Month: February 2022

Categories
Country Daypop

CMT Music Awards announce rescheduled date; to be held April 11th in Nashville

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CBS and CMT announced the 2022 CMT MUSIC AWARDS will air live from Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium and various locations around Music City 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. ET Monday, April 11, on the CBS Television Network. Nominations and performances are yet to be announced.

The 2022 CMT MUSIC AWARDS is country music’s only entirely fan-voted awards show. CMT said in a statement: “It’s official: Our three-hour Nashville extravaganza will be LIVE on CBS on April 11 for the first time as part of the Network’s biggest month of music ever. Expect the most unforgettable CMT MUSIC AWARDS yet, jam-packed with the most star-power, world premiere performances and one-of-a-kind collaborations from in and around Music City.”

The 2022 CMT MUSIC AWARDS show will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. For more information, follow @CMT on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok.

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Categories
Country Daypop

Mickey Guyton to sing the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVI

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The NFL revealed Tuesday that the 38-year-old Mickey Guyton will sing the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVI, live from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Mickey tweeted: “Look at God. I am shook, I am grateful, I am praise dancing… So excited to be singing the national anthem at #SBLVI on February 13th!”

The NFL noted that Guyton will perform the “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the top of the big game; while R&B singer Jhené Aiko will perform “America the Beautiful” during the pre-show telecast, with further sets from Zedd and Mary Mary.

Guyton is the first Black woman to receive a Grammy nod in the Best Country Solo Performance category. The prestigious position of singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl has been held by iconic singers including Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga, Gladys Knight, Beyoncé, Cher, Diana Ross, and more.

Super Bowl LVI between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams will take place Sunday, Feb. 13.

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Country singer Mickey Guyton to sing the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVI

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The NFL revealed Tuesday that the 38-year-old Mickey Guyton will sing the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVI, live from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Mickey tweeted: “Look at God. I am shook, I am grateful, I am praise dancing… So excited to be singing the national anthem at #SBLVI on February 13th!”

The NFL noted that Guyton will perform the “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the top of the big game; while R&B singer Jhené Aiko will perform “America the Beautiful” during the pre-show telecast, with further sets from Zedd and Mary Mary.

Guyton is the first Black woman to receive a Grammy nod in the Best Country Solo Performance category. The prestigious position of singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl has been held by iconic singers including Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga, Gladys Knight, Beyoncé, Cher, Diana Ross, and more.

Super Bowl LVI between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams will take place Sunday, Feb. 13.

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Whoopi Goldberg is suspended from ‘The View’ for 2 weeks following controversial comments about the Holocaust

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ABC announced that Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from “The View” for two weeks over comments she made on Monday’s show about the Holocaust.  While discussing a Tennessee school district banning the graphic novel “Maus,” Goldberg said, “If you’re going to do this, then let’s be truthful about it because the Holocaust isn’t about race.” Instead, Goldberg said it was about “man’s inhumanity to man” and that both groups of people were white.

After swift backlash over her comments, Goldberg apologized on Monday night, tweeting: “As Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League shared, ‘The Holocaust was about the Nazi’s systematic annihilation of the Jewish people — who they deemed to be an inferior race.’ I stand corrected. The Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never waiver. I’m sorry for the hurt I have caused.”

ABC News President Kim Godwin said in a statement on Tuesday: “Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments. While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.”

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Categories
News Daypop

Spotify to direct listeners to correct COVID-19 information; will add ‘content advisory’ warnings to podcasts discussing the pandemic

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Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has announced that the platform will direct listeners to correct Covid-19 information on any and all podcasts discussing the pandemic. The announcement comes in the wake of the company losing billions in market value, after musicians including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell removed their music from the platform in protest at podcasters such as Joe Rogan sharing misinformation to millions of listeners.

Ek released a statement outlining the streaming platform’s plan to battle misinformation on the podcasts it hosts. Content advisories will be added to any podcast that discusses coronavirus directing users to a website that “provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources.” Spotify also revealed guidlines for creators to the public for the first time, saying that creators cannot publish “content that promotes dangerous false or dangerous deceptive medical information that may cause offline harm or poses a direct threat to public health.” 

When announcing his decision to pull his music from the platform, Neil Young singled out Rogan and a conversation he had with cardiologist Dr Peter McCullough and immunologist/virologist Dr Robert Malone on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Rogan’s podcast is downloaded an average of 11 million times per episode and is exclusive to Spotify as part of a $100 million deal the company has with Rogan.  In an Instagram video published on Monday, Rogan issued a statement about the controversy, saying “I’m not trying to promote misinformation, I’m not trying to be controversial. I’ve never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people and have interesting conversations.”  Rogan added he will do his best “try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people’s perspectives, so we can maybe find a better point of view.”

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Categories
News Daypop

Mike Pence’s former chief of staff Marc Short testifies in January 6 investigation

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Former Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, testified before the House select committee investigating January 6 last week in response to a subpoena; a sign that Pence’s team is cooperating with the probe.  According to sources, Short testified before the select committee in person last Wednesday in a lengthy session. Short had previously supplied a limited number of documents that were subpoenaed by the committee, including a memo from Trump aide Johnny McEntee comparing Trump to Thomas Jefferson.

Short was with Pence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and participated in a critical White House meeting on January 4, 2021.  He is a potentially crucial witness in the committee’s investigation in determining if then-President Donald Trump and his allies tried to convince Pence not to certify the presidential election.

Short’s testimony comes as the panel still does not know whether Pence himself will testify. While the committee has had informal discussions with Pence’s legal team, sources say that Pence would prefer aides like Short act as the former vice president’s “proxy” so Pence himself does not have to appear.

Former President still blames Pence for not trying to overturn the election results in Congress — and Pence has faced a backlash from Trump’s base for his role on January 6. Short was with Pence at the Capitol on January 6 when rioters were chanting “hang Mike Pence” and Trump tweeted, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.” Short was also at Pence’s side in the Oval Office for a pivotal January 4 meeting when Trump and attorney John Eastman tried to convince Pence that he could overturn the presidential election results in Congress on January 6.

Editorial credit: Thomas Hengge / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Morgan Wallen fulfills the remainder of his $500K pledge with $100k donation to the National Museum Of African-American Music in Nashville

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Morgan Wallen has fulfilled the remainder of his $500,000 pledge to the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) and other Black-led or owned organizations, by donating $100,000 to the National Museum Of African American Music (“NMAAM”) in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tuwisha Rogers-Simpson, vice president of brand and partnerships for NMAAM, confirmed that the museum received Wallen’s donation of $100,000 on behalf of Wallen’s More Than My Hometown Foundation. Rogers-Simpson said she “had the opportunity to tour and share our mission with Morgan as he was eager to learn more in a sincere effort to grow,” adding that the funds donated will go to support education and operational initiatives at the museum.

In September 2021, Wallen’s manager, Seth England, clarified Morgan’s contributions to various Black groups following reports that questioned whether Wallen had followed through with his $500K pledge. England confirmed Wallen’s contributions by providing records and documentation, saying: “$300,000 to BMAC in the names of 20 individuals who had counseled him following the incident when he uttered the N-word during a night of partying. Those individuals were given the option to funnel their respective $15,000 donations to a charity of their choice, or keep the money within BMAC.  $165,000 of the pledged funds to BMAC stayed within the organization, and the remaining $135,000 was distributed to several smaller charities of the individuals’ choice.”  Young People’s Chorus of New York City, Teen Dream Center, Beatrice W. Welters Breast Health Outreach & Navigation Program, Right Hand Foundation were among the smaller charities that the 20 individuals chose to donate to.

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Categories
Country Daypop

Eric Church announces plans for Lower Broadway bar in Nashville

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Eric Church will be the latest country singer to open a bar on Lower Broadway in Nashville. The singer and his partners bought the Cotton Eyed Joe’s building at the corner of Second Avenue and Broadway.  They plan on converting it into a six-story bar, barbecue restaurant and seated venue called Chief’s.  Church joins Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley and Kid Rock in the list of artists with bars/restaurants in Nashville’s Lower Broadway area.

Church said in a statement: “I remember driving through downtown Nashville over 20 years ago with a pawn shop guitar, riding shotgun in a beat-to-hell truck just trying to chase a dream. Chief’s is the culmination of catching that dream. Like everything else we do in our career, I wouldn’t even attempt a project like this if I didn’t think it would be the best, so that’s what Chief’s will be: the best.”

Church said Chief’s will open in 2023. He added: “I am partnering with my closest friend and, in my opinion, the greatest hotel entrepreneur on earth, Ben Weprin, and the greatest barbecue chef in the world, Rodney Scott. Together we will create an experience unique to Nashville and absolutely unparalleled in the world of music, food, fellowship and entertainment. This is my hometown. This is personal. This matters. Every detail of Chief’s will feel that way. I cannot wait to get started.”

Eric Church Announces Six-Story Bar and BBQ in Downtown Nashville

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

David Letterman to guest on ‘Late Night’ for 40th anniversary

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David Letterman will be dropping by as a guest Feb. 1 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of NBC’s Late Night. Letterman was the original Late Night host who launched the after-hours franchise in 1982, before eventually moving over to the Late Show on CBS.

Late Night’s current host Seth Meyers announced the news in a video, saying: “The 40th anniversary is next Tuesday, and to celebrate, my guest that evening will be the man who started it all, David Letterman.” Meyers added, “Now that is a show that would make college-age Seth Meyers very happy. Also, current Seth Meyers.”

Letterman moved to CBS in 1993 following the hiring of Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show.  Late Night has been hosted by Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, and Meyers throughout the show’s 40-year history.

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Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Today’s Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman end their engagement after 8 years together

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Today show host Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman have ended their engagement, breaking up after eight years together. The former couple were engaged in November 2019, and will continue to co-parent their daughters, 4-year-old Haley and 2-year-old Hope.

The 57-year-old Kotb shared on ‘Today With Hoda & Jenna’:  “People have written in and asked why I wasn’t wearing my engagement ring. Joel and I have had, we’ve had a lot of prayerful and really meaningful conversations over the holidays, and we decided that we’re better as friends and parents then we are as an engaged couple.  We decided that we are going to start this New Year and begin it on our new path, as loving parents to our adorable, delightful children and as friends. It’s not like something happened. They say that sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason or a season or for a lifetime, and I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season.”

Kotb added: “This is weird and awkward. I really was struggling with this. I was like, ‘What do I say, how do I say it?’ But I feel like often we share the joyous pieces of our life… and then the difficult part sometimes you want to forget about. You want to erase them, you don’t want to share them because that’s not part of a pretty picture. But I think a lot of women know what this feels like in this moment, to be changing course in life. And I feel really brave in this moment, I really do.”   Speaking of Schiffman, Kotb said: “He’s a great guy. He’s a very kind and loving person, and I feel privileged to have spent eight years with him.”

In October 2020, Kotb shared she was considering adopting a third child with Schiffman. When announcing her breakup, however, Kotb did not mention whether she and Schiffman are still planning on going forward with another adoption.

Hoda Kotb, Joel Schiffman Split After 8 Years Together: ‘Better as Friends’

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com