State Champ Radio Music
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Leighton Meester’s music career is experiencing a revival following the devastating loss of her Los Angeles home in the recent wildfires.
With encouragement from none other than Flavor Flav, fans have rallied behind the Gossip Girl actress and singer by revisiting her discography, sparking a wave of support across social media and music platforms. Flavor Flav took to TikTok on Jan. 14 to spotlight Meester’s 2009 single “Somebody to Love,” which features Robin Thicke.
In the video, the Public Enemy rapper danced to the pop track, urging fans to “Stream @LeightonMeester ‘Somebody to Love’ and use the song in yo TikTok’s.” He captioned the post, “Starting to hype up my girl Leighton Meester and help her family recover from the fire.”
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The call for support comes amid reports that Meester and her husband, actor Adam Brody, are among the many families displaced by the wildfires that began last week, forcing thousands to evacuate. The couple, who share two children, have not publicly commented on the loss of their Pacific Palisades home.
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Fans have since responded with overwhelming enthusiasm by revisiting Meester’s self-written debut album, Heartstrings, released in 2014. Meester wrote all nine tracks featured on the record by herself, and the album was produced by Jeff Trott.
The album has now climbed to No. 18 on the iTunes all-genre album chart, surpassing notable releases like Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion, and Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N Sweet. Her single “Your Love’s a Drug,” released in 2010, has also cracked the iTunes songs chart.
This resurgence mirrors the support seen for Heidi Montag, another wildfire victim whose decade-old album, Superficial, recently topped the iTunes charts thanks to a viral TikTok campaign.
Flav has also been instrumental in promoting Montag’s music, posting several TikTok videos with the caption, “Doing my part to get Heidi Montag to #1.” Montag and her husband, Spencer Pratt, lost their Pacific Palisades home in the fires and turned to social media to share their journey and encourage fans to stream Montag’s music as a way to help them rebuild.
Following the success of Superficial, Montag’s album surged to No. 1 on iTunes. To celebrate, Montag and Pratt joined Billboard’s Tetris Kelly during a TikTok livestream to discuss future plans, including new music.
“We just actually had one of the most famous writers and producers reach out to us, and I recorded it yesterday,” Montag revealed. “They asked us not to specify who they are […] We’re really excited, and there’s a lot of stuff in the works. We really want to focus on getting a portion back to the community too, so we’re trying to figure out how to incorporate charities into everything we’re doing.”
Meanwhile, Flavor Flav, a vocal advocate for using music as a means of recovery, also announced on Jan. 11 that he has donated to wildfire relief efforts through GoFundMe campaigns and nonprofit organizations.
He encouraged others to join his efforts, stating, “They need us right now.”
Meester’s music career includes standout moments such as her collaboration with Cobra Starship on the 2009 hit “Good Girls Go Bad,” her role in the 2010 film Country Strong, and the release of singles like “Somebody to Love” and “Your Love’s a Drug.”
Zach Bryan has turned his focus to the world of film, recruiting actor Matthew McConaughey to help tease a new project called Motorbreath. Bryan’s new announcement came about in a pair of posts shared to Instagram on Wednesday morning (Jan. 15). In the first, he shared a clip of a new track ostensibly titled “Birdie”. […]
Actor David Schwimmer has looked back on some of his formative jobs, recalling the time he served Rod Stewart with divorce papers.
Schwimmer spoke about his previous career while appearing on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to promote his current role on Disney+ and Hulu’s Goosebumps: The Vanishing. While he’s spent more than 30 years as one of the most prominent actors in film and TV, his early career was far less stable, as he explained to host Stephen Colbert.
“One summer after my freshman year in college, I was just looking for work,” Schwimmer remembered. “And my mom said, ‘Well, you can be a process server for me’. My mom was a divorce lawyer. So I was the guy who would pop out of the bushes and serve you divorce papers. At the time I was 18, and I’m like James Bond. I’m not James Bond! ‘Cause you’re tipped off as to where they might be.”
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As he continued, Schwimmer turned his focus to one of his more famous ‘targets’ during this line of work. “Once, and oh man, thank goodness I’ve never run into him since,” added, “but I served Rod Stewart. I don’t even know if he knows. I don’t think he knows.”
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“He knows now,” replied Colbert before jokingly giving Schwimmer some sage advice. “Change your locks, man. He is vengeful.”
Stewart was previously married to Alana Stewart from 1979 to 1984, which coincides with the timeframe of Schwimmer’s time as a process server. In 1990, Stewart married Rachel Hunter, though they would divorce in 2006 following a separation in 1999. Since 2007, he’s been married to Penny Lancaster-Stewart.
Stewart is set to hit the road once again in February, performing across the U.S. before returning to Las Vegas to continue his Caesars Palace residency. He’s also one of the few artists officially confirmed to be performing at England’s Glastonbury Festival on June 25.
Appearing in the Sunday teatime Legends slot, he joins Neil Young at the festival, who recently confirmed his appearance after previously distancing himself from the event based on what he now calls an “error in the information received”.
The times they are a-changin’, and with just a few days to go before a potential U.S. ban of TikTok, veteran musician Bob Dylan has finally joined the popular video sharing app.
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83-year-old Dylan made his debut on TikTok on Tuesday (Jan. 14), sharing a single post which urges potential followers to “Explore the world of Bob Dylan, now on TikTok”. The accompanying video features numerous clips, stills, and record covers from Dylan’s lengthy career, soundtracked to clips of “Like a Rolling Stone”, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, “Hurricane”.
While Dylan’s appearance on the app in the wake of the release of James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown biopic has been well-received by his fanbase, much of the attention is being focused on his somewhat late arrival given the impending TikTok Ban.
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“You’ve got 30 minutes king,” wrote one user on Dylan’s post, while another added, “bob dylan save tiktok.” Others still made reference to his catalog in their posts, noting that “tiktok is knocking on heavens door”.
As it stands, TikTok is facing an imminent ban because the American government is worried about its Chinese ownership. After the Supreme Court last month agreed to hear TikTok’s challenge to the law that would either force ByteDance to sell the app or bar it from the U.S., the Court’s imminent decision means that if the law is upheld, ByteDance will be forced to sell off the app or face a ban on Sunday (Jan. 19).
Dylan’s immediate future, however, looks a little more certain currently, especially given that the response to A Complete Unknown has seen his catalog earn 11.6 million U.S. on-demand streams in the week ending Dec. 26.
While it’s unknown whether Dylan’s debut on TikTok is part of a biopic-inspired decision to reach a newer fanbase, it does come about shortly after his recent decision to ostensibly begin using social media with greater frequency. In November, Dylan shared a Tweet praising a performance from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in France, leading Cave to respond with gratitude.
“I was elated to think Bob Dylan had been in the audience,” Cave wrote on his sporadically-updated Red Hand Files website. “And since I doubt I’ll get an opportunity to thank him personally, I’ll thank him here. Thank you, Bob!”
Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are turning loss into creativity. The couple, who first found fame on the reality series The Hills, lost their home in the Pacific Palisades wildfire. Amid the tragedy, the pair turned to social media to share their journey and encourage fans to stream Montag’s previous music as a way to help them rebuild. […]
Lil Baby isn’t letting up. The Atlanta rapper recently dropped off the deluxe version of his fourth solo album WHAM and is planning on releasing another project entitled Dominique some time in February. He’s also mentioned working on a tape with Future, but made sure to mention Young Thug may be involved in what they […]
DJ Khaled and 50 Cent have a rocky history dating back to around 2005 when G-Unit was in the midst of a beef with Fat Joe and they can thank baseball legend Reggie Jackson for bringing them together all these years later.
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The two former foes dapped it up at Reggie Jackson’s annual “Mr. October Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic” in Port St. Lucie, Florida earlier this week and the footage was captured by 50, whose Sire Spirits liquor brand helped sponsor the event.
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Tony Yayo once told a story on Drink Champs about the time the Miami DJ told him to “get the f—k outta here” when he went down to South Florida to promote a song for the radio. “I had ‘[So] Seductive’ dropping. I didn’t know nothing about the music business,” he told hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN. “We beefing with [Fat Joe]. You f—k with Fat Joe, Khaled ain’t f—king with you. I got my record I’m trying to promote, so they like, ‘Yo, you gotta got to Miami … You gotta go to DJ Khaled.’”
Adding, “So we go up there. I told these n—as, ‘Yo, don’t take me to DJ Khaled. Fat Joe, that’s his man. He damn near Terror Squad,’” before revealing Khaled pretended to shake his hand while yelling his tagline. “Go to Khaled to shake his hand — ‘DJ Khaled, get the fuck outta here! I respect Khaled for that ’cause [Fat Joe] is his man … But I did go ’cause this is radio. I don’t understand this sh—t, I’m getting out of jail … So I’m like, ‘Yo, f—k you Khaled!’ I swear to God. You can ask him.”
Khaled confirmed Yayo’s story during an appearance on Club Shay Shay. “At that time, I work at a radio station,” he told Shannon Sharpe. “Everybody’s welcome at a radio station so you could never involve them type of situations and I understood that. And I’ve always been somebody that showed love, but when they told me [Yayo] was coming up I was like, ‘Wow.’”
Adding, “You know, him and my man don’t get along. [Fat Joe] is my brother, for real. I was just saying to myself, ‘This is gonna be hard for me’ because if I would have completely embraced him, I probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night. And if I did, I would have called [Fat Joe] immediately like, ‘This is what happened.’ That’s how much I care.”
He then said that’s “it’s all love now” which is try judging by 50 including their greeting in his recap of the charity event and Khaled telling the Queens rapper and filmmaker, “Nothing but love and respect.”
Lil Yachty delivered one of the most memorable Hot Ones episodes in 2018 with his first hot sauce experience, and the album has returned to the table for another bout. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Rocking a hot pink wig and a Coogie sweater from The […]
The Canadian Music Hall of Fame has announced its full crop of 2025 inductees.
Songwriter Dan Hill, “grande dame of Québec song” Ginette Reno, rock superstars Glass Tiger and singer/songwriter/composer Loreena McKennitt will all join the previously announced Sum 41. That legendary punk and rock band, who are currently on their farewell tour after returning to the top of the Alternative Airplay chart after more than two decades, will celebrate the induction with their final televised performance at the 2025 Juno Awards on March 30 in Vancouver.
The other four recipients will be joined by 2024 Hall of Fame inductee and Canadian hip-hop pioneer Maestro Fresh Wes at a special ceremony on May 15 at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), in Calgary. Maestro Fresh Wes was inducted into the Hall of Fame during The 2024 Junos broadcast in Halifax, and will again be honoured at the Studio Bell event this year.
The Canadian Music Hall of Fame was established by CARAS, the organization behind the Junos, in 1978 to acknowledge artists who have made a remarkable impact on Canadian music both nationally and internationally.
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Hill, Reno, Glass Tiger, McKennitt, Sum 41 and Maestro Fresh Wes will join the ranks of esteemed stars including Alanis Morissette, Barenaked Ladies, Deborah Cox, Jann Arden, Joni Mitchell, k.d. lang, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Nickelback, Oscar Peterson, Rush, The Guess Who, The Tragically Hip, Sarah McLachlan and Shania Twain.
This is the third time CARAS has held a multiple induction ceremony outside of the Junos.
“As the physical home of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, we’re proud to be a place that honours the individuals that have contributed so much to Canadian music,” says Andrew Mosker, president & CEO of the National Music Centre. “It’s always a privilege to host this special event and welcome the latest inductees to Calgary, where we can celebrate their significant influence and share their inspiring stories.”
The National Music Centre will unveil a new exhibition at Studio Bell on May 7, spotlighting the achievements of the four inductees.
Hill has achieved major international success, both for his own music and in collaboration with other musical legends. His “Sometimes When We Touch,” a tune Dolly Parton called her “favourite song of all time”’ and one she wishes she had written, has notched 63 million YouTube views and over 100 million downloads. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978.
Hill has recorded and released multiple Gold and Platinum albums, won a Grammy Award and five Junos, and was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021. He’s also worked with many of the pop’s top-selling artists, including Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, Britney Spears and Céline Dion.
Ginette Reno is a legend of Quebec music. In a 65-year career, she’s recorded over 2000 songs, 42 albums, all gold or platinum, and various notable roles on the silver screen and on television.
Since their first three albums starting in the mid-1980s, Ontario rock band Glass Tiger spawned 14 Top 40 Hits in Canada in five years. The 1986 hit “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” (which hit No. 2) and following hit “Someday,” which both reached Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the band’s debut album, The Thin Red Line, went quadruple platinum in Canada and gold in the U.S.
McKennitt has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide while remaining self-managed and self-produced. Her music, combining elements of pop, folk and worldbeat styles, has been dubbed “eclectic Celtic.”
Tickets will soon go on sale at the National Music Centre. More info at the Canadian Music Hall of Fame website.
As the Los Angeles wildfires continue to devastate the city, celebrities are coming together to support the wildfire relief efforts that have been working tirelessly to help the community rebuild and gather resources for victims. At the time of publication, the Palisades fire has burned nearly 24,000 acres and is only 19% contained, while the […]
