State Champ Radio Music
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Nearly 35 years after making his way to Nashville from a small town in East Tennessee, then steadily ascending to become one of music’s most reliable stadium headliners and amassing 17 No. 1 Billboard Top Country Albums chart leaders (and nine all-genre Billboard 200 chart-leading albums)–Kenny Chesney is shining a light on the places, people and communities that have shaped his life.
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Chesney will release his first book, Heart Life Music, on Nov. 4, 2025 via William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Chesney crafted the book with his longtime friend and collaborator, award-winning journalist/author Holly Gleason, and according to a release, the book aims to capture the essence of “the superstar’s journey from small town East Tennessee dreamer to commanding the largest stages across the nation will capture the sparks of creativity, venture to places long gone, make unexpected music in Jamaica, the Kremlin, New England and Cabo San Lucas, drift across the waters of the Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, encounter and collaborate with heroes, engage with a coterie of singular folks, friends and inspirations, and always find the joy of being unabashedly alive.”
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In a statement, Chesney said, “This is not my memoir, but something far better. It is almost a love letter to people who shaped and inspired me, the fans who’ve been there from tiny bars, radio stations who believed when nobody else did, a team who just kept coming back, legends who gave me wisdom and opportunities and all the friends who’ve been there along the way. To me, that’s where the music came from – and this is the story of how it turned into the soundtrack for the way No Shoes Nation lives their lives, too.”
Chesney, who is a four-time entertainer of the year winner at both the CMA and ACM Awards, also noted in a statement, “I always said I’d never write a book. Too many things happened almost to be believed, let alone lived, but I realized with the world moving in such fast forward motion, too much of what made Nashville, the music business and our lives great would be lost to the churn of the next click. To have been in a room as a kid writing with Dean Dillon, have Sean Payton call an NFL press conference to announce he’s drafting me to the Saints, be in Tuff Gong Studios with Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett and Alvin ‘Seeco’ Patterson or on a private plane with George Jones after opening for him defies logic. So, for everyone in No Shoes Nation, I realized: you deserved to share the magic.”
Benson Boone is more than willing to suffer for his art. The “Beautiful Things” singer who takes a huge risk every time he pulls off one of his patented backflips on stage also has a daring sartorial style. He showed it off once again at last weekend’s 67th Grammy Awards, when he took to the […]
Megan Thee Stallion and “Gangnam Style” superstar PSY are teaming up for a new Apple TV+ reality music competition series called KPOPPED. According to a release announcing the eight-episode song battle show, each episode will feature “western icons reimagin[ing] one of their biggest hits, collaborating with top-tier K-pop idols to deliver spectacular battle performances, with […]
Ariana Grande is always up for a challenge, and she proved it on Wednesday night’s (Feb. 5) Jimmy Kimmel Live! when she agreed to play along with the show’s “Wing it & Sing It” game. “It’s too late, I can’t turn back,” Grande told Kimmel after he explained the rules of the game in which a vocalist has to sing lyrics they’ve never seen before.
With some light accompaniment from a pianist wearing angel wings, Grande eased into the bit “absolutely blind” with the first lines coming up pretty benign before things got increasingly weirder. “I am a strong, successful woman,” the Oscar-nominated Wicked star crooned. “Who always stands up tall,” she continued, adding, “even though I am, in fact,” she added with dread. “Uh-oh, oh God,” she said, fearing the next line.
“So very, very small/ Life, they say, is short/ And it turns out I am too/ I’m a human baby carrot/ I’m a Lady Pikachu/ I am little, I am tiny, I’m the perfect bite-sized snack,” she emoted in between chuckles. “Ten of me stacked up/ Only equals one Shaq,” she continued, bending over laughing.
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There were more size jokes (“I’m an oompa, I’m a loompa/ I’m a pint-sized mini me,” “I can run a marathon in a hamster wheel”), leading to the star commenting, “it’s going still, it’s long as f–k.” She just lost it on the “for a bed I use a sock” line, and praised the pianist for adding the appropriate amount of flare to the line “I’m the bird in the cuckoo clock.”
“And yes, my name is Grande, it’s ironic that I’m small,” she continued with the usual vocal flourishes in the bit that P!nk and Chris Stapleton have participated in before. Things finally took a turn toward the end, as Grande put some sauce on the line, “But I don’t let it bother me, you’ll never see me frown/ ‘Cause I’m defying gravity and you can’t pull me down,” she trilled through more laughs about the line referencing the big, beloved Wicked show-stopper ballad. For the finale, she climbed on a chair to sing the theme from the “It’s a Small World” Disney ride as Kimmel’s sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, handed her a huge bouquet of flowers.
Grande returned to chat with Kimmel about Wicked‘s 10 Oscar nominations, describing her reaction to watching the livestream announcing this year’s nominees in London. “I was a mess, I almost collapsed,” she said of the impact of the news of her best supporting actress nod alongside co-star Cynthia Erivo, who got tapped in the best actress category for her role as Elphaba. Grande described the instant stream of congratulatory calls she got, including from her mom, her two best friends, her team, as well as her therapist and her gynecologist.
Kimmel had to stop her on that last one, with Grande quipping, “Why didn’t you ask about that [one?] No, it was lovely. I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s been a while. Are we good?… We’ll hug over the next breast exam!” Grande also described the physical challenges of singing in a completely different, “fully opera” register as Glinda versus her “mix-y/belt register” with some falsetto pop style.
The 97th Academy Awards will take place on March 2.
Watch Grande on Kimmel below.
Swedish producer Alesso has opened up about his recent experiences with tinnitus and how it has been the cause of numerous canceled shows in recent months.
The 33-year-old musician (whose real name is Alessandro Lindblad) took to social media on Monday (Feb. 3) to discuss his recent spate of live cancellations. Following near nonstop touring throughout 2024, Alesso was forced to cancel shows throughout Australia and Saudi Arabia, before his entire world tour was axed, with “a recent health issue combined with overexertion” being cited as the reason.
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“I just wanted to be a little bit transparent on the situation,” the producer said in a video shared to Instagram. “So basically, two months ago, I woke up with the loudest ringing in my ears. I’m talking about 10 out of 10. I was in complete shock, and it was not after a show. I just woke up, and it was so intense.”
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Noting that such problems related to hearing were “super common in the music industry”, Alesso admitted he too had experienced similar issues in the past, though not to this level.
“But the good news is I’m getting better,” he continued. “I took this as a sign to slow down, to prioritise my health, be more careful. I’ve been doing this for 14 years now, and I’ve never taken a break. So I’ve just been kind of focusing on that.”
Currently, Alesso’s website lists tour dates for the next six months, with his return to the stage set to take place at Belly Up Aspen in Colorado on Feb. 14. As he concluded his video, Alesso explained he’s working towards big events such as Miami’s Ultra Festival on March 30, and offered advice to his followers as he moves forward.
“I will be doing shows, but maybe not as many, as you can understand,” he explains. “I just wish everyone health this year. I want everyone to To be careful, wear ear protection. Remember, we’re only humans.“
Alesso rose to fame throughout the 2010s, beginning his musical career with a series of remixes, singles, and collaborations ahead of his only studio album to date, 2015’s Forever. The record peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Tove Lo-featuring single “Heroes (We Could Be)”. The track would become his biggest commercial success in the U.S., hitting No. 31 on the Hot 100.
After news broke of the death of Murder Inc. Records co-founder Irv Gotti on Wednesday (Feb. 5), tributes poured in from the hip-hop world, including from the label where he got his start, Def Jam. Gotti started out in A&R at the hip-hop label, before co-founding the culture-dominating Murder Inc. imprint with his brother, Chris […]
The ever-prolific Neil Young has assured fans that 2025 will feature a new album, with the Canadian veteran offering an update on his debut album with new band The Chrome Hearts.
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News of the upcoming record comes just weeks after Young shared “Big Change”, the first single to be released with his nascent band. The Chrome Hearts first debuted by Young back in September 2024, just months after an unspecified illness necessitated a “big unplanned break” from touring with longtime backing group Crazy Horse.
The Chrome Hearts, as Young himself describes, “reconfigures musicians he has worked with before”, with guitarist Micah Nelson, bassist Corey McCormick, drummer Anthony Logerfo, and organist Spooner Oldham comprising the lineup. While Nelson, McCormick, and Logerfo have performed with Young as members of Promise of the Real, Oldham has worked with Young for decades, appearing on records such as 1978’s Comes a Time and 1992’s Harvest Moon.
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Working with producers John Hanlon and his brother-in-law Lou Adler at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La studio in Malibu, Young explains that “Big Change” is the first taste of a forthcoming album from The Chrome Hearts, with the material being written throughout November and December.
“They feel fresh to me and I am very happy to have this all ready for you. It won’t be long now and it will be great to have new songs to play on the road this summer in Europe, the USA and Canada,” Young said via his website. “We are looking forward to that!”
Young added that the record is now in the mastering stage for vinyl, CD, and digital copies that are expected to be released in only a couple of months.
“I am very happy and relieved to have ths [sic] done in the short time it took,” he explained. “The album art has been completed and handed in with Jenice Heo. I am working on the lyric sheets now, hoping to hand-write the words and get them in, in time..
“It is a happy feeling I have today, knowing I have made an album I think people will enjoy. I hope it’s out in April. That would be pretty fast.”
Presuming the April release date is adhered to, it would make the as-yet-untitled record the second release from Young in 2025, with his “lost” 1977 album Oceanside Countryside set to drop on Feb. 14.
Young and The Chrome Hearts will also be performing at England’s Glastonbury Festival in June. Young’s inclusion on the lineup was marred by an “error in the information” which initially saw him distance himself from the event, labelling it a “corporate turn-off”.
The devastation left behind by the horrific wildfires in Los Angeles has drawn an outpouring of support, especially from the music community. Between the FireAid concerts at Inglewood, California’s Intuit Dome and Kia Forum (Jan. 30) — featuring a rainbow of stars from Billie Eilish to Stevie Wonder — and the Grammy telecast (Feb. 2), more than $100 million in relief funds has been raised.
Just as important, however, are the boots-on-the-ground efforts like that of local rap legend The Game, who recently visited Altadena, California, as Billboard News tagged along. Ravaged by the Hurst Fire that burned more than 500 acres, the generational community boasts a rich Black cultural legacy given that Altadena was one of the first L.A. areas that openly welcomed Black home ownership. Billboard News was there when The Game, a native of Compton, California, headed to Altadena to talk — and dole out hugs — to first responders, local high school coaches, federal credit union members and more about their survival stories.
“This is some serious … It’s serious business, man,” The Game says to a pair of firefighters while visiting their station house. “After this experience, now, when I hear a fire truck coming down the street, I’m pulling over and I’m not annoyed because usually it’s like ‘argh, I got to pull over.’ My hat’s on, but it’s off to you guys, man.”
The Game also spoke with coaches from several high schools — Maranatha, South Pasadena, Pasadena and John Muir — who shared moving stories about losses they suffered, as well as their students, while encouraging residents to rebuild and not leave. “This was a predominantly African-American neighborhood,” DeAnthony Langston tells The Game. “Just to see this is terrible, man; you coming out says a lot.”
Watch “Community Stories With The Game,” and to donate to Altadena’s wildfire relief fund, visit here.
Los Angeles Celtic punk band Flogging Molly have been forced to cancel all of their 2025 tour dates due to health issues faced by frontman Dave King.
The band shared the news on social media, alerting fans that Flogging Molly will be unable to headline their own Salty Dog Cruise, which launches on Feb. 17 as a five-night trip from Port of Miami to Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
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“Our fearless leader, the inimitable Dave King, is currently battling a very serious health condition,” the group wrote. “Dave and Bridget ask everyone to respect their privacy at this time, we will share as we can. Any good thoughts or prayers you can send Dave’s way, he and we would appreciate it.
“Unfortunately Flogging Molly will be unable to perform shows in 2025. With the Salty Dog Cruise 12 days away, the boat will sail as planned with 18 bands, and members of Flogging Molly, on board to celebrate the cruise, the community and our captain, Dave King.”
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Currently no further details in regard to King’s condition have been made available. Flogging Molly’s 2025 tour itinerary was expected to kick off in earnest on Feb. 24 following their cruise, with dates in the U.S. scheduled across February and March, and shows throughout Europe and Canada planned across June, July, and August.
The Irish-born King formed Flogging Molly in 1994 after years spent as a musician in the U.K. Rising to fame as the vocalist for Fastway alongside ex-Motörhead guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke, King briefly performed with former Krokus guitarist Mandy Meyer in Katmandu before navigating his way out of a record contract with Epic Records to found Flogging Molly in Los Angeles.
The band released their first album in 2000, with 2008’s Float becoming their most successful to date – peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The most recent studio album, Anthem, was released in 2022 and became the first in their career not chart.
Irv Gotti — who co-founded the hitmaking Murder Inc. Records label and helped make early 2000s superstars out of Ja Rule and Ashanti — has died after suffering a stroke, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed. He was 54 years old. Alongside brother Chris, Irv Gotti (born Domingo Lorenzo Jr.) launched Murder Inc. in 1998 as an […]
