Pictured L-R: Big Machine Label Group President/Founder Scott Borchetta, Carly Pearce, Big Machine Records GM Clay Hunnicutt; Credit Alexa Campbell
Carly Pearce’s career accolades keep stacking up. Her current single, “Next Girl,” has officially earned RIAA Gold certification, signifying sales of over 500,000 units.
The song is climbing the charts, edging inside country radio’s top 20 as of the first week of July. Carly celebrated her newest accomplishment with a brand-new commemorative plaque, posing for a photo with Big Machine Label Group President Scott Borchetta and GM Clay Hunnicutt.
“I don’t know how to keep saying thank you enough for everything that is happening in my world, that I dreamt of since I was a little girl listening to country music with my grandparents!” the singer commented. “I’m so grateful for all of the fans coming along the journey with me and can’t wait to see you out on the road.”
Meanwhile, Carly’s also shared a live version of “Next Girl,” shining a light on her upbeat breakup anthem’s more introspective side.
Carly’s headed out on tour with Lady A at the end of this month, and she’ll get a chance to see fans at another upcoming big moment, too: On August 3, the singer will officially be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Dolly Parton surprised Carly with an invite to join the Opry last month.
We’ve got our first look at the Jonas Brothers’ upcoming NBC special Olympic Dreams Featuring Jonas Brothers, which pits Joe, Kevin and Nick against each other in various Olympic sports, including gymnastics, track and field and BMX racing.
In the trailer, we see the guys talking trash, with Joe telling Nick and Kevin, “I’m gonna destroy you both.”
The brothers will get help training for their sports from Olympians like medal-winning gymnasts Laurie Hernandez and Nastia Liukin, Olympic hurdler Sydney McLaughlin, track and field gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross, and BMX silver medalist Alise Wiloughby. Terry Crews and the NFL Network’s Rich Eisen will be the commentators.
“Competing in Olympic-level events, we’ve always dreamt of this. We’re doing everything we can in the short amount of time to become professional athletes,” says Joe.
“You’re going to see us in a way you’ve never seen us before,” Nick adds. “Even if you’re not a fan, you’re gonna see us in a way you’ve never seen us before. And if you’re really not a fan, like, you hate us, you’re gonna love this show because we make complete fools of ourselves!”
While taping the special, Nick Jonas cracked his rib during the BMX portion of the competition when he fell off the bike and hit the ground hard.
Olympic Dreams Featuring Jonas Brothers airs July 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
With the seemingly endless need for content in the age of streaming, there are reports that Reese Witherspoon is about to cash in.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Legally Blonde star and her Hello Sunshine production company — which produces Reese’s Emmy-nominated hits The Morning Show for Apple TV+ and Little Fires Everywhere for Hulu, as well as HBO’s Emmy-winning Big Little Lies — is “exploring” a sale, and that the asking price could hit a billion bucks.
Reese’s company also produces a podcast, and is home to Reese’s Book Club.
Dedicated to “shining a light on female authorship and agency,” Hello Sunshine — which Witherspoon runs with her husband, former Hollywood agent Jim Toth, and venture capitalist Seth Rodsky — has developed into a lifestyle brand to boot. Its current successes and potential for churning out new content have attracted Apple as a potential buyer, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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Olivia Rodrigo has just given her idol Taylor Swift another songwriting credit on one of her songs, according to Rolling Stone.
Olivia has reportedly added Taylor, Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent as co-writers on her track “Deja Vu,” because the song apparently borrows its bridge from Taylor’s “Cruel Summer.”
The 18-year-old previously told Rolling Stone that the yelling on the bridge of the song was inspired by the Lover track.
“Deja Vu” is the second single off Olivia’s debut album, SOUR. It’s also the second track off the album that gives Taylor some credit. As previously reported, a song on the album called “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back” is credited to both Taylor and Antonoff because it interpolates Taylor’s song “New Year’s Day,” off her 2017 album, Reputation.
Saweetie is setting the record straight when it comes to her past work with producer Dr. Luke, who was accused of sexual assault and emotional abuse by musician Kesha.
The 28-year-old rapper, born Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper, has received criticism for working with the controversial producer on her hits “Tap In” and “Best Friend,” with Doja Cat.
Saweetie tells Vulture that, although the singles were respectively released in 2020 and 2021, she recorded them years before she was made aware of the allegations against Dr Luke.
“When I was put in the position to work with him, it was a bundle deal,” she explained. “I had those songs for over two years. So what do you think? Do I compromise my artistry, do I keep them in the vault, or do I release them?”
With everything she knows now, would Saweetie work with Dr. Luke again?
“What do you think?” Saweetie responded to the interviewer, who pressed back, “I’m asking you.”
“I’m asking you back,” Saweetie replied. “I think you have a good sense of my character by now. Hopefully, we keep ourselves out of any controversial situation in the future.”
Zac Brown Band dig into two very different classic country tropes in their new double single release, simultaneously dropping “Out in the Middle” and “Old Love Song.”
“Out in the Middle” is an upbeat ode to the rural life, while “Old Love Song” name-checks timeless love ballads by the likes of Al Green, Keith Whitley and Randy Travis in an attempt to sum up an all-time great romance.
“This is all the songs you fell in love to. It was like a puzzle trying to put together all the song titles we really love,” frontman Zac Brown explains of writing “Old Love Song.” “I grew up listening to oldies — songs a lot older than I was. And this song has that feel to it.”
True to ZBB’s genre-bending ways, “Old Love Song” mixes in tracks from all musical styles, and “Out in the Middle” taps into the band’s well-documented Southern rock flair.
“It’s a tip of the hat to the people who live out in the middle of nowhere and they’re happy being there. People that live in the city often make fun of country people until they come out and experience it for themselves,” Zac points out. “Then they really get into it. There’s a reason that you stay out there.”
Still, the band’s two newest songs fit more seamlessly into the mainstream country genre than much of their recent output, especially in comparison to ZBB albums like The Owl and Zac’s solo effort, The Controversy.
That could be thanks in part to their co-writers. Zac wrote “Out in the Middle” and “Old Love Song” with country stalwart Luke Combs, as well as Ben Simonetti and Jonathan Singleton, both of whom also had a hand in penning ZBB’s current single, “Same Boat.”
Post Malone‘s new single “Motley Crew” features a member from perhaps the motliest crew. Or, should we say, motliest Crüe.
Drummer Tommy Lee stars in the video for the song, which premiered Friday. The clip finds Posty hitting a NASCAR racetrack with Lee and many other friends as they party and race around the course. You can watch it streaming now on YouTube.
Prior to “Motley Crew,” Malone released a song called “Tommy Lee” with hip-hop artist Tyla Yaweh. He also collaborated with Lee on a remix of the track.
Meanwhile, the band Mötley Crüe is gearing up to launch their long-awaited reunion tour next summer. The outing was originally scheduled for 2020 before getting postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(ATLANTA) — Students who are vaccinated don’t have to wear masks in school this fall unless they are riding the school bus or their school decides otherwise, according to new guidance released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new federal guidelines aren’t mandatory but are expected to influence school officials, local health departments and governors who are in the midst of preparing for students to return to the classroom full time this fall.
The recommendation also could encourage parents who were previously undecided. Kids older than 12 qualify for the Pfizer vaccine, which requires two doses three weeks apart.
“Achieving high levels of COVID-19 vaccination among eligible students as well as teachers, staff, and household members is one of the most critical strategies to help schools safely resume full operations,” the CDC stated.
The CDC recommendations specifically call for unvaccinated students and staff to continue mask-wearing and encourages schools to offer voluntary routine testing at least once a week. It also encourages 3-feet of distancing among unvaccinated kids in the classroom but says that recommendation shouldn’t prevent classrooms from reopening.
The CDC also recommends that all bus drivers and their passengers — vaccinated or not — wear a mask while traveling to school.
The biggest sticking point for schools though will likely be whether to require proof of vaccination. Most schools already require proof of childhood immunizations with few exceptions.
The CDC, which does not set vaccination requirements for schools or child care centers, makes clear in its recommendations that it will be up to schools and local officials to decide what to do. The agency specifically notes that schools may opt for a universal masking policy, particularly if they have unvaccinated populations and don’t want to require verification that a person has been vaccinated.
“We do allow for flexibility in our guidance,” said Capt. Erin Sauber-Schatz, who helped to write the guidelines as a member of CDC’s COVID response team.
In the end, “this is really about protecting the people who are either not yet eligible for vaccine due to their age, or people who are not yet fully vaccinated,” she added.
The Biden administration has said it won’t pursue a federal mandate for vaccines and is leaving it up to schools and businesses to decide what to enforce. But it has called for universal mask-wearing, even among vaccinated people, on airplanes, trains, buses and other public transportation because of the risk of variants spreading through travel.
So far, many businesses have been reluctant to mandate the vaccines or ask for proof, creating a kind of honor system. Health experts say that could change in a few months if federal regulators grant full approval to the vaccines, which are currently distributed under emergency authorization.
It’s likely that many schools will set their own policies anyway, even ignoring CDC guidance.
In Arizona, Chandler Unified School District, which welcomes back students July 21 — one of the earliest start dates in the nation — had already decided masks would be voluntary when Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed a law that prohibits local counties and school districts from requiring students or staff to wear face coverings.
Sauber-Schatz said the CDC’s goal was to write useable guidance for all schools, even jurisdictions that were planning to forgo mask mandates.
Under the recommendations, the CDC advises schools to lift COVID protocols slowly — including for masks — if the community has low case numbers and high vaccination rates; on the contrary, areas with high cases and low vaccination rates should keep various strategies in place to prevent outbreaks, according to the CDC.
Parents also should know a child isn’t “fully immunized” until two weeks after their second shot. Because the shots are spaced three weeks apart, that means a teen hoping to become fully immunized by mid-August would need their first shot now.
“The message is really, if your child is eligible for vaccine, the time to get vaccinated is now,” Sauber-Schatz said.
hree months after DMX‘s untimely passing, a cause of death has been revealed.
The pioneering rapper died of a heart attack caused by cocaine use, which in turn decreased blood circulation to his brain, a source from the Westchester County medical examiner’s office told Vulture.
“His death literally happened immediately because the brain was dead,” the source noted. “So obviously, there were a number of days where he was on ventilatory support and so forth in the hospital.. However, he was diagnosed brain-dead early on… He never woke up from [a] coma.”
Previously it had been reported that the rapper suffered a heart attack, though specifics were inconsistent.
DMX, born Earl Simmons, died on April 9 at age 50. Prior to his passing, his attorney, Murray Richman, confirmed to WABC-TV that the hip-hop icon had been hospitalized in White Plains, New York in “grave condition.” X was placed on life support and never recovered.
Def Leppard‘s second album, High ‘n’ Dry, was released 40 years ago this Sunday, July 11.
The album helped establish the band in the U.S. in advance of its massive 1983 breakthrough, Pyromania, peaking at #38 on the Billboard 200.
The best-known song from High ‘n’ Dry is “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak,” which garnered the band a lot of attention in the States when a performance video for the tune went into heavy rotation on MTV.
The album also featured the song “Let It Go,” which reached #34 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Both “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” and “Let It Go” were co-written by frontman Joe Elliott and guitarists Steve Clark and Pete Willis. Willis, who struggled with alcoholism, was fired from the group in 1982 and replaced by Phil Collen.
“‘Bringin’ On the Heartbreak’…when that came out on MTV, I think that kind of blew the doors off the place,” Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen tells ABC Audio. “If anything, that record really set up Pyromania perfect. And then…once Pyromania came out, you know, with MTV and everything that was going on at that time, I think that was a big reason for our success. But…I think that was probably one of the most important songs off of [High ‘n’ Dry].”
Allen adds that he also was a fan of the rocking “Let It Go,” which he says was “the closest we’ve ever got to sounding like AC/DC.”
A remix of “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak,” with new guitar parts by Collen replacing Willis’ original licks, was released in 1984, and made it to #61 on the Billboard Hot 100.
High ‘n’ Dry went on to sell over 2 million copies in the U.S.
Here’s the full High ‘n’ Dry track list:
“Let It Go”
“Another Hit and Run”
“High ‘n’ Dry (Saturday Night)”
“Bringin’ On the Heartbreak”
“Switch 625”
“You Got Me Runnin'”
“Lady Strange”
“On Through the Night”
“Mirror, Mirror (Look into My Eyes)”
“No No No”
