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Kanye West, also known as Ye, has been on a weeks-long rant on Twitter discussing everything from his connection to Diddy, along with harsh critiques of the Jewish community and fellow artists. In a new interview with DJ Akademiks, Kanye West donned an all-Black KKK hood and wore a swastika chain during the meandering and bizarre chat.
On Sunday, Ye, aka Kanye West, was joined by DJ Akademiks, who traveled out to Los Angeles to meet with the Chicago native. As seen in Big Ak’s video that he shared on social media, the planning of the meetup with Ye didn’t go off without a hitch, and it appeared that West wanted Ak to perform the interview in China or Japan, as he claims not to feel safe in the United States.

Some 13 minutes into the video, Ak finally gets to Ye’s hotel room, where the producer is seen wearing a Black Sean John shirt with white lettering and the aforementioned bejeweled chain. At minute 16:10, Ye emerges with the KKK outfit and the pair launch into their chat.
There are far too many moments to highlight, but chief among them was Ye saying that he didn’t intend to have children with his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. Kardashian and West are the parents of North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm. Ye also stood on business regarding the comments he made about former collaborator Jay-Z and Beyoncé, and seemingly defended what he said about their children.
The conversation between Kanye West, aka Ye, and DJ Akademiks can be viewed below.


Photo: YouTube Screenshot

At the close of the new Alison Krauss & Union Station cut “The Wrong Way,” Krauss practically whispers the final line, “The one that I forgot.”
The “g” and the “t” on that last word are distinctly crisp and audible despite the softness of the moment, underscoring the singer’s reverence for the text.

The track is featured on Union Station’s Arcadia (March 28, Down the Road) — the band’s first project since 2011’s Paper Airplane — in which her uniquely fragile approach is once again front and center. Krauss’ crystalline tone is — as her fans have come to expect — immaculate, and her stylized enunciations and airy resonance seem to reach through the speakers in a personal way. But that emotional connection isn’t created in a vacuum. She leans on technical partners — producers and engineers — who capture her voice, paying particular attention to Krauss’ nuanced treatment of the most brittle sounds in the English language.

“There’s a high degree of intimacy in hearing those consonants and the fricatives,” says engineer Neal Cappellino, who co-engineered Arcadia with Rounder senior vp of A&R Gary Paczosa. “They have meaning to her. Everything like that has meaning.”

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In most country-based recordings, the lead vocal and the song itself are the primary connecting points for the listener. Thus, the singer’s ability to translate the melody and lyrics is key. But singers aren’t robots, so the physical and emotional condition that an artist experiences can vary from day to day. Dancing with the uncertainties, both technical and psychological, to elicit the ap-propriate vocal is part and parcel of the engineer’s job.

“The voice definitely has to be ready,” Paczosa says. “That can be tougher with a pure tone like [Krauss’]. That requires that everything’s in great shape, as far as no allergies or no dryness. Then your job as the engineer is to be ready when all of that happens.”

Perhaps the most valuable tool in an artist’s arsenal is an identifiable  vocal sound. Finalists for the Academy of Country Music Awards, announced March 27, illustrate the point. Top nominee Ella Langley conveys a casual sarcasm. Cody Johnson calls on an impressive level of power. Lainey Wilson sounds ultra-Southern. Jelly Roll often trails off at the end of his phrases. And Chris Stapleton owns a soulful grit.

Producers and engineers employ plenty of technology to relay those signatures to the consumer, but the machinery is merely a tool.

“A lot of people complain about all this Pro Tools, auto-tuning stuff,” says Vince Gill, a five-time winner of the Country Music Association’s male vocalist of the year. “Let me tell you something: Auto-tune doesn’t make you more interesting. It only makes you more in tune, you know. And you can be perfectly in tune, but your voice still may not be very compelling.”

What’s compelling varies. Linda Ronstadt reached her commercial peak with impeccable, pre-Auto-Tune pitch and fierce dynamics. George Jones, considered by many to be the greatest country singer in history, built his reputation on wild dips and slurs, frequently a hair off-pitch. George Strait approaches material with classic, masculine understatement. 

Strait’s long line of hits is directly related to his skill at matching his everyman resonance to songs that suit him.

“You can just raise the key a half-step or lower it a half-step, and he gets in that sweet spot of his voice,” says producer Tony Brown (Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn), revealed March 25 as one of this year’s Country Music Hall of Fame inductees. “It’s amazing that a tiny, little, subtle thing like that turns a song into one that sounds like George.”

Newcomer Greylan James instantly has his own identity, thanks in part to the sibilance in his first radio single, “Wait Til You Have Kids.” The “s” and “f” sounds are prominent, though not overdone. Many other artists would likely downplay that trait, but James embraced it.

“It’s getting the real-life character of a vocal,” James says. “For me, it’s [also] got to have some rasp to it.”

Artists and engineers can obsess, understandably, about the details in a vocal. They tinker with microphones, preamps, equalization, reverb and other effects to get what they perceive as the right sound. Once they settle on a vocal chain — as that series of machines and effects is called — they often use that same chain for every recording. Producer Lukas Scott (Hudson Westbrook, Austin Snell) is a fan of a Luke Audio Voodoo microphone that features a removable diaphragm. It allows the user to switch out a vibrating membrane that plays a part in converting the live tone to an audio signal. The removable diaphragm makes it easier to rifle through options until finding a tone that works for the producer and the singer.

“All the diaphragms look exactly the same,” he says, “but they sound completely different.”

The gear is just part of it, though. Cappellino focuses on three areas in his work: the musical, the technical and the interpersonal. Unlike, say, mathematics, where 2+2 always equals 4, a vocal is subjective. Artists typically need supportive feedback as they work through their part since there is no right or wrong answer to what works.

“It’s knowing what to say, what not to say, when to push, when to encourage, when to be patient, allowing something to unfold,” Cappellino says. “But really, you have to be honest with somebody in the moment, having a discriminating ear for technical things or a tuned-in sense for how it’s feeling.”

That’s harder than it might appear. Fans typically learn every wrinkle of a singer’s performance as they memorize a song, as if it’s the only way to perform it. But the artist always knows they can change a phrase, the melody, the dynamics or even the enunciation. They’re prone to wonder if they could improve it.

“The great singers I’ve worked with, that have long careers, are the ones that do second-guess themselves,” Paczosa says. “They’re sort of never happy with their voice or their performance.”

Most fans won’t actively identify what differentiates singers, but they’ll recognize voices that stand out. Those that carve their own place, as Krauss does with her precise tone and exacting consonants, are a product of their natural resonance and performance choices. The devil’s in the details, and the great singers tend to pay attention to the small stuff. 

“Alison has amazing ears,” Paczosa says. “If you change something slightly — a different screen, little things that you might not even think about — she’ll say, ‘Something’s different.’ It may be something really small, but she usually hears it.”

This week, it was especially fitting that American Idol airs on Sundays. On the March 30 episode of the show, teenage contestant — and aspiring preacher — Canaan James Hill took the judges to church with his audition for the show, leaving Lionel Richie in particular stunned. Before diving into a soulful rendition of Earnest […]

This week, hitmakers Cody Johnson and Carín León pair up for a stone-cold, country-meets-Latin intertwining. Meanwhile, Tanner Adell releases one of the most powerful songs of her career with “Going Blonde.” Elsewhere, Cole Swindell brings a summer-ready new offering, while Laci Kaye Booth offers up a haunting new track. Steve Martin, Alison Brown and Tim O’Brien team up a new bluegrass outing, while duo Something Out West brings their latest rock-fueled offering.

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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country, Americana and bluegrass songs of the week below.

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Cody Johnson and Carín León, “She Hurts Like Tequila”

Cody Johnson and Carín León blend their signature sounds to put forth this slice of classic country punctuated with steel guitar and accordion, and English-meets-Spanish lyrics that accentuate the agility and passion in each artist’s voice. The two entertainers co-wrote the song with Johan Sotelo, Trent Willmon and Orlando Aispuro Meneses. Together, Johnson and León offer an intense rendering of this song praising a passionate lover whose affections are worth the heartbreaking pain that ultimately follows.

Tanner Adell, “Going Blonde”

With songs like “Buckle Bunny” and “FU-150,” Tanner Adell has become known for crafting and singing dance-worthy country-pop grooves that will anyone on the dancefloor. Her ethereal voice also appears on Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter project. But with her latest, Adell shows another side to her story and artistry. She’s been open about being adopted, but here, Adell offers up a devastatingly honest song about the biological mother she never got to meet. “Going Blonde” chronicles her journey of longing for that maternal connection — even dyeing her hair blonde in a nod to her mother–while building up her own perceptions of her mother’s characteristics and persona in her mother’s absence. Written solely by Adell, “Going Blonde” showcases one of her most stunning, vulnerable vocals to date.

Laci Kaye Booth, “Daddy’s Mugshot”

Singer-songwriter Booth, who made her Grand Ole Opry debut on March 29, blends her gritty, bluesy vocal with a story arc of a defiant impulse that’s embedded deep in her bloodline. Over robust, glossy pop chords that balance her dusky vocals, she traces early-career music industry experiences, singing, “I made a record that didn’t break no records/ Only my soul,” then compares the resistance apparent in her father’s mugshot to her own rebellious streak in taking a chance on rebuilding her career on her own terms. This new track brims with confidence and steely determination.

Cole Swindell, “Spanish Moss”

Swindell’s latest is infused with sensual guitars to create this summery, carefree ballad that wraps in vivid imagery of breezy Southern coastlines and nights spent soaking in the summer heat. All in all, it makes for an easygoing track that pushes Swindell’s lilting twang into slightly sultrier territory than usual. He wrote the song with Devin Dawson, Jordan Minton and Jordan Reynolds, with production from Reynolds, Dawson and Jacob Durrett. “Spanish Moss” marks the title track to Swindell’s upcoming fifth studio album, out June 27 on Warner Music Nashville.

Steve Martin and Alison Brown (feat. Tim O’Brien), “5 Days Out, 2 Days Back”

Having previously collaborated on several songs including “Foggy Morning Breaking” and “Wall Guitar,” banjoists Alison Brown and Steve Martin reunite on their latest collaboration, teaming with vocalist and mandolinist Tim O’Brien for this heartfelt song about chasing musical dreams on a “5 days out, 2 days back” schedule while trying to stay connected with family back home. The song also features Bryan Sutton, Stuart Duncan, Todd Phillips and Vickie Vaughn. With superb harmonies and musicianship caressing the song and melding with O’Brien’s unmistakable leading voice, it infuses this song with a timeless resonance. “5 Days Out, 2 Days Back” is part of a new collection of music from Brown and Martin, which will be released on Compass Records.

Something Out West, “You Better Run”

Chet Hanks and Drew Arthur’s musical duo, Something Out West, has issued the latest preview of their upcoming EP, Leaving Hollywood, which releases June 20. “You Better Run” leans more heavily into the rock arena, with a mashup of bristling, pounding rock guitars and Hanks’s urgent, grainy vocal interlaced with lyrics such as “You’re running out of time/ On a ticking clock, she’ll be comin’ for you/ There’s no time to walk” Meanwhile, the music video builds on that lyrical theme by featuring Chet Hanks recreating scenes from his father Tom Hanks’ famous role in the 1994 Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks also makes a lengthy cameo in the clip).

Miley Cyrus has released the first song and visual from her upcoming album Something Beautiful, unleashing the cinematic “Prelude” on Monday morning (March 31). As indicated by its title, “Prelude” finds the pop star setting up the themes of her May 30-slated LP. As bright shots of shadows dancing over flowers flash in and out […]

Julia Michaels hits the studio and chats with Muni Long ahead of Billboard Women in Music 2025 and introducing her as the recipient of the Rising Star Award presented by Honda Stage. Julia Michaels: I first discovered my love for music when I was a teenager, and then my mom got me a piano, then […]

Pophouse Entertainment, the Swedish catalog company behind the virtual live show ABBA Voyage, said on Monday it raised a total of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to invest in acquiring catalogs and entertainment experiences around those music rights.
The fundraise consists of 1 billion euros raised through a private equity fund, and 200 million euros ($216 million) raised through dedicated co-investment vehicles, where outside investors put money to work alongside the Fund in certain transactions. Roughly 30% of the fund has already been deployed into partnerships related to the acquisition of rights to songs by KISS, Cyndi Lauper, Avicii and Swedish House Mafia.

Founded by by ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus and Conni Jonsson, of the Swedish global investment firm EQT AB, Pophouse has been acquiring the publishing, recording and name, image and likeness rights to iconic pop catalogs and then building entertainment experiences around them, through theatrical and virtual shows, museums and movies.

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Pophouse’s playbook has been at work through productions like The Avicii Experience, a tribute museum to the late dance music producer that opened in his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, in 2021; Mamma Mia! The Party, an interactive dinner party set in London theater modeled after a taverna from the Greek island of Skopelos; ABBA Voyage, the band’s wildly successful virtual show that uses ABBA-tars to digitally depict the foursome as they looked in 1979, and ABBA The Museum, which opened in 2013.

KISS, which sold its name and likeness rights to Pophouse, has hinted that a virtual performance of its songs could launch in Las Vegas in 2027.

“By investing across publishing, recording, and brand rights, Pophouse has created a uniquely attractive prospect not only for investors but also for artists, empowering them to explore and amplify their legacy to new generations of fans,” Pophouse managing partner Johan Lagerlöf, said in a statement.

Pophouse’s CEO is Per Sundin, the first music industry label executive to partner with Spotify when he at Universal Music Sweden and president of the labe’s Nordic region business. Jonsson recruiting Sundin to helm Pophouse with the intention of taking advantage of the external business opportunities music rights present in the streaming era.

“Facing unprecedented disruption caused by streaming and technology, music intellectual property presents a differentiated, lifetime opportunity for investors,” Jonsson said in a statement. “We are reshaping the entertainment industry by applying an active, value-add approach that unlocks future generations for fandom.” 

03/31/2025

For International Transgender Day of Visibility, Billboard asked trans and nonbinary stars about how they’re moving two steps forward while political progress takes one step back.

03/31/2025

This is partner content. Muni Long talks her process, her “bootcamp” come-up and the importance of “me” time. Learn more about her journey with Billboard andHonda. Watch Muni Long talk about how she first discovered her love for music, going viral during her early career and staying true to her instincts in a conversation with […]

Berlin-based music company BMG reported on Monday (March 31) that it generated 963 million euros ($1 billion USD) in revenue over the course of 2024, marking a 6.4% increase from the year-ago period, thanks to a double-digit jump in digital income streams a strong slate of major releases. The performance amounted to 8.1% in organic growth, the company said.

Digital revenue, which now accounts for 68% of BMG’s overall revenue, rose 16% in 2024, as BMG continues to see the fruits of moving oversight of its digital distribution business from WMG’s ADA to in-house in late 2023.

Operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) adjusted — BMG’s preferred metric for profit — rose 37% to 264 million euros ($274.2 million, based on the foreign exchange rate as of Dec. 31, 2024) compared to last year’s 194 million euros ($214 million, based on 2023’s year-end exchange rate).

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BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld credited the “BMG Next” strategy — a localized yet globally scalable approach — for being pivotal in the company’s success in 2024,  highlighting improvements in go-to-market strategies, digital distribution catalog acquisitions and technology. The company made significant changes to its global distribution strategy, including direct licensing agreements with Spotify and Apple Music and transitioning physical distribution management to Universal Music Group. BMG also invested around half a billion euros in catalog acquisitions — it counts 24 for the year — and signings, strengthening its rights portfolio through investment initiatives. 

“Our BMG Next strategy has been instrumental in driving a successful 2024 with a step-change performance in a fast-evolving music market,” he said. “Building on the strong performance of our artists and songwriters, ongoing go-to-market improvements, such as insourcing digital distribution, and continued high investment into our people, catalog acquisitions and technology development, we achieved an incredible 2024.”

Notable successes in the recorded music sector included releases from George Harrison, Kylie Minogue, Bryan Ferry, Lainey Wilson, Sum 41, Travis, Crowded House, Rita Ora and others. The company signed new label deals with Blake Shelton, Mustard, YG, New Kids on the Block and K. Michelle, among others.

In music publishing, BMG songwriters such as Bruno Mars, D’Mile, Steve Miller, Trevor Horn, The-Dream, Roselilah and others achieved chart success, with contributions to major hits like Eminem’s “Houdini,” Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album, Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” and Mars and Lady Gaga’s Hot 100 chart-topper “Die With a Smile.” BMG also signed or extended publishing agreements with artists, including Carly Pearce, KT Tunstall and Tyron Hapi, among others, and secured publishing agreements with Tomorrowland Music and Cirque du Soleil.

The company’s catalog division saw continued growth, with Mötley Crüe’s remastered ripper from 1989, Dr. Feelgood, driving a 10% increase in global streams and Australian garage rockers Jet (“Are You Gonna Be My Girl”) achieving milestones on streaming while selling out anniversary shows. Sync licensing also played a crucial role, securing placements in advertisements, trailers and TV series for artists like Lenny Kravitz, Jennifer Lopez, George Harrison, Pitbull and Rita Ora.

Here are some of BMG’s 2024 highlights:

Operating EBITDA adjusted jumped 37% to 264 million euros ($274 million) from the previous year of 194 million euros ($214 million).

EBITDA margin was 28% compared to the previous year of 21.4%.

BMG said it made 24 catalog acquisitions in 2024, compared to 30 the year before.