Louder: Rappers Come Shop for Jewelry. Icebox Turns the Cameras On.

At Britney Spears’s Hearing, This Twitter Feed Scooped the World

With a deft plan, @BritneyLawArmy kept everyone outside the courtroom abreast of developments in a crucial moment in the singer’s conservatorship.

By Lauren Herstik

The Surveillance Apparatus That Surrounded Britney Spears

An account by a former employee of the security team hired by Ms. Spears’s father created the most detailed portrait yet of the singer’s life under 13 years of conservatorship.

By Liz Day and Samantha Stark

R. Kelly’s Lawyers Attacked His Accusers. It Backfired.

Legal experts said Mr. Kelly’s defense team focused on undermining the credibility of his many accusers — a strategy doomed to fail as attitudes about sexual abuse shift.

By Emily Palmer

How the Black Women Around R. Kelly’s Case Feel About His Conviction

The case could represent a turning point for the #MeToo movement, which some felt had centered on crimes against white women.

By Troy Closson

Illuminati Hotties’ Wonderfully Warped Punk-Pop

Sarah Tudzin started this Los Angeles band to show off her production work and find new clients. It turned into an outlet for her razor-sharp reflections on modern life.

By Lindsay Zoladz

A Year in the Life: Who Gets a Master’s Degree in the Beatles?

In Liverpool, England, a postgraduate program aims to turn Beatles fans into serious students of the band’s legacy.

By Alex Marshall

The Playlist

Kane Brown and H.E.R.’s Genre-Melting Duet, and 11 More New Songs

Hear tracks by John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen, Ashnikko, Susana Baca and others.

By Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica, Isabelia Herrera and Giovanni Russonello

Album Review

Tirzah’s Genre-Less Pop Embraces the Beauty of Uncertainty

The British singer-songwriter’s new album, “Colourgrade,” is a fluid excursion through the contours of trip-hop, noise, R&B and electronic music.

By Isabelia Herrera

Bringing Aaliyah Into the Streaming Era

A conversation about the tug of war over her musical legacy, and how her songs — even without a digital presence — impacted the evolution of contemporary R&B.

Critic’s Pick

Review: ‘Fire’ Brings a Black Composer to the Met, Finally

Terence Blanchard’s fresh, affecting “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” reopened the opera house on Monday after an 18-month closure.

By Anthony Tommasini

Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg to Share Super Bowl Halftime

The N.F.L. announced the three Southern California natives will share billing with Mary J. Blige and Eminem at Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.

By Emmanuel Morgan

The Charts

Lil Nas X’s ‘Montero’ Debuts at No. 2, While Drake Holds at the Top

Over its three weeks out, Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” has logged the equivalent of just over 1 million sales in the United States.

By Ben Sisario

Pee Wee Ellis, James Brown’s Partner in Funk, Dies at 80

As musical director for the bands behind Mr. Brown and also Van Morrison, Mr. Ellis helped forge new hybrids, meshing pop, jazz, R&B and more.

By Jon Pareles

Lonnie Smith, Soulful Jazz Organist, Is Dead at 79

Adept at blending the sophistication of jazz with the earthy appeal of rhythm and blues, he was later widely sampled by hip-hop artists.

By Peter Keepnews

George Frayne, a.k.a. Commander Cody, Alt-Country Pioneer, Dies at 77

With his band the Lost Planet Airmen, he infused older genres like Western swing and boogie-woogie with a freewheeling 1960s spirit and attracted a devoted following.

By Clay Risen

Bob Moore, an Architect of the Nashville Sound, Dies at 88

He played bass on thousands of popular recordings, helping to create the uncluttered style that came to characterize the country music of the 1950s and ’60s.

By Bill Friskics-Warren

Sue Thompson, Who Sang of ‘Norman’ and Sad Movies, Dies at 96

She started out a country singer, but she found fame and pop-chart success in the early 1960s with catchy novelty songs, as well as the occasional ballad.

By Neil Genzlinger

Alemayehu Eshete, Singer Known as the ‘Abyssinian Elvis,’ Dies at 80

He became a swaggering star in the late 1960s, when Addis Ababa experienced a golden age of night life and music. Decades later, he was rediscovered.

By Alex Vadukul

George Mraz, Consummate Jazz Bassist, Dies at 77

For half a century, he was in constant demand, backing big names like Oscar Peterson as well as countless up-and-coming performers.

By Neil Genzlinger

Why Write About Pop Music? ‘I Like When People Disagree About Stuff.’

Kelefa Sanneh hopes to start some arguments with his new book, “Major Labels,” which chronicles the past 50 years of rock, hip-hop, country and other musical genres.

By John Williams

‘I Feel an Abundance’: A Composer Dips Into the Dance World

The choreographer Andrea Miller chose Lido Pimienta — “she’s a superstar” — to score her new piece for New York City Ballet. They talk about breaking new ground.

By Roslyn Sulcas

Critic’s Pick

‘Karen Dalton: In My Own Time’ Review: An Elemental Musical Force

A documentary chronicles the turbulent life of a singer whose music made a substantial impression on New York’s 1960s folk scene and still resonates today.

By Glenn Kenny

‘Britney vs Spears’ Review: When the Intervention Is the Problem

A Netflix documentary directed by Erin Lee Carr offers a timely if vexing primer on the pop star’s legal battle, which may finally be coming to an end.

By Lisa Kennedy