Music
Major music stories across pop, hip-hop, R&B and the wider entertainment conversation.
MOST READ IN MUSIC
MUSIC
Pitbull’s 24-Track PITCOIN Is Pure Excess — and That May Be Exactly the Point
At a moment when pop projects are often engineered for algorithmic precision, Pitbull is releasing a sprawling 24-track party record. The excess is not a bug. It is the business model.
REALITY
Luann de Lesseps Is Turning Reality-TV Fame Into a Music Business — One Flirty Single at a Time
The Countess is no longer treating music like an occasional Housewives side quest. A new single, a touring cabaret and The Golden Life point to something more durable: a reality-TV persona becoming its own entertainment business.
MUSIC
Austin City Limits Is Streaming on Disney+ and Hulu — Live Music Is Becoming a Bigger Part of the Streaming Wars
Charli XCX, Lorde, Twenty One Pilots, Skrillex and The xx headline a milestone ACL. For Disney, the bigger story is turning live festivals into programming people have a reason to open the app for right now.
AWARDS HQ
Madonna Won the Night, Taylor Swift Won the Record Book — the 2026 VMAs Became a Battle Over Pop Legacy
The ceremony’s two biggest winners represented different kinds of power: Madonna dominated the present tense, while Swift rewrote the show’s historical leaderboard.
MUSIC
Rod Stewart Is Calling 2027 His Final Rock and Roll Tour — but He Is Not Calling It Retirement
The distinction matters: the modern “final tour” is increasingly about stepping away from the machinery of large-scale touring, not disappearing from public life.
MUSIC
Ella Langley’s 23 Weeks at No. 1 Turn “Choosin’ Texas” Into a Pop Milestone, Not Just a Country Hit
A country heartbreak song released in October 2025 is now the longest-running No. 1 in Hot 100 history. At 23 weeks, genre is no longer a sufficient explanation.
MUSIC
Taylor Swift Is Getting the VMAs’ First Artist Director Honor — and Another Record Comes With It
MTV is creating a new honor for artists whose directing has expanded music-video storytelling, with Swift as the first recipient at the Sept. 27 VMAs.