Culture
‘AGT’ Vocalist Emily Bland Has Hidden Talents: Watch
Emily Bland has some voice, but it’s not all that it seems. By auditioning on America’s Got Talent Tuesday night (Aug. 2) she came to the right place. The 29-year-old Arkansas native showed sneaky comedy talents early on, opening up with anecdotes from her other job, as a hotel worker. But it’s singing that is the dream that drives her. Or so she explains. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news A Garth Brooks fan, she’s confident she can go all the way with her pipes. “I sure hope so, I’m here. I got here.” And then, she sang, with a deep baritone which had everyone in the room confused. Bewildered even. When her husband strolled onto the stage to the strains of Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” no one was any the wiser. Howie Mandel wr...
‘AGT’ Contestant Stopped Mid-Song, Then Hits a Home Run With an Original: Watch
Fans of America’s Got Talent will know that, when Simon Cowell demands a singer hit a song twice, it’s only when they’re holding back something special. Camille K is a case in point. The 16-year-old New Jersey native stepped on the AGT stage with a guitar and smile that meant business. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news When asked what she has that stands out above the thousands of other hopefuls, the youngster remarked, “I want to spread love and joy through my music. And tell my story.” Cowell killed the number early. “That was ok. You have a nice voice, my only issue is you have to do something more stand-out.” An original perhaps. Camille obliged with “Still in Love,” a song about suffering with heartbreak, and still feeling love for t...
Bad Bunny’s ‘Bullet Train’ Debut Is Almost Here: Get Advance Tickets for Cheap With This Special Promo
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Bad Bunny is set to make his feature film debut in the action-packed comedy, Bullet Train, starring Brad Pitt, Joey King, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Zazie Beetz, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sandra Bullock. The David Leitch-directed film hits theaters on Friday (Aug. 5), but moviegoers can score advance tickets at a discount thanks to a promo deal courtesy of Fever and AMC Theaters. This summer movie deal gets you advance tickets to Bullet Train for $10.99 each. The passes will be redeemable at any participating AMC theater. Movie tickets purchased through ...
Here’s Who Was Crowned ‘Queen Of All Queens’ On Season 7 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’
After 12 episodes, zero eliminations, and a refreshingly minimized amount of drama, the seventh, all-winners season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars finally came to a close on Friday morning (July 29), and one queen emerged victorious, earning the title of “Queen of All Queens” and a $200,000 cash prize. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news As announced at the start of the season, the finale format was that of the Lip Sync LaLaPaRuza, a tournament-style performance challenge in which the final four queens (Jinkx Monsoon, Monét X Change, Shea Couleé and Trinity the Tuck) faced off until only two remained. What Ru didn’t tell us until last week’s episode was that there would, in fact, be two Lip Sync LaLaPaRuza’s, where the four non-f...
Hayley Kiyoko Releases ‘Panorama’ to Give Her Fans the ‘Powerful Gift’ of Hope: Stream It Now
It’s been four years since Hayley Kiyoko released Expectations, her debut studio album— after years of waiting, fans can finally listen to its follow-up Panorama, out today (July 29) via Empire and Atlantic Records. The album takes Kiyoko’s propensity for writing soul-searching lyrics to stunning new heights, as she pushes down any remaining emotional barriers surrounding her in favor of total transperancy. On tracks like “Sugar at the Bottom” and “Flicker Start,” she reinvigorates the saccharine pop sound that made her a star, while songs like “Underground” and “Panorama” venture into ballad-esque breakdowns of ego and self-image. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a statement released with the album, Kiyoko acknowledged that...
The Best Backpacks, Tablets & Other Back-to-School Supplies for Students on a Budget
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Class is almost back in session! As students prepare to head back to school in the coming weeks, Walmart, Target and other retailers have been slashing prices on big-ticket and low-cost items to combat sales slumps brought on by inflation. To help you get started school shopping, we put together a list of affordable items and back-to-school deals for students (and parents) on a budget. Below, find a roundup of backpacks, tablets, blue light glasses, laptops, headphones and other back-to-school supplies. Amazon Shrradoo Extra Large 52L Travel Laptop $39.99 $ ...
Visiting Auschwitz from Kraków: a sobering journey
Kia reflects on a visit to Auschwitz from Kraków and defends what some dismiss as problematic tourism The famous gates of Auschwitz are startling, not because they’re sinister or imposing but the very opposite. Usually depicted in black and white, these gates have featured in myriad Holocaust films and documentaries. Today, however, they’re not in menacing monochrome or veiled in evocative fog. Rather, they’re bathed in sunlight with a blazing blue sky behind. Inside, there is a symmetry of pretty trees. By the time I arrive at the neat brick buildings, I am thoroughly disoriented. This is not the picture I expected. Instead of squat grey concrete, this could pass for a retirement home – a fact I note uneasily. Atlas & Boots Trees flank the red brick buildings of Auschwitz The te...
Oxford High Student Gives Performance to ‘Remember’ on ‘AGT’: Watch
Michigan has a generations-long reputation for pumping out automobiles, winning sports teams, and top-notch artists. Ava Swiss is hopeful to be remembered as one of the state’s finest singers. The 18-year-old from Oxford, about 30 miles north of Detroit, gave it her best when she stopped by the America’s Got Talent. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news For her audition, the teen chose something for everyone to remember her by – a cover of Lauren Daigle’s “Remember.” And a horror story. The song has a deeper meaning for the youngster. Last November, Swiss and her brother were among the student body when a mass shooting occurred at Oxford High School. Four students lost their lives that day, seven others were injured. “It’s been hard,” she exp...
‘AGT’ Contestant Debbii Dawson Impresses With ‘Own Version’ of ‘Dancing Queen’
ABBA is everywhere right now. With a virtual residency in London, and a best-selling new album release in 2021, Voyage, the Swedish pop superstars made a mighty comeback, without ever leaving us. On Tuesday night (July 26), Debbii Dawson brought a touch of ABBA-mania to America’s Got Dancing, with a reimagined cover of the classic “Dancing Queen”. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Dawson can trace-back music deep into her Indian roots, and it was the piano that brother her mom and dad together. “The dream is for this not to be a dream,” she explained, “and for this to be my reality.” Then, the dream run. Dawson rearranged the song as a folk number, accompanied with arpeggios on the acoustic guitar. “Too bad your mom and dad weren’t here,”...
Swifties Can’t Believe ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestants Missed This Taylor Swift Clue
What is “stumped”? One of Taylor Swift‘s songs was recently a clue on game show Jeopardy!, but it turns out the hit wasn’t one any of the three contestants were familiar with, stunning fans of the pop superstar. On the Wednesday (July 20) episode of the long-running game show, one of the players selected the $400 clue from the category “Title That Completes the Rhyme.” Ken Jennings, who hosted the episode, continued by reading the lyrics without giving away the tune: “And I’m just like oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh/ You need to just stop/ Like can you just not step on my gown?” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news After five seconds of silence, the timer went off without a single one of the three contestants buzzing in. “I really wish it was...
‘Better Call Saul’s Kim Wexler and the Sexism of the Anti-Heroine
“I learned my lesson. I’m never going to write for less-than-perfect women ever again; less-than-likable [women].” That’s a quote from Breaking Bad creator and Better Call Saul co-creator Vince Gilligan way back in 2014 during that summer’s Television Critics Association press tour. He said it before the public had seen as much of a second of the then-much-anticipated prequel to his Emmy-winning drama about a high school chemistry teacher (Bryan Cranston’s Walter White) who creates the finest methamphetamine Albuquerque, New Mexico, has ever seen. Said in his trademark folksy “Aw shucks, y’all” Virginia twang, Gilligan’s comment was meant to be read as sarcasm. It was a rebuttal against a misogynistic subset of Breaking Bad fans who had decided that the true villain of that marvelous show ...
Here’s How to Get Jennifer Lopez’s Wedding Dress Look for Less
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Bennifer officially tied the knot over the weekend, as Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck headed to Las Vegas on Saturday (July 16) for a small chapel ceremony amongst four other couples. For one of her two gorgeous wedding looks, JLo wore a white dress “from an old movie,” which she showed off in a pre-ceremony video posted to Instagram by her hairstylist Chris Appleton. “I’ve had this dress for so many years and I’ve just been saving it, saving it, saving it,” she says in the video. “And now I’m wearing it on my wedding day.” Explore Explore See latest vi...
