Author: Rap Hooks

Michael Jackson’s biopic, Michael, has dethroned Bohemian Rhapsody to become the highest-grossing music biopic of all time, crossing $911.9 million worldwide as the Jaafar Jackson-starring film continues its global rollout.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan, the Lionsgate and Universal co-production has surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody‘s total gross with $358.6 million at the domestic box office and $553.3 million internationally — with Universal generating $540.5 million of the international total after acquiring foreign theatrical and ancillary rights. The film arrives in Japan today, a territory that could push Michael past $1 billion worldwide, which would make it only the second film to cross that threshold at the 2026 global box office after Universal’s Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

By comparison, the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody — which won four Oscars including Best Film Editing and earned Rami Malek a Best Actor win — grossed $216.6 million domestically and $694.3 million internationally for a $910.9 million global total. Both films were produced by Graham King, meaning King has now broken his own all-time box office record for music biopics.

The film has set a string of records in addition to its overall gross — among them the largest global opening weekend ever for a music biopic, the highest-grossing domestic biopic of all time, and the most successful biopic ever in France, surpassing La Vie en Rose. Forty international markets surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody‘s lifetime gross, including Brazil, France and Mexico. It is also Lionsgate’s highest-grossing theatrical release ever worldwide.

The road to release was not without turbulence. Lionsgate was forced to undertake $50 million in reshoots after the Jackson estate identified a key issue with a plot point in the screenplay concerning one of Jackson’s accusers, who was not meant to be dramatised in the film. The film stars Jaafar Jackson — Michael Jackson’s nephew — in the title role.

Michael Jackson remains one of the most commercially successful recording artists in history. He has sold an estimated 350 million records worldwide, scored 13 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist — including “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and “Black or White” — and holds the record for the best-selling album of all time with Thriller, which has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide.

Thriller spent 37 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice — once as a member of the Jackson 5 in 1997 and once as a solo artist in 2001.

Australian indie-pop four-piece The Tullamarines have delivered one of Like A Version’s most anticipated covers of the year, taking on Fleetwood Mac‘s “The Chain” in their debut appearance at the triple j studio.

The band — Angus Purvis, Lucinda Machin, Josh and Benny — leaned into the song’s dynamics, trading harmonies across its quieter passages before spotlighting the iconic bass-driven breakdown and building into a full-blown closing jam. The arrangement stayed faithful to the spirit of the original while leaving room for the band’s own four-part vocal blend to take centre stage. They also performed their original track “Running On Empty” as part of the session.

The song choice came with some nerves attached. “We had a lot of songs that we were thinking about. The Chain came up as an option, and we were very, very scared,” vocalist Purvis admitted in an accompanying triple j interview. “And they were thinking we couldn’t do that justice.” Co-vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Machin said the band ultimately decided to “give it a go, see what happens” — describing the song’s lyrical themes and construction as “very angsty,” while Purvis remarked that “The Chain” feels like it’s been around “forever.”

For good reason. “The Chain” is drawn from Fleetwood Mac‘s Rumours (1977) — the album that spent 31 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it one of the longest-running chart-toppers in the chart’s history. Rumours has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and remains one of the best-selling albums ever recorded. While “The Chain” was never released as a standalone single, it has become one of the most recognised tracks in the band’s catalogue, widely used in film, television and sport and covered extensively in the decades since.

The Tullamarines are currently on an upward trajectory in the Australian independent music scene. Their 2025 sophomore EP Safety Blanket has been nominated for Best Independent Pop Album or EP at this year’s AIR Awards, with winners to be announced at an invite-only ceremony at Adelaide Town Hall on July 30. The band spent the past 12 months building momentum through sold-out headline shows, festival appearances and achieving full triple j rotation, while supporting international acts including The Vaccines and Everything Everything.

Wearing a Spurs jersey, Texas native Mickey Guyton sang the U.S. national anthem at game five of the 2026 NBA Finals Saturday night (June 13). The game had the San Antonio Spurs in their hometown, playing the New York Knicks at Frost Bank Center.

The country singer — a four-time Grammy nominee who’s no stranger to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” having notably performed it at the Super Bowl a few years ago — put her natural twang into a powerful vocal delivery that had her hitting a triumphant high note on “free” in the last line of the national anthem.

Born in Arlington, Texas, Guyton’s personal connection to the national anthem runs deep — it was a mesmerizing performance by a very young LeAnn Rimes at a Texas Rangers game, when both Guyton and Rimes were just kids, that inspired her to pursue a music career. “Our church had drove from Waco to Arlington to see a Texas Rangers game,” she recalled to Billboard in an interview back in 2015. “I’ll never forget it. We were all the way in the nosebleed section, and I wasn’t more than 8 or 9 years old. The announcer came on the PA and said, ‘Here is 10-year-old LeAnn Rimes performing the national anthem.’ I thought, ’10? She’s 10?’ Then, she starts singing, and she sounds like a grown woman. It was so bittersweet because I wanted to do that. I was so envious of her.”

Guyton’s latest album release is her sophomore full-length studio set, 2024’s House on Fire, which was led by the single “Nothing Compares to You” featuring Kane Brown.

She recently performed at the 51st annual Gracies Awards Gala, presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF). The May event, held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., honored actress Andie MacDowell and was hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown.

Watch Guyton’s performance of the national anthem at Saturday’s Spurs vs. Knicks game below.

On the final day (June 13) of an eventful Tribeca Festival, Bono, Patti Smith and Tribeca co-founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal gathered in lower Manhattan to honor Bruce Springsteen with the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award.

“I’m a little embarrassed to get this award,” Springsteen, who dedicated the award to the people of Minneapolis, Portland and Los Angeles for standing “against the federal invasion of their cities this year,” admitted during a lengthy sit-down conversation with Bono. “I’m just a concerned citizen.”

Much like Springsteen’s recent Land of Hopes & Dreams Tour, the main topic of concern at this Tribeca Storytellers event was the erosion of democracy in America and President Trump’s federal overreach. Prior to the conversation, De Niro and Rosenthal introduced the Boss and explained why he was receiving the award.

“This is a man who knows how to use his voice,” explained the Oscar-winning actor. “He uses it to give voice to the powerless and he uses it to lead the resistance. He is fearless and direct. He knows what the problem is and he names it: Donald Trump. Donald J. Trump and his feckless enablers. That’s so important because this isn’t about reasonable disputes on policy: this is about the corruption and megalomania of one person. Bruce Springsteen puts a face on it, and he does it with the words of a poet.”

Though a peer and a self-professed “fan masquerading as a friend,” Bono asked thoughtful and even tough questions of Springsteen during their chat.

Speaking about a rock star’s ability (or inability) to connect with the working class, which both Bono and Springsteen came from, the U2 frontman said, “I fear sometimes we on the left lost a little bit of it and that the accusations of elitism that are out there for people like me are not inaccurate.”

“Has it cost you?” Bono asked Springsteen. “Do you feel torn at all thinking there’s people in this town that used to come see my shows who don’t now? Or have you made peace with that?”

“I’m not sure,” Springsteen candidly answered. “You have to do two things. There’s the classic folk song, “Which Side Are You On?”: you have to make your stand and follow your beliefs and you have to have the faith in them that they will be explicable and understandable by your fellow citizens. And you have to believe that America is a sacred argument and a compromise.”

Elsewhere in the chat, Springsteen pointed out that no one should have shown up to his recent tour – the most explicitly political one he’s done in a career marked by socio-political concerns – expecting anything different from what they got. “I warned everybody what the tour was gonna be like so they didn’t waste their money before they came,” Springsteen said with a chuckle. “I figured I did my job and it was every man for himself after that.”

Despite his consistent activism, Springsteen chooses his battles carefully. Bono shared that in the past he’s asked the Boss to sign various petitions and has been politely but firmly turned down. Bono recalled asking Springsteen to license his 2007 song “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” for a Gap commercial when Bono joined up with the clothing brand for the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, which raised money to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. Springsteen’s response? No.

“That was a big mistake, too,” Springsteen cut in, seemingly to Bono’s surprise. “I should have said yes.” Explaining it was one of his favorite songs even if it wasn’t a hit, Springsteen admitted, “I should have f–king done it. I have to apologize.”

After standing up and hugging it out, the two welcomed a third Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Patti Smith, to the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center stage. With Tony Shanahan on keys, she performed a soft plea for peace, “Peaceable Kingdom,” which was inspired by Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in 2003 while protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes in Gaza Strip.

Smith then performed a live favorite of hers, “People Have the Power,” a rousing call-to-activism. Springsteen and Shanahan backed her on acoustic guitar, and though Bono left the stage, Bruce called him back out to contribute backup vocals (which he also did).

Nothing on the advance program promised a live performance from Springsteen, but everyone in the crowd was quietly hoping for a little something (key word: quietly, unlike the extremely vocal fans at Miley Cyrus’ Tribeca Q&A last year who heckled until she sang something, though her event never promised music). Springsteen did, in fact, perform, offering up an utterly mesmerizing solo version of “Land of Hope and Dreams.”

Before leaving the stage amid a standing ovation, Springsteen offered up one more important thought to the New York City audience: “Go Knicks.”