Music News
Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat Roasts Kanye West at Kennedy Center Honors: ‘He’s Too Antisemitic Even For Us’
There is nothing funny about Kanye West‘s repeated amplification of antisemitic tropes and hate speech over the past month. In a series of interviews and media appearances, the artist who now goes by Ye has made a series of comments denigrating the Jewish people, culminating last week with an appearance on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ show in which Ye stated “I like Hitler.” But if there is one person who has the unique ability to transform hate into hilarity, it is Sacha Baron Cohen. The acclaimed comedian — who is Jewish — appeared at this weekend’s Kennedy Center Honors in the guise of his belovedly profane, offensive-to-everyone dopey journalist character Borat Sagdiyev to pay tribute to honorees U2. Kazakhstan’s least reliable source of news took the stage and expressed genuine con...
Judd Family Files Notice to Dismiss Lawsuit Over Naomi Judd Death Records
The family of country singer Naomi Judd on Monday filed a notice to voluntarily dismiss a lawsuit that sought to block journalists from accessing the police investigation records surrounding her death. Judd died on April 30 at her home in Tennessee at the age of 76. Her daughter Ashley has previously said that her mother killed herself, and the family said she was lost to “the disease of mental illness.” Judd’s family filed a petition in Williamson County Chancery Court in August seeking to seal the report of the death investigation. The petition said the records contained video and audio interviews with relatives in the immediate aftermath of Judd’s death. Releasing such details would inflict “significant trauma and irreparable harm” on the family, ...
How to Watch Liam Gallagher’s ‘Knebworth 22’ Concert Documentary for Free
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. Liam Gallagher’s Knebworth 22 documentary will premiere on Paramount+ on Tuesday (Dec. 6). The film chronicles Gallagher’s return to England’s Knebworth Park more than two decades after Oasis played the venue in 1996. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In June, the former Oasis frontman performed back-to-back, sold-out shows in front of 170,000 fans at Knebworth Park. The concert film was initially released in theaters on Nov. 17 before making its way to Paramount+. “I’m still in shock that I got to pla...
Jim Stewart, Founder of Stax Records, Dies at 92
Jim Stewart, the founder of Stax Records, the iconic Memphis, TN label that launched the careers of Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, the Bar-Kays and many others, and shaped the sound of soul music, died Monday (Dec. 5) at the age of 92. Stax Records (formerly Satellite) was founded in 1957 by sibling Stewart and Estelle Axton, and would go on to trigger the “Soul Explosion,” a movement that rumbles on to this day. Born July 29, 1930, in Middletown, TN, Stewart relocated to Memphis as a young man. He served for two years in the armed forces, then tried his hand at music. Playing in a band wasn’t his strong suit, but Stewart would forge a home and career with music. An allrounder, he was a producer and engineer in the studio, a record label executive, a promotions man on the go, and, importantly...
Man Who Shot Lady Gaga’s Dog Walker Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The man who shot Lady Gaga’s dog walker and stole her French bulldogs last year took a plea deal and was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Monday (Dec. 5), officials said. The Lady Gaga connection was a coincidence, authorities have said. The motive was the value of the French bulldogs, a breed that can run into the thousands of dollars, and detectives do not believe the thieves knew the dogs belonged to the musician. James Howard Jackson, one of three men and two accomplices who participated in the violent robbery, pleaded no contest to one count of attempted murder, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Jackson and others drove around Hollywood, the city of West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley on Feb. 24, 2021 “looking for French bulldo...
Hilary Duff Shares How She Overcame ‘Horrifying’ Battle With Eating Disorder: ‘I’m Appreciating My Health’
Hilary Duff is the January cover star of Women’s Health Australia, and in the accompanying cover story, she and her personal trainer Dominic Leeder discuss how the superstar shifted her focus to being strong above all else. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Because of my career path, I can’t help but be like, ‘I am on camera and actresses are skinny,’” the How I Met Your Father actress shared, adding that she battled a “horrifying” year-long eating disorder when she was 17. However, her perspective is different now. “[I’m] appreciating my health, doing activities that make me feel strong instead of just bettering the outside of my body,” the 35-year-old admitted. “Spending time with people that make me feel good and share similar vi...
Red Hot Chili Peppers Announce 2023 World Tour Featuring Iggy Pop, The Roots, The Strokes & More
The Red Hot Chili Peppers announced the dates for their 2023 world tour on Monday morning (Dec. 5), a massive outing that will have the veteran pop rock funkers playing a mix of stadium and festival dates. The 23-date tour is support of the two studio albums the Chili Peppers released this year, Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen, is slated to kick off on March 29 with a show at BC Place in Vancouver and feature stops in Las Vegas, Minneapolis, San Diego and Phoenix, as well as a slot at the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama on May 19. The tour will feature support for a wide variety of rock, pop and hip-hop acts on a rotating basis, including The Strokes, Iggy Pop, The Roots, The Mars Volta, St. Vincent, City and Colour, Thundercat and King Princess. The dates wil...
U2, Gladys Knight, Amy Grant and More Feted at Kennedy Center Honors
U2 was in the house, and so were George Clooney, Gladys Knight, Amy Grant and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and conductor Tania Leon. To say expectations were high for Sunday night’s (Dec. 6) 45th iteration of the Kennedy Center Honors would be an understatement. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news And they were largely, if unevenly, met at the star-studded event attended by President Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was accompanied by her husband Paul Pelosi, donning a hat and glove on one hand, who made his first public appearance since being beaten in October in their San Francisco home. Knight had performed for 2020 honoree Garth Brooks, who hosted this...
The Weeknd Teases ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Project
The Weeknd has something in the works with Avatar: The Way of Water, the upcoming long-awaited sequel to 2009’s Avatar. “12.16.22,” The Weeknd wrote on Sunday (Dec. 4) on Twitter, along with a 12-second music clip featuring the blue Avatar logo. Dec. 16 is the day the James Cameron-directed film is set to be released by Disney. “#AvatarTheWayOfWater x @theweeknd,” the official Avatar account tweeted soon after. Film producer Jon Landau also shared a snapshot with The Weeknd and wrote, “As the Na’vi say, ‘Zola’u nìprrte’ soaiane Avatar’… Welcome to the Avatar family.” The original Avatar became the highest-grossing movie of all time ($2.92 billion worldwide) and received nine Oscar nominations, winning three of those awards: best art direction, best cinematography, and best visual...
Dolly Parton Joins TikTok: ‘I Have Arrived!’
Dolly Parton is officially on TikTok. Her first TikTok post, posted Sunday afternoon (Dec. 4), is a montage of clips of the country icon, ending with a “Hey, TikTok! It’s Dolly!” message. “I have arrived!” Parton captioned the video. Another new clip is a compilation of Parton greeting her fans. Others include a “Better late than never!” post, an “I’ve officially joined TikTok” video, a funny look at the many sides of Dolly across different social media platforms and a tribute to fans on TikTok who have featured the singer in their content, set to “9 to 5” — which Parton recently sang as a duet with Kelly Clarkson. Coming up for Parton is NBC’s annual New Year’s Eve special: She’s ringing in 2023 with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus on the program that’s set to air Dec. 31 live from Miami. See...
SZA Reveals ‘S.O.S’ Album Release Date, Performs ‘Shirt’ and ‘Blind’ on ‘SNL: Watch
SZA brought a couple surprises to her appearance Saturday Night Live on Dec. 3. In addition to revealing the release date of her sophomore album, S.O.S, the TDE singer-songwriter also debuted a new song from the upcoming set. For her first song during the Keke Palmer-hosted episode, SZA performed her recent single “Shirt,” which debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this month. Toward the end of the moody song, where she performed against a starry background while flanked by two dancers, SZA cleverly snuck in some imagery announcing the Dec. 9 release date of her long-awaited second album, S.O.S. Days earlier, SZA unveiled the project’s surreal cover art, which features the artist donning a sports jersey while sitting on the edge of a diving board planted over a large body of ...
Keke Palmer Announces Pregnancy in ‘Saturday Night Live’ Opening Monologue: Watch
Keke Palmer hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time on Dec. 3, where she wasted no time in making her hosting gig one to remember. The actress addressed online rumors that she was pregnant and announced that she is, indeed, expecting. A rep for Palmer confirmed the pregnancy to The Hollywood Reporter. “People have been in my comments, saying, ‘Keke’s having a baby,’ ‘Keke’s pregnant,’ and I want to set the record straight,” Palmer said in her opening monologue. “I am!” She went on to joke that she hates when people spread rumors about anyone, but it’s even worse when they’re right. “I was trying so hard to keep it on the down-low ’cause I got a lot of stuff going on,” she said. “You know, people kept coming up to me, ‘Congratulations,’ and I’m like, ‘Shh, can y’all stop? I got a liqu...
