State Champ Radio Author: djfrosty
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Women lead the way on this week’s crop of new songs. Carly Pearce returns with “No Rain,” while Hailey Whitters teams with bluegrass luminary Molly Tuttle for “Prodigal Daughter.” Avery Anna, known for her collaboration with Sam Barber on “Indigo,” issues a new song, “Mr. Predictable.”
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Meanwhile, HARDY and Nate Smith team up for a hilarious-yet-pointed new track sure to relate with scores of people who have buddies in less than stellar relationships, on “Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend.”
Check all these and more of the best new country songs of the week below.
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Carly Pearce, “No Rain”
Carly Pearce previews her upcoming deluxe album Hummingbird: No Rain, No Flowers (out March 14) with this gentle, optimistic outing. Swaths of strings and acoustics elevate this soft-focus, hopeful track, with Pearce singing about how times of despair often dovetail with mountaintop moments. Pearce’s warm, earthy vocal tones highlight the song’s graceful melody. “If you never feel fear/ you’ll never need faith,” she sings, urging listeners to hold on during days of struggle. Since launching her career, Pearce has always managed to sound both timely and timeless, and this song floats in gingerly like a much-needed balm for society’s trying times.
Hailey Whitters feat. Molly Tuttle, “Prodigal Daughter”
Hailey Whitters’s latest release interweaves defiant, stomping country with bluegrass leanings, as she welcomes Molly Tuttle on vocal harmonies and guitar. Together, they sing a coming-of-age story about a young woman enticed by a new love. “She did a devil’s dance to a fiddle in a holler,” they sing, joined by a dazzling mesh of instrumental work from bluegrassers Stuart Duncan, Justin Moses and Bryan Sutton in addition to reigning CMA musician of the year Charlie Worsham.
Carter Faith, “If I Had Never Lost My Mind”
Faith debuted this song last week during the UMG Nashville showcase at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium as part of the annual Country Radio Seminar. Commanding, dramatic and deeply introspective, “If I Had Never Lost My Mind” is a post-breakup, emotional postmortem as she ruminates over what aspects could have changed and whether they could have halted the romantic bustup from happening. “I couldn’t stop it and you couldn’t take it/ I gave you my heart and I forced you to break it,” Faith sings as the song builds in intensity towards its final chorus, surging into a superb musical showcase for one of Faith’s most powerful, dramatic vocal renderings to date.
Ashley Cooke feat. Joe Jonas, “All I Forgot”
At last week’s New Faces of Country Music Showcase during the annual Country Radio Seminar, Cooke gave the audience of country radio programmers a surprise when she invited Joe Jonas to perform their new duet “All I Forgot.” The pop-tilted, radio-ready track finds the two contemplating how sometimes the emotional connection between two people is so stout that even copious amounts of top-shelf liquor fail to drown it. “I just killed a bottle and all that I forgot/ Was I was moving on,” they sing. Vocally, they prove they can match each other note for note.
Avery Anna, “Mr. Predictable”
Avery Anna recently saw her Sam Barber collaboration “Indigo” reach No. 48 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. On her latest, she proves that while she’s known for moody pop-tinged ballads, she can also handle a churning rocker just fine, too. She’s hurt by a lover’s betrayal, but more hurt that her suspicions of his disloyal nature were proven right from the beginning. Lyrically, she goes for the jugular on lines such as “I tried to trust an untrustablе, cynical, typical, self-centered man,” as the song builds from a pensive, sparse piano track to a rock-seared, scathing indictment.
Nate Smith and HARDY, “Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend”
Country music hitmakers Nate Smith (“World on Fire”) and HARDY (“Truck Bed”) team up for this slice of cut-to-the-bone, friend-to-friend honesty, wrapped in a country-rock package. Smith and HARDY offer up a perspective of friends directly laying out the facts that a buddy’s new girlfriend is far from beloved by his circle of family and friends and they have the reasons why: she’s mean-spirited, she hates the bands he likes, she puts her boyfriend down in front of his friends, and is likely cheating on him. “Everyone you love hates seeing you with her,” they sing. To the point and punchy, this is sure to be a hit addition to their setlists. The hilarious video for the song, featuring Kevin James, Sophia La Corte and Amanda Mertz, further drives home the song’s message.
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After decades of having a “clean shaven” policy for their players, the New York Yankees are finally getting with the times (kinda) and allowing their baseball superstars to grow beards and look like manly men when taking the field going forward.
According to Daily Mail, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner announced Friday (Feb. 21) that he was reversing George Steinbrenner’s age-old policy of having his players hit the field with no mustache or beard, which in turn alienated many star free agents over the years who love their facial hair as much as they love their money. Though Steinbrenner made it clear that said bears would have to be well-groomed, at least Yankees players and potential free agents now have the option of growing their designer stubbles when playing for the Bronx Bombers.
Per Daily Mail:
The full statement reads: ‘In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees — spanning several eras — to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback.
‘These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years. Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward.
‘It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.’
Well, that only took four decades.
Naturally, fans were overjoyed with the rule change as many free agents have balked at signing with the Yankees based off the rule alone while others have joined the Yankees and shaven off their signature facial hair to look, well, kind of corny. Just sayin’.
In recent years, the policy had been described as outdated by many of its critics, and players who have left the franchise have repeatedly criticized it.
Among the most vocal critics were Andrew McCutchen and Clint Frazier, while some other players from around the league have even claimed they would not join the Yankees purely because of the ruling.
With the LA Dodgers building a super-duper squad out in Los Angeles and Juan Soto famously choosing the Mets over the Yankees, it looks like Hal Steinbrenner is taking no chances on missing out on any potential superstar free agent going forward and has taken the first step in ensuring that they can offer their potential target the most simplest of enjoyments, a full grown and well-groomed beard.
If Cashman can get the team an excellent world-renowned barber to park his talents at Yankees Stadium, it might be a wrap for the rest of the league going forward. Who wouldn’t wanna sign with the Bronx Bombers?
What do y’all think about the Yankees move on having players rock beards? Let us know in the comments section below.
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SNL alums Martin Short and Maya Rudolph’s COVID-19 diagnosis led Steve Martin to refer to a “curse” on the cast of the anniversary special.
On Thursday night (Feb. 20), veteran comedic actor Steve Martin shared on social media that fellow comic Martin Short had come down with COVID-19 after the 50th anniversary special of Saturday Night Live last Sunday (Feb. 16), potentially catching it from Maya Rudolph. Martin shared a photo from the night on Instagram, which shows Short and Rudolph sharing a kiss.
“Maya had Covid. Marty has Covid. I wonder why? The SNL 50th Covid curse is real,” Martin wrote in the caption of the post, adding: “Unfortunately, we have to reschedule this weekend’s sold-out Durham and Knoxville dates to 10/17 Knoxville and 10/18 Durham. So sorry for the inconvenience. I think we’ll be funnier then, anyway.”
The Only Murders In The Building star might’ve been referencing a joke from current SNL star Colin Jost during the Weekend Update segment of the show. “Health experts are facing increased pressure this winter in the face of outbreaks of COVID, the flu, RSV, and norovirus, which they’re calling a quad-demic,” Jost said. “So we did the smart thing and packed every beloved entertainer over 60 into one tiny space.”
Rudolph and Short aren’t the only two dealing with illness after the special. EGOT winner and co-host of The View, Whoopi Goldberg, missed several tapings of the show this week after attending the special. “Whoopi is still out with the flu. It’s going around, be careful,” co-host Joy Behar told the audience on Thursday. “We hope you’re feeling better, Whoopi. Come back soon!”
The timing of the special did lead to a couple of notable absences. Dana Carvey, one of the show’s best-known figures who made a partial return to the show this season, shared that he had to miss the special due to recovering from the flu under doctor’s orders. Another beloved alum, Dan Akroyd, didn’t appear due to “prior commitments” and Bill Hader wasn’t present citing a “longstanding scheduling conflict.”
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Kevin Durant recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to give his praises to J. Cole, showering the rapper with accolades for his latest track “cLOUDs.” Durant, known for his candor, expressed admiration for Cole’s mastery, stating, “I don’t care about none of that fake tough guy sh*t. This is mastery,” acknowledging the precision and attention to detail in the song. It was a gesture that highlighted Durant’s genuine respect for Cole’s artistry and lyricism.
However, the praise didn’t stop there. A troll decided to jump in, trying to undermine Durant’s appreciation for Cole by saying, “But you listen to Drake lol ok.” Easy Money Sniper never lets shade slide without a response, swiftly shot back, “THE GOAT.” With those two words, Durant crowned Drake as the greatest of all time. The comment was a testament to Durant’s unwavering support for the Canadian rapper and his confidence in Drizzy’s place in hip-hop history.
Durant’s loyalty to Drake has long been known, especially during the Canadian rapper’s beef with Kendrick Lamar. While many celebrities distanced themselves from Drake during this time, Durant has remained one of his most steadfast allies. By calling Drake “the GOAT,” Durant is making it clear that his admiration for the rapper goes beyond just their friendship—it’s rooted in a deep respect for Drake’s impact on the culture.
This moment only solidifies the bond between Durant and Drake, with Durant showing that he stands by his friends and their artistry, no matter the outside noise. The respect between these two icons seems unshakable, and it’s clear Durant’s admiration for both Drake and J. Cole is genuine.
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Dan Bongino, a popular podcaster known for putting forth conspiracy theories, was appointed as the deputy director of the FBI over the weekend By President Donald Trump. Dan Bongino will be second in command to FBI chief Kash Patel, and many online have shared their thoughts.
President Trump took to his Truth Social platform to celebrate the addition of Dan Bongino to the FBI leadership role.
From Truth Social:
Great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice! Dan Bongino, a man of incredible love and passion for our Country, has just been named the next DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI, by the man who will be the best ever Director, Kash Patel. Dan has a Masters Degree in Psychology from C.U.N.Y., and an MBA from Penn State. He was a member of the New York Police Department (New York’s Finest!), a highly respected Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, and is now one of the most successful Podcasters in the Country, something he is willing and prepared to give up in order to serve. Working with our great new United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and Director Patel, Fairness, Justice, Law and Order will be brought back to America, and quickly. Congratulations Dan!
As noted in Trump’s post, Bongino has worked in law enforcement but, similar to Kash Patel, has never headed an agency much less oversaw the headquarters of an office. Bongino has garnered attention in the past for making charged statements about the COVID-19 virus, and he’s also been public in saying that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of President Joe Biden.
On X, formerly Twitter, many are reacting to the news that Dan Bongino will be the FBI’s deputy director. Keep scrolling for more.
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ASCAP has announced the nominees for the 2025 ASCAP Composers’ Choice Awards.
A first-of-its-kind program among U.S. performing rights organizations, the ASCAP Composers’ Choice Awards gives the ASCAP composer community a forum to recognize the artistic accomplishments of their peers. The nominations committee includes composers and film, television and video game industry leaders. Voting is open to eligible ASCAP writer members through March 7 at 11:59 p.m. ET on the ASCAP website.
Winners will be revealed on April 30 during an exclusive party celebrating the 2025 ASCAP Screen Music Awards in Los Angeles.
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More information about the 2025 ASCAP Composers’ Choice Awards, including excerpts of the nominated music, is available on the organization’s website.
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Following are ASCAP composers and their works nominated for the 2025 ASCAP Composers’ Choice Awards. Categories with six or more nominees reflect ties in voting.
Film score of the year
(Films released in the U.S. in 2024, whether theatrically or via another medium)
Challengers – Trent Reznor
Dune: Part Two – Hans Zimmer
Inside Out 2 – Andrea Datzman
Nosferatu – Robin Carolan
Wicked – John Powell & Stephen Schwartz
Young Woman and the Sea – Amelia Warner
Television score of the year
(Episodes originally airing in the U.S. in 2024)
Agatha All Along – Michael Paraskevas
Mr. & Mrs. Smith – David Fleming
Only Murders in the Building – Siddhartha Khosla
Palm Royale – Jeff Toyne
Slow Horses – Daniel Pemberton & Toydrum
Television theme of the year
(Episodes originally airing in the U.S. in 2024)
Bad Monkey – Jamie Jackson & Waz
Franklin – Jay Wadley
Nautilus – Nainita Desai
Only Murders in the Building – Siddhartha Khosla
Palm Royale – Jeff Toyne
Documentary score of the year
(Documentary films or series released in the U.S. in 2024)
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life – Marc Shaiman
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes – Logan Nelson
Jim Henson Idea Man – David Fleming
Planet Earth III – Sara Barone & Hans Zimmer
The Real Red Tails – Stanley A. Smith
Will & Harper – Nathan Halpern
Video game score of the year
(Games originally released in the U.S. in 2024)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – Jack Wall
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Gordy Haab
Helldivers 2 – Wilbert Roget, II
Star Wars Outlaws – Wilbert Roget, II, Cody Matthew Johnson, Jon Everist, Kazuma Jinnouchi
Tales of Kenzera: Zau – Nainita Desai
Carín León, Becky G, Edición Especial and DannyLux are slated to grace the stage at Brookside at The Rose Bowl for its inaugural Latin music event on May 24, Billboard Español can exclusively announce on Monday (Feb. 24).
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The Pasadena, Calif., venue, managed by Goldenvoice — the creators of Coachella — has hosted annual festivals such as Cruel World, focusing on new wave and alt-rock, and Just Like Heaven, themed around early ’00s alt-rock. This year, the one-day event will embrace Spanish-language music for the first time since the space began hosting multi-stage festivals in 2017.
“It’s a dream to bring the best of música mexicana to an iconic place like Brookside,” a Goldenvoice representative tells Billboard Español. “We’ve been fortunate to be a part of each of these artists’ journeys and it’s a great feeling to have it all come together for this event. We hope to continue more events like this in the future.”
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Headliner Carín León — this year’s Grammy honoree for best música mexicana album (including tejano) for Boca Chueca, Vol. 1 (2024), which debuted at No. 5 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Albums chart and No. 8 on Top Latin Albums — has quickly emerged as a key figure in Latin music. His distinctive fusion of traditional Mexican music with country elements has marked a significant evolution in the genre.
“I feel very proud to be a pioneer in bringing regional Mexican music to this iconic place,” said León in a press release. “Everything that has happened with our genre is incredible and the presence that México has today in global music. This is just an example of what our country has prepared for the future, and we are moving forward with firm steps! I’m excited to see how Mexican music is being recognized, and for me, it’s an honor to represent it with respect, always going all out.”
Becky G, whose albums Esquemas (2022) and Esquinas (2023) reached the top 10 on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart at No. 5 and No. 7, respectively, continues to highlight her Mexican-American roots with her latest release, Encuentros (2024), which debuted at No. 15 on the same chart last October.
“As a proud Chicana born and raised in Inglewood, I’m beyond excited to be part of this historic moment where música mexicana is included for the first time,” said Becky G in a press release. “Bringing my music and culture with me everywhere I go means everything, but there’s something incredibly special about performing música mexicana in L.A. I can’t wait to go out there and celebrate with my people.”
Also joining the lineup are Edición Especial from Culiacán, Sinaloa, fresh off the group’s successful Segunda Edición tour; and rapidly rising star DannyLux, who fuses romantic sierreño music with a poetic flair.
Presale tickets will be available on Wednesday (Feb. 26) via Carin Leon’s website. General ticket sales start on Friday (Feb. 28) at 12 p.m. PT on the AXS website.
Tate McRae gets why she keeps getting compared to Britney Spears. The 21-year-old Canadian pop star who first came into our lives as a tween finalist on the 2016 season of So You Think You Can Dance has mastered the art of dance pop temptation in videos like the one for her slinky new single, […]
Mariah Carey has booked a massive summer 2025 gig in the U.K. at Royal Sandringham Estate in Norfolk on August 15. The show at the 20,000-capacity venue will feature support from Eternal and Nile Rodgers & Chic. The outdoor gig in Norfolk, England presented by Heritage Live Festivals is the third concert announced for the venue this summer, joining previously announced shows by the Stereophonics (Aug. 16) and Michael Bublé (Aug. 17).
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Tickets for the Carey concert will be available during a pre-sale on March 5 beginning at 9 a.m. GMT (4 a.m. ET). Fans can register for pre-sale access in advance here. A general on-sale will kick off on March 7 at 9 a.m., with information available here.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to bring one of the greatest pop artists of all time to the Royal Sandringham Estate for an exclusive UK headline show. Mariah Carey is an award-winner, a record-breaker, and an absolute global icon – this show will be historic,” Heritage Live Festivals’ Giles Cooper said in a statement. “Mariah’s live show is second to none and with such a catalogue of huge hit singles, it’s going to be an incredible occasion. It will most definitely be an ‘I was there’ event that will live in all of our memories forever.”
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Carey has also booked another U.K summer gig with a headlining slot at the Pride in the Park event at the Brighton Pride festival, which will take place on August 2-3; Carey was supposed to play the Pride fest in 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The singer recently celebrated her second nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, writing on Instagram earlier this month that she was “so grateful” to get her second nod in a row after first becoming eligible in 2016. “It’s always an incredible honor to be recognized alongside so many legendary artists I admire. Thank you to the @rockhall and, of course, to my amazing fans— you are the heart of everything I do. This means so much! ❤️🎶,” Carey wrote in a post that also featured the full list of 2025’s nominees, which includes Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, Oasis, Outkast, Phish, Soundgarden and The White Stripes.
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Kanye West is back to doing the absolute most on social media, and he most recently suggested that Cassie extorted Diddy with her lawsuit.
As per HipHopDX, Ye has returned to X, formerly known as Twitter, and continues to troll the world. On Feb. 20 he shared a post that questioned Cassie’s morale character and intentions for pursuing legal action against her former lover and record label CEO. “Did Cassie extort Puff?” he wrote. As expected, Kanye was greeted with harsh criticism from X users. “Crazy to think this ni**a made ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’”, wrote one former fan. “The single best album I ever heard in any genre of music……now cuz mind is completely gone.” Another user hypothetically asked him how would he feel if Cassie was one of his family members. “Did [Cassie] get beat up used and abused are you so outta touch if someone did to your mother … may she rest in peace… would you feel same.”
This is not the first time Kanye West has put on a cape for Diddy. Earlier this month, he tried to rationalize Diddy’s sickening 2016 assault on Cassie saying, “When [a] man truly loves a [woman] he may express it in rage. I empathize with both sides,” he wrote on X. Later that day, he announced he would be selling a hooded sweatshirt similar to what Cassie was wearing that same day Diddy put hands on her in a Los Angeles hallway.
Back in November 2023 Cassie, born Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit accusing Diddy of assault and more. The lawsuit was settled the following day but Diddy denied the allegations. Later on, footage from the brutal hotel attack leaked online forcing him to apologize for his actions.
