Seoul Music Awards: ATEEZ won the Daesang at the 35th Seoul Music Awards in Incheon, while BOYNEXTDOOR swept four categories, as Hearts2Hearts and other K-pop acts packed the Inspire Arena. Latin Pop Spotlight: Backstreet Boys’ Howie Dorough is gearing up a Spanish-language project mixing new songs with reworked versions of past tracks. Blues Goes Big Screen: Morgan Freeman announced “Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience,” a 12-track album charting 100 years of blues, with a Juneteenth single featuring Taj Mahal. Hip-Hop Legacy Talk: N.O.R.E. reflected on making “grown-up” hip-hop and how Jay-Z and Nas inspired his first album in eight years. Music + Community: Free Juneteenth performances marked Seneca Village history in Central Park, while Santa Monica launched its own Make Music Day chapter with citywide free shows. Heatwave Rules in France: France banned alcohol consumption at Fête de la Musique events in red-alert areas. New Releases: Tesla dropped “Never Alone” ahead of Homage; Miky Woodz released Latin trap album “Everything RiaL.” Industry Tech: made by ikigai launched “Origami,” a human-composed music catalogue aimed at faster film scoring without AI composition. Tragedy in Production: Hip-hop producer Tay Keith, behind major Drake/Travis Scott/Beyoncé hits, died at 29.