State Champ Radio Music
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Jennifer Lopez is set to host the 2025 American Music Awards, which will air live coast-to-coast on Memorial Day, Monday (May 26), and she’ll also open the show with a musical performance.
On Thursday (May 22), Lopez took a break from rehearsals to chat with Billboard about hosting and performing. She had a surprising revelation — “I don’t love being a host, to be quite honest” — but she will no doubt give the hosting gig everything she’s got, which is a signature J.Lo trait.
We discussed her debut performance on the show in 1991, as a backup dancer behind New Kids on the Block, a mid-performance slip in 2009 (ever the trouper, she was back on her feet instantly), and a tribute performance to salsa legend Celia Cruz in 2013 that she regards as one of her favorite performances she’s ever done.
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This year’s show will be held at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. It’s Lopez’s second time hosting the AMAs; she first hosted the show 10 years ago. Other performers on this year’s show include Janet Jackson (who is set to receive the ICON Award), Rod Stewart (who is set to receive a lifetime achievement award), Benson Boone, Blake Shelton, Gloria Estefan, Gwen Stefani, Lainey Wilson and Reneé Rapp.
Here’s our conversation, with just light edits.
The AMAs went on the air when you were 4 and a half. Did you grow up watching the AMAs and the Grammys?
Absolutely.
Did they kind of feed your dreams?
Yes, they did, absolutely. You can’t help but watch those [shows], being an artist or not even knowing you’re an artist yet, and just be pulled in by the performances and the incredible moments that you see, and people kind of being celebrated for what they do. It was just always amazing to see which moments kind of put a mark on your mind when you’re watching TV and those awards shows. And I do think it makes people who are young artists believe that it’s something you can actually accomplish.
Do you remember specific artists who had that effect on you when you were a kid?
I remember watching with my mom. She was a huge Diana Ross fan, and I remember seeing Diana Ross on the AMAs and the Grammys. I remember seeing all the Motown artists. Tina Turner was also a big one for me.
You’re the fourth music star to solo-host the AMAs twice, following Lionel Richie, Diana Ross and Pitbull. I’d say you’re all in good company.
Oh wow. Yeah, that’s good company. That’s a nice group.
I watched all 10 of your previous AMAs performances the other day – nice work if you can get it – and you really commit. You go all out. It’s like one of your songs says, “Go hard or go home.” You go hard.
I do go hard. I enjoy performing and I enjoy kind of pushing myself out of my comfort zone to do different things. I started as a dancer, so my performances are very kind of dance-oriented because that’s who I am at heart. I feel like I am a singer and I am an actress and I love doing those things, but I think I came out of the womb dancing. And my mother was a dancer, so I think I picked that up from her.
I grew up watching variety shows and specials headlined by people like Ann-Margret and Mitzi Gaynor. There aren’t many places anymore for that kind of all-around entertainer. Awards shows are about it. Just about all 10 of your AMAs performances were big production numbers with big production values. They gave you a showcase to show what you can do.
Yeah, that is true. There’s different things as an artist. I do films as an actor and I do my shows and my touring for my music. Trying to kind of bring those things together is never an easy thing and you don’t get to do that, but I think when you’re hosting an awards show, you get to sing a little bit and dance a little bit and people get to feel your personality and your energy.
I don’t love being a host, to be quite honest. I think that’s why it’s taken me 10 years to do it again. I do get – believe it or not – shy and nervous, but I do remember having a great time doing it back then [in 2015]. I felt like it was a good time to give it another try.
What do you remember about the 1991 show when you were a dancer behind New Kids?
Oh my God, I remember that was such an exciting moment for me. I had been hired as a dancer. This is before I was acting and singing and doing my own music. I was hired to be a backup dancer for New Kids. Just the idea of being part of that was such a big deal. I was right in the middle, in the center, and it was exhilarating, to be quite honest. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe it and being around all the other artists and seeing some of the stars that I liked. It was so much fun.
You were just 21, and that was back when awards shows reached a massive audience.
Yeah, everyone in my neighborhood saw it. They couldn’t believe it was me. It was so much fun. It was a great moment.
In 2009, performing “Louboutins,” you did a dismount and fell on your backside, but what impressed me watching it was how quickly you were back on your feet. It was a split second. Do you remember that?
Of course I do. I just slipped and fell down for a second, but yeah, I got right back up. And it wasn’t as big a deal as everybody made it, but yes, I was a little bit hurt for a couple of days. That whole day I didn’t feel it because I had so much adrenaline, and the performance went so well.
In 2013, you did a tribute to Celia Cruz, in which you performed “Químbara,” “Carnaval” and “Bemba Colorá.” Did you know her?
I did not know her very closely, but I had met her. I was always such a huge fan of hers. Like the minute they asked me to do the Celia Cruz tribute, I knew exactly what songs I wanted to do. I knew exactly the type of number that I wanted to do. It was an amazing moment. I felt kind of her energy flowing through me. That’s probably one of my favorite performances of all time that I’ve done.
The American Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.
Karol G celebrates Latin women and a new career era in her new single “Latina Foreva” out Thursday (May 22) via Bichota Records. Marking her first official release of the year, the vibrant track — produced by Mazzarri and Misha, and co-written by Karol and Daniela “La Guru” Aponte — blends an early 2000s reggaetón […]
Alex Warren is breaking generational chains with some help from Jelly Roll. On Thursday (May 22), the two singers released their new collaboration, “Bloodline.” The country-fied single finds the TikTok sensation-turned-pop singer ruminating over the ties that bind, as he sings, “Take that pain, pass it down like photos on the wall/ Momma said, ‘Your […]
In July 1998, the Billboard Hot 100 was dominated by hits like Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine,” Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One,” Usher’s “My Way” and Next’s “Too Close.”
But beyond the mainstream, another type of music was permeating club spaces in major cities across the U.S. and beyond as dance music continued its rise out of the underground and became a cultural phenomenon.
As part of it all, on July 24, 1998, Philadelphia-born acid house producer Josh Wink played an extended set at New York City’s then-essential club Twilo. Three years prior, Wink had released his breakout single, the era-defining rave track “Higher State of Consciousness,” along with the club hits “don’t Laugh” and “I’m Ready,” making the then extremely dreadlocked producer a scene star known not only for his evocative productions, but for long sets that brought audiences through myriad sounds, BPMs and mood.
Wink is now marking these anniversaries with Wink’s Found Sounds, a release series that will include unreleased performances, rare live recordings and other aural ephemera. The releases begin with Wink’s set from Twilo, which you can hear exclusively below.
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“Twilo became an international club institution in the 1990s, located in the heart of New York City,” Wink says in a statement. “DJs and fans were drawn to it for the same reason: to experience great, diverse music on an incredible sound system in a venue that had become a mecca for electronic music. It felt like home to me — a place where I could fully embody entertainer and educator. What I loved most was watching the crowd respond — an ocean of bodies ebbing and flowing to the beat, eyes closed, mentally swimming through my selections. That, to me, was Twilo.”
While Twilo closed in 2001, you can go back in time to the club via this 90-minute mix spanning house, acid house, drum & bass, techno and more.
Source: Hip-Hop Wired / iOne Digital
Hip-Hop legend and Trill Burger co-founder Bun B has been repping Texas as hard as any rapper from the Lone Star State ever since stepping into the game in the early 2000’s, and with two decades worth of the rap game under his belt, the triple OG is here to remind y’all ain’t nothing change as far as he’s concerned.
Linking up with Z-Ro and Young Muhammed for the visuals to “Texas Baby,” Bun B and company put on for their hometown and show up and show out alongside from thick young women who show and prove that a lot of things really are bigger in Texas.
Keeping the scene in the South, fellow Hip-Hop OG Paul Wall continues to rep Texas as well and for his black-and-white clip to “All Night,” the white rapper that once had the internet going nuts lurks in the shadows and lets his bars speak for themselves as he demonstrates that he’s still got a lot of gas left in his tank.
Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Sule and the Black Soprano Family, Big Yavo, and more.
BUN B, Z-RO & YOUNG MUHAMMED – “TEXAS BABY”
PAUL WALL – “ALL NIGHT”
SULE & BLACK SOPRANO FAMILY – “NEW JERSEY STATE OF MIND”
BIG YAVO – “WEBBIE FLOW”
ALLSTAR JR & PEEZY – “I AIN’T MADE IT YET”
HUEY BRISS – “ARMS REACH”
FUTURE X FT. FUEGO BASE & BUD CINCO – “BIG MEN”
I.E – “FRE$H PRINCE”
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Joey Bada$$ plans to capitalize on the bicoastal rap battle he’s currently winning by releasing a new album this year. While appearing on UPROXX’s video series Sound Check, the Brooklyn rapper and actor told host Jeremy Hecht that he plans to drop his first full-length project since 2022 in the summer. “The goal is to […]
Daniel Williams, former drummer for Ohio metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, died Thursday morning (May 22) in a San Diego plane crash that also killed music agent Dave Shapiro from Sound Talent Group.
The two men were among six total who died after the plane clipped a power line in a San Diego suburb, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration, sparking intense flames that scorched several homes, destroyed dozens of vehicles and forced the evacuation of more than 100 people.
While no one on the ground was killed in the crash, all six individuals aboard the flight died. Three of those dead, including Shapiro, worked for Sound Talent Group, a company official confirmed.
The flight was reportedly piloted by Shapiro, a popular music agent, flight instructor and owner of the Sound Talent Group booking agency and Velocity Records label. Prior to taking off, Williams even posted several photos to Instagram of himself boarding the flight with Shapiro and sitting in the cockpit.
The Devil Wears Prada confirmed Williams’ death on their Instagram page, sharing several photos of Williams and Shapiro together.
Shapiro’s Cessna 550 jet crashed 2 miles south of San Diego’s Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport at 3:45 a.m. PT, according to the FAA statement. Flight data shows that the aircraft had taken off from Teterboro Airport, near New York City, late Wednesday night and briefly stopped to refuel in Wichita, Kansas, before continuing on to San Diego.
“Shapiro was a founding member of the National Independent Talent Organization and on Thursday, NITO officials released a statement sharing its members condolences,” the statement reads. “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dave Shapiro and his two colleagues. Dave was a visionary in the music industry and a founding partner of Sound Talent Group. His passion, dedication, and unwavering support for artists shaped the careers of countless musicians and helped elevate the live music experience for fans around the world. As a founding member of NIT0, Dave was instrumental in the initial formation and funding of the organization and assisted countless of our peers successfully navigate the pandemic shutdown of live music. Our sincerest condolences go out to Dave’s family, friends, and everyone at STG. This is a monumental loss to our community.”
The Devil Wears Prada charted two top 10 titles on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart during Williams’ tenure with the group: 2010’s Zombie EP and 2011’s Dead Throne. Over on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, they have two No. 1s among 11 entries: 2009’s With Roots Above and Branches Below and 2010’s Zombie EP. The band formed in 2005 in Dayton, Ohio, as a Christian metal group. Williams exited the group in 2016.
Buckle up, Gleeks, because Rachel Berry finally got her “Drivers License.”
That’s right: Lea Michele stopped by The Kelly Clarkson Show on Thursday (May 22) to deliver a stunning cover of Olivia Rodrigo‘s seminal debut single.
Donning a ruched ivory jumpsuit, the star channeled her Glee character’s famous sense of melodrama as she belted out the eight-week No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit, singing, “You’re probably with that blonde girl who always made me doubt/ She’s so much older than me, she’s everything I’m insecure about/ Yeah, today I drove through the suburbs, ’cause how could I ever love someone else?” (Of course, if this was the early days of Glee, Michele-as-Berry would almost certainly be referring to Dianna Agron’s Quinn Fabray, right?)
Following the number, Michele shared with host Kelly Clarkson that her cover was, in fact, directly inspired by her iconic TV persona.
“I’m on tour right now, and I’m singing a lot of songs from Glee and from Broadway,” she explained. “But I do this section in my show, so it’s: ‘If Glee were on television right now, what would Rachel Berry be singing?’ And the minute I heard ‘Drivers License,’ I was like, ‘That’s such a Rachel Berry song.’”
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After revealing that the cast of Glee did “over 800 songs” during the course of six seasons on the Fox series, Michele also teased that she has “something exciting coming up,” but didn’t give fans any further details besides the fact that she’d be announcing the secret project “very soon.”
Other famous faces who’ve performed “Cameo-oke” numbers on The Kelly Clarkson Show recently include Blake Shelton, Lizzo, Sierra Hull, Ledisi and the Broadway cast of SMASH.
Watch Michele drive through the suburbs on “Drivers License” below.
Maria Becerra, Paulo Londra and XRoss unite atop the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart as “Ramen Para Dos” debuts at No. 1 on the ranking dated May 24.
As “Ramen Para Dos” bows atop the list, singer-songwriter Becerra extends her record for the most No. 1s on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 among women. She last landed at the summit through “Corazón Vacío” in July 2023, which gave her a first ruler as a soloist, unaccompanied by any other act.
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Londra, meanwhile, scores his first champ in over three years, following the two-week reign of “BZRP Music Sessions Vol. 23,” with Bizarrap, between April and May 2022.
Latin Grammy producer and songwriter, XRoss earns his maiden entry as an artist, and first No. 1 to date. Previously, he secured a No. 4 high as producer through “Piscina,” billed under Becerra, Ovy on The Drums and Chencho Corleone, in 2023.
Miranda! achieves its second top 10 as “Me Gusta,” with TINI, debuts at No. 8. The duo last reached the upper region with the No. 6-peaking “Perfecta,” with FMK and Becerra. TINI ups her career top 10 count to 22, tying with Emilia for the second-most top 10s among all acts, a list that Becerra helms with 30 top 10s to date.
Elsewhere, Argentinians group La Repandilla and singer Aneley earn their first entry on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 as “Estaba Aquí Pensando” launches at No. 53.
Young Miko takes the week’s Greatest Gainer trophy as “WASSUP” climbs 28 spots, from No. 70 to No. 42.
Lastly, two other songs arrive this week, starting with Elena Rose, Los Ángeles Azules and Camilo with “Carteras Chinas,” at No. 92, while Argentinian rock band Viejas Locas make its debut with “Me Gustas Mucho” at No. 90.
Justin Bieber has shared a message of support for Chris Brown after the R&B star was released on bail following his arrest in London.
On Thursday (May 22), Brown celebrated his release by sharing a photo of himself on Instagram walking with a plane visible in the background, as if he’d just stepped off his flight. “Cook, remain humble,” the singer captioned the post.
In the comments, Bieber shared kind words. “Welcome home,” the pop star simply wrote.
Brown’s post and Bieber’s comment come one day after a London judge released the former on bail in the amount of $6.7 million, also ruling that the “Under the Influence” artist has to surrender his passport when not traveling for his upcoming Breezy Bowl XX Tour. The North American and European trek is scheduled to kick off June 8.
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Brown was arrested May 15 while at his hotel in Manchester on “suspicion of grievous bodily harm,” officials told The Independent. The alleged incident took place at a nightclub in February 2023, with prosecutors claiming that the two-time Grammy winner attacked music promoter Abraham Diaw with a tequila bottle.
After initially being denied bail, Brown was released on Wednesday (May 21).
The “Forever” artist and Bieber have worked together in the past, collaborating on “Next to You” in 2011 and “Don’t Check on Me” with Ink in 2019. The former reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the latter peaked at No. 67 on the chart.
Bieber’s “welcome home” comment isn’t the first time he’s publicly expressed support for Brown. In 2019, he praised his past duet partner on Instagram, writing, “Everyone wants to wait til people die To give them the credit they deserve.”
“I’m calling it now when CB passes away after a long full life, you will miss what you had in front of you the whole time … trust me watch you will see,” he continued at the time. “The people who have over looked this mans talent because of a mistake he made.. you need to reevaluate! Love you @chrisbrownofficial.”
