Celine Dion postpones remaining North American tour dates to 2022

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Celine Dion is pushing back the remaining North American dates on her Courage World Tour.

The shows, which had previously been rescheduled to August and September of this year, will now be postponed to March and April of 2022 due to continued COVID-19 concerns.

“I know how frustrating it is for my fans, with all the postponements that have taken place these past 18 months,” Celine says in a statement. “My team and I are still concerned about everyone’s safety this summer even though the situation has dramatically improved.”

“We all feel 100% comfortable that things will be very safe next spring, and I want my fans to feel the same way, without any worries,” she adds. “I hope everyone understands.”

The rescheduled dates kick off March 9 in Denver, CO, and wrap April 22 in Washington, D.C.

Tickets purchased for the original 2020 and 2021 tour dates will be honored for the rescheduled 2022 dates.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Summer Walker shares photos of her daughter, Princess Bubblegum

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Summer Walker has finally revealed the face of her daughter, Princess Bubblegum.

On Wednesday, the Over It singer shared four adorable photos of her four-month-old on Instagram, with the caption, “Baby bubbles.”

One image shows the infant smiling in a Burberry dress and lying on a changing table with a pacifier in her mouth. In other photos, Princess is seen wearing hand mittens and sleeping with a stuffed unicorn.

Princess’ father, producer London On Da Track, shared a similar photo of Princess on his Instagram with two snake emojis and a green heart in the caption.

Summer Walker and London On Da Track have been on-and-off for years and welcomed their daughter in late March. In May, the singer said she would not share photos of Princess due to fans criticizing her daughter’s physical appearance in a now-deleted photo on Instagram.

Meanwhile, Walker shared a sexy photo of herself in a bra and panties on her Instagram page, @galactawhore. In the caption, she reworked the lyrics from Aaliyah‘s song, “Try Again.”

“Dust ya self off & try his friend or whatever Aaliyah said,” Walker wrote.

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Who’s Smiling Now! Journey’s 1981 album ‘Escape’ receives prestigious RIAA Diamond sales award

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Journey‘s classic seventh studio album, 1981’s Escape, has just been certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales and equivalent units of 10 million copies in the U.S.

Escape, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this Saturday, July 17, is the band’s only album to top the Billboard 200. It yielded some of Journey’s most enduring hits, including the anthem “Don’t Stop Believin’,” plus “Open Arms” and “Who’s Crying Now,” as well as the classic-rock-radio staple “Stone in Love.”

Impressively, “Don’t Stop Believin'” has amassed more than a billion streams on Spotify alone.

“This is such a truly gratifying achievement for all the work we did together,” declares guitarist Neal Schon. “Congratulations to all.”

Adds keyboardist Jonathan Cain, “On behalf of all that helped to make our album Escape a Diamond award achievement, we say thank you. To our fans, to our bandmates who took part in recording this album, to our label, to all in radio and finally to the distributors who believed in this music; we are deeply humbled and honored to accept this prestigious award.”

Escape becomes Journey’s second RIAA Diamond-certified album, following the band’s 1988 Greatest Hits compilation, which has sold over 15 million copies or album equivalent units.

Journey recently released a brand-new song, “The Way We Used to Be,” the group’s first new music since 2011, and its first with its three recently added members — bassist Randy Jackson, drummer Narada Michael Walden and keyboardist Jason Derlatka. Jackson previously was a member of Journey during the mid-1980s.

Meanwhile, the band has several concerts on its 2021 itinerary, including a July 31 performance at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago and a July 29 Lollapalooza “Aftershow” event at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom.

Check out the band’s full schedule at JourneyMusic.com.

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Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean recounts last time he saw Britney Spears: “It broke my heart”

ABC/Kelsey McNeal

Fellow artists are continuing to speak out in support of Britney Spears, following the pop star’s latest conservatorship hearing on Wednesday.

Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean is among those offering up his “thoughts and prayers.” During an appearance on Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live, the singer detailed his most recent heartbreaking encounter with the star.  He says the two live close to each other and he often sees Britney at a cupcake shop they both frequent.

“The last time I saw her, it broke my heart,” AJ said. “Last time I saw her, she was with a gentleman. I’m assuming it was security or maybe a driver.”

“Went in, she was there, she looked right at me and I was like, ‘Hey, it’s AJ,'” he recalled. “And she just kind of had this glass face. Like, she just didn’t know who was there. It took her a minute. And then she realized it was me, and we hugged and we talked for a brief moment, but I could just see that this wasn’t her. Like, I’m not looking at the person I knew from years and years ago.”

AJ slammed the conservatorship, calling it “asinine,” “insane” and “completely brutal,” and declared himself “100 percent Team Britney.”

Ariana Grande also showed her support in a comment on Britney’s latest Instagram post. “YOU ARE SO VERY LOVED AND SUPPORTED,” she wrote.

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Zendaya reacts to criticism over Lola Bunny’s less-sexualized design in new ‘Space Jam’ movie

ABC

Zendaya was only a few months old when the first Space Jam movie, starring Michael Jordan, hit theaters in 1996.  That said, a lot has changed since the Looney Tunes dribbled across the court — with fans seemingly being the most divided over Lola Bunny’s sporty redesign in Space Jam: A New Legacy.

Lola traded in the crop top she wore in the first film for a basketball jersey, with movie execs saying they didn’t want to sexualize the cartoon character.  While the move was applauded by some fans, others were outraged.

Zendaya, who voices Lola in the new film, tells Entertainment Weekly that when she was first offered to play Lola, she “didn’t know” people would be upset over the character’s updated look.

“I didn’t know it was going to be as much of a focus as it was,” she laughed. “But I understand, because she’s a lovable character. She’s very important, so I get it.”

Zendaya, 24, who said she grew up watching the original film because of her family’s love of basketball, explained that Lola’s character resonated with her because of what she stood for, and not because of what she looked like.

“I’ve always appreciated Lola because she’s the only girl on the team, kind of holding it down for the ladies — and she’s also an incredible player,” the Euphoria star expressed. “I think in this reimagining of who she is, it just leans into that a little bit more, the fact that she’s got these skills and she’s an MVP.”

Space Jam: New Legacy — also starring LeBron JamesDon Cheadle and, of course, the rest of the Looney Tunes squad — hits theaters on Friday.

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For those about to drink: New AC/DC beer coming later this month

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If you feel the need to Power Up with alcohol, AC/DC‘s got you covered.

The band has teamed with the high-end collectible company KnuckleBonz and the CaliCraft Brewing Company to introduce two new beers: AC/DC PWR UP Juicy IPA and AC/DC TNT Double IPA.  They’ll be coming to select retail outlets in mid-September, but you can pre-order them now; depending on where you live, direct-to-consumer shipping starts July 26.

The 6.6% ABV PWR UP Juicy IPA is inspired by AC/DC’s most recent album, and features “massive flavors of bright passionfruit, ripe peaches, and juicy mandarin.”  The TNT Double IPA is 8.2% ABV, and is described as “big and bold,” with flavors of “fresh cut grapefruit, sweet mango, and fresh pine.”

If you happen to be in California, there is a series of release events for the beers on July 23, 24 and 25 at the CaliCraft Brewing Company at 2700 Mitchell Dr. in Walnut Creek, CA.

CaliCraft says that AC/DC had final approval over all the details of the beer, including the designs on the cans, and these two brews are the first in what will be a series of AC/DC-branded beers.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The Lox and Dipset to face off in next Verzuz battle

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The next Verzuz will see The Lox and Dipset go hit for hit at Madison Square Garden.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the the legendary hip-hop groups would face-off on Tuesday, August 3 at the iconic indoor arena.

“NYC stand up this one is for the history books,” the Instagram post read.

Presumably, all members of both groups will be hitting the stage for the experience. Dipset is comprised of rappers Cam’ronJim JonesJuelz Santana, and Freekey Zeekey, while JadakissStyles P, and Sheek Louch make up The Lox. 

Tickets to view the event live in person will be available Thursday, July 15 at 12 p.m. EST at MSG.com. Fans can also stream the event live on the Triller app and on the Verzuz Instagram Live. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Buckcherry cancels shows after members test positive for COVID-19

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Buckcherry is the latest band to change their touring plans due to the presence of COVID-19 in their inner circle.

On Wednesday, the band posted a note reading, “We just discovered that two of our band members have tested positive for COVID-19. Out of an abundance of caution and for the safety of all involved, we will be canceling all shows until July 30th in Columbus to allow them to recover and to quarantine.”

The “Lit Up” band went on to say that “the safety of our fans is of the utmost importance to us and we will use every effort to reschedule the 9 shows prior to that date.”  Fans are advised to hold onto their tickets until the new dates are announced.

It’s not clear which members of Buckcherry have been affected.  The canceled shows run from a July 16 date in Joplin, MO through a July 25 concert in Cincinnati, OH.

Buckcherry’s latest album, Hellbound, was released last month.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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New Bastille song “Give Me the Future” featured in Jeep’s new Life Electrified campaign

Reece Owen

Bastille has teamed with Jeep to showcase a new song, “Give Me the Future.”

The song is featured in a video for the automaker’s latest campaign, Life Electrified, which shows the evolution of Jeep over the past 80 years and all the new technology the brand’s vehicles will be featuring in the coming years.  And if you need another reason to watch it, there’s also an adorable dog featured in the video.

Bastille frontman Dan Smith says “Give Me the Future” is about “plugging into endless possibilities,” adding, “Literally, it feels like everything is out there for the taking, all tastes catered for.”

Smith goes on to say that the spaceship sound at the start of the track is “us crash landing in the future.” He explains, “The reality we live in at the moment was the science fiction of not that long ago. Take a film like Minority Report. The technology in that seemed so far off, a fantasy. But it’s here, we’re way beyond it already. Had someone told you that 20 years ago, when the film came out…you’d have laughed. Or been terrified.”

“Give Me the Future” is the follow up to Bastille’s latest single, “Distorted Light Beam,” which was co-written and co-produced by Ryan Tedder of the pop group OneRepublic.  Bastille will perform on ABC’s Good Morning America on August 23.

 

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Massive Judas Priest box set with every album, plus unreleased live tracks, coming in October

Sony Music

Judas Priest fans have another thing comin’: a massive box set that includes every official live and studio album the heavy metal icons ever released, plus 13 discs of unreleased material.

Judas Priest: 50 Heavy Metal Years, due out October 15, includes photos signed by band members Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Richie Faulkner and Scott Travis, as well as a numbered British Steel metal razor blade — which has been blunted, of course — plus replica tour programs and posters.

The albums span from 1974’s debut Rocka Rolla to 2018’s Firepower. Also included are the concert albums Unleashed in the East, Priest…Live!, ’98 Live Meltdown, Live in London and A Touch of Evil Live.

The unreleased material includes numerous newly restored live sets: Live in Atlanta ’82, Live in Houston ’86, Live at the Mudd Club ’79, Live in New Haven ’88, Los Angeles ’90, London ’81, Denver ’80 and Irvine ’91.  Plus, there are two albums’ worth of demos and various live tracks recorded over the years. All in all, you’ll get 42 discs.

You can pre-order the set now at JudasPriestStore.com: It’ll set you back $480.  If your pockets aren’t that deep, you can get Reflections –– a collection of highlights from the box — on vinyl for 40 bucks, or on CD for $12.

The set is being released as the band gears up to finally celebrate its 50th anniversary with a U.S. tour this fall. The metal god himself, Rob Halford, describes the project as “the ultimate treasure trove defining the bands unwavering commitment to keeping and defending the heavy metal faith.”

Here’s the track list for the Reflections highlights package:

“Let Us Prey/ Call for the Priest”
“You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise”
“Fever”
“Eat Me Alive”
“All Guns Blazing”
“Never the Heroes”
“Dissident Aggressor” (Live)
“Out in the Cold” (Live)
“Judas Priest – Running Wild” (Live)
“Victim of Changes” (Live) — May 9, 1978, Cleveland, OH, Agora Theatre*
“The Green Manalishi (with the Two Pronged Crown)” (Live) — Point of Entry Worldwide Blitz Tour, November 21, 1981, London, U.K., Foundations Forum – Hammersmith Odeon*
“Bloodstone” (Live) — Screaming for Vengeance World Vengeance Tour, December 11, 1982, Atlanta, GA, The Omni*
“The Ripper” (Live) — July 12, 1991, Irvine, CA, Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre*
“Beyond the Realms of Death” (Live) — Killing Machine Hell Bent for Leather Tour, March 11, 1979, New York, NY, The Mudd Club*
“The Hellion/Electric Eye” (Live) — Turbo Fuel for Life Tour, June 21, 1986, Houston, TX,  The Summit*
“Sinner” (Live) — Ram It Down Mercenaries of Metal Tour, August 7, 1988, New Haven, CT, New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum*

* = previously unreleased.

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