The Offspring is premiering a new video this week.
The SoCal punks will drop the visual for “This Is Not Utopia,” the opening track off the band’s new album, Let the Bad Times Roll, on Wednesday, July 7, at 11 a.m. ET.
“This Is Not Utopia” will be the third Bad Times track to get a video, following the title track and the chimp-starring “We Never Have Sex Anymore,” the latter of which resulted in an admonishing letter from PETA.
Let the Bad Times Roll, the 10th Offspring album, was released in April. It’s the group’s first new record in nine years.
After being postponed this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the star-studded ’70s Rock & Romance Cruise is set to return in February 2022. The seagoing music festival is almost sold out, but a few new artists recently were added to the lineup.
The new additions are the Little River Band, former Chicago singer/bassist Jason Scheff, and ex-Boston guitarist Barry Goodreau‘s current band Barry Goudreau’s Engine Room.
These acts join a bill that already included Foreigner, The Guess Who, War, 10cc, The Family Stone, Air Supply, Melissa Manchester, Jim Messina, and Badfinger featuring Joey Molland.
The nostalgic nautical extravaganza is scheduled to set sail from Miami on February 19 and will stop on St. Maarten on February 22 and St. Thomas on February 23 before returning to port on the 26th.
Famed producer and Peter & Gordon singer Peter Asher will serve as the cruise’s host.
In addition to the many performances, the ’70s Rock & Romance Cruise will feature Q&A sessions and panel discussions with some of the artists, plus themed parties, wine tastings, trivia contests, game shows, karaoke, pool parties and more. Married couples also will have the opportunity to renew their wedding vows.
For more details about the cruise, including cabin availability, visit RockandRomanceCruise.com or call 844-466-7625.
ABBA may have broken up in 1982, but their music shows no sign of ever facing its “Waterloo” — at least, not in the U.K.
The group’s 1992 greatest hits album, Gold, has just notched a record 1,000 weeks on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart. It’s the first album ever to log that many weeks on the chart, eight of which were spent at number one. Gold currently stands at number 17 and is the U.K.’s second best-selling album of all time, behind Queen‘s Greatest Hits.
Commenting on the milestone, ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus told OfficialCharts.com that the achievement was “amazing!,” while Benny Andersson joked, “Not bad for 4 turnips.”
Two other albums are close to matching the ABBA record: Bob Marley & the Wailers‘ best-of, Legend, has been on the chart for 984 weeks, while Queen’s Greatest Hits has logged 952 weeks. The Queen album might return to number one this week for the first time since 1981, following the release of a 40th anniversary edition.
After being postponed this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the star-studded ’70s Rock & Romance Cruise is set to return in February 2022. The seagoing music festival is almost sold out, but a few new artists recently were added to the lineup.
The new additions are former Chicago singer/bassist Jason Scheff, ex-Boston guitarist Barry Goodreau‘s current band Barry Goudreau’s Engine Room, and the Little River Band.
These acts join a bill that already included Foreigner, The Guess Who, War, 10cc, Jim Messina, and Badfinger featuring Joey Molland.
The nostalgic nautical extravaganza is scheduled to set sail from Miami on February 19 and will stop on St. Maarten on February 22 and St. Thomas on February 23 before returning to port on the 26th.
Famed producer and Peter & Gordon singer Peter Asher will serve as the cruise’s host, while other performers on the bill include The Family Stone, Air Supply and Melissa Manchester.
In addition to the many performances, the ’70s Rock & Romance Cruise will feature Q&A sessions and panel discussions with some of the artists, plus themed parties, wine tastings, trivia contests, game shows, karaoke, pool parties and more. Married couples also will have the opportunity to renew their wedding vows.
For more details about the cruise, including cabin availability, visit RockandRomanceCruise.com or call 844-466-7625.
Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images for Louis Vuitton
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom had a double date of sorts with Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner, courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
The two couples both attended a Louis Vuitton Parfum event at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, France Monday, where they posed for photos together.
The event was to celebrate the luxury brand’s latest fragrance line, Les Extraits Collection. According to WWD, the collection was created by LV’s “master perfumer,” Jacques Cavallier Belletrud, with bottles designed by architect Frank Gehry.
Katy shared more photos from the event on Instagram, featuring her and fiancé Orlando decked out in the designer. Katy wore a sparkly purple 1920s flapper-inspired dress, while Orlando wore a crisp white button-down, black pants and a black harness-style vest.
“@louisvuitton puts the LV in LOVE,” Katy captioned the pics.
Orlando also posted pics of the two smooching at the event, captioning it, “You me n LV.”
Former 3LW singer Kiely Williams addressed a long-rumored incident involving former group member Naturi Naughton — and chicken.
It began Monday after fans criticized Naughton’s decision to “stand with” PhyliciaRashad, who received backlash for supporting Bill Cosby’s release from prison last week.
“Why are Black People so quick to #Cancel each other! We are ALLOWED to have different opinions and it doesn’t make you ANTI-anything!” Naughton wrote on her Instagram story, according to The Shade Room. “@phyliciarashad, I stand with you! #TheCosbyShowChangedLives.”
As the post spread to Twitter, fans began tagging Williams, who responded with, “OMFG. Somebody bring me a two-piece. She talking crazy again.”
Naughton then tweeted, “Finally, she tells the TRUTH! Haha…worrying about me, you done told on yourself! #GrabMeABiscuit while you’re at it, boo! #Lying4 years.”
The Shade Room also shared a clip from a 2019 episode of TV ONE’s UNCENSOREDseries, where Naughton detailed what happened.
“We had this huge fight which I’m sure many of my fans that remember cause I was on [BET’s] 106 & Park,” Naughton says in the clip. “People started talking about ‘Oh, there’s a two-piece chicken. She threw chicken in her face. It wasn’t just about the chicken, but that did really happen.
“For the record, a lot of people ask me, “Did yall really have a fight at KFC?’ she continued. “Yes, we did.”
Williams returned later to suggest she was making a joke, though fans took it as an admission.
“How you mad when I make the same joke ya’ll been making about me for years?!? I didn’t make it a joke; you did,” Williams tweeted. “Learn to laugh at yourself, people. I promise it makes life better. Also, complicity in rape culture is unacceptable and needs to be called out. #BillCosbyIsARapist.”
Ed Sheeran just wrote a new song for BTS, but the group’s current single has outperformed Ed’s new song on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Butter” has racked up a sixth week at number one, while Ed’s “Bad Habits” enters the chart at number five. According to Billboard, “Butter’s” staying power is thanks to several new versions and remixes, plus the sales of the vinyl and cassette versions of the single, which recently became available.
The song Ed wrote for BTS, “Permission to Dance,” will be released on Friday as part of a “Butter” EP.
As for Ed, “Bad Habits” is now his eighth Billboard Hot 100 top 10 in the U.S., and his first since 2019’s Justin Bieber collaboration, “I Don’t Care.”
“Bad Habits” is also doing well on Billboard charts that only measure radio airplay. “Habits” has jumped from #23 to #10 on the Pop Airplay chart and from #21 to #13 on the Adult Pop Airplay Chart. Meanwhile, it debuts at number 15, a career best for Ed, on the Adult Contemporary chart.
(WASHINGTON) — After years of legal wrangling, the Department of Defense has canceled its cloud-computing contract with Microsoft that could have been worth $10 billion.
The contract to build a cloud-computing system for the Pentagon was the subject of a lengthy legal battle, as Amazon alleged it was passed over for the lucrative deal due to political reasons.
The Department of Defense did not mention the legal battle, but said the contract was canceled due to evolving requirements, tech advances and different needs than when the contract was first offered.
“With the shifting technology environment, it has become clear that the JEDI Cloud contract, which has long been delayed, no longer meets the requirements to fill the DoD’s capability gaps,” a DoD spokesperson said in a statement.
Instead, the Pentagon will now offer deals to Microsoft and Amazon Web Services — the only companies cleared to meet the military’s security requirements — for individual contracts for specific needs.
The Jedi Cloud can be thought of as the military’s classified version of Apple’s iCloud where information could be stored securely and shared across the military’s computer system.
Amazon and Microsoft did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment Tuesday after the news broke.
(NEW YORK) — Crude oil prices briefly reached their highest levels in six years early Tuesday before retreating slightly, as surging post-pandemic oil demand and fizzled talks among producers casts new volatility over energy markets.
Futures on West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, were trading at $73.32 a barrel by midday Tuesday after topping $76.90 a barrel earlier. The price of WTI crude has skyrocketed by more than 50% since the beginning of the year.
Futures on Brent crude, the international benchmark, was $74.50 by midday Tuesday, a slight fall from its early morning high of $77.82. Since the beginning of the year, prices for Brent crude have climbed more than 45%.
The volatility comes as the waning pandemic is leading to a surge in demand for oil as industries reopen and global travel bounces back. In addition, a meeting of members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries scheduled for Monday was abruptly called off. In a brief statement, OPEC Secretary General HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo did not give a reason for the last-minute cancellation, saying the date of the next meeting will be decided “in due course.” The oil producers were expected to discuss increases in production after failing to reach an agreement last week.
Americans are also seeing no relief from soaring gas prices at the pump. On Tuesday, the national average gasoline price was $3.13 per gallon, according to American Automobile Association data.
Moreover, the AAA predicts that gas prices will increase another 10 to 20 cents per gallon through the end of August, bringing the national average to more than $3.25 later this summer.
“Robust gasoline demand and more expensive crude oil prices are pushing gas prices higher,” Jeanette McGee, an AAA spokesperson, said in a statement. “We had hoped that global crude production increases would bring some relief at the pump this month, but weekend OPEC negotiations fell through with no agreement reached. As a result, crude prices are set to surge to a seven year-high.”
States that saw the largest weekly increases at the pump include Idaho (which saw an average increase of 10 cents), Alaska (a 9 cent increase) as well as Washington, Oregon and Colorado (which all saw an increase of 7 cents).
The AAA noted that the last time the national average gas price was $3.25 was in October 2014.
Gas prices have been steadily climbing since the beginning of the year. The national average on Tuesday was 95 cents higher on average than during the same time period one year ago.
LucyHale, who recently celebrated Pretty Little Liars‘ 11th anniversary, wishes nothing but the best for the show’s upcoming reboot.
Speaking with ABC Audio, the actress weighed in on Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin — a reboot that comes not even four years after PLL aired its final episode on Freeform.
“I personally don’t have a problem with it. This is the honest truth,” said Hale, who starred as Aria Montgomery in the original series. “I’m very curious to see what it is even going to be [about]… I don’t know if it’s the same characters or the same storyline or what’s even happening!”
“I love Pretty Little Liars, so I think I’ll like the reboot,” Hale continued. “I wish them well. I truly do. I hope it’s a major success.”
Hale, 32, noted that reboots allow new actors to get their start in Hollywood and, as a reminder to PLL fans, referenced her own big break.
“I’ve been a part of reboots, I did the Bionic Woman reboot,” she explained, referring to the 2007 re-do of the series that originally ran between 1976 and 1978. Hale played Becca Somers, the teenage sister of the titular character.
“I know some friends that have been a part of reboots and got trashed for even being a part of it, but I think as an artist, you always have to be supportive of other people,” Lucy continued.
Hale, who recently partnered with the sustainable dog food brand KARMA, said the reboot will allow more people falling in love with Pretty Little Liars.
“I think a lot of people will be discovering it for the first time, too, like they won’t even know the original people, which is really funny,” she smiled. “I only have well wishes for everyone involved.”
