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Taylor Swift won Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia” at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on September 27 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Madonna was named Artist of the Year and led the night with seven wins. Snoop Dogg hosted, and Swift became the most-awarded artist in VMA history. Key Takeaways Swift’s three wins, for Video of the Year, Best Direction for “Opalite,” and the first-ever Artist Director Honors, raised her career total to 33 VMAs. “The Fate of Ophelia” gave Swift her sixth Video of the Year win, extending her record in the category. Madonna came into the night with a career-best 11 nominations, the first time she had led the field since 1998. Madonna opened the show with her first VMAs performance since 2003. Sienna Spiro won Best New Artist, and Ella Langley won Best Country for “Choosin’ Texas.” Nirvana received the Video Vanguard Award, and Kacey Musgraves performed “I Will Always Love You” in tribute to Dolly Parton, who died in August. Taylor Swift Makes VMA History Taylor Swift started the night with 30 VMA wins and needed only one more to pass Beyoncé as the most-awarded artist in the show’s

Justin Bieber played an unannounced acoustic set at Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park on Tuesday afternoon, September 22, 2026, performing songs from his SWAG era for a small group of surprised parkgoers. Backed by four bandmates, Bieber reportedly also debuted an unreleased track, and fan videos spread across social media within hours. Key Takeaways Bieber arrived at MacArthur Park around 1:45 p.m. on September 22 with no advance notice to fans or media. His setup was minimal: acoustic and electric guitars, a cajón, a microphone, a small PA and a pair of amps. The setlist included “YUKON,” “ALL I CAN TAKE” and “DAISIES” from his 2025 album SWAG, plus “SPEED DEMON” from its follow-up, SWAG II. The band led a drum circle-style jam on “Let Me Love You,” Bieber’s 2016 collaboration with DJ Snake. Bieber reportedly performed at least one unreleased song, which fans are treating as a hint at new music. The four-song set was logged on Setlist.fm within a day. A Stripped-Down Set Built for Whoever Showed Up The appeal of Justin Bieber’s MacArthur Park appearance was its lack of production. There was no stage, no ticketing and no announcement. Bieber pulled up in the middle of a weekday

Miley Cyrus released Bass Persuades on September 18 through Atlantic Records, a 10-track tenth studio album that arrives under the mononym Miley, on a new label, with a new visual team, and with a narrative framework built around the artist’s relationship with fiancé Maxx Morando and a broader meditation on what love sounds like when filtered through EDM, disco, and rock production. The album follows her 2025 release Something Beautiful on Columbia Records, making Bass Persuades not just a new record but a full reset: new name, new label, new sonic identity, and the first live performances in years, with two Hollywood Bowl dates scheduled for October. Key Takeaways Bass Persuades is Miley’s tenth studio album, released September 18 through Atlantic Records after moving from Columbia The artist has adopted the mononym Miley for this release cycle, dropping the Cyrus surname from her public and artistic identity The 10-track album features collaborations with Model/Actriz and Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt The title track was released as the lead single on September 3, described as a blend of ’80s disco and modern EDM production Two Hollywood Bowl headline shows on October 16 and 18 mark Miley’s return to the concert stage The

Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas will perform the halftime show during the NFL Melbourne Game on Thursday, September 10, when the San Francisco 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams at the 100,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground. The performance, streaming live on Netflix at 8:35 p.m. ET (10:35 a.m. AEST on September 11, local time), marks the first halftime show at an NFL regular-season game played in Australia and opens a record seven-show international halftime concert series spanning four continents during the 2026 season. Key Takeaways The Jonas Brothers will headline the halftime show at the NFL Melbourne Game on Thursday, September 10, streaming live on Netflix at 8:35 p.m. ET and on the Seven Network in Australia. The Melbourne performance is the first of seven international halftime shows presented by American Express across the 2026 NFL International Games, spanning seven countries and four continents. The group recently wrapped the Jonas20: Greetings From Your Hometown Tour with three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden on August 20-22 and is launching the Hey Jonas! podcast on Hulu and Disney+. The NFL Kickoff Festival runs September 10-12 at Melbourne Park, featuring Australian acts Peking Duk, Grinspoon, Kita Alexander, Hot Dub Time Machine, Sneaky Sound

Kesha wrapped the Freedom Tour on Saturday, August 30, at Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana, closing a 30-date run across North America and Europe that began May 23 at the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, California. The tour supported “Period,” Kesha’s sixth studio album and her first release through her own independent label, Kesha Records, following her departure from RCA and Kemosabe Records in December 2023. The Noblesville finale, with Chromeo opening at 7:50 p.m. and Kesha taking the stage at 9:05 p.m., brought to a close a full promotional cycle that spanned 14 months, seven singles, two back-to-back tours, and a Billboard 200 debut that proved an artist who had spent her entire career on major labels could build a commercially viable operation on her own terms. Key Takeaways The Freedom Tour ran 30 dates from May 23 through August 30, 2026, crossing North America and Europe with Chromeo, Sizzy Rocket, Erika Jayne, and Meek rotating as supporting acts. “Period,” released July 4, 2025, through Kesha’s independent label Kesha Records with distribution through Warner Music Group’s Alternative Distribution Alliance, debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 with 23,000 first-week equivalent album units. The album

Erykah Badu and The Alchemist will release “Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment” digitally on August 28, 2026, via Control FREAQ Records and Young Recordings, ending the longest gap between studio albums in Badu’s career and delivering one of the most anticipated collaborative projects in recent memory. The album, co-produced by both artists over 18 months of sessions in Dallas and Los Angeles, features Westside Gunn, Steve Lacy, Thundercat, and DRAM, and arrives alongside a 13-date U.S. tour that opens September 10 at Ravinia Festival in Illinois. Key Takeaways “Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment” drops digitally August 28, 2026, via Control FREAQ Records / Young Recordings, marking Erykah Badu’s first official studio album in 16 years. The project was co-produced by Badu and The Alchemist over 18 months in Dallas and Los Angeles; it features Westside Gunn, Steve Lacy, Thundercat, and DRAM. Three singles preceded the album: “Witch Doctor” (with accompanying music video directed by and starring Badu), “Next To You,” and Amazon Music exclusive “Echos 19 (mix 122).” The collaboration began after Badu expressed interest in rapping over Mobb Deep’s “The Realest,” an Alchemist production; their first session in Los Angeles produced

Weezer released their twentieth studio album on August 21 via Reprise Records and Warner Records, continuing a color-coded discography tradition that has produced the Blue, Green, Red, White, Teal, and Black albums across three decades. The Gold Album, produced by Klas Åhlund and Kenneth Blume, marks the band’s first full-length release since Van Weezer in 2021 and their first studio project of any kind since the SZNZ EP series in 2022. The record has drawn generally favorable reviews, with critics pointing to a return to the distorted, hook-driven chemistry that defined the band’s earliest work, driven in part by a writing process that reunited frontman Rivers Cuomo and drummer Pat Wilson as co-writers for the first time since the 1994 debut. Key Takeaways The Gold Album is Weezer’s 20th studio album, released August 21, 2026 via Reprise/Crush Music (physical) and Warner Records (digital), produced by Klas Åhlund and Kenneth Blume. The 10-track record marks the first time Rivers Cuomo and Pat Wilson co-wrote songs together since the Blue Album in 1994, with three of the band’s four members contributing to the writing. Four singles preceded the album: “Shine Again,” “We Might As Well Be Strangers” featuring Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman, “C.E.O.,”

The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers releases Thrasher on August 21 through Island Records, a 10-track country album recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A with session contributions from David Rawlings, pedal steel player Bruce Bouton, and 85-year-old harmonica legend Charlie McCoy, whose credits include Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and Nashville Skyline. The album is Flowers’ third solo project and his first in more than a decade, following 2015’s The Desired Effect, and represents a full genre departure from the synth-rock and arena anthems that built his career with The Killers. Key Takeaways Thrasher is a 10-track country album produced by Shawn Everett and Jonathan Rado, recorded at RCA Studio A in Nashville, and released August 21 via Island Records. Session musicians include David Rawlings (longtime Gillian Welch collaborator), pedal steel pioneer Bruce Bouton, and Charlie McCoy, the 85-year-old harmonica player whose Nashville session work spans Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley. Three singles preceded the album: “Plans” (June 26), “Paradise,” and “Tiger’s Blood,” each accompanied by studio and live versions filmed at RCA Studio A. The album explores family relationships, loss, memory, and small-town life, drawing directly from Flowers’ childhood in Nephi, Utah, and the country music his father