Blake Shelton shared a special moment with a young fan during his concert at Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, Okla., on Jan. 29, when the country star welcomed to the stage 6-year-old Wyatt McKee, who is waiting for a heart transplant.

Wyatt’s mother had previously shared a video on social media, capturing the moment she told her son that someone had paid for them to go see Shelton in concert.

“We just got the news that a very nice man who heard about how much Wyatt loves Blake Shelton has paid for his ticket to see him live!! He’s so excited!! I don’t know this man but thank you so much!!” the boy’s mother shared on Facebook.

At the concert, Wyatt’s evening got even better when Shelton noticed Wyatt’s homemade sign, which read, “Your smallest biggest fan from Lake Texoma, 6 [year old] waiting on a [heart] transplant.”

Shelton invited the boy to join him onstage and read Wyatt’s sign to the crowd.

“Think y’all are having a bad day, put that into perspective right there, man,” Shelton told the crowd as he kneeled next to the boy. “The next note he has on here, he asks if he can sing this song with me.”

Shelton continued to kneel on the stage next to Wyatt while the pair sang one of the young boy’s favorite Shelton hits, “God’s Country.” The song, released in 2019, won the Country Music Association’s single of the year honor, and was nominated for a Grammy for best country solo performance.

After the concert, the boy’s mother shared the experience on Facebook, saying, “I don’t know if Blake Shelton will ever see this but I just want to let him know he is awesome and officially my favorite person he absolutely made Wyatt’s day thank you so much to him and everyone who stopped us to tell him how great he was on stage and told him they are praying for him!!! Definitely a night to remember!!! #WyattStrong”

CHICAGO (AP) — Sam Lay, a Chicago blues drummer and vocalist who played with Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, has died at age 86.

Lay died Saturday (Jan. 29) of natural causes in Chicago, Alligator Records said Monday (Jan. 31).

Lay, known for wearing a cape and carrying a walking stick, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 as part of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

“Words can’t describe it if you like blues like I do,” Lay told the South Bend Tribune that year, referring to the band. “I enjoyed the moment of it, and everybody that was in that band, I enjoyed. I learned a lot from everybody in there, and they claim they learned a lot from me.”

Alligator Records said Lay was known for his “trademark, hard-to-copy ‘double-shuffle’” drumming, based on double-time hand-clapping in his childhood church.

Lay, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, played professionally in Cleveland in the mid-1950s before moving to Chicago, the record label said.

In 1969, he played drums on “Fathers & Sons,” Waters’ best-selling record on Chess Records.

Lay backed up Dylan on drums in 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival. It caused a stir in the crowd because Dylan played an electric guitar and had turned to a rock sound.

It’s not Valentine’s Day quite yet, but love-centric R&B dominates this week’s Fresh Picks. From Pink Sweat$’s romance-filled EP, Pink Moon, to a flirty collab from Raveena and Vince Staples, here are some of our favorite tracks of the week to prepare you for all the love (for yourself, or otherwise) on the horizon.

Share the wealth with your loved ones, with our Spotify playlist linked below.

Pink Sweat$ feat. Blxst, “For Me”

On “For Me,” R&B songwriting savant Pink Sweat$ declares that what is meant for him will always be for him. Enlisting the help of Los Angeles up and comer Blxst, the pair reflect sweetly on their path and purpose, highlighting the importance of keeping a clear head overtop the trap R&B beat. “I’m feeling godly/ I break the chains that confine me/ Light live inside me,” Sweat$ sings over the bridge.

Amber Mark, “One” 

The opening track on Amber Mark’s debut album Three Dimensions Deep makes quite the statement. The singer leans into a rap-like cadence, exemplifying her versatility from the jump. Intertwined with her raspy melodies, “One” is equal parts rugged and gentle, a symbol of the singer’s own journey and messaging.

Sinéad Harnett, “Let Go” 

Sinead Harnett brings all the ethereal vibes on “Let Go.” The singer’s laid back, floating harmonies hover across the constantly building production, making for a standout track on the deluxe version of Ready Is Always Too Late.  An honorable mention goes to another track from the deluxe album, Harnett’s replay-worthy cover of Aaliyah’s rendition of “At Your Best (You Are Love).”

Audrey Nuna, “Changes”

Audrey Nuna’s “changes” goes from sweet to sick in a matter of milliseconds. The Jersey rapper rides a dark and twisted beat, her buttery-smooth tone juxtaposing the rock-rap instrumental.

YEИDRY x Lous and the Yakuza, “Mascarade”

French-Spanish fusion R&B, anyone? Yendry and Lous and the Yakuza combine two of the sexiest languages on earth to make it perfectly clear that if you want to talk to them, first take off your mask. The independent anthem overflows with confidence and badass energy from the two friends, who met through their solo COLORS performances.

Nija, “Beautiful Lies”

Nija might just say what you want to hear on new song “Beautiful Lies.” After creating a buzz with her R&B drill fusion “Ease My Mind,” the New Jersey-bred singer just released her brash and self-assured debut EP Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You. Once a songwriter for big names like Beyoncé, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Summer Walker, Nija is forging her own path as an artist in the R&B space.

ASTN, “Gradually”

ASTN explores the beauty of letting go on his new single “Gradually.” The L.A.-based artist went viral a few months ago for an R&B cover of Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” and recently signed with Warner Records as a result. ASTN says of “Gradually” in a statement: “The song poses the question: Is it more agonizing to see someone you love vanish from your life all of the sudden, or slowly detach from you over time?” 

Joseph Chilliams feat. Mia Gladstone, “Rick James”

Joseph Chilliams teamed up with Mia Gladstone for his lighthearted new single “Rick James.” The two duet as the Pivot Gang member insists that he’s a “young, pretty n—a like Rick James” and delivers other laughable bars like “killed the p—-y like John McCain” and “protecting the hood like Google when you try to use a different computer for your email.”

Raveena feat. Vince Staples, “Secret”

On her new single “Secret,” Raveena is the ultimate flirt. Recruiting Vince Staples for the enchanting new track, the Queens/Connecticut singer is whispery as she asks her lover if he can keep a secret. “Secret” is the second single off of her upcoming album Asha’s Awakening.

Frsh Waters, “What’s Next..?”

Frsh Waters has been in his bag, as exemplified by the Chicago rapper’s introspective new single “What’s Next..?.” Produced by Ambi Lyrics, the song finds him reflecting on the past and pondering the future. “Riding in something decent/ Praying none of my dogs get left at the precinct/ Push this rap OT so bail money never be the reason,” Frsh raps.

Colombian folk-pop band Morat has renewed its recording contract with Universal Music Spain, Billboard has learned. The group of Martín Vargas, Simón Vargas, Juan Pablo Isaza and Juan Pablo Villamil also signed a deal with the label’s management company, Global Talent Services (GTS), with Pedro Malaver as co-manager.

Morat has been with Universal since 2014, which is when the four then college students kicked off their careers and have since collaborated with artists such as Paulina Rubio, Juanes, Sebastián Yatra, Alejandro Fernández, among others.

“With this renewal, we celebrate everything we have enjoyed and achieved, and all of the new joys that will come our way,” Morat said in a statement. “Thank you Universal and GTS for making us feel at home outside of our own country.”

Narcis Rebollo, Universal Spain and Portugal’s CEO, added: “It is an honor to renew our commitment and future as a recording company and management office for Morat, a band we’ve seen develop, grow and consolidate itself as one of the most relevant pop groups within the current Latin landscape, highlighting its great artistic quality, for both its compositions, interpretations and live performances, as well as its incredible professional and personal human quality and for the many successes and challenges we will continue to reach together.”

In 2016, the band, who got their start hand-delivering CDs in their native Bogotá and playing gigs in local bars, released their first album titled Solo El Amor Y Sus Efectos Secundarios and that same year, received a Latin Grammy nomination for best new artist.

With more than eight million monthly listeners on Spotify, Morat is currently working on a new album, which will follow their Latin Grammy-nominated set Balas Perdidas and the A Dónde Vamos?, released last year. According to a press release, the new album’s first single is set to be released in February.

Kane Brown has teamed with AEG Presents and Amazon Music for the global livestream Kane Brown Live from the El Rey Theatre, set for Friday, Feb. 4, at 9 p.m. CT.

During the concert, which marks Brown’s first-ever performance at the iconic Los Angeles theater, he will offer renditions of songs from albums including Mixtape Vol. 1 and his Billboard 200 chart-topping album Experiment. The event will be available on the Amazon Music channel and the Amazon Music app via Twitch, as well as on Prime Video. (The concert will also be available to watch on Prime Video for a limited time after the event concludes.)

Brown, the first artist to simultaneously top all five Billboard country charts, is currently on his Blessed & Free Tour with Chase Rice and Restless Road. The trek makes Brown the first country artist to tour all NBA arenas in one tour.

Brown is also slated to perform during RODEOHOUSTON on March 9, and at Hangout Music Festival on May 20. He is currently in the top 10 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart with “One Mississippi,” which Brown wrote with Ernest, Levon Gray and Jesse Frasure. “One Mississippi” follows Brown’s duet with Chris Young, “Famous Friends,” which topped Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart last year, and led Billboard‘s year-end Country Airplay Songs of 2021 list.

The El Rey Theatre, an original art deco theater, was built in 1936 and designed by Clifford Balch. For more than 50 years, the El Rey Theatre was a first-run movie house, and converted into a live music venue in 1994.

Major Lazer‘s blockbuster video for its 2015 smash “Lean On” is getting a second look from one of its stars. In a recent interview with Business Insider, “Lean On” vocalist MØ says the clip — which features the Danish Singer, Major Lazer, song co-producer DJ Snake and a crew of South Asian dancers performing Bollywood-style choreography — was, in retrospect, cultural appropriation.

“The video is so beautiful and amazing,” MØ says, “but I definitely think it’s cultural appropriation, for sure, and I’m so happy that people were making me aware of it, because, at the time, I didn’t really understand.”

Filmed in Vasai-Virar in the Indian state of Maharashtra, the video features Indian dancers, choreography clothing, design and architecture. The clip was filmed at myriad historical sites in the region.

“I was so excited making that video and I was so excited to be invited into Major Lazer’s visual universe because I always thought they had such a cool style,” MØ continues in the interview.

The track itself was a monster hit, becoming Spotify’s most streamed song of all time just eight months after its release, with 526 million streams, and helping fuse electronic and pop music. “Lean On” hit No. 1 in over 20 countries from Argentina to Lebanon, peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100 (where it spent 48 weeks), and hit No. 1 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. It spent 23 weeks in this peak position and 61 total weeks on the chart.

In 2017, the video also made internet history when it became one of the few videos in that era to hit two billion views on YouTube.

Major Lazer, which in 2015 was made up of Diplo, Walshy Fire and Jillionaire, has long been influenced by the music and styles of global cultures. (Jillionaire was replaced in the group by Ape Drums in 2019.) The group has heavily incorporated styles of music indigenous to Brazil, the Caribbean and beyond in a catalog that dates back to 2009. Diplo’s 2008 documentary, Favela On Blast, also explored the musical subcultures of Brazil.

Upon the release of “Lean On” video, Diplo expounded on his love for India in the YouTube video’s caption, writing, “India is special and its beauty absolutely humbled me. When we toured there as Major Lazer, it was mind blowing to see our fanbase and we wanted to incorporate the attitude and positive vibes into our video and just do something that embodies the essence of Major Lazer. Major Lazer has always been a culture mashup and to us, India feels like some kind of special creature with one foot in history and one firmly in the future. The experience is something we’ll never forget.”

A representative for Major Lazer did not immediately respond to Billboard’s request for comment. With respect to incorporating music from other cultures and criticisms that this practice could be considered cultural appropriation, Diplo told The Guardian in 2018 that “I don’t … really … f–king care. What kind of music am I supposed to make? Being a white American, you have zero cultural capital, unless you’re doing Appalachian fiddle music or something.”