#2025-music-highlights

#2025-music-highlights

The Korean wave or hallyu that brought the country's culture to the world has now well and truly engulfed Latin America.

Jesca Hoop has announced a tour in support of her upcoming album Long Wave Home. Dates are with Faun Fables and include NYC's Le Poisson Rouge on June 29.

"'The Life of a Showgirl' was really inspired by the energy that I felt like looking into crowds and seeing you guys every single night. This album probably also feels very happy and confident and free because that's the way that I get to feel every single day of my life because of my fiancé, who's here tonight."

Taylor Swift accepted the pop album of the year award onstage at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, celebrating her significant contributions to the music industry.

I do not turn to celebrities for trenchant political takes or honestly really expect them to know what's actually going on in the news. However, I also think that most good art engages with the world in which it's being created, and now that we're in good-art-naming season (aka awards season), ignoring that world is privileged at best and evil at worst.

A MARTINEZ, HOST: As we finish this year, let's listen to some of the musicians we lost in 2025. Sam Moore was half the R&B powerhouse Sam & Dave. He sang on smashes such as "Hold On, I'm Comin'," "I Thank You" and this one. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOUL MAN") SAM AND DAVE: (Singing) I'm a soul man. I'm a soul man. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: We also lost the guitarist on that song, Steve Cropper. He defined the sound of Memphis soul with the Stax Records House Band. He appeared on hits by Otis Redding, Booker T. & The M.G.'s and Wilson Pickett.

The only song here that really matters. Written just hours after the murder of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and released a few days later, Springsteen names names (looking at you, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem) and speaks bold, specific truth. With a title that recalls his own impactful Streets of Philadelphia, a melody reminiscent of Bob Dylan, and an urgency not felt since Neil Young's Ohio, it may not be groundbreaking musically, but Streets of Minneapolis is exactly what we need right now.

Not only does the track show off Anjimile's lush, patient vocals, it's got a pretty fascinating rhythmic structure; his drummer offsets the groove when they arrive at the chorus, almost like the song gets caught between moving too fast and too slow. That momentum really ramps up in the final refrain, complete with some guitar shredding and open hi-hat smashing. It's a great demonstration of Anjimile's tasteful ear and his ability to match a song's subject with its instrumentation.

The 68th Grammy Awards aren't just a night of music industry awards, but a rock star celebration of music itself. There was a slew of showstopping performances at this year's awards ceremony, hosted at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, one of which featured all seven nominees for the best new artist category inlcuding Olivia Dean, Lola Young, and Sombr. Other performances included the in memoriam segment of the show, which featured country superstar Reba McEntire performing at the Grammys for the first time.

It might be a case of deja vu all over again at the 2026 Grammy Awards. Kendrick Lamar, who absolutely owned the 2025 Grammys, could once again dominate when the latest edition of Music's Biggest Night goes down Feb. 1 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The hip-hop superstar won all five of the categories in which he was nominated last year including two of the Grammys' so-called Big Four general field awards and he almost certainly will add to that tally this time around.

The televised main event begins at 8 p.m. It will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ With Showtime. Leading this year's nominations is Kendrick Lamar, who has nine nods and will be looking to repeat in several categories, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Trailing the rapper are Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff, and producer Cirkut, who have seven apiece. You can read the full nominations list here. (Pitchfork earns a commission from purchases made through affiliate links on our site.)

The song reflects on two contrasting visions. In the first verse, he looks back on his childhood growing up female and compares it to living in a dream. Then, after a stirring bridge, he revisits the same reflective structure and ponders his childhood growing up as a boy: "When I was a little boy I wanted to be real/ I wanted to feel all of the things my body wanted me to feel," he sings.