State Champ Radio Music
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Days after American actor Nicolas Cage shared an anecdote about being mistaken for Australian musician Nick Cave, the latter has now chimed in to say that theirs is a shared experience.
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Cage’s comments were made in an interview with The Guardian last week, responding to a reader’s question about a 2022 tall tale from Cave which recounts the pair apparently meeting due to their similar names.
“I don’t think there’s a day that goes by where I’m not mistaken for Nick Cave,” Cage explained.
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“I do remember that Cave was very nice,” he added. “We were at an animal sanctuary, I believe – I think Sealy Animal Hospital in Texas – and he was terrific. I said hello and wanted to shake his hand. I said: ‘Only one letter separates us – G. Nick Cave, Nick Cage.’”
Cage’s original story was shrouded in mystery, given that it heavily referenced Cave’s own tale from 2022 in which he responded to readers of his Red Hand Files website who respectively asked if Cave has ever met Cage, or added an “untrue component to a story to make it more interesting than it actually is.”
Cave’s ensuing story saw him recounting a case of mistaken identity at the Healesville Sanctuary in his home state of Victoria, before apparently meeting Cage in the back of a local pub where the actor claimed that “Only one letter separates us!”
Though Cave’s 2022 post is a clear shaggy dog story, a new post on his Red Hand Files site has seen him respond to fans asking about the actor’s recent interview. “I read Nic Cage’s piece in The Guardian, and I relate to his experience,” Cave explained. “There has always been a persistent and somewhat perplexing confusion surrounding our names.”
As he continued, Cave recounted a lengthy story in which he visited a bar while living in São Paulo and met a Brazilian man named Diego who mistook him for Cage, with the musician adopting the guise of the actor due to the pity he felt for the young man.
“After a while, I began to warm to my theme,” Cave explained. “I told him that making Raising Arizona was the most extraordinary experience and a highpoint in my career, that John Goodman was a fascinating and complex character, and how it was a real privilege to work with the Coen brothers and that they were ‘masters of their craft’ and all this bullsh–t.”
“Anyway, these confusions between me and Mr. Cage happen fairly often. But I don’t mind. I’m a fan,” Cave wrote at the end of his story. “Have you guys seen Mandy? My God. What a film.”
Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid, the longest running concert for a cause, will mark the 40th anniversary of its advocacy for family farmers with an all-star festival on Sept. 20 at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
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Nelson will be joined on the bill by fellow Farm Aid board members Neil Young (with his band the Chrome Hearts), John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds) and Margo Price, with the full-day lineup also set to include: Billy Strings, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Trampled by Turtles, Waxahatchee, Eric Burton of Black Pumas, Jesse Welles and Madeline Edwards, with more artists to be announced.
Since Nelson introduced the first Farm Aid concert in Champaign, Ill., on Sept. 22, 1985, the nonprofit behind the festival has raised nearly $80 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture, while also building connections in the battles against climate change and social injustice.
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“Family farmers are the heart of this country, and we depend on each other for good food and strong communities,” says Nelson, in announcing this year’s event. “For 40 years, Farm Aid and our partners have stood with farmers, supporting them to stay on their land even when corporate power, bad policies and broken promises make it harder to keep going.
“This year, we’re proud to bring Farm Aid to Minnesota to celebrate the farmers who sustain us and to fight for a food system that works for all of us. Family farmers aren’t backing down, and neither are we.”
Not since the farm foreclosure crisis of the 1980s, which prompted Nelson to launch Farm Aid, have family farmers faced the challenges that confront them today, from the devastation of storms driven by climate change to government actions that play havoc with their finances.
Last month, on the Farm Aid website, Nelson and veteran agricultural activist David Senter wrote an open letter directed at America’s young farmers, addressing this moment.
“The commitment you’re making to your families, your communities and our water, soil and climate is not an easy one—and it never has been,” they wrote. “We want you to know that, even with the wave of uncertainty farmers are facing right now, the work you’re doing has never been more critical for our country.
“All farmers — no matter their age, background, politics, location, size, type or production methods — must call on each other in these challenging times,” they wrote. “We invite you to call on us, and hope that you will answer when we call on you. We’re in this together and it’s only together that we will get through.”
The music at Farm Aid gives power to its message and mission.
Throughout its history, including during the first term of President Trump, the festival has been perhaps the one place in America today to unite blue and red, urban and rural, for a common cause: supporting the men and women who grow the nation’s food.
Farm Aid notes the significance of the festival making its first appearance in Minnesota, a state which, since the 1980s, “has offered a groundswell of strength in the farm movement, championing rural advocacy, sustainable and equitable agriculture and forward-thinking policy reform,” the organization says in a statement.
This year’s Farm Aid will once again include its trademarked HOMEGROWN Concessions, with a menu featuring “ingredients that are grown or raised by farmers who use ecological practices and are paid a fair price,” the organization states. The HOMEGROWN Village will feature exhibits about soil, water, energy, food and farming.
Farm Aid co-executive director Jennifer Fahy says this year’s festivities are not only about looking back, but also about building for the future.
“We’re grateful to our dedicated board members and hundreds of generous artists who have brought us together year after year to celebrate family farmers and highlight the challenges they face every day,” says Fahy.
“Our anniversary marks a critical time for the nation to come together in support of the family farmers we all depend on. Our work isn’t done. There are significant threats to the future of family farm agriculture and our food system. Farm Aid 40 is an opportunity to call those out and work for the food system that farmers, eaters and our planet all deserve.”
Farm Aid co-executive director Shorlette Ammons adds: “There is no farm movement without the people. Rural communities represent the heartbeat of this country. Farmers and rural and immigrant labor sustain our food system, care for the land, and strengthen our foodways and cultural connections. When we invest in rural communities, we uplift the well-being of our entire country, celebrating the vibrant and needful contributions of all.”
Though the likes of Hall & Oates might be heavily associated with the contentious ‘yacht rock‘ genre, Daryl Hall himself has expressed disdain towards the classification.
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Used as a way to refer to the soft pop-rock and blue-eyed soul of the ’70s and ’80s, the term ‘yacht rock’ was initially coined by makers of a 2005 mockumentary series of the same name. The series itself was a popular one, lasting from 2005 until 2010 and even resulting in a 2024 HBO ‘Dockumentary‘ that explored the genre in deeper detail.
However, while the likes of Michael McDonald and even John Oates have been receptive to the original show, Hall is singing a far different tune. In the latest episode of the Broken Record podcast, Hall told interviewer Justin Richmond that he’s far from a fan of the concept.
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“This is something I don’t understand. First of all, yacht rock was a f–king joke by two jerk-offs in California, and suddenly it became a genre,” he explained. “I don’t even understand it. I never understood it. It’s just R&B with maybe some jazz in there. It’s mellow R&B, smooth R&B. I don’t see what the yacht part is.
“People misjudged us because they couldn’t label us,” he continued. “They always came up with all this kind of crap, soft rock and yacht rock and all this other nonsense. And none of it, none of it really describes anything that I do, really.”
In 2007, Oates reflected on the success of the Yacht Rock series, explaining that it was the “beginning of this whole Hall & Oates resurrection,” and even noting that “a lot of things have happened because of Yacht Rock.”
It’s little surprise that both Hall and Oates have differing views on the matter, given that the pair’s 2024 dissolution was given an air of finality when Hall claimed in March that they would never again perform together. “That ship has gone to the bottom of the ocean,” he explained. “I’ve had a lot of surprises in my life, disappointments, betrayals, so I’m kind of used to it.”
The Hall & Oates dissolution first began back in November 2023 when the pair became embroiled in a legal dispute. Described by Oates as “a very boring business issue,” the crux of the issue began when Hall filed suit against his former partner over Oates’ attempt to sell his half of the duo’s joint venture Whole Oates Enterprises to Primary Wave Music without Hall’s consent.
Veteran music journalist Gerry Wood died on Saturday (May 3) in Inverness, Fla. He was 87.
Wood was Billboard’s Nashville bureau chief and country editor in 1980 when he was promoted to editor-in-chief of the magazine, resulting in a transfer to the publication’s New York headquarters. He served in that capacity through 1983, when he left Billboard, only to return in 1986 as general manager/Nashville, a position he held into 1991.
Wood’s elevation to editor-in-chief coincided with the explosion of country music in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, when Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and Alabama were among the top-selling acts in any genre and the film Urban Cowboy became a pop-culture phenomenon. Wood was there before, during and after the explosion, charting every bit of it. He could probably relate to the lyrics of a Barbara Mandrell hit in 1981: “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.”
Ken Schlager, former Billboard managing editor, paid tribute to Wood on Facebook: “When I joined Billboard as managing editor in November 1985 one of the first tasks was finding a new Nashville bureau chief. Our publisher, Sam Holdsworth (R.I.P.), had asked Gerry, who was no longer associated with Billboard, to check out the candidates that had emerged and scout for others. After several weeks, Gerry reported back that he, in fact, was the best candidate. It seemed like a whole lotta hubris, but it turned out he was right. That’s how Gerry ended up back at Billboard.
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“Some weeks later, when I made my first trip to Nashville, Gerry, now bureau chief, greeted me with a gift basket in my hotel room filled with GooGoo Clusters, Moon Pies, and airplane bottles of Jack Daniel’s.
“Gerry was a sweet guy. Smart, hard-working, knowledgeable and well-connected. I’m sorry to hear of his passing.”
Born Gerald Edmund Wood in Lewiston, Maine, on April 7, 1938, Wood began his career in radio. He was a news and sports reporter and DJ at WSON in Henderson, Ky., and at WVJS in Owensboro, Ky. He also served as news reporter and DJ at WAKY in Louisville, Ky.
Wood graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1960 and went on to earn a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville in 1965. He later worked in public relations at Vanderbilt (1966-69).
While attending Vanderbilt and after, Wood served as news reporter and DJ at WKDA in Nashville (1964-66). After working in public relations at Vanderbilt (1966-69), he shifted to working on Music Row, where he worked in public relations at ASCAP (1969-75), rising to associate director. Wood began his first stint at Billboard in 1975.
Wood left Billboard in 1983 when the editorial leadership was reorganized under group publisher Jerry Hobbs. He moved back to Music City to become editor-in-chief at Nashville magazine (1983-84) and a special correspondent for People magazine (1984). Like many others before and since, Wood returned to Billboard for a second tour of duty, rejoining the staff in 1986 as general manager/Nashville. In that capacity, he directed and coordinated editorial, chart and sales activities in the country sector. He held that position through 1990.
On local TV, Wood became known as “The Gamboling Gourmet” on WTVF-TV. He also worked under that identity for Nashville magazine. As a freelance journalist, Wood wrote for Country Weekly and many other publications. He was also a regular reviewer on the TNN cable channel in the mid-1980s.
Wood won a Journalistic Achievement Award from SESAC in 1981. He was a board member of the Nashville Entertainment Association and a member of the Country Music Association, the Gospel Music Association, the Recording Academy, the Nashville Songwriters Association International, and Sigma Delta Chi.
Wood was also a published author. Ain’t God Good (1975) and Let the Hammer Down (1978) were collaborations with country comedian Jerry Clower. Other titles included The Grand Ole Opry Presents the Year in Country Music (1997) and Tales From Country Music (2003).
Outside of his career, Wood was a travel enthusiast. Late in life, he moved to Florida and wrote books and articles for local publications on the Gulf Coast.
“I was just laughing with Ed [Morris] yesterday as we were reminiscing about our days at Billboard with Gerry at the helm of the Nashville bureau,” says Debbie Holley, who worked under Wood in the country department at Billboard in the 1980s.
“Ed and I never knew where he would be calling in his column from, to whichever one of us was willing to take it over the phone by dictation. If he wasn’t on a plane or boat, he was calling from a train making his way across the country!
“Ed and I truly loved Gerry Wood! If free-flowing, imaginative, intuitive, and emotional thought are characteristics associated with the right brain, his right hemisphere must have been double in size. Gerry Wood definitely encompassed and underscored ‘creative.’ He was full of original ideas, artistic works and new possibilities. He was unconventional and impractical at times, but that always led to even more interesting projects. He was more than willing to share the spotlight and pushed everyone around him to ‘be your best self,’ ‘try things without fear of judgment,’ and ‘go for it, or you’ll always wonder!’
“I’m sad that he has left us, but I bet there are a couple of one-way streets called ‘Music Row’ just inside ‘Heaven’s Gates!’ And, I bet Gerry Wood is right there with all of the songwriters, music publishers and record label execs on ’16th (and 17th) Avenue!’”
Ed Morris, who was Billboard’s country music editor from 1990-95, tells Billboard, “Gerry hired me in 1981 as he was leaving Nashville for New York to take the chief editor job. Having heard I was an atheist, he found it enormously amusing to name me gospel editor, thereby making me hostage to the Righteous for the next two years. Gerry lived to be entertained—by both by personalities and circumstances—and I never once saw him less than buoyant.”
Wood also had a good sense of humor about himself. At one Billboard staff conference, a staff member, Jean Williams, wasn’t able to be present, but sent in taped remarks. At one point she said, “Gerry Wood had a good idea. I think it was about a year ago.”
William paused just a little too long between those two sentences, creating the impression that good ideas from Wood were a rarity. Everyone in the room laughed at the unintended slight. No one laughed harder than Gerry.
Latto really needs “Somebody,” and she announced on Monday (May 12) that she’s dropping her new single with that name on Friday. “Greetings from Jamaica,” she wrote on Instagram under the island-inspired artwork. She first teased the single on X back in March with a one-minute clip of her playing it in the car. “I’m […]
In her 1991 documentary Truth or Dare, Madonna declared that Sean Penn was the love of her life. And more than three decades later, the actor is sharing his thoughts on it. In an interview on The Louis Theroux Podcast posted Monday (May 12), Penn said that his superstar ex-wife was “very sweet” for her […]
The lineup for this year’s KCON LA just got even more robust, with aespa, NCT 127 and several more star K-pop acts joining the list of previously confirmed performers in a second wave of lineup announcements unveiled Monday (May 12).
In addition to the “Whiplash” girl group and the NCT subunit, RIIZE, KISS OF LIFE, MEOVV, NOWADAYS, MONSTA X, KEY, HWASA and YUQI have also been added to the 2025 lineup. The festival also revealed that CHOIHOJUNG, who won Mnet’s dance competition series STAGE FIGHTER, will perform too.
The news comes a couple of weeks after the Los Angeles iteration of the global KCON enterprise revealed the first set of names headed to Crypto.com Arena this year. Among them were CRAVITY, SEVENTEEN subunit HxW, IS:SUE, IVE, izna, JO1, LEE YOUNGJI, NMIXX, P1Harmony, Roy Kim and ZEROBASEONE.
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KCON LA will take place Aug. 1-3 at the downtown L.A. venue, featuring multiple stages such as ARTIST STAGE, MEET & GREET, X STAGE and M COUNTDOWN. The 2025 theme is “KLOVER’S CLUB FAIR,” taking inspiration from the lucky symbolism of four-leaf clovers.
In addition to musical performances and opportunities to see their favorite K-pop artists up close, attendees of the festival will also get to experience different facets of Korean culture through different activities and stations dedicated to fashion, beauty and food.
“This year, [organizer] CJ ENM plans for a more immersive KCON LA 2025, expanding both on-site and digital experiences,” reads a release, which adds that the festival was “designed to help fans connect directly with their favorite idols, discover emerging acts on X STAGE, and join dance and participation programs designed just for them.”
The L.A. installment of KCON is just one of several that take place each year. Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, United Arab Emirates, France, Mexico, Australia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia have also hosted iterations since the inaugural festival kicked off in the United States in 2012.
In 2024, KCON LA attracted more than 5.9 million fans from 170+ countries, both on-site and virtually.
Fuerza Regida makes a splash across Billboard‘s charts with the arrival of 111XPANTIA, the group’s ninth studio album, which debuts at Nos. 1 and 2 on the Top Regional Mexican Albums and Top Latin Albums charts (dated May 17), respectively. The 12-track set also opens at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest charting Spanish-language album by a duo or group ever.
111XPANTIA was released May 2 as a 12-song album on Street Mob/Rancho Humilde/Sony Music Latin. It starts at No. 1 on the Top Regional Mexican Albums with 76,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the tracking week ending May 8, according to Luminate.
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Of the 76,000 units for the week, streaming contributes 37,000, which translates to 50.4 million official on-demand streams. The remaining 39,000 units are nearly all from album sales, with a negligible number of track-equivalent units.
111XPANTIA marks Fuerza Regida’s sixth No. 1 overall on Top Regional Mexican Albums and third No. 1 debut in just under six years. The group’s No. 1 run began in July 2019, when Del Barrio Hasta Aquí debuted at the summit, becoming its longest-leading set to date, with an 18-week domination. There, 111XPANTIA joins three other Fuerza Regida’s albums, two still in the top 10: Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada at No. 9, Mala Mía (EP), their joint effort with Grupo Frontera, at No. 10, and Dolido Pero No Arrepentido at No. 19.
111XPANTIA also sees its No. 2 debut on Top Latin Albums, matching the group’s previous No. 2 start with Pa’ Las Baby’s Belikeada –which eventually dominated for three weeks in 2024.
As reported, on May 2, 111XPANTIA was released in both on physical formats and as a digital download for purchase, and via streaming platforms. The physical albums were sold exclusively through the group’s webstore. A deluxe edition of the album, featuring three bonus tracks—including collaborations with Anuel AA and Bellakath—followed shortly after on May 5, available via digital download and streamers.
15 Simultaneous Songs: On a song front, all 12 songs from 111XPANTIA arrive on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs chart. “Peliculiando” leads the new cuts, with most of it debut driven by 5.3 million official U.S. streams in the tracking week. (Hot Latin Songs blends streams, airplay and sales.) The set was previewed by its first single “Por Esos Ojos,” which rallies 10-3 with the Greatest Gainer/ Streaming honors, after registering 7.3 million official streams, up 36%. Those songs join two other tracks with Grupo Frontera, as well as one with Clave Especial, for a total of 15 concurrent entries on the tally.
Let’s dive into Fuerza Regida’s lineup on this week’s Hot Latin Songs chart:
No. 2, “Me Jalo,” with Grupo FronteraNo. 3, “Por Esos Ojos”No. 11, “Peliculiando”No. 14, “Marlboro Rojo”No. 16, “GodFather”No. 22, “Ansiedad”No. 25, “Tu Sancho”No. 26, “Ayy weyy”No. 31, “Caperuza”No. 32, “Como Capo,” with Clave EspecialNo. 34, “Nocturno”No. 35, “Chavalitas”No. 37,” Chaka”No. 38, “Chufulas”No. 40, “Coqueta,” with Grupo Frontera
Elsewhere, 111XPANTIA also bows at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200, marking the highest charting Spanish-language album by a duo or group ever, surpassing Maná’s Amar Es Combatir (No. 4 in 2006). Plus, it scores the largest week, by units, for any Spanish-language album by a duo or group, and by a regional Mexican album, since the chart began ranking by units in December 2014.
All charts (dated May 17, 2025) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, May 13. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
A slimmed-down Lizzo joined The Breakfast Club on Monday (May 12), and the “Truth Hurts” singer opened up about her “weight release” process, which began with cleansing her mind and clearing out the negative energy from her life.
“I think I had to start with cleaning out my mind and my energy and clearing out all of the negativity around me. And I feel like I released so much I was holding on,” she said. “I do call it a weight release because [when] it started, I got snatched here first. And then my body just followed suit so I do feel amazing.”
Lizzo credits workouts like pilates and yoga sculpting as well as pickleball and going on hikes as part of her exercise regimen.
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The Detroit native pushed back when co-host Charlamagne Tha God said he doesn’t consider her “big” anymore. “I am big,” she said. “What we talking about? Baby, I’m big.”
Lizzo added: “The Internet is like, ‘Oh Lizzo’s skinny now,’” she said. “I am well over 200 pounds, do you know what I’m saying? I’m 5-foot-9. I got double-numbered pants on now.”
While Lizzo said she reached her weight loss goal in January, a number she hasn’t seen on the scale since 2014, the singer still looks in the mirror and sees her 2023 self, and even at her heaviest, Lizzo says she still felt mentally skinnier back then compared to now.
“Put me next to any pop star right now, I’m still bigger than them,” she explained. “I didn’t realize how much my body changed until I was filming the ‘Love in Real Life’ music video. I was in shock. It shocked me, because the way that I’m releasing weight has been a long slow process,” she added. “People may not have seen me or been keeping up with me, but I’ve been posting about it, and I’m in a calorie deficit, so that’s the one that sneaks up on you.”
Lizzo continued: “When I was bigger, I felt skinnier than I do now. When I was in my string bikini and I was at my heaviest weight, I was like, ‘Skinny bi—.’ That’s when I realized skinny was a feeling and not a look.”
While she’s feeling “Good as Hell,” Lizzo is gearing up for a new album. She returned with her “Love in Real Life” and “Still Bad” singles earlier this year.
Watch the full interview with Lizzo below.
Los Alegres del Barranco, their manager and their concert promoter will face criminal proceedings for projecting images of a criminal leader during a March performance in the state of Jalisco, a judge ruled Monday (May 12). During a hearing at the Puente Grande Penitentiary in Jalisco, Mexico, the judge did not order preventive detention; the accused will be able to continue their defense in freedom.
A document from the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office shared with Billboard Español says that the precautionary measures ordered by the judge for the six accused (including the four members of the band) include regular weekly appearances in court; the enforcement of a financial guarantee of 300,000 Mexican pesos for each of them, equivalent to 1.8 million pesos (approximately $92,000); and their stay in the state of Jalisco, meaning they will only be given permission to attend three concerts in other states previously agreed upon and return afterward.
The accusation stems from a concert by Los Alegres del Barranco on March 29 at the Telmex Auditorium in the municipality of Zapopan, where images of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), were projected while they performed the song “El del Palenque.”
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Authorities indicated that the investigation and the precautionary measures imposed by the judge will remain in effect for at least three months. Upon leaving the hearing, Luis Alvarado, spokesperson for Los Alegres del Barranco, told reporters that their fight is “for freedom of expression” and thanked those who have supported them.
Billboard Español has sent a request for comment to representatives of the band.
Los Alegres del Barranco became the first act from the regional Mexican genre to be formally accused by the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office of alleged glorification of criminal activities. The incident even led the U.S. to revoke work and tourist visas for the band members, as announced April 1 by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in a statement on X.
The band, its representative, and the promoter are facing investigation from the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office for four performances in different municipalities of that state in which they allegedly glorified criminal activities, according to information published on May 9 by the same office.
That same day, Los Alegres del Barranco won an injunction granted by a federal judge to sing narcocorridos in the Mexican state of Michoacán, despite the state decree prohibiting the broadcast of music or expressions that promote crime in public spaces, which went into effect in April. For now, the ruling only favors the group for having filed the lawsuit. The federal judge has set a new hearing for May 15 to determine whether to uphold or revoke the temporary suspension granted to the musical group.
“We are going to respond,” said Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla at a press conference on Monday (May 12). “Today I will submit the initiative to amend the State Penal Code, which will establish the crime of apology and now make it a criminal offense.”
Ten out of Mexico’s 32 states have implemented various bans against narcocorridos or any expression that promotes or glorifies criminal activities, though such bans have not yet become federal law.
