State Champ Radio Author: djfrosty
Page: 398
05/23/2025
The band is closing in on the end of a years-long break, as the guys have fulfilled their military service requirements.
05/23/2025
DJ Khaled is a master marketer. He can turn just about anything into a viral clip, dating back to his thrilling Snapchat voyages that had followers on the edge of their seats nearly a decade ago.
Khaled linked up with content creator Ashton Hall, who has gone viral for his wild daily routine videos, which produced plenty of chatter on social media, whether it’s his Saratoga water ice face washes or banana-peel-spreading skin routine.
Hall, a former college football player, is quite the athlete and also gives fans a look into his rigorous workout regimen, which Khaled joined him for.
Trending on Billboard
The hilarious clip finds the We The Best mogul shirtless in an open black vest, taped-up legs and Air Jordan 3s running alongside Hall in what appears to be a parking lot. Cinematic effects make the video look like an action-packed scene straight out of a Bad Boys movie.
“ALBUM MODE ! AALAM OF GOD,” Khaled captioned the video on his Instagram ahead of his Aalam of God album arrival, which is expected later in 2025.
Fans and plenty of Khaled’s peers found the album promotion tactic to be amusing, as A$AP Rocky, Busta Rhymes, Swizz Beatz, E-40 and more chimed in on Instagram.
“Nah the cuz fake got some speed he keeping up,” Rowdy Rebel added while giving Khaled props.
Khaled hasn’t released a project since 2022’s God Did, which topped the Billboard 200, so the anticipation is there.
He appeared to kick off the Aalam of God rollout into another gear with a blockbuster movie trailer starring Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Ramos. The album teaser saw him hinting at collabs with Rihanna and Drake.
However, Drake threw cold water on the epic trailer’s momentum when he questioned whether he’d be on the project. “Must be Drake Bell,” Drizzy commented, and Khaled ended up deleting the post on IG altogether.
Steve Earle has a number of events he can point to in his life to mark 50th anniversaries, but he’s clear about what’s sending him on his Fifty Years of Songs and Stories tour that kicks off May 25 in Decatur, Ala.
“It’s the 50th anniversary of me signing my first publishing contract – me officially in the music business,” Earle tells Billboard. That was in Nashville when, after a good six years of tooling around in Texas – including playing in his songwriting hero Townes Van Zandt’s band – Earle was working by day and playing at night, including as part of Guy Clark’s group. The song publishing company Sunbury-Dunbar made him a staff writer, though Earle would subsequently head back to Texas and then return to Nashville, where he became an artist in his own right with the 1982 EP Pink & Black; his career really took off with 1986’s Guitar Town, which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.
Earle, 70, has been going ever since, with hits, misses and a brief incarceration during the mid-‘90s for cocaine and weapons possession. Others – including Joan Baez, Travis Tritt, Robert Earl Keen and Stacy Dean Campbell – have recorded his songs, but Earle has remained determinedly and defiantly his own man, winning three Grammy Awards along the way and delving into other projects such as production (for Baez and Lucinda Williams), acting (HBO’s Treme and The Wire, off-Broadway’s Samara ) and theater (the Drama Desk Award-nominated Coal Country). His social and political activism led to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty’s shining star of abolition award in 2010, and in 2020 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Clearly, there will be a lot of stories to go with the songs when Earle hits the road (his shows will be mostly solo, though he’s playing a few dates with the band Reckless Kelly). “It’s not strictly chronological; that’s the backbone of it, but some songs I play are based on memories, so something I wrote a little later may pop up earlier in the show,” Earle explains. “It’s sort of built around telling stories; I try not to talk too much, but I’m good at that thing. I started in coffee houses, so that’s basically the deal.”
Earle is hoping to finish work on his next musical, a stage adaptation of the hit 1983 film Tender Mercies, while he’s out on the road. “I want to finish at least three songs so I have a draft,” he says. “These things take years to (complete). I’m just trying to live long enough to get the f–kin’ thing up.” He also appears on Willie Nile’s upcoming new album The Great Yellow Light and has recorded a “cosmic country” song, “Dead or Gone to Dallas,” for a split single he’s doing with Reckless Kelly. “It would work on Guitar Town,” Earle notes. “I was talking to Miranda Lambert; my family’s from the same part of Texas as she’s from, and she asked me if I ever went up there. I said, ‘Everyone I know is dead or gone to Dallas.’ She said, ‘Don’t write that with anybody!’” Earle has also finished “a big chunk of” a memoir as well as “a little bit of” a novel.
“I really mean to finish them before I die,” he says, noting that after turning 70 “you think about it even more. You wouldn’t think one number would make a difference more than any other number. But my father was only 74 when he died and my grandfather only lived to be 63. One uncle was 80 but the other died younger than my dad. And you get to be a certain age and your friends start dying. On my radio show [Hard Core Troubadour on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Channel] I used to do tributes occasionally; now it’s more often than I’d like.”
As he gets ready to hit the road with his Fifty Years of Songs and Stories Tour, we thought we’d get Earle to tell us the stories behind five key songs in his career. Check out Earle’s tour dates here.
“L.A. Freeway” (Guy Clark, 1970; covered by Steve Earle in 2019)
This week, Billboard’s New Music Latin roundup and playlist — curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — features fresh new music, including a handful of new albums by Alejandro Sanz (¿Y Ahora Qué?), Jesse & Joy (Lo Que Nos Faltó Decir), and Los Tigres del Norte (La Lotería), to name a few. Explore […]
Kate Hudson is a mom who rocks! On Thursday (May 22), the actress posted a sweet video on social media jamming out to Alice in Chains with her eldest son Ryder. “Sometimes u just have to eat a salad and listen to @aliceinchains pre show with a son,” the “Gonna Find Out” singer captioned the […]
Lord Huron hits No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart for the second time, as “Nothing I Need” jumps two spots to the top of the tally dated May 31. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The band first led with “Not Dead Yet” for five […]
Tory Lanez is still healing up from a brutal stabbing incident that left both his lungs collapsed, along with other injuries. In a new report, Tory Lanez has since been transferred to another California facility after officials remarked on being unable to keep the Canadian star safe.
TMZ reports that Tory Lanez, 32, moved earlier this week from the California Correctional Institution (CCI) to the California Men’s Colony (CMC), some three hours away from the CCI. According to Lanez’s attorney, the rapper and singer isn’t happy about moving from the supermax in Tehachapi to San Luis Obispo County. CMC is not considered a supermax facility, but does have a wing where some of its most troubled prisoners are housed.
Attorneys for Tory Lanez are hoping to appeal to California Gov. Gavin Newsom to seek a pardon for their client or a reduction in the current 10-year sentence he’s serving in connection with the Megan Thee Stallion shooting incident.
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Photo: Greg Doherty / Getty
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Linkin Park’s “Up From the Bottom” takes the top spot on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay charts, rising to the top of both May 31-dated surveys.
The rockers nab their 14th ruler on Alternative Airplay, breaking out of a three-way tie for the second-most since the tally began in 1988. They also pass Cage the Elephant for the most Alternative Airplay No. 1s since 2000 (14 to 13).
Only one act has more No. 1s on Alternative Airplay all-time as of the May 31 list: Red Hot Chili Peppers, with 15.
Trending on Billboard
Most No. 1s, Alternative Airplay:
15, Red Hot Chili Peppers
14, Linkin Park
13, Cage the Elephant
13, Green Day
12, Foo Fighters
11, Twenty One Pilots
8, The Black Keys
8, U2
8, Weezer
7, Imagine Dragons
Linkin Park first appeared on Alternative Airplay in 2000 with “One Step Closer,” which peaked at No. 5 in January 2001. Its first No. 1, “In the End,” reached the summit in December 2001.
“Up From the Bottom” is the band’s first leader since “The Emptiness Machine,” for five weeks in October-November 2024. In between Linkin Park’s two latest No. 1s, “Heavy Is the Crown” peaked at No. 6 in March.
On Mainstream Rock Airplay, “Up From the Bottom” marks Linkin Park’s 13th No. 1, lifting the band into a four-way tie with Disturbed, Godsmack and Van Halen for the sixth-most dating to the chart’s 1981 inception.
Most No. 1s, Mainstream Rock Airplay:
20, Shinedown
18, Three Days Grace
15, Five Finger Death Punch
14, Foo Fighters
14, Metallica
13, Disturbed
13, Godsmack
13, Linkin Park
13, Van Halen
Linkin Park’s Mainstream Rock Airplay career also began in 2000 with “One Step Closer,” though its first leader came with “Somewhere I Belong” in 2003. The band has now strung together five No. 1s in a row on the chart, dating to the eight-week command of “Lost” in 2023.
“Up From the Bottom” is the first song to top both Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay (at all or simultaneously) since “The Emptiness Machine.”
Concurrently, “Up From the Bottom” spends a sixth week atop the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 6.2 million audience impressions, up 8%, in the week ending May 22, according to Luminate.
The song placed at No. 10 on the most recently published multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart (dated May 24, reflecting data May 9-15), after reaching No. 2 in April 12. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 1.2 million official U.S. streams.
“Up From the Bottom” is on the deluxe version of From Zero, Linkin Park’s eighth studio album. The standard edition debuted at No. 1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart dated Nov. 30, 2024; the deluxe was released May 16. From Zero has earned 383,000 equivalent album units to date.
All Billboard charts dated May 31 will update on Wednesday, May 28, on Billboard.com (a day later than usual due to the Memorial Day holiday May 26).
Billboard Canada is getting a major headliner for the inaugural Billboard Canada Live Stage.
Khalid will perform at the heart of downtown Toronto at Sankofa Square as part of NXNE’s 30th anniversary. That’s been the site of many of the beloved festival’s most memorable shows, including performances by Wu-Tang Clan, The Flaming Lips, The National, Iggy Pop & The Stooges and many more.
Billboard’s The Stage is known for bringing major chart-topping artists to festivals like SXSW, and Khalid is a perfect choice to expand it to Canada. He’s a major star of the streaming era, and he’ll return to the city for the first time since playing with Ed Sheeran at Rogers Centre in 2023.
Since debuting nearly a decade ago, Khalid has 40 charting hits on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and 5 charting albums on the Canadian Albums chart, including Free Spirit, which went to No. 1 in 2019. He returned after a brief hiatus in 2024 with Sincere, his most mature and personal album yet, which has started a new phase of the R&B and pop artist’s illustrious career.
Trending on Billboard
Khalid has an undeniable connection to Canada, and has collaborated over the years with Canadian artists like Shawn Mendes, Tate McRae, Justin Bieber, Alessia Cara, Majid Jordan and more.
He’s played some huge shows in Toronto, including the city’s biggest arenas and stadiums. This show will bring him to the city’s most bustling intersection for a special moment celebrating his whole career.
Limited VIP tickets are available now, here. –Richard Trapunski
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Steven Guilbeault Becomes Canada’s New Minister of Culture. What Does That Mean For the Music Industry?
Prime Minister Mark Carney has unveiled his new Liberal Cabinet, which will have ramifications for some key ongoing issues in the music industry.
Steven Guilbeault was appointed as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, a post with particular interest to the sector. He was also appointed Minister responsible for Official Languages.
The Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) wasted no time in outlining its industry concerns and requests to the new Minister. In a statement, the trade org welcomed Guilbeault to the position while issuing an urgent call to prioritize Canadian-owned culture, IP and sovereignty.
“Minister Guilbeault takes on this portfolio at a critical moment for Canada’s cultural sector,” CIMA writes after congratulating the new Minister. “As venture capital, global tech platforms, and multinational entertainment corporations expand their dominance and market share, the future of Canadian-owned culture — and the intellectual property that drives it — is at risk without renewed, dynamic and stable investment in the sector.”
The organization points to three recent events that they suggest threaten independent music in Canada, and says they “all underscore the growing concentration of global corporate power.” They are: TikTok’s withdrawal from global licensing negotiations with Merlin, Universal Music Group’s acquisition of Downtown Music’s assets and legal challenges launched by streaming services against paying into Canadian Content funds.
Andrew Cash, President and CEO of CIMA, stressed that “Canadian-owned music companies are not just players in our cultural economy — they are part of its foundation. They create intellectual property, generate jobs, tell Canadian stories, and fuel long-term economic growth. Without Canadian-owned companies, our culture risks being outsourced, diluted, and devalued.”
CIMA issued a very similar statement two weeks earlier, when the results of the federal election became known. It also urged Prime Minister Mark Carney to “make the investment in and promotion of Canadian-owned cultural businesses a top priority…to secure a strong future for Canadian culture.”
CIMA’s statement comes at a pivotal time, as hearings begin on drafting a new definition for CanCon in the implementation of the Online Streaming Act. A court challenge by major foreign-owned streaming companies like Spotify and Apple will also begin in June, with tech companies (joined by Music Canada) challenging the CRTC’s mandated fee payments for Canadian Content. –Kerry Doole
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Toronto’s Bowl at Sobeys Stadium Concert Venue Goes Quiet in 2025
Last year, a new concert venue was unveiled. In summer 2024, The Feldman Agency opened The Bowl at Sobeys Stadium, located at the site of Canada’s biggest tennis tournament, the National Bank Open. It was a partnership between Tennis Canada and the Toronto-based talent and booking company.
Now, after one summer of shows, the venue has gone quiet.
“We can confirm that we are hitting pause for summer 2025,” says Jeff Craib, president of The Feldman Agency, in a statement to Billboard Canada. “We will make further comment when there is any news to share.”
In a report by theToronto Star, Tennis Canada also confirmed the news, while saying they will “continue to work with the Feldman Agency with the hope the concert series will return in 2026 and beyond.”
The 9,000 capacity venue hosted a limited series of 2024 shows at The Bowl at Sobeys Stadium, including performances by the Barenaked Ladies, Shaggy, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, The Tea Party and comedian Kevin Hart.
Billboard Canada reported on the launch of the Bowl at Sobeys Stadium in December 2023, and Craib expressed optimism about its potential then. “We will be working closely together with Tennis Canada to provide the best of tennis and live entertainment to Toronto and its surrounding areas,” Craib said, noting that “Sobeys Stadium’s location in North America’s third-largest concert market (after New York and Los Angeles) and surrounding population of more than 6.8 million makes it a well-positioned live entertainment venue for both performers and fans.”
At the time, Craib shared that he expected around 15 shows per year at the open air venue.
Toronto is not starved for major concerts in summer 2025. The demand is high for arena and stadium shows, as stakeholders at the biggest companies have recently reported. This summer will see the opening of another temporary open-air venue, the 50,000 capacity Rogers Stadium, where Live Nation will present a full slate of concerts this summer. –KD
On daddy duty! MGK took to social media on Thursday (May 22) to share a selfie with his baby daughter before hitting a Spotify milestone with his new single, “Cliché.” The artist formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly posted the sweet snap, taken in what appears to be the reflection of a car door, in […]
