Entertainment
Paul McCartney’s Fonda Setlist: Every Song From the First Night of His Two-Night Hollywood Stand
Friday night (March 27) may have officially been billed as Paul McCartney Rocks the Fonda!, but it could have just as easily been called Paul McCartney Makes Everything Better!
Even if it was just for a little while (one hour and 40 minutes to be exact), it felt like the former Beatle made all the world’s troubles disappear within the tiny confines of the Fonda, where he is playing two nights to celebrate the 100th birthday of the 1,100-capacity Hollywood club (the series concluded March 28).
The set was a truncated version of the 2025 Got Back tour, even down to the song order, slimmed down from 33 songs to a tight 21.
McCartney, dressed in a casual black suit with a vest, took the stage at 8:30 p.m., looking delighted to be back on stage even though it had only been four months since the North American tour ended. What followed was a trip back in time, with the spry McCartney serving as the congenial master of ceremonies, surrounded by elite musicians who have now played with him longer than his bandmates in either The Beatles or Wings: keyboardist Paul “Wix” Wickens, lead guitarist Rusty Anderson, drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and guitarist/bassist Brian Ray. They are a ridiculously tight unit, but more than anything they are a fun, infectiously exuberant one.
As McCartney, 83, touched on almost every facet of his musical career, he seemingly delighted in playing such a small gig, joking it was “good to see the whites of your eyes” to the audience. He convivially bantered with the first few rows, including giving a shoutout to fan attending his 146th show, and good-naturedly shut down a loud balcony attendee getting a little too boisterous. He was loose throughout the show, breaking into short stories (including a humorous Tony Bennett anecdote) and just generally seeming to enjoy the audience as much as they enjoyed him.
But the focus was on the music, and the music soared throughout much of the night. McCartney’s band may be a five piece (with the occasional welcome addition of the three-piece Hot City Horns), but they sound fuller than a configuration at least twice that size, especially when they are locked into a solid, propulsive groove on such songs as “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five,” “Lady Madonna” and “Get Back.”
On Thursday (March 28), McCartney released a new song, the tenderly nostalgic “Days We Left Behind,” which is featured on his forthcoming 18th solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane — but the tune went left undone at the show, with McCartney saying they were still learning how to play it. Instead, he opted to play two songs from solo albums not featured during the Got Back tour and ones that are seldom trotted out: “Every Night” and “Flaming Pie.”
The no-phones policy and no-frills production (there was no projection of any kind, just a few overhead lighting trusses) allowed the audience to be as in the moment as the band and a communal feeling of peace and joy felt like it spread from the stage all the way through the rear of the balcony, especially on late-show singalongs/anthems “Let It Be” and “Hey Jude.”
McCartney and band returned for his standard encore, closing with Abbey Road’s monumental medley of “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End.” The words are so familiar now, but still ring true like a beautiful benediction, as he sent the audience out into the night with “the love you take is equal to the love you make” echoing in their ears.
Below are all the songs McCartney performed on the first night of his two-night Fonda stand.

Entertainment
YouTube’s Tuma Basa to Exit as Director of Black Music & Culture
Longtime YouTube executive Tuma Basa, who most recently served as the company’s director of Black music & culture, has announced his departure after eight years at the streaming giant.
“After eight great years at YouTube, I’m taking a leap of faith and stepping into my next chapter,” Basa wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday (April 2). “Thank you to the Music Team at YouTube, the leadership, the artists, the managers, the labels, the producers, the continents, the city specialists, the uploaders and YouTubeLovers and even the Gen AI haters that made this run.. a great run. Murakoze Cyane, Asante Sana, Siyabonga, Amesegenalew, Gracias, Obrigado, Merci Beaucoup.”
Basa was born in Zaire (now Congo) to a Rwandan family, but spent his childhood in Iowa after his father entered the graduate studies program at the University of Iowa; he then relocated to Zimbabwe as a teenager. During his tenure at YouTube, which he joined in 2018 as director of urban music, Basa became known for spotlighting African artists, including Nigerian star Burna Boy, and helping fuel their growth in the U.S.
Initially harboring aspirations to start a rap career under the name B.2ma B., Basa eventually pivoted to the executive track and landed music programming roles at BET, MTV and REVOLT. In 2015, he joined Spotify, where he served as global programming head of hip-hop. While at the streaming giant, he rose to prominence in part for curating the service’s popular Rap Caviar playlist.
Billboard reached out to YouTube for comment on Basa’s departure.
Entertainment
Yes Postpones European ‘Fragile’ Tour as Guitarist Steve Howe Prepares for ‘Essential Operation’
Yes is postponing their European tour so that guitarist Steve Howe can undergo an “essential operation.”
The English progressive rock band took to social media on Thursday (April 2) to announce that the group is delaying the 11-date Fragile tour of Europe to allow Howe time to recover from an undisclosed surgery.
“The upcoming YES ‘Fragile’ UK and EU Tour, due to commence on 22nd April, has had to be postponed as guitarist Steve Howe requires an essential operation that requires recovery time,” Yes wrote on Instagram. “This decision has been made to ensure that Steve can return to the stage in full health and deliver the performances that fans deserve.”
The European leg of the tour was originally scheduled to begin on April 22 at Scotland’s Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and was set to feature a full performance of the band’s 1971 album, Fragile. The tour follows a North American leg, which took place in 2025.
Yes added, “We are working hard to reschedule the UK and EU shows to a later date, with full details to be announced after Easter. Please retain your tickets as they will be valid for the rescheduled dates.”
The band concluded their statement, “Tour dates currently being arranged for later in 2026 will proceed as planned. Steve Howe and YES would like to thank their UK fans and hope for their continued support at this time.”
Released in November 1971, Fragile was Yes’s fourth album and the third they released within a 16-month span. It became the group’s most successful release up to that point, building on the success of The Yes Album, which had reached No. 40 on the Billboard 200. Fragile would peak at No. 4, surpassed only by Close to the Edge the following year.
Of the original lineup that recorded Fragile, only Howe remains an active member. Drummer Bill Bruford left the group in 1992, while vocalist Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman departed in 2004. Bassist Chris Squire stayed with the band until his passing in 2015.
See Yes’ full announcement on Instagram below.
Entertainment
BTS Shows Off Boss Dance Moves in ‘2.0’ Music Video Inspired by the Movie ‘Oldboy’
After returning from their four-year hiatus, BTS is making sure that ARMY is being fed. The K-pop superstars dropped a new music video for a second ARIRANG song in only two weeks on Wednesday (April 1), and they’re drawing inspiration from a classic film for the “2.0” visual.
The cinematic music video is inspired by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook’s 2003 film Oldboy. The visual begins with the septet, dressed in sharp suits and leather jackets, exiting an elevator and encountering a group of thugs in a dark, grungy corridor. Rather than fighting with a hammer like the protagonist in the film, BTS’ RM, Jung Kook, V, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin and Jin employ their epic dance skills and music to ward off their opponents.
The video then transitions to a different dark hallway where the band continues its choreographed number, this time without the presence of the thugs. From the corridors, the septet ends up in a dirty bathroom where they dance in front of the mirrors and sing the chorus.
Then, to make it a true “2.0” moment, the K-pop stars return to the elevator from whence they came and quickly change into new, modern outfits — calling back to the song’s lyrics, “We on that brand new” — and close out the video in a high-rise building setting.
The band first teased the new video on Tuesday (March 31) with a 30-second preview. The latest visual comes just days after the album and lead single “SWIM” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
Watch the “2.0” music video above.
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