State Champ Radio Music News
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Anyone who has heard a Jelly Roll song is familiar with the themes of struggles and redemption that flow through the lyrics of tracks such as “Halfway to Hell” and “Son of a Sinner,” and his fans are well aware of the former Billboard cover star‘s own redemption story of going from an incarcerated teen […]
Halsey has dropped the curtain on new album The Great Impersonator‘s release date and main album cover after sending fans on a scavenger hunt across the world. The 29-year-old singer shared the details on X Wednesday (Sept. 4), revealing that the project — which marks her fifth studio LP — is set to arrive Oct. […]
As the self-proclaimed Hot Girl Coach, Megan Thee Stallion is ready to see a strong Black woman take the wheel as President of the United States. And in her cover story with Billboard published Wednesday (Sept. 4), the 29-year-old rapper emphasizes that people need to get out and vote in order for Democratic candidate Kamala […]
Green Day are about to make a wish — or hundreds of wishes — come true thanks to their latest collaboration with Wheels For Wishes. The charitable organization that raises money to help children via the donation of used vehicles has teamed up with Green day on their sold-out Saviors stadium tour by announcing a […]
Katy Perry is finally talking about it. After going months without addressing her controversial decision to work with Dr. Luke on her comeback single “Woman’s World,” which dropped in July, the 39-year-old pop star opened up about her reasons for working with the producer Kesha accused of sexual assault in 2014 on the latest episode of Call Her Daddy.
In the podcast episode posted Wednesday (Sept 4), Perry acknowledged that the collaboration “started a lot of conversations.”
“He was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with,” she continued of Dr. Luke, who helped craft “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream” and several more of her biggest hits over the years. “But the reality is, it comes from me. The truth is, I wrote these songs from my experience of my whole life going through this metamorphosis, and he was one of the people to help facilitate all that. One of the writers, one of the producers.”
“I am speaking from my own experience,” Perry added. “When I speak about ‘Woman’s World,’ I speak about feeling so empowered now as a mother, as a woman, giving birth, creating life … I’m still a matriarch and feeling really grounded in that. That’s where I’m speaking from. So I created all of this with several different collaborators, people that I’ve collaborated with from the past, from the Teenage Dream era, all of that.”
Word that the “Roar” singer had enlisted Dr. Luke for “Woman’s World” emerged shortly before the singer dropped, leading many to criticize Perry for doing so in spite of the producer’s nine-year legal battle with Kesha. After the “Tik Tok” artist accused the Kemosabe Records founder of drugging and raping her at a 2005 party, which he strongly denied, he countered with a defamation lawsuit that the two parties eventually settled in 2023.
Other critics also pointed out the irony of “Woman’s World” — which Perry branded as an ode to female empowerment — being produced and written by a team of mostly men, with a male director helming its music video. Luke also worked on the singer’s followup single “Lifetimes,” which dropped Aug. 8.
The interview comes a few weeks ahead of Perry’s new album, 143, which is set to arrive Sept. 20. Her conversation with Cooper also spanned the American Idol alum’s relationship with husband Orlando Bloom and how they’re raising their 4-year-old daughter, Daisy. At one point, Perry apologized to parents of kids who innocently sang along to her cheeky track “Peacock” in 2010 — because now she’s going through the same thing with her own child.
“Even now my daughter sings the song ‘Peacock’ — dancing around the house — that I wrote as a double-entendre, funny song about dicks,” Perry said, laughing. “And I’m like, ‘Don’t sing that song!’ My karma has now served me.”
Listen to Perry’s episode of Call Her Daddy below.
Diplo isn’t afraid to take a taste on the wild side. After Ludacris gained traction last month for checking a major item off his bucket list when he sampled some pure Alaskan glacial water, Diplo figured if it’s good enough for Luda, it’s good enough for me.
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In a 20-second video posted on Tuesday night (Sept. 3) the DJ/producer is seen bundled up and kneeling on a glacier as a he dips a silver cup into the clear blue water in an undisclosed location. “Gonna try this glacier water,” he narrates as he dunks his glass in for a healthy fill-up. “Oh that’s good boy, bottoms up!”
The clip, which features a text overlay reading “this glacier water is ludacris,” also has the disclaimer: “it’s clean everyone, it’s literally clear.”
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The stunt came a few weeks after Ludacris drew concern, and some condemnation, following his recent trip to Alaska, which included a sip of Alaskan glacial water. “Half of the world’s glaciers are here in Alaska. I couldn’t come here and just have a show. You know I got a bucket list — or as I like to call it the f— it list,” Luda said in his video. ” I’ve never tasted fresh glacial water in my life and this is a first. Here we go.”
After taking his slug, Luda ended the video with a cliffhanger in which he said, “Oh my God.” Commenters noted that glacier water can reportedly contain some dangerous bacteria, parasites and viruses, which are invisible to the eye and can cause serious health issues if ingested without purification.
Luda gave an update a few days later, assuring fans that as a “water snob” he could definitively say it was the, “best tasting water I’ve ever had in my life and as I drank it I felt like every cell in my human body was being hydrated and rejuvenated at the same damn time… Listen man, I’m here. I feel like Superman.”
Commenters on Diplo’s post had similar concerns, including: “Hows it clean if everyone walks with dirty boots?,” “Diplo about to be dumplo for 2-5 weeks,” “But what if a polar bear just dipped his b–ls in it?” and “how’s the diarrhea bud?”
Check out Diplo’s video below.
Artist manager Bruce Kalmick has launched independent record label Wyatt Road Records in partnership with Firebird, which will provide distribution and label services.
The new label, which is owned solely by the Austin, Texas-based Kalmick, will cater to what he calls “contemporary western rock & roll artists.” He coined the term, he explains, as he tried to “nail down what this new explosion of country music should be called to the everyday listener. I think it properly captures the country, southern rock, alternative, folk, indie, and bad-assery of this very vague genre.”
The label’s initial artists include several of his WHY & HOW management clients, including Whiskey Myers, Angel White and Southall, with plans to also sign artists not affiliated with the management company. Promotions and artist development label veteran Laura Bender will oversee daily operation of the label out of Nashville.
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The majority of artists on Wyatt Road will retain partial ownership of their masters with levers to full ownership. “The more seasoned and successful an artist is, the more we believe they should own their masters,” Kalmick tells Billboard. “A band like Whiskey Myers have always owned their masters and that won’t change with Wyatt Road. But new developing artists, like Angel White, will start their career with a more traditional arrangement, yet with more upside and an easier path to gaining full ownership.”
Bruce Kalmick
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Artists on the roster will also have the opportunity to profit share in streaming royalties once they have hit certain milestones, Kalmick says. “The goal is to ensure all Wyatt Road artists get at least a 50/50 partnership, but we will look towards more favorable splits for the artist. We want to push for nothing short of endless blue sky when it comes to what the artists can earn off consumption of their work.”
Kalmick, whose management roster also includes Chase Rice, Danielle Bradbery and Echosmith, says he formed the label because he feels “the current label system is broken, where shareholders matter more than the artists and the music they put out into the world,” he says. “This conflict of interests has effectively removed the essential work needed to truly develop artists and cultivate new acts. With a pioneering approach and forward thinking partnership with Firebird, we are able to put the artists first every step of the way.”
WHY & HOW was already in business with Firebird. In 2022, Firebird acquired a stake in Coran Capshaw’s Red Light Management. Then in May 2023, WHY & HOW partnered with Red Light, with all 20 WHY&HOW staff members in marketing, creative and brand endorsements joining Red Light Management’s operations.
“Deciding to partner with Firebird was an easy decision because we both share the same ideology that artists should regain their independence, and this creates a stronger tie to streaming success and their bank accounts,” Kalmick says. “It’s our belief that extra revenues will be used to further build their career on the road. The cost to break a band all over the world is higher than ever, so we are finding ways to put the earnings back in their accounts and push them to break in new territories like New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and beyond.”
“Firebird Music is excited to expand our relationship with Bruce Kalmick by partnering on Wyatt Road Records,” Kenny Weagly, Firebird vp and head of artist & label service, said in a statement. “This allows us a greater opportunity to apply our complimentary artist-first mentality, global distribution, recorded music muscle, and wide array of internal resources via Firebird Label Services.”
The first release from Wyatt Road Records, White’s Ghost of the West: Volume 1, is out now.
The Weeknd is gearing up for the final chapter in his After Hours trilogy. The singer (who now goes by his birth name, Abel Tesfaye) revealed the name of the third album in the series on Wednesday (Sept. 4) in a dramatic video setting up the denouement of his musical story arc.
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Though Hurry Up Tomorrow doesn’t currently have an official release date yet, Tesfaye set up the follow-up to After Hours (2020) and Dawn FM (2022) with yet another elaborate backstory filled with intrigue and vague menace.
“Yesterday was fourteen years ago… We held our breath, falling into a shimmering sea in the after hours of the night,” began the scroll in an Instagram video backed by spare, ominous instrumental music that teased his next era via phrases from earlier songs.
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“Attempted to cleanse the wounds with melodies and lights, a bulletproof bandage to shield what lies beneath,” he continued. “In a place where the seasons never changed, where time ceased to exist. But therein lays the problem. Today has felt like an endless spin, I keep distorting the truth, immune to the dizziness, numb to the nausea. What lies beneath — screams in silence.”
The spooky story continued with more allusions to the songs that came before, with the crawl adding, “I look in the mirror and feel both old and new, stuck in limbo and unable to move. I still haven’t faced myself. More songs could help, but what do I have left to say? Woe is me in my gilded cage, right? The very thing that once made me invincible failed me on the world stage. A new trauma surfaced, opening floodgates… when today ends, I’ll discover who I am.”
According to a press release announcing the album, it represents “the creative apex of the project, serving as the third and final chapter crafted with existential and self-referential themes as seen with the latest visionary teasers that have set fans ablaze with anticipation for this concluding installment.”
Last month, Tesfaye posted a cryptic three-minute CGI-heavy teaser featuring a digitally animated toddler crawling through a creepy mansion. A previous teaser from July featured the vague promise that “There are Three Chapters in this Tale” along with a trailer in which a digital toddler runs through a field and eludes danger before ascending to heaven.
The singer is performing a special one-off concert at Estádio Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil on Saturday (Sept. 7) which will be livestreamed on YouTube; 10% of the proceeds from all merch sales at the show and online will go to the Brazilian Soul Fund of BrazilFoundation, which supports communities affected by natural disasters and economic hardship in southern Brazil.
Tesfaye is also about to open the “Halloween Horror Nights” experience at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, “The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy,” which opens on Thursday (Sept. 5) and runs through Nov. 3.
Check out the preview below.
There’s simply no polite way to say the following: according to Katy Perry, there are a few household chores her partners, such as, say, fiancé actor Orlando Bloom, can do around the house that will result in specific, enthusiastic, sexual acts. Perhaps it’s best to just let Perry explain, as she did in NSFW language […]
Queen guitarist Brian May has revealed that he recently suffered a minor stroke that resulted in damage to his left arm. The 77-year-old rock icon described a “health hiccup” last week that made him temporarily unable to control the hand he uses to pick out chords on his guitar, even as he assured his fans […]
