Music News
Lizzo Time-Travels to a 2008 Studio With Black Eyed Peas for ‘SNL’ Skit
Remember when the Black Eyed Peas had the music industry in a veritable chokehold? Saturday Night Live certainly does. On Saturday’s (April 16) episode – for which Lizzo was both host and musical guest – one skit imagined an Interscope recording studio circa 2008 as the pop-rap quartet recorded two of their biggest hits: “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling.” Chris Redd (apl.de.ap), Bowen Yang (Taboo), Kenan Thompson (will.i.am) and Cecily Strong (Fergie) perfectly embody the Peas, with Aidy Bryant and Lizzo playing their producers. As will sings the “boom boom boom”s of “Boom Boom Pow,” Bryant explains that those were just meant to be “temp lyrics describing the beat of the track.” Lizzo chimes in: “Yeah, you were supposed to replace them with your own lyrics — you know, like words.” Expl...
Jon Batiste to Make Feature Acting Debut in ‘The Color Purple’
After winning the top prize at this year’s Grammys, Jon Batiste is set to make his feature acting debut in The Color Purple. Warner Bros. is behind the feature adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, itself an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel by Alice Walker, and on which the Oscar-nominated Steven Spielberg-directed 1985 movie was based. The story centers on a woman named Celie Harris and tracks her lifelong struggles as an African American woman living in the South during the early 1900s. Batiste is set to portray Grady, Shug Avery’s (played by Taraji P. Henson) husband, a sweet-talking piano man. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Batiste would join a previously reported cast of Henson, Fantasia Barrino, Dani...
Broadway Theaters Extend Mask Mandate Through May 31
Broadway theatergoers will have to keep their masks up through at least May 31, the Broadway League said Friday (April 15). The announcement comes as the United States deals with a fresh COVID-19 surge, with cases rising nationally and in most states after a two-month decline. “Our intention is that by maintaining strict audience masking through at least the month of May, we will continue that track record of safety for all. And of course, we urge everyone to get vaccinated,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, in a statement. One policy change is that Broadway theaters will soon leave vaccination checks up to theater owners. The Shubert Organization, which owns 17 theaters, said it will not require proof of vaccination from patrons starting May 1. The Broadway Lea...
Britney Spears Shares Throwback Photo From Pregnancy With First Child: ‘Still Have This Gown’
Britney Spears, who just revealed she’s expecting a baby with Sam Asghari, is looking back at her pregnancy with her first child, Sean Preston. After sharing in an Instagram post earlier this week announcing she found out she’s pregnant when she noticed some weight gain following her trip to Maui, Spears returned to social media on Saturday (April 16) with an image of her younger self. The photo, which Spears says is from her pregnancy with her eldest child, shows the pop star cradling her belly. “My first child Preston !!!” Spears captioned the picture, which can be seen here. “Oh time … what a beautiful mystery !!! I still have this gown in my closet 16 years later !!! Geez I’m getting old !!!” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “N...
Art Rupe, Pioneering Record Executive Who Helped Launch Little Richard’s Career, Dies at 104
Music executive Art Rupe, whose Specialty Records was a premier label during the formative years of rock ‘n’ roll and helped launch the careers of Little Richard, Sam Cooke and many others, has died. He was 104. Rupe, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, died Friday (April 15) at his home in Santa Barbara, California, according to the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation. The foundation did not release his cause of death. The Greensburg, Pennsylvania, native was a contemporary of Jerry Wexler, Leonard Chess and other white businessmen-producers who helped bring Black music to a general audience. He founded Specialty in Los Angeles in 1946 and gave early breaks to such artists as Cooke and his gospel group the Soul Stirrers, Little Richard, Lloyd Price, John Lee Hooker and C...
Jay Leno Shares ‘Most Disturbing’ Part of Will Smith Oscars Slap Incident For Him: ‘It Was the Yelling of Obscenities’
Jay Leno has weighed in on the incident at last month’s Academy Awards, where Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage after the comedian made a G.I. Jane joke about the appearance of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who is known to have alopecia. The comedian and former Tonight Show host, 71, called Smith a “good guy,” while explaining the most troubling part of the whole ordeal for him. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “To me, the thing that’s most disturbing wasn’t the slap, because he was kind of smirking after he slapped [Rock],” Leno told the Palm Beach Daily News on Friday (April 15), ahead of his standup show this weekend at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. “It was the yelling of the obscenities. Then you go, ‘Whoa. What’s going on h...
Lorde Postpones Two Shows Due to ‘Horrendous Laryngitis’
Lorde canceled two concerts on her Solar Power Tour this weekend due to laryngitis. The shows, originally scheduled to take place at Uncasville, Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday and Washington, D.C.’s The Anthem on Saturday, have been rescheduled for August. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a statement from Lorde published on Mohegan Sun’s website, the singer said, “Connecticut — these past couple days I’ve been pushing through some horrendous laryngitis, and I regret to inform you that my voice hasn’t sufficiently recovered to be able to play the show for you tomorrow(4/15). I’m so, so sorry. I don’t take postponing a show lightly. I’ve tried everything, and unfortunately it’s physically impossible for me to sing much of the...
Japan’s UNISON SQUARE GARDEN Drops ‘TIGER & BUNNY 2’ Theme ‘kaleido proud fiesta’
J-pop band UNISON SQUARE GARDEN dropped its new single “kaleido proud fiesta,” currently being featured as the opener of the Netflix anime series TIGER & BUNNY 2. The three-man band’s songs have been linked to the popular series in the past, including the first season of the original TV series and the two feature film versions. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The group also shared an animated music video collaborating with TIGER & BUNNY 2. This video and the one created by “zono.sann,” a visual artist with 2.5 million followers on TikTok, will be included in the CD single’s limited first edition, along with the making-of video. The CD will also come with a clip of the live acoustic version of “Ohitoyoshi Chameleon” from the band...
Teyana Taylor & Iman Shumpert Address ‘Extremely Hurtful’ Marriage Rumors
Teyana Taylor and her husband Iman Shumpert grace the cover of Ebony’s April issue alongside their two daughters, Iman Tayla (affectionately called Junie) and Rue, and the happy couple addressed rumors that surfaced earlier this year regarding their marriage. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In February, a TikTok user alleged that an unnamed singer — who fans believed was Taylor — suffered a drug overdose after learning that her husband had cheated on her. Taylor initially slammed the rumors in since-deleted social media posts. The Shumperts both addressed the allegations as part of the cover story, which also discusses the importance of Black love, navigating the industry, raising their children, and Junie’s international fashion success. “Thes...
Hailey Bieber Begs Trolls to Leave Her Alone: ‘Be Miserable Somewhere Else’
Hailey Bieber has had enough. On Tuesday, the model shared a message with her online haters and didn’t hold anything back. “This is for you guys in my comments every single time I post,” she captioned the frank TikTok video, which finds her speaking directly to the camera. “Leave me alone at this point,” she says in the clip. “I’m minding my business, I don’t do anything, I don’t say anything. Leave me alone. Please. Enough time has gone by where it’s valid to leave me alone. I beg of you, truly. That’s my only request. Leave me alone. Be miserable somewhere else. Please.” The online harassment experienced by Bieber has been a near-constant in her life ever since she started dating now-husband Justin Bieber. In fact, back in December 2020, the pop star even publicly called out a fan of his...
Flume Takes us Out of This World In ‘Sirens’ Music Video: Watch
It’s full-speed ahead for Flume. The Australian electronic music master is about to hit the road, and he’s gearing up for Palaces, his third studio album. But first, he unveils the music video for “Sirens,” the second release from it. Directed by Daniel Askill (Sia, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney), the “Sirens” video reaches deep into dreamland. Askill keeps the camera trained on vocalist-turned-siren Caroline Polachek, who drops in from the heavens to check on Flume, who’s out of sorts on a fantasy island. Once again, the producer is kitted-out in his motorbike leathers and helmet, hanging in a space that could be Gollum’s cave if the Extreme Makeover team got involved. “This amazing track by Flume and Caroline inspired us to create a film that hovers at the intersection of nature and te...
Gwen Stefani Is a Spring Break Cowgirl in New Selfie: See the Pic
Gwen Stefani‘s latest transformation is nothing short of B-A-N-A-N-A-S. On Monday, the pop singer posted a photo of herself decked out in an ivory cowboy hat, bright-red bandana and flannel shirt as she gazes off into the distance. Never fear, though: She kept her signature California style in tact with her diamond jewelry, wearing a diamond cross and choker spelling out “GXVE,” the name of her cosmetics line GXVE Beauty. Stefani looks wistful in the snap, but captioned it simply using a smiling cowboy and a sparkle emoji, adding “#Oklahoma #Springbreak” before signing off with a “gx.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news While The Voice coach didn’t specify where, exactly, in Oklahoma she’d brought her three boys for spring break, her husba...
