Taylor Swift tops global sales again
Taylor Swift has been named 2025’s best-selling artist of the year for the sixth time, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced. The award recognises worldwide sales across streaming, downloads and physical formats over the calendar year.
According to Reuters, the honour follows the success of her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl. According to Billboard, the album sold more copies in its first week than any other release in the modern era, citing data from Luminate. Swift also saw strong global engagement from her tour documentary, The End of an Era.
Swift was first named IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year in 2014, then again in 2019, and consecutively from 2022 to 2024. Reuters reported, with the 2025 title, she has now won the award as many times as all other artists combined over the past decade.
IFPI said the achievement reflects her creative consistency and strong global release strategy. The award considers an artist’s entire body of work and measures performance across all music consumption formats worldwide.
Ranveer Singh receives Rs 10 crore extortion threat call from Lawrence Bishnoi gang
Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh has reportedly received a death threat and an extortion demand of Rs 10 crore from the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang, NDTV reports.
The report says the threat was sent through a voice note from a United States-registered phone number.
Mumbai Police have launched a probe into the matter, with the Crime Branch taking charge of the investigation
Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek dies aged 48
Actor James Van Der Beek, best known for his starring role in US teen drama Dawson's Creek, has died aged 48 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer, BBC reported.
"Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning," his family said in a statement posted to his social media accounts. "He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace."
The star was diagnosed with the disease in the latter half of 2023 but only revealed the news in November 2024, according to BBC.
Britney Spears sells rights to entire music catalogue
Pop superstar Britney Spears has sold the rights to her entire music catalogue, the BBC has learned, BBC reported.
Spears, 44, is said to have sold to independent music publisher Primary Wave on 30 December for around $200m (£146m).
The singer - whose protracted conservatorship long dictated her personal and professional life - is known for the hits ...Baby One More Time, Oops!... I Did It Again, Toxic and Gimme More, according to BBC.
