State Champ Radio genre rock
Page: 80
Pantera’s latest stop on their European tour came with a legendary surprise when the metal heavyweights were joined on stage by none other than Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson for a rendition of their 1992 classic “Walk.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The metal legends took over Adidas Arena in Paris on Feb. 15, treating fans to a career-spanning set. Before launching into “Walk,” frontman Phil Anselmo addressed the crowd, noting that Dickinson was in attendance. Midway through the track, the Iron Maiden vocalist stormed the stage, mic in hand, to sing the song’s iconic chorus alongside Anselmo. The Pantera frontman even bowed in front of Dickinson in a moment of mutual metal respect.
Fan-shot footage of the moment quickly made waves online, with fans praising the crossover between two of metal’s most influential ac
Trending on Billboard
The surprise guest appearance came just days before Pantera kicks off their first U.K. and Ireland headlining tour in 20 years, with shows in Glasgow (Feb. 18), Leeds (Feb. 19), Dublin (Feb. 21), Birmingham (Feb. 23), and London (Feb. 25). The band will also return to the U.K. this July, supporting Black Sabbath at their final reunion show alongside Metallica, Slayer, Gojira, and Mastodon.
Pantera’s reunion tour, featuring core members Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown alongside Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante filling in for the late Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, has been a point of both celebration and controversy. While the tour has been met with strong demand, the band faced backlash in 2023 over Anselmo’s past actions, leading to festival cancellations in Germany and Austria.
Despite the controversy, Pantera has continued to sell out major venues across the globe, and Dickinson’s unexpected cameo only added to the excitement surrounding their current run.
Beyond their dominance on the live stage, Pantera’s legacy is solidified in the charts. The band made history in 1994 when Far Beyond Driven debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it the first extreme metal album to ever claim the top spot. The record, fueled by tracks like “I’m Broken” and “5 Minutes Alone,” marked a turning point for metal’s mainstream acceptance.
Their follow-up albums continued their chart success, with The Great Southern Trendkill (No. 4, 1996) and Reinventing the Steel (No. 4, 2000) reinforcing their standing in heavy music. Meanwhile, their seminal 1992 release Vulgar Display of Power—featuring classics like “Walk” and “Mouth for War”—remains a defining album of the genre, certified double platinum by the RIAA.
Fans hoping for a full-scale Black Sabbath reunion at Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell show may need to temper their expectations, with the heavy metal pioneer revealing he won’t be playing a full set with the band.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Osbourne made the announcement on his Ozzy Speaks program on SiriusXM channel Ozzy’s Boneyard, where he provided an update as to his plans for the recently-announced “Back to the Beginning” concert.
Described as “the final show” on the poster artwork, the lineup features both Black Sabbath and Osbourne alongside other big names such as Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. Other high-profile artists, such as Pantera, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Alice In Chains, Halestorm and recent Grammy Award-winners Gojira are also included.
Trending on Billboard
“I’m not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath but I am doing little bits and pieces with them,” Osbourne explained. “I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable.”
Osbourne hasn’t performed a full set since Dec. 31, 2018 on the final date of his No More Tours tour. Just two months later, the metal pioneer was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and any plans for further large-scale performances have been affected by numerous cancellations and health issues
“I am trying to get back on my feet,” Osbourne added. “When you get up in the morning, you just jump out of bed. I have to balance myself, but I’m not dead. I’m still actively doing things.”
These comments track with a previous update from Osbourne earlier this month, where he told listeners that he’s still soldiering on despite his myriad health issues.
“I have made it to 2025. I can’t walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all my complaining, I’m still alive,” he said. “I may be moaning that I can’t walk, but I look down the road, and there’s people that didn’t do half as much as me and didn’t make it.”
Speaking to the BBC following the announcement of the July concert, Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon explained that the show was a chance for Osbourne to end a career which has been affected in recent years by numerous cancellations and health issues.
“He’s doing great. He’s doing really great,” she said. “He’s so excited about this, about being with the guys again and all his friends. It’s exciting for everyone.”
“Ozzy didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to his friends, to his fans, and he feels there’s no been no full stop. This is his full stop.”
Chester Bennington‘s child Draven has revealed they are transgender.
In a Valentine’s Day message on Instagram (Feb. 14), the 22-year-old child of the late Linkin Park singer shared that they “came out as transgender” in 2024 and are currently in the process of transitioning.
“As today is a day to celebrate love and what love truly means, whether it’s for a partner, family, or ourselves, I thought it would be the perfect time to show some love to myself,” Draven wrote in a typed note. “For a long time, I tried to be someone, someone I truly wasn’t on the inside. Ignoring it worked for a while, but continuously coming to the crossroads of being happy or being complacent was one I couldn’t keep crossing.”
Draven revealed that in August 2024, they made the life-changing decision to come out as transgender and begin hormone replacement therapy. “It has been the best decision I’ve ever made in my life,” the said.
Trending on Billboard
Since sharing the news, Draven has received unwavering support from friends and family, including their mother, Samantha Bennington.
“I love each and every one of you who have shown me nothing but love and respect and see me for who I truly am,” they added. “With all the support and love I’ve received, I’ve built the strength to love myself. This is why I’m choosing to no longer hide who I am. Love is love. Happy Valentine’s Day,” Draven concluded.
Samantha Bennington, who was married to Chester from 1996 to 2005, expressed her pride and love for Draven in the comments section of the post.
“I’m so proud of you. I love you with all my heart and soul,” she wrote. “You’re my favorite human on the planet. I just want you happy and healthy forever and always.”
Chester Bennington passed away by suicide in July 2017 at the age of 41. He struggled with drug and alcohol addiction throughout his life. In addition to Draven, the musician shared sons Tyler, 18, and twin daughters, Lily and Lila, 13, with his second wife, Talinda Bentley. He was also father to sons Jamie, 28, and Isaiah, 27, from his relationship with ex-partner Elka Brand.
Draven, who has followed in their father’s footsteps to pursue a career in music, shared in 2023 with People that they hope to leave a lasting impact on fans, just as Chester did.
“Every time I hear somebody’s story, telling like how much my dad’s music impacted their life, I just think it’s really beautiful,” Draven said. “I think that’s really sweet how something that he was just doing as a passion, what he loved, had that effect on so many people.”
See Draven’s full Valentine’s Day post on Instagram below.
Este Haim has an especially gleeful photo up on Instagram that hints at an engagement to reported beau Jonathan Levin, tech entrepreneur and CEO of Chainalysis. Este, one third of sister band Haim with Danielle and Alana, posted a selfie that flashed what looks to be a diamond on her left finger on Thursday (Feb. […]
Sheryl Crow is bidding farewell to her Tesla. The Grammy-winning singer, 63, announced on Instagram Friday (Feb. 14) that she’s selling her Tesla and donating the proceeds to NPR. Her decision comes in response to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s push for government efficiency through his unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to cut […]
Former Eagles guitarist, Don Felder, is recovering after he was abruptly rushed offstage after a medical emergency during a Rock Legends Cruise performance. In a video shared by an attendee and posted by TMZ, the musician is seen introducing the Eagles classic, “Tequila Sunrise,” sharing the inspiration behind the song before he began strumming his […]
Concurrent with the release of their new album Automatic today (Feb. 14), The Lumineers notch their eighth No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart, as “Same Old Song” rises two places to the top of the tally (dated Feb. 22). The Lumineers slot into a four-way tie with The Black Keys, Death Cab for […]
You know how it is when you’re lost in the riff, head banging so hard that you unleash a torrent of embarrassing white flakes. No, not that kind. That’s the dilemma facing Saturday Night Live cast mates Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman in a new CeraVe shampoo ad in which they portray the lead singers […]
Porter Robinson has delivered a little bit of romance, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
The U.S. producer has shared his energetic, pop-influenced take on Irish outfit Fontaines D.C.’s 2024 single “Favourite” as part of his recent appearance on Like a Version, the long-running covers segment from Australian radio station triple j.
Recorded during Robinson’s Australia tour earlier this month but aired on the morning of Friday, Feb. 14 (Australian time), the cover was well-timed to coincide with Valentine’s Day, with the original track even closing out Fontaines D.C.’s Romance album last year.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The cover is emblematic of Robinson’s recent stylistic shift, with 2024’s Smile! 😀 seeing him move away from his electronic roots and introducing sounds more aligned with the pop-punk and hyperpop genres. The change in sonic focus was a bold move for Robinson, and though the album became his first not to chart on the Billboard 200, it did peak at No. 10 on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
Fontaines D.C., meanwhile, also experienced something of a change in sound for their album Romance. While their previous efforts were more post-punk influenced, their fourth LP was somewhat more polished and aligned with the alternative rock genre.
Trending on Billboard
It was a commercially-successful change, however. It became the band’s first album to reach the Billboard 200 (hitting No. 97), and it earned them two Grammy nominations, including Best Rock Album and Best Alternative Music performance for lead single “Starburster”.
“’Favourite’ was, no pun intended, one of my favorite songs of the last year,” Robinson said in a post-performance interview with triple j. “It was the song that made me a fan of Fontaines D.C. I just love it. I love major-key music. I love music that’s extremely catchy and extremely hooky. And I love the way that this song feels like it’s constantly tumbling forward.”
Robinson’s Like a Version session also featured an original rendition of “Cheerleader”, and adds to a long history of memorable performances on the program.
Having first launched in 2004, the series has gone from being a near-impromptu acoustic affair to featuring larger studio productions. Numerous artists have taken part over the past two decades, with the likes of Billie Eilish, Childish Gambino, Arctic Monkeys, and more reinventing classic tracks in the process. As Robinson explains, the history and impact of the segment was not lost on him.
“I was so nervous to do this [performance], because I really, really do consider it an institution,” he explained. “Like a Version is a musical institution, and I wanted to make sure I put my best foot forward on it, respected the format and gave something that was listenable.
“This isn’t just like a video that lives online, this gets heard and this gets played,” he added. “So I just wanted to respect the listener to be like, ‘Let’s make this as good as it can be’.”
It was a few weeks ago that Max McNown’s agents at Wasserman Music told the country upstart that his Feb. 11-12 sold-out Bowery Ballroom shows in New York City needed to move to accommodate another artist.
The agents, Jonathan Insogna and Lenore Kinder, initially pushed back against the highly unusual move until they discovered a few days later that it was because Sir Paul McCartney was playing surprise gigs at the 575-capacity room those nights. Ultimately, McNown’s management team, Live Nation, the Bowery and Wasserman quickly went into action to shift McNown’s two shows to the 1,200-capacity Irving Plaza in Union Square the same nights, and McNown ended up with an amazing story to tell.
When his agents were first asked to move the shows, “Honestly, we were a bit confused,” McNown tells Billboard. “My agent told me this was an unusual situation that a venue would ask you to move so we kind of knew there was something bigger going on, but our first response was, ‘I’m sorry you want us to do what?’”
Trending on Billboard
Shortly thereafter, when he and his team put the pieces together to realize he was getting bumped for the legendary Beatle, it all made sense at that point. “Paul wanted to play in a smaller venue and make it special. We had sold out Bowery months ago, so moving into a bigger venue and being able to accommodate more fans was great for us. A win-win in every way,” McNown says, but joked, “I am disappointed we weren’t able to get him to open for us.”
Though McCartney’s team didn’t give a reason for the specific date, Feb. 11 marked the 60th anniversary of the Beatles’ first gig in the U.S at the Coliseum in Washington, D.C.
McCartney’s team was extremely gracious and did offer McNown tickets, but he was unable to go since he was doing his own shows a mile up the road. McNown admits he was tempted, though. “I honestly really wish I could have pulled it off” to go to McCartney’s show, he says. “I always say touring is a job and there were too many people counting on me to play my own show to skip out on it. But yes, the term ‘tempted’ is an understatement.”
The Oregon singer-songwriter, who was Billboard’s November Country Rookie of the Month and topped Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, first hit the Hot Country Songs chart last year with “A Lot More Free,” which reached No. 29, as well as peaked at No. 15 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. His new album, Night Diving, came out Jan. 24. His new single, “Brown Eyes (Better Me for You),” is at radio.
Though he’s only 23, McNown is a lifelong Beatles fan. “My elementary school teacher would always sing ‘Yellow Submarine,’ ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Hey Jude’ every single Friday in my fourth and fifth grade class,” he says. “He always felt it was important to keep the younger generations educated on the true icons of musical history. Because of him, I know every word to those songs, and each of them now hold a level of nostalgia in my heart that’s pretty unmatched.”
His favorite Beatles song is the gorgeous “Blackbird,” which McNown may, in homage to Sir Paul, now record and post on his Instagram, he says. “I discovered that song on my own after being introduced to [The Beatles’] music in school at a very young age, which made it extra personal/special for me.” He’s also a big fan of “Yesterday,” “Here Comes The Sun” and “Twist and Shout.”
Since attending the shows wasn’t possible, McNown would love some merch or even an autograph, he says, but he’ll settle for an amazing story of the night he was bumped for a Beatle. “It is definitely something I’m sure I’ll be talking about for some time,” he tells Billboard. “This last few years have felt like one dream sequence, from going viral, to Kelly Clarkson covering my songs and now swapping venues with a Beatle. It’s unbelievable.”
Though McCartney is playing his third show at Bowery tonight, McNown couldn’t attend because he’s on his way to Boston for his show Friday night (Feb. 14).
