Culture
Michael Imperioli Won’t Slow Down
Michael Imperioli is a busy guy. His latest project has taken him to Sicily, about 4,500 miles away from his New York home, where he’s preparing to shoot the second season of HBO’s The White Lotus. The island is “pretty beautiful,” Imperioli shares, and I’ll have to take his word for it, because this interview is not being conducted while overlooking a scenic Mediterranean beach. Over Zoom, Imperioli’s well-coiffed hair is reminiscent of his star-making run as Christopher Molisanti on The Sopranos years ago, just a bit greyer now, and is accentuated by a healthy, professorial beard. But he’s not up at 9:45 am Italian time, sipping a morning espresso, to talk about being on a hit HBO show, current or past. No, he’s got music on his mind and, well, this is a music and culture publication. Im...
Noah Thompson Impresses With Rihanna Country Cover on ‘American Idol’: Watch
Noah Thompson clearly understands the true meaning of American Idol’s “Showstopper” round. On Monday night (April 5), Thompson, a 19-year-old construction worker from Louisa, Kentucky, took his turn to stop everyone in their tracks, by hitting a country cover of Rihanna’s “Stay.” Showcasing his mature, smoky tones, Thompson didn’t have a perfect outing. But it impressed those matter: the judges and everyone watching on at home. “You have a magic quality going on in your voice,” judge Luke Bryan said afterwards. “I’d love to just have 10 minutes with you, just to really fine-tune to where you have the magic from the top to the end of the song.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Bryan delivered the good news in the most painful sort of way, but the...
Megan Thee Stallion, Ariana Grande’s r.e.m. beauty & More Nominated for 2022 Webby Awards
Megan Thee Stallion, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Questlove and Janelle Monaé are among the nominees for the 26th Webby Awards, which honors creativity on the internet. Other nominees include Cynthia Erivo, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Laverne Cox, Lilly Singh, Anthony Anderson, LeVar Burton and Lena Waithe. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Established in 1996, the Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence online, including websites and mobile sites; video; advertising, media and PR; apps & software, social; podcasts; games; and virtual & remote. The Webby Awards had another record-breaking year for submissions with more than 14,000 entries from all 50 states and 70 countries worl...
FKA Twigs Joins ‘The Crow’ Reboot
FKA Twigs, the British singer and dancer who is making inroads into acting, is co-starring in the reboot and re-imagining of The Crow, the supernatural revenge thriller being directed by Rupert Sanders. Bill Skarsgård, who played Pennywise the Clown in the It horror movies, is toplining the project, which has seen numerous iterations and close calls come and go amid years of development. Crow was an indie comic written and drawn by James O’Barr in the late 1980s that told the dark tale of a man and his fiancee who are assaulted and killed by a gang after the couple’s car breaks down. The man is resurrected by a crow and exacts vengeance on those who took his life and the life of his love. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Twigs is playing the gir...
The Crash of the Unicorns
And here we have it, gather around, gather around, for the new American Dream — no no, you’ve not misheard, it is not dead, it has just been repackaged, refreshed and is still equally out of reach for most. Lean in, and listen up: all you do is take a company with an ad agency delivered logo, and value it at whatever you would like — just ensure that you like it above $1 billion. Next, you can quickly scramble to get that initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange followed by a massive party with circus animals, prostitutes and Ketamine. And bingo, here we are. Welcome ladies and gentleman, we present the so-called Unicorn. But unicorns tap into another American pastime, the snake eating its own tail. That eternal cycle of building up to unattainability, and then the crass hand...
Netflix Backs Away from Will Smith Film ‘Fast and Loose’
The week before the Oscar ceremony, director David Leitch — in a stroke of unintentional good timing — withdrew as the director of a planned Netflix movie Fast and Loose, starring Will Smith. Instead, he moved onto Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling, for Universal, which is supposed to start production in August. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news A source says Netflix was competing with Universal to be the next project for Leitch, but Universal pulled ahead. According to sources, Netflix put out an urgent call for another director to take over a project featuring the star who was heavily favored to win best actor at the Oscars. But soon after Smith’s attack on Chris Rock on the Oscars stage, Netflix quietly...
Jerrod Carmichael Shares Personal Coming-Out Story on HBO Special ‘Rothaniel’
Comedian Jerrod Carmichael publicly shares that he is gay in his new HBO special Rothaniel, premiering Friday night (April 1). In Rothaniel, the comedian, who is set to host Saturday Night Live this weekend, details coming out while sharing stories about his family history, including one that recalled the moment he caught his father cheating on his mother and the feelings that came with holding on to that secret. “I don’t know if I would’ve said anything if I had the courage because I only saw this secret as something that could’ve torn our family apart,” he says, adding that he later made his father tell his mother the truth. Reflecting on the event made Carmichael share the internal conflicts he was left to confront. “Once that was done, I was...
The Greatest WrestleMania Entrances
Skull-cracking elbow drops and ground-trembling suplex slams are only part of what makes WrestleMania great. The WWE’s biggest annual event — considered the pinnacle of “sports entertainment” by its creators (aka “Showcase of the Immortals,” “Grandest stage of ‘em all”) — happens at the intersection of athleticism and theatrics. Equally as thrilling as the high-flying and brutish displays of wrestling tactics are the elaborate ways in which wrestlers make their way from the locker room to the squared circle. As seen in Shawn Michaels’ famous aerial entrance to Randy Savage riding on a Roman sedan, the action starts the second the superstars start marching toward the ring. To rewind some of our favorite WrestleMania entrances, we enlisted the color commentary of independent wrestling broadc...
A ‘Bridgerton’ Writer Used This Taylor Swift ‘Folklore’ Deep Cut as Inspiration
Who knew Taylor Swift was part of the folklore of Bridgerton? On Tuesday, a writer for the hit Netflix series revealed on Twitter that the soundtrack for a recent episode she penned was a Folklore deep cut. “Fun fact! My unofficial anthem while writing this episode of Bridgerton was ‘Illicit Affairs’ by @taylorswift13,” Abby McDonald tweeted. She also included a lyric from the song’s forlorn bridge that she found particularly inspiring: “‘You showed me colors/ You know I can’t see with anyone else…’” Explore See latest videos, charts and news While we would be remiss (and surely risk getting blacklisted by Lady Whistledown) for spoiling the episode in question — which, for the record, happens to be episode 5, titled “An Unthinkable Fate” — season 2 revolves around the love story of t...
Ghostwire: Tokyo Is an Immersive Visit to Japan of the Paranormal Variety
In the crowded landscape of video games known as Spring 2022, Ghostwire: Tokyo serves as the only paranormal vacation to Japan. Of course, since it’s made by the Japanese horror masterminds at Tango Gameworks, digital travelers better be ready for some visits from spirits, demons, and various other creepy crawlies (often based on Japanese folklore) on their trip. After all, the version of Tokyo presented in Ghostwire: Tokyo is nearly devoid of regular human life — instead filled with “Visitors” who aren’t always the friendliest of guests. With a unique take on modern Tokyo and a variety of ghastly enemies to take down, the first-person action-adventure title veers pretty far from Tango’s previous Bethesda-published entries in The Evil Within series — and simultaneously separates itself fro...
Pat McGrath Labs Debuts Second ‘Bridgerton’ Collaboration: How to Shop the Collection
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. A collection fit for a queen! Pat McGrath Labs reteamed with Shondaland and Netflix for the second installment of the brand’s exclusive beauty collaboration inspired by the “romance and passion” of Bridgerton. Pat McGrath x Bridgerton II was released ahead of Bridgerton season 2, which arrived on Netflix last Friday (March 25). Inspired by the regency-era looks showcased on the series, the limited collection has lipsticks, eyeshadow, blush, body shimmer and more ranging from $23-$68. Bridgerton fans have the option of purchasing the products separately or in...
Teen Contestant Emyrson Flora Impresses With Adele Cover on ‘American Idol’: Watch
Cleveland teen Emyrson Flora has made the leap from singing in her bedroom to performing on the national stage in the proverbial blink of an eye, and made it seem effortless. Flora has made it to Hollywood Week on American Idol, and for this stage in the journey she played a big hand, by performing an Adele cover. The young Idol hopeful showcased her self-taught piano skills as she performed a solo rendition of “Love In The Dark,” which appeared on Adele’s global hit album 25, from 2015. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Gutsy move. In her pre-recorded intro, the 16-year-old high school recounted how the judges took a chance on her, and how she wanted to repay that faith. She did just that with a tone-perfect effort that had judge Katy Perry on h...
