The finale of “Stranger Things” has triggered a major streaming surge for actor-musician Joe Keery, with his song “End of Beginning” rising to No 2 on Spotify’s Global Top 50 chart.

The album will be BTS’s first group release since the members began a hiatus to complete South Korea’s mandatory military service.

As 2025 draws to a close and year-end round-ups give way to anticipation, attention is turning to what 2026 may hold for the music world—from album releases and festival line-ups to questions about live returns and the growing role of artificial intelligence.

“Then one day, on a full moonlit night, I too will depart—taking along the only certainty—towards the land of eternal harvest. I will come to know that ‘everything arrives too late, reveals itself too late; and then suddenly, it disappears.’”

Singer Salma is the winner of the second season of the competition Closeup One—Tomakei Khujchhe Bangladesh. Since then, she has remained regularly involved with music.

Beyoncé has entered the billionaire ranks, becoming the fifth musician to achieve the milestone, according to Forbes.

Bangladesh is going through one of its most precarious social, economic and political phases to date, with multiple strange layers in between. The cancellation of various shows and even physical attacks at scale nationwide, including arson, mark a new low. However, the tension between particular groups of ideologues; labelling each other, and other forms of practices they dislike, as “oposhingskriti”, or degenerate art/culture (which reminds me of Entartete Kunst, a term popularised by the party of a certain funny-moustached German leader)—is nothing new. In that context, a significant population still considers art practices like rock and metal music as “degenerates within degenerates”, an apogee of “oposhingskriti” on Bengali soil; despite the scene producing some of the finest artistes and musical creations from this region.

The former One Direction member, who has maintained a notably low profile since concluding his massive “Love On Tour” in 2023, uploaded a video titled “Forever, Forever” to his official channel on Saturday without prior announcement or promotion.

Elita Karim harmonizes her multifaceted career as a Bangladeshi singer, journalist, and researcher. Pursuing a PhD in America, she explores resistance through art while balancing musical collaborations with Bappa Mazumder and maintaining deep professional integrity.

Ten Bangladeshi bands have recorded brand-new songs for Bangladesh Television’s special programme “Band Utshob 2025”, bringing together lyricist Shahid Mahmud Jangi and composer Fuad Nasser Babu; two names closely associated with many popular band songs in the country.

James echoed the sentiment, stating that the cancellation was entirely due to the organisers’ failure.

Popular Bangladeshi rock band Mechanix is celebrating two decades of its musical journey with a mega concert in Dhaka today (Saturday).

From Karnival to Level Five, from Pritom Hasan to Xefer, a wave of new names has ripped up the concert scene and delivered impressive numbers on streaming platforms.

The concluding day of the grand celebrations marking the 185th anniversary of Faridpur Zilla School and its reunion programme descended into chaos yesterday, abruptly ending what was meant to be a festive occasion.

Throughout 2025, numerous songs were released in Bangladesh’s music scene, including tracks from films, OTT platforms, television dramas and Coke Studio Bangla.

According to reports, at around 10pm, organising committee convenor Mustafizur Rahman Shamim announced that the concert had been cancelled on the instructions of the Faridpur Deputy Commissioner.

In the light of these events, Bengal Foundation, one of country's biggest patrons of art and culture, launched a four-day long multidisciplinary cultural festival including an array of musical performances every evening, a craft fair, a craft workshop for children, and an art exhibition by 35 of the women artists of Bangladesh and beyond.

The festival, organised by Aajob Karkhana, aims to introduce Sanjeeb Chowdhury’s timeless creations to the younger generation. Over the years, it has become a unique gathering for music lovers across the country.

The programme sought to highlight the values of peace, harmony and humanity associated with Christmas through a range of musical performances, including carol songs and kirtan.

A private man by nature, Alauddin Ali avoided publicity. Music was his chosen language.