How Bad Bunny Went From Guest Star to Main Attraction at Super Bowl Halftime Show

Ahead of his new album Whatever's Clever!, Charlie Puth has been testing out some of his new material during a 16-show residency across Blue Note New York (Sept. 25-28) and Blue Night Los Angeles (Oct. 16-19), bringing jazzy reimaginings of some of his biggest hits to the legendary jazz club stage. Billboard was inside the final Los Angeles concert over the weekend, and on the new Pop Shop Podcast, Katie is telling Keith all about seeing Puth play at such an intimate venue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a crowded pop landscape, three of today’s top pop stars -- Dua Lipa, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter -- are all in the thick of buzzy tours, and they’re each finding their own way to break through the noise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking about Taylor Swift's uncharacteristically robust press tour for album release week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Sunday night, Bad Bunny was announced as the headliner for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show, and on the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking about the global superstar's status as one of the most popular musicians in the world and why he makes sense for TV's biggest stage. Oh, and we also address all those (completely false) rumors that Taylor Swift would be headlining the show and whether that was ever a possibility. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking about Taylor Swift's unprecedented move of bringing the 89-minute project 'The Release Party of a Showgirl' -- which includes the premiere of the music video for the album's opening song, “The Fate of Ophelia,” as well as lyric videos for the other tracks -- to movie theaters instead of just uploading them to YouTube. But with Swifties, there's no limit to the fan service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s no mistake that JADE’s debut solo album THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY! is a thoroughly poptacular affair. “I live and breathe pop, I always have done,” she tells the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast (listen to her full interview, below). “I just am obsessed with it.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking about their field trip for Oasis' night 1 concert at the Rose Bowl and all the elements that built to this moment and made it possible for the band to crack into their biggest American audiences yet. And of course, Oasis superfan Katie had to return for night 2, where she tells Keith about wading into the beer-splashing GA floor section to be among the rowdiest die-hards at the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking about all the ways artists are carving out special moments for fans at their shows -- like Taylor Swift's acoustic set on Eras Tour or Kelly Clarkson's nightly Kellyoke cover in Las Vegas -- and why it's a win-win for everyone involved. The latest example: Jonas Brothers are maximizing the news cycle around their 20th-anniversary Greetings From Your Hometown Tour, which launched less than a month ago but has generated dozens of headlines about surprise guests, unexpected reunions and two brother trios joining forces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Onstage at their Into the Millennium residency -- which began last month and wrapped its first wave on Sunday night (before kicking off 14 additional dates starting in December) -- Backstreet Boys promised to put the crowd into a "time machine" back to the late-'90s heyday of boy bands and bubblegum pop. Katie was in the orb for the 21st show on Sunday night, and on the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, she tells Keith all about her spaceship ride back to the turn of the millennium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are laying out all the fan evidence pointing to Taylor Swift headlining the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices