Back in the early 2000s, the idea would have been sheer lunacy, but now, Backstreet Boys say they’re open to doing a joint tour with *NSYNC one day.
Speaking to PEOPLE (The TV Show!), Backstreet’s Nick Carter said of the proposed pairing, “I think it would just be good for the nostalgic side of it, for the fans, if we did something like that.” AJ McLean chimed in, “The fans would lose their mind[s].”
Nick explains, “What’s happening now is that we are realizing that we’re the only ones that have gone through what we have together, and we relate to one another. It was a place in time, and our lives were very parallel. So, all this unity and coming together and all this love, it’s really cool.”
The comments come after AJ teamed with *NSYNC’s Lance Bass and Joey Fatone for a charity event last month, and after Joey, AJ and Nick — along with Boyz II Men‘s Wanya Morris — announced a four-night engagement in Las Vegas.
Around the time of the charity event last month, AJ told People that the two groups’ supposed “feud” had been “fabricated,” and added, “Just to be able to do something like this together hopefully squashes all that crap that was never true in the first place.”
As previously reported, Backstreet have scheduled a 12-night Very Backstreet Christmas Party residency show in Las Vegas later this year.
Kentucky rapper EST Gee is making headlines with his latest mixtape, Bigger Than Life or Death, which features Yo Gotti, Lil Durk, Future, Young Thug, and more.
Fans on social media are enjoying the 15-song project, including Gee’s previously released songs, “Lick Back,” Capital 1,” and the title track, “Bigger Than Life or Death.”
“Six songs deep in this new EST Gee and it ain’t got no skips,” tweeted one fan, while another said, “EST Gee is such a breath of fresh air. His sound is exactly what I’ve been wanting to hear.”
Some fans hinted that the Louisville rapper should have been placed on XXL‘s 2021 Freshman class list for emerging artists. Meanwhile, many were impressed with Gee’s track “5500 Degrees” with Rylo Rodriguez, 42 Dugg, and Lil Baby.
Baby closes out the track, whichflips Juvenile‘s 1998 Cash Money classic “400 Degreez,” by declaring himself the “Lil Wayne of this new generation.”
“I’m going too crazy I’m the Wayne of this new generation / [Rappers] fugazi, they can’t f*** with us no types of ways/ these [rappers] too lazy / I’m cut from a different cloth, I don’t know who raised em,'” Baby raps.
(NOTE CONTENT) Andy Cohen has already proven skilled at getting people to spill the tea on his Bravo show Watch What Happens Live!, but now he’s doing the same when it comes to former flames, on his upcoming dating show Ex-Rated.
The occasionally NSFW trailer for the upcoming Peacock series just dropped, and it reveals the show’s premise: people are put on the hot seat by their exes, who judge their former partners on everything from their kissing and cuddling techniques to more intimate activities.
Joining Andy to try to smooth things over is sexpert and author Shan Boodram, who gives tips on how people — and the viewers at home — could potentially boost their numbers.
The dating show also lets guests give a potential ex another shot.
Peacock says Ex-Rated, “challenges adult singles of all ages and backgrounds to face raw, candid feedback on everything from their personality to sexual prowess and relationship skills in order to find out where they went wrong and how they can improve.”
The series debuts August 12. (VIDEO CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE)
A new collection of Slash signature Epiphone guitars was released Tuesday, featuring multiple acoustic and electric models, as part of a partnership between Epiphone and the Gibson company.
The Epiphone Slash Collection features guitars inspired by Gibson models that the Guns N’ Roses legend has played throughout his career. The electric models are the Epiphone Slash Les Paul Standard finished in Appetite Burst, November Burst, Anaconda Burst and Vermillion Burst, and the Slash “Victoria” Les Paul Standard Goldtop, which is gold. The collection’s acoustic model is called the Epiphone Slash J-45, which is available in Vermillion Burst and November Burst finish.
All of the guitars in Epiphone Slash Collection feature Slash’s “Skully” signature drawing on the back of the headstock, the guitarist’s signature on the truss rod cover, and a hardshell case that also includes the “Skully” logo.
Speaking about his signature collection in a new Epiphone promo video, Slash notes, “It’s a huge honor to be able to have a guitar that’s got your name on it…representing you…These are really well put together, all the best materials, all the best components. Everything I could want in an electric guitar is all in this. And so for…a reasonable amount of money, you can get a really great guitar that will last your whole career.”
All of the new Slash Epiphone models are available at a list price of $899. For more information about the instruments, visit Epiphone.com.
The Epiphone models were inspired by the pricier guitars released last year as part of the Gibson Slash Collection.
Green Day played their first full, in-person concert since the COVID-19 pandemic began Tuesday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The sold-out show, which required all attendees to be fully vaccinated, featured the live debut of the punk trio’s latest song, “Pollyanna,” which was released in May. Fan-recorded footage of the performance was posted to social media.
Other songs played during the set include “Longview,” “Welcome to Paradise,” “Brain Stew” and “Holiday,” as well as a cover of KISS‘ “Rock and Roll All Nite,” according to Setlist.fm.
Green Day played the Tulsa concert as a warm-up gig for their Hella Mega tour alongside Weezer and Fall Out Boy, which launches July 24 in Dallas.
(DENVER) — One woman is dead and two adults are missing in the wake of a devastating flash flood and mudslide in Colorado, authorities said.
The flooding in the Poudre Canyon in Larimer County, about 100 miles north of Denver, was reported at about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said.
A mudslide around 6 p.m. sent debris flowing into the canyon, destroying at least five structures and damaging the road, the sheriff’s office said.
Outage update: Crews were able to restore power to around 30 members last night. There are currently 101 members without power. For those members, we are expecting extended outages that could last multiple days. #cowx#flood2021pic.twitter.com/OLYwZfHcLM
— Poudre Valley REA (@PoudreValleyREA) July 21, 2021
Evacuations were ordered around 7:45 p.m. The evacuation mandate was lifted later in the night.
Search operations are ongoing Wednesday by foot and drone. Divers will try to recover the victim as well as a car in the river, the sheriff’s office said.
And the danger isn’t over — the flash flood threat will remain through the week.
“We ask that residents remain alert to the weather conditions in the event additional evacuations may be necessary,” the sheriff’s office said.
During his Verzuz battle with Bow Wow last month, Soulja Boy brought out French Montana to perform the “She Make It Clap” remix. Now, the two rappers have linked up to shoot a matching visual at a lavish estate.
Soulja and French can be seen kicking it with a gang of beautiful women while rapping about their fame and fortune. Soulja’s verse from the original “She Make It Clap” remains intact, while French’s verse references his ex, Khloe Kardashian, and Beyoncé’s protege, singer ChloeBailey.
“Make it clap like Chloe / Not my ex Khloe, that Chloe with Beyoncé / Met her at Liv on Sunday / Had her trending by Monday,” French raps.
Meanwhile, rising hip-hop/R&B singer Ryan Trey is back with a music video for his new single, “It’s About a Girl.” The dark visual opens with Ryan arriving at a house party, where he meets a beautiful girl. As the night continues, Ryan begins hallucinating and wakes up on the front lawn. It becomes clear that he never made it to the party due to crashing his car on the way there. He then realizes the girl from the party is a paramedic assisting him.
And last but not least, Jamaican dancehall singer Shenseea is back with her new single, “Run Run.” In the accompanying visual, Shenseea and her girls chase down a man who played with her heart and lock him in a cage. Shenseea’s spicy vocals helped her land collaborations with instrumentalist Masego and Tyga, to name a few.
After debuting his single “New Normal” during Richard Branson‘s Virgin Galactic Spaceflight earlier this month — and performing it live for Branson and crew after they returned to Earth — Khalid has officially released the song, as well as a music video.
In addition, Khalid has announced his third album: It’s called Everything Is Changing, which will be released this fall. It’s now available for pre-order.
”’New Normal’ was inspired by how I was feeling during the pandemic and the emotional toll that quarantine took on me and my friends,” Khalid explains. “Everything Is Changing, as an album, really takes that a step further with all of the songs centering around trying to find a purpose and a sense of self in a world where everything is digitally connected but emotionally disconnected.”
“As we all come out of quarantine and venture more into the world and try to reconnect with people we haven’t seen in over a year, I hope the messages explored within the album open up conversations and allow people to access their feelings in a new way,” he adds.
Everything Is Changing is the follow-up to Khalid’s 2019 album Free Spirit, which featured the hits “Better” and “Talk.” His current single “Working,” is a collaboration with Tate McRae.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday he would hold a key test vote on a bipartisan infrastructure deal — even though the Republicans involved in the talks say they won’t give Democrats the votes they need to meet the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to start debate on the bill.
While Schumer’s effort appeared doomed to fail — handing him and President Joe Biden at least a temporary political loss on a top priority — the White House said Wednesday the president was “extremely supportive” of Schumer’s strategy aimed at jump starting negotiations on the measure that would spend $1.2 trillion on “traditional infrastructure.”
“This vote is not a deadline to have every final detail worked out. It is not an attempt to jam anyone,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday morning.
“According to the negotiators, spurred on by this vote this afternoon –- they are close to finalizing their product,” he argued. “Even Republicans have agreed that the deadline has moved them forward more quickly. We all want the same thing here – to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill. But in order to finish the bill, we first need to start.”
Key Republican negotiators in the bipartisan group of senators who have been trying to work out the deal say they believe they can finalize it by Monday.
“We are making tremendous progress, and I hope that the majority leader will reconsider and just delay the vote until Monday. That’s not a big ask of him,” GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told reporters Monday morning.
The group huddled over Mexican food and wine behind closed doors for over two hours late Tuesday night, but left without squaring all of their differences on how to pay for package.
Schumer, the Republicans say, is well-aware of their position that waiting until next week to hold a vote would heighten the chances of success.
Negotiators said Tuesday that there are about six remaining issues with the bipartisan bill, the thorniest of which is how to structure spending on public transit systems.
At the same time, the senior lawmaker expects the legislation to be finalized by Monday, and that includes the nonpartisan analyses by various agencies breaking down all of the financing options, how much revenue would be produced, and a final price tag.
Republicans, in particular, will be looking to show that the $579 billion in new spending is fully paid for.
If the vote seems certain to fail, Schumer could switch his vote to the losing side at the last minute, enabling him as majority leader, under Senate rules, to call up the vote again for reconsideration.
The Wednesday vote is to start debate on a shell bill because there is no final bill from the negotiators. It would serve as a placeholder should negotiators strike a final deal.
The measure is separate from a much larger bill Biden and Democrats are pushing that would spend $3.5 trillion on so-called “human infrastructure” such as child care.
Democrats plan to push that through the Senate with no Republican votes, using a budget tool called “reconciliation.”
(NEW YORK) — Tom Barrack, a longtime friend of Donald Trump’s who chaired the committee that raised more than $100 million for his inauguration, has been charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government and obstruction of justice.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Tuesday that in 2016, Barrack illegally sought to use his influence with the new president on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.
In May 2016, according to the indictment, Barrack “took steps to establish himself as the key communications channel for the United Arab Emirates” to the Trump campaign and, that same month, gave a co-defendant a draft copy of an energy speech then-candidate Trump was preparing to deliver. The co-defendant then sent it to a UAE official and solicited feedback.
“Congrats on the great job today,” court records quoted the Emirati official saying in an email to Barrack after Trump delivered the speech. “Everybody here are happy with the results.”
A spokesman for Barrack, 74, told ABC News that “Mr. Barrack has made himself voluntarily available to investigators from the outset. He is not guilty and will be pleading not guilty.”
At a court appearance in California, where he was arrested Tuesday morning, Barrack was ordered detained after prosecutors described him as “an extremely wealthy and powerful individual with substantial ties to Lebanon, the UAE, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” who “poses a serious flight risk.”
Between May 2016 and October 2017, Barrack “repeatedly promoted the United Arab Emirates and its foreign policy interests during media appearances” after soliciting direction from his co-defendant and UAE officials, the indictment said.
“The defendant promoted UAE-favored policy positions in the Campaign, in the Administration, and through the media, at times using specific language provided by UAE leadership,” assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis wrote in the court filing. “The defendant never registered as an agent of the UAE, as public disclosure of his agreement to act at the direction of senior UAE officials would have diminished, if not eliminated, the access and influence that the UAE sought and valued.”
The allegations involving Barrack came to light as part of a House Oversight Committee investigation, ABC News reported in July 2019.
