Tune Talk: Weekly Music News

## Weekly Snapshot (December 8–14, 2025)
The music industry buzzed with major album rollouts, high-profile tour stops, and strategic partnerships. On December 8, rapper 21 Savage announced his forthcoming studio album via Instagram, while French high-res streaming service Qobuz forged an artist-centric podcast alliance with indie outlet Drowned in Sound. These developments underscored both artists’ creative momentum and the industry’s push toward diversified content delivery as the year’s end approaches. ([pitchfork.com](https://pitchfork.com/news/21-savage-announces-new-album-what-happened-to-the-streets?utm_source=openai))

## Album Releases & Announcements
21 Savage set the week ablaze by unveiling *What Happened to the Streets?*, his first studio album since 2024’s *American Dream*, slated for release on December 12, 2025. The announcement came via a teaser video on his Instagram on December 8 and follows a year of high-profile features, including appearances on Summer Walker’s *Finally Over It* and Travis Scott’s *Jackboys 2* mixtape. ([pitchfork.com](https://pitchfork.com/news/21-savage-announces-new-album-what-happened-to-the-streets?utm_source=openai))

On December 5, pop collaborators JVKE and Forrest Frank released *This Is What Christmas Feels Like*, a six-track holiday LP blending original material with a festive remix of JVKE’s “Her.” The project dropped via JVKE Music and AWAL, supported by two promotional singles: “Christmas Morning” (Nov 14) and the holiday-themed “Her” remix on December 12. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_What_Christmas_Feels_Like?utm_source=openai))

Zac Brown Band delivered their eighth studio album, *Love & Fear*, on December 5 through Master of None, marking a four-year hiatus since 2021’s *The Comeback*. The record features guest turns from Snoop Dogg, Dolly Parton, and blues-rock guitarist Marcus King, weaving country, gospel, and rock elements into a cohesive narrative of emotional duality. To promote the release, the group launched a limited Las Vegas residency at Sphere, where immersive visuals—including a fiery skeleton motif—complement tracks like “Animal.” Simultaneously, Zac Brown shared candid reflections on his tumultuous childhood in an NPR *Morning Edition* interview, revealing his upbringing between battered-women’s shelters and its impact on his artistry. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_%26_Fear?utm_source=openai))

## Tours & Live Events
The live circuit remained lively: R&B heavyweights Monica and Brandy continued their “The Boy Is Mine” tour with a Fort Worth, Texas, stop, where they paid homage to Whitney Houston alongside surprise guest Keyshia Cole. The show, which featured nostalgic ’90s hits and a crowd-pleasing duet of “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” concluded in Jacksonville, Florida, on December 14. ([pagesix.com](https://pagesix.com/entertainment/we-hear-music-news-events-2025/?utm_source=openai))

Simultaneously, South African pop sensation Tyla wrapped the last of eight Asian shows on her *We Wanna Party Tour* at Bahrain’s The Desert Garden on December 14, closing out a tour that began November 11 in Tokyo. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Wanna_Party_Tour?utm_source=openai))

Meanwhile in New York City, singer Ravyn Lenae shone at Z100’s Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden on December 13. Joined by Reneé Rapp, her high-energy set added to a star-studded lineup that included Paris Hilton, Paula Abdul, Rihanna, and Ed Sheeran, delivering festive performances to kick off the holiday season. ([people.com](https://people.com/star-tracks-sunday-december-14-2025-new-celebrity-photos-updated-daily-11868688?utm_source=openai))

## Industry Partnerships & Year-End Charts
In a bid to bolster artist-first content, Qobuz announced on December 9 a six-month partnership with Drowned in Sound to co-produce “artist-first” podcasts and weekly DiS-curated playlists on Qobuz’s platform. The collaboration, running through June 2026, spotlights deep-dive interviews and best-of-2025 retrospectives, reflecting a shared ethos of human curation and fair compensation—Qobuz pays approximately $0.01873 per stream, quadruple the industry average. ([techradar.com](https://www.techradar.com/audio/audio-streaming/qobuz-teams-up-with-indie-music-mag-drowned-in-sound-to-produce-6-months-of-artist-first-podcasts-and-i-cant-wait-to-tune-in?utm_source=openai))

On December 4, Billboard previewed its year-end Latin charts, revealing Bad Bunny’s dominance: his album *DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS* tops Top Latin Albums, while its single “DtMF” leads Hot Latin Songs. These placements pre-empt the full year-end reveal on December 15. ([industrypreviews.com](https://www.industrypreviews.com/2025/12/04/bad-bunny-takes-control-of-latin-year-end-charts-countdown-to-billboards-2025-year-end-charts/?utm_source=openai))

## Curated Playlists & Chart Highlights
Editorial tastemakers kept listeners engaged. On December 8, Pitchfork launched its latest “Pitchfork Selects” playlist, featuring tracks from Bladee, Dawn Richard, Niontay, Vitesse X, and a surprising collaboration between Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried titled “Clothed by the Sun.” Available on Apple Music and Spotify, the playlist traverses genres from electronic to indie rock, showcasing both established names and emerging voices. ([pitchfork.com](https://pitchfork.com/news/bladee-dawn-richard-this-week-pitchfork-selects-playlist?utm_source=openai))

Meanwhile, classic holiday tunes reclaimed the Billboard Hot 100. In the week ending December 13, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” ascended to No. 1 for its 76th week on the chart, followed by Wham!’s “Last Christmas” and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” underscoring enduring festive favorites during the peak of the season. ([creativedisc.com](https://creativedisc.com/2025/12/billboard-hot-100-13-des-2025/?utm_source=openai))

— End of Weekly Music News —