Category: Music

When John Dimatteo and Craig “Shorty” Bernabeu announced the opening of a new nightclub in Brooklyn last August, they promised nothing less than a “sanctuary for electronic music,” which is why they called their space Refuge.

Set inside a standalone 19th-century industrial complex between East Williamsburg and Bushwick, the 3,200 square-foot, 500-capacity club is built around a meticulously crafted high-definition soundsystem that serves as Refuge’s literal and figurative beating heart. The system was designed by Bernabeu, who’s been building such soundsystems for more than 20 years, most notably at New York clubs including Nowadays and Analog BKNY and the legendary Stereo Montreal. Dimatteo, meanwhile, is a longtime New York promoter and event producer.

Since the pair opened the doors of Refuge this past September, the space has hosted sets from a crew of heavyhitting artists including Floorplan, DJ Seinfeld, Kenny Larkin, Sasha and Victor Calderone, the latter two of whom played sets on New Years Eve and New Year’s Day, respectively. And with Refuge now entering its fourth month, Dimatteo and Bernabeu say they’ll soon unveil daytime shows and additional nights, along with artist residencies.

Speaking to Billboard via email, Dimatteo and Bernabeu here reflect on the first four months of Refuge.

What’s been the vibe in the club been like since you opened in September? Has there been anything surprising in terms of community response or who’s been showing up?

The biggest surprise has been how fast the room found its rhythm. You never really know until you open the doors. The crowd has been mixed in the best way. You’ve got younger kids discovering real analog sound for the first time standing next to people who’ve been going out in New York for decades. You see people wander the room, find their spot, feel it. And they’re actually dancing. Nobody’s filming. That’s been really encouraging. More and more we hear people say they’ll come back no matter who is playing. That means a lot.

What atmosphere are you working to create at Refuge?

Refuge is about escape. Once you’re inside, the outside world falls away. The music leads, the energy lifts and the goal is simple — people smiling on the dancefloor. The building adds to that feeling: a rare, freestanding 19th-century structure tucked behind an old industrial complex, with a private outdoor space that feels more like a home than a club. At the heart of it, we wanted to bring back the edge and unpredictability that defined New York nightlife, paired with sound quality on another level.

How is the club different from other current nightlife spaces in the city?

In New York right now, most clubs are talent-first. Every night it’s a different promoter or a different headliner and the space itself becomes just another event hall. We didn’t want that. Refuge is built so the club is the headliner. We handle bookings ourselves, and even when we bring in collectives we love, those shows are co-produced. The vibe stays consistent, the identity stays Refuge and people will come because they know the night delivers, not just because of a name on the flyer.

Who’s your target clientele?

Our crowd is defined less by age or scene and more by mindset. Refuge is for people who are tired of the free-for-all warehouses and the commercial nightlife circuit. The dancefloor is open to anyone who shares a love for music and a proper party, and the goal is to bring together different ages, backgrounds, and subcultures under one roof. Ideally, a night at Refuge means meeting someone you wouldn’t have crossed paths with otherwise.

What was the rough cost of the remodel, and what elements of the space are you most excited about?

We built the club around the sound system, not the other way around. A big part of the project was bringing the building fully up to code — electrical, plumbing, and all the core infrastructure. To give a sense of scale, you could have opened a bar with the cost of the electrical work alone. We were in good hands with our contractor. His father built the original Studio 54. To top it off, we put in a floating wood dance floor, built for marathon sessions so people can keep moving all night.

Is there anything happening at Refuge in early 2026 that you’re particularly excited about?

Early 2026 is really about continuing to build the house. We’re always improving the room. We added a custom DJ booth that finally feels like it was born with the space, and we just debuted a performance stage that doubles as a dancefloor platform when it’s not in use. Shorty is upgrading the system almost daily. He’s constantly tweaking and testing. Every weekend it sounds a little better than the weekend before.

Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee is once again facing a lawsuit alleging he sexually assaulted a woman during a helicopter flight in 2003.

Heather Taylor originally sued Lee for sexual battery in 2023, but a Los Angeles judge ruled that she couldn’t overcome a statute of limitations that made the claims too old. California later passed a new law that opened a two-year window for otherwise time-barred sexual assault claims starting in 2026, and Taylor has now taken advantage by refiling her lawsuit on Tuesday (Jan. 20).

“Ms. Taylor suffered a horrible and life-altering sexual assault at the hands of Mr. Lee, as described in her complaint, and she is determined to see that justice is done here,” Taylor’s lawyer, Jeffrey Reeves, told Billboard on Tuesday. “Ms. Taylor filed her complaint in compliance with California’s newly enacted ‘Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act’ and looks forward to holding Mr. Lee accountable for the unspeakable harm he has caused her.”

The new lawsuit tells much the same story as the original: Taylor was invited in 2003 to take a helicopter ride from San Diego to Los Angeles with pilot David Martz, whom she’d met through her job as a bank teller. Taylor says Lee’s presence on board was a surprise, and she alleges the rock star and Martz drank alcohol, smoked marijuana and snorted cocaine during the flight before Lee assaulted her.

Taylor claims that Lee forcibly kissed and groped her, penetrated her with his fingers and tried to force her to perform oral sex. Martz, who died in a plane crash in 2015, allegedly sat by and laughed during the assault. Lee denies the allegations.

Taylor originally sued Lee under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, which created a three-year window for sex assault victims to sue regardless of the statute of limitations between 2023 and 2026. But that law required plaintiffs to show that their perpetrators had engaged in a “cover-up,” and Judge Holly J. Fujie ruled in 2024 that Taylor didn’t meet that standard.

Judge Fujie’s ruling allowed Taylor a chance to amend her complaint, but she chose at the time to instead drop the case and wait for California to pass another law: Assembly Bill 250, known as the Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act. This statute, which took effect Jan. 1, creates an additional two-year claims window for sex assault victims running through 2027, this time with looser requirements around cover-ups.

“Though Mr. Lee and his attorneys understood full well that the dismissal of the prior complaint had nothing to do with the merits of Ms. Taylor’s claims against him, Mr. Lee’s lawyers misleadingly touted this technical dismissal as ‘a complete vindication’ and derided her allegations as ‘false and bogus,” added Reeves in his Tuesday statement to Billboard. “Today’s filing squarely lays this false public narrative to rest.”

Reps for Lee did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.

Lee isn’t the only rocker currently dealing with California’s new so-called “lookback window.” Two weeks ago, Marilyn Manson’s former assistant argued that Assembly Bill 250 should allow her to reopen her own dismissed sexual assault claims against the singer. That request remains pending.

Kim Petras wants out of her record deal with Republic Records, with the pop star unleashing a series of posts on X explaining why she’d rather be an independent artist going forward.

On Tuesday (Jan. 20), Petras wrote bluntly, “I’m tired of having no control over my own life or career.”

“I want to continue to self fund and self curate my own music,” she continued. “This is why I have formally requested to be dropped @RepublicRecords.”

In another post, the German-born musician alleged that her label has “refused” to set a release date for her next album, Detour — which Petras wrote has “been done for 6 months” — and has also not yet paid her collaborators for their work on the record. She also added, “I won a grammy 2 years ago…….. the music is TEA. Still no support. If it’s not a tiktok trend or 80s revival queerbaiting shit these labels have no interest in supporting.”

Billboard has reached out to Republic Records for comment.

Petras signed to the Monte and Avery Lipman-founded label in summer 2021. Less than two years later, she and Sam Smith would win best pop duo/group performance for their Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping collaboration “Unholy,” at the 2023 Grammys, making Petras the first openly trans artist to win a Recording Academy honor.

That same year, Petras would present Republic with the label of the year award at Billboard‘s Power 100 party. Her recent posts on X mark a total 180 from her remarks at the 2023 event, during which she said, “I strongly, strongly, deeply agree with this assessment: Republic Records, best label ever.”

“I thought I was gonna perform on tables in gay clubs for life, but these guys saw something in me and I’m grateful they did,” she continued at the time. “My life has changed so much. Thank you so much for supporting artists and believing in artists and pushing artists to make the best art they can possibly make. I didn’t think a label like you guys would exist.”

Petras dropped just three singles in 2025: “Polo,” “Freak It” and “I Like Ur Look.” She’s been teasing that her third studio album is in the works for the past year, and on the last day of 2025, she shared a photo of a cake on Instagram celebrating Detour‘s “0th birthday.”

But no matter what happens with Republic — which ended 2025 atop Billboard‘s leading three year-end labels charts — Petras says she’s going to make sure her fans get new music as soon as possible. After her string of posts about her issues with her team, the musician closed out with, “I’m dropping Detour regardless.”

Nicki Minaj sharply criticized independent journalist Don Lemon after he reported on a protest that disrupted a church service in Minnesota.

The 43-year-old rapper took to X on Sunday (Jan. 18) to attack the former CNN anchor, 59, following his livestream from Cities Church in St. Paul. Demonstrators interrupted the service to protest the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, according to TMZ.

“DON ‘C—K SUCKIN’ LEMON IS DISGUSTING,” Minaj wrote in an all-caps post alongside an image of Chucky from Child’s Play. “HOW DARE YOU? I WANT THAT THUG IN JAIL!!!!! HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ANY OTHER RELIGION. LOCK HIM UP!!!!!”

David Easterwood, listed as a pastor on the Cities Church website, is also identified as acting director of ICE’s Saint Paul Field Office, according to a Dec. 19 cease-and-desist notice obtained by People.

Lemon, who is openly gay and married to real estate agent Tim Malone, clapped back at Minaj’s remarks in a statement to TMZ.

“I’m not surprised Nicki Minaj does not understand journalism and is weighing in on matters that are above her capacity,” he told the outlet. “However, the more appropriate image for her post is a ‘Pick Me’ Doll.”

In another interview with TMZ Live, Lemon added that the rapper needs to “sit the f—k down” and “grow some brains,” while calling her a “homophobic, bigoted ignorant woman.”

On Monday (Jan. 20), Minaj followed up with another post on X, again including an image of Chucky giving the middle finger.

“LOL!!! And I purposely wrote it that way b/c I knew that would be the only way to get the c—k suckas to post about it. They would’ve all collectively ignored the despicable behavior displayed by Lemon head,” she wrote. “I’m glad they’re angry. They’re about to get angrier.”

The controversy comes after Minaj faced backlash for appearing on stage at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest last December in Phoenix with Erika Kirk, the wife of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk. During the interview, the hip-hop star praised President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance as “role models” for young men.

In early January, thousands of people signed an online petition on Change.org calling for Minaj’s deportation to her native Trinidad. Minaj moved to the United States when she was 5 years old and said in a 2024 livestream that she still was not a U.S. citizen.

Keith Urban and Dolly Parton go way back. Long before they ever met, Urban was playing Parton’s music growing up in Australia. And the country superstar wanted to send love and thanks to the iconic Parton on her 80th birthday on Monday (Jan. 19).

Urban released a video Monday morning that starts with him playing a sweet audio recording of his 10-year-old self playing banjo and singing “Applejack,” a traditional country tune Parton wrote and recorded in 1977 for New Harvest…First Gathering.

Laughing at his younger self, Urban adds, “I’m just here to say you’ve been a massive inspiration to me for a long time, Dolly, and God, thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve ever done.”

He goes on to thank her for the inspiration she’s provided as a songwriter, artist and humanitarian. “Just the goodness that you’re brought into the world with your heart and your curiosity and your passion and your insane musical gift,” the singer says.

“Here to many, many, many, many, many years ahead,” Urban says in conclusion. “I love you, Dolly.”

Urban and Parton have long had a sweet mutual admiration society that sometimes even turned saucy. In 2010, she, Urban and Vince Gill performed George Jones’ classic, “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” with Parton introducing Urban by saying: “I know his momma used to spend a lot of time over here and I felt like he was kind of lonesome all that way from home. And I wrote him a note one time and said ‘Well, I can be your other mother, your other lover or the sister you never wanted.’ I never heard back from him on that.”  

A few years later, Parton was asked who she’d like to duet with, and she quickly answered Urban, adding, “I’ve always thought he was one of the most talented and cutest guys in the world… I love his writing and I just think he’s dear and he reminds me so much of my brothers and my own family.”  Urban responded with a video, that included him singing a fragment of “Applejack,” and thanking Parton for what she said. “I would love to do a song with you sometime,” he said.

The pair finally recorded together in 2005 on Parton’s Those Were the Days album, a duets project covering songs primarily from the 1960s and 1970s. Parton and Urban collaborated on a bluegrass-tinged version of “The Twelfth of Never.”

Urban is clearly and understandably a favorite among country’s legendary ladies: In 2019, for Loretta Lynn’s 87th birthday tribute at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena featuring Garth Brooks, Miranda Lambert, Trisha Yearwood and others, he jumped out of a birthday cake per Lynn’s request.  

Valentino Garavani, the jet-set Italian designer whose high-glamour gowns — often in his trademark shade of “Valentino red” — were fashion show staples for nearly half a century, has died at home in Rome, his foundation announced Monday (Jan. 19). He was 93.

“Valentino Garavani was not only a constant guide and inspiration for all of us, but a true source of light, creativity and vision,” the foundation said in a statement posted on social media.

His body will repose at the foundation’s headquarters in Rome on Wednesday and Thursday. The funeral will be held Friday at the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in Rome’s Piazza della Repubblica.

Universally known by his first name, Valentino was adored by generations of royals, first ladies and movie stars, from Jackie Kennedy Onassis to Julia Roberts and Queen Rania of Jordan, who swore the designer always made them look and feel their best.

“I know what women want,” he once remarked. “They want to be beautiful.”

Never one for edginess or statement dressing, Valentino made precious few fashion faux-pas throughout his nearly half-century-long career, which stretched from his early days in Rome in the 1960s through to his retirement in 2008.

His fail-safe designs made Valentino the king of the red carpet, the go-to man for A-listers’ awards ceremony needs. His sumptuous gowns have graced countless Academy Awards, notably in 2001, when Roberts wore a vintage black and white column to accept her best actress statue. Cate Blanchett also wore Valentino — a one-shouldered number in butter-yellow silk — when she won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 2004.

Valentino was also behind the long-sleeved lace dress Jacqueline Kennedy wore for her wedding to Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Kennedy and Valentino were close friends for decades, and for a spell the one-time U.S. first lady wore almost exclusively Valentino.

He was also close to Diana, Princess of Wales, who often donned his sumptuous gowns.

Beyond his signature orange-tinged shade of red, other Valentino trademarks included bows, ruffles, lace and embroidery; in short, feminine, flirty embellishments that added to the dresses’ beauty and hence to that of the wearers.

Perpetually tanned and always impeccably dressed, Valentino shared the lifestyle of his jet-set patrons. In addition to his 152-foot (46-meter) yacht and an art collection including works by Picasso and Miro, the couturier owned a 17th-century chateau near Paris with a garden said to boast more than a million roses.

Valentino and his longtime partner Giancarlo Giammetti flitted among their homes — which also included places in New York, London, Rome, Capri and Gstaad, Switzerland — traveling with their pack of pugs. The pair regularly received A-list friends and patrons, including Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

“When I see somebody and unfortunately she’s relaxed and running around in jogging trousers and without any makeup … I feel very sorry,” the designer told RTL television in a 2007 interview. “For me, woman is like a beautiful, beautiful flower bouquet. She has always to be sensational, always to please, always to be perfect, always to please the husband, the lover, everybody. Because we are born to show ourselves always at our best.”

Valentino was born into a well-off family in the northern Italian town of Voghera on May 11, 1932. He said it was his childhood love of cinema that set him down the fashion path.

“I was crazy for silver screen, I was crazy for beauty, to see all those movie stars being sensation, well dressed, being always perfect,” he explained in the 2007 television interview.

After studying fashion in Milan and Paris, he spent much of the 1950s working for established Paris-based designer Jean Desses and later Guy Laroche before striking out on his own. He founded the house of Valentino on Rome’s Via Condotti in 1959.

From the beginning, Giammetti was by his side, handling the business aspect while Valentino used his natural charm to build a client base among the world’s rich and fabulous.

After some early financial setbacks — Valentino’s tastes were always lavish, and the company spent with abandon — the brand took off.

Early fans included Italian screen sirens Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren, as well as Hollywood stars Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. Legendary American Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland also took the young designer under her wing.

Over the years, Valentino’s empire expanded as the designer added ready-to-wear, menswear and accessories lines to his stable. Valentino and Giammetti sold the label to an Italian holding company for an estimated $300 million in 1998. Valentino would remain in a design role for another decade.

In 2007, the couturier feted his 45th anniversary in fashion with a three-day-long blowout in Rome, capped with a grand ball in the Villa Borghese gallery.

Valentino retired in 2008 and was briefly replaced by fellow Italian Alessandra Facchinetti, who had stepped into Tom Ford’s shoes at Gucci before being sacked after two seasons.

Facchinetti’s tenure at Valentino proved equally short. As early as her first show for the label, rumors swirled that she was already on her way out, and just about one year after she was hired, Facchinetti was indeed replaced by two longtime accessories designers at the brand, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli.

Chiuri left to helm Dior in 2016, and Piccioli continued to lead the house through a golden period that drew on the launch of the Rockstud pump with Chiuri and his own signature color, a shade of fuchsia called Pink PP. He left the house in 2024, later joining Balenciaga, and has been replaced by Alessandro Michele, who revived Gucci’s stars with romantic, genderless styles.

Valentino is owned by Qatar’s Mayhoola, which controls a 70% stake, and the French luxury conglomerate Kering, which owns 30% with an option to take full control in 2028 or 2029. Richard Bellini was named CEO last September.

Valentino has been the subject of several retrospectives, including one at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, which is housed in a wing of Paris’ Louvre Museum. He was also the subject of a hit 2008 documentary, Valentino: The Last Emperor, that chronicled the end of his career in fashion.

In 2011, Valentino and Giammetti launched what they called a “virtual museum,” a free desktop application that allows viewers to feast their eyes on about 300 of the designer’s iconic pieces.