Leon Thomas headlined Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop LIVE concert at Webster Hall in New York City on Friday (Sept. 5).

The fast-rising R&B star — who recently received the Breakthrough of the Year Award at Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players 2025 event — was one of several artists to take the stage at the free show.

Presented by State Farm, Ralph Lauren and UnitedMasters, the packed event served as the centerpiece of Billboard’s Hip-Hop & R&B Week. The night’s lineup also featured GELO, Odeal, Ravyn Lenae and Armanii.

“Billboard has always been at the forefront of recognizing and promoting emerging talent,” Billboard CEO Mike Van said ahead of the show. “This concert is a testament to the vibrant future of hip-hop and R&B and our commitment to celebrating artists who are shaping the music landscape.”

Armanii launched the night with his blend of dancehall and hip-hop, performing crowd-pleasers like “8:00 PM” and “JUMP (Bounce).” GELO, recently named Billboard‘s Hip-Hop Rookie of the Year, followed with tracks from his debut album, League of My Own. Billboard’s African Rookie of the Year, Odeal, then energized the crowd with performances of “Soh-Soh,” “London Summers” and “Miami.” Lenae later brought a mystical calm to the room with renditions of “One Wish” and “Love Me Not.”

Closing out the evening, Thomas delivered a powerful headlining set, highlighted by a surprise appearance from Ty Dolla $ign, who joined him on stage to perform his verse on “Far Fetched” and sing “Carnival,” his Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping hit from Vultures 1.

In addition to the live performances, fans enjoyed interactive brand experiences, including a State Farm-sponsored custom T-shirt printing station and a L’Oréal–Ralph’s Club photo booth.

Dua Lipa treated fans to a surprise during the opening U.S. date of her Radical Optimism World Tour.

On Friday (Sept. 5), the 30-year-old British pop star launched a two-night stint at Chicago’s United Center, dazzling the sold-out crowd with striking costumes and a 22-song setlist that featured tracks from her latest album, Radical Optimism.

Midway through her performance, Lipa — dressed in a sparkly black coat with feathered sleeves — stunned fans by welcoming music legend Chaka Khan to the stage. Together, the duo performed a powerful rendition of Khan’s 1983 classic “Ain’t Nobody.” Watch fan-captured footage of the moment here.

This isn’t the first time Lipa has shared the stage with iconic artists during her global tour. Earlier this year, she was joined by Crowded House’s Neil Finn during a stop in New Zealand, and later brought out Jamiroquai in London.

After a brief break in August following a two-month run across Europe, Lipa returned to North America with back-to-back shows in Toronto on Sept. 1–2. Check out Billboard’s recap of the six best moments from her opening night at Scotiabank Arena here.

The U.S. leg of the Radical Optimism tour continues Saturday (Sept. 6) with a second show in Chicago, before heading to cities including Boston, Atlanta, New York, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Released last year, Radical Optimism is Lipa’s third studio album and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The project delivered several chart hits, including lead single “Houdini,” which spent 17 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. In support of the album, Lipa launched the Radical Optimism tour in November 2024, performing in arenas across Asia, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.

Premios Juventud Agents of Change

Premios Juventud announced that Carlos Vives and Myke Towers will be recognized as this year’s “Agents of Change.” This honor celebrates their unwavering commitment to social impact, community development, and cultural preservation throughout Latin America, according to a press release.

Carlos Vives will be honored for his dedication to cultural and community development across Colombia and Latin America through his Tras La Perla Foundation. Meanwhile, Myke Towers will receive this distinction for his work with the Young Kingz Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering vulnerable communities in Puerto Rico and Latin America.

The awards show will broadcast live from Panama City on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. ET via Univision, UNIMÁS, Galavisión, and ViX.

“La Buena Vibra”

Morat joined forces with the Colombian Football Federation to launch the “La Buena Vibra,” or good vibes, initiative on Sept. 4 in Barranquilla, during the Colombia national team’s match against Bolivia. According to a statement shared with Billboard, the purpose of this campaign is to “convey a message of unity, respect and camaraderie, inviting fans to experience and enjoy soccer in peace, together with family and friends.”

Gloria Trevi & Rauw Alejandro Honored

The Latin music stars received special recognitions on Thursday, Sept. 4 at the 2025 Hispanic Heritage Awards, which took place in Washington, D.C. Rauw was honored with the Vision Award and Trevi with the Legend Award.

The Mexican pop star shared a heartfelt message during her speech: “This recognition would not exist without the Latino community that works and fights tirelessly for their dreams, their families, and themselves,” she said. “This award is like an embrace of hope for humanity, a humanity that’s capable of more tenderness.”

Upon receiving his award, Rauw expressed: “I am the son of a cultural crossroads, and what a great blessing it is to carry this mix in my blood, because it is what guides my art and my path.”

“Nuestros Colores”

Mexican singer-songwriter Mario Bautista performed “Nuestros Colores,” the 2025 Leagues Cup anthem, during the final match between Inter Miami CF and Seattle Sounders CF on Aug. 31. The game took place at the Lumen Field in Seattle where Bautista performed to a crowd of nearly 70,000 fans.

The song was produced by Emilio Estefan Jr. and also features collaborators Taboo (Black Eyed Peas), Emily Estefan, Emilio Regueira (Los Rabanes) and Richaelio.

A major court ruling last month found that SoundExchange doesn’t have the power to collect royalties through litigation. Now, the organization has launched an appeal in hopes of preserving this enforcement strategy.

SoundExchange’s notice of appeal on Friday (Sept. 5) challenges an August federal court ruling that dismissed its $400 million lawsuit against SiriusXM. Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald held in her decision that SoundExchange, a nonprofit designated by the Copyright Royalty Board to collect performance royalties for artists, does not actually have the right to sue anybody under federal law.

This ruling was the first to weigh in on SoundExchange’s standing to collect recorded royalties via lawsuits, and the implications are big. For more than a decade, the organization has regularly used litigation to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties from radio broadcasters like SiriusXM and music streamers such as Slacker and Napster.

Already, music companies are trying to use Judge Buchwald’s ruling in their favor. Just weeks after the decision came down, Sonos told a court that it will file a motion to dismiss its own pending SoundExchange royalties lawsuit based on the rationale in the SiriusXM case.  

Faced with the possibility of losing a key enforcement strategy, SoundExchange is standing firm and using an appeal to go on the offensive. The group wants the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse Judge Buchwald, calling the decision an “erroneous ruling and flawed interpretation” of the Copyright Act in a statement on Friday.

“As Congress surely realized in creating the statutory license, some licensees will seek any available means to avoid paying artists for the full value of their work to maximize profitability,” said SoundExchange in the statement. “For the statutory license to function properly, SoundExchange fully believes Congress intended that the ‘enforcement’ power clearly granted in the statute must necessarily include the ability of its administrator to bring litigation claims when digital music services fail to meet their obligations under the law.”

“In the meantime,” continues the statement, “SoundExchange will continue in its mission of securing fair compensation for artists and rights owners and looks forward to arguing its case in court.”

A rep for SiriusXM did not immediately return a request for comment on the appeal.

The SoundExchange lawsuit against SiriusXM, brought in 2023, accused the satellite radio giant of “gaming the system” with manipulative bundling to withhold more than $150 million in performance royalties up to that point.

SoundExchange says SiriusXM has continued to apply this “faulty methodology” in the years since and now owes more than $400 million to artists and labels. SiriusXM denies all of SoundExchange’s claims.

Sphere Entertainment Co. was the top-performing music stock for the second consecutive week after gaining 7.8% to $48.90 for the week ended Sept. 5. 

After rising 6.8% the previous week, Sphere Entertainment rode continued enthusiasm for the revamped The Wizard of Oz that debuted at Sphere on Aug. 28. On Wednesday (Sept. 3), the stock reached a 52-week high of $49.98 after the company announced it repurchased $27.5 million of common stock, putting it within reach of its all-time high of $51.19 set in February 2021.   

German concert promoter CTS Eventim was the No. 2 music stock of the week, rising 5.5% to 84.45 euros ($98.99). On Tuesday, Rothschild & Co. upgraded CTS Eventim to a “buy” rating and lowered its price target to 105.00 euros ($123.08) from 109.00 euros ($127.77). 

Spotify was No. 3 after gaining 3.6% to $707.19. On Wednesday, Guggenheim reiterated its “buy” rating and $850 price target for Spotify while making the case that the company’s ability to raise prices will help it “exceed current consensus estimates” in 2026 and beyond. Although Spotify is well below its all-time high of $785.00 set on June 27, it has gained 51.6% this year, making it one of the best-performing music stocks. 

The 19-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) rose 1.7% to 3,301.18, bringing its year-to-date gain to 42.7%. A dozen of the index’s stocks gained value during the week while seven lost ground. 

K-pop companies were among the 12 stocks that gained value this week. JYP Entertainment was up 3.4%, raising its year-to-date gain to 10.9%. HYBE improved 1.2%, which improved its 2025 gain to 44.5%. SM Entertainment rose 0.9%, lifting its year-to-date gain to 93.0%. 

Except for Spotify, the BGMI’s largest components had either small gains or modest losses. Universal Music Group rose 0.7% to 24.30; its year-to-date gain stands at 1.6%. Tencent Music Entertainment had a rare down week, falling 0.2% to $24.49 and lowering its 2025 gain to 119.6%. Live Nation fell 1.9% to $163.42, dropping its year-to-date gain to 26.2%. 

Music streamer LiveOne was the week’s biggest loser after falling 20.0% to $0.44. Radio companies iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media dropped 11.4% and 5.9%, respectively. 

Markets finished the week ahead but struggled at the end of the week after a disappointing jobs report showed a smaller-than-expected increase in payrolls and an increase in the unemployment rate. A Bureau of Labor Statistics report on Friday (Sept. 5) revealed that nonfarm payrolls increased 22,000 in August, versus economists’ expectations of 75,000. June’s payroll gain was revised down by 27,000 jobs, while July was revised up by 6,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.3%. 

In the U.S., the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 2.6% and the S&P 500 gained 0.2%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 also gained 0.2%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index rose 0.6%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.2%.