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Sir Paul McCartney performs onstage during the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 21, 2013 in Las Vegas.
Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear ChannelSean “Diddy” Combs and Endeavor are teaming up to diversify the music industry. On the heels of Combs signing with WME for representation in all areas, the two will partner for the The Excellence Program, which aims to be one of the largest virtual development programs and résumé databases for aspiring entertainment executives from underrepresented communities.
The Excellence Program will launch July 12 and will be free and accessible to eligible students with an interest in breaking into entertainment, marketing, music or fashion. The six-week program will include sessions spanning categories such as touring and performing, professional development, entertainment business and storytelling.
Sessions will be taught by a curated list of industry heavyweights including Joey Bada$$, Cari Champion, Victor Cruz, Bill Duffy, Desiree Gruber, Terrence Jenkins, Reggie Love, Marshawn Lynch, French Montana, Guy Oseary, Rajon Rondo, Lindsey Vonn, Gus Wenner and Jeff Burroughs. Additional sessions will be led by executives from Amazon Studios, Amazon Web Services, MSG Entertainment, Revolt Media, Combs Enterprises, WME, Endeavor Content and IMG Models.
“Beginning my career as an intern changed my life, so it’s been a lifelong dream to give the next generation of entrepreneurs and executives access to the best in entertainment, marketing, music and fashion,” Combs said in a release. “Partnering with Endeavor creates a pipeline to opportunities that allow future leaders to not only succeed, but thrive in these highly competitive industries.”
Combs will kick off the program with a session on “Igniting the Excellence in You.” Once the program is completed, top participants will be considered for internships at the aforementioned companies and entered into a master database “résumé book” to be shared across relevant companies in an effort to diversify hiring pipelines and recruiting industrywide. Combs Enterprises and Endeavor have each committed to hiring interns and entry-level employees from the program.
HBCU in LA, National Association of Latino Independent Producers, Brown Girls Dream, Asian American Collective, Reel Works and Diverso have joined The Excellence Program as partners, while racial justice nonprofit Color of Change has partnered with Combs and Endeavor to lead coursework on ways to effectively impact change in the workplace. Companies who sign on will be encouraged to adopt measures from Color of Change’s #ChangeIndustries Initiative, which secures commitments to roadmaps for change from the corporations that set culture, with the goal of increasing Black empowerment, safety and equitable culture change.
Combs moves to WME from CAA. The artist has five top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, including two No. 1s (No Way Out, four weeks at No. 1 in 1997, and Press Play, one week at No. 1 in 2006). According to MRC Data, he’s also posted 15 top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits as a performing artist, with five of those going to No. 1. Combs has sold 8.8 million albums in the U.S. and his songs as a credited performer have registered 806 million U.S. on-demand streams.
In addition to his own work as an artist, he has produced 10 more Hot 100 top 10s that he does not feature on, including three No. 1 hits for Mariah Carey.
In 2016, Diddy's Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour grossed $22.3 million and sold over 250,000 tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
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Slayyyter played her take on Turnstile’s ‘Birds’ onstage for the first time in Atlanta. You can watch footage of the performance below.
Slayyyter is currently touring with her ‘Wor$t Girl In The World’ show. She added the cover to her set at The Eastern on Monday night (September 21).
She sang ‘Birds: Slayyyter Version’ near the end of the main set, following ‘Brittany Murphy’. She then came back for an encore featuring ‘Brand New Chanel$’ and ‘Beat Up Chanel$’.
It was her first live performance of the song. She originally recorded it for Turnstile’s ‘Never Enough: Versions’, a collection of reworked tracks released on August 28.
The 22 track release brings together new interpretations of songs from Turnstile’s fourth album. Contributors include Elton John, Hayley Williams, Blood Orange, A. G. Cook, Faye Webster, Four Tet, Oklou, Floating Points, Nourished By Time, Alex G, Julien Baker and Mustafa.
Panda Bear recorded a new take on ‘Magic Man’, while Dying Fetus gave ‘Birds’ another interpretation rooted in death metal.
See Slayyyter perform the track live and listen to her studio recording here:
Slayyyter trades the original song’s hardcore intensity for a bigger electronic sound that feels at home alongside her latest album, ‘Wor$t Girl In America’.
Turnstile first released ‘Birds’ on their 2025 album ‘Never Enough’. The song won Best Metal Performance at the 2026 Grammy Awards, where the album also won Best Rock Album.
In its five star review of ‘Never Enough’, NME pointed to ‘Birds’ and ‘Sole’ as reminders of Turnstile’s hardcore beginnings. It also praised the album for “furthering their unique, pop-facing take on hardcore”.
Slayyyter will join Turnstile on another stage next month. She and Die Spitz are set to support the band at the University of Kansas in Lawrence on October 6 for the ‘Never Enough Tour Pt. 2’.
It has been a big year for Slayyyter. Her third album, ‘Wor$t Girl In America’, came out in March, and NME’s review highlighted its mix of “brash, sleazy pop” and late 2000s indie sleaze sounds.
Last month, she performed Hole’s ‘Violet’ for triple J’s Like A Version. Courtney Love called the cover “a delight” and encouraged Slayyyter to “keep wiping the floors with us”.
A few weeks later, Slayyyter took ‘Wor$t Girl In America’ to Reading Festival. NME’s live review declared that there was “undoubtedly a star before us on stage” and praised her “rasped, rocked-up delivery” and growing confidence as a performer.
