State Champ Radio Author: djfrosty
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Lady Gaga took home a Sports Emmy on Tuesday night (May 20) for her pre-Super Bowl performance of “Hold My Hand” in tribute to victims of the New Orleans terror attack on New Year’s Eve, Hurricane Helene in Florida and Georgia in the fall, and the January wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles County. In a […]
Warner Music Latina signed three emerging urban artists who are creating a viral buzz on social media and the Billboard charts: DFZM (Colombia), Jombriel (Ecuador), and Milo Bvgatti (Venezuela). DFZM made his Billboard chart debut last November DFZM with “+57” in collaboration with Karol G, J Balvin, Feid, Ryan Castro, Maluma, and Ovy on the Drums. Jombriel hit No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart this March with his “Parte & Choke (Remix)” with Ryan Castro. Meanwhile, Bvgatti has already received stamps of approval from Feid, Jay Wheeler and Dalex. “At Warner Music Latina, we believe in the power of fresh voices from the Andean region to make waves globally,” said Roberto Andrade, MD of Warner Music Latina, in a statement. “We proudly welcome DFZM, Jombriel, and Milo Bvgatti — a new chapter begins, filled with music and momentum.” – Jessica Roiz
Southern California band Of Mice & Men signed with Century Media Records. The group released the single “Another Miracle” on May 8, marking its first new music since 2023. Of Mice & Men is currently on tour in the U.S., with festival dates including the Summer Daze Festival in Elko, Nev.; Warped Tour in Long Beach, Calif.; and Louder Than Life in Louisville, Ky.
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Jutes signed a global record deal with Position Music, which will release his new single, “Left on Dilworth,” on Wednesday (May 21). The singer-songwriter’s singles so far this year include “Red Velvet” with Ari Abdul, “House of Cards” and “SMUT”; previous album releases include Ladybug and Sleepyhead. He’s managed by Mike Maloian at 25/7.
Indonesian dream-pop duo Galdive signed with Mom + Pop Music, which released its new album, Blue, on May 9. The act’s song “Teach Me How to Love” has picked up steam on TikTok, where it has generated more than 16 million views, 1.8 million likes, and over 2,200 UGC posts, according to the label.
Armada Music struck a joint venture deal with Dutch electronic artist Joris Voorn spanning A&R, distribution, promotion and marketing. The label will work with Voorn on his upcoming album Serotonin, which is set for release in July. It will additionally leverage its publishing arm “to add creative value” to his work via “writing camps and collaboration,” according to a press release. Armada previously released Voorn’s remix of “Transmission” by Eelke Ekleijn.
Scouting for Girls signed a label services deal with Absolute. Next year, the British trio is releasing a new album, which Absolute will support with digital marketing, distribution, project management and a long-term strategic direct-to-consumer campaign.
Sub Pop signed Brooklyn-based trio Nation of Language and will release the band’s new music globally this year and beyond. The first release under the deal is the new single, “Inept Apollo.” The band will tour North America and Europe this fall.
Virgin Music Latin signed a global agreement with rising Cuban act Wampi for the release of his forthcoming debut studio album, El Rey de la Habana. His first single under the label is “Veni,” an uptempo track that represents the Cuban Reparto music scene. El Rey de la Habana will feature collaborations with Cimafunk, Ibeyi, Los Van Van, Maffio, Michael Brun, and more. – Jessica Roiz
Mom+Pop Music signed Minneapolis artist Mother Soki, whose single “Rivet Gun” has been growing on TikTok. She is managed by Avalanche in Los Angeles.
Nettwerk signed indie-pop band Joseph, composed of sisters Natalie and Meegan Closner. The first release under the deal is the single “Bye and Bye,” a track from the duo’s forthcoming album (its first without sister Allie). The band is kicking off a round of tour dates on June 13 in Spokane, Wash.
Singer-songwriter N8NOFACE signed with Stones Throw, which released his new song, “Waiting to Wait for You,” last week. N8NOFACE is touring with Eyedress on the Stoner Tour this summer.
Scout Willis signed with WME for global representation. The singer-songwriter is currently recording her second studio album on the heels of singles “Over and Over” and “Take Me” last year. The album is slated for release this fall.
Atlanta-based five-piece band Penelope Road signed to Warner Records. The first release under the deal is the single “Out Tonight.” According to a press release, the song has already racked up “millions of views” leading up to its official release. The band, which is set to embark on a summer headlining tour on June 12 in Charleston, S.C., is managed by Lindsay Brandt.
Giant Music, a division of The Azoff Company, signed rock band Riff Wood. The band is independently producing its debut album, Tough Luck, which is set for release this summer. It’s been preceded by singles including “Blur” and “Stay a Little Longer,” the latter serving as its first release on Giant. Riff Wood is embarking on a summer tour starting July 29. The band, which won Utah’s Battle of the Bands last year, is managed by Rob Cavallo‘s Done Deal and Echo Street.
A$AP Rocky continues to tease new music ahead of dropping his highly anticipated album Don’t Be Dumb. However, the song that was played as he walked down the red-carpet stairs in the rain with his pregnant partner Rihanna at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday night, when his new movie Highest 2 Lowest premiered, sounds […]
Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz
This past weekend The Weeknd’s big feature film Hurry Up Tomorrow premiered in movie theaters worldwide and while it was basically dead on arrival (no shots), the Canadian crooner is still doing his best to hype up his latest silver screen project.
Hoping to at least generate some soundtrack sales, The Weeknd dropped off some new visuals to the title cut “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” which finds The Weeknd sitting alone in a room and playing a piano as he sings his heart out hoping this song will pursued people to see his bomb of a movie. It won’t. Decent song though.
Back on the rap scene, Wiz Khalifa and DaBaby finally get around to doing a collaboration and in their clip to “Viking Freestyle,” the two rappers get smoked out with the help of some Khalifa Kush before turning up during their session and spitting hella bars.
Check out the rest of today’s drops and some joints you might’ve missed over the weekend including work from Key Glock, Heem, and more.
THE WEEKND – “HURRY UP TOMORROW”
WIZ KHALIFA & DABABY – “VIKING FREESTYLE”
KEY GLOCK – “GLOCKAVELI”
POPCAAN FT. TEEBONE – “MAGICAL”
HEEM – “BARS & NOBLE 2”
LECRAE, MILES MINNICK & E-40 – “THE METHOD”
B-LEGIT, KING CYDAL & OCKY OCKY – “DO IT FOR”
CHOSE4THEGAME – “NASTY”
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On Monday (May 19), the biotech giant Regeneron Pharmeceuticals announced that they were acquiring the DNA testing company 23andMe after it was up for sale in an auction after declaring bankruptcy. Regeneron is best known for its antibody drug cocktail which was used by President Donald Trump when he fell ill with COVID-19 during his first term.23andMe was a dominant product as genetic testing became more publicly accepted in past years, with customers buying their test kits to find out more about their family ancestry and traits as well as potential health risks. It had a peak valuation of $6 billion after going public in 2021. The company’s decline happened afterward, due to a combination of less customers buying kits and a data breach back in 2023 which exposed genetic information for seven million of its customers.
A class-action lawsuit against 23andMe would be filed, with litigants claiming they were never notified of the breach. Last September, seven members of its board resigned citing their lack of confidence in chief executive Anne Wojcicki, according to the New York Times. The company would file for bankruptcy in March to “facilitate a sale process to maximize the value of its business.” Wojcicki would resign during that period as well.
The deal is worth $256 million, and will give Regeneron full control of all of 23andMe’s business assets which include its Personal Genome Service, Total Health and Research Services divisions. It is subject to a review from a corporate privacy ombudsman who will provide the final report on June 10. Then, approval must be given under federal antitrust laws and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, whom which a hearing is set for June 17. If all proceeds according to plan, the sale would become official in the third quarter of 2025.Regeneron has already pledged to keep customers’ data and associated materials secure. “[W]e want to let 23andMe customer know that we are committed to protecting this dataset with our high standards of data privacy, security and ethical oversight. We believe that Regeneron has the right expertise, leadership and vision to revitalize 23andMe, protect its existing customer base and benefit society overall,” the company said in a statement.
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Source: Michael Loccisano / Getty
The 40/40 Club is set for another comeback. JAY-Z’s former hot spot will be returning to Fanatics Fest.
As per The New York Post the famed nightclub will be recreated once again for the annual Fanatics Fest. For this edition the lounge will host V.I.P.’s personally invited by JAY-Z and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. In 2024 the pop-up experience hosted an array of high profile celebrities, athletes, musicians and more. In the house were the likes of Quavo, Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, Carmelo Anthony, Dez Bryant, Jalen Rose and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. According to the periodical JAY-Z is slated to attend the 2025 Fanatics Fest.
Originally launched in 2003, The 40/40 Club was a chain of upscale sports bars and lounges. Its name was a nod to the very exclusive group of Major League Baseball players who attained 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in one single season. The venue decor featured memorabilia from some of the greatest moments in sports. The brand would eventually open other locations in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn. All of the locations have since been closed.
Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin detailed his enthusiasm for the event in a formal statement. “Seeing the pure joy, excitement and enthusiasm from all the fans who attended our first event last summer was absolutely incredible and I could not be more excited to bring Fanatics Fest back to New York City this June” he said. “We’re going bigger and better next year, adding hundreds of athletes and celebrities to the roster, blowing out the event space to add many more interactive experiences from the top leagues and teams, creating more opportunities for fans and collectors to meet their favorite athletes, more exclusive product drops and overall taking the entire event to a new level. June can’t come fast enough.”
Fanatics Fest will take place June 20-22 in New York City. You can find out more information about the event here.
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50 Cent is back at it. The Queens rapper and filmmaker continues to troll Diddy as the Harlem mogul’s sex trafficking trial heads into its second week. This time, he posted an AI-generated picture of himself on Instagram wearing a white “Free Diddy” shirt in front of a courthouse and followed that up with a […]
Fuerza Regida celebrates a dual win this week, as 111XPANTíA, the group’s ninth studio album, moves 2-1 on the Top Latin Albums chart (dated May 24) in its second week. The set also earns a second week at No. 1 on the Top Regional Mexican Albums chart, plus, it becomes the eighth album of the 2020s to simultaneously top both charts.
111XPANTíA rises to No. 1 on Top Latin Albums despite slipping to 43,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. (from 76,000 the week prior), that’s a 43% decline during the May 9-15 tracking week, according to Luminate. Of the set’s second-week sum, album sales contribute 6,000 units, down 85%, which prompts a 2-12 drop on the overall Top Album Sales chart.
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Things look brighter in the streaming sector, as the album generated 38,000 units, up 6%, representing 53.4 million official on-demand U.S. audio and video streams of the album’s tracks. That figure yields a 5-4 jump on the overall Top Streaming Albums chart, becoming Fuerza Regida’s highest-charting title there.
Thanks to 111XPANTíA landing at the summit, Fuerza Regida dethrones Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos’ 18-week run at No. 1. Plus, the group earns a second champ on Top Latin Albums, which began in 1993. It joins Pa’ Las Baby’s y Belikeada (three consecutive weeks at No. 1 in 2024).
111XPANTíA was released May 2 on Street Mob/Rancho Humilde/ Sony Music Latin. A deluxe version of the album followed immediately on May 5. The latter includes three new songs, two of which debut on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart: “Como Tú” at No. 13 and “Lokita,” with Anuel AA, at No. 43. Meanwhile, “Marlboro Rojo,” from the original album, climbs 14-4 with the Greatest Gainer honors in streaming, after a 56% gain, to 7.4 million clicks in the U.S.
With the new dual coronation on Top Latin Albums and Top Regional Mexican Albums, 111XPANTíA becomes the eighth album of the 2020s to simultaneously claim the No. 1 spot on both charts. Alejandro Fernández was the first to achieve the feat, placing Hecho En México, his 16th studio album, at the summit on both rankings for one week in February 2020.
Here’s a recap of all the albums with concurrent reigns on Top Latin Albums and Top Regional Mexican Albums, at least for one week, this decade:
Album, Artist, Peak DateHecho En México, Alejandro Fernández, Feb. 29, 2020Vibras de Noche, Eslabon Armado, Aug. 1, 2020Desvelado, Eslabon Armado, May 13, 2023Génesis, Peso Pluma, July 8, 2023Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada, Fuerza Regida, April 27, 2024Éxodo, Peso Pluma, Sept. 6, 2024Incómodo, Tito Double P, Oct. 5, 2024111XPANTIA, Fuerza Regida, May 24
Neil Young has had it with President Donald Trump, especially after the politician’s recent digs at Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift.
In a post on his website Tuesday (May 20), the “Heart of Gold” singer slammed Trump for being “out of control” with his comments about the Boss and “Fortnight” singer on Truth Social a few days prior. On the platform, the POTUS had called Springsteen “highly overrated” and “dumb as a rock,” while saying that Swift is “no longer ‘HOT.’”
“Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America,” Young wrote in response to the insults. “You worry about that instead of the dyin’ kids in Gaza. That’s your problem. I am not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us. You shut down FEMA when we needed it most. That’s your problem Trump. STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made.”
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“Taylor Swift is right. So is Bruce,” the Canadian-American musician continued, referencing the Eras headliner and “Born in the U.S.A.” rock star’s history of opposing Trump’s policies. “You know how I feel. You are more worried about yourself than AMERICA. Wake up Trump.”
The post is far from the first time Young has criticized the president, calling Trump a “disgrace to my country” in a scathing 2020 open letter and later speaking out about his fear of being barred from re-entering the United States after his tour on the president’s orders. The “Old Man” artist’s latest takedown comes after Trump went on a roll with posts antagonizing musicians, starting with Swift on Friday (May 16). “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?’” he wrote on Truth Social.
He then turned his attention to Springsteen. Incensed by the E Street band leader’s prior comments in Manchester about Trump’s administration being “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous,” the latter wrote of Springsteen on Truth Social, “Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK.”
But that was just the tip of the iceberg. A few days later, Trump returned to Truth Social to once again slam Springsteen, this time accusing him — as well as Beyoncé, Bono and Oprah Winfrey — of taking part in an “illegal election scam” run by Kamala Harris. “HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? … WHAT ABOUT BEYONCÉ?” he wrote at the time.
“I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter,” the president continued Monday. “Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment.”
There is no record of Harris paying money to any of the artists who endorsed her, and her campaign has denied doing so. That didn’t stop Trump from perpetuating the unsubstantiated claim to the contrary through his posts, something Young sees as a distraction from what’s really important.
“You are forgetting your real job,” Young concluded his post on his website Tuesday. “You work for us. Wake up Republicans! This guy is out of control. We need a real president!!”
Source: YouTube / DC Studios
We’re still months away from finally seeing what James Gunn has been cooking in his DC Studios when Superman: Legacy hits theaters on July 11, and with all kinds of rumors being thrown around as to who’ll be appearing or making cameos, it seems like we’ve gotten confirmation as to which villain will be involved in the film and we aren’t talking about Lex Luthor.
According to Newsweek, it’s been leaked that Superman villain Ultraman will be part of Superman: Legacy and for those that aren’t familiar with the villain, he’s basically an evil version of Superman from an alternate universe. Confirmation came as the action figure for the villain was revealed online and fans were excited to learn that Superman would be going toe-to-toe with an bad version of himself (not like in 1983’s Superman III though. That was just weird).
As for a little backstory on the villain, Newsweek breaks it down.
Newsweek reports:
In the comics, Ultraman is from an alternate universe in which most of people who we know as heroes in DC comics are instead villains. For example, instead of the Justice League of America, Ultraman is part of the Crime Syndicate of America. A villain named Johnny Quick replaces The Flash, Power Ring instead of Green Lantern, Owlman instead of Batman, etc.
So if the Ultraman of “Superman” is – like his comic book counterpart – a Superman variant, the question is exactly how A.R.G.U.S. finds him and gets him to help them out. The Ultraman of the comics would need a whole lot of convincing to help A.R.G.U.S. or anyone else to work for something other than his own selfish designs; not to mention doing it while hiding his identity.
Y’all already know Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) might’ve figured out a way to pull off such a feat. He’s an evil mastermind for Christ’s sake.
The only question is, who’ll be behind the mask of Ultraman? With rumors that Henry Cavill is somehow a part of this film (fingers crossed), imagine the theater reaction to a reveal that Cavill is the evil Superman? Heads would explode. Just sayin.’
What do y’all think about Ultraman being a big baddie in Superman: Legacy? Do you have any expectations for the film? Let us know in the comments section below.
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