State Champ Radio Author: djfrosty
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Ed Sheeran has long known that the line between pleasure and pain is a thin one, best traversed with care and a healthy regard for the surprises life throws at you. That sentiment is essentially the thesis for the singer’s new video for his nostalgic ballad “Old Phone.”
The Emil Nava-directed clip that dropped on Thursday morning (May 8) for the second single from Sheeran’s upcoming Play album (Sept. 12) opens with Sheeran in a wistful mood. Sitting on his hotel bed, Ed flips through old conversations on his dusty, recently recovered Blackberry, saying in voiceover, “I was finding text messages from people that aren’t even here anymore and reading conversations with people I wish I could have conversations with now.”
So, he explains, he did what anyone would do in that situation: he build a bespoke, pop-up pub in Ipswich, MA in March, which fans could gain entry into by sending a video or message from an old phone that had some meaning to them. “I found my old phone today/ In a box that I had hidden away/ Nostalgia trying to lead me astray/ Maybe I’ll unwrite some wrongs,” he sings over gentle acoustic guitar and footage of fans lining up for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to join Sheeran in the pub.
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We watch the construction of Old Phone Pub and the delighted look on the singer’s face as he sees it taking shape, as well as Sheeran reaching out to the many fans lined up outside and visiting some local neighborhood spots to spread the word. In addition to playing an impromptu Ipswich street jam, the video finds Sheeran sitting in solitude inside a bowling alley, as well as testimonials from those who submitted clips to be projected onto the walls of the bar.
One was from a mom who sent in a video of her two deceased daughters, 12 and 4 in the clip, saying, “they were just goofin’ off just being sisters,” over footage of the home movie being screened on the outside of the temporary venue. Other testimonials are from a woman who shared footage of her with her old boyfriend and a man who offered a movie of him dancing with his beloved late grandma at a wedding; at one point Sheeran can be seen chatting with the man outside the bar.
“It was really cool to watch that and to be able to share with him some of our stories. That was nice,” the mom says. The video winds down pivoting from Sheeran smiling at his old home movies, to fans sitting mesmerized as he performs the song in the pop-up with a back-up band of Irish musicians. “I wanted to make it feel like the song does… raw, stripped-back, emotional, nostalgic and special,” Sheeran says at the end.
Over the past month Sheeran has made headlines by playing surprise mini-concerts at other bars in Boston and Nashville, as well as hitting Nashville’s Santa’s Pub a few weeks ago with Noah Kahan for a short dual set and reconstructing the pop-up pub at Coachella.
Watch Sheeran’s “Old Phone” video below.
Lorde is gearing up to do a scan of arenas across North America and Europe this fall, with the pop star announcing her Ultrasound Tour in support of upcoming album Virgin Thursday (May 8).
Breaking the news on Instagram, Lorde shared a tour poster featuring a blue X-ray photo — similar to her June-slated fourth album’s cover art — and wrote, “I am going on tour in support of my new album, Virgin.”
“Very proud and excited to be bringing my most talented friends in support,” she added. “Come see what’s under the skin.”
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Per the tour poster, Virgin co-producers Jim-E Stack and Dev Hynes of Blood Orange will be joining the “Royals” singer on the road for select dates, as will The Japanese House, Nilüfer Yanya, Chanel Beads, Empress Of and Oklou. The trek will kick off Sept. 17 in Austin, Texas, followed by U.S. and Canada shows in Chicago, Nashville, Toronto, Boston, New York City, Las Vegas, Seattle and more cities through late October.
In November, Lorde will head overseas for the European leg, starting in Luxembourg and followed by Paris, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Berlin and more before wrapping Dec. 9 in Stockholm.
The Ultrasound Tour will mark Lorde’s first trek since 2021’s Solar Power Tour, which supported the Grammy winner’s album of the same name. It’s also her first arena tour since the 2017-2018 Melodrama World Tour, with Lorde favoring more intimate, theater-sized venues for the Solar Power run.
Fans can buy tickets as soon as May 14, with a pre-sale going live at 10 a.m. local time. Registration is already open on Lorde’s website.
After that, more tickets will become available in a general on sale on May 16.
The announcement comes shortly after Lorde dropped her comeback single, “What Was That,” in April, shortly before revealing that Virgin would be arriving June 27.
See Lorde’s Ultrasound World Tour announcement below.
Sam Fender has teamed up with Adolescence director Phillip Barantini on a video for new single “Little Bit Closer.”
The clip, which was shot in the Lake District in the north west of England, follows Owen Cooper — who played Jamie Miller in the Netflix drama — and a group of friends on a trip to the Lakes, where Cooper’s character contemplates questions of faith.
Lifted from February’s People Watching LP, the track itself sees Fender dive deep into his relationship with religion, depicting the emotional complexities of growing up in the Christian faith.
Fender previously collaborated with Barantini back in 2021, working alongside him and fellow Adolescence star and co-writer Stephen Graham for the video to stirring single “Spit of You.” In a press release, he said, “It’s so great to be working with Phil [Barantini] again, I had no doubt he was the right director for this piece, his video for ‘Spit of You’ was my favorite.
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“Phil called to say he’d asked Owen if he’d like to be in the video, and that Owen was keen,” he continued. “I was elated that he could do it after seeing his incredible performance in Adolescence. Alongside Semera Khan [Creative Director] and the rest of the cast and team, they have created something beautiful.”
Barantini added: “To have the opportunity to direct another video for Sam was an immediate yes — an absolute no-brainer for me! Not only is Sam an incredible artist but he’s a beautiful human and a great friend! Also, the opportunity to direct Owen again so soon after Adolescence was an absolute joy!”
Adolescence took the U.K. by storm when it hit screens earlier this year; upon release in March, episode one pulled the largest ever audience for any streaming TV show in the country in a single week. The four-part series, which explores complex issues such as toxic masculinity and the dangers of online radicalization, is set to be made freely accessible to secondary school pupils through a partnership between Netflix and the Into Film+ streaming service.
Speaking to Billboard U.K. in April, Barantini discussed the show’s ongoing impact and the vital discussions it has encouraged in recent months. “I always wanted [Adolescence] to be a conversation starter, or certainly for people to take different things away from it and have their own experience with it,” he said.
“There was definitely that feeling when we were on set,” he continued. “When we screened it to people, the audience were having the same reaction, but I did not think for one second it would be doing what it’s doing and still continues to do.”
Fender, meanwhile, has had a banner year so far. People Watching took the No. 1 spot on the Official Albums Chart upon release with 107,000 units sold across physicals and streaming. He becomes the first British solo artist to surpass 100,000 sales in an opening week since Harry Styles’ Harry’s House in 2022. He then scooped the alternative/rock act going at the BRIT Awards in March, and is now gearing up for a run of U.K. headline stadium shows this summer with dates in London and Newcastle.
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Dr. Marc Lamont Hill was a guest on Piers Morgan Uncensored this week to discuss Shiloh Hendrix, the woman who called a Black boy the n-word and launched a fundraiser and gaining over $700,00. Piers Morgan urged a white guest panelist to use the N-word in front of Marc Lamont Hill, who stopped the act and framed it as an attack.
Marc Lamont Hill shared the clip in question on his Instagram account at the exact moment where Morgan tried to get cultural commentator Lilly Gaddis to say the N-word. Gaddis has been supportive of Hendrix and says she uses the N-word slur frequently herself.
Morgan, with a grin, asked Gaddis repeatedly to say the slur before Hill jumped ahead of her and said that he would not be subjected to the verbal assault on the program. Ahead of that moment, Gaddis attempts to illustrate that her use of the N-word slur is part of her right to free speech, which made Hill grimace in the video.
As Hill blasted Morgan for the stunt, he also threw fellow panelist and Fresh and Fit Podcast co-host Myron Gaines under the bus and referred to Gaines as an “Uncle Tom.”
Here is what Hill had to say about the moment on Instagram:
The other day, I was asked to appear on Piers Morgan to discuss the recent fundraising campaign for the white woman who used the N-word against a five-year-old autistic Black child. It wasn’t until the show started that I realized I’d be sharing space with Myron Gaines (racist, misogynist, antisemite who pretends to be a Black American) and Lilly Gaddis, a proudly self-proclaimed racist who admits to frequently using the N-word. At the end of our debate, Piers dared her to use the N-word on the show. While I understand that his intention was to expose her as a racist —and get ratings for shock value— I felt compelled to shut it down.
Check out Marc Lamont Hill blasting Piers Morgan for the ratings grab stunt below.
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Photo: Prince Williams / Getty
The race to ROSÉ‘s new song is over, with the BLACKPINK star unveiling “Messy” for the F1 soundtrack, along with an accompanying music video, on Thursday (May 8).
In the sleek visual, the New Zealand-born performer walks through various nighttime cityscapes, strutting down a glistening street past a crowd of people and leaning over the terrace of a high-rise building in between shots of footage from the F1 movie. “Baby, let’s get messy, let’s get all the way undone/ Come over and chase me like I’ve never been touched,” she belts over piano and anthemic percussion, sitting on the floor of a blue-lit room as confetti rains down on her. “Baby, I’m obsessed with you, and there’s no replica/ If it’s messy, then you know it’s really love.”
“Messy” is just one of several songs that will appear on the F1 soundtrack, which Atlantic Records announced May 1. Similarly, ROSÉ is only one of many A-list stars who contributed to the project, with Ed Sheeran, Tate McRae, RAYE, Burna Boy, Roddy Rich, Dom Dolla, Chris Stapleton, Tiësto, Sexyy Red, Myke Towers, Madison Beer, Peggy Gou and more musicians also lending their talents to the album.
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Don Toliver and Doja Cat also released a single for F1, “Lose My Mind,” in late April.
Starring Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem and Damson Idris, the Joseph Kosinski-directed film will hit theaters June 27, the same day its full soundtrack drops.
For ROSÉ, “Messy” marks her first release since her debut solo album, Rosie, arrived in December and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The LP featured smash hit “APT.” featuring Bruno Mars, which spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200.
The K-pop star is now gearing up to reunite with her BLACKPINK bandmates for the first time since their Born Pink trek concluded in 2023, with ROSÉ teasing back in February that they had new music in the works around the same time the girl group announced that a world tour was slated for this summer. Three of the members — ROSÉ, JENNIE and LISA — were in attendance at the 2025 Met Gala in New York City Monday (May 5).
Watch ROSÉ’s “Messy” music video below.
As it turns out, Benj Pasek of EGOT-winning songwriting duo Pasek & Paul couldn’t take the musical advice to “Whistle While You Work” during the making of the Snow White live-action remake… because he can’t whistle. “I would like to make a public service announcement that I cannot whistle,” Pasek says in a bonus feature […]
After nearly 50 years as a band, Pulp has finally made an appearance on an airplay-based Billboard chart. The English band’s “Spike Island,” the lead single from its upcoming album More, bows at No. 38 on the Adult Alternative Airplay survey dated May 10. The Jarvis Cocker-led act first appeared on any Billboard tally in […]
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Three Black Memphis police officers were acquitted on charges of beating and killing Tyre Nichols after a 2023 traffic stop went awry. The news of the acquittal has spread widely, sparking anger online and abroad as the family of Tyre Nichols continues to seek justice for their loved one.
As reported by the Associated Press, former Memphis Police Department officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith were all acquitted on state charges, including second-degree murder, in the death of Tyre Nichols. Nichols was 29 at the time of his passing.
According to the report, jurors from a majority-white county viewed evidence over two days and found the officers not guilty on all charges. The nine-day trial took place in Memphis’ state court. The aforementioned officers are still facing federal charges, with the most serious charges there dropped as well. Emmitt Martin, another former officer, pleaded guilty in both state and federal court and was pegged by defense attorneys as the ringleader of the aggression that ended Nichols’ life.
Nichols was stopped by officers on Jan. 7, 2023, and fled on foot after officers reportedly pulled him out of the car and used a Taser and pepper spray. The five Memphis police officers chased him down and savagely beat Nichols, who was just steps away from his house and calling for his mother to help. Officers were seen on video laughing and carrying on normal conversations as Nichols suffered from his injuries. He eventually died on Jan. 10.
On X, many are voicing their disappointment in the acquittal at the state level for the former officers. We’ve got those reactions listed below.
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Photo: The Washington Post / Getty
Usher has jokingly apologized to Sabrina Carpenter’s dad following a viral photo from the 2025 Met Gala that showed the R&B star feeding the “Espresso” singer a cherry during his performance. “Apologies Mr Carpenter,” Usher commented Wednesday (May 7) on Carpenter’s Instagram post in apparent tongue-in-cheek fashion alongside sweating and cherry emojis. The apology was […]
EarthPercent, the organization co-founded by Brian Eno that works to take on climate change, has hired five new U.S. board members.
This group includes sustainability consultant and former vp of creative at Kobalt Music Emily Bines, YouTube’s manager of artist partnerships Courtney Marr, Los Angeles city council senior communications advisor Dae Levine, Warner Music Group’s new business & ventures rep Michael Delle Donne and longtime industry exec Harry Poloner, who will be the board’s U.S. chairman. Bines will serve as board treasurer, Levine as secretary and Marr and Dalle Donne as members.
“Music has the power to drive real change, and at EarthPercent, we’re using that power to take action on the climate crisis,” Poloner tells Billboard. “I’m honored to serve as board chairman in the U.S. and help mobilize the music industry to protect our planet.”
“We’re very honored to welcome such a strong and driven group to EarthPercent’s U.S. Board,” adds EarthPercent’s co-executive director Joel Gardner. “Their collective passion, experience and stewardship will be instrumental as we further grow our presence and impact across the states.”
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Founded in 2021, EarthPercent raises awareness and funding for climate initiatives — both in the U.S. and globally — by empowering artists and the broader industry to take meaningful action on real environmental solutions. Funding is achieved by getting artists and industry members to pledge a small portion of their income to the organization, which in turn directs it to climate-related projects. Funding also comes via partnerships, merch collaborations and individual fundraisers.
The project, which was also co-founded by music managers Adam Callan and Hiroki Shirasuka, has received support from approximately 300 artists and 50 industry organizations and raised approximately $2 million over the last four years. EarthPercent is also a partner of Sounds Right, the cross-DSP playlist that incorporates nature sounds into tracks and directs of a percent of each song’s royalties to conservation projects. “EarthPercent makes it easy for industry and artists to support the earth through music,”” Gardner continues, “and in our first four years we’ve made a real difference to some of the most impactful climate and biodiversity projects around the world.
“This is thanks to nearly 300 artists and 50 industry organizations joining us through pledges in their tours, records and publishing — collectively raising over $2 million. These new appointments are a really positive and exciting next step to further build our movement and unite the power of music in service of the planet.”
