Streaming pivots to retention engineering, TikTok commands 84% of chart entries, AI reshapes creation. Pop culture rewrote itself in 2026.

Jon Bellion's Two Car Garage transforms a five-year-old leaked demo into a substance abuse intervention, trading synth-pop for indie guitar work.

Kenneth W. Welch Jr. and Jolene Burns discuss independence, TikTok LIVE, and how artists are winning without labels.

Mica Millar’s “A Little Bit of Me” explores what happens when success stops feeling sustainable and an artist learns to ...

Boy In Space's 'Who's Crying When I'm Leaving?' trades screen success for earth beneath his feet. A Swedish artist learning ...

Singer Alexa Lieb opens up about Red Lips, debut project December Baby, and learning to trust her voice in pop.

Ren's Vincent's Tale - Starry Night review: seven minutes of political fury ending in forced lobotomy. When enlightenment ...

The Great Meme Reset of 2026 promised to restore classic memes but revealed uncomfortable truths about nostalgia, ...

Lil Kliff bends Future’s Codeine Crazy energy into something raw and yearning, using TikTok buzz to push a stripped-back ...

i-dle do not return with a bang on Mono. They return with a refusal. A refusal to overperform, to overdecorate, to shout ...

J. Cole's Birthday Blizzard '26 treats his Kendrick apology like a negotiation he won. Four freestyles prove technical ...

Cat Clyde's "Another Time" turns wanderlust inside out, finding power in staying put while everything shifts around you.