State Champ Radio Music
Page: 401
Britton Moore stepped into unfamiliar territory during The Voice Season 27 Knockouts — and came out with a win.
The 21-year-old Texan, known for his pop-leaning vocals, embraced his country roots on Monday’s (April 7) episode with a soaring, heartfelt rendition of Zac Brown Band’s “Free,” drawing major praise from all four coaches.
Moore, who originally turned four chairs in the Blind Auditions with Coldplay’s “Yellow,” delivered a masterclass in control and tone, earning him the Knockout win over teammate Ari Camille.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“There’s this youthful beauty and this clear gorgeous tone,” said coach Michael Bublé following Moore’s performance. John Legend added, “It was like pitch-perfect, but also you made some really great stylistic choices.”
Trending on Billboard
Coach Kelsea Ballerini was so impressed with his precision that she joked, “Every note is so crisp and perfect, it’s almost like you’re self-auto-tuned.” Legend jumped in with a laugh, calling Moore “God-o-tuned.”
Coach Adam Levine, who had to make the final call between Moore and Camille, didn’t hold back in his praise. “You just sing the living crap out of everything you sing,” he told Moore, ultimately declaring him the winner of the round.
In a feel-good twist, John Legend used his only steal of the round to keep Camille in the competition, bringing her back to his team for the Playoffs.
Moore’s Knockout performance marked his first time singing country on the show, despite growing up in Texas with a strong appreciation for the genre. His version of “Free,” originally released on The Foundation in 2008 by Zac Brown Band, stayed true to the original’s spirit while infusing his smooth vocals and gentle grit.
The young artist has impressed week after week this season. During the Battles, he delivered a haunting version of Radiohead’s “Creep,” with Bublé exclaiming, “You hit that top note!” and Legend calling his vocal power “stunning.”
As Tracy Chapman reissues her debut album on vinyl for its latest anniversary, the acclaimed musician has opened up about her preference of avoiding streaming services.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Speaking to the New York Times this week, Chapman was asked about her current listening habits, admitting that while she does still indeed check out new music, she doesn’t “listen to as much as [she] used to.”
“I’m maybe going to date myself now, or someone’s going call me a Luddite, but I don’t stream music,” Chapman explained. “I only buy music in physical form. Artists get paid when you actually buy a CD or the vinyl. That’s important to me. So to some extent, it limits what I listen to, because it’s a physical commitment of going out into the world and finding things, but I still do go out.”
Trending on Billboard
Chapman’s comments come about at a rather pertinent time in her recent career. Over the past 15 years, her debut single “Fast Car” has experienced massive success on streaming platforms thanks to covers from names such as Michael Collings, Jonas Blue, and Luke Combs.
In the case of the latter, the track topped the Adult Pop Airplay, Country Airplay, and Hot Country Songs charts, while peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100. It also won both single and song of the year at the Country Music Association Awards, making her the first African American woman to take home a CMA award.
In June 2023, it was determined that the track had generated $500,000 in global publishing royalties across the previous three months. In February 2024, it was noted that Chapman’s performance at the Grammys resulted in a total of 949,000 official on-demand U.S. streams the day following the performance. Digital sales, meanwhile, exploded 38,400% from a negligible amount to nearly 14,000. Earlier this year, it was announced that the original track had surpassed more than one billion streams on Spotify.
Notably, despite rises in the appetite for physical media, Chapman’s original song had long been far more accessible on streaming services as opposed to the more popular vinyl format. Part of that inaccessibility was what led to the recent reissue of her debut self-titled 1988 album on vinyl for its 35th anniversary (though it officially arrived on the 37th anniversary).
“We might have talked about it at 25 years or 30 years, and then it just seemed like, ‘OK, this is a moment to do it because people have this renewed interest in vinyl and obviously this record was so extremely important to me and my career as a songwriter,’” Chapman told Billboard recently.
Alongside her discussion of streaming services, Chapman was also asked about the current artists she appreciates, ultimately pointing to “all the young women in all their variety, doing their things” at the recent Grammys, specifically looking toward Chappell Roan and Charli XCX.
“It’s not music that I would make, but I appreciate that we’re in this moment where there’s a path for artists like that, and they can even have success,” Chapman noted.
Close to 65 years since he rose to fame as the drummer for English rock icons The Beatles, Pete Best has announced his retirement.
83-year-old Best’s retirement was announced on X (formerly Twitter), with his brother Roag confirming that the drummer will no longer be performing as part of the eponymous Pete Best Band going forward.
“Well what an absolutely wonderful ride we’ve had. However, everything comes to pass,” Roag noted. “My brother Pete Best has announced today he is retiring from personal appearances and performing with the group. His daughter has informed me it’s due to personal circumstances.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Pete himself acknowledged his retirement, reposting the original announcement and adding, “I had a blast. Thank you.”
Best’s association with The Beatles began in the late ’50s when the Quarrymen – which comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ken Brown – approached his mother Mona to perform at her Liverpool venue, the Casbah Coffee Club. The Quarrymen evolved into The Beatles in 1960, and following brief stints with Tommy Moore and Norman Chapman, the group recruited Best as their drummer ahead of launching a residency in Hamburg, Germany in August of that year.
Trending on Billboard
After two years with The Beatles, Best was ousted by manager Brian Epstein in favor of Ringo Starr. Various stories have circulated as to the reason for Best’s dismissal, though his alleged lack of ability, his chemistry within the band, and his purported attractiveness have since been raised as possible explanations behind his firing.
Following his time with the band, Best performed with other bands including Lee Curtis and the All-Stars and The Pete Best Combo, which notably attempted to capitalize on Best’s prior work by releasing an album titled Best of the Beatles.
Best reflected on his time in the band as part of the 2002 book The Beatles: The True Beginnings. “I’ve never thought that it was a bad thing that I was in the Beatles. I’ve always looked back on that, regardless of what happened, as being two very exciting years. We conquered frontiers. We grew in musicianship. It was a privilege to be part of the band.”
Best later enjoyed a successful career in civil service, raised a family, qualified for early retirement, and made millions from the Beatles’ Anthology One album, which featured 12 tracks on which he drummed.
The Pete Best Band is currently scheduled to perform at the Liverpool Beatles Museum on Aug. 23, though it’s currently unknown if Best’s retirement from the band will impact the planned appearance.
When one door closes, another one opens in the world of romance. Mark Hoppus learned that after going on an unsuccessful date with Melissa Joan Hart. The Blink-182 rocker opened up about the dinner with the Sabrina the Teenage Witch star in his upcoming memoir, Fahrenheit-182, according to People. In the book, he says the […]
Shakira continues being unstoppable! The Colombian superstar announced on Monday (April 7) four additional dates for her historic Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour in Mexico, once again surpassing her own record with a total of 26 concerts in the Latin American country. The new cities hosting her shows are Tijuana, Hermosillo, Chihuahua, and Torreón, according to promoter OCESA.
“Due to the enormous demand and the cultural impact Shakira has in Mexico, four new dates have been added to the artist’s return in August. This second leg of her tour in the country will take her to new territories, reaching every corner to reconnect with her ‘pack’ and meet her fans where they are,” the promoter said in a press release.
Consequently, Shakira will bring her show to the northern part of the country, performing on August 11 at Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, Baja California; on August 14 at Estadio Héroes de Nacozari in Hermosillo, Sonora; on August 17 at Estadio UACH in Chihuahua; and on August 20 at Estadio Corona in Torreón, Coahuila.
Trending on Billboard
After making history with seven consecutive sold-out shows at Estadio GNP Seguros, the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour will return to Mexico City for another four concerts at the stadium on August 26, 27, 29, and 30, for a total of 11. This will make Shakira the first artist to achieve such a number of dates at this major venue (formerly known as Foro Sol).
Shakira, who has been adding dates to the tour as tickets continue to sell out, now ties the record of seven dates at Estadio GNP Seguros with Grupo Firme, who are set to give their eighth show there on June 28.
The success of her monumental stadium trek has led the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer to top Billboard‘s Top Tours chart in February, when she kicked off the tour in Brazil, making her the first Latina solo artist to achieve this feat. Shakira’s tour has left an indelible mark across Latin America, gathering more than a million attendees, according to OCESA.
The Barranquilla-born artist was also named by Billboard as the No. 1 star among the Best 50 Female Latin Pop Artists of All Time last month.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty
For the past few weeks Brooklyn rapper NEMS has been dropping off visuals apparently recorded on his iPhone (or some other handheld device) and though it doesn’t seem like any other rappers are following suit, the Coney Island representative might be onto something.
Same is the case for his latest Dios Moreno assisted video to “Viral,” in which we see NEMS participate in a friendly game of ping pong before doing an interview on Shade 45 and spitting his bars every chance he gets. A threat to Ping Pong king, Forrest Gump, NEMS is not. Just sayin.’
Elsewhere Tee Grizzley takes to the road and in his clip for “Rick Jameski,” TG gets his grizzley man on and travels to the snowy mountains to have some fun with some snow mobiles and makes things a little colder as he rocks enough blocks of ice on his chest to build an igloo with.
Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Likkle Addi, Rygin King, and more.
NEMS FT. DIOS MORENO – “VIRAL”
TEE GRIZZLEY – “RICK JAMESKI”
LIKKLE ADDI – “DAWG DEM RICH”
RYGIN KING – “OUTSIDE”
YTB FATT FT. ROB49 – “YESSIRSKI”
ABRA CADABRA FT. CLAVISH – “FACTS NOT CAP”
BLACK SHERIF – “REBEL MUSIC”
DUSTY LOCANE & ALBEE AL – “ALL STARS”
RALO – “TALKING TO MYSELF”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjQPj4dPIoM
Alan Jackson recently shared a sweet moment with his wife Denise during his performance in Texas.
On Saturday, April 5, the Country Music Hall of Fame singer-songwriter, 66, performed a headlining show at the Two Step Inn. During his performance of “Remember When,” he invited his wife Denise to the stage to dance with him. Denise’s birthday was on April 6 and the couple has been married for more than 45 years.
The two shared a sweet slow dance and a kiss while Jackson’s band continued to play an instrumental version of the song, before Jackson returned to the microphone to continue singing the song.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“Remember When,” which was a two-week Billboard Country Airplay chart No. 1 for Jackson in 2004, revisits the triumphs and challenges of the couple’s love story.
Trending on Billboard
They were high school sweethearts in Newnan, Georgia. They wed in 1979 and Denise played a key role in helping Jackson get discovered as an artist. Denise began working as a flight attendant. At one point she saw Glen Campbell in the Atlanta airport and approached Campbell to tell him her husband was an aspiring singer-songwriter. According to Denise Jackson’s 2007 book It’s All About Him, Campbell gave her the business card for music executive Marty Gamblin, who ran Campbell’s music publishing company at the time. According to the book, Gamblin became an early supporter in Jackson’s career.
The couple has three daughters: Mattie Denise (born in 1990, the same year Jackson released his debut album Here in the Real World), Alexandra Jane (1993) and Dani Grace (1997).
Other artists who performed at the Two Step Inn festival on April 5-6 included Miranda Lambert, Sturgill Simpson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Treaty Oak Revival, Flatland Calvalry and more.
Jackson is also on his Last Call: One More for the Road Tour, which launched in April and is set to conclude in May. Jackson hasn’t called the trek a farewell tour, though an announcement for the tour last year noted the tour will mark “the last time he’ll ever perform his more-than-30 years of hits in that city and surrounding areas.”
JT is tired of the stans. Over the weekend, the Miami rapper went on a rant directed at stan accounts on social media in now-deleted tweets after a Normani fan account called it “embarrassing” for JT to be celebrating her “Ran Out” music video “finally” hitting 1 million views. “Help me find the embarrassing part,” […]
Kelsea Ballerini got to be the bearer of excellent news at her recent concert in Tulsa, Okla, with the singer-songwriter helping an expecting fan announce her pregnancy to her friends and family by filming an adorable video mid-show.
In a clip posted after Ballerini’s Saturday (April 5) performance at BOK Center Arena, the country star holds up the fan’s phone in selfie-mode while on stage and says into her microphone, “Hello, my name is Kelsea Ballerini, and I’m here to tell you that Maddy’s pregnant!”
Ballerini then pans the camera over to Maddy standing in the audience as the mom-to-be waves excitedly. “And she’s due in November? She’s due in November!” the “Peter Pan” musician continues as the crowd at the arena erupts in applause.
Trending on Billboard
Maddy also shared a video of how the sweet moment came to be. Between songs, Ballerini had been interacting with fans in the crowd when Maddy’s sign — which read “Can you help me announce my pregnancy?” — caught her eye. “Yes. Yes,” Ballerini said immediately, her eyes widening with excitement.
The Tulsa show marked one of the final performances on Ballerini’s first-ever arena tour. She now has just a few shows left, including stops in South Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania and Toronoto.
And though you wouldn’t be able to guess from how comfortably she chatted with fans in the pregnancy-reveal video, the vocalist recently opened up about how challenging she used to find speaking to be during shows. “My biggest fear was talking on stage, to the point where I would literally get on my laptop and have the set list up, and I would type out word-for-word exactly what I was going to say and when I was going to say it every night,” she said in her April 1 People cover story.
“This tour, I’ve done none of that, and it’s just been so freeing,” she continued. “If I feel like talking, I’ll talk for 10 minutes and read signs and get people’s stories and stuff like that. And I don’t have a certain way that I set up certain songs. I follow the night and I follow what’s impacting me in the moment. It’s kept me really present for each show, and it also helps me remember each show.”
Watch Ballerini help announce a fan’s pregnancy at her Tulsa concert below.
