Janet Jackson’s 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame at the organisation’s gala on May 8, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Presented by longtime collaborator Jimmy Jam — who, with Terry Lewis, produced the record — Jackson accepted the honour and used her speech to reiterate the album’s enduring message of unity, peace and opposition to bigotry. The event celebrated 14 recordings and albums including 2Pac’s All Eyez on Me, Radiohead’s OK Computer, Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain, Nick Drake’s Pink Moon, Alice Coltrane’s Journey in Satchidananda, Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid In Full and Selena’s Amor Prohibido. Performances and tributes during the two-and-a-half-hour gala included sets or appearances by Take 6, Heart, Norah Jones, George Clinton (with Erykah Badu joining), Taylor Hanson, Lucinda Williams, Teddy Swims and Josh Groban. The evening doubled as a fundraiser to support the Grammy Museum’s national education programmes and honoured Warner Records as the Vision of Music recipient.

Universal Music Group’s board on May 29 unanimously rejected an unsolicited takeover proposal from Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square, saying the April 7 offer “fundamentally and materially undervalues UMG” and is not in the best interests of the company, its shareholders, artists, songwriters, employees or other stakeholders. Pershing Square had proposed a cash-and-stock transaction valuing UMG at about €30.40 per share, roughly €55.7 billion (about $64–65 billion by published estimates). The board said it reached its decision after review with external financial and legal advisers and after hearing from major shareholders, including the Bolloré Group, which holds about 28% and publicly urged rejection days earlier. UMG highlighted recent corporate moves to boost shareholder value — expanding a share buyback programme, plans to sell half its Spotify stake and commitments to enhanced financial disclosure — and reiterated plans to pursue a U.S. listing. Ackman and Pershing Square, who were significant investors in UMG from 2021 and for a time had a board seat, did not immediately comment.

Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil has published an excerpt from his memoir, A Screaming Life: Into the Superunknown with Soundgarden and Beyond, recounting how he learned of bandmate Chris Cornell’s death on May 18, 2017. The preview, shared by Rolling Stone on May 29 ahead of the book’s June 9 release via William Morrow, describes the band leaving Detroit after a Fox Theatre show en route to Rock on the Range in Columbus, Ohio when members saw social media reports of Cornell’s death. Thayil writes of initial disbelief, the confirmation that Cornell died by suicide in a hotel room, and his lingering guilt — “I feel like I let Chris down” — for not recognising warning signs. Other outlets (Louder Sound, Metal Injection) have carried the excerpt and reported that Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron are finishing a collection of unreleased songs built around Cornell’s final demo recordings, material that had been the subject of a long-running legal dispute with Cornell’s estate.

On the night of May 29, 2026 the Dublin band The Coronas halted and ultimately cancelled a sold-out concert at King John’s Castle in Limerick after guitarist Lar Kaye suffered a medical emergency on stage. The show, attended by thousands, was stopped minutes after it began while medics treated Kaye. Frontman Danny O’Reilly later returned to the stage to address the audience and said the band had wanted to continue but it “just doesn’t feel right.” Organisers Dolan’s confirmed the performance has been cancelled and will be rescheduled; the band has indicated a likely return date in mid-July (reported as July 10 or 11). Ticket holders will be contacted with details. The Coronas, formed in Dublin and active since the mid-2000s with seven studio albums, are among Ireland’s better-known contemporary rock acts.

Olivia Rodrigo told The New York Times' Popcast she does not ‘read too far into’ online speculation about a supposed rift with Taylor Swift, as she promotes her third studio album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, due June 12, 2026. The 23-year-old said diving into every “internet detective” theory would make her “go crazy” and that she learned to detach after the intense scrutiny around her 2021 breakout single “Drivers License.” Rodrigo reiterated she has no interest in publicly naming subjects of her songs and described the post‑Sour songwriting credit changes — which retroactively added Swift, Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent to “Deja Vu” and credited Swift on “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back” — as a confusing period she was not closely involved in. Renewed attention followed March photos of Rodrigo and Swift leaving a Paul McCartney concert at the same time; Rodrigo said she tries to focus on making music and being kind rather than engaging with rumours.

Dutch authorities said on May 29-30, 2026 they found no legal grounds to bar U.S. rapper Kanye West — who now calls himself Ye — from entering the Netherlands, clearing two concerts at GelreDome in Arnhem on June 6 and June 8. Deputy Prime Minister Bart van den Brink said investigators did not uncover evidence to justify an entry ban despite widespread calls from lawmakers and Jewish groups to block the shows. The decision contrasts with a string of cancellations elsewhere in Europe after West’s series of antisemitic remarks, his 2025 release titled “Heil Hitler,” and ensuing commercial fallout from brands and partners. Britain denied him entry in April, forcing the cancellation of his planned Wireless Festival headline; France, Poland and Switzerland have also cancelled or postponed dates. West purchased a full-page Wall Street Journal ad in January apologising and attributing some behaviour to bipolar type‑1. Organisers report large ticket sales for nearby dates — Istanbul sold tens of thousands — and promoters continue to face pressure over remaining European tour stops in July and beyond.