State Champ Radio Music News
Page: 107
Trending on Billboard
Jon Bon Jovi is reflecting on decades of friendship and influence as he celebrates Forever (Legendary Edition), a newly expanded version of Bon Jovi’s 2024 album that features fresh collaborations with Bruce Springsteen and Jelly Roll.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
Speaking on SiriusXM’s Bon Jovi Radio, the frontman opened up about how his longtime New Jersey peer Bruce Springsteen ended up contributing harmonica to a new version of “Hollow Man,” a fan-favorite track from Forever.
“As I wrote this song, I was basically asking the heavens to make me a conduit,” Bon Jovi explained. “Give me the message, where am I going with this? I am the hollow man, fill me up with information and I’ll write it down. What do you sing when your song’s been sung?”
After hearing the demo, Springsteen called Bon Jovi the next morning. “He says, ‘I can’t get that one out of my head,’” Bon Jovi recalled. “Now you know, you’re talking to not only your childhood hero but one of the great American songwriters of the last half century.”
The Boss later agreed to lend his signature harmonica sound to the track. “I want it to be like that. Come and join my story,” Bon Jovi said. “He said, ‘I got it. Just leave it to me.’”
The full-circle moment wasn’t lost on Bon Jovi, who remembered the early days when he was just a kid in the crowd watching Springsteen perform on Sunday nights in Asbury Park. “I was that kid in the crowd while [Bruce] was jumping up with the guy that became our side man,” he said, adding, “It’s 45 years later and I just got to be me. So the whole thing is just kooky surreal.”
Forever (Legendary Edition) also features “Living Proof,” a duet with country star Jelly Roll. Bon Jovi first met the “Need a Favor” hitmaker at the 2024 MusiCares Person of the Year gala in Los Angeles, where Jelly Roll performed in tribute to the band.
“I was in love with him from that moment on,” Bon Jovi said. “I’ve gotten to know Bunnie, his wife, and her story. I’m absolutely in awe of them.”
The original Forever debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart. Its lead single “Legendary” reached No. 9 on the Adult Contemporary tally. Despite its strong debut, the album dropped off the Billboard 200 after just one week.
The Legendary Edition arrives as the band marks four decades together and caps off a reflective season for Bon Jovi, who also premiered the Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story earlier this year.
Trending on Billboard
2Pac‘s classic song “Brenda’s Got a Baby” was inspired by a true story — and the story continues.
The rapper wrote the song addressing teen pregnancy in America’s ghettos while he was filming his star-turning role as Bishop in Juice after coming across a story in the news about a 12-year-old girl who threw her baby in a trash chute after being impregnated by her 21-year-old cousin. The track has since become one of the late entertainer’s most important records in his extensive catalog.
Enter bestselling author Jeff Pearlman.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
During a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show to promote his new book Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur, Pearlman dropped a bombshell after being asked if he came across anybody that didn’t want to talk to him when he was trying to put the book together. “I didn’t get Dr. Dre or Snoop Dogg, but they’re hard to get anyway,” he said. “I did find most people. The vast majority. Classmates, people who worked with him in music, even Death Row employees were pretty open about talking.”
He then revealed that he “had a breakthrough very early on.”
Pearlman found the man who heard the baby crying in the trash chute and interviewed him, but it wasn’t until he spoke with Leila Steinberg, who the author referred to as a former associate manager/confidant. According to him, Steinberg made a comment about whether the story about the baby was true and wondered what eventually happened to the baby, which then sent him on a side mission to see what he could find.
He then reached out to genealogist Michele Soulli to see if she would be able to locate the baby. A few days later, she gave him the number to a Las Vegas resident named Davonn Hodge. They two met up, and Hodge told Pearlman that he found his relatives with the help of Ancestry.com and had a reunion but his mother wasn’t there. Pearlman again employed Soulli to help him find the mother and a few days later, she got in contact with a woman that was living in Newark, NJ.
Now, this is where things get really weird.
The woman expressed shock and excitement and told Soulli that she had to go back home to New York City to reunite with her baby. When Soulli asked where she was at the moment, the woman said she was in Vegas for a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert.
She was reunited with her son Davonn later that night after 34 long years.
You can check out the full conversation below.
Trending on Billboard Cardi B is using some discretion when it comes with her ongoing beef with fellow rapper BIA. During a recent X Spaces, the Bronx rapper told fans listening in that she has no intentions of dissing BIA’s album sales as she was in the middle of a rant about bullies. “I don’t […]
Trending on Billboard Justin Bieber showed Odeal nothing but love and respect when the Nigerian-British star visited L.A. last week for his sold-out show at The Roxy. Both artists were seen casually hanging out in the video from Odeal’s The Shows That Saved Me tour vlog series posted Friday (Oct. 24) on YouTube, where Odeal […]
Trending on Billboard Hailey Bieber is setting the record straight regarding a rumor she’s heard about herself and Justin Bieber — and she says there’s “no world” in which it would be true. While guesting on the In Your Dreams With Owen Thiele podcast posted Friday (Oct. 24), the Rhode founder didn’t have to think […]
Trending on Billboard As Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson” celebrates its 25th anniversary on Friday (Oct. 24), Erykah Badu revealed her doubts about being the muse behind the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Badu joined Popcast for an interview earlier this week, where she discussed being the subject of […]
Trending on Billboard
Taylor Swift is breaking multiple Billboard chart records in Canada.
As with many of the artist’s recent releases, Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, has been a blockbuster success since its release on Oct. 3.
Related
According to new data from Universal Music Canada, Luminate and Billboard Canada chart performance, in its first week of charting, Showgirl was the biggest album debut in the country for Swift in the modern streaming era — or for any artist.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, her 15th No. 1 on the chart. With this milestone, Swift is now tied with Canadian icon Celine Dion for the most No. 1 albums of all time in the country and is the only non-Canadian artist to reach that mark.
Swift’s last album, 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department, stayed at No. 1 for 12 weeks. Showgirl’s win continues Swift’s streak of 14 consecutive studio albums debuting at No. 1, beginning with 2008’s Fearless and including the four “Taylor’s Version” re-recordings: Red, 1989, Fearless and Speak Now.
Showgirl has now cemented Swift as the sole artist with all top 5 of the highest album debuts in Canada in the streaming era (since streams began contributing to Billboard chart performance in the early 2010s).
On last week’s Billboard Canadian Hot 100, the week of Oct. 18, the top 12 entries were all of the album’s 12 tracks. The album’s lead single, “The Fate of Ophelia,” hit No. 1 and has become the most-streamed song in a single day and a single week in Canadian history.
The Life of a Showgirl reportedly amassed over 1.5 billion global streams, securing the largest debut of 2025.
This isn’t the first time Swift has broken records in Canada — last year’s The Tortured Poets Department and her Post Malone-featuring single “Fortnight” earned similar chart records. At this point, Swift is competing with herself.
Read more here.
Samantha O’Connor Joins MRG Live as Senior Talent Buyer, Will Continue to Lead RAPSEASON
Samantha O’Connor has been appointed as MRG Live’s senior talent buyer.
The music industry executive will continue to lead RAPSEASON, Canada’s biggest hip-hop concert and culture promoter.
Related
O’Connor previously led the brand in her last role as talent buyer at INK Entertainment. In her new role at MRG, she will continue to grow the RAPSEASON brand and promote shows across the country.
Founded in 2015, RAPSEASON has presented concerts with a-list artists including Future, Central Cee, Cardi B, Post Malone, Summer Walker and Daniel Caesar, to name just a small sample. Now, RAPSEASON moves from INK to MRG, one of the country’s largest independent concert and live event companies.
“With the support and resources of MRG Live, I’m excited to continue growing the RAPSEASON brand, not only in Toronto, but nationally and internationally,” says O’Connor. “This next chapter offers an incredible opportunity to expand our reach, connect with new audiences, and spotlight the talent that drives the culture forward.”
Under O’Connor’s leadership, RAPSEASON is set to be introduced to new markets across its network throughout Canada. Currently, The MRG Group owns and operates 14 properties in Canada, including Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Adelaide Hall, Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre and The Revelry in Kelowna, British Columbia, and produces over 1,000 live shows annually through MRG Live. RAPSEASON branded content will also be integrated with the company’s media publication, Beatroute.
“Samantha O’Connor has proven a great astuteness in securing top-tier, identifying emerging talent and continuing to build the RAPSEASON brand,” shares Matt Gibbons, president of The MRG Group. “We are looking forward to both her and the brand’s further growth as they both integrate into our global network, our resources and our overall strategic approach.”
Read more here.
Ms. Lauryn Hill Embarking On Intimate Cross-Canada Tour
Ms. Lauryn Hill is making her return to Canada.
Independent, female-led promoter F7 Live announced the news, sharing the details of Hill’s tour, which kicks off this fall. The legendary American R&B singer and Fugees member is set to perform eight cross-country shows in intimate venues as part of her Artist In Residence tour.
Related
The tour kicks off in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Nov. 19 at Burton Cummings Theatre, with further stops in Vancouver, Hamilton, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa.
This marks Hill’s return to Canada since 2023, when she performed at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena and Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 25th Anniversary Tour. The rest of the North American shows came to a quiet ending after Hill cited vocal issues.
Since then, Hill has performed various pop-up shows, joining son YG Marley at this year’s Coachella, turning it into a Fugees reunion with Wyclef Jean. In July, she performed with Drake during day one of his three-day stint at the U.K. Wireless Music Festival. They debuted a mashup of “Ex Factor” and “Nice For What,” the former of which is sampled on Drake’s 2018 Scorpion track.
These shows will be at more intimate concert hall and theatre venues, including the iconic Massey Hall in Toronto.
Read more here.
Trending on Billboard Volbeat scores a milestone No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, jumping two spots to the top of the Nov. 1-dated survey with “Time Will Heal.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news It’s the 12th leader for Volbeat and second in a row, following “By a Monster’s Hand,” which reigned […]
Trending on Billboard
10 years ago, the late Mac Miller made his major-label debut with GO:OD AM, a frank, melodious rumination on addiction, recovery and fame that reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200. On Friday (Oct. 24), the Grammy-nominated rapper’s estate shared three new songs to celebrate the LP’s landmark 10th anniversary.
Led by the Vinny Radio-assisted “Royal Flush,” the expanded 10th anniversary edition of GO:OD AM also includes new cuts titled “Cable Box” and “Carpe Diem.” All three songs are sourced from the original GO:OD AM recording sessions, which at the time, resulted in a 17-track set featuring Miguel, Chief Keef, Lil B, Little Dragon, and Ab-Soul. “100 Grandkids” served as the album’s lead single, reaching No. 100 on the Hot 100, and the Miguel-assisted “Weekend” followed with a No. 46 peak on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
To accompany the new songs, Miller’s estate also teamed up with artist Danaé Goset for a series of visualizers, including one for “Rush Hour,” a deep cut from the original GO:OD AM tracklist. Gosset has long been a close collaborator of the Miller estate, having worked on the Balloonerism visuals and the “Star Room (OG Version)” music video that arrived for the 10th anniversary of Watching Movies with the Sound Off.
GO:OD AM (10th Anniversary) is just the latest in a series of moves to celebrate Miller’s beloved third studio album. Last month (Sept. 18), his estate unveiled GO:OD AM (Time Flies, Try to Catch It), a 15-minute, Sam Balaban-helmed documentary chronicling the making of the record. Available on YouTube, the intimate mini-doc has amassed over 320,000 views in just one month.
It’s been a particularly active year for the Miller estate. At the top of the year (Jan. 15), they unveiled Balloonerism, the Pittsburgh rapper’s second posthumous album, which he recorded around 2014. Featuring collaborations with SZA and Delusional Thomas, his alter ego, Balloonerism reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, marking Miller’s seventh consecutive studio album to reach the chart’s top five. The accompanying animated short film of the same name, which is currently available to stream on Apple TV+, earned a best longform video nomination at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.
Check out the “Rush Hour” visualizer below.
Trending on Billboard
Ariana Grande isn’t going to let haters stop her from being her true, authentic self. While speaking to Evan Ross Katz on his Shut Up Evan podcast posted Friday (Oct. 24), the pop star opened up about how much she dislikes the current culture’s aversion to genuine excitement, which often gets written off as “cringe” or “trying too hard.”
“[Earnestness] scares people so much, and I think that’s really sad,” Grande began. “The whole ‘cringe,’ whatever, is just so unfair. Maybe it’s because of, like, PTSD or whatever, but I love so much. I’m so grateful to feel so much.”
“We should be able to be happy and it not be corny or cringe … being passionate about something, loving people,” she continued. “That’s the best. Why do you want me to be sitting here numb? Been there.”
Grande also cited last year’s Wicked press tour — which spawned viral moments such as the “holding space” meme — as a time where hers and costar Cynthia Erivo’s emotional reactions to things were especially mistaken for inauthenticity. “There are so many clips that you would understand if you were there,” she told Katz. “I loved that experience. We had a really beautiful time.”
Speaking of the Wicked press tour, which seemingly lasted for months with countless headline-making interviews, premieres and fan events, Grande said that the promotional cycle for Wicked: For Good has been more low-key for a variety of reasons — the main one being that the R.E.M. Beauty founder is busy filming 2026’s Focker In-Law alongside Skyler Gisondo, Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro.
“With this second one, we’ve been filming,” she explained. “I’m wrapping Fockers on Halloween and flying straight into Brazil, we’re starting the [Wicked] press tour three days later. It’s not necessarily a strategy as much as it’s logistically been a little difficult.”
“But there’s also, there’s a little element of we wanted to make it different this time,” she added. “The first time was so special and so unique that we wanted to make it more about the fans this time.”
The main way Grande says she and the rest of the Wicked team are planning on reaching fans this time around is through a concert special premiering in early November on NBC.
The interview comes with just one month left until Wicked: For Good arrives in theaters and ties a bow on the epic Wicked saga that kicked off last year. The first film in the duology broke box office records by becoming the highest grossing adaptation of a Broadway musical, while the soundtrack debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Elsewhere in the podcast, Grande spoke about getting advice from Madonna and Beyoncé early on in her career, as well as why she thought she’d never release another album after 2020’s Positions.
Watch Grande’s full conversation with Katz above.
