Thomas Plantenga unabashedly says he’s been “stealing” from companies across the globe. The chief executive officer of Vinted, Europe’s biggest consumer-to-consumer fashion marketplace, says he freely borrowed from their strategies to put together an online platform that’s now shaking up the region’s €500 billion ($573 billion) fashion industry.

Founded in 2008 as a platform for individuals to buy and sell secondhand clothes, Vinted has created such a formidable marketplace that the platform, along with some of its rivals, is eating into the sales of fashion and luxury houses. McKinsey’s State of Fashion 2026 report says the secondhand market will grow two to three times faster than the firsthand one from 2025 to 2027 as penny-pinching consumers seek bargains.

“The risk for the overall sector is that secondhand clothing cannibalizes the sale of new fashion,” analysts at RBC Capital Markets wrote in a note this month, also pointing out that many international labels are rushing to blunt the impact with resale offers of their own.

With the taboo around buying and selling secondhand clothes evaporating, celebrities like Paris Hilton, Paul Mescal and Chloë Sevigny openly talk about their sales on such platforms.

As economic necessity and a sustainability-conscious new generation lift the stigma around used clothes, about 60% of global consumers are likely to shop resale this year, McKinsey estimates.

The global resale apparel market is expected to reach $317 billion by 2027, the consulting firm said, a 23% jump from last year. The scale and technology of the marketplaces have brought them to “an inflection point,” letting them turn millions of transactions into profits, the report said.

“The real driver is the consumer,” said Poonam Goyal, a senior retail analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. After years of inflation, shoppers have become more value-conscious, while younger generations increasingly see buying secondhand as mainstream, she said. “People are proud of buying resale. They want to show off the deal they found. It’s a completely different mindset.”

Vinted has led the pack in Europe by massively investing in logistics, payments and technology to draw in more buyers and sellers to its platform. That’s given it the scale and critical mass to keep it ahead of its rivals.

The company, valued at €8 billion during a secondary share sale this year, counts EQT, BlackRock, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Schroders Capital among investors, and is gearing up for what could be one of Europe’s largest technology-based initial public offerings in recent years.

The US push pits Vinted against established rivals including the industry’s “original gangster” eBay, which this year bought fashion platform Depop for about $1.2 billion to strengthen its secondhand offering, Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark and ThredUp.

“Whether we will be able to actually compete and win in that market is a very big question,” Plantenga said, declining to share details of its plans there. Vinted is in early-stage testing in the US and is encouraged by initial results, he said. Wells Fargo analysts covering eBay, said in their July note that Vinted’s US daily active users jumped more than six-fold in the second quarter from a year earlier following its January market entry.

The global appetite for resale fashion has spawned a slew of players. They include platforms like Japan’s Mercari; the UK’s Hardly Ever Worn It and Depop; Vestiaire Collective in France; The RealReal in the US, among several others. Many have struggled to translate demand into consistent profitability.

Vestiaire Collective expects to post its first annual profit in 2026, more than 15 years after it was created, while in Asia — one of the fastest-growing regions — platforms like Alibaba-backed Idle Fish, Poizon, Mercari and Kream are scaling rapidly.

Access to inventory — either through brands looking to offload excess supplies or individuals looking to make a buck from items they no longer wear — is one of the biggest hurdles for the platforms.

After taking over in 2016, Vinted’s Plantenga overhauled the company’s business model, most notably by removing seller fees and charging buyers instead. The changes attracted more inventory, improved marketplace liquidity and laid the foundation for profitability, allowing Vinted to invest heavily in its infrastructure that investors now view as its key competitive advantage.

Vinted processed €10.8 billion of merchandise in 2025, up 47% from a year earlier, while revenue rose 38% to €1.1 billion. Net profit fell 19% to €62 million as it accelerated investment in Germany and in Vinted Go, its logistics business. That drop didn’t stop investors from valuing the company at €8 billion this year, up from €5 billion in 2024.

Sweden’s EQT, which first invested in Vinted in 2021 and remains one of its largest shareholders, argues the company’s competitive advantage now extends well beyond secondhand fashion. Brochado says the company increasingly resembles scaled marketplace companies like Airbnb, Uber and MercadoLibre because of its network effects, technology infrastructure and expanding ecosystem.

The company has continued expanding across Europe and entered new product categories, including electronics, books and toys. Through Vinted Go, it operates more than 18,000 pickup and drop-off points across Europe, including lockers and designated shops, while Vinted Pay extends its reach into the payments ecosystem.

Vinted’s model is simple: Selling on the platform is free for the seller, who gets to keep 100% of the listed price. Sellers simply take photos of the items they want to sell, add a description, set the price and publish the listing on the app. When someone purchases an item, Vinted charges the buyer a small fee and provides the seller with a pre-paid shipping label. The seller then packs the item and drops it off at a local shipping point. Once the buyer acknowledges receipt, Vinted releases the money into the seller’s virtual wallet.

It’s that model that the company wants to bring to the US. Whether Vinted’s buyer-fee service can be replicated in the US remains an open question. Bloomberg Intelligence’s Goyal says US buyers would be much more resistant to paying a fee, especially if it’s added in separately instead of being built into the price.

But “if they can make it work in the US, they could end up setting a new standard that competitors might eventually follow, making the whole sector more profitable,” she said.

Plantenga said he’s already seeing signs of the shift. Rivals including Poshmark, Depop and Mercari have all moved toward Vinted’s buyer-fee model in recent years — a sign, he argued, that the European approach is setting the industry standard.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-28/vinted-europe-s-8-billion-answer-to-depop-wants-to-disrupt-the-us-next

VarietyAwards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Varietychief awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change in response to buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Explore Awards Circuit Predictions Pages Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

HBO Max

Primetime Emmys Predictions Commentary All Categories (Updated: July 24, 2026): With the Television Academy officially revealing this year’s Emmy nominees, attention turns not only to who’s in the running but to which episodes the actors are submitting. Though the Emmys have increasingly become dominated by buzz and momentum, official episode submissions can still play a critical role. But as full-season sweeps have become more common, it’s worth asking: Does the individual episode carry the weight it once did?

That question will occupy strategists and pundits over the next few weeks. Only a handful of categories have published their selections, which you can find on each category page.

Supporting comedy actress offers the early intrigue, with two sets of double-dippers: Hannah Einbinder and Megan Stalter of the HBO Max comedy “Hacks,” and Dale Dickey and Kate O’Flynn of the Apple TV comedy “Widow’s Bay.” Dickey and O’Flynn chose the same episode, “Beach Games,” which is inarguably a showcase for O’Flynn. With the May 31 cutoff, Dickey was unable to submit what many would have assumed was the no-brainer, “Emergency Shelter,” in which Rosemary delivers a hilarious slide presentation tracing the lineage of the curse plaguing the town.

Einbinder, like lead actress co-star Jean Smart, selected the series finale. Stalter went with “QuikScribbl,” the episode that strips Kayla of her Porsche, her trust fund and her office space. Supporting comedy actor nominee Paul W. Downs submitted the same half-hour.

Lead comedy actress has its full slate up for viewing. Smart’s “Hacks (Finale)” is the closing statement of a four-time winner. Quinta Brunson opted for “Night Out” from the ABC mockumentary “Abbott Elementary,” Ayo Edebiri chose “Worms” from FX’s “The Bear,” and Elle Fanning submitted “Lock and Load” from the Apple TV freshman comedy “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” Lisa Kudrow, back in the fold for the HBO Max comedy “The Comeback,” went with “Valerie Faces Reality,” an ideal showcase for a performance that could spoil Smart’s night.

Supporting drama actor is a more revealing exercise, in part because “The Pitt” landed three nominees and all three chose differently. Patrick Ball submitted “8:00 P.M.,” when Langdon gets his confidence back. Shawn Hatosy took the season finale, “9:00 P.M.” Gerran Howell went with “7:00 P.M.,” in which Whitaker gives a pep talk to Ogilvie in the ambulance. The staggered approach keeps the trio from cannibalizing one another on the same hour of the shift, but with a cast this sprawling, will it work?

Tom Pelphrey, a possible front-runner for the HBO Max drama “Task,” is submitting “Vagrants,” the episode where Robbie takes Tom hostage. Elsewhere, two-time Emmy winner Billy Crudup, the sole nominee for the penultimate season of Apple TV’s “The Morning Show,” chose “The Parent Trap.” Also from Apple TV, Jack Lowden went with “Circus” from “Slow Horses,” while Carlos-Manuel Vesga selected “The Gap” from “Pluribus.”

Only two of the top series nominees have chosen their six episodes for consideration: HBO Max’s “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” and Apple TV’s “Slow Horses.”

Final-round voting runs Aug. 17-26 ahead of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and Governors Gala on Sept. 5-6. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will air Sept. 14 on NBC.

Top series Leaderboard: “Widow’s Bay” (11); “The Pitt” (7); “The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny” and “Beef” (6); “Love on the Spectrum” and “Wednesday” (4); “DTF St. Louis,” “Hacks,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” “Spider-Noir” and “Survivor” (3)

Top Networks Leaderboard: HBO Max (28); Netflix (25); Apple TV (16); NBC (9); ABC and Prime Video (7); CBS and Comedy Central (6); FX (5); Disney+ (3); National Geographic (2)

****** = PREDICTED WINNER***

(All predicted nominees listed below are in alphabetical order)

Drama Series

Image Credit: Apple TV

“The Diplomat” (Netflix)

“The Gilded Age” (HBO Max)

“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” (HBO Max)

“Paradise” (Hulu)

“The Pitt” (HBO Max) *********

“Pluribus” (Apple TV)

“Slow Horses” (Apple TV)

“Your Friends and Neighbors” (Apple TV)

Comedy Series

Image Credit: Apple TV

“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

“The Bear” (FX)

“Hacks” (HBO Max)

“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” (Apple TV)

“Nobody Wants This” (Netflix)

“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)

“Shrinking” (Apple TV)

“Widow’s Bay” (Apple TV) *********

Limited or Anthology Series

Image Credit: Peacock

“All Her Fault” (Peacock)

“The Beast in Me” (Netflix)

“Beef” (Netflix) *********

“DTF St. Louis” (HBO Max)

“Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette” (FX)

Outstanding Movie

Image Credit: Netflix

“Heads of State” (Prime Video)

“Miss You, Love You” (HBO Max)

“Remarkably Bright Creatures” (Netflix) *********

“People We Meet on Vacation” (Netflix)

“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War” (Prime Video)

Lead Actor (Drama)

Image Credit: HBO Max

Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise” (Hulu)

Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses” (Apple TV)

Mark Ruffalo, “Task” (HBO Max)

Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat” (Netflix)

Noah Wyle, “The Pitt” (HBO Max) *****

Lead Actor (Comedy)

Image Credit: Disney+

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Wonder Man” (Disney+)

Steve Carell, “Rooster” (HBO Max)

Matthew Rhys, “Widow’s Bay” (Apple TV) *****

Jason Segel, “Shrinking” (Apple TV)

Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)

Lead Actor (Limited/Movie)

Image Credit: Netflix

Riz Ahmed, “Bait” (Prime Video)

Jason Bateman, “Black Rabbit” (Netflix)

Charlie Hunnam, “Monster: The Ed Gein Story” (Netflix)

Oscar Isaac, “Beef” (Netflix) *****

Matthew Rhys, “The Beast in Me” (Netflix)

Lead Actress (Drama)

Image Credit: HBO Max

Carrie Coon, “The Gilded Age” (HBO Max)

Chase Infiniti, “The Testaments” (Hulu)

Keri Russell, “The Diplomat” (Netflix)

Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus” (Apple TV) *********

Zendaya, “Euphoria” (HBO Max)

Lead Actress (Comedy)

Image Credit: Apple TV

Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear” (FX)

Elle Fanning, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” (Apple TV)

Lisa Kudrow, “The Comeback” (HBO Max)

Jean Smart, “Hacks” (HBO Max) *********

Lead Actress (Limited/Movie)

Image Credit: FX

Claire Danes, “The Beast in Me” (Netflix)

Sally Field, “Remarkably Bright Creatures” (Netflix)

Carey Mulligan, “Beef” (Netflix) *********

Sarah Pidgeon, “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette” (FX)

Sarah Snook, “All Her Fault” (Peacock)

Big Brother is CBS's long-running reality competition, in which houseguests live under 24/7 surveillance and compete for the title of Head of Household (HOH), which carries the power to nominate others for eviction; a jury ultimately votes to crown the winner. The season premiered July 9 and follows a fixed weekly rhythm: nominations on Sundays, the Power of Veto competition on Wednesdays (a 90-minute special), and live eviction plus the new HOH crowning on Thursdays. Season 28 marks the franchise's 1,000th episode, carries a "Time Trip" theme, and offers a $750,000 grand prize.

Two eviction rounds have played out so far. In Week 1, Dee Valladares — drawing on competition experience from Survivor and The Challenge — won the season's opening HOH, and Ashley Trail was voted out 14-0. In Week 2, Rick Devens took both HOH and the Power of Veto, executing a plan that sent Rome Seymour out in a near-unanimous 12-vote eviction.

With Rome gone, his two closest allies, Jason De Puy and Lyric Medeiros, have lost their strongest protector and now sit relatively exposed heading into Week 3. Behind the scenes, Angela Murray has emerged as a key strategic force — it was her push that convinced Devens to widen his target list and dismantle Rome's alliance in the first place.

On July 22, Warner Bros. and DC Studios released the full trailer for Clayface just days before this year's San Diego Comic-Con, confirming the film's theatrical release date of October 23, 2026. This is a familiar rhythm for DC — introducing a villain relatively unknown to most casual audiences, and relying on genre innovation and critical reception to drive box office results. That's also the question hanging over Clayface: will a film with a lean budget and an obscure character ultimately succeed or fail?

Basic Information and Universe Positioning

Clayface belongs to the new DC Universe, rather than Matt Reeves' Batman franchise, which DC Studios co-head James Gunn has explicitly designated as a separate "Elseworlds" continuity.

Clayface is not an original character created for this film — he first appeared in Detective Comics in 1940 and is one of the founding members of Batman's rogues' gallery, belonging to the same core group of villains as the Joker, the Penguin, and Two-Face. Unlike those characters, however, Clayface has so far been confined to animation and comics, never having received a live-action adaptation: he holds steady recognition among longtime comic readers, but has never truly broken through into mainstream pop-culture awareness.

The story is set before Gunn's own Superman (2025), making it one of the first works to offer a glimpse of Gotham City in this rebooted universe. The film follows on from the success of The Penguin series within the same villain-centered universe, suggesting DC is testing out "character-driven villain films" as a new product line. Director James Watkins, known for Speak No Evil and The Woman in Black, works from a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with Tom Rhys Harries starring as Matt Hagen — an actor who, after being disfigured, transforms into the shape-shifting villain.

The film's budget is approximately $40 million — lean by superhero standards — and it marks DC Studios' first release to fully commit to the horror genre.

Historical Reference Points

Same-Studio Precedent: Joker

This combination of "low budget plus an obscure character" has a direct precedent, starting with DC's own history. Joker, produced by the same studio (Warner Bros./DC), had a production budget of $62.5 million and grossed nearly $956 million worldwide — a return of more than 15 times its cost, making it one of the most profitable comic-book films ever made. It proved that a film centered on a villain, breaking from the conventional genre template, can also succeed commercially as long as critical reception and awards-season attention align behind it.

Cross-Studio Precedent: Venom and Morbius

Outside DC, the comparable cases come from Sony's "Marvel villain universe," a franchise built around supporting antagonists from the Marvel comics catalog. Venom, on a $90 million budget, grossed $854 million worldwide — an example of a similarly obscure character successfully breaking out. Morbius failed to replicate that outcome: on a budget of $75–83 million, it grossed just $167.4 million worldwide, with a domestic second-weekend drop of nearly 74%. What's more notable is the gap between its commercial performance and its online buzz: the film became a prolonged viral meme phenomenon — the "It's Morbin' Time" joke cycle persisted for weeks and even prompted a theatrical re-release — yet that attention never converted into ticket sales, illustrating that social media buzz and box office performance are not the same metric.

An Industry-Wide Observation

There's another notable pattern worth flagging here: Marvel Studios itself has largely avoided solo villain films, preferring to introduce antagonists within ensemble-driven entries instead. The "solo villain film" experiment has actually played out at DC and Sony — meaning Clayface's true point of comparison isn't the MCU, but this narrower lineage of Joker, Venom, and Morbius, three films that illustrate just how differently the same playbook can turn out.

Setting Up the Box Office Prediction

DC's own "character-driven" villain films show an extremely wide range of commercial outcomes, and those outcomes depend far more heavily on critical reception and cultural buzz than on the character's inherent name recognition. For instance: a high budget is no guarantee of success (The Suicide Squad grossed $168.7 million, failing to cover its production budget, partly attributed to its day-and-date theatrical/HBO Max release strategy during the pandemic); a low budget doesn't mean a low ceiling (Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix, turned a $62.5 million budget into nearly $1 billion worldwide); and even a sequel within the same IP can collapse dramatically (Joker: Folie à Deux proved that the goodwill from a predecessor doesn't automatically carry over — the film's box office plunged 81% in its second weekend, ultimately finishing with a domestic total of around $58.2 million against a $190 million production budget).

According to the methodology behind Deadline's annual "Most Profitable Movies" ranking, a film's worldwide gross typically needs to reach 2.5 times its production budget in order to achieve net studio profit. Whether Clayface can hit that mark will only be known once it opens in October.

On July 22, the fourth anniversary of the group's debut, ADOR released a series of videos titled "2026 Summer of NewJeans," featuring current members Hanni, Haerin, and Hyein alongside Minji, whose status had remained unresolved for some time. The visuals leaned heavily on the aesthetic established during the group's debut era, and the release was quickly read by fans as a signal of a comeback. ADOR moved swiftly to clarify that this was strictly a commemorative anniversary update, and that any future activities or plans would only be announced once discussions with the members had fully concluded. That clarification, however, has done little to quiet two questions circulating among fans: when the group will actually return, and whether its commercial performance can hold up with one original member gone.

Looking Back at the Group's Track Record

NewJeans' past performance sets a genuinely high bar for comparison. In August 2023, their second EP, Get Up, topped the Billboard 200 roughly a year after debut — the fastest a girl group has ever achieved that milestone, and one of only two all-female group albums to top the chart in fifteen years. The same album placed three songs simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat previously achieved by only one other Korean act, BTS. Two months earlier, in May 2023, the group became the fastest K-pop act in Spotify history to cross one billion streams, doing so in 219 days and surpassing records previously held by BTS's Jungkook and Blackpink's Lisa.

Timeline of the Legal Dispute

Behind this anniversary video lies a prolonged legal battle. On November 29, 2024, all five original members announced they were terminating their exclusive contracts with ADOR; the agency filed suit on December 3, seeking a court ruling that the contracts remained valid. In March 2025, the Seoul Central District Court sided with ADOR, upholding an injunction that barred the members from independent music or commercial activity. By November 2025, the court issued a final ruling affirming the contracts' validity, and the five members subsequently indicated they would return. That December, ADOR terminated Danielle's contract, while Hanni, Haerin, and Hyein confirmed they were staying; Minji's status at the time was described only as "still under discussion." ADOR then filed a roughly $30 million damages suit against Danielle and former CEO Min Hee-jin. In early July 2026, the group became entangled in a separate copyright dispute involving the song "ETA."

A Comparable Case: FIFTY FIFTY

FIFTY FIFTY is currently the most structurally comparable case available. In 2023, the group's single "Cupid" made them the fastest K-pop act in history to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Shortly afterward, all four members sued their agency, Attrakt, alleging a failure to provide financial accounting and disregard for their mental health. A court rejected the members' injunction request; member Keena withdrew her suit and returned to the company, while the other three had their contracts terminated, prompting Attrakt to file a roughly $9.9 million damages suit against them. In 2024, the agency rebuilt the group around Keena, adding four new members for a five-person relaunch. This "partial member return, partial contract termination, followed by a company damages suit" structure closely mirrors NewJeans' situation, making it the most direct reference point for judging whether a reconstituted lineup can sustain original-era commercial heat. One caveat is worth noting, though: the relaunched FIFTY FIFTY has yet to replicate anything close to "Cupid"-level success — a negative reference point worth factoring into expectations for NewJeans' comparable scenario.

What This Video Actually Signaled

Setting speculation aside, the concrete information this video actually delivered is narrower than what fans initially read into it. The video confirmed Minji's return to a four-member lineup — previously described only as "progressing in a positive direction" — and its visual style leaned heavily on rabbit motifs and references to Bunnies, the fandom name, echoing the group's debut-era visual identity. It marked the first joint group content since the release of Supernatural in June 2024, roughly two years earlier. Taken together, this reads more as a confirmation of the group's current member relationships than as the formal start of a music comeback. ADOR has not announced any release date, single, or schedule of activities.

Thanks to a rule change in the best new artist category that was announced in June, which allows an artist to be entered four times instead of three, Ella Langley could be nominated in four of the six general field categories at the 69th annual Grammy Awards—album, record and song of the year plus best new artist. If that happens, Langley would become the first country crossover artist to achieve the feat since Bobbie Gentry in 1968.

Olivia Dean, who won best new artist at the ceremony held earlier this year, could be nominated in the three other marquee categories for artists, as could Olivia Rodrigo, who won best new artist in 2022; and Noah Kahan, Bruno Mars, RAYE and Taylor Swift.

The eligibility period runs from Aug. 31, 2025, through Aug. 28, 2026. First-round voting will be conducted from Oct. 12 to Oct. 22. Nominations will be announced Nov. 16.

For the fourth year in a row, there will be eight nominees in each of these categories. With a little over a month left in the eligibility window, here are our best guesses for who will be nominated—listed in alphabetical order, followed by shortlists of 10 other possibilities, also listed in alphabetical order.

Album of the Year

Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift are both going for history. If McCartney is nominated for The Boys of Dungeon Lane, it will be his record-extending 10th career nomination in this category. If Swift is nominated for The Life of a Showgirl, it will be her eighth nod in this category—more than anyone else in Grammy history for strictly solo albums. Swift is a better bet: She has been nominated in this category with each of her last four regular studio albums. McCartney was last nominated here in 2006.

Olivia Dean, The Art of Loving

This is the English singer’s second studio album. Dean produced it alongside Julian Bunetta, Leon Michels and John Ryan, among others. Bunetta and Ryan were both nominated in this category for work with Sabrina Carpenter in 2025, with Ryan also being nominated for work with the singer in 2026. Michels was nominated for work with Mary J. Blige and Lizzo, both in 2023. Billboard 200 peak: No. 3.

Noah Kahan, The Great Divide

This is Kahan’s fourth studio album and his first to top the Billboard 200. This would be his first nomination in this category. He was up for best new artist at the 2024 ceremony. He co-produced the album with Gabe Simon and Aaron Dessner. The latter was nominated in this category for three Taylor Swift albums: folklore (which won), evermore and The Tortured Poets Department. Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (three weeks).

Ella Langley, Dandelion

Langley co-produced this, her sophomore album, with Miranda Lambert and Ben West. If Langley is nominated here, she won’t be the first artist named Ella to land an album of the year nod: Ella Fitzgerald was nominated at the inaugural Grammy ceremony in 1959 for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book. Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (two weeks).

Bruno Mars, The Romantic

If The Romantic, which Mars co-produced with D’Mile, is nominated here, it will be Mars’first album to both top the Billboard 200 and land an album of the year nod. Two Mars albums—Doo-Wops & Hooligans and 24K Magic—were nominated in this category (24K Magic won), but neither of them reached No. 1. Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (one week).

RAYE, This Music May Contain Hope.

The English singer’s second album has spawned three singles— “Where Is My Husband!”(a good bet for record and song of the year nods),“Nightingale Lane”and“Click Clack Symphony,”the lattermost co-written with, co-­produced by and featuring Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer. Billboard 200 peak: No. 11.

Olivia Rodrigo, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love

Rodrigo’s first two albums, SOUR and GUTS, were nominated here. Dan Nigro produced all three projects. Third album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love is vying to become the second album with a 10-word title to land an album of the year nod, following Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (two weeks).

Rosalía, LUX

Last year, when the Recording Academy invited members of the Latin Recording Academy to join its ranks, nearly 1,000 took the organization up on the offer. Their votes helped Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS become the first Spanish-language album to win album of the year. This year, Rosalía could become the first woman artist to land an album of the year nod with a Spanish-language album. Rosalía co-produced the album, her fourth studio set. Billboard 200 peak: No. 4.

Taylor Swift, The Life of a Showgirl

As previously noted, Swift’s last four studio albums (excluding rerecordings) were nominated in this category. If The Life of a Showgirl also makes it, she’ll become just the second artist in Grammy history (following Kendrick Lamar) to be nominated with five consecutive studio albums. Swift produced her 12th studio album with Max Martin and Shellback. Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (12 weeks)

Within Reach: Jon Batiste, Black Mozart; Cardi B, Am I the Drama?; Brandi Carlile, Returning to Myself; Ariana Grande, Petal (due July 31); Kehlani, Kehlani; Paul McCartney, The Boys of Dungeon Lane; Megan Moroney, Cloud 9; Kacey Musgraves, Middle of Nowhere; Harry Styles, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.; Don Toliver, Octane.

Record of the Year

Some of the acts likely to be nominated here have multiple strong hits they could enter, so they’ll have to decide which is their best bet. That’s a nice problem to have. Olivia Dean could go with“Man I Need”or“So Easy (To Fall in Love)”; Olivia Rodrigo, with“drop dead”or“the cure”; Taylor Swift, with“The Fate of Ophelia,” “Opalite”or“I Knew It, I Knew You”from Toy Story 5.

Olivia Dean,“So Easy (To Fall in Love)”

This would be Dean’s first nomination in this category. Zach Nahome co-produced the bossa nova-imbued pop smash with John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Amy Allen and Max Wolfgang. Dean would be the third artist named Olivia to be nominated in this category: Olivia Newton-John won in 1975 for“I Honestly Love You,”and Olivia Rodrigo has been nominated twice and could be headed for her third nod this year. Billboard Hot 100 peak: No. 5.

Noah Kahan, “The Great Divide”

Kahan co-produced this hit with Gabe Simon. It could bring Kahan his first nomination in this category. The song was featured in an extended Mastercard ad during this year’s Grammy telecast. Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” which was featured in a similar ad during the 2025 telecast, landed a record of the year nod at this year’s ceremony. Hot 100 peak: No. 6.

Ella Langley, “Choosin’ Texas”

This would be Langley’s first nomination in this category and the first for a core country artist performing a country song since Lady A won for “Need You Now” in 2011. (Taylor Swift was well along on her transition to pop when “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” was nominated at the 2013 ceremony.) Langley co-produced the smash with Miranda Lambert and Ben West. Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (13 weeks).

Bruno Mars, “I Just Might”

This would be Mars’ eighth nomination in this category as an artist. Only Beyoncé has had more (nine). Mars performed “I Just Might,” which he co-produced with D’Mile, during this year’s Grammy telecast. Three times prior, Mars has performed just-released songs at the ceremony that went on to be nominated in this category the following year: “Grenade,” “Locked Out of Heaven” and the Silk Sonic smash “Leave the Door Open.” Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (two weeks).

RAYE, “Where Is My Husband!”

RAYE and Mike Sabath co-produced this irrepressible hit, a canny blend of old and new R&B sounds. RAYE has received four Grammy nods, including for best new artist at the 2025 ceremony. If this is nominated, this will be the second time in three years that a title that ends in an exclamation point has been up for record of the year: In 2025, Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” was nominated. Hot 100 peak: No. 11.

Olivia Rodrigo,“the cure”

This would be Rodrigo’s third hit to be nominated in this category following“drivers license”and“vampire.”Dan Nigro produced all three. Those first two contenders were the lead singles from Rodrigo’s first two albums;“the cure”was the second single from her third album (following“drop dead”). Billboard ranked“the cure”at No. 1 on its midyear list“The 50 Best Songs of 2026 So Far (Staff Picks).”Hot 100 peak: No. 5 (so far).

Sienna Spiro,“Die on This Hill”

This stately power ballad echoes such early Adele records as“Chasing Pavements,”which was nominated in this category in 2009. Omer Fedi, Michael Pollack and Blake Slatkin co-produced“Die on This Hill.”Spiro’s debut album, Visitor, arrived July 3. The more-or-less title track,“The Visitor,”debuted and peaked at No. 43 on the Hot 100 in March. Hot 100 peak: No. 19.

Taylor Swift,“The Fate of Ophelia”

This would be Swift’s seventh nod in this category. She co-produced the smash with Max Martin and Shellback, with whom she also collaborated on three previous record of the year nominees:“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Shake It Off”and“Blank Space.”This became Swift’s longest-running No. 1 hit, an impressive feat for someone so deep into her career. Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (10 weeks).

Within Reach: Gracie Abrams,“Hit the Wall”; Bella Kay,“iloveitiloveit­iloveit”; BTS,“Swim”; Ariana Grande,“Hate That I Made You Love Me”; Kacey Musgraves,“Dry Spell”; PinkPantheress featuring Zara Larsson,“Stateside”remix; Rosalía featuring Yahritza Y Su Esencia,“La Perla”; sombr,“Homewrecker”; Harry Styles,“Aperture”; Tame Impala & Jennie,“Dracula (Remix).”

Song of the Year

At the 2026 ceremony, seven of the record of the year nominees were also nominees in this category. In 2025, five releases were cited in both categories. In 2027, seven releases may double up again. (And to answer the most-asked question about the Grammys: Record of the year honors a particular recording of a song. Song of the year honors the song itself.)

“Choosin’Texas”

Songwriters: Ella Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda­Lambert, Joybeth Taylor

Lambert has received seven Grammy nominations for best country song, including for her own“Bluebird,”on which Dick was also a co-writer. This would be the first songwriting nomination for Langley and Taylor.“Choosin’Texas”would be the fourth song with a state name in its title to receive a song of the year nod following“Hotel California,” “Theme From New York, New York”and“Texas Hold’Em.”

“Die On This Hill”

Songwriters: Sienna Spiro, Omer Fedi, Michael Pollack

Fedi was nominated in this category for the 2026 awards for co-writing“APT.”by Bruno Mars and Rosé and for the 2022 awards for co-writing Lil Nas X’s“Montero (Call Me by Your Name).”Pollack was nominated at the 2024 ceremony for co-writing Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers.”This would be Spiro’s first nod.

“the cure”

Songwriters: Olivia Rodrigo, Dan Nigro

Rodrigo and Nigro were nominated in this category for co-writing“drivers license”and“vampire.”Nigro had a third nomination for co-writing Chappell Roan’s“Good Luck, Babe!”The Cure (the English band, not the song title) is well-represented on Rodrigo’s album. The song“drop dead”mentions the group’s 1987 hit“Just Like Heaven”while frontman Robert Smith appears on“what’s wrong with me.”

 “The Great Divide”
Songwriters: Noah Kahan, Gabe Simon

This would be Kahan’s first nod in a songwriting category and Simon’s first nomination, period. Kahan’s only previous nominations are for best new artist in 2025 and best country duo/group performance earlier this year for “Cowboys Cry Too,” a collaboration with Kelsea Ballerini (who is also a former best new artist nominee).

“I Just Might”
Songwriters: Bruno Mars, Dernst Emile II, Philip Lawrence, Brody Brown

All four co-writers of this pop smash have been previously nominated multiple times in this category. Mars has had seven nominations and is currently just one shy of Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff for the most nods in the history of the category. Lawrence and Brown have each had five nods; D’Mile, three.

“I Knew It, I Knew You”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff

As noted, Swift and Antonoff are currently tied for the most nods (eight) in the history of the category. (Curiously, Swift has yet to win.) Why would Swift’s camp enter this Hot 100 No. 1 from Toy Story 5 rather than one of her smashes from The Life of a Showgirl? A nod in the Grammys’ highest-profile songwriting category would put a spotlight on the tune during the Academy Awards’ voting season. (Preliminary Oscar voting begins Dec. 7.)

“So Easy (To Fall In Love)”
Songwriters: Olivia Dean, Amy Allen, John Ryan, Max Wolfgang

Grammy magnet Amy Allen co-wrote this song (and wasn’t involved with Dean’s other smash, “Man I Need”), which might make this the shrewder entry. Allen has been nominated three times in this category. Moreover, she won songwriter of the year, non-classical the last two years running.

“Where Is My Husband!”
Songwriters: RAYE, Mike Sabath

RAYE and Sabath won a songwriting Grammy earlier this year, the Harry Belafonte Song for Social Change Award for “Ice Cream Man,” which they co-wrote with BloodPop. RAYE received the Hal David Starlight Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame gala in June, another sign of respect for her songwriting.

Within Reach: “Aperture” (Harry Styles); “Church & State” (Brandi Carlile); “Dracula Remix” (Tame Impala and Jennie); “Dry Spell” (Kacey Musgraves); “Hate That I Made You Love Me” (Ariana Grande); “Hit the Wall” (Gracie Abrams); “Homewrecker” (sombr); “iloveitiloveitiloveit” (Bella Kay); “La Perla” (Rosalía featuring Yahritza Y Su Esencia); “Streets of Minneapolis” (Bruce Springsteen).

Best New Artist

The Recording Academy long had a rule that an artist could be entered no more than three times in this category, which would have knocked out Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Ken Carson, Ravyn Lenae and Geese. But in June, the academy announced that it is upping the cap to four. That more lenient policy will make it difficult for the academy to turn away anyone, but FLO was nominated for an album earlier this year, which makes the act ineligible. And Don Toliver has had five consecutive top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 dating back to March 2020. It will be up to a screening committee to determine if that runs afoul of the first guideline under Not Eligible: “Any artist who had achieved a breakthrough in a prior eligibility period.”

Dominic Fike

The singer-songwriter, 30, landed his first two top 40 hits on the Hot 100 this year:“White Keys”and“Babydoll.”He recorded the latter track in 2018, which means it’s not eligible for record of the year consideration, but that shouldn’t make him ineligible here. Fike was nominated for album of the year in 2022 as a featured artist on the deluxe edition of Justin Bieber’s Justice, but since he was featured on less than 20% of the album’s playing time, that shouldn’t knock him out here, either.

Geese

The four-member rock band fronted by 24-year-old Cameron Winter formed in Brooklyn in 2016. The group’s fourth studio album, Getting Killed, became its first to make the Billboard 200. The band has become a major player on the festival circuit, playing Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Governors Ball and Outside Lands. The act also made its first appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Saturday Night Live.

Bella Kay

Kay, 20, cracked the top 20 on the Hot 100 with“iloveitiloveitiloveit.”Kay has been chosen as an opening act on upcoming tours by Noah Kahan and Gracie Abrams, both of whom are past best new artist nominees. Her debut album, My Reckless Abandon, arrived July 12.

Ella Langley

Langley, 27, won new female artist of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2025 and was nominated for new artist of the year at the Country Music Association Awards in November 2025 and new artist of the year at the 2026 American Music Awards. Dandelion, her second studio album, spent two weeks atop the Billboard 200 and has so far logged 13 weeks at No. 1 on Top Country Albums.

Megan Moroney

Moroney, 28, won new female artist of the year at the ACM Awards in May 2024 and new artist of the year at the CMA Awards that November. Cloud 9, her third studio album, reached No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums.

Role Model

Role Model’s 2025 breakout hit,“Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,”spilled into this eligibility year. The artist born Tucker Pillsbury, 29, performed the song on Saturday Night Live as musical guest in October 2025, joined by a surprise appearance from Charli xcx. Improbably, he’s competing for a best new artist nod with another Tucker, country star Tucker Wetmore.

Sienna Spiro

In addition to her breakthrough hit,“Die on This Hill,”Spiro gained added exposure when her song“Material Lover”was featured in The Devil Wears Prada 2. Spiro, who turns 21 in September, is vying to become the second English woman artist in a row to win in this category following Olivia Dean.

Malcolm Todd

Todd’s second studio album, Do That Again, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 5 in June.“Earrings,”from his 2024 mixtape, Sweet Boy, has climbed as high as No. 22 on the Hot 100. Todd comes from a musical family. His sister Audrey Hobert co-wrote Gracie Abrams’smash“That’s So True”and has also released an album of her own. Todd turns 23 in September.

Within Reach: Ken Carson; Miles Caton; Dijon; Stella Lefty; Ravyn Lenae; Mariah the Scientist; Slayyyter; The Red Clay Strays; Trueno; Tucker Wetmore.

This story appears in the July 18, 2026, issue of Billboard.

In 2026, A24 proved it could manufacture a phenomenon. Backrooms, made for $10 million by a 20-year-old YouTube director, became the studio's highest-grossing release ever, driven by an existing online fanbase rather than a traditional marketing budget. Primetime, also distributed by A24, takes the completely opposite path — it lacks any internet-native community foundation, instead relying on an A-list star and a real television IP. The question this raises isn't whether A24 can replicate the Backrooms formula, but whether its more conventional "star-driven" playbook can deliver comparable results in the true crime genre.

The Film Itself

As one of the few projects in A24's second-half slate led by an A-list star who is also producing, Primetime is directed by Lance Oppenheim, with Robert Pattinson starring and serving as producer. The film is adapted from Dateline NBC's To Catch a Predator and the experiences of its host, Chris Hansen, and is set for release in September 2026. It tells the story of Hansen's pursuit of ratings peaks on the program, which centered on "hunting child predators." The film focuses on Hansen's hidden-camera sting operations and his direct confrontations with the adult men who were caught in them.

Pattinson's Box Office Range: Commercial Peak, Art-House Floor

Pattinson's commercial ceiling sits at roughly $772 million with The Batman, while Tenet contributed $365 million. On the independent/art-house side, his first collaboration with A24, The Lighthouse, grossed $18.3 million on an $11 million budget — illustrating Pattinson's dual commercial-and-arthouse identity. This range also points to a broader pattern: when the IP itself is strong enough, Pattinson can anchor films in the hundreds-of-millions range; but in smaller, director-driven projects, his individual pull rarely moves the needle on its own — box office in that category depends more on the script and the director's reputation than on star power.

The Historical Ceiling of True Crime

The genre Primetime belongs to has a mixed track record. Zodiac, despite an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score, grossed only $84.7 million worldwide, barely covering its costs. The Revenant significantly outperformed comparable true-crime-adjacent titles, but largely due to Leonardo DiCaprio's box office momentum at the time, layered on top of Alejandro González Iñárritu's directorial brand. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile was distributed mainly through Netflix and never received a wide theatrical release. Taken together, these cases suggest true crime as a subject is not, by itself, a box office guarantee — it typically requires an additional driver, such as a star or an auteur director, to break through the genre's inherent ceiling.

The Show Itself: A Quantifiable Built-In Advantage

According to Nielsen data, To Catch a Predator averaged more than 7 million viewers between 2004 and 2007, lifting Dateline's overall ratings by 13%. Its influence extended well beyond viewership numbers — the show became recurring material referenced by mainstream comedy programs like The Simpsons and South Park, evidence that its impact had already expanded from news audiences into the broader pop-culture landscape. The show was canceled in 2007 following a tragedy tied to one sting operation and the lawsuits that followed — itself a source of built-in dramatic tension for the film. Notably, a documentary examining the show's rise and controversial history already aired earlier in 2026, indicating the market had already shown interest in the topic. Unlike Zodiac and similar true crime films based on fictionalized or historical cases, To Catch a Predator carries quantifiable historical ratings data and nearly two decades of continued cultural presence — a concrete, verifiable positive variable in assessing whether Primetime can break through true crime's usual box office ceiling. Whether that presence converts into ticket sales, however, remains to be seen.

A24's Own Benchmark

Rather than comparing Primetime to Backrooms, a more appropriate reference point is A24's own historical performance: Materialists currently ranks fifth on A24's all-time global box office chart, with $107.9 million. If Primetime reaches or exceeds this figure, it would suggest that star-driven films can still produce top-tier commercial results within A24's system; if it falls short, it would suggest that even with A-list casting, A24's non-franchise, auteur-driven titles still face a ceiling of their own.

On July 20, Sony Music Vision announced that Always Lalisa had been selected for the Gala Presentations section of the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. Other titles in the same section include new works from Pedro Almodóvar, Danny Boyle, and Hirokazu Kore-eda. It is the first time a K-pop artist's personal documentary has entered the official selection of an international A-list film festival at this level.

What the TIFF Gala Section Actually Means

TIFF's Gala Presentations is the festival's highest-profile exhibition tier, historically reserved for awards-season frontrunners and major new works from the world's most established directors. Selection is not simply participation — it means premiering in front of the international film industry's most significant buyers, critics, and distributors, alongside titles that typically go on to define the awards conversation for the year. Always Lalisa is the first documentary centered on a K-pop artist to enter this category. The selection committee's decision to place it alongside Almodóvar and Kore-eda is itself a statement of critical positioning.

The Film: What It Is and Who Made It

Always Lalisa runs 97 minutes and is presented in three languages — English, Thai, and Korean. The director is Sue Kim, whose credits include Haenyeo for A24, which premiered at TIFF 2024, the Oscar-shortlisted documentary Speed Cubers, and the Apple TV+ series K-Pop Idols as executive producer. She is among the most culturally fluent documentary filmmakers currently working across these two worlds.

The film documents a specific and highly compressed period of transition in LISA's career: her 2025 Coachella solo headline set — the first time a K-pop artist had headlined the main stage as a solo act; her acting debut in the third season of HBO's The White Lotus; her performance of "Goals" alongside Anitta and Rema at the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony; the making of her debut solo album Alter Ego; and the full process of establishing her independent company LLOUD following her departure from YG Entertainment.

Why This Material Justifies a Film

The events documented in Always Lalisa span two years of unusually concentrated change. In 2025 alone: a Coachella headline, a White Lotus debut, a first Met Gala appearance, and the release of Alter Ego. In 2026: the World Cup opening ceremony, a Vanity Fair summer cover, becoming the first K-pop artist appointed to the Met Gala host committee, and a Las Vegas residency — "Viva La Lisa" — at Caesars Palace Colosseum, with all four dates selling out. She is also set to star in and executive produce two Netflix projects: the action film TYGO and an as-yet-untitled romantic comedy.

The significance of Always Lalisa is not that it documents a celebrity's activities. It is that it documents a meaningful structural transition: an artist who spent the formative years of her career inside K-pop's management system choosing to exit that system, build her own infrastructure, and succeed commercially and critically on terms she defined. The TIFF selection committee chose that story — and in doing so, indicated that they judged it to carry narrative weight beyond the K-pop fanbase. It is a story about creative autonomy, institutional power, and what it means to rebuild a career from a position that appeared strong but was in important ways constrained.

The Historical Context: Where K-Pop Documentaries Have Been

K-pop documentaries are not a new format. BTS's Break the Silence and Bring the Soul received global theatrical releases. BLACKPINK's Light Up the Sky premiered on Netflix and received two Emmy nominations. These are meaningful precedents. But none of them entered the official selection of an international A-list film festival. They operated within dedicated K-pop distribution channels — streaming platforms with existing fanbases, or theatrical runs marketed directly to fandoms. Always Lalisa entering TIFF Gala carries a different meaning: it is the first time a K-pop documentary has been evaluated and selected by the international film industry's mainstream critical apparatus on the same terms as any other film. That distinction, however incremental it may appear, marks a new threshold for what K-pop documentary filmmaking can be positioned as within the broader global film industry. If Sony Music Vision is able to announce a theatrical or streaming distribution plan, it would further demonstrate that the film has secured commercial backing that extends beyond the K-pop fanbase.

On February 8, during the Super Bowl LX commercial break, Netflix released a 90-second censored teaser. Brad Pitt, bearded and long-haired, moves through a late-1970s Hollywood backlot. The clip ends with two words: "Coming Soon." That is the only official video footage that exists for The Adventures of Cliff Booth. With the IMAX premiere set for November 25 — four months away — audiences are still waiting for a full trailer.

The Film and Its Predecessor

Understanding why this project carries the weight it does requires understanding where it comes from. In 2019, Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood grossed $377.4 million worldwide against a $90 million production budget and received ten Academy Award nominations, winning two: Best Supporting Actor for Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, and Best Production Design. The remaining nominations included Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, and Best Original Screenplay — a breadth of recognition that positioned it among the most honored films of that year.

The story was set in 1969 Los Angeles. Cliff Booth was a taciturn Hollywood stuntman and the loyal companion of fading actor Rick Dalton, played by DiCaprio. The film ended with Booth repelling an attack by members of the Manson Family. The Adventures of Cliff Booth picks up eight years later, in the late 1970s, with Booth no longer working as a stuntman but operating as a Hollywood "fixer" — someone hired to make problems disappear. The film is directed by David Fincher, and Tarantino is responsible for the screenplay.

Three Reasons This Film Carries Serious Weight

The first is the creative tension built into the project's DNA. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was unmistakably Tarantino: slow-burning, dialogue-heavy, and suffused with California nostalgia. Fincher operates from a different set of principles entirely. Se7en, Fight Club, Gone Girl, The Social Network — his work is defined by precise visual control, cold tonal palette, and a highly structured editing rhythm.

Tarantino has explained why he chose not to direct: "I love this script, but I'm still going down the same road. That makes me a little reluctant. My last film has to be made when I don't know what I'm doing." He then added: "I think David Fincher and I are the two best directors."

The second factor is the production team assembled around Pitt. Director of photography Erik Messerschmidt won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Mank in 2021 and has worked with Fincher on Mindhunter and The Killer. Editor Kirk Baxter, Fincher's long-term collaborator, won back-to-back Oscars for The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network, compose the music. The infrastructure around this film is as decorated as any production in recent memory.

The third is the awards-season positioning that has already begun to take shape. Gold Derby has listed the film as an early contender in multiple categories for the 2027 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Fincher, Best Actor for Pitt, and Best Original Screenplay for Tarantino. The precedent from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — ten nominations, two wins — provides a meaningful baseline. Fincher's relationship with the Academy is long and complicated: The Social Network, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Fight Club have all left marks on the organization's history without producing a directing win. Whether this collaboration changes that pattern is one of the more substantive questions the awards season will answer.

The Marketing Anomaly

Fincher's recent release cycles offer a reference point. Mank received its full trailer approximately six weeks before its premiere. Gone Girl received its first full trailer roughly three months ahead of opening. Applied to The Adventures of Cliff Booth, those timelines would place a full trailer between early September and mid-October — eight to twelve weeks before the November 25 IMAX date. The fact that nearly five months have passed since the Super Bowl teaser without any additional video material is unusual for a production of this scale. San Diego Comic-Con on July 25 and the Venice Film Festival in late August represent the most plausible near-term windows for new material to surface.

On July 24, BLACKPINK's Jennie will release "Less Than A Lover" — a single on which she serves simultaneously as director, songwriter, and music producer. It is the first time she has taken complete creative ownership of a release in this way.

The song has already accumulated considerable live exposure before its official release. Jennie performed it at Governors Ball in New York in June, then at Roskilde Festival in Denmark, Open'er Festival in Poland, and Mad Cool Festival in Spain — four major international venues across more than a month. Building anticipation through festival performances ahead of a formal release date is a creative inversion of the conventional release sequence.

This release rests on a concrete commercial foundation. Her debut full-length album Ruby, released in March 2025, debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Top Album Sales chart. First-week physical sales in South Korea reached 661,130 copies — the highest figure for a female K-pop solo artist that year. Ruby simultaneously debuted at number three on the UK Official Albums Chart, the highest placement ever achieved by a female K-pop solo artist on that ranking. At the time of the album's release, three tracks charted simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 — a first for any female K-pop solo artist. "Like Jennie" went on to become the most-streamed K-pop song on Spotify globally in the first half of 2025.

"Less Than A Lover" marks a deliberate shift in direction. Ruby was assembled with an extensive roster of outside collaborators — Dua Lipa, Doechii, Childish Gambino, and Diplo among them. This new single carries only Jennie's name across every creative role. The sound is lo-fi, built around guitar and vintage electric keyboard, and positioned by OA Entertainment as showing "a different side" of the artist. Moving from a production-heavy mainstream framework toward a more restrained, self-directed creative language is an active choice that trades commercial accessibility for authorial control — a reflection of creative confidence rather than commercial caution.

In early June, the Recording Academy announced major rule changes for the upcoming 69th Grammys. While tweaks to the eligibility for Best New Artist and the creation of an Asian Pop Music Performance award dominated headlines, another new category went largely unremarked, yet it is no less significant. Best Latin Song will provide an arena for Latin songwriters to be recognized for their work. Unlike other categories such as Pop, Rap, or Global — where Latin songs were eligible, but rarely nominated — this new category seeks to give visibility and directly reward musical creation in Spanish, with a focus on composition and lyrical quality. It is possible that Bad Bunny’s historic Album of the Year win at the 2026 ceremony expedited the creation of this category, which underscores the importance of Latin music on a global scale.

The Recording Academy’s rulebook lays out the qualifications: “Eligible works must be predominantly in the Spanish language (at least 51% of the lyrics) and released during the current eligibility year. Awards are presented to the songwriter(s) only, not to the performing artist(s), unless they are also credited as songwriter(s).” (The guidelines specifically notes songs in mostly Spanish, meaning Portuguese music won’t be acknowledged.)

This focus on songwriting will hopefully help to remedy years of neglect. Latin songs rarely surfaced in in existing categories. Bad Bunny’s “DTMF” and Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” are the only predominantly Spanish songs nominated for Song of the Year, and virtually no one else has managed to break through in genres like Rap, R&B or Rock.

But who will be part of this inaugural lineup? Perhaps the biggest contender is Rosalía, whose Lux is an early favorite for an Album of the Year nom. Rosalía’s “Berghain” might not be Spanish enough, with lyrcis in German and English, so she could opt to submit the other big hit from the record, “La Perla.”

Grammy winner and consistent nominee Karol G is also likely locked for one of the songs from her previous record, Tropicoquea. Even though the album was nominated last year, songs from it that have not been submitted previously are eligible, since the album lost its nomination. That means any song except “Papasito” and the Latin Grammy-winning “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido”. Karol might choose the ballad “Coleccionando Heridas” with legend Marco Antonio Solís, or potentially the boppy “Ivonny Bonita.”

Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso are coming off five Latin Grammys and one Grammy win, so their new album, Free Spirits, will likely earn them a nod here, most likely for the Sting-assisted “Hasta Jesús Tuvo Un Mal Día.” Another Latin Grammy favorite is Jorge Drexler, whose Taracá has been released to critical adoration. Its single “Toco Madera” would be a great fit for a nomination. The final slot could be “Qué Pasaría” by Rauw Alejandro and Bad Bunny. While the song is from Alejandro’s nominated CosaNuestra, it will be eligible since it has not been previously submitted. Plus, voters might be looking to reward Bad Bunny, who has no other songs eligible this cycle.

Other songs that could be possible contenders are: “Dardos” by Romeo Santos, “Inglés en Miami” by Rawayana, “Muévelo” by Kali Uchis, and Milo J’s “Niño.”

Regardless of the nominees, the addition of this category will be a huge win for Latin music. While songwriters have long been honored by the Latin Grammys, those awards are not as widely seen by the greater music industry and mainstream audience. The inclusion of this category in the main Grammys will increase international exposure, vaditate artistic choices, and create opportunities for Latin voices to be heard and valued on equal terms with other global artists.

This week, "Choosin' Texas" held at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a 13th week. It is the only single by a woman primarily known for country music to spend 13 or more weeks at the top, and the first non-holiday song to join that group since Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" in 2005. Above it on the all-time list sits only Carey's Christmas classic — 22 weeks — and three others. Simultaneously, Langley occupies three of the chart's top four positions: "Choosin' Texas" at number one, "Be Her" at number three, and "I Can't Love You Anymore," her collaboration with Morgan Wallen, at number four. No female country artist has ever claimed that much space on the Hot 100 at once.

Her name is Ella Langley. She is 27, from Alabama. Two years ago, virtually no one outside of country music knew who she was.

From Hope Hull to Nashville

Langley was born Elizabeth Camille Langley in Hope Hull, a small town outside Montgomery, Alabama. Her musical foundation came from her grandfather, a folk musician who played multiple instruments and held informal sessions for neighbors at home. After his death, she inherited his guitar and taught herself her first song — Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds." Her household moved between traditional country — Merle Haggard among the touchstones — and rock: Pearl Jam, the Grateful Dead. She ultimately settled on Willie Nelson, Miranda Lambert, and Lainey Wilson as her core references, and moved to Nashville at 20 to pursue a full-time career as a singer-songwriter.

Sound, Style, and Market Position

Langley's music is rooted in traditional country storytelling, threaded with a Southern rock edge, and her vocal delivery pushes back against the polished conventions of mainstream Nashville. She has a pronounced Alabama accent and a near-spoken phrasing style, with lyrics that are direct and unadorned. She has co-written virtually everything she has released — "Choosin' Texas" among them, with Miranda Lambert and songwriter Luke Dick as collaborators.

Her market position is specific and distinctly her own: she is not country-pop, and she is not strictly traditional country. She occupies the space between the two — close enough to the core of the genre to dominate country radio, open enough to cross into the general market. Sony Music Nashville and Columbia Records provide dual distribution infrastructure, covering country radio through Columbia's country division and mainstream streaming through its pop network. Triple Tigers Records handles country airplay promotion — the same company that helped execute Morgan Wallen's crossover trajectory.

The broader moment also worked in her favor. In 2024, Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's "I Had Some Help," and Sabrina Carpenter's country-adjacent pop singles all topped the Hot 100, expanding the general audience's appetite for country aesthetics. As one Billboard editor noted: "We're also in an era where Morgan Wallen routinely holds several spots in the Hot 100 top 10 at the same time — it was only a matter of time before a solo country woman tapped into that momentum."

Four Years of Accumulation, One Song That Ignited

Getting to 13 weeks at number one took four years to build. In 2021, "If You Have To" went viral on TikTok, producing her first publishing deal and a spot opening for Randy Houser on tour. By February 2023, she had made her Grand Ole Opry debut; one week later, she signed with Sony Music Nashville and Columbia Records. Her first EP, Excuse the Mess, released that May, accumulated over 120 million streams in its first year.

The commercial breakthrough came in 2024 through "You Look Like You Love Me," a duet with Riley Green that peaked at number 30 on the Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Country Airplay chart, winning Musical Event of the Year at the CMA Awards. That established her within country music's mainstream — but not yet beyond it.

In September 2025, she won three CMA Awards, including Song of the Year and Single of the Year. The following month, "Choosin' Texas" was released with Lambert on background vocals. The first signal that something unusual was happening came from radio: programmers were requesting the track before the label's formal promotional campaign had begun — a reversal of the standard dynamic, in which labels lobby stations rather than stations pulling from labels, and one that is rare in country radio. TikTok dance challenges followed, generating sustained volumes of user-created content around the song's geographic imagery.

By February 2026, "Choosin' Texas" had reached number one on the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Country Airplay simultaneously — the first song by a woman to accomplish all three at once. It has since become the most-streamed song in the United States in 2026, with 570.9 million streams, ahead of Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, and Bad Bunny.

The Competition and What Comes Next

The average Hot 100 number one in 2026 has lasted one to two weeks: Taylor Swift's "I Knew It, I Knew You" dropped after two, Olivia Rodrigo's "Drop Dead" held for one, Drake's "Janice STFU" for two. Thirteen weeks stands out as a conspicuous anomaly. The most credible near-term threats to the run are Ariana Grande's petal, releasing July 31, and Charli XCX's Music, Fashion, Film, releasing July 24 — both carry the streaming volume to deliver a serious challenge to whatever currently holds the top position.