Showbiz in 2025: Beyonce's Grammy triumph, Taylor Swift sets more records

Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" Grammy triumph and tour, Oasis's reunion concerts and K-pop supergroup BTS reuniting after completing their military service were some of the headlines from the world of music in 2025.

Beyonce scored the top prize at music's Grammy Awards, taking album of the year for the first time in her career with her country record "Cowboy Carter".

The superstar singer triumphed over Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and others to claim the trophy that had eluded her even as she collected more lifetime Grammys than any other artist.

Beyonce's win came on her fifth nomination in the album category. She earned three trophies in total at the 2025 awards, bringing her career haul to 35. That included best country album, making her the first Black woman to win that category. 

Rapper Kendrick Lamar claimed record and song of the year for "Not Like Us," a diss track in his feud with Canadian rapper and singer Drake. "Pink Pony Club" singer Chappell Roan was named best new artist.

Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" tour became the highest-grossing country tour of all time with over $400 million in revenue.

The "Cuff It" singer is also the highest-grossing Black artist of all time and the highest-grossing R&B artist of all time, according to Live Nation.

The singer launched the "Cowboy Carter" tour in April in Los Angeles, rolling through "Texas Hold 'Em" and other country hits while sharing the stage with her two daughters.

Throughout her tour, the "16 Carriages" vocalist paid homage to Black American contributions to country music, specifically honoring Black performers, some of whom are featured in the "Cowboy Carter" album.

Beyonce has spoken candidly about not feeling welcomed in the country genre despite her Texas roots.

Taylor Swift stormed charts again and set new records with her twelfth studio album "The Life of a Showgirl."

The record, written during the European leg of her massive "Eras" tour, arrived in October with a promotional blitz including midnight sales at Target stores, a release party at movie theaters around the globe and pop-up experiences. It became Spotify's most-streamed album of the year, hitting that milestone in less than 11 hours.

 "The Life of a Showgirl," which Swift said reflected "exactly where I am at in my life," topped charts around the world. In the United States, all of its 12 songs took the top 12 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, led by "The Fate of Ophelia." 

Swift also purchased the master recordings of her first six albums, giving her control of all of her music after a dispute with her former record label. Swift's masters had been sold in 2019 and the singer said she was not given the opportunity to buy them at the time. She re-recorded four of the albums with the subtitle "Taylor's Version." Swift purchased the original recordings from current owner Shamrock Capital in what she called her "greatest dream come true." No financial terms were disclosed.

Swift is also releasing a concert film and a six-part documentary series that chronicles her record-breaking Eras Tour on Disney+ on December 12.

Disney+, which streamed an earlier cut of the Eras Tour film this year, is deepening its collaboration with Swift, leaning into exclusive live music and the pop superstar's large, devoted global fan base to attract new subscribers in a competitive market.

"The Eras Tour | The Final Show" will feature the full performance from her last tour stop in Vancouver, including the live set for her album "The Tortured Poets Department."

Disney+ also will release a six-part docuseries titled "The End of an Era," offering a behind-the-scenes view of what Swift called "the most important and intense chapter" of her career. The series will be released in batches of two episodes on Dec. 12, 19 and 26.

British rock band Oasis delighted fans with a reunion tour as the Gallagher brothers put more than 16 years of acrimony behind them to deliver hit-packed sets that took thousands of fans back to the optimism and swagger of the 1990s.

The Manchester band defined the "Britpop" revival of guitar music, before tensions between Noel Gallagher, the band's main songwriter, and his younger brother, lead singer Liam, led to its split. 

The tour kicked off in Cardiff in July, before moving to the Gallaghers' home city of Manchester. It continued in Britain and Ireland, followed by shows across North and South America, Asia and Australia. It wrapped in Sao Paulo in November.

Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath thrilled tens of thousands of fans in an emotional farewell gig in July in a day packed with tribute sets from a star-studded lineup.

Nearly six decades after helping pioneer heavy metal with an eponymous song that enthralled and frightened audiences, Black Sabbath returned to their home of Aston for "Back to the Beginning," at Villa Park stadium.

The one-off gig, with profits going to charity, was billed as Osbourne's last performance, five years after the 76-year-old "Prince of Darkness" revealed he had Parkinson's disease, which had made him unable to walk.

One of music's wildest frontmen, who once chewed off the head of a bat on stage, Osbourne performed sitting on a black throne, at times appearing to tear up before an adoring crowd which lapped up hits including "Crazy Train".

Osbourne died a few weeks later.

Singer Justin Timberlake revealed that he had been diagnosed with Lyme disease, a condition he described as “relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically.” 

Sharing the news on Instagram after his "Forget Tomorrow" tour ended, Timberlake said he had considered ending the tour after his diagnosis but ultimately decided to continue performing. 

“The joy that performing brings me far outweighs the fleeting stress my body was feeling. I'm so glad I kept going,” Timberlake wrote. 

Singer Justin Bieber surprised fans with surprise album "Swag" and sequel "Swag II." The Canadian music star had teased the first record by posting pictures on his Instagram page of promotional billboards for "Swag" in different locations. 

The records, his seventh and eighth studio albums - and the first since 2021's "Justice," feature collaborations with the likes of Dijon, Lil B, Gunna, Tems, Bakar and others.

Bieber was also announced as a headline performer at the 2026 Coachella festival.

Country singer Dolly Parton sought to reassure fans about her health after comments by her sister stoked concern that the Grammy winner was near death.

"I ain't dead yet," Parton, 79, said in the caption to an Instagram video. "Do I look sick to you? I'm working hard here," the "9 to 5" singer said with a smile from a set where she was filming commercials for the Grand Ole Opry. She wore black pants and a red top with black fringe.

Parton had previously announced she was postponing a series of shows planned for Las Vegas to deal with some unspecified health issues. Before her Instagram video, her sister, Freida Parton, said on social media that she had been "up all night praying" for the singer. She later said she "didn't mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious."

In her video, Parton said she had neglected her own health during the illness and death of her husband, Carl Dean, who died in March. She was now working with doctors to address some issues, she said. "I want you to know I'm OK. I've got some problems ... nothing major," she said, adding, "I'm not dying."

The Grammy-winning singer, a star of movies including "Steel Magnolias" and "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," received an honorary Oscar in November. 

Hollywood star and musician Will Smith released his first full-length album in two decades, titled "Based on a True Story." 

The 14-track record features several collaborators including Teyana Taylor, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Jac Ross. It includes previously released singles "You Can Make it," "Work of Art," "TANTRUM," "First Love" and "Beautiful Scars." The latter, a song about the pains of fame and learning from one's mistakes, is a collaboration with hip hop star Big Sean and also features musician OBanga.

Smith also embarked on his first ever headlining tour around the UK, Morocco and Europe this summer.

K-pop supergroup BTS reunited after its members completed South Korea's mandatory military service, and the band announced a new album and tour, delighting fans.

The seven members of the group put their global music careers on hold in 2022 to begin their military service, starting with Jin in December that year. South Korea's mandatory national service can be for terms of up to 18 months.

In July, they said they would head to the United States that month to start working on new music and would launch their next album early next year ahead of a world tour.

The upcoming album will be the band's first full-length album since 2020, BTS leader RM said.

The band made its debut in 2013 and spearheaded a global K-pop craze with lyrics and social campaigns aimed at empowering youngsters.

An Argentine court cleared three of the five people accused of their alleged involvement in singer Liam Payne's death.

The court dismissed charges against businessman Rogelio Nores, a friend of Payne's who reportedly acted as his manager, and two employees of the hotel where Payne died.

Two other people remain detained awaiting trial over accusations they plied the 31-year-old, who shot to fame as part of the boyband One Direction, with cocaine during his stay in Buenos Aires.

Payne fell to his death from a hotel balcony in October 2024, triggering an outpouring of grief from fans around the world.

Bad Bunny won five Latin Grammy awards, cementing the Puerto Rican star as an industry titan.

Bad Bunny won album of the year for "Debí Tirar Más Fotos," a tour de force mixing styles from Afro-Caribbean to salsa that netted him 12 nominations. He also won for best urban/urban fusion performance, best reggaeton performance, best urban music album, and best urban song.

The awards only burnish his reputation ahead of his wider introduction to English-speaking America and a worldwide audience as the halftime performer of the Super Bowl next February, a choice that rankled some U.S. traditionalists including President Donald Trump, who said he had never heard of Bad Bunny.

The rapidly growing Latin music sector generated a record $1.4 billion in 2024, making up 8.1% of total U.S. music revenue, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, which said it was shaping the culture faster than any other genre.

Bad Bunny, 31, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, has also received six nominations for the regular Grammys to be awarded in February, including for the major categories of record, song and album of the year. He was the first Latin artist to be nominated in the three major categories in the same year.

In September the National Football League announced Bad Bunny would headline the Super Bowl halftime show on February 8, 2026, when he is likely to become the first such act to perform entirely or mostly in Spanish. In 2020, he made a guest appearance at the halftime show headlined by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, helping boost his meteoric rise.

While the NFL is embracing the genre, and the entertainment dollars that come with it, American football's break with tradition was poorly received by some fans including Trump, who called the choice of Bad Bunny as halftime entertainer "absolutely ridiculous."

Bad Bunny, who has criticized Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement, supported Trump's opponent Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

According to music analytics site Kworb, five of Spotify's top 10 most streamed songs in 2025 were Bad Bunny tracks.  

-Natasha Montague, Lisa Giles-Keddie and Marie-Louise Gumuchian