State Champ Radio nsfs
Page: 3
There are a lot of happy New Yorkers out there celebrating the victory of Zohran Mamdani in the 2025 mayoral race, and some of them — including Gracie Abrams, Halsey and more — are also big-name musicians.
In response to the 34-year-old Democratic Socialist triumphing over opponents Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa after the election wrapped up Tuesday night (Nov. 4), numerous stars shared messages of excitement and congratulations on social media. Abrams shared a number of posts about Mamdani’s win on her Instagram Story, writing that she was “SCREAMING” and adding, “I keep getting chills over and over.”
On X, Halsey wrote, “I just got off stage from an AMAZING show and Zohran Mamdani is mayor of New York and I am NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO SLEEP I’m too ALIVE!”
Lorde also weighed in, sharing a “New York” graphic on her Story and typing, “Change … Have a Nice Day” while tagging Mamdani’s account.
All three of those singer-songwriters are based in NYC, which showed up for Mamdani on Election Day with more than 1,036,051 ballots cast in his favor, according to The Associated Press. Running on a platform of lowering the cost of living in the city, the assemblyman earned an estimated 50.4% of the vote, while Cuomo and Sliwa split the rest 41.6% and 7.1%, respectively.
Many other musicians celebrated the results in the comments of Mamdani’s posts on Instagram with Clairo dropping a fire emoji and Lizzy McAlpine writing, “YAYYYY.”
“he’s home!” Rachel Zegler replied, while King Princess commented, “I think we should throw a party ?”
Lauren Jauregui chimed in, “thank God!! May you be protected and guided!! Yayyyy!”
The outpouring of happiness in response to Mamdani’s win reflects the unprecedented grassroots momentum he was able to curate with his campaign. Backed by politicians such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Ugandan-born immigrant leaned into social media strategy and pop culture throughout the race, at one point coming out on stage during PinkPantheress’ October concert in Brooklyn.
Mamdani also got himself in the good graces of Swifties by shouting out Taylor Swift’s “Only the Young” — as well as “Hate It or Love It” by The Game featuring 50 Cent and “Right Above It” by Lil Wayne featuring Drake — when he was asked to summarize his campaign in three songs.
Is it hot in here, or is it just our chart?
11/5/2025
Randy Madden, a singer who competed on season eight of American Idol, was arrested in Ventura County, Calif., and is facing multiple felony charges.
According to court documents viewed by Billboard, the 45-year-old musician faces six felony charges, including unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 18, as well as sending harmful matter, luring and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Public online records show that the date of violation was July 21, and he was taken into custody on Oct. 30 before being released on bail early Tuesday (Nov. 4) morning after paying a $100,000 bond. A criminal protective order has been filed for the victim, according to court records.
Madden’s next hearing for the case will take place on Nov. 13, with a second hearing set for Nov. 17.
Billboard has reached out to the Ventura County Police Department, the district attorney’s office and Madden.
The aspiring rock star tried out for Idol in 2008, back when the program still had its original lineup of judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. He never made it past his first audition, earning unanimous “No” votes from the trio after performing Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Cowell was especially tough on him, calling Madden — who had started to cry — “cliche” and a “drama queen.”
Kris Allen would go on to win the season.
Before his brief time on Idol, Madden played in a band called Sexual Harassment. In August 2024, he started a GoFundMe to help cover his living expenses and medical costs after suffering severe complications from a ligament replacement surgery he’d had on his left leg in May of that year. He was still seeking donations this past June, at which time he shared that he still couldn’t walk without crutches or a cane and anticipated needing at least two more procedures to treat the issue.
American Idol is now on its 24th season, which will premiere in January next year with judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan.
If you or anyone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, contact RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline for 24/7 support and resources at 800-656-HOPE or via the website.
Zohran Mamdani is a known Kendrick Lamar fan, and showed his support for the rapper over Halloween weekend. With New York City’s mayoral election set for Tuesday (Nov. 4), Mamdani — who is running to lead the city — made campaign stops at various night clubs around the city over the weekend. One video making […]
Jason Aldean is set to perform his songs “Try That in a Small Town” and “How Far Does a Goodbye Go” as part of Fox Nation’s seventh annual Patriot Awards, which will be held Thursday (Nov. 6) at The Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, N.Y. During the event, Erika Kirk, Turning Point […]
Nicki Minaj is standing with Donald Trump on the issue of alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
In response to the president’s recent threat to deploy military action in the West African country in the name of religious freedom, the rapper wrote in a Saturday (Nov. 1) post on X that she felt a “deep sense of gratitude” to be able to “freely worship God” in the United States and thanked Trump for “taking this seriously.”
“No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion,” Minaj continued, sharing a screenshot of one of the twice-impeached politician’s Truth Social posts about intervening in Nigeria. “We don’t have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other.”
“Numerous countries all around the world are being affected by this horror & it’s dangerous to pretend we don’t notice,” she added. “God bless every persecuted Christian. Let’s remember to lift them up in prayer.”
Minaj’s post comes as the Trump administration has re-added Nigeria to its “Countries of Particular Concern” list, which also includes China, North Korea, Russia, Pakistan and several other nations that the White House has classified as having violated religious freedom. In another post on Truth Social, the president called Nigeria a “disgraced country” and promised that America’s military intervention would “be fast, vicious and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!”
But despite Trump’s claim that “radical Islamists” were murdering “thousands of Christians” in the region, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has rebuked the claims. “The characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians,” he said in a recent statement, according to Reuters.
Regardless of whether or not there’s truth to Trump’s remarks about Nigeria, some of Minaj’s fans have expressed disappointment in the hip-hop star for aligning herself with the polarizing politician in any capacity. One person, for instance, told Minaj on X that MAGA Republicans have been attempting to “weaponize religion so YOUR GAY FANS can be pushed into a corner and silenced,” to which the hitmaker reportedly had a biting reply.
“Imagine hearing that Christians are being MURDERED & making it about you being gay,” Minaj wrote in a since-deleted post, per The Independent.
Billboard has reached out to Minaj’s reps for comment.
Trending on Billboard
Britney Spears‘ Instagram account has once again gone dark. Fans looking to get an update on the singer via her @britneyspears Insta page — featuring the screen name XILA MARIA RIVER RED — are not me with a message that reads: “Profile isn’t available. The link may be broken, or the profile my have been removed.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
According to a variety of reports, the Spears Insta account appeared to go dark on Saturday (Nov. 1) or Sunday (Nov. 2), two weeks after the singer’s ex-husband, Kevin Federline, released his tell-all memoir, You Thought You Knew, which features salacious and scandalous stories involving the pop star from their two-plus years of marriage.
At press time Spears had not made any comment about her Instagram retreat, which marked the latest incident of her wiping away her Instagram page. The pop star went away briefly in 2021, then again in 2022 (twice) and has periodically gone dark on her socials over the past few years. The latest retreat comes after Spears repeatedly seemed to lash out over the allegations in Federline’s book in a series of Instagram posts in mid-October in which she wrote, “Its fun to tell stories at this point because this all might sound so silly but with what garbage literally is being said about me I said why not bring SUBSTANCE to the table.” Before that, Spears lashed out in another post at what she deemed “constant gaslighting” from Federline, to whom she was married from 2004-2007.
A few days earlier, she took another shot at people who “profit off my pain,” without naming names, but seemingly alluding to her financial situation with her ex, writing, “no money from Britney for 5 years you trying to get paid that’s what general America is saying weird you both have moved on… your kids are adults it’s a different world now … why is HE SO ANGRY.”
According to People, for weeks Britney’s fans have expressed concern about the 43-year-old star’s condition as she’s continued to post her signature dance videos amid cryptic messages about the two sons she shared with Federline, Sean Preston, 20, and Jayden James, 19. In addition, in a video posted on Oct. 7, Spears appeared to have bruises on her arms, bandages on both hands and on her right knee.
“Psss I fell down the stairs at my friend’s house… it was horrible… it snaps out now and then, not sure if it’s broken but for now it’s snapped in !!!,” she wrote in a TikTok post featuring her injuries.
In an Oct. 19 post, Spears also wrote about a four-month rehab stint she spent in 2018 in the midst of her 13-year conservatorship, claiming that, “I do feel like my wings were taken away and brain damage happened to me a long time ago 100 percent… I have of course moved on from that troubling time in my life and I’m blessed to be alive,” without elaborating on the time frame or nature of the reported brain injury.
Federline’s memoir features a variety of shocking claims about Spears, including allegations that she drank wine while she was pregnant with their children and did cocaine while she was breastfeeding. Spears’ team pushed back at the stories from the KFed memoir that leaked before publication, claiming that “once again he [Federline] and others are profiting off her and sadly it comes after child support has ended with Kevin. All she cares about are her kids, Sean Preston and Jayden James and their well-being during this sensationalism. She detailed her journey in her memoir.”
If Zohran Mamdani were to assemble a soundtrack for his race to become New York City’s next mayor, it would feature tracks by Taylor Swift, Lil Wayne, Drake and more.
While speaking to Pop Base at a recent voter event, the mayoral candidate was all smiles when asked which three songs he’d choose to represent his ongoing campaign. “OK,” he began in a video posted Thursday (Oct. 30), preparing himself to give the best answer possible.
The Queens, N.Y., representative went on to name “Hate It or Love It” by The Game featuring 50 Cent — “gotta put that one in there,” he emphasized — as well as “Right Above It” by Lil Wayne featuring Drake.
Lastly, Mamdani said, “Shout-out to Taylor Swift, ‘Only the Young.’”
The latter choice premiered in the pop superstar’s 2020 Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, which chronicled Swift’s decision to begin speaking out about politics following several years of silence on the matter. The song’s lyrics describe the power of young people to make positive political change with the hook, “Only the young can run.”
Mamdani’s music picks come with just a few days left to go in the NYC mayoral race, which will conclude on Election Day on Nov. 4. The democratic socialist as been the face of one of the largest grassroots campaigns in history, running on a platform of decreasing the cost of living for New Yorkers through lowered rent prices, free public transit and affordable groceries and childcare.
One of his biggest supporters has been Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who also attended the voter event with Pop Base. When asked for her holy trinity of pop albums, AOC — at first declaring, “This is sooo hard!” — named The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Britney Spears’ Blackout and Beyoncé’s Renaissance.
Watch Zohran Mamdani share his campaign soundtrack below.
Kid Rock is facing backlash for another of his appearances on Fox News. During his Oct. 24 appearance on Jesse Watters Primetime, the musician used the R-word when telling the host that he was going to be for Halloween, and now, the Special Olympics is speaking out about his use of the slur.
“The R-Word deeply demeans and harms people with intellectual disabilities,” begins the open letter posted to the Special Olympics website that was penned by Loretta Claiborne, the organization’s chief inspiration officer. “I’m writing to you personally with an urgent request: Please acknowledge the hurt caused and use this moment to stand with us in rejecting that word and the prejudice it represents … Words like ‘retarded’ and ‘retard’ have a long, painful history of being used to belittle and dehumanize. When anyone, especially someone in the public eye uses them, it reopens wounds that so many of us have worked so hard to heal.”
A Pennsylvania native, Claiborne is a speaker and multi-sport athlete who earned the 1996 Arthur Ashe ASPY Courage Award, which Denzel Washington personally presented to her. The seven-time gold medalist was also the first Special Olympics athlete elected to the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.
“You have the chance to turn this incident into a statement of strength, to acknowledge the harm, to stand with people with intellectual disabilities, and to help lead the conversation toward greater understanding and respect,” the letter continues. “I would be honored to speak with you and share more about the movement for inclusion and respect that has changed so many lives, including my own. Together, we can use this moment to build a world where every person is valued and respected.”
Although the 2010s saw a decline in the use and tolerance of the R-word, the slur has been creeping back into the mainstream lexicon this decade — but people are pushing back on its resurgence.
Billboard has reached out to Kid Rock for comment.
The musician’s R-word controversy isn’t the first time Kid Rock’s language has drawn ire. In a 2024 Rolling Stone profile, the country-rock singer repeatedlyfired off the N-word and brandished a gun. Three years prior, he spouted a homophobic slur while onstage at a Tennessee bar. “You f—king [slur] with your iPhones out!” he screamed. He defended his words on X at the time, writing in third-person, “If Kid Rock using the word f—-t offends you, good chance you are one. Either way, I know he has a lot of love for his gay friends and I will have a talk with him.”
Cardi B has called out the less fortunate who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, and who thought that the former mogul being in office would improve their economic state.
The Grammy-winning rapper hopped on Instagram Live over the weekend, where she bluntly stated, “Donald Trump was never for y’all poor motherf—kers.”
She continued to say that Trump’s alleged disdain for the poor applies to all ethnicities. “Donald Trump was never for the poor people. For the white poors, for the Black poors, for the Spanish poors, for the Asians, for the Indians. He don’t give a f—k about none of y’all motherf—s,” Cardi said. “To him, even millionaires are poor.”
Cardi’s rant was seemingly inspired by the USDA’s announcement that checks for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food stamps for 40 million Americans, will not go out on Nov. 1. The news came after Dept. of Agriculture memo surfaced Oct. 24, indicating that the Trump administration will not use about $5 billion in contingency funds to help the program as the government shutdown continues, according to the Associated Press.
“Now, Donald Trump was blaming the immigrants for America’s downfall,” she said. “Like, I do understand if a country wants to enforce more strict immigration laws. I understand that. However, he was using that as an excuse for the issues that we have in this country, in this economy.”
The 33-year-old went on: “Now, how many f—king immigrants has he deported? He has deported so many people. So, now the immigrants are deported, who are we blaming for the fact that we are practically going into a recession? We don’t even have food stamps.”
Cardi B originally wasn’t going to vote in the 2024 election, as she didn’t agree with Democrats’ “funding wars,” but she ended up throwing her support behind Kamala Harris. Cardi gave the former VP her endorsement with a public appearance at a Milwaukee rally ahead of the election.
“You really wanted better for ALL of us!” the rapper wrote in a post-election letter to Harris following the loss to Trump. “This may not mean much but I am so proud of you! No one has ever made me change my mind and you did! I never thought I would see the day that a woman of color would be running for the President of the United States, but you have shown me, shown my daughters and women across the country that anything is possible.”
