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Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern Announces Retirement After 12-Year Tenure

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Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern has revealed plans to retire at the end of 2026. Trahern will remain fully engaged in her role as CEO until the end of the year, and will work closely with the CMA’s board of directors and senior leadership to guide the organization into its next chapter.

“Leading the Country Music Association has been the privilege of my career,” Trahern said in a statement. “I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together in service of this industry and its people, and deeply grateful for the community that makes Country Music what it is. After much reflection, I’ve made the decision to retire and embrace this next chapter of life – one that allows me to remain connected to this industry in ways that continue to inspire me, while also creating space for the people and moments that matter most to me, including time with my husband, Wayne, getting outdoors, and simple nights at home with our dog, Riley.”

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Trahern took the lead at CMA in 2014, and during her tenure, she continued the organization’s commitment to supporting the growth of country music genre both stateside and globally, while also spearheading the association’s flagship television properties including the CMA Awards, CMA Fest and CMA Country Christmas. Trahern also supported the CMA’s commitment to music education through the CMA Foundation, serving as president of the nonprofit arm of the CMA. The CMA Foundation has invested more than $30 million to date in programs to support music teachers and students. A portion of proceeds from each CMA Fest supports the CMA Foundation’s music education initiatives.

Prior to her role at CMA, Trahern held roles at C-SPAN, The Nashville Network, and worked as general manager at Great American Country (GAC). Trahern was named as Billboard‘s Country Power Players executive of the year in 2017. In 2024, she was honored with the Bob Kingsley living legend award by the Grand Ole Opry.

The CMA Board of Directors has formed a search committee and retained independent executive search firm Buffkin Baker to facilitate the process to search for Trahern’s successor. Additional details regarding the search will be announced next month.

“While we will deeply miss Sarah’s leadership, we are excited to carry forward the legacy she has established,” Jay Williams, co-head and partner, WME and CMA board chairman, said in a statement. “Sarah leaves behind an indelible mark on both the Country Music Association and the broader industry. Her influence has shaped not only CMA but the future of Country Music itself.”

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NFL Player Keion White Shot Following Alleged Argument With Lil Baby at a Nightclub

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NFL player Keion White was shot early Monday (Feb. 9) following an alleged argument with Lil Baby at a San Francisco nightclub.

According to ABC7, White was shot in the ankle at Dahlia’s, where the 49ers defensive lineman was hosting a Super Bowl party.

SFPD responded to calls for gunshots around 4 a.m. PT on Monday, according to ABC7. The San Francisco Standard viewed the police report, which, according to the publication, said a witness told law enforcement that White got into an argument with Baby as the rapper and his entourage tried to enter the private event, and was then shot, hours after the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.

Billboard has reached out to reps for Lil Baby and the SFPD for comment.

“Any violent incident in our city is unacceptable, and I’m hoping Keion recovers quickly. I’ve spoken with SFPD and 49ers leadership — we are all grateful to our SFPD officers for their quick response,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said on X. “As always, I will continue working with San Francisco law enforcement to ensure our neighborhoods and our residents are safe.”

According to the San Francisco 49ers, White underwent successful surgery on his ankle and the injuries are not expected to be “career-threatening.”

“A preliminary investigation revealed a verbal altercation occurred between two groups inside a business,” San Francisco police said in a statement, per ESPN. “The victim was injured when shots were fired by an unknown suspect.”

No arrests have been made yet, and no suspects have been named by the San Francisco Police Department.

Lil Baby was spotted attending Super Bowl LX with his son, Jason. On the music side, Baby has already notched collabs with Tkandz as well as Veeze and Rylo Rodriguez in 2026. The Atlanta rapper’s “Mrs. Trendsetter” held at No. 89 on last week’s Billboard Hot 100.

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Don Toliver Scores His First No. 1 Hit on Hot Rap Songs Chart

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Don Toliver’s busy week across Billboard’s charts includes the rapper-singer’s first No. 1 hit on the Hot Rap Songs list, as “Body” debuts atop the ranking dated Feb. 7. The new champ, on Donnway & Co./Cactus Jack/Atlantic Records, captains his collection of 17 tracks this week’s chart. They’re all from his new album, Octane, which storms in at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart with 162,000 equivalent album units.

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The 17-track parade marks the most cuts that Don Toliver has posted on the Hot Rap Songs chart in a single week, and makes him only the sixth artist to claim 17 or more simultaneous appearances. He joins Drake, who has done it twice, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Baby, Playboi Carti and Travis Scott in the chart’s 34-year history.

“Body” owes its coronation on the multimetric Hot Rap Songs chart, a weighted combination of streaming, radio airplay and sales data in the United States, almost entirely to 14.3 million official on-demand streams for the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 5, according to Luminate. Thanks to that sum, it sparks a No. 1 debut on the Rap Streaming Songs chart. In the remaining categories, “Body” had 106,000 radio audience impressions and a negligible amount of song downloads.

With “Body,” Don Toliver achieves his first Hot Rap Songs No. 1 after 30 prior appearances. The performer previously peaked twice at No. 3 through featured roles: He and NAV guested on Internet Money and Gunna’s “Lemonade,” which reached the bronze in November 2020, while his and Future’s supporting turns on Metro Boomin’s “Too Many Nights” led to the same prize in December 2022. As a lead artist, his own “Tiramisu” set his previous career high of No. 6 in September 2025.

Similarly, “Body” leads Don Toliver’s ledger on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (No. 3) and the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 (No. 14).

With “Body” on top, here’s a recap of all 17 Don Toliver tracks on Hot Rap Songs. Among them, 15 are debuts, while “ATM” and “Tiramisu” nab their second and third weeks, respectively.

  • No. 1, “Body”
  • No. 2, “E85”
  • No. 4, “ATM”
  • No. 5, “Secondhand,” feat. Rema
  • No. 6, “Rendezvous,” feat. Yeat
  • No. 8, “Tiramisu”
  • No. 9, “Rosary,” feat. Travis Scott
  • No. 10, “Call Back”
  • No. 11, “Gemstone”
  • No. 12, “Excavator”
  • No. 13, “Opposite”
  • No. 17, “All the Signs,” feat. Teezo Touchdown
  • No. 18, “Tuition”
  • No. 19, “K9,” feat. SahBabii
  • No. 22, “TMU”
  • No. 24, “Sweet Home”
  • No. 25, “Pleasure’s Mine”

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Baby Keem Announces ‘Ca$ino’ Album Release Date & Previews Kendrick Lamar Collaboration

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Baby Keem is back. Keem announced plans for his upcoming album, Ca$ino, on Tuesday (Feb. 10), and the sophomore LP is slated to arrive on Feb. 20.

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“Ca$ino Feb 20, 2026 Limited Edition Vinyl Available Now,” Keem wrote on Instagram. The 25-year-old revealed the LP’s cover art, which features a photo of a young Baby Keem with the parental advisory sticker.

Ca$ino boasts 12 tracks, including collaborations with his cousin Kendrick Lamar, Too Short, Momo Boys and Che Ecru.

With the four-plus-year layoff, fans are anticipating Keem’s return. “Took your time bro this better be a classic,” one person commented. Another added: “USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS!”

Keem also released a Ca$ino documentary on YouTube to accompany the announcement. The Booman I doc features appearances from plenty of Keem’s family members describing his upbringing, including an appearance from Kendrick. “I understand the hardships before he was born. Knowing his mom, that’s my first cousin,” he said. “I already knew what she was going through, just the history of our family in general. We don’t call ourselves the hillbillies for nothing.”

Lamar continued: “Section 8, welfare … This is a story of a warfare environment and a warfare psychologically trying to change our generational curses.”

There’s also footage of Keem in the studio working on his collab with Lamar, “Good Flirts.” “Walking in the party, I don’t feel nobody/ What the f—k,” K. Dot raps on the hard-hitting track. “Is it fake, is it love, probably/ I smell something.”

Baby Keem’s debut album, The Melodic Blue, arrived in September 2021 and debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. He released a deluxe for the LP in October 2022 featuring Lil Uzi Vert and PinkPantheress.

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