Author: Rap Hooks

Dasha is going silent, but not by choice. The country singer is undergoing surgery Oct. 22 to remove nodes on her vocal cords.

The overuse comes mainly from talking, not singing, Dasha tells Billboard, and from the rigors of the road. “It’s from the past two-and-a-half years of craziness that just hit me like a truck,” she says. “You don’t really get a lot of sleep. You talk, talk, talk and you party and you sing. It just caught up with me.”

The “Austin” singer is getting the surgery done at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where a number of artists have gotten the procedure done, including Jordan Davis, who already shared his experience with Dasha. “He had the same doctor I do, so knowing someone that went exactly through the same thing as me calms me down so much,” she says.

Following the operation, Dasha will be on complete vocal rest — absolutely no talking allowed — for two weeks, then will begin vocal rehab to learn how to talk and sing properly a few weeks later. “You have to retrain your brain on how to talk and you have to know when to exit the party early when you’re starting to hurt, which is not good for me,” she says with a laugh.

Though she won’t be singing, she will be vocal-ready to walk the red carpet at the Nov. 18 CMA Awards. “I’ll be able to talk, but I can’t be out partying and stuff, which sucks,” she says. “I’ll have to be chill, but I’ll still be at the awards.”

The better news is she should be completely recovered when her third full-length studio album drops on Warner Records during the first quarter next year and she embarks on a worldwide tour later in 2027. “I really think this album is going to be a tentpole for my career,” she says. “I think it’s going to be an album that people really remember me by.”

In the meantime, she continues to tease new material from the set, including the nostalgic “82 Chevy,” which came out Friday and follows previously released tracks “Memo” and “Mad About It.” She co-wrote all the songs on the project.

She’s rushing to finish the album, co-produced by her brother, Bardo Novotny, and Ben Johnson, before the surgery. “It’s weird because there’s such a time crunch now to finish all the vocals for the album and any content I want to do for ’82 Chevy’ and the next song,” which will come out before year’s end.

She has two more live shows before the hiatus: On Wednesday (30), Dasha performs in her hometown of San Luis Obispo, California, at the iconic Madonna Inn as part of the Amazon Music Breakthrough Fan Experience. Then on Oct. 10, she plays the Music Fiesta at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Even though she’ll be under an enforced talking ban, Dasha plans to take her fans on her journey pre- and post-surgery and is already picking out funny voices for her talk-to-text when she is on vocal rest. “It’s gonna be fun to try to make [social media] content and connect with fans in a different way,” she says.

And, as long as she has to take a break, Dasha says she’s going to make the most of it. “This is maybe the first time and only time in the next 10 years that I’m going to have a full two months off during Christmas, so I’m going to go on some vacations,” she says. “I’m going to go to Europe. I’m going to take advantage of the silence that I have to be on.”

And she’ll look forward to her return fully healed and raring to go for the next chapter. “I do well under pressure, and I just have a lot of high expectations for myself with this album, so the surgery is gonna allow me to be at the top of my game,” she says. “It allows me the reset that I need to be able to tour and have the stamina and have the voice I need to carry the whole year out with the album and promote it. I owe that to my fans and owe it to myself to give myself a full shot at doing the damn thing.”

Victoria Beckham has not released any solo music since well before her youngest son, Cruz Beckham, was born. But proud mom that she is, the seemingly retired Spice Girls member was back in familiar territory recently, behind the mic in a recording studio.

On Monday (Sept. 28), Cruz posted a snap from a recent session in which he is seen smiling proudly in the corner while wearing large headphones and white shades propped on his head as his mum reads lyrics from her phone in the background while singing unheard vocals. “Yeah we got posh back in the studio ;),” Cruz captioned the pic, using his mom’s nom de Spice.

While Victoria did not provide any additional comment on the sessions, she did post four laughing crying emoji in the comments. Victoria Beckham has not released any solo music since her 2003 double A-side single “Let Your Head Go/This Groove.” In the years since, she has focused on a career in fashion and mostly avoided participating in any Spice Girls-related events.

Cruz, 21, youngest son of Victoria and husband soccer legend David Beckham, released his first single (the charity track “If Every Day Was Christmas“) in 2016 when he was just 11 years old. He later formed the band Cruz Beckham and the Breakers, whose rock-edged debut single, “Optics/Lick the Toad,” dropped in October of last year. The band toured Europe and the U.S. earlier this year and released their debut eight-song EP, Wear & Tear, in August.

At press time it was unclear what Victoria Beckham was cutting vocals for, but the in-studio picture likely sent a shock through the hearts of Spice Girl nation, as fans have been eagerly anticipating any word on a possible reunion as this year marks the British girl group’s 30th anniversary. Posh has mostly avoided previous attempts to reunite the band, though she did hit the road for the Return of the Spice Girls tour in 2007-2008. Her most recent performance with the group was in 2012 at the London Olympics closing ceremony, which was followed in April 2024 with an impromptu run-through of “Stop” and “Mama” with Scary, Sporty, Baby and Ginger Spice at her 50th birthday party in London; the Spice Girls hit the road for a reunion tour in 2019 without Beckham.

Speaking to SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen last year, Beckham said that her self-titled Netflix documentary series made her realize that being in the Spice Girls made her feel less self-conscious than she used to, but as fun as being on stage with them was, “it’s not ultimately what I want to do anymore.” But would she consider a residency run at a venue like Las Vegas’ Sphere? “It’s tempting,” she said. “But could I take on a world tour? I can’t. I have a job … I don’t even know if I could even still sing. I mean I was never that great.”

A little more than a month after exclusively announcing Cardi B’s forthcoming stadium-headlining debut at BZR WKND Jamaica 2026, Billboard is also the first to report the complete lineup for this year’s staging of the cross-genre music festival.

Grammy-nominated dancehall superstar Spice will host this year’s festival, which will supplement Cardi’s headlining set with performances by Keyshia Cole, Malie Donn, Ding Dong, Stalk Ashley and DJ MAC. BZR WKND’s four-day celebration of music, culture, food, tourism, fashion and entertainment will take place at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, from Oct. 16 to 19. Additional ticket information is available here.

Last year, Cole mounted an arena-headlining tour of the U.S. and U.K. to honor the 20th anniversary of her landmark debut album, The Way It Is, which houses R&B staples such as “Love” and “I Should’ve Cheated.” Her BZR WKND set will build on her recent stadium debut — which she made during Usher and Chris Brown’s smash joint R&B Tour — as well as this year’s resurgence of her and Sean Paul’s hit 2006 Billboard Hot 100 No. 3 duet “(When You Gonna) Give It Up to Me.”

While the “Heaven Sent” singer will hold it down for R&B, the other acts will keep the dancehall vibes going. Malie Donn, who Billboard named its Caribbean Up-and-Comer of the Month for August, will grace the stage with recent smash “Van Cleef” and selections from his new Golden Child LP. Stalk Ashley helped Destin Conrad, Billboard’s R&B Rising Star of the Year, honor his Jamaican heritage with “Skin Out” from his new Roadrunner album, and she’ll bring that same sultry energy to the BZR WKND stage. Shaneil Muir, who was nominated for female dancehall artist of the year at the 2026 Caribbean Music Awards, will also take the stage.

“Badman Forward Badman Pull Up” singer Ding Dong took home dancehall performer of the year at the 2026 Caribbean Music Awards, marking a fitting preview for what’s sure to be a characteristically high-octane set at BZR WKND. And DJ MAC — who crafted this year’s dominant Skippa-led “WYFL” riddim alongside CrashDummy — will also treat the crowd ahead of Cardi’s “Little Miss Drama” set.

Additional music and entertainment will be provided by Ricky Platinum (who won Male International DJ of the Year at the 2026 Caribbean Music Awards), Plxyboy, Boom Boom, Zekedon, Shukkle Bus, Coppershot, Chromatic Live, Code Red, Karim Hype, Troopa Traloopa, Bloodline Franco, Fyah Man, MC Nuffy and Splakavelli.

With “AH HA” still sitting pretty on the Hot 100 at No. 46 on the Sept. 26-dated ranking, the streets are clearly ready for Bardi to hit the stage.

As the 2026 Billboard Latin Music Week approaches, Bebeshito is ready to take center stage as one of the speakers at the first-ever reparto panel, alongside Wow Popy, Rey Tony y Helabusador and DJ Conds.  

“It’s a huge opportunity for the genre. Trust me, the genre is celebrating,” he says in the latest episode of Billboard’s Cafecito Con video series out Monday (Sept. 28). 

The Cuban singer — one of Billboard’s 2026 Latin Artists to Watch — spearheads the new generation of reparto stars, a musical genre that is derived from the “repartos” (housing projects in Cuba) that fuses urban music with traditional Cuban rhythms such as timba and rumba, and is powered by the clave instrument. 

In August 2025, the artist born Oniel Ernesto Columbie Campos made history as the first reparto artist to sell out the Kaseya Center in Miami, where he performed for 20,000 people. He’s also placed various entries on the Billboard charts, including his viral “Tacto Que Llegó El Reparto,” which entered Hot Tropical Songs last spring. Also in 2025, he made his Latin Music Week debut as part of the “Cumbia and Tropical Explosion” panel, where he joined Olga Tañon, Guaynaa, Luck Ra and Grupo 5. 

“Honestly, I am an artist who is deeply dedicated to this. I truly love it,” he says on Cafecito Con. “I can’t let anyone down because people believe in me, and I have to make them proud; I bring a lot of discipline and consistency to my work.” 

In the episode, the urban singer also opens up about his friendship with the late El Taiger (real name José Manuel Carbajal Zaldívar), who passed away in October 2024 after being shot in the head in Miami. Together, they collaborated on many tracks, including “Marca Mandarina” and “El Punto.” 

“José was my friend, and it’s my duty to carry on that legacy,” he notes. “He truly supported me. There was no self-interest, because I was just starting out.” 

Additionally, Bebeshito talks about the first time he met Bad Bunny, the momentum reparto is having right now and even taught a quick dancing lesson. Watch the episode above. 

Bebeshito is confirmed to speak at the 2026 Billboard Latin Music Week, set for Oct. 19 to 22 in Miami Beach’s Faena Forum. For tickets, visit BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.