After the release of a series of shocking passages from ex-husband Kevin Federline‘s upcoming memoir were published this week, Britney Spears responded on Wednesday night (Oct. 15) in a lengthy post in which she slammed the father of her two sons over his claims about her parenting.
“The constant gaslighting from ex-husband is extremely hurtful and exhausting,” Spears, 43, wrote. “I have always pleaded and screamed to have a life with my boys. Relationships with teenage boys is complex. I have felt demoralized by this situation and have always asked and almost begged for them to be a part of my life.”
In excerpts from You Thought You Knew that were published by the New York Times earlier this week, Federline, 47, claims that their son allegedly woke up one night to find Spears standing in the doorway holding a knife. Elsewhere, the former Spears back-up dancer claims that Spears drank wine while she was pregnant and did cocaine when she was breastfeeding.
While Spears did not directly confront those allegations in her post, she did hit out at Federline for what she claimed was the way he allegedly speaks about her to their children, sons Jayden, 19, and Preston, 20, while lamenting the lack of contact she’s had with the boys over the past decade-plus. “Sadly, they have always witnessed the lack of respect shown by own father for me. They need to take responsibility for themselves. With one son only seeing me for 45 min in the past 5 years and the other with only 4 visits in the past 5 years. I have pride too. From now on I will let them know when I am available,” she wrote.
As for the claims in the memoir, Spears referred to them as “those white lies in that book, they are going straight to the bank and I am the only one who genuinely gets hurt here. I will always love them and if you really know me, you won’t pay attention to the tabloids of my mental health and drinking.”
Spears and Federline were married in Sept. 2004 and singer filed for divorce two years later. Federline told The Hollywood Reporter this week that the couple’s sons were, “100 percent behind me telling my story,” describing their relationship with their mother as “fluid and they do talk. They’ve even gone and seen her and stuff.” In 2023, the boys moved to Hawaii with Federline, who was granted full custody of them during Spears 13-year conservatorship.
Though Spears lamented over the years that she rarely, if ever, got to see her sons, during Christmas 2024 she gleefully shared that she was able to spend time with Jayden after a long period apart. “Best Christmas of my life !!! I haven’t seen my boys in 2 years !!!” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “Tears of joy and literally in shock everyday koo koo crazy so in love and blessed !!! I’m speechless thank you Jesus !!!” Earlier this year Spears also posted some other pics of her with Jayden.
While Federline told THR that all he wants for Britney is “for her to be happy and healthy” and to be able to spend time with their children,” Spears’ team released a strongly worded statement slamming the book, which also alleges that Spears partied with Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton while her sons cried. “With news from Kevin’s book breaking, once again he and others are profiting off her and sadly it comes after child support has ended with Kevin. All she cares about are her kids, Sean Preston and Jayden James and their well-being during this sensationalism. She detailed her journey in her memoir,” read the statement.
Speaking to US Weekly on Wednesday, Federline denied that the book is a cash grab. “Money’s not the root of this thing,” he said. “I feel like, if she has the right to tell her story, Why don’t I?” Spears released her own memoir, The Woman in Me, in 2023, in which she detailed her relationship with first love Justin Timberlake, as well as her marriage to Federline and the impact of her conservatorship.
Among the other allegations in Federline’s book is a claim that on the night before his wedding to Spears she called Timberlake and that he caught her “full-on making out” with a female backup dancer during a night out in Amsterdam in 2004 on her Onxy Hotel Tour just weeks after the couple began dating.
In the Times excerpts, Federline said he worries about his ex’s well-being and questions whether the 2021 termination of her conservatorship — put in place in 2008 to manage her personal and professional affairs following a series of concerning mental health episodes — was the right choice. “The truth is, this situation with Britney feels like it’s racing toward something irreversible,” Federline writes in the book.
“It’s become impossible to pretend everything’s OK,” he adds. “From where I sit, the clock is ticking, and we’re getting close to the 11th hour. Something bad is going to happen if things don’t change, and my biggest fear is that our sons will be left holding the pieces.”
Spears’ post ended with the singer — who has claimed that she has no interest in returning to performing or recording music — saying that she is living her life exactly as she wishes now. “I am actually a pretty intelligent woman who has been trying to live a sacred and private life the past 5 years,” she wrote. “I speak on this because I have had enough and any real woman would do the same.”
Anti Social Camp, which has previously been described as “SXSW for songwriters,” has unveiled the line-up for its maiden U.K. festival.
Taking place at north London creative hub Tileyard next month (Nov. 3-7), the free, four-day event will connect artists, songwriters and producers from across the globe, with the intention of giving them space to write and collaborate on new material.
Over the past five years, the Anti Social Camp has taken place in New York City, welcoming the likes of Nile Rodgers, Jacob Collier, Ava Max, Cigarettes After Sex, Cash Cobian and more along the way. Its more recent edition saw over 200 artists participating in recording sessions at 40 studios, as well as 10 public-facing events across the city.
Having established itself as a songwriting camp that doubles as a festival, Anti Social Camp’s inaugural expansion into the U.K. market will play host to some of the nation’s most prolific songwriters.
PinkPantheress, Glass Animals frontman Dave Bayley, Jamie Cullum, and Billy Bragg have all signed up to take part in sessions at Tileyard. They will be joined by The Wanted’s Nathan Sykes, Parson James and Nicholas Petricca of WALK THE MOON, as well as a further 200 artists, who will be announced ahead of the event.
“While Anti Social Camp began in New York City, we’ve heard from creatives across the globe over the last five years who are hungry to unite with their community in person – making records and connecting with industry in the same place at the same time,” said Danny Ross, founder of Anti Social Camp, in a press release.
“We’re thrilled to announce our first ever expansion – Anti Social Camp U.K. presented by Tileyard,” he added. “Beyond recording hundreds of new songs, Anti Social Camp is a forum to interact with every sector of the music industry and shape the future we want to see as creators. Now we begin our work across the pond.”
Since it opened in early 2011, Tileyard has become home to some of the U.K.’s most influential labels, publishers and hitmakers, as well as the HQ for trade association BPI. There are currently 150 recording studios across its campus.
“When Danny contacted me about the opportunity to work together on the first ever Anti Social Camp outside of New York, I was very excited,” said Michael Harwood, Tileyard co-founder. “Tileyard is home to an amazing music community and is no stranger to running successful songwriting camps, so we immediately leapt at the opportunity to collaborate!”
Presenting partners for Anti Social Camp U.K. 2025 include TIDAL, Splice, TikTok, Believe Music Publishing, PRS, Bonza Music, Distrokid, Sound Royalties, Songtrust, SoundExchange, Jubel, Groover, Two Tribes, Muse, Tileyard Music, Tileyard Education, TYX Studios and Tileyard London.
Venue partners include Samsung Kx, Colours Hoxton, One Hundred Shoreditch, Spiritland, The Victoria Dalston and Sensible Music. War Child UK, meanwhile, have been confirmed as the charity partner for the festival.
A full camp itinerary is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Organisers say there were 10,000 applications for Anti Social Camp U.K., with 200 artists selected.
Ninajirachi‘s breakthrough year continues with a red-hot chance to win the coveted Australian Music Prize.
The Australian singer and songwriter’s debut full length album I Love My Computer (via NLV Records) is one of nine titles shortlisted for the 2025 AMP, awarded to the outstanding Australian album of original work from the previous year, as decided by a music industry panel.
When the album dropped in August, the rising EDM star was named Billboard Dance “Rookie of the Month”. Next month, the 26-year-old songwriter, producer, DJ and artist (real name: Nina Wilson) will compete for a leading eight trophies at the annual ARIA Awards, where she’s nominated for album of the year, best solo artist, the Michael Gudinski breakthrough artist, best independent release, best dance/electronic release and more.
Also shortlisted for the AMP are LPs by Tropical F*** Storm, Folk B**** Trio, Mudrat, and others released during the period Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026.
Now celebrating its 21st year and modeled on the U.K.’s Mercury Prize, the AMP is recognized as the most prestigious Australian award for the album format.
The initial judging process whittled down the longlist of 465 eligible albums to 50 nominees, focusing on creative merit over mainstream popularity. The winner will be announced Nov. 6, and will collect A$50,000 in prize money, courtesy of headline sponsor Soundmerch.
Previous winners include efforts by The Avalanches, Sampa the Great (twice), Gurrumul, A.B. Original, Courtney Barnett and last year’s recipient, Kankawa Nagarra for Wirlmarni.
Soundmerch Australian Music Prize 2025:
Bleak Squad — Strange Love
Divide And Dissolve — Insatiable
Floodlights — Underneath
Folk B**** Trio — Now Would Be A Good Time
Mia Wray Hi — It’s Nice To Meet
Mudrat Social — Cohesion
Ninajirachi — I Love My Computer
Ruby Gill — Some Kind Of Control
Tropical F*ck Storm — Fairyland Codex
For just over a decade, Sam Smith has been extremely, unquestionably popular. Between their billions of streams, seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits and five Grammy Awards, the English singer-songwriter has routinely sold out global arena tours, bringing their somber singing voice to massive crowds around the world.
Yet on Wednesday night (Oct. 15), Smith was not singing to a roaring crowd of 20,000 inside of a massive arena. Standing on the stage at Warsaw, the unassuming concert hall in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood, Smith peered out at a crowd of mere hundreds. And they looked thrilled.
“I have been touring so much, since the age of 21. I went from playing in venues of this size to playing in arenas in one year — it was really f–king intense,” they told the hushed audience. “I stayed in those arenas for nearly 10 years, and it was a really amazing experience, and I love singing in those rooms … but my favorite shows, and the ones that changed me as an artist were the gigs that were shared in rooms like this, that are built for music.”
It’s fitting, then, that “built for music” could have been the tagline for Wednesday night’s edition of Smith’s To Be Free: New York City residency at Warsaw. Spanning a whopping 24 dates at the trusted local concert hall, the new show sees Smith pulling down the artistic scaffolding that they’ve constructed over the last decade and change. There’s no gimmicks, no glitz, no sets, no costumes; just Sam Smith, a small live band and their larger-than-life voice.
Over the course of two hours, Smith ran the gamut of their catalog, weaving in unreleased songs that fans haven’t had the chance to hear yet, covers of pop classics from throughout history and well-loved B-sides, while also making sure to give their eager audience the hits that they came to hear. Below, Billboard takes a look at the five best moments from Sam Smith’s remarkable, intimate performamce:
SYDNEY, Australia — AC/DC, digital streaming and that loveable blue heeler Bluey helped push APRA AMCOS’s full-year revenue and distributions into unchartered territory.
The Australasian rights organization this week posted revenue of A$787.9 million for 2024-25, up 6.5% from the previous financial year, with net distributable revenue at A$683.4 million, up 7.8% year-on-year, also an all-time result.
For the reporting period, the group’s expense to revenue ratio was reduced to 13.26% from 14.32%.
Based on recent results, the A$800 million revenue milestone should be crushed in the next annual report, and the magical A$1 billion figure is on the near horizon.
Presented this week during the third annual SXSW Sydney, APRA AMCOS’s Year In Review is broadly solid, and perhaps spectacular, certainly for Subscription Video on Demand, which includes Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV, the “standout” category that grew by 15.7% to A$88.2 million, fueled by increases in subscription charges and a rising base of subscribers.
Digital was the juggernaut for APRA AMCOS, generating A$404.3 million, up 9.5%, while business for public performance, lifted by 1.1% to A$133.9 million.
Australian crowds came out for local superstars Cold Chisel, Dom Dolla, Kylie Minogue, and The Kid LAROI, and for major international artists Coldplay, Luke Combs and Pearl Jam.
Music “exports” was another strong suit. Homegrown songwriters and composers are “still hitting the big time globally,” notes APRA AMCOS, pointing to AC/DC’s Power Up European tour to Bluey‘s flying high antics in the U.S. for helping lift international revenue to A$98.8 million, up 14.8% year-on-year.
One painful point, however, is the ongoing evaporation of streaming revenue from local content, despite the clamor to streaming platforms in full year 2025. Revenue from television and radio licensing dipped, too.
Consumption of music in Australia, both on music streaming and User Generated Content (UGC) services, has grown by 50% since FY21, though, “alarmingly,” the percentage of consumption that relates to local songwriter and composer content in that same period has declined by 31% to just 9.5% of total music streaming over the past five years, APRA AMCOS reports, and 25.4% in UGC over the past three years.
The results “reflect our focus on service – growing revenue across every channel, sharpening operational efficiency, deploying smart technology that works for our business and members, delivering meaningful creative programs and celebrating our members’ incredible success,” comments Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS.
“They also confirm what we already know: Australians and New Zealanders are world-leading music fans. We consume more music per capita than almost anywhere else on the planet, yet the ability for our members to be seen and heard is becoming more difficult every year.”
Aussies are “hearing and discovering less local music,” reads a statement from the PRO, a reality that was brought into sharp focus with the full-year ARIA Charts for 2024, and triple j’s Hottest 100, both of which were dominated by trans-Atlantic artists.
The sharp “collapse” in clicks for local content on streaming platforms over five years “isn’t happening because our music isn’t good enough, and our surging export revenues prove our artists are among the best in the world,” Ormston continues. “They’re writing hits, filling venues internationally and competing at the highest level. The talent is undeniable. Our platforms are borderless, but algorithms favour scale and international repertoire dominate by default.”
APRA AMCOS represents more than 128,000 songwriters, composers and music publisher members. Splitting the bodies, APRA passed the half-billion-dollar figure for the first time with revenue of A$521.3 million, up from A$498.6 million. AMCOS surpassed A$250 million for the first time, reporting A$266.6 million, up from A$241.4 million.
Read the full report at apraamcos.com.au/year-in-review.
Pras Michél has linked with Mark Wahlberg for a documentary focused on the Fugees founder’s life and ongoing spy trial.
As Michél faces 22 years behind bars following a 2023 conviction on 10 charges including conspiracy, Wahlberg has struck a deal with the musician-turned-politician to make a feature documentary on both the sprawling criminal case and his rise in the Fugees.
Related
“Everyone is fascinated by all the twists and turns, like it’s some kind of thriller,” Michél tells Variety, who broke the story. “But for me, this is just my life — the real, messy, complicated truth of what I’ve been living through.”
The film will be produced under Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas banner and will investigate Michél’s musical legacy as well as the personal impact of navigating a high-profile legal proceeding that resulted in a jury finding him guilty on 10 counts, including conspiracy, witness tampering and failing to register as an unregistered foreign agent of China.
“I’m rooting for Pras and excited to tell his story,” Wahlberg told Variety. He’ll be creating the documentary alongside Unrealistic Ideas president Archie Gips, who called the story, “a surprising mix of pop culture and geopolitical intrigue that feels like a spy thriller come to life.”
Michél was first charged in the case in 2019 after he was accused of funneling money from fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low through straw donors to Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. He was also accused of trying to help scuttle a Justice Department investigation into an extradition case on behalf of China during Trump’s first term.
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.
Related
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
Four members of the K-pop girl group TWICE — Nayeon, Jihyo, Tzuyu and Momo — hit the runway for Wednesday’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and they were joined by another superstar on the catwalk.
Related
The quartet kicked things off with “This Is For,” the title track from their fourth full-length album that came out in July. The lyrics were a perfect fit for the fashion show that celebrates women, with lines like “This is for all my ladies who don’t get hyped enough” and “I wanna go where the baddest girls are from” (we think they found them on Wednesday night). Next up was their December single “Strategy,” from their EP of the same name.
For both songs, the TWICE women wore their Victoria’s Secret PINK best, including fuzzy knee-high boots and the PINK brand emblazoned in silver rhinestones. The group was also flanked by backup dancers as well as models dressed in a full range of looks from the more youthful and casual PINK brand, including hoodies and sweatpants, striped gym socks, cotton bras and undies, beanies and furry cardigans.
One of those PINK models: Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Sunisa “Suni” Lee, making her Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show debut.
TWICE stopped by to chat during the pink-carpet pre-show, with Tzuyu telling the interviewer, “We love the fun and free feeling of the PINK.” Via a translator, Jihyo added: “We are used to doing the performances with nine members, but this time we are able to do only four of us, so I hope you guys enjoy this new performance of us.”
Also performing on Wednesday’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show: KAROL G, Madison Beer and Missy Elliott.
Next up for TWICE: The nonet announced dates for their This Is For 2026 world tour, with plans to hit North America, Europe and the U.K.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
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.
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.
BESTSELLER
Apple EarPods Headphones With USB-C Plug
Compatible with iPhone 15 and above
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.
ALSO CONSIDER
Apple EarPods Headphones With Lightning Connector
For previous iPhone models
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.
