundslinger Live, a live music and real estate company founded in 2015 and which also operates Sunshine Grove. (While Insomniac Events previously partnered with Soundslinger on the 2020 edition of Okeechobee, a rep for the fest confirms that Insomniac is not involved in this year’s event.) Soundslinger launched the festival in 2016 and reports hosting more than 225,000 attendees in the years since. This will be the first edition of Okeechobee since 2023.

Okeechobee Festival

Okeechobee Festival

Courtesy of Okeechobee


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“Jay-Z is a funny guy.”

That’s what someone on X said regarding another tweet saying that White Christian Nationalists are going to lose it over the news that Bad Bunny was picked to perform at the Super Bowl. And of course, they were right: jokes flew, memes were made. One Bad Bunny fan page posted a screenshot of one of his performances with the closed captions saying, “speaking non-english, singing in non-english.”

Then there was the other side of the spectrum where I saw someone replying to multiple tweets referring to the Puerto Rican superstar as “Speedy Gonzalez,” the type of old-school racism that you can’t help but chuckle at when you come across it. My group chats blew up when the news was official, because about an hour prior certain music news social media accounts did their best Woj impression and spoiled the announcement with some of us not yet ready to call it, even if betting markets had Bunny as the favorite.

Conspiracy theorists and laymen alike assumed it would be Taylor Swift because of her recent engagement with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce and because of fan theories based on hints she supposedly made during her recent appearance on Kelce’s New Heights podcast.Some said it was a no-brainer to have a safer, whiter pick, especially after this string of hip-hop leaning pop stars, and especially after Kendrick Lamar’s politically charged performance during last year’s Super Bowl performance.

It’s hard not to talk politics when it comes to this pick; my conversations Sunday night when the news broke immediately went there. Jay’s relationship with the NFL has been hot and cold depending on who you talk to: He’s been heavily criticized by some because they feel like he co-opted Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest, backlash that led to his unfortunate “I think we have moved past kneeling” comment during a press conference announcing the deal alongside NFL commissioner Roger Goodell where the legendary rapper defended the deal.

However, in Jay’s mind, he felt like a partnership with social justice initiatives at its core made the most sense. “I think it’s time for action,” he said. “We forget that Colin’s whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice. In that case, this is a success. This is the next phase.” The NFL’s Inspire Change initiative is supposed to help address issues like education, economic advancement, criminal justice reform and community-police relations — which is a perfect segue to the decision to tap Bad Bunny for Super Bowl LX this upcoming February.

The 60th iteration of the NFL’s championship game will be taking place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, home of the San Franciso 49ers, and an area with a considerable Latino population. In fact, according to the county’s website, Latinos make up a quarter of Santa Clara County’s overall population, and while most might not be able to afford Super Bowl tickets in the first place, they’ll be outside partying that weekend just like everybody else. And in Trump’s America, you can damn sure bet that ICE agents will be on the ground, being the haters that they are.

This is an environment Bad Bunny wanted to avoid when he was considering dates for a tour, so instead of touring Trump’s America, he decided to do a 31-date “No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí” residency in his home country and reluctant U.S. territory Puerto Rico instead. “Man, honestly, yes,” Bunny told i-D after being asked if the way the U.S. is handling immigration had anything to do with his choice. “There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate — I’ve performed there many times. All of [the shows] have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the U.S…. But there was the issue of—like, f—king ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”

Bunny, whose homeland hasn’t truly been free since 1493, has never really been shy about his politics. Back in 2019, he paused his European tour to join protests calling for the resignation of then Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosselló after Telegram messages leaked of he and some of his current and former staff making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks about various individuals and political opponents. “My respects to everyone who has had the courage, valor and initiative to go out in the streets and fight for our country,” the singer and rapper said in a since-deleted Instagram post. “I’m in Ibiza in the middle of my European tour, but I’m going to stop everything to jump on a plane to Puerto Rico to be able to go out in the streets and be with my people — the people of Puerto Rico. I wish I was there now.”

The former governor, who was eventually forced to resign, was also for statehood while Bad Bunny stands for independence — a topic that has been a point of discussion on the island, but has been especially on top-of-mind since the signing of controversial bills like the Export Services Act and the Individual Investors Act. Those helped speed up gentrification by attracting wealthy mainland investors with tax incentives and the PROMESA Act by President Obama in 2016, as well as the lackadaisical response by President Trump’s government during and after Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Bad Bunny tackled gentrification on the song “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii,” where he sings, “They want to take away the river and also the beach, they want my neighborhood and grandma to leave. Don’t let go of the flag… I don’t want them to do with you what they did to Hawaii.” 

He also told Time that most rich American transplants only care about the tax situation and could less about island’s history or culture. “Politically and historically, they know nothing about Puerto Rico, nor are they interested in knowing,” he proclaimed. “They don’t even know that Puerto Ricans on the island don’t even vote for the president, but they do know that they can go to the island to legally evade taxes. That’s something that shocked me.” In 2024, he supported Kamala Harris for president, following comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s infamous quote about Puerto Rico being a “floating piece of garbage” at a Trump rally earlier that year.

When the news became official that he would be the headliner of this upcoming Super Bowl, the bad hombre took to X to stunt a little bit. “I’ve been thinking about it these days, and after discussing it with my team, I think I’ll do just one date in the United States,” he tweeted. In a statement, Jay said he’s been inspired by Bunny’s love of his homeland. “What Benito has done and continues to do for Puerto Rico is truly inspiring,” he said. “We are honored to have him on the world’s biggest stage.” 

Jigga has taken a lot of heat for his relationship with the NFL — and while it’s true that political statements made at a venue as corporate and compromised as some would call the Super Bowl may come across as performative, I’m also sympathetic to the idea that saying or doing something of merit on that stage has the possibility of reaching a singularly massive audience. It could be an opportunity to create a truly timeless moment — particularly from an artist like Bad Bunny, who has talked the talk and walked the walk when it comes to social issues.

Naturally, some right-wingers were up in arms about the pick. Cuban American filmmaker Robby Starbucks (sounds like a porno director) wrote some silly tweet about the NFL wanting to make the Super Bowl political with the pick. “Most of his songs aren’t even in English,” he ranted. “This is not a pick designed to unite football fans or let people just enjoy the show. It was a pick designed to divide fans, and no doubt Bad Bunny will find some way to push a woke message.”

Sports pundit and frequent vomit-spewer Jason Whitlock added his two cents with some textbook fear-mongering and told TMZ that he’s going to use whatever little influence he has to get the NFL to back away from the decision — because he feels like the Puerto Rican singer-rapper, not only makes “demonic” rap music but also “grooms kids into sexual fluidity.” Then there’s certified weirdo Jack Posobiec who suggested on X that maybe former President Obama has some influence on who gets picked, saying that Obama and Jay are besties. There were also a bunch of tweets lamenting having to watch a performance for 15 minutes that’s entirely in Spanish.

Now, I know this doesn’t mean that Bad Bunny will necessarily be making a political statement at the Super Bowl, or that Jay-Z really prioritized all of this when asking one of the more popular acts to play the prestigious Super Bowl Halftime Show, or that Trump and his goons will even have the cojones to send ICE out to Santa Clara during Super Bowl weekend. But just being aware of how all three have moved in the past, I would be willing to bet on two or more of those things happening, especially if those things happened to be Super Bowl prop bets. I’m all for political messages on world stages, but if doesn’t happen and he decides to play it straight, I’m not going to hold it against him. Yes, these gestures are often times viewed as symbolic, however, if his mere presence gets racists mad, then it’s already been a job well done. You don’t have to be fluent in Puerto Rican Spanish to enjoy his music. I’ve seen him live about four or five times now and as an American-born Puerto Rican whose Spanish isn’t the greatest, he’s unequivocally one of the best performers I’ve ever seen. His music is undeniable and it’s the reason why he’s the baddest man on the planet.

So pull up Duolingo to start brushing up on that high school Spanish, stop crying, shut up and dance. 


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