Month: February 2023

Miley Cyrus is embarking on a new era in her musical journey. After shattering streaming giant Spotify’s one-week streams record, her latest self-love anthem, despite a nasty break-up, “Flowers” is continuing to move full steam ahead.

The Bruno Mars-inspired track has retained the No. 1 spot this week on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the third consecutive week. With this placement, according to Billboard, the song now ties with Cyrus’ 2013 song “Wrecking Ball” record.

After learning the news, Cyrus took to Twitter to celebrate the career milestone, writing, “[“Flowers”] is spending its third week at No. 1, and as magical as this moment feels, I know it doesn’t happen by chance. This song and its success represent the power of you! This is your moment, and it’s my honor to be the messenger.”

Other notable chart placements “Flowers” hold include this week’s top-selling and most streamed songs and the top spot on the global charts.

“Flowers” is the lead single off Cyrus’ forthcoming album Endless Summer Vacation, due out on March 10. So far, Cyrus has shared that the project is her “love letter to LA” and revealed that produced Kid Harpoon, Greg Kurstin, Mike WiLL Made-It, and Tyler Johnson will have a creative hand in the release.

Chelsea Handler has made no bones about wanting to succeed Trevor Noah as host of The Daily Show. Maybe one day she will. For now, though, she’s “only” one of the guest hosts who’ve been doing stints holding down court while the Comedy Central favorite rights itself. On her first episode for this week, the comic kicked things off by saying how she stoked she was to “spend a week talking shit about all the wackjobs and hot messes out there.” Pretty soon she was talking about one of those wackjob messes: Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Over the weekend, video went viral of the Georgia lawmaker (who only now has the power to make laws, after kissing up to eventually elected Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy) moaning about how her job has made her life “miserable” because it takes up too much time and doesn’t pay as much as she’d like. Her complaints were met with widespread mockery. Now it was Handler’s turn.

“First of all, you’re not a regular person, you moron! You’re a congressperson, because you campaigned and somehow won, which requires you to work year-round,” Handler railed. “I also don’t want to work year-round, and that’s why I don’t.”

If she didn’t like the job, Handler said, “Go work at Foot Locker, bitch.”

But that wasn’t the nadir of Greene’s recent comments. That would be her bristling at all the “crazy things” that some people “believe because they read it on the internet.”

“Well, if that’s not the pot calling the kettle QAnon,” Handler steamed. “This woman thought 9/11 was a hoax, that the Clintons killed JFK Jr. and that Jews are in charge of space lasers. But please, don’t come at her with some crazy ideas, she might believe them!”

Handler also used her opening stretch to talk about the Chinese spy balloon President Biden had whacked as well as a freshman representative who’s been getting more press than even Greene: George Santos.

You can watch Handler’s maiden Daily Show voyage in the video above.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Jack Antonoff is often not afraid to confront the problems in the music industry.

“While we are having the discussion, can venues simply stop taxing merch of artists? This is literally the only way you make money when you start out touring,” the producer wrote when the internet was shedding light on the problematic nature of Ticketmaster.

At the Grammys last night (February 5), he talked more about the concert ticket messes. With the recent Taylor Swift Eras Tour fiasco, Antonoff talked about it to the press to remind people that it’s not the fault of the artist and that “everyone’s trying to figure it out.”

Read what he said below.

“The whole thing is incredibly tough. There’s no reason why — if I can go online and buy a car and have it delivered to my house, why can’t I buy a f*cking ticket at the price that the artist wants it to be? So it’s that simple. And you know the reason why. It’s not ’cause of artists. So the one thing that I would say while holding a microphone is everybody’s got to chill on the artists. Because everyone’s trying to figure it out. We know who’s making it impossible.

Look, I’ve asked very simple things of the industry. Let artists opt out of dynamic pricing. Stop taxing merch, and let artists sell tickets at a price that they actually believe. Don’t turn a live show into a free market. That’s really dirty. Charge what you think is fair. But if for one person $50 is nothing, and one person $50 is more than they could ever spend, you’re creating a situation where a different group can come together at one price. The second everything fluctuates is the second that everything goes K-shaped and turns into a weird free market. That’s not what we do.”

Halle isn’t the only Bailey sister heading to the big screen. Shortly, “Pray It Away” singer Chlöe will also put her acting chops on full display yet again. Although these days, many music lovers have come to know the duo by their countless musical bops; the pair have quite the star in feature films well before her role on ABC’s Black-ish or Grown-ish.

While her beloved younger sister will lend her vocals to Disney’s underwater princess Ariel in the live adaptation of The Little Mermaid, Chlöe will take a different route. According to The Wrap, the producer will star in Blueprint Pictures’ film Girl from the North Country, an adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway show.

Known for public displays of admiration for music pioneers like Missy Elliott, maybe that influenced her decision to be a part of the film as the music of legendary songwriter Bob Dylan directly inspired it.

In addition to Chlöe, actors Woody Harrelson, Olivia Colman (The Crown), and Tosin Cole (House Party and Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks) have also signed onto the film. Conor McPherson, the author of the book used as an anchor for the Broadway musical, will serve as the film’s writer and director, whereas Blueprint Pictures’ Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin will serve as producers.

The story will be set in Duluth, Minnesota, during the Great Depression. However, the film will remain faithful to the musical’s plot line is described as “a group of wayward travelers’ lives intersect in a guesthouse filled with music, life, and hope.”

If the film follows in the theater production’s footsteps, the Dylan songs that may be included or worked into the film include “Slow Train,” “True Love Tends to Forget,” and “Girl from the North Country.” So far, the film does not have a release date. However, it has been revealed that CAA Media Finance will represent the film in the domestic market. While Rocket Science will handle the international market, starting with the Berlin Film Festival.

It was a busy weekend for the Brooklyn Nets, with Kyrie Irving’s trade request being quickly fulfilled in the form of a deal with the Dallas Mavericks. In between the request and the completion, the Nets also played a basketball game, defeating the Washington Wizards at home, and second-year guard Cam Thomas erupted for 44 points off the bench in only 29 minutes of work. It was a highly impressive performance from Thomas, who has a well-earned reputation as a bucket-getter, and he was thrust into the starting lineup on Monday evening when the Nets took on the L.A. Clippers at Barclays Center.

With Irving gone, Kevin Durant injured, and Spencer Dinwiddie not yet available, Thomas was the primary perimeter scoring option against the Clippers and, in short, he took advantage of that freedom. In the first half, Thomas scored 22 points and converted five three-pointers.

From there, Thomas didn’t slow down in the second half. In fact, he finished the night with a game-high and career-high 47 points on 15-of-29 shooting and 7-of-11 from three-point distance.

The explosion from Thomas wasn’t quite enough to lead the shorthanded Nets to victory, but he did make some history. Thomas became just the fifth player in franchise history to score at least 40 points in back-to-back games.

He also joined a rather exclusive club of players who matched or exceeded points in back-to-back games across the NBA this season, and even a tighter group of players who have reached at least 44 points in two straight contests.

Finally, the 21-year-old Thomas made rarified air as the second-youngest player NBA history to score at least 40 points in two straight games, trailing only LeBron James.

It goes without saying that Thomas probably isn’t going to average more than 40 points per game in Irving’s absence. There is value in Thomas’s unwavering approach as a scorer, however, and his shot creation can be quite valuable for a team like Brooklyn as it navigates a transition period. If nothing else, this was quite a two-night barrage and, when Cam Thomas has his offensive arsenal cooking, it is breathtaking to consume.

When Taylor Swift unveiled Midnights last year, the reactions piled up. The consensus was that fans loved it. However, even if they enjoyed songs, they all seemed to agree on one element that could’ve been better: Lana Del Rey’s appearance on “Snow On The Beach.” The Born To Die star only contributed backing vocals, which can barely be heard on the song.

Listeners used this opportunity to turn their disappointment into memes. Del Rey was probably aware of this field day the internet was having because she acknowledged on her private Instagram @honeymoon today (February 6) that her contribution to the track was minimal.

Sharing photos of a Grammys afterparty with Swift, Antonoff, and others, according to Just Jared, she captioned them, “I would’ve sung the entire second verse if I had known, I was the only feature,” the “Young And Beautiful” singer continued, “but my production skills were on point, and Chuck’s photo skills are fire.”

In 2019, Swift spoke about her admiration for Del Rey at the Billboard Music Awards. “I’ve watched as one of my favorite artists of the decade, Lana Del Rey, […] was ruthlessly criticized early in her career, and then slowly but surely, she turned into, in my opinion, the most influential artist in pop,” she said. “Her vocal stylings, her lyrics, her aesthetics: they’ve been echoed and repurposed everywhere in music.”

1923, the latest prequel series to the maybe departing Yellowstone, isn’t your typical show. It began airing in mid-December — an odd time to start dropping episodes given the holidays were approaching. The second episode arrived one week later, on Christmas Day. The third came on New Year’s Day. The fourth, on January 8. Then it took a break. On February 5, nearly a month later, it was back. But how many more episodes will you get to hang with Cara and Jacob Dutton (a reuniting Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford)?

The answer is eight. When all of the episodes will be made available is still up in the air. The sixth episode is scheduled for February 12. Presumably the final two will arrive the following two weeks, on Sundays.

The Yellowstone franchise has proven a somewhat unlikely TV sensation, giving Kevin Costner — the star of the one started it all — one of his biggest roles in ages. That that one might be leaving at its peak is surely a blow to Boomer parents everywhere, although surely they’ll be able to make do with the replacement version that may star the much younger Matthew McConaughey. In the meantime, 1923 still has a few episodes left, and they can always revisit the first prequel, the Sam Elliott-starring 1883.

Keanu Reeves has a reputation as one of Hollywood’s nicest celebrities. Recently, he cheered up an 80-year-old fan who had a crush on him by calling her on the phone. He’s also bought an ice cream cone for a fan to give an autograph on the receipt and crashed a wedding to take photos with the bride and groom.

He’s also an incredible humanitarian who gave up a big chunk of his money from “The Matrix” to a cancer charity.

The “John Wick” star was his usual gracious self over the weekend when on Saturday, February 4, he and a friend walked into The Robin Hood pub in Tring, Hertfordshire, about 30 miles outside of London.

The employees at the pub in the picturesque, small market town with a population of 12,000, were shocked to see such a high-profile celebrity walk through its doors—especially one who is known for being such a humble, likable guy.

Pub staff posted a photo of chef Scott Valentine, 18, and “The Matrix” star on The Robin Hood’s Facebook page.

“So today we had a surprise visitor for lunch,” they shared. “What a lovely man he was too. Laura asked if he would be ok with taking photos with the kitchen lads. He marched into the kitchen shook their hands, and praised them for the food they had prepared. Suffice to say he made their days!!!”

According to the staff at the restaurant, Reeves ordered traditional English fare. “He came to the bar and ordered a beer (Seafarers Ale) and just walked over to the corner. He ordered fish and chips and Nat’s shepherd’s pie,” Laura Rolfe told The Mirror.

Valentine told the BBC he was scared to cook for such a big star. But Reeves was appreciative of the staff and liked the food.

“It was a bit worrying because I had to cook for him, but we took it out to him and he said thank you and was really nice,” said Valentine. “He came into the kitchen, shook our hands and said the food was lovely.”

The folks at The Robin Hood aren’t sure why Reeves was hanging out in Tring, but The Mirror speculated he was working on a Disney Plus docuseries about Formula 1.

Last year, it was announced that Reeves was producing a documentary about Jenson Button’s unlikely victory for Brawn GP in 2009. “Our story is about Honda withdrawing from F1 and Ross Brawn who had joined Honda a year and a half earlier,” Reeves said according to TalkSport.

“How did they race a world championship? It’s certainly a people story. It’s about passion,” Reeves added.

Whatever the reason that Reeves was in a small town pub, it’s great that everyone who met him came away with warm feelings about the man. Reeves clearly knows that by being a humble, nice guy to people, he can make someone else’s day and give them a great story to tell forever. Kudos to Reeves for using his fame to touch other people’s lives. With all the stories we’ve reported about him being cool to fans, it seems like he never lets anybody down.

The Grammy Awards were held last night (February 5). While the ceremony included some historic music moments, including Beyoncé setting the all-time record for the most-awarded musician, not everyone was excited about the annual soiree. Rap superstar Drake has spoken out against the ceremony on countless occasions. However, the musician put his beef aside to attend this year’s Recording Academy Honors Gala presented by the Black Music Collective to honor his mentor Lil Wayne.

In contrast, musician Grimes hasn’t let go of her qualms with the event. As Charli XCX vented on Instagram about not receiving any nominations, Grimes jumped into the comment section with words of encouragement for the English singer. In the remarked screenshot by Pop Crave, Grimes opened with, “The Grammys are so irrelevant I wouldn’t even sweat it.”

Grimes’ recounted when they gave up hope in the merit of the when as they wrote, “I stopped even clocking them in any capacity when I was on the producer of the year board, and they quite literally would not allow me to nominate anyone who wasn’t on a pre-fabricated list that was exceptionally boring,” adding, “I was one of three women and the only person under 40 for sure. It’s literally not a relevant thing.”

Despite being mentioned during Kim Petras’ acceptance speech for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Grimes shared that the late producer and musician Sophie couldn’t be submitted for their work. “I tried to nominate Sophie and was told that wasn’t allowed,” revealed Grimes.

According to Drake, Nicki Minaj, Grimes, and even our own editor, Aaron Williams, the award show still has a long way to go. In the meantime, for Grimes, music will remain “a side quest.”

Harry Styles took home Album Of The Year at the Grammys along with five other awards last night (February 5), but not everything was smooth sailing. The singer played his massive 2022 hit “As It Was” from his album Harry’s House, but dancers are sharing why the performance may have looked a little off.

The performance took place on a spinning, circular turntable. “The moment the curtain opened, and it was time to perform, the turntable started spinning in reverse,” a dancer, Brandon Mathis, said on Instagram. “Backward. Freaking all of us out on live television. And there was nothing we could do to stop it. So after a week of rehearsing this piece perfectly going this way, the moment it’s time to perform, it starts going [the other] way. And in real-time, we have to troubleshoot and try to do a complete piece in reverse. Talk about professionalism.”

Another dancer, Dexter, explained on TikTok that they practiced going counterclockwise “loads of times” until “it was spotless and beautiful.”

The dancers even tried to get the attention of the turntable technician, but it didn’t work.

“Luckily, we worked together and did our best and got to one cool formation in time for the overhead shot but had to kind of change the rest, and Harry did his best to be able to walk in reverse and everything while he was singing,” they said.