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Sphere Stock Continues to Soar, Gaining 46% in Last 4 Weeks on ‘Wizard of Oz’ Success

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Sphere Entertainment stock rose 19.3% to $58.33 this week, marking its fourth consecutive weekly gain and the largest improvement in that month-long run. Sphere shares have risen an astounding 46.3% in the last four weeks. The stock reached an all-time high of $58.71 on Friday (Sept. 12).

Sphere’s latest offering, a revamped The Wizard of Oz, has won over both audiences and Wall Street analysts. As Billboard noted on Wednesday (Sept. 10), numerous analysts have raised forecasts in the wake of a stellar debut and strong ticket sales. The $2.3 billion venue requires a high level of utilization to be profitable, meaning Sphere must squeeze in film showings when it’s not hosting sold-out concerts by the likes of Backstreet Boys and The Eagles. Early results suggest the revamped The Wizard of Oz, which cost upwards of $100 million, is performing better than Sphere’s two previous films, Postcards from Earth and V-U2.

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The 19-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) rose 1.0% to 3,061.29, putting its year-to-date gain at 44.1%. The majority of music stocks ended the week in positive territory, mirroring gains elsewhere in the market as investors lifted stocks ahead of an expected interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The week’s biggest gainer was music streamer LiveOne, which jumped 29.5% to $0.57. On Thursday (Sept. 11), LiveOne raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $4.5 million to $6 million on revenue of $55 million to $60 million. On Friday, the company announced that its Bitcoin holdings exceed $5 million.

Radio broadcaster and podcast company iHeartMedia rose 23.3% to finish the week at $2.59. iHeartMedia shares rose 9.2% on Friday after the company announced an expanded partnership and new long-term agreement with Bell Media in Canada. iHeartRadio Canada is a partnership between iHeartMedia and Bell Media, giving the American company distribution of its radio stations and podcast content in the neighbor to the north.

Live Nation shares rose 6.3% to $173.73 on Friday after reaching a new all-time high of $175.25 earlier in the day. The spike followed Citi’s hike of its Live Nation price target to $195 from $165 on Tuesday (Sept. 9). Also this week, CFRA raised its Live Nation price target by $26 to $196, citing “the outsized opportunity for live entertainment around the globe” and the company’s efforts to build arenas and theaters to capture market share.

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Universal Music Group (UMG) rose 1.2% to 24.59 euros ($28.86). This week, Citi upgraded UMG to “buy” from “neutral” and increased its price target to 29 euros ($34.03) from 27 euros ($31.68).

Warner Music Group shares gained 2.8% to $33.62, lifting the stock’s year-to-date gain to 8.4%. On Wednesday (Sept. 10), Tigress raised its price target to $45 from $44 due to subscriber growth and the company’s margin expansion.

Spotify, the BMGI’s largest single component with a market capitalization of $142.6 billion, fell 1.5% to $696.40. Spotify shares are up 49.2% this year but have fallen 12.7% since reaching an all-time high of $785.00 on June 27. This week, the company announced the launch of its long-awaited high-quality audio streaming offering.

Many markets and indexes gained this week as investors awaited a decision by the Federal Reserve and companies continued to announce positive news. Amidst rising inflation and falling consumer sentiment, companies ranging from Six Flags Entertainment to Adobe nonetheless gained on encouraging results.

In the U.S., the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.0% to a record closing of 22,141.10, and the S&P 500 climbed 1.7% to 6,584.29. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 improved 0.8% to 9,283.29. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index jumped 5.9% to 3,395.54, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index improved 1.5% to 3,870.60.

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sombr Stops Show to Scold Venue Staff After Fan Seemingly Passes Out: ‘You Need to Pay Attention’

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At his recent show in London, sombr paused the program to call out event staff after a fan appeared to faint in the audience without receiving help.

While in the midst of singing his breakout Billboard Hot 100 hit “Back to Friends” on Tuesday at O2 Academy Brixton, the Gen Z pop star suddenly waved at his band to stop playing. “Stop the show,” he said before addressing people working the concert, as captured in videos posted on social media. “Guys, there’s someone passed out over there.”

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“This is the most poorly managed venue I’ve ever played at in my life,” he continued. “You need to pay attention. It’s insane. I’ve played three nights here, and I’ve never played at a more poorly managed venue.”

Billboard has reached out to reps for sombr and O2 Academy Brixton.

Before proceeding with the show, the artist told the crowd, “Let me know when everyone’s good.”

sombr is currently on a run of shows in Europe, with dates planned for venues in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Dublin. This summer, he’ll play a slew of festivals, including Coachella and BottleRock Napa Valley.

The New York native also had another mid-show interruption recently, this time during his performance at the BRIT Awards. While he was singing “Undressed” at the ceremony, a man wearing a “Sombr is a homewrecker” shirt ran out on stage and appeared to hit Sombr; as it turned out, it was a pre-planned stint to help promote his new single “Homewrecker,” which recently debuted at No. 26 on the Hot 100.

And despite the momentary frustration, Sombr had only kind words to say about his overall experience playing for fans in London. “I love you so much,” he wrote over a video of the crowd at O2 Academy Brixton on his Instagram Story. “Thanks so much for an unforgettable past 3 nights. I’ll be back London.”

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The 15 Most Surprising Member Exits From K-Pop Groups

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While the K-pop world is grappling with the unexpected news that ENHYPEN is no longer seven members following member Heeseung’s seemingly out-of-nowhere announcement of his departure, the industry has certainly been blindsided by such abrupt exits many times.

While Heeseung’s situation was shocking, it unfolded fairly calmly. On March 10, announcements came from ENHYPEN’s official channels, alongside a handwritten letter from Heeseung himself and ENHYPEN’s own statement on social media. Comparatively, some of K-pop’s biggest groups have been changed forever by dramatic announcements from members, via notices of legal action or vague updates from their agencies — the latter of which can sometimes be the most heartbreaking for fans.

From one of K-pop’s most landmark member exits in Junsu, Yoochun and Jaejoong from TVXQ! in 2009 (which ultimately rid the industry of so-called “slave contracts”) to years like 2014, 2019 or even last year, where multiple popular groups saw members drop from their groups, Billboard is sharing a timeline of the 15 most shocking exits from K-pop groups.

Membership changes are never easy, even when fans suspect something may have shifted for the group or there is an internal or external issue. Members of K-pop groups have left for the sake of their mental health or sometimes due to ongoing external pressure from issues from their past arising. For the purposes of this timeline and its relation to the news surrounding ENHYPEN and Heeseung, we’re focusing on K-pop member exits that seemingly came out of nowhere, with no prior indication, hiatuses or controversy.

Read on to learn how rare it is to have Heeseung remain under the same label as his former group in BELIFT LAB to pursue his solo career and more, in this look through K-pop’s most unexpected member departures.

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Watch Harry Styles Bust Marcello Hernandez for Impersonating Him Ahead of ‘SNL’: ‘Are Those My Clothes?’

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Sorry, Marcello Hernandez — there’s only one Harry Styles. On the set of Saturday Night Live ahead of the pop star’s upcoming hosting and performing stint, the comedian got a little too comfortable impersonating that week’s guest in a promo video posted Wednesday (March 11).

The teaser opens as a spoof on Styles’ One Night in Manchester concert special trailer, with the piano intro to his new single “American Girls” playing over shots of what looks like the singer’s silhouette striking poses and dancing across the stage. A record-scratch moment happens when the real Styles walks in with SNL castmember Kenan Thompson, busting Hernandez, who’d been pretending to be the Grammy winner that whole time.

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“What are you doing, Marcello? Are those my clothes?” Styles asks a visibly embarrassed Hernandez.

“Yeah, sorry,” the stand-up comic stutters, suddenly shy about wearing Styles’ pinstriped, flared slacks. “I thought you weren’t coming, so I thought I’d just go on as your understudy.”

Perplexed, Styles explains where he and Thompson had been. “I’m 15 minutes late, because Kenan and I went out for pain au chocolat. It’s a tradition when I host.”

Suffice to say, it’ll be Styles — the real Styles — helming SNL on Saturday (March 14), returning to host for the second time. He previously led an episode of the show in 2019.

The Brit will also serve as musical guest on the new episode, having just dropped his new album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. The project was led by Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Aperture” and features second single “American Girls,” both of which are strong contenders for the tracks Styles will perform at 30 Rock — although fans will have to tune in to the live show to find out.

Watch Styles’ SNL promo above.

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