With the high school graduating class of 2020 facing stay-at-home orders that make in-person graduations a near impossibility, LeBron James decided to give seniors the send-off they deserve with help from some very famous friends. On Saturday (May 16), James hosted “Graduate Together,” a first-of-its-kind live streamed commencement ceremony, where stars from around the world stopped in to offer their congratulations to the class of 2020. From some stunning musical performances to a rousing commencement speech from Barack Obama, here are five key highlights from “Graduate Together.” [embedded content] Dua Lipa offers a pep rally fantasy with “Break Your Heart” performance For the show’s big opener, pop superstar Dua Lipa made an appearance to perfor...
The last voice heard on ‘Graduate Together’? That was Karol G, who put the parting notes to “X,” her collaboration with the Jonas Brothers. The immediately catchy song dropped just last night (May 15). During ‘Graduate Together,’ it was the grand finale of the ceremony, with the brothers singing the catchy tune before Karol G made her appearance, clad in a retro outfit and singing in Spanish. “Taping our performance was amazing to me,” she told Billboard minutes after the show was over. “I enjoyed it as if it were my own graduation. To have the opportunity to reach so many people, give them a good time despite all we’re going through, to celebrate with them this special date … It meant a lot to me.” Karol added: “You don’t know how amazing it was f...
Britney Spears almost can’t believe that her hit sophomore album, Oops!…I Did It Again, was released 20 years ago. The pop star came across a compilation of clips of herself circa 2000 and was impressed enough to share it on social media. “Thank you to whoever made this,” she wrote on Instagram Saturday (May 16), the set’s 20th anniversary. “I just nearly dropped my phone I wasn’t expecting it!!!!! 20 years since the Oops! album …. the anticipation and the butterflies I felt before it came out were crazy …. all of my expectations were exceeded!!!! And it’s all thanks to you folks.” Spears added: “Thank you for sticking with me and growing with me. I am one Lucky girl. God Bless and thank you all!!!!!! PS you see even 20 years a...
For the first time in Eurovision history, a global crisis has forced the competition to forgo crowning a winner for the year. With competitors self-quarantining to prevent the spread of COVID-19, there was no proper Eurovision Song Contest 2020, but in its place, there was Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on Saturday, May 16. A global virtual event featuring contemporary and past competitors, the broadcast featured messages of encouragement from artists, clips from songs that would have competed for this year’s win and remote performances aplenty. From one past winner’s walk down deserted city streets to a surprise appearance from an ABBA legend, here are 10 standout moments from Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light. At the close, it was also revealed that the song contest will ret...
The location for 2021’s Eurovision Song Contest has been announced. In 2021, Eurovision will be held at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where 2020’s competition was originally set to take place and where some of its remote live special, Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, which honored the 41 selected delegates from the participating countries of 2020 in a non-competitive format, was filmed. This year’s actual live contest, slated for May 12-16, 2020, was canceled amid the global coronavirus pandemic. “I can promise you: the Eurovision Song Contest will come back stronger than ever,” executive supervisor Jon Ola Sand had said. Watch the promo for 2021 Eurovision, which announces the Rotterdam news, below. [embedded content]
LATIN 5/16/2020 by Jessica Roiz Sebastian Yatra and Tini Stoessel have called it quits. The Colombian artist and Argentine pop star officially made the announcement on Saturday (May 16) via their Twitter accounts, expressing that they have decided to end their relationship. “We lived beautiful moments but sometimes things don’t go as we imagine them. Today we feel that this is the best decision for both of us and we will always cherish the good memories in our heart. Thank you for giving us so much love,” Yatra and Tini shared. The former couple announced they began dating on June 10, 2019 with a set of sweet photos together. They have two collaborative tracks, “Quiero Volver” and “Oye.” Two days before making their breakup official, the two artist...
Berlin venue Sisyphos announced its reopening on Friday, May 14th, which will adhere to newly imposed safety guidelines instated by the German government. Sisyphos is officially open for business all weekend between the hours of 15:00-22:00. The reopening of the popular club located in Germany’s capital serves as a foreshadowing of more and more venues who are on the verge of reestablishing their operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic that effectively quashed the nightlife industry. Delighted Sisyphos representatives took to Facebook to share a little slice of optimism filled with umbrella and heart emojis ahead of the club’s reintroduction. While patrons are not allowed to dance due to strict social distancing ordinances, they are able to order drinks, ...
Eddie Vedder is a devoted Chicago Bulls fan and Dennis Rodman listened to Pearl Jam while working out, so it was only a matter of time before the two became friends. During a recent chat with Bill Simmons, Vedder detailed his “long, long, deep friendship” with the eccentric NBA star and told a crazy story where the two flew to Vegas and back just to see Jane’s Addiction. The Bulls were in Seattle to play the Supersonics, and Vedder was hanging out at the Four Seasons with the team when Rodman’s security guard George took out three plane tickets. “Jane’s Addiction is playing in Vegas,” Rodman said. “And I’m like, Jesus Christ, it’s like fuckin’ 6 o’clock,” Vedder recalled. “He’s like, ‘We’ll get there by 9, they don’t go on until 9:30.” The Bulls coach Phil Jackson liked Vedder because...
Many artists graced the virtual stage last night for the EDC Las Vegas Virtual Rave-A-Thon, but it was Subtronics who sent ripples quaking through the EDM world with the drop of one song. EDM Twitter unsurprisingly dove headfirst into a virtual vortex of theories as to what exactly the ID was and who may have collaborated with Subtronics on it. Unable to contain his excitement about the colossal unreleased tune, he took to Twitter last night to reveal that it is a new collaboration with Marshmello. It wasn’t long before Twitter user @cult_of_rezz shared a clip of the track’s thunderous, screeching dubstep drop, which should do well to keep fans at bay in anticipation of its official release. The sound design here is unmistakable, with Subtronics’ crunchy ba...
Zedd is turning one of his older unfinished works into a song for his forthcoming sophomore album. Taking to Twitter, the “Good Thing” producer commented that the newly finished, unreleased work would be a stylistic blend of classical and dance music. Zedd also shared a live performance snippet of the track. Longtime fans are likely to recognize the project as one of Zedd’s previous live show introductions from a few years ago. Zedd’s debut album True Colors just hit its five-year anniversary on May 15th of this year. While Zedd has confirmed his long-awaited sophomore album is in the works, he has been deliberate in suggesting that it won’t be released until it meets his highest expectations. Despite being most closely associated with both dan...
Saturday marked the end of Rufus Wainwright’s 60-day Quarantunes/Robe Recitals Instagram series, and the singer-songwriter closed it out with a bang. Recruiting his musical Canadian family, the McGarrigles, Wainwright compiled a touching rendition of Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times.” “This is a song that has been dear to our family for many, many years, and I think is incredibly poignant right now, in terms of what we’ve all been through,” he said in the video before introducing the performance. “I think it’s a wonderful way to end Robe Recitals, and also begin a new period with the lines ‘hard times, come again no more.’” The “Hard Times” cover features Rufus’ sister Martha Wainwright, along with Anna Mcgarrigle, Jane Mcgarrigle, Lily Lanken, Sylvan Lanken, Vinny Dow, Patrick Ferris, Gi...