Gene Simmons wants his fans to know he’s doing OK. As previously reported, the KISS co-founder fell ill during the band’s show in Manaus, Brazil, Wednesday and had to finish the concert seated. Well, now he’s shared a health update and it appears there’s noting to worry about.
“Ok, kids. Not a big deal. Thanks for your kind wishes,” he tweeted. “Last night we played Amazon jungle Stadium/Brazil. Humidity and temperature were sky high. I was dehydrated and was forced to sit for a song.”
He added, “We got back on stage in 5 minutes & finished the show.”
The Latin American leg of KISS’ End of the Road tour hits Bogotá, Colombia, on April 15. A complete list of dates can be found at kissonline.com.
The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors Thursday announced 42 nominees for this year’s class. The Emmy winning Abbot Elementary, the heralded Star Wars Disney+ series Andor and AMC’s Better Call Saul were among the noms in the Entertainment category.
All the nominees “from over 1,200 entries from television, podcasts/radio and the web/digital in entertainment, news, documentary, arts, children’s/youth, public service and interactive programming … represent the most compelling and empowering stories released in broadcasting and streaming media during 2022,” according to the organization.
The winners of the 83rd annual Peabody Awards will be announced on May 9 and then celebrated on Sunday, June 11, at a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles — Peabody’s first in-person ceremony since 2019 and the first time the event will be held in Los Angeles.
“From hilarious and heartfelt comedies to interactive and immersive stories that leverage technology to create gripping narratives, Peabody is dedicated to recognizing compelling stories across the media landscape,” noted the executive director of the organization, Jeffrey Jones.
The following are the nominees in the Entertainment category. A full list of nominees can be found here.
Abbott Elementary – ABC Andor – Lucasfilm/Disney+ Atlanta – FX Bad Sisters – Apple TV+ Better Call Saul – AMC Bob’s Burgers – FOX Documentary Now! – IFC Los Espookys – HBO Max Mo – A24 Our Flag Means Death – HBO Max Pachinko – Apple TV+ Reservation Dogs – FX Severance – Apple TV+ Somebody Somewhere – HBO Max Sort Of – HBO Max The Patient – FX We’re Here – HBO Max
Authorities in Daytona Beach, Florida, said former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell was found safe on Thursday after police alerted the public hours earlier that the actor was “considered missing and endangered.”
“At this time we can confirm law enforcement officials are in contact and Mr. Bell is safe,” Daytona Beach police said Thursday afternoon.
There was no further information on where he was found or why he was considered missing.
The 36-year-old actor, whose legal name is Jared Bell, is best known for his role in Drake & Josh, which was a huge hit for Nickelodeon from 2004 to 2007. He has appeared in a variety of shows in guest roles since then and has had a recurring voice role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in animated shows such as Ultimate Spider-Man from 2012 to 2017, and Avengers Assemble and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
Leonard Cohen is going to be the subject of a new series that focuses on his relationship with muse Marianne Ihlen.
Variety reports that actor Alex Wolff, who’ll appear in Christopher Nolan‘s next film, Oppenheimer, has been cast to play Cohen. The series is titled So Long, Marianne, named after the track that appeared on Cohen’s debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen. The series also stars Norwegian actress Thea Sofie Loch Næss as Ihlen, along with The Last of Us’Anna Torv and Peaky Blinders’ Noah Taylor, playing Australian novelists Charmian Clift and her husband, George Johnston.
The series, which is filming on the Greek island of Hydra, where the couple first met, is described as an “intimate tale of two, lonely people falling in love, during a period of their life when they are trying to figure out who they are and their place in the world, while one is becoming one of the most famous singers of all time.”
Production is expected to also take place in Norway, where Ihlen is from, and Cohen’s hometown of Montreal.
H.E.R. spoke to fans “live from the studio” Wednesday and talked about her upcoming single.
“It’s been a long time coming,” she said of the song on Instagram Live. “I went through a lot last year. It was a tough year, can’t even lie. I’ve been making the best music I’ve made, I think ever,” she added before slightly altering her sentiment. “Nah, I’m not gonna say that. I’ve been making really good music, really honest music.”
H.E.R. then played a few seconds of the song, noting, “That’s all I can give you, but I’m so excited. I’ve never been so excited about something. It’s been a long time, so I’m very, very proud, and I’m just in a really good place and a really honest place.”
H.E.R. has been out of her signature shades, working as Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson in Beauty And The Beast Live and the musical remake of The Color Purple. It’s unclear when her new single will come out.
The Smashing Pumpkins have reunited with a past collaborator for the video for their song “Empires.”
The new clip, which captures a frenetic live performance augmented by visual effects, is directed by Kevin Kerslake, who also helmed the video for the 1993 Pumpkins single “Cherub Rock.”
Kerslake’s other directing credits include videos for Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden.
You can watch the “Empires” video streaming now on YouTube.
“Empires” appears on the second disc of the Pumpkins’ three-act “rock opera” album, Atum. The first two parts are out now; part three drops May 5.
The Smashing Pumpkins will be supporting Atum on their The World Is a Vampire tour, kicking off in July. The bill will also include STP, Interpol and Rival Sons on select dates.
(WASHINGTON) — The FBI on Thursday made a probable cause arrest in North Dighton, Massachusetts, in connection with the leaked documents probe.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Jack Teixeira was taken into custody in relation to the investigation into “alleged authorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information.”
Teixeira, 21, is a member of the Massachusetts Air Force National Guard.
“FBI agents took Teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon without incident,” the attorney general said. “He will have an initial appearance at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.”
Garland continued: “I want to thank the FBI, Justice Department prosecutors and our colleagues at the Department of Defense for the diligent work on this case. This investigation is ongoing. We will share more information at the appropriate time.”
The FBI said it was continuing to conduct law enforcement activity at the residence where Teixeira was arrested.
“Since late last week the FBI has aggressively pursued investigative leads and today’s arrest exemplifies our continued commitment to identifying, pursuing, and holding accountable those who betray our country’s trust and put our national security at risk,” the FBI said in a statement.
Earlier, at the Pentagon, spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, said, “It is important to understand that we do have stringent guidelines in place for safeguarding classified and sensitive information. This was a deliberate, criminal act — a violation of those guidelines.”
Media reports have described the documents as being shared among a small group of users on Discord before getting wider notice. The Washington Post interviewed one person, who said he was part of the group, who believes the alleged leaker, who he said goes by the moniker “OG,” worked on a military base.
President Joe Biden broke his silence earlier Thursday on the leak of apparently highly classified documents after the Washington Post report.
Biden told reporters in Dublin that the Justice Department was “getting close” in its criminal investigation into how the U.S. intelligence documents — which seem to contain top-secret information about the Ukraine war and other parts of the world — ended up online.
“Right now there’s a full-blown investigation going on and, you know, with the intelligence community and the Justice Department, and they’re getting close,” Biden said when asked if he could provide an update on the probe. “But I don’t have an answer.”
The disclosure has raised diplomatic issues over the apparent revelation that U.S. intelligence has been spying on its allies as well as on its adversaries. Asked whether he was concerned about the leak, Biden played down its potential impact.
“I’m concerned that it happened,” Biden said. “But there is nothing contemporaneous that I’m aware of that is of great consequence.”
The Washington Post characterized the alleged leaker as a “young, charismatic gun enthusiast” who began disseminating the documents in a private server group on Discord last fall.
The Washington Post cited an interview with a teenager who said he was part of the group, which he said he joined at the start of the pandemic and contained roughly two dozen members, some from foreign countries.
The teen referred to the leaker as “OG” and said he was in his early to mid-20s, though the minor denied to share his real name, where he lived or the military base where he said the person worked. The minor said “OG” had dubious views of law enforcement and the intelligence community, and would rant about “government overreach.”
Washington Post reporter Shane Harris described the leaker as someone who was “trying to impress his friends,” and the newspaper said it was unlikely he intended for the documents to spread across the internet.
ABC News has not independently confirmed the report.
A Pentagon spokesman, when asked for comment on the Washington Post report, referred ABC News to comments made by Department of Defense spokesman Chris Meagher during a press briefing on Monday.
Meagher said at the time that the department was “working around the clock to look at the scope and scale of the distribution, the assessed impact and our mitigation measures.”
A senior U.S. official told ABC News Thursday highly sensitive material has been shared too widely within the government for some time. The official had no information on the source of this leak but called it “a massive betrayal” by whoever is responsible.
After reports surfaced that authorities wanted to speak with a member of the Air National Guard, the National Guard Bureau issued a statement, saying, “We are aware of the investigation into the alleged role a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman may have played in the recent leak of highly-classified documents.
“The National Guard takes this issue very seriously and will support investigators. National security is our foremost priority and any attempt to undermine it compromises our values and degrades trust among our members, the public, allies and partners,” the statement said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in his first public comments on the leak Tuesday, also said he was limited in what he could say about the matter amid the DOJ’s investigation.
He told reporters he was first informed of the apparent leak on April 6, after some documents were posted on popular social media sites, and that investigators were focusing on documents dated Feb. 28 and March 1.
“We take this very seriously and we will continue to investigate and turn over every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it,” Austin said.
Gym Class Heroes are back … sort of. The group has just released a new “Club Mix” of their 2006 hit “Cupid’s Chokehold,” featuring Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump.
In addition, this summer brings the vinyl release of the four albums the band recorded between 2005 and 2011: As Cruel as School Children, The Papercut Chronicles, The Quilt and The Papercut Chronicles II. That last album features the band’s biggest hit, 2011’s “Stereo Hearts,” a collaboration with Adam Levine.
Frontman Travie McCoy‘s solo album, Lazarus, featuring the hit Bruno Mars collaboration “Billionaire,” will also be released on vinyl.
Gym Class Heroes will perform this October for Las Vegas’ When We Were Young festival. It’ll mark their first time back onstage since 2018.
In addition, “something is brewing this year,” according to a press release, and Travie says in a statement, “I couldn’t be more ecstatic for this next chapter in the book of Gym Class Heroes. If you’ve missed us as much as we’ve missed you, you’re in for a good read quiet in the library but wild the f*** out in Gym Class.”
Lil Wayne gifted fans in Toronto with a special guest straight from the city: Drake.
Performing as part of his Welcome to Tha Carter tour, Weezy brought his protege out at HISTORY, where Drake took the stage with a set including songs “Marvins Room,” “Jungle,” “Know Yourself,” “Rich Flex,” “Sicko Mode,” “Feel No Ways,” “Nonstop,” and later “HYFR (Hell Ya F****** Right)” and “The Motto.”
He then shared some kind words about Weezy.
“I’m not gonna be too long-winded,” Drake said. “I know I like to go into these emotional speeches, and I’m sure this man has heard it all. But I just wanna say, you are in the presence, literally — and I’m not talking about myself, by the way — you are in the building, in the presence of the greatest rapper to ever do this s***. I promise you.”
Drake is the latest surprise guest on Wayne’s Welcome to Tha Carter tour, following Chance the Rapper and Dej Loaf. The trek wraps May 13 in LA.
Global country superstar Luke Combs and Opry Entertainment Group, a division of Ryman Hospitality Properties, have revealed plans to launch a multiple-level entertainment complex in the heart of downtown Nashville. The venue is dubbed a “reimagined” Wildhorse Saloon, according to a press release.
Located at 120 Second Ave. North, the 60,000-square-foot venue will be a “reimagined” Wildhorse Saloon, according to a press release. The Wildhorse Saloon, which currently operates there, will be open throughout the planned refurbishment period.
“I got my start in town playing on this stage and to have the opportunity to work with Opry Entertainment to transform it into my own bar is a dream come true,” says Luke. “I can’t wait for my fans to see what we’re up to.”
“I knew there was something extraordinary about Luke from the first time I heard him perform ‘Hurricane,'” adds Colin Reed, executive chairman of Ryman Hospitality Properties. “Even as he’s gone from filling bars to stadiums around the world, Luke has remained deeply committed to his fans and his craft. As the downtown entertainment district continues to evolve, we view this new experience as a tremendous opportunity to position Second Avenue with a global audience of country music lovers, anchored by Luke Combs’ massive international fan base.”
The music program for Luke’s upcoming venue will feature live music experiences that include the existing main stage and dance floor with line dancing. In addition to daily live music, a full calendar of ticketed concerts and events will be offered, as well.
Luke’s entertainment complex is slated for completion in the summer of 2024.
