State Champ Radio Music
Page: 71
Trending on Billboard
The Los Angeles Dodgers weren’t the only winners in town this week. Returning to City of Angels for the first time since 2022, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ushered in a new class of inductees during its 40th annual induction ceremony Saturday night (Nov. 8).
“Welcome to the second-best thing to happen to Los Angeles in the past week,” said John Sykes, chairman of the R&R Hall of Fame, welcoming the audience at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is officially middle aged and to celebrate the 40th induction ceremony, a 10-minute sizzle reel spanning the four decades played prior to the official start of the proceedings, which, thanks to a more streamlined process when honoring the musical excellence and non-performer categories, came in at a relatively brisk four-and-a-half hours.
Beamed live on Disney +, the Rock Hall honored Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden and The White Stripes in the performer category, Salt-N-Pepa and Warren Zevon for musical influence; Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins and Carol Kaye for musical excellence, and longtime Warner Records executive Lenny Waronker with the Ahmet Ertegun Award (named after the Atlantic Records co-founder). A primetime trimmed- down special will air on ABC on Jan. 1, 2026.
Many of the 2025 honorees were not in attendance: Of course, Zevon, Cocker, Hopkins and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell were inducted posthumously, and legendary Wrecking Crew bassist Kaye declined in advance to attend. Though the White Stripes’ Jack White referenced her and even dedicated part of his speech to her, his former bandmate, Meg White, did not attend. At 84, Checker was still doing what he does best and passed up his induction to keep a regularly scheduled paying gig, though he delivered his acceptance speech from the show before going into a shortened version of his biggest hit, “The Twist.” After initially hoping to attend and even reunite with his band Bad Company, lead singer Paul Rodgers pulled out for health reasons.
But there was still a dazzling amount of star power in the room from the honorees who were present and the nearly 40 artists who helped induct them.
Below are nine highlights from the evening.
Take Us Higher
Trending on Billboard
Soundgarden were officially inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday (Nov. 8), with actor-comedian Jim Carrey leading the tribute in a heartfelt, deeply personal speech that recalled his first experience seeing the grunge pioneers perform live.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
The comedian told the audience at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles that he met the band in 1996 while hosting Saturday Night Live, where he personally requested Soundgarden as the musical guest.
“By then, the lineup was Chris [Cornell], Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron on drums, and Ben Shepherd on base. They launched into the dark, epic beauty of ‘Pretty Noose,’” Carrey explained.
“I stood right in front of them, letting the waves of electricity wash over me, like an audio baptism. They pushed me under and when I came up I was free.”
Carrey revealed that after the show, the band gifted him one of his most prized possessions: a Fender Telecaster signed by all four members, including late frontman Chris Cornell.
Cornell’s eldest daughter Lily took the stage following a video tribute to her father, delivering a touching speech and acknowledging her mother and Cornell’s former wife, Susan Silver, who once managed Soundgarden.
The surviving members of Soundgarden — Matt Cameron, Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd, and founding bassist Hiro Yamamoto — were present for the induction. Yamamoto, who reunited with the band for the occasion, referenced his family’s internment during World War II: “That affected my life greatly,” he said. “And it really echoes strongly today. Let’s not add another story like this to our history.”
Kim Thayil reflected on Cornell’s creative leadership, stating, “If one of us ever hesitated in sharing an idea, Chris would be the first to say, ‘Let’s just try it out and see.’ I miss him. I love him, and I love all my [Soundgarden] brothers.”
The performance portion of the night featured Taylor Momsen (of The Pretty Reckless) fronting Soundgarden for “Rusty Cage” and Brandi Carlile joining them for “Black Hole Sun.” The ceremony concluded with Chris Cornell’s younger daughter, Toni, performing “Fell on Black Days” alongside Nancy Wilson.
The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees also included OutKast, Bad Company, Cyndi Lauper, The White Stripes, Chubby Checker, and Joe Cocker. The event streamed live on Disney+ and will be available on-demand.
Trending on Billboard Australian musician John Butler has responded to Metallica‘s surprise nod at their Perth concert by delivering a heartfelt, blues-infused take on the band’s iconic single “Enter Sandman.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news Butler shared the cover via Instagram while on tour in Europe and the U.K., captioning the post: “@metallica […]
Trending on Billboard
The 2025 ARIA Awards will return to Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Nov. 19, with a stacked lineup of performers and presenters confirmed by the Australian Recording Industry Association on Nov. 9.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
Leading the live performance slate is GRAMMY-nominated British artist Olivia Dean, who will make her ARIA Awards debut just weeks after announcing her sophomore album The Art of Loving. Dean has accumulated more than 4.5 billion global streams, including over 236 million in Australia.
She will be joined onstage by a wide array of Australian talent, including G Flip, Missy Higgins, Kita Alexander, Keli Holiday, You Am I, Thelma Plum, Young Franco, Baker Boy, Alex Lahey, Janet English, Anna Ryan, Neve Van Boxsel, and Touch Sensitive.
In an ARIA first, all five nominees for Best Soul/R&B Release — Boy Soda, Larissa Lambert, PANIA, Jerome Farah, and Jacotene — will perform with a 15-piece backing band in a joint showcase of the category.
Presenters for the evening will include Dom Dolla, Kacey Musgraves, Amy Shark, Budjerah, Josh Pyke, Kate Ceberano, King Stingray, Meg Washington, Melanie Bracewell, and Kobie Dee, alongside hosts Tim Blackwell and Concetta Caristo.
Annabelle Herd, CEO of ARIA, said in a statement, “Diversity, emotion, raw talent and constant evolution all make Australian music so powerful, and that’s exactly what we’re celebrating in this incredible lineup of artists. Each performer and presenter joining the stage represents a part of our story, one that’s deeply local but heard all over the world.”
Mikaela Lancaster, Managing Director of Spotify AUNZ, added, “AusMusic month is underway, and Australian music has never sounded louder or prouder. This year’s ARIA Awards lineup is stacked with incredible performers and presenters who embody everything that makes our industry so special – creativity, community, and a fearless drive to share our stories with the world. Spotify is proud to support the 2025 ARIA Awards. It’s going to be a night to remember.”
The 2025 ARIA Awards will stream live on Paramount+ from 5:00 p.m. AEDT, with red carpet coverage airing on Network 10 from 7:00 p.m., followed by the ceremony.
The event is presented in partnership with Spotify and supported by the NSW Government via Destination NSW.
Trending on Billboard
Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst has unveiled a deeply personal new EP, A Hundred Years or More, recorded while undergoing treatment for stage three pancreatic cancer.
The celebrated drummer and songwriter, 70, collaborated with longtime bandmates Jim Moginie and Hamish Stuart, and enlisted his daughters Gabriella and Lex Hirst to contribute vocals on the emotionally resonant four-track release.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
The EP was created in pockets of time when Hirst felt well enough to sing and strum, following a major gastro bypass operation earlier this year. “It’s completely replumbed the inside because the tumour was pushing against the guts and I couldn’t eat,” he shared as per news.com.au. Despite the challenges, the sessions became a space of defiant creativity and familial healing.
Gabriella, an artist based in Berlin, delivers the lead vocal on the EP’s title track—a tender, melancholic ballad inspired by Hirst’s diagnosis. “May you live to be a hundred years or more,” she sings, with her father joining for the final line: “May you take another turn around the sun.”
“I was just working it up at home with an incomplete lyric and Ella was out for a while looking after me and checking up on all her arty friends in Sydney and she came in and said ‘Dad, I really like this song you’re singing and I said, ‘Well, here’s the rough lyric, you sing it,’” Hirst said.
Lex Hirst lends backing vocals to the opening track, “First Do No Harm,” while Hoodoo Gurus bassist Rick Grossman makes a surprise appearance on the EP as well.
Hirst, who co-founded Midnight Oil in the 1970s, has also led acclaimed side projects like Ghostwriters, The Break, and Backsliders. The band played their final show in October 2022 at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion.
A Hundred Years or More follows 2023’s Red Continent and will be released Nov. 14.
Trending on Billboard
Meg White missed the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, which honored the the White Stripes — her iconic duo with Jack White — at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles Saturday night (Nov. 8). But the bookends of Jack’s speech were all about Meg, who’d edited most of it.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
“I spoke with Meg the other day,” he said at the podium, sharing, “She wanted me to tell you she’s very grateful to all the folks who supported her through all the years. It really means a lot to her tonight.”
“She checked it for me,” he added of the speech he was about to give on behalf of the pair. “A lot of punctuation corrections, too.”
Though White’s emotion was palpable throughout the speech, it was most felt in the poem he brought to the room, one that he said he was going to send to Meg ahead of time but hadn’t.
Instead, he noted, “I thought I’d read it to you all tonight.”
“One time, a girl climbed a tree, and in that tree was a boy — her brother, she thought. And the tree looked so glorious and beautiful, but it was just an oak tree. And these two so loved the world that they brought forth a parade float, one they built in their garage behind the oak tree with their own bare hands. And the boy looked at this giant peppermint on wheels and felt pride. Pride that it was produced in the Motor City just like in the big factories, but it was just in their garage.
He looked at the girl, his sister, he thought, and like the Little Rascals, they said, ‘Let’s put on a show.’ And they paraded this float through the Cass Corridor, standing atop the Peppermint, pulled by white horses or maybe it was a red Econoline van. And many of the blocks they traveled were empty, but some had people.
And some of those people cheered and some laughed and some even threw stones. And with their bare hands, the two started to clap and sing and make up songs. And some people kept watching and swaying and moving, and then one person even smiled. And the boy and the girl looked at each other, and they also smiled.
And they felt, they both felt the sin of pride, but they kept on smiling, smiling from a new freedom, knowing that they had shared and made another person feel something. And they thought the person smiling at them was a stranger, someone they didn’t even know. But it wasn’t just a stranger, it was God.”
Jack and Meg released six studio albums, including the Grammy-winning Icky Thump, together as the White Stripes before parting ways in 2011. Meg now stays out of the spotlight.
Following Jack’s speech, Olivia Rodrigo and Feist performed a sweet duet of the band’s “We’re Going to Be Friends” (2002) and 21 Pilots took on “Seven Nation Army” (2003), in tribute to the honorees.
Jack White and Olivia Rodrigo attend the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Peacock Theater on Nov. 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for RRHOF
Rodrigo’s been vocal about the White Stripes being her favorite band: “I was so obsessed with Jack White’s guitar, and I made my mom take me to guitar lessons so I could learn how to play all of his songs,” she said in a 2021 interview. “Fell in Love With a Girl” was one of the first songs she learned to play. Rodrigo first met her hero in 2022.
The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony honored the White Stripes as well as Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, OutKast and Soundgarden in the performer category; Salt-N-Pepa and Warren Zevon for musical influence; Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins and Carol Kaye for musical excellence, and Lenny Waronker with the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Trending on Billboard
Hayley Williams’ tour dates for 2026 have been added to her official website’s homepage, which currently features a design reminiscent of a ’90s computer desktop.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
An image file titled “oops.jpg” offers a peek at a snapshot of a Macbook screen that shows a tour announcement preview with a “NOT FOR RELEASE” watermark — suggesting that Williams leaked the itinerary early. The picture has a list of 20 cities she’s scheduled to visit on the At a Bachelor Party Tour.
The Paramore frontwoman’s solo trek kicks off in the United States with a concert in Atlanta, Ga., on March 28 and runs through June 29 in Dublin, Ireland. Williams will make it to several U.S. markets — plus Toronto, Canada, and select cities in Europe.
Information about ticket on-sale dates is not yet available.
Williams’ tour will be in support of her latest album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party — which arrived unsequenced and scattered across her website, and then on streaming services, in August, but just got a physical CD and vinyl release on Friday, Nov. 7, with an added track (“Showbiz,” embedded below). (Read more about her unique release strategy in Billboard‘s interview with Williams’ co-manager Leah Hodgkiss.)
See the list of Williams’ 2026 tour dates:
March 28 – Atlanta, Ga. (Tabernacle)March 31 – Toronto, Canada (Massey Hall)April 3-4 – Boston, Mass. (Citizens House of Blues)April 6-7 – Philadelphia, Pa. (Franklin Music Hall)April 9-10 – New York, NY (Hammerstein BallroomApril 14 – Baltimore, Md. (The Lyric)April 18 – Minneapolis, Minn. (Fillmore)April 21-22 – Chicago, Ill. (Chicago Theater)April 25, 27 – Nashville, Tenn. (Ryman Auditorium)May 2 – Austin, Texas (ACL Live at the Moody Theater)May 5 – Phoenix, Ariz. (Van Buren)May 7, 9 – Oakland, Calif. (Fox Theater)May 12-13 – Los Angeles, Calif. (The Wiltern)June 5 – Milan, Italy (Alcatraz)June 8 – Amsterdam, Netherlands (Paradiso)June 10 – Cologne, Germany (Live Music Hall)June 15 – Berlin, Germany (Tempodrom)June 16 – Copenhagen, Denmark (Poolen)June 22 – Manchester, U.K. (Academy)June 26 – Glasgow, Scotland (O2 Academy)June 29 – Dublin, Ireland (National Stadium)
Trending on Billboard
Katy Perry’s manager, Bradford Cobb, appears to be firing back at Wendy’s after the fast-food chain took a dig at his client earlier this year.
On Friday (Nov. 7), reports emerged that Wendy’s plans to close hundreds of restaurant locations nationwide as part of a corporate “turnaround plan.” Interim CEO Ken Cook announced that between 200 and 350 of the company’s roughly 6,000 U.S. restaurants would be affected, according to CNN.
Cobb quickly took notice of the news, reposting a KTLA headline about the closures to his Instagram Story, alongside a photo of the brand’s iconic red sign.
The longtime manager’s post comes months after Wendy’s threw shade at Perry on social media. In April, the chain’s official X account responded to a Pop Crave post about Perry’s return from her Blue Origin NS-31 spaceflight with a blunt jab. “Can we send her back?” Wendy’s replied, causing a stir online.
The company doubled down with another post on X featuring a photo of the “Firework” singer kissing the ground after landing, captioned, “I kissed the ground and i liked it.” When one user pointed out that Perry had only been in space for about 10 minutes, the brand wrote back, “Don’t short change her it was 11 minutes.”
Perry was one of six passengers on Blue Origin’s all-women flight crew, which landed safely back on Earth after the brief suborbital trip.
Weeks later, Perry addressed the online negativity, leaving a heartfelt comment on a fan page thanking her supporters for standing by her.
“I’m so grateful for you guys. We’re in this beautiful and wild journey together,” she wrote. “I can continue to remain true to myself, heart open and honest especially because of our bond. I love you guys and have grown up together with you and am so excited to see you all over the world this year!”
The artist continued, “Please know I am ok, I have done a lot work around knowing who I am, what is real and what is important to me. My therapist said something years ago that has been a game changer, ‘no one can make you believe something about yourself that you don’t already believe about yourself’ and if I ever do have any feelings about it then it’s an opportunity to investigate the feeling underneath it.”
She closed, writing, “When the ‘online’ world tries to make me a human Piñata, I take it with grace and send them love, cause I know so many people are hurting in so many ways and the internet is very much so a dumping ground for unhinged and unhealed.”
Trending on Billboard As Jamaica picks up the pieces in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa’s historic devastation, the global reach of their artists remains cause for celebration. On Friday (Nov. 7), the Recording Academy revealed the five nominees for best reggae album at the 2026 Grammy Awards — and Jamaican musicians snagged every single spot. […]
Rod Wave has been arrested by the Atlanta Police Department on multiple weapon and drug charges.
The 27-year-old rapper-singer, whose real name is Rodarius Green, was taken into custody Friday (Nov. 7) in Fulton County, Georgia, and charged with possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies, reckless driving, possession of a Schedule V controlled substance and possession of Schedule II controlled substance, according to TMZ.
Following his arrest, Rod Wave was booked into the Fulton County Jail, Fox 5 Atlanta reports. As of Saturday morning, he remained in custody. His attorney, Drew Findling, told TMZ that the artist had made his first court appearance and that bond had been set at $8,000.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
Further details about what led to the arrest were not available at press time.
This is not Rod Wave’s first legal issue. In May, he was arrested in Georgia and booked into Fulton County Jail on charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm. He later faced 12 additional counts, including aiming a pistol at another person, reckless conduct, criminal damage to property, obstruction of law enforcement, evidence tampering, conspiracy to commit a felony, and simple assault.
Court records show that the May arrest stemmed from an alleged April 21 altercation. The musician was released the same day after posting a $50,000 bond. “There is no truth to these charges,” his attorney Findling told Billboard at the time.
The “25” rapper-singer also faced gun charges in April 2024 in Manatee County, Florida, after being accused of illegally possessing a weapon or ammunition. Authorities attempted to connect him to a gang-related shooting at a St. Petersburg sports bar. In May 2022, he was also arrested on a felony charge of battery by strangulation, which was later dropped.
Aside from his legal troubles, Rod Wave released the singles “Westside Connection” and “Sinners” in 2025. The latter appeared on the Sinners movie soundtrack and played during the horror film’s final scene. His most recent album, Last Lap, was released in October 2024, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
