Entertainment News
Congress Allocates $15 Billion to Independent Theaters and Concert Venues As Part of New Relief Package
The United States Congress has agreed to a new bipartisan coronavirus relief package that allocates $15 billion in funding to independent movie theaters and concerts venues. According to USA Today’s Nicholas Wu, the relief package incorporates the Save Our Stages Act. First introduced by Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota over the summer, the act calls for six months of financial support to “keep venues afloat, pay employees, and preserve a critical economic sector for communities across America.” Under the original proposal, venues would be provided grants accounting for either 45% of a business’ operation costs from the previous year or $12 million in total — whichever is the lesser amount. Venues would then be allowed to use that money to pa...
U2’s Bono and The Edge Perform “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” On Irish TV: Watch
During a normal Christmas season, Glen Hansard and a gaggle of other Irish musicians would busk in the street to raise money for Ireland’s homeless population. This year, in order to abide by social distancing guidelines, the fundraiser was turned into an indoor livestream affair, and U2‘s Bono and The Edge showed up to keep the Christmas spirit intact. The duo performed a beautiful acoustic rendition of the Darlene Love staple “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on Ireland’s Late Late Show. The U2 bandmates were joined on stage by Hansard, Philip Powell, violinist Vivienne Long and the Heyday Choir (via the IIrish Times). U2 released a recorded version of the cover way back in 1987, but seeing it performed in front of shimmering lights and ornate Christmas trees gives it a...
Rammstein’s Till Lindemann Sells “Tilldo” Vibrators and “Golden Shower” Wine
Rammstein singer Till Lindemann has opened his own online merch shop, dubbed Doctor Dick, and let’s just say it has a wide variety of handy products. Among the items are a custom “Tilldo” vibrator and a “Golden Shower” wine. Anyone who has seen Rammstein in concert knows that erotica plays a big part in their stage show. What other bands feature a giant dildo that explodes white foam onto the audience? Or have actually had two members (including Till) arrested for simulating sex with each other onstage? Earlier this year, Lindemann’s eponymous side project even unveiled a full-on pornographic music video for the song “Platz Ein”. So, none of the things you see for sale at the singer’s new merch store should come as any shock, but you still may want to think twice about shopping at Doctor D...
Taylor Swift Sets Record for Shortest Gap Between No. 1 Albums
Taylor Swift has another record to her name. Her latest surprise release, evermore, debuted this week at No. 1 — just four months and 18 days after its sister album, folklore, opened atop the same list on August 8th. As Billboard notes, that’s the shortest gap between new No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart by a woman since they began tracking data in March 1956. Additionally, with folklore still sitting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, Swift becomes the first female artist to have two albums concurrently in the top three since 1963. evermore marks Swift’s eighth No. 1 album of her career overall. Only two other female artists have more No. 1 albums to their name: Barbara Streisand (11) and Madonna (nine). The all-time record holder for the most No. 1 album is The Beatles (19), while JAY...
Dua Lipa Performs Future Nostalgia Songs on Saturday Night Live: Watch
Dua Lipa served as the musical guest for Saturday Night Live’s Christmas episode. The UK pop singer supported her brilliant sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, with choreographed performances of “Levitating” and “Don’t Start Now”. Additionally, she appeared in a sketch alongside host Kristen Wiig about U.S.O. performers during World War 2. Watch it all below. Future Nostalgia was our fifth favorite album and “Don’t Start Now” was our ninth favorite song of 2020. Earlier this month, Dua Lipa further supported the album’s release with her first-ever NPR Tiny Desk concert. She also recently appeared on The Tonight Show and joined Jimmy Fallon for a duet of “Christmas Is All Around Me”. [embedded content] [embedded content] [embedded content] Related You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are ...
SNL Releases Sequel to Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles: Watch
Earlier this year, Saturday Night Live aired an animated short imagining the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in their middle ages. Now, just in time for Christmas, SNL has gifted us a sequel. Watch it below. The second installment once again finds Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael faced with the stark reality of being middle-aged, out-of-shape turtles whose day jobs are now in cubicles working customer support. They wear New Balances, ride the Peloton, and one of them is diabetic — but doesn’t know it. Michelangelo suffers from impotency, Donatello is disappointed to learn his daughter is choosing not to come home for Christmas, and Raphael is still coming to to terms with Donald Trump’s election loss. Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles was conceived and written by Kyle M...
SNL’s Colin Jost Was Forced to Read a Joke About His Own Wife Scarlett Johansson’s Poor Casting Decisions
As has become tradition for Saturday Night Live’s Christmas show, Weekend Update co-anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che carve out a segment to read jokes they’ve written for each other without seeing them beforehand. It typically manifests in some hilariously cringe moments, like when Jost is forced to read jokes that make him look like a racist asshole. For tonight’s episode, however, Che actually got Jost to roast his own wife. In recent years, Scarlett Johansson has twice faced criticism for taking on roles she had no business playing. In 2017, she starred in an adaptation of the Japanese manga Ghost in the Shell. The following year, she was cast to play a transgender man in a film called Rub and Tug, but ultimately dropped out of the project amidst backlash...
Barack Obama Shares His 30 Favorite Songs of 2020
After revealing the films and TV shows he binged throughout 2020, former president Barack Obama has now revealed what he’s been listening to. As has become tradition, Obama, with the help of his youngest daughter Sasha, has put together a list of his favorite songs from the last 12 months. Included among Obama’s 30-song playlist are Phoebe Bridgers’ “Kyoto” and Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s “Savage” remix — both of which made our own list. Also present are Waxahatchee’s “Can’t Do Much”, Dua Lipa’s ‘Levitating” featuring DaBaby, Bruce Springsteen’s “Ghosts”, Bob Dylan’s ‘Goodbye Jimmy Reed”, Jeff Tweedy’s “Love is the King”, and J. Cole’s “The Climb Back”. Other selections include Travis Scott’s “Franchise” featuring M.I.A. and Young Thug, Lido Pimienta’s “Nada”, Bad Bunny’s “La Difícil...
Lil Wayne Drops Off No Ceilings 3 Deluxe Edition: Stream
Hip-hop fans have received an early Christmas present courtesy of good ol’ St. Nick Lil Wayne. Less than a month after dropping his No Ceilings 3 mixtape, the rapper has unboxed a deluxe edition “B Side” version featuring 14 new songs. Stream it below via YouTube or DatPiff. As with its predecessor, this effort is “hosted” by DJ Khaled and comes with multiple star-studded collaborations. Big Sean appears on the opening track “Tyler Herro”, named after the Miami Heat’s impressive young guard. Meanwhile, Rich the Kid pops in on “Throat Baby”, and 2 Chainz lends a few verses to “Hit Different”. Euro and Lil Twist also appear on the effort. If each track sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because they all incorporate, sample, or remix other songs in some way. “Tyler Herro”, for insta...
Jim Carrey Says He’s Done Playing Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live
Jim Carrey is done playing President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live. The veteran comedian announced his departure in a tweet posted on Saturday ahead of the show’s Christmas episode. “Though my term was only meant to be 6 weeks,I was thrilled to be elected as your SNL President…comedy’s highest call of duty,” Carey wrote. “I would love to go forward knowing that Biden was the victor because I nailed that shit. But I am just one in a long line of proud, fighting SNL Bidens!” Carrey’s tenure as Biden was met with mixed reaction from fans and critics alike. In a recent piece for Consequence of Sound questioning whether SNL should consider replacing Carrey, contributor Jesse Hassenger argued that SNL isn’t “a format that works particularly well for Carrey, a stranger and less pred...
Pete Davidson Says He’s Getting All His Tattoos Removed
Covering up one tattoo at a time apparently isn’t working for Pete Davidson anymore. The Saturday Night Live comedian says he’s currently in the process of removing every one of his 100 tattoos. Davidson is one of the most heavily tattooed celebrities around. He doesn’t go off the rails with one giant phoenix on his back like some actors, but instead tends to get one-off tributes to influential figures, like Hillary Clinton, RBG, and Harry Potter. In a 2019 interview with Inked, he said getting tatted is “just a release … When [I’m] so manic and upset, sometimes that’s the only thing that will work for me.” However, now that his Hollywood career seems to be heating up on the back of films like The King of Staten Island and the upcoming The Suicide Squad, all that ink is slowing him do...
Andrea Bocelli Delivers Stunning Christmas Performance from Inside Italy’s Frasassi Caves: Watch
Andrea Bocelli is truly the gift that keeps on giving. The famed singer has already delivered two inspiring performances in 2020 — first an Easter Sunday concert in Milan titled “Music For Hope”, followed by “Believe in Christmas”, a holiday show done in collaboration with his own young daughter Virginia. But it turns out Bocelli has been saving the best for last. To close out the year, the Grammy-nominated opera legend performed a magical Christmas set from inside Italy’s famed Frasassi Caves. Surrounded by stunning and surreal limestone formations, Bocelli sung timeless classics like “White Christmas” and “Silent Night”. He also did “Caro Gesù Bambino”, “Pianissimo”, and “Fratello Sole Sorella Luna (Dolce è sentire)”. What’s more, Bocelli also gave a special poetry reading. His piece cau...
