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Minutes before taking the stage at Mexico City’s Estadio GNP Seguros on Sept. 18, Natanael Cano was already in full corridos tumbados rockstar mode: cowboy hat, snakeskin jacket, chest on full display and the attitude of someone who knows exactly what he represents. “I’m looking fresh as hell — I’ve got that Tupac, DMX, Chalino Sánchez, Natanael Cano kind of flow,” he told Billboard Español, explaining with his charm the inspiration behind his look.

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The image — a mix of norteño tradition, hip-hop bravado and irreverence — also captures Cano’s identity as one of the central figures in the movement that helped take corridos tumbados from regional circuits to Mexico’s and the U.S.’ biggest stages.

The interview took place shortly before Cano launched his first stadium tour across Mexico with two consecutive sold-out shows at the capital’s Estadio GNP Seguros. When asked how his U.S. visa situation had influenced — or affected — this new chapter of his career, the singer made clear that he did not feel limited by it. “Mexico never lets me down. Mexico always supports me and is always behind me,” he said. “And that’s something I can never thank the fans enough for.”

Cano also spoke about “Olivia La Flaca,” his latest collaboration with Tito Double P, Ovi and Víctor Mendívil. The trap-leaning single arrived Sept. 24. “All the homies on that song killed it, for real,” said the Rancho Humilde star. “It’s really dope, a song for all the fans — it goes hard. Pure happiness, pure peace.”

One of the most personal songs on his new album, Natanael Cano, Vol. 1, is “Mar Azul,” which the artist called his favorite. The song has been rumored to be about his ex. When asked what it means to him, Cano replied knowingly: “You know what it means.” He added, “I think everybody knows too.”

“Mar Azul” peaked at No. 7 on Billboard’s Mexico Songs chart, No. 26 on Hot Latin Songs and No. 22 on Regional Mexican Airplay. The album debuted at No. 4 on Top Regional Mexican Albums and No. 10 on Top Latin Albums. Its 15 tracks represent a new chapter for Cano after he experimented with trap, reggaetón and afrobeat on 2025’s Porque La Demora.

Beyond the hits, Cano said he wants his fans to take away a message of perseverance: “Take the hard work, the perseverance, the dedication,” he said. “And even if you get sidetracked, that’s normal — life is fucking hard. But always take the good from it, and keep moving forward.”

Cano is currently on his Natanael Cano Vol. 1 Tour. His upcoming dates include Mérida on Oct. 17; Boca del Río on Oct. 30; Puebla on Oct. 31; Toluca on Nov. 6; Oaxaca on Nov. 7; Mexicali on Nov. 14; Morelia on Nov. 21; Saltillo on Nov. 27; Torreón on Nov. 28; and Acapulco on Dec. 5.

Watch the full interview above, and read our recap of the five best moments from Cano’s Mexico City tour kickoff.

Six years passed between Phoebe Bridgers’ second and third solo albums, but it was hardly time off. Between 2020’s Punisher — her major breakthrough, which yielded her a best new artist Grammy nomination — and 2026’s Lost Weekend, the singer-songwriter, with Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, dropped The Record, their Grammy-winning debut album as boygenius; toured as a solo artist, with boygenius and as an opener on nearly a dozen Eras Tour dates with Taylor Swift; launched Saddest Factory Records as an imprint of her label, Dead Oceans (which ultimately absorbed Saddest Factory in June); and filmed her acting debut in Lance Oppenheim’s recently released Primetime. Amid all those professional milestones, Bridgers also ended a high-profile relationship with actor Paul Mescal; lost her father, Tony Bridgers; and started dating comedian Bo Burnham.

That deep well of experiences informed the songs that would become Lost Weekend. While some ideas on the album date back as far as 2022, Bridgers began writing and recording for the project in earnest in 2024. Though her first two albums were mostly made with producers Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, Calif., Bridgers added to her recording locations this time around — visiting Electric Lady Studios in New York and Tamarind in Los Angeles — and her production team, bringing on perennial Grammy favorite Jack Antonoff for the first time, with additional work from Alex G. With more musicians in tow as well, Bridgers stretched her predominantly rock sound to new melodic territory, from ambient electronic to driving country.

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Bridgers first shared the new material in May at a club in New Mexico, kicking off a series of phone-free, secret pop-up shows at smaller venues across the country that culminated with Madison Square Garden in New York on June 4. Upon announcing Lost Weekend’s August arrival later that month, she logged back-to-back appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in July, playing new single “Lost Boys” each time, first with a rock band of children and the next night an acoustic rendition with veteran musicians. Bridgers capped off the unorthodox rollout by hosting worldwide release-week listening parties at planetariums.

The critically acclaimed album (which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200) has made Bridgers, who took home four Grammys in 2024 — more than anyone else that year — one of indie-rock’s front-runners for the 2027 ceremony. With nine of her collaborators, Bridgers explains how the emotional, unusual and expansive world of Lost Weekend came together.

Tony Berg, producer: Initially, you might look at her career and go, “Gee, six years between solo albums and 10 or 11 years to produce three solo albums.” It was a long time because there was a lot of material, and Phoebe, if she senses something can be better, doesn’t have a problem coming to us and saying, “I want to start this over.”

Ethan Gruska, producer: After Punisher, there was boygenius, and after that, I very clearly remember Phoebe going, “I’m going to take some time off,” and a year or two into her lost weekend, her time off, time away, I was starting to get glimpses from her that she was writing.

Christian Lee Hutson, songwriter: My memory is, right after Punisher came out, some of the first ideas for the record came, but not in any grand, fully realized way.

Gruska: Phoebe kind of started by saying, “I want to really bring in new musicians and new people to inspire us and surprise us.” She wanted an injection of freshness that’s hard to provide when you’re so entrenched in a flow.

Phoebe Bridgers: I knew I wanted to work with Tony and Ethan again — you know, “if it ain’t broke” and so on and so forth. Tony and Ethan are my family. But I knew I wanted to change the sound of this one and that fresh blood would help.

Gruska: Alex [G] kind of was brought into the mix before Jack [Antonoff], and I was thrilled about that because I’m such a huge fan of Alex. Alex and ­Phoebe and Christian were writing and making sketches of stuff.

Marshall Vore, songwriter-drummer: We went to Philadelphia to see Alex for four or five days or something and we went into a studio — Christian, Bo [Burnham], me and Alex and Phoebe — to make songs.

Bridgers: I have wanted to work with Alex for over a decade. Went to Philly with Alex and Christian to work. One of the times, he played me a ­discarded idea that turned into “Lost Boys.” He’s the most creative person I’ve ever met. And definitely the funniest.

Berg: As funny as I think all the people in the room were, he’s funnier. His take on the world is unusual. I would describe it as quixotic. He is just an unusual person with a real musical gift, and it comes from a field that is neither left, right nor center. It is a different field altogether.

Gruska: Generally, we would bring in musicians for their expertise on a particular instrument or style. But with Alex, we were like, “We just want you to play anything on everything.” The ending of “Liberty Tree,” when it goes into this very strange, dissociated “ooh”-ing melody, the whole palette at the end was Alex in 40 minutes on a Mellotron.

Bridgers: Then when the L.A. fires happened [in January 2025], I was evacuated from my house for three weeks, so I went to New York. Lee [Foster, studio manager] at Electric Lady gave me a writing room and one day Jack [Antonoff] crashed.

Hutson: He’s the ghost of Electric Lady. Anytime you’re there, you’ll expect a haunting — Jack to wander down the stairs, find you in some cavernous basement studio and bless you with his presence for a moment.

Bridgers: I certainly wasn’t looking for more producers, but I had been mostly looking at my phone and not writing. He brought me a little drum machine, and that was it. He appears to those who need him most.

Jack Antonoff, producer: I kind of live upstairs at Electric Lady and I think she was in the middle room or something. But it was truly one of those stories that reminds me of stories I heard from like the ’70s, where two people were in the same studio not working together, kind of run into each other, get talking, start playing a few things here and there.

Gruska: I remember Phoebe playing me something that Jack had put together from the voice memo that ended up being the first “Lost Weekend” song, because there’s three iterations of it on the record.

Vore: The way I remember [“Lost Weekend”] was that she was sort of having writer’s block, and she found that melody from Damien Jurado [from his “The Last Great Washington State”]. She was like, “I love this melody so much. I’m going to write to it just to try to get lyrics out.”

Gruska: It went from that voice memo to this outro because Phoebe had showed Jack [composer] Paul Lansky. Jack sampled it [Lansky’s “Notjustmoreidlechatter”], and I was just hearing from ­Phoebe that Jack was a wizard and took it and sampled it and created what was the framework and kind of the basis and really like a majority of that outro. The kind of flurry of that outro and I just remember hearing it, and I remember seeing her excitement about it.

Antonoff: I think it was, well, what if it is the voice note? And then what if it goes from the most nonsonic thing possible, just like a little voice note on the phone, to the most sonic exploration possible of this sample and this chaos and all this stuff? I felt like what Phoebe was articulating, it’s where she was at from the writing of this, and all the grief and all the joy and all the terror mixed together. There was just something really interesting about going from zero to 1,000 without any warning. It’s simple enough to gently make something sound this way or that way. But in my experience, it’s when you really just say f–k it and take a big swing with people that you actually build a different kind of trust.

Gruska: From there, Jack was just slowly introduced in the process. To be able to enter into a group of people that have been working together for nine years the way that he did, and to share his expertise and also bring a level of comfort and personability and friendship was just so impressive.

Vore: There had been a decade of precedent, and he was a completely different energy, which was really necessary. It needed to be fun again. I found him to be so kind and just made you feel like you were 15 in your garage again.

Hutson: I think that Jack’s gift as a producer and as a person is that he’s a really good listener. He’s very selfless and listens to what you want and is not afraid to try things, even if they don’t work.

Antonoff: I don’t know if I’m a good listener or anything like that, but my philosophy on why I do this doesn’t come from hearing solely my ideas come to life. My ego and spirit come from realizing a vision. That’s the whole job. There’s so many twisting alleyways within that, but it’s like, that’s it. When the real fun times happen is when you have that clear direction, and everyone’s sort of flying a plane together.

Bridgers: There’s a reason he’s the guy. He really knows what is great about everyone he works with and gave me so much confidence to experiment. The best example of his brain is “Kill Me.” He made the whole album 30% stranger.

Gruska: It went from an insular group to a very large group of people and musicians, and it was beautiful. Chris Thile, Caroline Shaw, unbelievable talents that would just come in and throw this amazing paint and then we all got to collage it together.

Chris Thile, Nickel Creek: We had three days together [at Sound City in November 2025]. The freaking “Lost Weekend” situation was so fun when that happened. I play this funny instrument [mandolin] that’s only used for seasoning unless it’s in a bluegrass context. I’ll try every now and then [to] take a big swing, and almost always it’ll get voted off the island. “Oh, we were thinking a little bit more like that R.E.M mandolin thing, ‘Losing My Religion’ at the end.” Mandolin’s most fundamental moment in the history books. Whereas this situation was just like, “Hey, try some s–t on the outro of this,” and so I’m like, “I mean, I could go like this,” and they were like, “Yeah, do that!” And there it is at the end of the title track, that outro.

Caroline Shaw, vocal arranger: I met up with her at her apartment in New York [on March 23, 2025]. I’ve been in rooms with big stars and lots of producers around, and sometimes it feels like there are lots of sharks, like, producers getting their stuff on and I sense the artist being a little overwhelmed by that. So I just remember telling her, “You stay in control of what you want.” It was nice to be in a room of … I would say they’re more like whales.

Bridgers: We were all working together in the end, but I really enjoyed hopping around from place to place, with fresh ears every time. The nice thing about so many producers was that it was like having a reverse band. Lots of input, but ultimately, I make the final call.

Hutson: [Phoebe] is extremely focused and has a lot of what I think all of my favorite writers have: enough doubt to make sure that you try really hard to get it right.

Thile: This is a fearless record. There’s a couple of illustrious producers, and she is in there, hands-on and exploding with ideas.

Greg Leisz, pedal steel guitar: The thing that I noticed the most was that there was a lot of respect for her ideas. She was really driving the enthusiasm for the event as it was going on. She would be walking around listening. She wasn’t passive at all.

Shaw: I remember her really wanting to not be always singing small, but to sing out big and resonant and not just put the echo on later, but like, “Let’s do it real,” as much as she can do. “I want to do this as real as we can.”

Antonoff: When we first started, the big conversation, which became a huge conversation on the whole album, was obscuring [the] organic-synthetic [divide], playing with all of it until it just is its own Lost Weekend thing and not something you can even identify anymore. That’s the whole point, productionwise, of the album and the thing we put such a microscope on, of obscuring those two things.

Gruska: I knew that it had to feel different and not like Punisher 2.0. With every artist and with every project, you live in the shadow of the thing you just did until you don’t. I think the subject matter was so nude that [it had to be] surrounded by tones and sounds [that] had to have the kind of roughness and rawness that the songs had.

Bridgers: The first and last song was “As Above.” It was a kind of Pavement-sounding indie rock idea I was playing at sound checks on tour in 2022. Something about walking around Saint Petersburg [Russia] because I was reading [Elif Batuman’s] Either/Or. It stayed pretty aimless for a while. Then it was about abortion/my dad’s death making me consider having a kid someday for the first time. When Christian and I were trying to crack the end and wrote, “You won’t have to believe in magic, leave it to me and I’ll make it happen,” we both cried.

Hutson: “As Above” took a long journey. I think that one was the most frustrating because we kept coming back to it and being like, “Oh, you again.” (Laughs.) Even that was kind of fun though, like a crazy crossword that you’ve been working on for a long time. I think the fastest one was “Haunted.”

Vore: I remember being a big champion of that song because I love country music and bluegrass music and Irish music. I remember her being pretty reluctant about it, like, “Is it just kind of like, cheugy?” And I was like, “This is so good.” But I also earnestly listen to Megan Moroney.

Antonoff: [We spent a] ton of time at Sound City. I think all studios look like the inside of the person whose studio it is, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Sound City is a living map of Tony. Tony would pull out some child tape recorder that someone sent him from Indonesia, and it didn’t work, but it exploded, and as it exploded, the whole thing’s like a Rube Goldberg machine. Tape shoots out and knocks into something that falls into something else and then hits a harpsichord, and someone gets an idea. There’s a slapstick nature to that place where there’s just stuff, and all the stuff is informing this great desire to just try things.

Bridgers: The freakiest night by far was one with Jon Brion. He brought a U-Haul full of priceless instruments to Sound City at 9 p.m., gave Tony a Guatemalan marimba, played a synthesizer that looks like Battleship — that sounded so good we opened the album with it — ripped a guitar solo and left at about 5 a.m.

Gruska: The general throughline of everybody that worked on the record is that there’s a lot of extremely f–king funny people. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of hanging and shooting the s–t and laughing. Sometimes on sessions, you’re nose to the grindstone, but if we’re working and there’s several hours of hanging out, it does actually make the hours of work, which end up being less, more productive.

Antonoff: The process was full of wonderful ­surprises. That’s when you know you’ve reached something, when you’re split down the middle: half completely comfortable and familiar with something and half completely shocked by it.

Berg: It was only in the home stretch that it was clear to me that Phoebe felt the need for all 16 songs to be on the album. I thought initially it might be more concise, but she had a broader story to tell and more things that she wanted to deal with.

Leisz: It’s an artist’s record. It’s somebody that is really focusing on their art without, I think, a whole lot of trying to make something commercial. It’s adventurous.

Bridgers: It’s all my ideas. I’m very lucky to not have to do anything I don’t want to do, so I don’t show up resentfully anywhere anymore. I was fixated on the idea of LARPing [live-action role-­playing] in general for this album because of my old ­skeleton suit. I was thinking about people whose lives revolve around dressing up. Because I dress up as myself. It was [director and Primetime co-­producer] Ari Aster’s idea to do the ren faire thing with Lance [Oppenheim, who co-directed the “Lost Boys” music video]; he wanted to see slo-mo LARPers beating each other up. I’ve known Lance since I was a teenager and trust him with my life.

Lance Oppenheim, director: I met Phoebe back in 2014. She was basically the same then as she is now: so chill, so funny, so sharp. We had such a great time working together [on Primetime], and I kept thinking during production how much I wanted to work with her again. I was so happy when she thought of me for “Lost Boys.” Phoebe knew she wanted something LARP-adjacent and to be the leader of a vagabond troupe living off the grid. She also wanted to work with Skyler Gisondo again — they share a lot of screen time in Primetime. We shot the video over two days in Atlanta [in April].

Leisz: I was in Europe on vacation when she did The Tonight Show. They called me to play [on “Lost Boys”], but I was on vacation. So I was curious because I didn’t play on the song [on the album], and there wasn’t any reason for me to be on it that I could see. And then I watched it, and the first thing I saw was all these kids. And then I became aware that she did a version with old people, and I realized that she wanted me to come and play in that band. (Laughs.)

Shaw: I did one of those planetarium listening sessions in Portland [Ore.]. I hadn’t heard [the album]. I think it’s really beautiful.

Gruska: If we’re talking about growth, it was another cut above for me. Like, “Wow, we’re really going for something,” and it comes through when I listen back. I feel the team all just going, “No, let’s not stop until it’s weird and perfect.”

Hutson: This is what happens when people who really, really, really love each other come together to serve something that is greater than themselves. I think it’s a feat of what love and friendship and taking care and listening actually looks like and what it can do. You can end up with this beautiful piece of art that is very healing for everyone that worked on it.

Bridgers: Having the album in the world is wild. It was very intense to write and very acutely painful to release. I’ll never get over how profound it is to have people sing the songs I wrote about my dad back to me. I wish he could have seen it.

This story appears in the Oct. 3, 2026, issue of Billboard.

WME has signed Wisin for representation in all areas, Billboard can exclusively announce Monday (Oct. 5).

“I’m joining WME at an exciting new chapter in my career,” the Puerto Rican artist tells Billboard. “I’m thrilled that the team understands my evolving vision and is fully on board. After helping shape the global sound and impact of reggaeton, I’m ready to expand beyond music and connect with new audiences, markets, and opportunities around the world.”

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The news comes on the heels of Wisin (real name: Juan Luis Morera Luna) announcing his new management deal with Chris Duque of D27 Entertainment last month, following almost a decade under the direction of his former manager Walter Kolm. 

With a career that kicked off almost three decades ago as part of reggaetón duo Wisin y Yandel, Wisin, under his solo trajectory, has achieved multiple Billboard chart entries, including 24 No. 1s on Latin Airplay. In 2016, “Duele El Corazón,” his collaboration with Enrique Iglesias, topped Latin Airplay for 11 weeks and Hot Latin Songs for 14 weeks. 

As one of the urban genre’s biggest exponents and hitmakers, Wisin recently released his album La Universidad del Perreo, bringing together pioneers like Ivy Queen, Don Chezina, Jory Boy, Jowell & Randy, Trébol Clan, Franco El Gorilla and Juanka El Problematik, as well as breakout stars like Mexican artist El Bogueto and Colombian artist Kapo. 

“Wisin helped build the sound of reggaetón, and he’s still pushing it forward,” Rob Markus, Senior Partner & Head of International at WME, adds. “With ‘La Universidad del Perreo,’ he’s not only delivering new music but also bringing the culture to a new generation.  We couldn’t be more excited to partner with him and Chris Duque for this next chapter.”

“If people out there are talking about salsa, the history of merengue, tropical music, the history of bolero, I think they also have to talk about the history of an established movement. A movement that continues to be talked about and where new stars keep being born,” Wisin previously told Billboard. “It’s a project where we return to the original sound, the sound that started it all and opened so many doors.”

Fuerza Regida will be honored with the Billboard Vanguard Award at the 2026 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Billboard and Telemundo can announce today (Oct. 5). The group from San Bernardino, California, will receive the award in recognition of a career defined by innovation and an unconventional creative vision that has pushed the boundaries of música mexicana and expanded the genre’s reach around the world.

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The band, a finalist for 12 awards this year, will also take the stage for a special performance during the ceremony, which will be broadcast live on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. ET on Telemundo and Peacock from the James L. Knight Center in Miami.

“We’ve always done things our own way. We come from San Bernardino, we know who we are and where we come from, and we’ve never been afraid to take our music somewhere people might not expect it to go,” Jesús Ortiz Paz (JOP), vocalist and leader of Fuerza Regida, said in a statement. “Receiving the Billboard Vanguard Award means a lot because it recognizes that vision and everything we’ve built together. We want to keep pushing the genre forward, breaking barriers and showing the next generation that there are no limits to where our music can go.”

The Billboard Vanguard Award honors artists who dare to go beyond the conventional. It recognizes those who, through their talent, inspire, innovate and open new possibilities in the world of music. The award celebrates true visionaries, artists who break barriers, redefine standards and leave an indelible mark on the music industry.

Formed in 2015, Fuerza Regida has become one of the most influential acts in Mexican music, honoring its roots while continuing to take the genre into new territories. The group — which also includes José “Pelón” García, Moisés López, Khrystian Ramos and Samuel Jaimez — has developed a unique sound and identity rooted in their bicultural experience, resonating with audiences far beyond the traditional boundaries of the genre and geography.

With over 46 million monthly listeners on Spotify, 35 billion career streams and 16 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, Fuerza Regida has transformed that vision into a global impact. Their hits include “Marlboro Rojo,” “TQM,” “El Jefe” with Shakira and “Tu Boda” with Óscar Maydon, which reached No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs and No. 4 on the Billboard Global 200.

In 2025, the group hit another milestone when their ninth studio album, 111XPANTIA, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, becoming the highest-charting Spanish-language album by a duo or group in the all-genre chart’s history. In its second week, the LP reached No. 1 on Top Latin Albums.

Beyond the charts, Fuerza Regida became the first regional Mexican group to perform at Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw and brought Mexican music to Paris Fashion Week, where JOP attended KidSuper’s runway show from the front row. On stage, they set a record as the highest-selling Latin act in the history of Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome, sold out shows at Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl in the same weekend, and performed for tens of thousands of fans in Mexico and Latin America.

In 2026, they’re taking that momentum to an even bigger scale with the first-ever stadium tour in the U.S. by a regional Mexican group. The band will also sit for a Superstar Q&A on Oct. 20 at Billboard Latin Music Week, before headlining the Billboard En Vivo showcase that night.

The 2026 Billboard Latin Music Awards ceremony will air on Telemundo and will also be available on the Telemundo app, Peacock and Telemundo Internacional across Latin America and the Caribbean. The night will kick off with star-studded blue-carpet coverage across platforms starting at 7 p.m. ET. Tickets to attend the event are now available on Ticketmaster.

This year, Peso Pluma leads the list of finalists with 17 mentions, followed by Tito Double P with 15 and Fuerza Regida with 12. Karol G is a nine-time finalist, Prince Royce eight and Bad Bunny seven.

Produced by Telemundo and MBS Special Events, the 2026 Billboard Latin Music Awards coincide with Billboard Latin Music Week, which returns to Miami Beach Oct. 19-22 with a stellar lineup also including Greeicy, Jay Wheeler, Kany García, Maluma, Pitbull, Rawayana, Ryan Castro, Trueno, Zhamira and many more. For more information and tickets, visit BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.

Chance the Rapper has been using his chosen stage for more than 15 years. But in a chat with Raven-Symoné and Miranda Maday on the latest episode of their Tea Time podcast, Maday wondered what his intention was in choosing that nom de rap and whether he considered early on if he would “stretch the idea or the limitations” around the title of MC with his alter ego.

“I think when I first got it, it was just a name that a girl I went to high school with came up with,” Chance (born Chancelor Jonathan Bennett), 33, told the duo. “I think over time, yes, people would tell me, ‘Yo, you should drop the ‘rapper’ part out of your name because you’re more than rap.'” He said he’s hesitated to foreshorten the name in the years since because he always wanted whatever he did to be attributed to hip-hop and to be under the influence of hip-hop.

“I want to carry rap the same way that rap has carried me through life,” he added. But recently, including while thinking in the shower the day of his podcast interview — as well as on his current Coloring Book 10th anniversary tour, which wraps up in Pittsburgh on Oct. 11 — he’s been “thinking about changing my name.”

His thoughts have revolved around losing the “Chance” and just going by “The Rapper,” he said. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. I just really love the art form. I really love words. I think the greatest rappers, like myself, are etymologists and linguists at heart, people that really just love language. So, the writing part of it, the performance part of it is so much of my identity and I think the ‘Chance’ part … I give a lot of vulnerability and looks into my life and what’s going on in my life, relationships, just my whole self sometimes and I don’t love that as much now as I love just working within the genre.”

As examples of the way he’s opened up in his music from day one, Chance listed songs about his grandmother having surgery (“Sunday Candy”), being a first-time dad (“I Love You So Much”) and traumas he’s experienced, taking up the mantle of his favorite vulnerable MCs, including Outkast’s André 3000, Kanye West, Eminem and Mos Def. But, Chance said rather than stepping away from hip-hop, he wants to dig deeper into it and have his stage name demonstrate his commitment to the genre. “Sometimes it’s good to make a song that’s not about what I did that day,” he explained.

To date, Chance has released three official mixtapes (10 Day in 2012, Acid Rap in 2013 and Coloring Book in 2016) as well as two full-length studio albums, 2019’s The Big Day and 2025’s Star Line.

Watch Chance talk about a possible name change below.

UPDATE (Oct. 5): The Country Music Association (CMA) and ABC revealed today the star-studded lineup of performers set for CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton, the two-hour live television tribute to the country icon that was announced last month. Revealed today on ABC’s Good Morning America, the line-up spans multiple generations and genres—from fellow Country Music Hall of Fame members Reba McEntire, Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs to acclaimed artists from bluegrass (Béla Fleck, Sierra Hull and Molly Tuttle), Broadway (Kristin Chenoweth and Kristen Bell) and beyond.

Other artists set to perform on the special include Ashley McBryde, Brad Paisley, Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Ella Langley, Kelsea Ballerini, Lady A, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Lukas Nelson and Zac Brown. Amy Grant and Kimberly Williams-Paisley will appear as special guests. Additional surprise tributes from friends across the entertainment world will also be featured throughout the special. 

A Belmont University student ensemble will also participate in a performance, reflecting the university’s ongoing “Dolly U” programming that seeks to engage students in learning from Parton’s career, artistry and entrepreneurial legacy.

The special airs Wednesday, Oct. 21 (9:00-11:00 p.m./ET) on ABC and Disney+ in the U.S. and internationally, available next day on Hulu, and will be filmed before a live audience at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville.

PREVIOUSLY (Sept. 16): The Country Music Association (CMA) announced today that it is producing CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton, a two-hour television event in tribute to Dolly Parton, who died on Aug. 25 at age 80. The special will air live on Wednesday, Oct. 21 (9:00-11:00 p.m. ET) on ABC and Disney+ internationally, available next day on Hulu. That is a nearly a month before the 60th annual CMA Awards, which are set to air on Nov. 18.

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The CMA promises that “the special will be a joyful, emotional celebration of the artist, songwriter, entertainer, humanitarian and entrepreneur whose music and generosity carried her from the mountains of east Tennessee into the hearts of generations around the world, told through performances, archival footage and personal stories…” 

Robert Deaton serves as executive producer of the special, which will be filmed live at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Belmont University in Nashville.

“Dolly gave Country Music its heart, and giving some of that heart back to her is an incredible honor,” Deaton said in a statement. “My hope is simply that we do right by her story, her music and the people who love her, so that this evening feels like the tribute my friend deserves.”

“Dolly Parton belonged to the whole world, but she was born of this industry, and this industry owes her a debt of gratitude that words alone cannot repay,” Sarah Trahern, CMA CEO said in a statement. “As the organization built to serve and celebrate Country Music, honoring her legacy is not just an opportunity, it is our responsibility. This special is our way of saying thank you, on behalf of every artist, industry member and fan who found a piece of themselves in her music.”

The CMA and Parton have a long history. In 1978, Parton became just the second woman (following Loretta Lynn) to win entertainer of the year at the CMA Awards. In 1988, she became the first woman to solo-host that awards show. In 2016, she became the first woman to win the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented on the telecast.

There was very effective tribute to Parton on the Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday (Sept. 14), with her Steel Magnolias co-star Sally Field sharing memories and Reba McEntire singing Parton’s “Appalacian Memories.” Similar tributes are expected on many upcoming awards shows.

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The upcoming special reflects a strategic partnership between CMA and Belmont University. It also continues a growing relationship between Belmont University and Parton that included the 2025 world premiere of DOLLY: A True Original Musical at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts and the launch of DOLLY U, an immersive educational partnership designed to connect students with hands-on opportunities in entertainment, media and creative industries. Through that collaboration, students worked alongside professional artists, producers and industry leaders while helping bring Parton’s vision to life.

In conjunction with the special, CMA and Belmont University will make a donation from proceeds to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, continuing a legacy that gives millions of children the gift of a free book each month and seeks to inspire a lifelong love of reading. In addition, Disney is supporting Imagination Library to further its mission of inspiring children to imagine their possibilities.

Additional details about the special, including performers, tickets and additional partners, will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Elle King tied the knot with longtime love tattoo artist Dan Tooker over the weekend. The “Ex’s & Oh’s” singer posted pics and videos from the rustic, woodsy outdoor wedding in Tennessee, captioning the set “Husband and wife. Best day of my life.”

In the first snap, King, 37, wearing a fitted ivory satin gown with a long train and plunging neckline stands next to Tooker, who wore a black double-breasted suit with a black shirt with a large, dangling silver brooch pinned to his lapel. The second slide was a video (without sound) of the couple’s first kiss, which King prefaced with what looked like a howl of joy, followed by a series of passionate kisses and an arms-in-the-air yelp from the groom.

The other pics showed King walking down the aisle and sharing a quiet moment with Tooker.

Tooker shared some scenes from the wedding on his Instagram Story, including the moment when King slipped a ring on his finger, as well as a glimpse at their wedding cake with two oversized, lifelike bobblehead-like fondant cake toppers depicting the couple. The Story also included video of the newlyweds singing a karaoke version of Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” footage of what appeared to be their first dance and a glimpse of the pair walking with their two young sons, Lucky Levi, 5, and Royal, 19 months.

In a testament to King’s rocking nature, Tooker’s reel also featured video of the house band playing a mariachi cover of Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and ended with the traditional bride smashing cake into the groom’s face accompanied by Al Green’s “Love and Happiness.”

King and Tooker met in 2019 and got engaged in 2020, welcoming Lucky Levi a year later. According to People, the pair briefly broke up in 2023 and then got back together in 2024. Son Royal was born in February 2025.

Turnstile, Doechii, Phoebe Bridgers, Fontaines D.C., Hayley Williams, FKA Twigs, The Chemical Brothers and Robyn are among the acts topping the roster for the 2027 Primavera Sound Barcelona festival.

The lineup for next year’s 25th anniversary event at Parc Del Fòrum in Barcelona from June 2-6 was revealed on Monday morning (Oct. 5) in a dramatic video directed by Guillem Cruells celebrating the event’s history. The 2027 festival will also feature sets from Bad Gyal, Lola Young, Adéla, Caroline Polacheck, Prospa, Massive Attack and back-to-back sets from Skrillex and Ninajirachi.

The main event will take place between June 3-5 at Parc del Fòrum, with the party getting started a day earlier with a free opening day and the traditional closing electronic dance party, Primavera Bits, featuring headliners Richie Hawtin, Four Tet and Dixon.

Among the other acts slated to perform are: Pavement, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Bleachers, Underworld, EsDeeKid, Anohni, Tinashe, Kim Petras, Angine De Potrine, Metronomy, Arca, Wallows, Snow Strippers, DIIV, Dinosaur Jr., Chvrches, Muna, Weyes Blood, Julien Baker, Atlas Sound and many more.

Residents of Barcelona are eligible for a 10% discount on tickets. Fans have until Wednesday (Oct. 7) to register for a fan sale on the Primavera website; a general onsale will open on Oct. 9on the Fever ticketing platform.

This year’s lineup featured sets from Addison Rae, the Cure, the XX, My Bloody Valentine, Skrillex, PinkPantheress, Gorillaz, Blood Orange, Peggy Gou, Little Simz, Big Thief and a surprise set from Olivia Rodrigo.

Check out the full lineup for Primavera Sound Barcelona 2027 below.