Ingrid Andress explains the secret to Keith Urban’s musical longevity: “He’s so curious about music”

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Ingrid Andress is currently on the road as an opening act for Keith Urban’s The Speed of Now World Tour and she’s not taking a minute of the experience for granted.

“I feel honored every day,” she tells Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. “I’m always learning from him.”

There’s a lot to learn from: With decades of experience as a performer, first in his native Australia and then in the U.S., Keith has a massive collection of hits and accolades under his belt — not to mention, he’s one of the best guitarists in the country genre today.

Keith’s a particularly good teacher — and performer — because he never lets his music get stagnant, Ingrid points out.

“I think he’s still relevant because he’s so curious about music,” she continues. “He’s accomplished so much, and yet you’ll find him at a Harry Styles show because he just wants to see what the lights look like and what the sound is, and I’m like, ‘You’re Keith Urban! You’ve already made it.’”

But Keith doesn’t see things that way. “In his mind he’s constantly searching for the next thing,” Ingrid goes on to explain, “which is I think [is] what makes him such a good artist.”

The Speed of Now World Tour will roll on through early November.

See Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer “bring back Christmas” in trailer for ‘Spirited’

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

As a birthday present for his pal, Tony-winning Broadway vet Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds tagged him on an Instagram post showing the trailer to the musical Spirited.

“This year, I’m giving you the gift of being much worse than you at singing and dancing,” Reynolds joked.

The Apple TV+ film is a musical take on A Christmas Carol, with Reynolds playing the Scroogey Clint Briggs and Will Ferrell playing the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Apple TV+ teases, “Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. But this season, he picked the wrong Scrooge. Clint Briggs turns the tables on his ghostly host until Present finds himself reexamining his own past, present and future…”

Oscar winner Octavia Spencer also stars, and the trailer teases a magical — and musical — holiday adventure. But fitting of Ferrell and Reynolds, the trailer ends with the pair riffing. “My first save, it was this little sick kid,” Ferrell’s Ghost says, trying to come up with a name. “It was Tiny Tim,” Ryan’s Clint, wearing a Santa coat, replies flatly.

Ghost continues, “No. Little kid. One crutch.”

Clint replies, “Tiny Tim.”

Ghost protests, “No, no. Little Larry. Micro Mike. Super-small Steve.”

Exasperated, Clint says, “Holy Shhhh…”

Spirited drops on Apple TV+ on November 18.

Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend & family re-live her fatal shooting on ‘Red Table Talk’

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, opens up about the night she was fatally shot by Louisville Police on an episode of Red Table Talk.

Walker, alongside Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer and sister, Ju’Niyah Palmer, re-lives the horrific events of Taylor’s last moments, including his 911 call for help.

Host Jada Pinkett Smith opens the episode with a brief step-by-step recount of the night, asking viewers to imagine themselves as Walker — a man who went to sleep with his partner but woke up to witness her death.

“Say her name,” Smith says before asking Walker to recall the events of the day.

“The day didn’t begin so tragic,” he said, explaining that he and Breonna went out to eat and were “just enjoying each other’s company.”

Things then took a turn for the worse.

“There was a banging on the door. It startled both of us,” Walker said. After a few unanswered calls of “Who is it?” Walker said he grabbed his gun.

“Yeah, I’m a gun owner. And I still have a legal gun license to this day,” he said, adding he let off a shoot after the door bursted open.

“Never in my wildest imagination could I have thought that 30 or however many shots would have been coming back,” Walker said.

After a conversation with Taylor’s mother, Walker called the police, who were already outside of the apartment. He was then detained.

Walker said he found out Taylor was dead while watching the news in jail. “The only crime I committed that night was being Black,” he said.

Smith, Walker and Taylor’s relatives were then joined by activist Tamika Mallory, civil rights attorney Ben Crump and attorney Laura Coates, who discussed the wrongdoings in the case, including the “cover up that took place afterwards,” according to Coates.

At the close of the interview, Smith thanked her guests and Walker “for not giving up.”

Audioslave’s “Like a Stone” video hits one billion YouTube views

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Audioslave‘s video for “Like a Stone” has officially hit one billion views on YouTube.

The clip is the first to hit the milestone from the now-defunct supergroup, which featured late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell alongside Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk. Neither Soundgarden nor Rage has a video with one billion views.

“Like a Stone” was a single off Audioslave’s self-titled 2002 debut album. Its video, which was uploaded to YouTube in 2009, features the band performing together in an otherwise empty room.

Following Cornell’s death in 2017, Morello, Commerford and Wilk performed an instrumental version of “Like a Stone” during shows with their Rage offshoot band, Prophets of Rage.

‘American Idol’ pays tribute to late contestant Willie Spence: “We are devastated”

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The official American Idol Instagram account has acknowledged the death of American Idol season 19 runner-up Willie Spence, who died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a car accident in Tennessee. The singer was 23.

The account posted a tribute to Spence, along with a video of his audition. The caption reads, “We are devastated about the passing of our beloved American Idol family member, Willie Spence. He was a true talent who lit up every room he entered and will be deeply missed. We send our condolences to his loved ones.”

According to a Tennessee Highway Patrol report obtained by ABC News, Spence was driving when his vehicle “left the roadway” and collided with the back of a tractor trailer, which was stopped on the shoulder of the road.

As previously reported, the tragic news was also confirmed by Katherine McPhee, who’d performed with Spence in season 19 of the show. Chayce Beckham won that season.

McPhee posted a video to her Instagram Story of her and the “sweet” singer together. “Only 23 years old. Life is so unfair and nothing is ever promised,” she captioned, adding, “God rest your soul Willie. It was a pleasure to sing with you and to know you.”

McPhee also posted the last video Spence shared on social media, which incidentally shows him singing in his car on Tuesday. “He posted this right before the accident,” McPhee wrote, adding a sobbing emoji.

So far, American Idol judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan have yet to react to Spence’s death.

Country Music Association partners with Discovery to create a free resource for students and educators

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Courtesy of the Country Music Association

The Country Music Association (CMA) has always been a huge supporter of music education across the country, and now, they’re partnering with Discovery to create a video series benefiting students and the educators who help them learn to love music.

Called Working in Harmony: Every Voice is Instrumental, the free series spotlights some of the music industry’s behind-the-scenes members. First up is Aaron Farmer, the musical director for Florida Georgia Line. Future videos will spotlight Alec Takahashi — creative director/lighting designer for Thomas Rhett — and Reach LLC Owner and President Lindsay Bertelli.

Country stars have always turned out to help support the CMA’s initiatives in music education. Their ambassador program brought acts like Jimmie Allen, Ashley McBryde and Lindsay Ell to the cause to formulate lesson plans, make special appearances in schools and more.

To learn more about the CMA’s new Discovery partnership, visit its website.

Dwayne Johnson talks fatherhood and what ‘Black Adam’ means to him

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Black Adam movie has been years in the making, but for star Dwayne Johnson, it was all worth “really fighting for.”

Playing the titular DC anti-hero, the actor tells Good Morning America the film is “a representation of trying to be resilient….”

Talk of Johnson portraying the character first surfaced 15 years ago, and he eventually confirmed he would be playing the character back in 2014.

He said Adam’s “certainly a departure” from anything he’s done before, but he recalled times in his past where he felt “really constrained” and had people telling him what he could and could not do — like other heroes try with the god-like Adam.

“Many moons ago,” Johnson said he was told he’d have to make changes if he wanted to be like the biggest movie stars at the time: George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Will Smith.

Johnson said he was told he shouldn’t call himself The Rock — his ring name — and that he’d have to go on a diet and not go to the gym in an effort to lose weight because he was “too big.”

He continued, “And I bought into it for a couple of years before I said, ‘This ends right now, and I’m going to be myself and at least if I fail, I’ll fail being me.'”

Johnson said Black Adam means a lot to him, calling it “the movie of my career, the most important movie I’ve ever done — arguably will ever do.”

And while nobody tells Black Adam what to do, the same doesn’t apply to Johnson’s three daughters. He calls being a father to Simone, 21, Jasmine, 6, and Tiana, 4, “my favorite role.”

Black Adam opens in U.S. theaters on Oct. 21.

Charlie Puth admits he went “completely rogue” with his new album

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Charlie Puth acknowledges his new album, Charlie, is unlike his previous albums, especially in how he promoted and created it.

The singer spoke with Billboard about his latest creation and declared, “I went completely rogue.” He said of making his 12-track effort, “I was by myself when I made the album, but I involved the Internet into the creation of it, so it felt like I was in the room with millions of people.”

The singer would share TikTok videos of him being inspired by random sounds or noises, which he’d later turn into fully realized songs. The tracks not only enlightened his 20 million followers on how each song was made, it also brought them deeper into how Charlie’s mind works. “Right now, I might as well really show people who I am,” he said.

Charlie is happy this was his approach in promoting Charlie because the album is deeply personal. “I went through a lot of good and bad feelings, and happy and sad feelings, during the years of 2020 to 2022. And it seemed like it was all happening at the same time,” he explained, adding he set out to find out “what does happy and sad sound like?”

Charlie also revealed this album is a personal triumph because, before he began making it, he thought he’d never make music again. “I thought at one point my career as a touring artist was over. I had no idea. It had been like a couple years since I had something on [the] Billboard [charts]. Like, where did I stand as a touring artist?” he asked.

He has since arranged a tour of smaller venues that “Sold out immediately,” he said, adding that he plans on touring larger venues in 2023.

Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton + Cody Johnson to headline Country Jam 2023

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton and Cody Johnson are leading the lineup for Country Jam 2023.

The Colorado-based music festival announced its full roster of artists for next year on Wednesday morning. Also on the bill are Dustin Lynch, Lainey Wilson and Whiskey Myers.

Runaway June, Morgan Wade, Eddie Montgomery and Randall King are scheduled to perform, too, with ‘90s superstar Tracy Byrd, Wyoming country act Ian Munsick and singer-songwriter Shane Profitt also making an appearance on stage. More acts will be announced soon.

The three-day event will take place June 22-24 in Grand Junction, Colorado. Passes go on sale starting October 21. Each year, the event brings some of country’s biggest stars to the stage in Colorado; Miranda Lambert, Eric Church and Tim McGraw headlined last year.

Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers among artists nominated for 2022 MTV EMAs

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers are among the many acts that have received nominations for the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Both bands will compete in the Best Rock category alongside former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, The Killers, Muse and Måneskin.

In addition, Foo Fighters’ Studio 666 comedy-horror film and their star-studded tribute concert honoring late Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins at London’s Wembley Stadium are in the running for the Best Longform Video honor.

The 2022 MTV EMAs will take place November 13 in Düsseldorf, Germany and will air live on MTV throughout 170 different countries. The show will be available to stream globally on Paramount+ beginning November 14.

For more information about the event and to vote for your favorites, visit MTVEMA.com.

+ More