sombr, Olivia Rodrigo & Madonna: Which Is Your Favorite New Music Release This Week? Vote!
Coachella dominated headlines once again over the weekend, with a litany of special guests making the festival's second weekend even buzzier than the first.
After Sabrina Carpenter and Madonna hosted an intergenerational Avengers of Pop convention at the former's Friday night headlining set (April 17), Justin Bieber brought out several special guests during his Saturday night headlining set (April 18), including SZA, Billie Eilish and Big Sean. Keeping in line with the surprise guest theme, Cardi B celebrated her Sunrise, Fla., Little Miss Drama Tour stop (April 14) by bringing out female rap icon Trina and King of Dancehall Vybz Kartel.
While Coachella continued its reign in California, Ice Spice got active in a different way during a trip to the Golden State over the weekend. The Grammy-nominated rapper was involved in a physical confrontation with another woman while enjoying a meal at Hollywood McDonald's, unaccompanied by security. According to security footage obtained by TMZ, after Ice rejected the other patron's advances for a conversation, the young lady slapped the Bronx native across the face, resulting in an altercation that morphed into a multi-person brawl in the middle of the street. In a statement to Billboard, Ice Spice's attorney, Bradford Cohen, said that he and his team will explore all avenues to "hold the perpetrators responsible for their actions."
Finally, several hip-hop and R&B icons were announced as part of the newest class of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees last week (April 13), including Sade, Luther Vandross, Wu-Tang Clan, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Rick Rubin. Despite winning the fan vote, New Edition unfortunately did not make the cut this year.
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop -- from JT's first new single of 2026 to Trap Dickey's latest banger. Be sure to check out this week's Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
