GTA 6 reveals its first six radio stations: Bad Bunny, Lana Del Rey and Slayer on air, plus podcasts and radio on foot

Six stations, 18 songs and two series firsts: on-demand podcasts and radio outside the car. Plus two new album tracks and three unseen screenshots.

On 8 October Rockstar opened a page dedicated to the music of Grand Theft Auto VI. It plays previews of six stations, with their hosts and three songs each, alongside the tracks already released from the official album. The company calls it "the biggest and widest-ranging selection of in-game radio and podcasts yet", spanning stations "from Classic Rock to Talk Radio". In other words, these six are not the full list.

The six stations and who hosts them

Rockstar introduces the hosts by their character names. The artists voicing them, in brackets, are as reported by RockstarINTEL and the rest of the specialist press.

Two details from the descriptions. Flash FM is back: it was already the pop station in 2002's GTA: Vice City, and Rockstar now calls it "the Vice City institution". And Back Country Radio has a third character, Mud Dog Mike, a "roving reporter, swamp meteorologist, and Delta's not-so-secret lover" who checks in from his airboat in Grassrivers. He is voiced by Jeremy Dufrene, Lana Del Rey's husband.

The 18 songs heard so far

Each preview plays three licensed tracks. Push Square compiled the list from the official page:

• Cocoteo FM: Bad Bunny, "EoO" · Axel Rulay ft. Farruko & El Alfa, "Si Es Trucho Es Trucho (Remix)" · Romeo Santos & El Chaval de la Bachata, "Canalla".
• Back Country Radio: David Allan Coe, "Need a Little Time Off for Bad Behavior" · Loretta Lynn, "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)" · Hank Williams Jr. & Waylon Jennings, "The Conversation".
• AfroBank FM: Asake, "Joha" · Pat Thomas ft. Ebo Taylor, "Gye Wani" · DJ Lag & Robot Boii ft. Kamo Mphela, "Shay'sana".
• The Chamber 106.6: Black Sabbath, "I" · Pantera, "I'm Broken" · Slayer, "Raining Blood".
• Flash FM: Charli xcx, "Good Ones" · MGMT, "Electric Feel" · Zara Larsson & PinkPantheress, "Midnight Sun (Girls Trip)".
• Dirty South Classics: David Banner ft. Lil' Flip, "Like a Pimp" · JT Money ft. Solé, "Who Dat" · DJ Khaled ft. Trick Daddy, Rick Ross & Pitbull, "Born-N-Raised".

We keep them all, alongside the trailer and album tracks, in our GTA 6 song list (in Spanish).

Podcasts and radio on foot, two firsts

In every previous GTA the radio stopped when you stepped out of the car. Not in GTA VI: according to Rockstar there will be "a series of on-demand podcasts" beyond regular radio, and both can be heard "in vehicles and on foot through newly introduced headphones and earbuds connected to their smartphones". It is the first time the series has podcasts and the first time you can take the music with you.

It fits with what Rockstar North's Rob Nelson said in the full interview IGN published on 7 October: during the demo he went to rob "this place where you buy headphones", and said the game has "more radio and in-game TV ads than ever before". We have gathered the rest of that interview's details in a separate article.

"Putting our culture in the spotlight"

RaiNao, who shares Cocoteo FM with Bad Bunny, put it this way in a statement quoted by RockstarINTEL: "It feels incredibly special to lend my voice to GTA VI and do it in the best way possible: having fun, embodying a character who's like me, and putting our culture, our music, and our people in the spotlight."

The album: eight of 34 so far

Hours later two more singles arrived from Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album: Cardi B's "Don't Chart" and Fuerza Regida's "Suzuki". They join the six already out, leaving 26 still to be revealed. The record is released on 19 November, the same day as the game. Everything on the album and its vinyl editions.

As a bonus, three new screenshots

The page uses three previously unseen in-game images as backgrounds. The first is the one at the top of this article: a car meet with neon underglow outside the Conch King restaurant, with dozens of people gathered.

The Ocean View Hotel is not just any name: in GTA: Vice City it was Tommy Vercetti's first safehouse. The third image shows the daytime approach to the city, with the road packed with traffic.

Frequently asked questions

How many radio stations does GTA 6 have?

Rockstar has revealed six and has not given a total. It mentions stations "from Classic Rock to Talk Radio", two genres that are not among these six, so more are still to be announced.

Can you listen to the radio outside the car in GTA 6?

Yes. According to Rockstar, radio and podcasts can be heard in vehicles and on foot, through headphones connected to your character's phone. It is a first for the series.

Who hosts GTA 6's radio stations?

Bad Bunny and RaiNao on Cocoteo FM; Morgan Wallen and Lana Del Rey on Back Country Radio; Burna Boy and Palms Trax on AfroBank FM; Slayer's Kerry King and Tom Araya on The Chamber 106.6; Robyn and Alex Consani on Flash FM; and Trick Daddy and Trina on Dirty South Classics.