Month: November 2021

Categories
Country Daypop

Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett to perform at 55th Annual CMA Awards

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Host Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett and more are set to perform at the 55th annual Country Music Association Awards. Gabby Barrett, Jennifer Hudson, Zac Brown Band and Dierks Bentley, featuring Breland and Hardy, will also be taking the stage.

The artists join formerly announced performers Jason Aldean with Carrie Underwood, Jimmie Allen, Brothers Osbourne, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Mickey Guyton with Brittney Spencer and Madeline Edwards, Miranda Lambert, Old Dominion, Carly Pearce with Ashley McBryde, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton and Chris Young with Kane Brown.

The 55th annual CMA Awards will air live Wednesday from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC. Church and Stapleton lead the nominees with five nominations each.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde team up in the video for “Never Wanted To Be That Girl”

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Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde have released the music video for their collaboration ‘Never Wanted To Be That Girl’ taken from Pearce’s album ‘29: Written In Stone.’

The video, directed by first-time director Alexa Campbell, sees both singers shown from the perspective of two women who learn their partner is involved with someone else. Pearce and McBryde will perform ‘Never Wanted To Be That Girl’ on the CMA Awards on November 10th, where they are both nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year.   Take a look at their video – here.

WATCH: Emotions Run Wild in Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde’s ‘Never Wanted To Be That Girl’ Music Video

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

‘Eternals’ tops North American box office with $71M in its opening weekend

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Marvel’s new superhero film “Eternals”, starring Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Kit Harington and Gemma Chan, is the No. 1 movie in North America, taking in an estimated $71 million over the weekend to top the North American box office. Written and directed by Chloe Zhao (the Oscar-winning best director for “Nomadland”) the film has also taken in an impressive $91 million overseas. “Eternals” tells the tale of an immortal race of aliens who emerge from several millennia in hiding to save the Earth from the evil Deviants.

“Dune” dropped to second place, earning $7.6 million. The sci-fi thriller, based on the classic Frank Herbert opus, stars Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya and Oscar Isaac. It follows a family in the distant future fighting for survival on a desert planet plagued by monstrous sandworms.

The James Bond film “No Time to Die” placed third, at $6.2 million. It will be offered on digital platforms starting Tuesday, a quick turnaround after its October 8 release. “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” moved up a place this weekend, to fourth spot, taking in $4.5 million, with its domestic total now close to $200 million.
The computer-animated sci-fi comedy “Ron’s Gone Wrong” took 5th place at $3.6 million. Its voice cast includes Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Olivia Colman.

Editorial credit: Gennaro Leonardi Photos / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Travis Scott & Live Nation facing lawsuit after tragedy at Astroworld left 8 dead, hundreds injured

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Billboard reports that Travis Scott and Live Nation are facing at least one lawsuit already in the aftermath of the deadly crowd surge at the 2021 Astroworld Music Festival on Friday night, November 5.   The 30-year-old Scott and the concert company are being sued by a concertgoer who was injured during the Astroworld tragedy which left eight people dead and hundreds more injured.

The lawsuit was filed in Harris County District Court on Saturday, November 6 by an injured concert attendee, Manuel Souza. The lawsuit against Scott, as well as organizer ScoreMore and Live Nation, claims the deadly disaster was “predictable and preventable,” “a motivation for profit at the expense of concertgoers’ health and safety” and the “encouragement of violence.” Representatives for Scott, ScoreMore and Live Nation have yet to comment on the lawsuit, which is the first of what’s predicted to be many.

The devastating incident occurred when a large portion of the festival’s 50,000-person crowd attempted to rush to the front of the stage during Scott’s headlining set all at once, resulting in fans crushing each other. Scott issued a statement saying:  “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival. Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support. Love You All.”

Editorial credit: Christian Bertrand / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

LGBTQ+ and civil rights group sues Tennessee over transgender sports ban

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LGBTQ+ civil rights groups in Tennessee filed a lawsuit Thursday against the state’s controversial transgender sports ban. Filed by Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Tennessee on behalf of transgender 14-year-old Luc Esquivel, the suit argues that banning transgender students from their desired sports teams is unconstitutional and discriminatory.

The suit also argues that preventing transgender children from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity encourages bullying in schools, denies transgender children the benefits of participating in sports and ultimately acts as “a solution in search of a problem” that does not exist.  The suit read: “For some transgender students, being required to play on a team that does not match their gender identity would have the additional consequence of revealing private medical information, as not all students who are transgender are known to be transgender by their peers.”  Esquivel said in a press release Thursday: “I was really looking forward to trying out for the boys’ golf team and, if I made it, training and competing with and learning from other boys and improving my game. Then, to have the legislature pass a law that singled out me and kids like me to keep us from being part of a team, that crushed me, it hurt very much. I just want to play, like any other kid.”

The ban, which was signed into law by Governor Bill Lee, was touted as a way to preserve fairness in women’s sports. But the bill requires schools to make both female and male transgender athletes play on teams that match their gender assigned at birth, something opponents say is discriminatory and unfairly targets transgender or gender non-conforming athletes.

Categories
News Daypop

Navy fires leaders of USS Connecticut after underwater mountain collision

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The U.S. military announced Thursday that the Navy fired leaders of the USS Connecticut for “loss of confidence” after the submarine struck an underwater mountain in the South China Sea. The commanding officer of the fast-attack submarine, Cmdr. Cameron Aljilani, second-in-command, Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Cashin, and the chief of the boat Master Chief Sonar Technician Cory Rodgers were fired following the incident, the Japan-based U.S. 7th Fleet announced.

Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, commander of the 7th Fleet, reviewed the investigation on Thursday and made the decision to relieve the leadership. A statement by the 7th Fleet read: “Thomas determined sound judgment, prudent decision-making and adherence to required procedures in navigation planning, watch team execution and risk management could have prevented the incident.”

Eleven sailors were injured in the incident on Oct. 2, when the USS Connecticut collided with the seamount, an underwater mountain. No further details were released Thursday regarding exactly who the command failed to prevent the crash.

Editorial credit: The Mariner 4291 / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Darius Rucker announces intimate theater tour for 2022

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Darius Rucker has announced a special tour next year that will visit theaters in 12 cities across the U.S. The tour is set to kick off on February 17th in Philadelphia, Pa. at The Met and will be wrapping up on April 1st in New Orleans, La. at the Saenger Theatre. Caylee Hammack will join Rucker on the road as his special guest.  Tickets go on sale on December 17.

Rucker said about the tour: “It’s been a dream of mine for a while to bring our show to these beautiful theaters. Some of my favorite venue memories over the years are at places like the Apollo in New York or the Royal Albert Hall in London, as it’s just a different experience when you’re that close. With Hootie, we went straight from playing dive bars to arenas, so there are still a lot of theatres I’ve never had the opportunity to play. I’ll just say that this tour will have a lot of firsts, even for me.”

He had this to say about the song, “One of the most common questions I got asked last year was if I had picked up a new hobby during quarantine. I always answered that I was trying to learn piano, and someone asked if I was any good yet. J.T. Harding heard my response in that interview – ‘I can’t play piano like Ray Charles’ – and knew we had to write a song around that line.”

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Categories
Country Daypop

Deluxe version of Adele’s album ’30’ to feature a duet with Chris Stapleton

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The tracklist for the deluxe version of pop star Adele’s next album ’30’ has been revealed, and it features a collaboration with country superstar Chris Stapleton.

The duet will be a new version of Adele’s current single, “Easy on Me.” She recently shared the solo version of that song as a first taste of the collection, which comes out — in both its basic and deluxe editions — on Nov. 19. The version of “Easy on Me” that includes Stapleton’s vocals is on the deluxe version of 30, which expands the track list from 12 to 15 songs and will be available exclusively at Target.

Adele has been a fan of Stapleton’s for years, performing “If It Hadn’t Been for Love,” a song that Stapleton co-wrote and performed during his days as a bandmate in bluegrass outfit the SteelDrivers. “If It Hadn’t Been for Love” was a staple of Adele’s live set in her early days, and she even included it as a bonus track on the U.K. limited edition of her second album, 21.

Adele Reveals New Chris Stapleton Duet

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Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Mariah Carey to bring a new Christmas special to Apple TV+ “Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues”

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Mariah Carey has announced a second holiday special for AppleTV+ titled Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues, which will arrive this December. Mariah’s Christmas comes on the heels of the singer’s previous 2020 special for Apple, Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special, which featured guest stars Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, and Snoop Dogg.

The Magic Continues will see Mariah teaming up with R&B singer Khalid and gospel legend Kirk Franklin, for the first and only performance of their new single, “Fall In Love At Christmas.” The new single is set for release this Friday, November 5.  Carey herself will executive produce The Magic Continues, which will be helmed by music video director Joseph Kahn. While the special is slated for December, no official release date has been confirmed.

Carey’s classic holiday hit, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” made its annual return to the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart back in November, landing at No.1 nearly 27 years since its 1994 release.   On November 1, the star shared a teaser on social media, with carved pumpkins on a front porch that spelled out “It’s Not Time,” quickly followed by Carey smashing one of the pumpkins with a candy cane baseball bat, as her classic “All I Want for Christmas is You” plays in the background.

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Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Take a look at Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson in the trailer for the upcoming film ‘Moonfall’

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Lionsgate has just released director Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall teaser trailer. Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry star in Moonfall, from the makers of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. 

The official synopsis reads, “In Moonfall, a mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact and the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler (Halle Berry) is convinced she has the key to saving us all – but only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper and a conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman believe her. These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is.”

Take a look at the trailer for Moonfall – here.  The film hits theaters Feb. 4, 2022.

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com