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The tense exchange happened during YoungBoy's recent show in South Carolina.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again threatened to beat a fan after he kept getting pelted with objects during a tour stop in Columbus, South Carolina. During YoungBoy’s latest performance on Thursday, the rapper paused his rowdy setlist to address a rambunctious fan in the crowd who kept throwing items onstage. “I had to calm myself down,” YoungBoy said in part. “Throw one more thing up here, I’mma whoop your a–, boy. Throw one more.” He went on to reiterate he would beat him down if he threw one more item. “You can play with me tonight if you want to,” YoungBoy continued. “This a YoungBoy show. I know you ain’t spend your money to come through this muthaf—in’ door to let no n—a do no p—y a– sh– here tonight.” This isn’t the first time something contentious happened during YoungBoy’s MASA Tour. Without explanation, Chicago’s United Center canceled YoungBoy’s show slated for Sept. 23. The venue was criticized by YoungBoy’s manager over the act. “@UnitedCenter bi—ed out. Shoutout to Joe Myhra @UnitedCenter. He didn’t want us to have fun. Scary,” Alex Junnier wrote, attacking Myhra, who appears to be the SVP of operations at Chicago’s United Center. “It’s ok, everyone; Joe just sits behind a desk and got nervous.” Footage also recently emerged of a fan involved in a fight with an elderly security guard at YoungBoy’s Kansas City show. Per KCTV 5, a 14-year-old was detained for allegedly assaulting the T-Mobile Center employee. Regardless, the Baton Rouge rapper heads to Florida to continue his lengthy trek this weekend. Check out the video below. @judgecarey YB gets pissed during concert here in Columbia,SC for fan throwing stuff on stage #fypシ #youngboy #youngboyfans #youngboyneverbrokeagain #masatour #columbiasc #coloniallifearena #concerts #funnymoments ♬ original sound – JUDGECarey

In this episode of Billboard On The Record, Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Allen joins host Kristin Robinson to talk about her path into songwriting, from her early hits with Selena Gomez and Halsey to collaborating with today’s biggest artists. She opens up about the decline of pitch records, her relationship with Sabrina Carpenter and how songwriters […]

In this episode of Billboard On The Record, Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Allen joins host Kristin Robinson to talk about her path into songwriting, from her early hits with Selena Gomez and Halsey to collaborating with today’s biggest artists. She opens up about the decline of pitch records, her relationship with Sabrina Carpenter and how songwriters are adapting to a world driven by TikTok moments. Allen shares her thoughts on hard work, what truly makes a star and why she doesn’t listen to pop radio anymore. Love what you hear? Follow Billboard On The Record on Instagram, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Youtube @billboard so you never miss an episode. Billboard On The Record is a podcast in partnership with SickBird Productions. Kristin Robinson: Hello and welcome to On the Record, a new music business podcast from Billboard and SickBird Productions. I’m your host, Kristin Robinson, and today we are joined by Amy Allen, perhaps the most in demand pop songwriter out there today. In just a few years, she’s written top Hot 100 hits like “Espresso,” “Without Me,” “APT,” “Greedy,” “Adore You,” “Graveyard,” “Please Please Please” and so many more. She was the first woman to ever earn the award Grammy Songwriter of the Year and most recently, she helped Sabrina Carpenter create her latest Billboard No. 1 album, ‘Man’s Best Friend,’ writing every single song on the record. I wanted to have Amy on here today to talk about what a career really looks like as a top songwriter and how the world of the songwriter is changing. And who’d be better to do that than Amy? So without further ado, please welcome to the show, Amy Allen. Amy Allen, welcome to On the Record, thank you so much for being here. Amy Allen: Thanks for having me. Kristin Robinson: I wanted to start off this conversation about kind of life as a modern songwriter in 2025 with going back to where it all began for you. So, you grew up in Maine. Amy Allen: Yep, grew up in Maine. Kristin Robinson: You famously went to nursing school for a hot sec. Amy Allen: I did. Big mistake, not cut out for it. Kristin Robinson: Wait so how long did you last there? Amy Allen: Two years. Keep watching for more!

The band leads Adult Alternative Airplay 11 years after its first appearance.

After more than a decade of appearances on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart, St. Paul & the Broken Bones have their first No. 1. “Sushi and Coca-Cola,” the lead single from the band’s new self-titled album (out today, Oct. 10), lifts one rank to top the list dated Oct. 18. The Paul Janeway-fronted act, which is leading any Billboard songs chart for the first time, first reached Adult Alternative Airplay in May 2014 with “Call Me,” which peaked at No. 6. The band has six career entries on the ranking, with “Apollo” (No. 3, 2018) its previous high before “Sushi and Coca-Cola.” St. Paul & the Broken Bones are the third act to rule Adult Alternative Airplay for the first time in 2025, following Role Model, whose “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” led in September, and Royel Otis, with “Moody,” beginning in July. St. Paul meets The Beatles: also notably, the band’s wait of 11 years, five months and one week between its first entry and first No. 1 marks the longest for any act on Adult Alternative Airplay since The Beatles, who went nearly 28 years between “Free as a Bird” in 1996 (just after the chart began) and No. 1 “Now and Then” in 2023. On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, “Sushi and Coca-Cola” rises 46-42 with 995,000 radio audience impressions in the week ending Oct. 9, up 6%, according to Luminate. The song hit a No. 40 high two weeks ago, the band’s best, surpassing the No. 44 peak of “Apollo.” St. Paul & the Broken Bones is the band’s first album since 2023’s Angels in Science Fiction. All Billboard charts dated Oct. 18 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Oct. 14.

The case, which the rapper's attorneys called "ridiculous," had "no chance of success" and the lawyers who filed it should be punished, a judge says.

A federal judge says Nelly should be reimbursed for hefty legal bills he spent defeating a “baseless” and “frivolous” lawsuit filed by one of his former St. Lunatics bandmates. The case claimed that Nelly owed ex-bandmate Ali a cut of royalties from the rapper’s debut album Country Grammar. But the action was dropped earlier this year after Nelly’s attorneys argued it was obviously filed years after the statute of limitations had expired. Related Nelly Lawsuit Dismissed: Rapper’s Ex-St. Lunatics Bandmate Drops Case Over ‘Country Grammar’ Sylvan Esso Is Pulling Its Catalog From Spotify How Blond:ish Plans to Eliminate 42 Tons of Waste From NYC Nightlife Every Year: 'This Is My Passion' On Friday (Oct. 10), U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger wrote that the lawyers who filed the case should be punished for doing so, saying they had pursued the case against Nelly long after it was clear that they had no grounds to sue. “It should have been patently obvious to [Ali]’s attorneys that his copyright ownership claim was time-barred,” the judge wrote. “After being placed on notice that the [case] stood no chance of success, [Ali] did not withdraw his complaint. Instead, his attorneys doubled down.” Nelly (Cornell Haynes) rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of St. Lunatics, a hip-hop group also composed of St. Louis high school friends Ali (Ali Jones), Murphy Lee (Tohri Harper), Kyjuan (Robert Kyjuan) and City Spud (Lavell Webb). With the June 2000 release of Country Grammar — which spent five weeks atop the Billboard 200 — Nelly broke away from the group and started a solo career that later reached superstar heights with his 2002 chart-topping singles “Hot in Herre” and “Dilemma.” Related Andra Day Says Ex-Manager Stole $1.6M & Left Her Facing Eviction; He Claims She’s Withholding Money Filed last year, the lawsuit alleged that Nelly had cut his former crew members out of the credits and royalty payments for the hit album. It claimed the star had repeatedly “manipulated” them into falsely thinking they’d be paid for their work. But three of the St. Lunatics quickly dropped out, saying they had never actually wanted to sue Nelly and had never given legal authorization to the lawyers who filed the case. Though Ali initially moved ahead alone, he dropped the case entirely in April without explanation. Though the case was over, Nelly’s attorneys refused to let Ali off that easy. They asked for sanctions — meaning legal penalties — against Ali and his attorneys over a “vexatious” lawsuit that “should never have been brought.” “Plaintiff’s counsel succeeded in its frivolous campaign aimed at forcing Haynes to spend money defending Plaintiff’s ridiculous time-barred claims,” the star’s lawyer, Ken Freundlich, wrote at the time. Related Lola Young in ‘Messy’ Songwriting Dispute With Producer: ‘Strongly Refuted’ In the American legal system, each side usually pays its own legal bills, even including defendants who win a lawsuit that they feel they shouldn’t have faced. Only in rare cases, including as punishment for misconduct, do judges order the loser to repay the winner’s fees. On Friday, Judge Lehrburger said Ali’s attorneys should face that kind of sanction, saying it should have been clear to Ali’s lawyers from the outset that the case was not viable: “Jones’s copyright ownership claim was groundless on its face from the time it was first asserted,” the judge wrote. The judge heaped most of the blame on Precious Felder Gates, Ali’s lead counsel, who he said “was the driving force behind the action” and had caused Nelly to needlessly incur expenses to defend it.” Judge Lehrburger pointed out that after it was made clear to Gates that her case was doomed, she filed an updated version that tried to hide that fact. The judge said Gates had “manipulated the pleadings” by removing key details about when Nelly had rejected Ali’s claim — the key facts that would indicate the case was too old. Related Rod Wave Sued Over $27M ‘Last Lap’ Tour Advance, Allegedly Used It on ‘Private Jets and Lavish Second Homes’ Felder, the judge said, should face punishment for “vexatiously protracting the proceedings in bad faith by her attempt to obfuscate the facts she knew barred Jones’s claims and her subsequent refusal to withdraw the amended complaint in the face of overwhelming arguments that the claims could not possibly succeed.” The actual sum that Felder will pay is unclear. The judge did not set an exact figure and said she only had to cover Nelly’s legal bills from after she re-filed her updated case. The sanctions must also be endorsed by a district judge, who could modify Judge Lehrburger’s findings. But with elite Los Angeles defense attorneys repping the star, the bill could easily be tens of thousands of dollars. In a statement to Billboard, Nelly’s attorney Freundlich said: “This case sends a message to lawyers that there will be consequences for dragging a Defendant into an action that is frivolous on its face and refusing to withdraw it. There is a lane of course for zealous advocacy but when the case is time-barred according to a plaintiff’s own pleading, it has no place in the system.” Ali’s attorney Gates did not return a request for comment by press time. This story was updated on Oct. 10 at 5:38 p.m. ET to add a comment from Nelly’s attorney.

The song rules Mainstream Rock Airplay in its eighth week on the chart.

Bad Omens complete their quickest trip to No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, topping the Oct. 18-dated survey with “Specter,” which rises two spots to become the band’s second leader. “Specter” rules the tally in its eighth week, far surpassing the 27 frames it took the band’s previous leader, “Just Pretend,” to reign in 2023. (That 27-week run to No. 1 remains the sixth-longest in the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart’s 44-year history.) In between “Just Pretend” and “Specter,” Bad Omens reached Mainstream Rock Airplay twice, peaking at No. 2 in 2023 with “The Death of Peace of Mind” and No. 9 in 2024 with its Poppy collaboration “V.A.N.” The Richmond, Va., band first appeared on Mainstream Rock Airplay in 2020 with “Limits,” which reached No. 19, and initially reached the top 10 in 2022 with the No. 10-peaking “Like a Villain.” Concurrently, “Specter” climbs 19-15 on Alternative Airplay. On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, the song bullets at its No. 3 best with 4.1 million audience impressions in the week ending Oct. 9, up 10%, according to Luminate. The latter is Bad Omens’ best, topping the No. 4 peak of “Just Pretend.” “Specter” ranked at No. 2 on the most recently published, multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs list (dated Oct. 11, reflecting data accumulated Sept. 26-Oct. 2), after spending two weeks at No. 1. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 1.7 million official U.S. streams and sold 1,000 in that span. Bad Omens released their most recent proper studio album, The Death of Peace of Mind, in 2022, followed by 2024’s Concrete Jungle (a guest-heavy companion to the graphic novel Bad Omens – Concrete Jungle, Volume 1) and fellow new track “Impose” last month. A new album has not yet been announced. All Billboard charts dated Oct. 18 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Oct. 14.

HAIM also teamed up with Bon Iver, while Alemeda and Doechii have a new track.

New music is dropping like autumn leaves this week, with releases from JISOO of BLACKPINK and Zayn Malik, Khalid and more artists hitting streaming services Friday (Oct. 10). Related Friday Music Guide: New Music From Jisoo & ZAYN, Khalid, HAIM & Bon Iver and More BLACKPINK’S JISOO and Zayn Explore Contours of an Improbable New Love on Smoldering ‘Eyes Closed’ Duet Queer Jams of the Week: New Music From Steve Lacy, Khalid, KAYTRANADA & More Starting with “Eyes Closed,” one of the world’s biggest former boy band stars teamed up with one-fourth of the hottest K-pop girl group on the planet. The lush ballad finds JISOO and Malik blending their distinct voices while delivering emotional lyrics about letting the past go for the sake of new love. HAIM and Bon Iver also showed up with a perfectly matched collaboration, combining their respective powers to cook up the ultimate indie-rock creation. “Tie You Down,” however, is thematically opposed to JISOO and Malik’s duet, with the Haim sisters and Justin Vernon instead singing about letting go of a current relationship even though they’re still in love. Other all-star collaborations this week include Gorillaz tapping Trueno and Proof for new single “The Manifesto,” as well as Alemeda and Doechii teaming up for fiery track “Beat a B!tch Up.” A Boogie Wit da Hoodie dropped a new song as well, interpolating Mariah Carey’s iconic hit “We Belong Together” in his post-breakup anthem “Part of Me.” As far as new albums go, Khalid leads the charge with After the Sun Goes Down. The project comes just a little over a year after the R&B star released Sincerely, before which he took five years to follow up 2019’s Free Spirit. With October fully underway, Billboard wants to know which piece of new music is your favorite this week. Tell us by voting for your No. 1 release below. Take Our Poll

Previous recipients include Dua Lipa, Lil Nas X and Janelle Monáe.

Megan Thee Stallion has been honored with the Mental Health Champion of the Year Award for 2025 by The Trevor Project. Related Megan Thee Stallion Previews Her Total-Sampling Single ‘Kissin You’ PinkPantheress Recruits Zara Larsson, SEVENTEEN, & More for 'Fancy Some More' Mixtape: Stream It Now No Doubt Sets Las Vegas Sphere Residency Previous recipients of the award from the LGBTQ+ suicide prevention non-profit include Dua Lipa, Lil Nas X and Janelle Monáe. The announcement for Megan came on Oct. 10, which also serves as World Mental Health Day. “I’m honored to receive this year’s Mental Health Champion award from The Trevor Project,” Megan Thee Stallion wrote in a statement. “My goal has always been to use my platform to help break stigmas around mental health and provide resources for those seeking safe spaces to have honest and heartfelt conversations.” “Mental health impacts all of us, so it’s important to lead with love and empathy. I’m grateful for organizations like The Trevor Project that are committed to spreading awareness and supporting our LGBTQ+ youth in powerful ways,” she added. The Houston rapper has long been a mental health advocate, launching initiatives such as her Bad B—hes Have Bad Days Too wellness website in 2022, which provided mental health resources, crisis hotlines and therapy contacts for the youth. Megan was also part of the Seize the Awkward campaign in 2023, which focused on breaking the stigma surrounding mental health. Meg hosted the inaugural Pete & Thomas Foundation Gala in New York City over the summer, which raised over $1.2 million for underserved communities, along with the elderly, youth and women. Her foundation’s initiatives support education, housing and mental health. On the music front, the Houston Hottie has been relatively quiet in 2025 outside of the release of her “Whenever” single in April. However, she could be launching her next era as Meg teased a Total-sampling track on social media earlier in October that appears to be titled “Kissin You.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Trevor Project (@trevorproject)

A complete rundown of the most important events across the music business.

As part of our continuing efforts to serve the music industry and its creators, Billboard Pro now features a music industry events calendar for readers. The calendar will act as music’s most complete summary major national and international industry events, from conferences to festivals to networking mixers and more. Just as Billboard is music’s must-read source for news, charts and analysis, now it also is the go-to for business happenings. Related Dates Announced for SXSW London Debut Sylvan Esso Is Pulling Its Catalog From Spotify How Blond:ish Plans to Eliminate 42 Tons of Waste From NYC Nightlife Every Year: 'This Is My Passion' October 2025 Oct. 7-10 – IMPF Global Music Summit & Songwriting Camp (Palma, Mallorca, Spain) Oct. 8-11 – Confluence music conference and festival (Charlotte, N.C.) Oct. 10-12 – Austin City Limits Music Festival weekend 2 (Austin) Oct. 10-12 – Because They’re Funny Comedy Festival (Washington, D.C.) Oct. 11 – The Carousel Ball (Denver) Oct. 12 – SONA Warrior Awards (Los Angeles) Oct. 14 – Theater Alliance Gala (Inglewood, Calif.) Oct. 14-16 – WSA Film Music Days (Ghent, Belgium) Oct. 14-17 – Mondo.NYC (New York) Oct. 15 – World Soundtrack Awards (Ghent, Belgium) Oct. 15-16 – WINCON (Sofia, Bulgaria) Oct. 16-18 – Soundtrax Film Music Festival (Rochester, N.Y.) Oct. 17-18 – III Points festival (Miami) Oct. 18-19 – Seoul Music Forum (Seoul) Oct. 20-24 – Billboard Latin Music Week (Miami) Oct. 22 – Hollywood & Mind On Location in Nashville (Nashville) Oct. 22 – Personal Managers Hall of Fame (Las Vegas) Oct. 22-23 – NAB Show New York (New York) Oct. 22-25 – International Music Expo (Shanghai) Oct. 22-26 – Amsterdam Dance Event (Amsterdam) Oct. 22-26 – Worldwide Music Expo (Tampere, Finland) Oct. 23 – Billboard Latin Music Awards (Miami) Oct. 24-26 – Art Basel Paris (Paris) Oct. 25 – The Danny Awards (New York) Oct. 25 – iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina (Miami) Oct. 25-26 – ComplexCon (Las Vegas) Oct. 25-26 – ONE Musicfest (Atlanta) Oct. 25-26 – Wicked Oaks festival (Austin) Oct. 30 – Universal Music Group Q3 earnings call Oct. 30-Nov. 2 – Hulaween (Live Oak, Fla.) Oct. 31 – Music and the Mind: A Smart Start to Early Childhood Education symposium (Toronto) November 2025 Nov. 1 – Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia (Belém, Brazil) Nov. 3 – Billboard Live Music Summit (West Hollywood, Calif.) Nov. 3-9 – Pitchfork Music Festival Paris (Paris) Nov. 4 – Spotify Q3 earnings call Nov. 4-6 – Music Tectonics (Santa Monica, Calif.) Nov. 4-8 – Pitchfork Music Festival London (London) Nov. 6-8 – VENUExVENUE (London, Ontario) Nov. 7 – Grammy Nominations Announcement Nov. 7 – SEMA Fest (Las Vegas) Nov. 7-9 – Brooklyn Folk Festival (New York) Nov. 7-16 – New York Comedy Festival (New York) Nov. 8 – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (Los Angeles) Nov. 9-11 – jump.global Annual Summit (Los Angeles) Nov. 11 – Save the Music’s Hometown to Hometown Event (Nashville) Nov. 13 – Latin Grammy Awards (Las Vegas) Nov. 13-14 – International Music Summit (Dubai) Nov. 14-16 – Corona Capital festival (Mexico City) Nov. 15 – #GoGetHer Music & Multimedia Leadership Summit (New York) Nov. 17 – World Choreography Awards (Los Angeles) Nov. 18-21 – European Festival Conference (Évora, Portugal) Nov. 19 – CMA Awards (Nashville) Nov. 22-23 – Rolling Loud India (Navi Mumbai, India) December 2025 Dec. 5-7 – Art Basel Miami Beach (Miami Beach, Fla.) Dec. 10 – LIVE Awards (London) Dec. 11-13 – Soundstorm festival (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) Dec. 14 – Coast 2 Coast Music Conference (Miami) Dec. 30-Jan. 1 – Decadence Arizona (Phoenix) January 2026 Jan. 11 – Golden Globes (Beverly Hills, Calif.) Jan. 14-17 – Eurosonic Noorderslag (Groningen, The Netherlands) Jan. 20-24 – The NAMM Show (Anaheim, Calif.) Jan. 21-25 – Folk Alliance International Conference (New Orleans) February 2026 Feb. 1 – Grammy Awards (Los Angeles) Feb. 20-22 – Innings Festival (Tempe, Ariz.) Feb. 24 – Green Events and Innovations: The Sound of Sustainability (London) Feb. 24-27 – International Live Music Conference (London) Feb. 27 – ILMC Futures Forum (London) Feb. 28 – PGA Awards March 2026 March 2-4 – Women in Music Global Summit (Toronto) March 12-18 – SXSW (Austin) March 13-15 – C2C: Country to Country (London; Belfast, N. Ireland; Glasgow, Scotland) March 13-15 – Lollapalooza Argentina (San Isidro, Argentina) March 13-15 – Lollapalooza Chile (Santiago, Chile) March 18-20 – Country Radio Seminar (Nashville) March 19-22 – Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival (Okeechobee, Fla.) March 20-22 – Lollapalooza Brasil (São Paulo) March 22-25 – MUSEXPO (Burbank, Calif.) March 25 – Fun Business Days Miami (Miami) March 25-29 – Treefort Music Fest (Boise, Idaho) March 26 – MOBO Awards (Manchester, England) March 26-29 – Big Ears Festival (Knoxville, Tenn.) March 27-29 – Ultra Music Festival (Miami) April 2026 April 10-12 – Coachella weekend 1 (Indio, Calif.) April 13-14 – Fun Business Days Valencia (Valencia, Spain) April 15 – Music Sustainability Summit (Los Angeles) April 17-19 – Coachella weekend 2 (Indio, Calif.) April 19-21 – HITS HOME (Nashville) April 24-26 – Stagecoach (Indio, Calif.) May 2026 May 13-16 – The Great Escape (Brighton, England) June 2026 June 1-6 – SXSW London (London) June 4-6 – Primavera Sound Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain) June 4-7 – Carolina Country Music Fest (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) June 4-7 – CMA Fest (Nashville) June 11-13 – Rock the South festival (Decatur, Ala.) June 11-14 – Bonnaroo (Manchester, Tenn.) June 18-20 – Summerfest weekend 1 (Milwaukee) June 18-21 – Barefoot Country Music Fest (Wildwood, N.J.) June 18-21 – The Isle of Wight Festival (Newport, England) June 25-27 – Summerfest weekend 2 (Milwaukee) July 2026 July 2-4 – Summerfest weekend 3 (Milwaukee) July 3 – Roundhay Festival (Leeds, England) July 10 – BST Hyde Park festival (London) August 2026 Aug. 2-4 – Musikfest Music Industry Conference (Bethlehem, Pa.) Aug. 12-15 – Iceland Eclipse festival (Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland) Aug. 27-30 – Creamfields festival (Daresbury, England) Aug. 28-29 – All Points East festival (London) September 2026 Sept. 1-4 – BIGSOUND (Brisbane, Australia) Want your event listed? For more information contact joe.maimone@billboard.com.

From Bluetooth to wired, portable to freestanding, here are the ten best speakers to enhance your home sound system.

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. Looking to make a few upgrades? Whether you’re a music lover, a dedicated audiophile, gamer, movie buff, TV binger or a combination of all five, the speaker options are plentiful. And with retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Walmart offering major end of year markdowns, you’re sure to find great deals on speakers and other electronics. That said, having too many options can be overwhelming. When shopping for a speaker, it’s good to narrow down the style, size and price that best suits your needs. To make the search a little easier, we gathered up nine of the best speakers for music lovers to play all their favorite tunes, podcasts and more. The list is comprised of picks that we’ve tested out personally and other fan favorites. From portable Bluetooth speakers to wired and freestanding speakers, see below for our picks for the best options to enhance your sound system. For more recommendations, read our roundups of the best record players, best over-ear headphones, best wired headphones and best Bluetooth earbuds. Sony ULT FIELD 1 Bluetooth Wireless Portable Speaker $99.99 $129.99 23% off Buy Now at walmart A bright orange bluetooth speaker. This Sony ULT FIELD 1 Bluetooth Wireless Portable Speaker is for our readers who love music but are always on the go. Retailing for $99.99, 23% off its original price, the speaker comes with all the bells and whistles you need to get your tunes going. The tech is equipped with a Sound Diffusion Processor that essentially expands sound in any space, giving you larger-than-life audio that fills even the biggest of spaces. The ULT FIELD 1 is a Bluetooth model boasting 12 hours of battery life and comes without wires, which means no awkward tangles. It’s also easy to carry thanks to the addition of a heavy-duty carabiner, our favorite feature, which means you can clip it to your bag on camping trips or hikes. It’s also waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof so you won’t have to worry about it getting damaged while out and about. Sonos Roam 2 Ultra Portable Smart Speaker $179 Buy Now at sonos A portable smart speaker. Another stand-out portable model, this time from Sonos. The Roam 2 Ultra currently retails for $179 and is durable, compact and lightweight, giving it that portable factor. Don’t let its compact size fool you. The base on this speaker is powerful and clear, making for a reliable audio output for whatever your adventures take you. This model not only sounds great, but it’s both waterproof and dustproof, great for listening to tunes by the pool or while on a hike. It can also withstand gnarly drops, perfect for our more accident-prone readers. Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Outdoor Speakers $84.00 $99.99 16% off Buy Now On Amazon Mini speaker in gray. We’ve got another portable model that gives you all the great audio output, with the durability you need to travel. The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Outdoor Speaker is one of the more affordable models on our list, coming in at $84 on Amazon. Like the other models mentioned, it’s waterproof, dustproof and even floats. It is a stand-out in our book because of its size, or lack thereof. The petite speaker can be easily packed away but has a powerful output that fills any room with 360 sound. The speaker also boasts one of the longest battery lives we’ve seen at 14 hours. Bose SoundLink Flex II Wireless Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker $159 Buy Now at walmart A pill-shaped speaker. Starting with something basic but dependable, Bose Soundlink Flex is a good choice in portable speaker option, if you’re looking for a no frills, Bluetooth speaker that you can carry around. Bose has a nice selection of speakers in stock – the cheapest of which is the Bose Soundlink Micro ($119). The Bose Portable Smart Speaker is a bit pricier ($399), while the Soundlink Flex falls on the more affordable side of the price scale. The Soundlink Flex is engineered with a custom transducer that’s designed to flood the room with powerful sound. Available in black, red, white or blue, the speaker’s rugged exterior makes it easy to take on the go, and with up to 12 hours of battery life, you can play tons of songs before it’s time to recharge. The accompanying utility loop is perfect for hanging the speaker on a clip or carrying it around (the Bluetooth range stretches up to 30 feet). The Soundlink Flex is also IP67 certified waterproof and dust-proof. JBL Authentics 200 – Retro Style Smart Home Speaker $249.95 $379.95 34% off Buy Now On Amazon A box-shaped speaker from JBL. JBL has a great selection of portable speakers including the JBL Flip 6, JBL Clip 4, JBL Go 3, Boombox 3 and the new JBL Authentics 200 Wireless Speaker. A modern speaker with a retro-inspired design, the JBL Authentics 200 delivers rich sound and deep bass with dual 25mm tweeters, 5-inch woofer, 6-inch passive radiator, Wifi, Bluetooth, Google Assistant and Voice Assistant. Measuring 6.59 inches x 10.48 inches x 6.76 inches, this portable speaker is equipped with a 200-watt sound output and weighs almost seven pounds. You can purchase the JBL speakers at Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Crutchfield and JBL.com. Marshall Emberton II Portable Bluetooth Speaker, Black & Brass $99.99 $179.99 44% off Buy Now On Amazon Marshall portable speaker. Marshall is a personal favorite among music artists and fans (including our editors). You can’t really go wrong with a Marshall speaker, but if you’re looking for something not quite as small as a handheld option but not as big as a floor-standing speaker, the Emberton II might be the perfect fit. It combines the brand’s iconic retro design with contemporary technology delivering mega-sound in a smaller package than some of the larger Marshall designs. Emberton II has two full-range drivers, two passive radiators, dual tweeters and Bluetooth 5.0. Connecting the speaker to the Marshall App turns your phone into a control panel to adjust things like volume and playlists. The Emberton II is available at major retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy and at Marshall.com. Sonos Era 300 Premium Smart Speaker $379 $479 21% off Buy Now at sonos A smart speaker from Sonos. The Sonos Era 300 is one of the newer speakers to make our list and one of the best in its class. Era 300 serves up superior sound quality that can drizzle or flood the room with sound, depending on what you’re in the mood for. Available in black or white, the speaker’s compact, curvy design makes it stand out wherever its placed. Another great feature: intuitive touch controls that make it easier to turn up the volume or skip to the next track. On the technical side of things, Era 300 features four tweeters, dual woofers and six, class-D digital amplifiers. Made from 40% recycled materials, the energy-efficient speaker is equipped with Wifi, Bluetooth, TruePlay, Dolby Atmos, Apple Airplay 2 and voice assistant (this feature can also be disabled). Era 300 allows you to jam away to your favorite tunes, playlists, podcasts and more on Amazon Music, Tidal, Apple Music and more. Another thing to note, Era 300 is incredibly easy to set up (around 10-15 minutes) and it comes in recycled packaging. Klipsch – Reference Series 5-1/4" 340-Watt Passive 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers Buy Now at best buy $299.99 $299.99 A pair of two bookshelf speakers. Klipsch is another star in the realm of premium-quality sound. For music lovers who have the square footage to build a robust sound system, Klipsch offers everything from floor standing speakers to bookshelf speakers, computer speakers, home theater speakers, sound bars and subwoofers. Not sure where to start? The R-51M Bookshelf Speakers are perfect for blasting your favorite tunes. This dynamic speaker duo offers powerful sound, booming bass and award-wining acoustics courtesy of Tractrix horn technology, which mimics the sound, precision and emotion of a live concert. These 13.3-inch speakers are equipped with one-inch titanium dome tweeters, 5.25-inch copper woofers and a removable magnetic grill. Sony SRS-XP500 X-Series Wireless Portable Bluetooth Karaoke Party Speaker $449.99 Buy Now On Amazon A kareoke speaker. Sony’s SRS-XP500 Bluetooth speaker is a nice investment if you’re looking for a boombox-style design. An alternative to the JBL Boombox 2 ($329.95), the SRS-XP500 delivers amazingly crisp sound thanks to Sony’s uniquely designed X-Balance speakers that pump out thumping, room-shaking bass. The battery delivers up to 20 hours of play time to keep the party moving all night long (literally). The speaker weighs about 24 pounds, but there’s a built-in handle that makes it easy to carry around, and LED ring lighting for added flair. Sony’s SRS-XP500 speakers are IPX4-certified water-and dust-resistant. Polk Audio – Signature Elite ES60 Hi-Res Tower Speaker – Stunning Black $599 Buy Now at best buy A high-res tower speaker. We love a tower speaker because it blends in, and stands out. Polk Audio’s Elite Signature ES360 provides an enveloping, true-to-life sound experience that’s especially useful for Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, Spotify and other streaming platforms. The floor-standing loudspeaker provides crystal-clear, hi-resolution sound with bass so incredible you might be able to feel it. Perfect for your man cave or billiards room, according to one customer, the speaker is powered by Polk’s Patented Power Port Bass Enhancing Technology, which expands the overall bass port to provide a larger surface area for distortion-free, louder bass impact. The sleek ES60 features 1-inch High-Resolution Terylene Tweeters, 2.5-way cascading crossovers and a trio of 6.5-inch Mica-Fortified Polypropylene Woofers. Speakers in Polk Audio’s Signature Elite Series are designed with quality, timbre-matched components that let you seamlessly mix and match models to build the sound system of your dreams. This speaker is on sale at Amazon, Crutchfield and Polk Audio.

DDG raps about how he's “tired of the court dates” and “watchin’ money go to waste.”

DDG seems to reference his ongoing custody battle with Halle Bailey in his new song “17 More Years.” Related DDG & Halle Bailey Custody Battle: Rapper Requests Permission to Visit Son in Italy at L.A. Court Hearing DDG Says He Knows ‘How Michael Jackson Felt Being Famous’ Amid Custody Battle With Halle Bailey DDG Seeks His Own Restraining Order Against Halle Bailey, Citing Abuse and Threats of Self-Harm The track, which appears on the streamer and rapper’s latest album Moo, finds DDG saying how he’s “tired of the court dates” and “watchin’ money go to waste,” and that, “If we talk, it’ll get better, go ahead and drop the case.” “We should all get together on his birthday, light the cake,” DDG sings, seemingly referencing their shared son, Halo. DDG also dropped off the track’s minimalistic video on Friday (Oct. 10), which finds DDG running through the song on top of a California hilltop at dusk. The song arrives after court documents emerged in August that showed that the former couple and their lawyers had gone to a Los Angeles court for a custody and domestic violence-related hearing. Bailey had previously filed and won a temporary domestic violence restraining order against DDG (real name: Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr.) back in June, and shortly thereafter won temporary custody of her son. It was also reported that DDG countered with a restraining order request of his own, claiming the mother of his 1-year-old son, Halo, threatened suicide multiple times — which Bailey denied. “I have been very vocal about my anxiety, depression, and previous thoughts of suicide,” Bailey wrote in a declaration to the court. “Without waiving the psychotherapist-patient privilege and physician-patient privilege, I have reached out to my doctor and received treatment to address these issues. I have been and remain 100% available and capable as a parent to our son, Halo.” She also said that DDG, “has exaggerated, lied, and misconstrued for the court not only the history of our relationship but our parenting and my mental health.” DDG and Halle Bailey went public with their relationship in January 2022 and called it quits last October. Watch the music video for “17 More Years” below.

The Canadian rapper sued for defamation and harassment, and accused the record company behind both artists of boosting his rival.

Our team of Swift experts debate her blockbuster new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” and take listener questions about its themes and controversies.

In two programs with the New York Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen has constructed a moving exploration of musical legacy.

The avant-garde works that emerged from World War II continue to influence how audiences view contemporary music decades later.

A self-taught composer and interpreter, she led an unconventional and itinerant life devoted to spreading Chilean folkloric music.

He wrote some of the band’s signature songs, including “Ride My See-Saw” and “I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band).”

The Metropolitan opera is reviving its season-opening production in February, building on the momentum of recent sold-out performances.

The mighty ship, immortalized in song by Gordon Lightfoot, sank 50 years ago on Lake Superior. Our reporter spent a week on a Great Lakes freighter that survived the storm.

A Grammy-winning pianist, he was renowned for works that created “new ideas about line, harmony, rhythm, sound and musical architecture,” one admirer wrote.

Zaho de Sagazan has become a shooting star of contemporary French pop music by reimagining the chanson genre for a younger, more dance-oriented audience.

Works by Philip Glass and Bohuslav Martinu, as well as performances by Daniil Trifonov and Jonas Kaufmann, are among the highlights.

Known for both his openness and his mysteriousness, the rapper, producer — and now actor — keeps people guessing.

For T’s annual celebration of the people changing the culture, we profile three artists united in their dedication to taking risks.

In a video post on social media, the country music superstar, who is 79, played down the recent health challenges that prompted her to delay her Las Vegas residency.

After the homeland security secretary called the lyrics “disrespectful,” Bryan, a country music star, said they had been “misconstrued.”

The California guitarist’s last LP, “Revealer,” was named best folk album in 2023. But after a divorce at 27, she returns with a defiant edge.

Twenty-two people in a broad spectrum of the arts and sciences were awarded the fellowship, which comes with an $800,000 stipend.

Caterina Barbieri, 35, plays gigs on banks of synthesizers. That makes her a surprising choice to lead the cerebral Venice Music Biennale.

In its first five days of release, Swift’s new album broke a record set by Adele’s “25” a decade ago. Swift’s equivalent sales include 1.2 million on vinyl.

The Broadway League and unions representing actors, stage managers and musicians are trying to negotiate new contracts, but workers are increasingly frustrated.

The composer, who turns 90 this fall, has expanded the spectrum of sounds that instruments produce and that audiences can perceive.

Inspired by Taylor Swift’s “Showgirl” single, listen to a playlist of songs that use the tragic “Hamlet” heroine as inspiration.

Rolando Villazón’s lucid and thrillingly sung production of Bellini’s opera stars a resplendent Nadine Sierra.

“Last Rites,” a book detailing the final 15 years of the metal luminary’s life, is arriving at the same time as “No Escape From Now,” a documentary about a challenging period.

It’s painful to watch Ozzy Osbourne struggle in this documentary, but his efforts to make one final onstage appearance are awe-inspiring.

A rhythm guitarist and bassist, he was a “rock” for a band whose fiery lead players, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, had no shortage of ego.

“The Life of a Showgirl” dominated streaming, conversation and movie theaters this weekend. But reaction to the album — especially its lyrics — was mixed.

Ivo van Hove’s stark production of Mozart’s classic has returned to the Metropolitan Opera with a uniformly excellent cast.

The Nashville singer and songwriter has written songs for Maren Morris and toured with Harry Styles. Her new album, “Fatal Optimist,” is bravely bare.

And the show’s host, Bad Bunny, is just what the president and his ICE posse will be looking for at the Super Bowl.

The Tom Petty hit has a rich cinematic legacy that Paul Thomas Anderson draws on for the closing moments of his tale of radical revolutionaries.

After the homeland security secretary’s comments, Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican rapper who will headline the Super Bowl halftime show, responded on “Saturday Night Live.”

Taylor Swift reimagines the fate of the tragic “Hamlet” heroine on her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” But did she really need saving?

For a rapid-response episode of Popcast, we journeyed track-by-track through the pop star’s new album, assessing the highs, lows and hot gossip.

Many who have tracked the music mogul’s career think his reputation has been irreparably damaged by testimony of abusive behavior as a boss and boyfriend.

The pop star’s new album arrived with a limited-run film in which she debuts a video for “The Fate of Ophelia” and chats about the LP’s songs.