Music

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Wondering why you didn’t see Halsey on the Met Gala red carpet Monday night? The new mom took to Twitter to explain why they didn’t attend.

“I’m still breastfeeding,” they wrote. “I only had my baby 7 weeks ago.”

Referencing the gala’s “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion theme,” the singer added, “There’s nothing more ‘American fashion’ than moms having to go back to work after just giving birth lol.”

When people on Twitter began criticizing Halsey for their response, pointing out that they had recently attended a party, Halsey responded, “Being out for 3 hours vs 9!!! I’m sorry I don’t know why I have to explain this.”

They clarified that they were “not complaining at all,” and that they understand they are “incredibly privileged to afford time off but the demands are still prevalent and the biology does not excuse me.”

“I am so grateful,” they wrote. “For my baby after everything I went through to get pregnant. For my undeserved comfort to spend time home. For the blessing to make art as a form of employment. But postpartum does not discriminate. That’s all I meant to say.”

Halsey welcomed their first child, Ender, in July with partner Alev Aydin.

I’m still breastfeeding https://t.co/OtZgDdAyZy

— h (@halsey) September 14, 2021

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Taylor Swift admits that she misses touring.

The Grammy winner shared a TikTok video Monday showing her relaxing barefooted on her couch while strumming her guitar as she reminisces about the past year.

“I’ve loved making music during the pandemic to connect with fans from afar but…,” the narration begins before jump-cutting to various concerts that show Taylor interacting with swarms of her fans.

She captioned the video “I miss us” along with the hashtag “All I think about is you.”

In March, Swift announced that she would be permanently cancelling her Lover Fest shows, which were meant to celebrate her seventh studio album, Lover.

In a tweet, Taylor wrote, “It’s not my favorite thing in the world to have to tell you news I’m sad about. I’m so sorry, but I cannot reschedule the shows that we’ve postponed.”

“I’m so disappointed that I won’t be able to see you in person as soon as I wanted to,” Taylor added. “I miss you terribly and can’t wait til we can all safely be at shows together again.”

Since issuing Lover, Swift released two surprise albums she recorded while in quarantine — folklore and  evermore.  Plans — if any — for a tour supporting the albums haven’t been disclosed, but fans are hoping Tay’s latest admission is hinting at a future announcement.

Why?  Her latest TikTok video is exactly 13 seconds long — and 13, of course, is Taylor’s lucky number.

@taylorswift

i miss us 🥺 #allithinkaboutisyou

♬ original sound – 🍒

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R. Kelly‘s longtime assistant, Diana Copeland, took the stand on Monday as the singer’s sex trafficking case continued in Brooklyn, New York.

Copeland, who has worked with Kelly for 15 years, detailed her interactions with the disgraced R&B icon and testified that he was once so paranoid he made her put on a robe to prove she wasn’t wearing a wire, Billboard reports. 

“He could get pretty heated,” Copeland explained.

She also claimed that Kelly made her cry on numerous occasions, kept strict policies, and once made her falsely write a letter confessing to stealing from him. 

Still, Copeland says that she did not observe any of the alleged abuse that previous witnesses discussed when they testified. 

Kelly, 54, whose birth name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, faces state and federal charges for sex trafficking, racketeering, coercion and other charges related to the alleged abuse and exploitation of six women — three of whom were underage at the time — over the course of 25 years. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

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Back before he found success with Midland, Mark Wystrach was an actor and model, starring on the NBC soap, Passions. 

This Friday, the “Drinkin’ Problem” hitmaker again steps in front of the camera, taking a pivotal role in the new film, The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

“I play a character named Gary Paxton,” Mark explains, “who is kind of a little-known, very large character in the music world. He had very young success in his career as an artist and as a songwriter.”

“I guess he’s best known for producing and writing a song called ‘Monster Mash,'” Mark continues, “and probably even better known for ending up being Tammy Faye Bakker‘s producer on multiple albums of hers that were recorded at their compound out in North Carolina.”

With Jessica Chastain taking the lead role and Andrew Garfield playing Tammy’s husband, Jim Bakker, Mark admits it would’ve been easy to psyche himself out.

“You find yourself suddenly, in the back of your head saying, ‘Wow, I’m the only person in this room right now on the set without an Academy Award,'” he confesses. “And that could be intimidating or you can just jump in and have fun.”

“And it was really easy with Jessica and Andrew and [director] Michael [Showalter],” Mark reflects. “They’re so gracious and so easy to work with that you just kinda jump in and go with the flow, and you just kind of swim in the river. And it was a blast, an amazing experience.”

“And I think the film — which I’ve had a chance to see — turned out brilliantly,” he adds. 

You can check out Mark’s performance when The Eyes of Tammy Faye opens on Friday. 

Meanwhile, Midland’s new EP, The Last Resort, is out now, featuring their single, “Sunrise Tells the Story.” 

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Lately, Avril Lavigne has been collaborating with some musicians who are continuing the emo-slash-pop-punk sound she helped take to the top of the charts 20 years ago, including her boyfriend Mod Sun and WILLOW, the daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.  She’s also seen how Olivia Rodrigo‘s music has been compared to her early work. But now, Avril’s ready to take back the sound for herself.

After she announced that she’s putting out new music next year, ABC News asked Avril what fans could expect from it.  “B****, I’m back to rock!” she declared, adding, “And the new music is exactly that.”

“Everyone’s having a lot of fun, sort of, like, with alternative music right now. My new album is kind of like that,” she continued. “It’s got, like, a pop-rock, pop-punk vibe. So I’m ready to have some fun…[and] rock out!”

And Mod Sun is pretty excited about his girlfriend’s new music.  He commented on Avril’s Instagram, “I can not wait for u to show the world what you’ve been working on. Ur an absolute icon + the most beautiful thing on this planet.”

Avril’s most recent album, Head Above Water, came out in 2019 and was inspired by her battle with Lyme disease.

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David Byrne’s American Utopia, the Spike Lee-directed TV special presenting former Talking Heads singer David Byrne‘s critically acclaimed Broadway show of the same name, won two awards Sunday at the 2021 Creative Arts Emmys ceremony.

The program was a winner in two technical categories — Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special.

The program, which premiered on HBO and HBO Max in October 2020, also will vie a trophy in the Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) category at the 2021 primetime Emmy Awards, airing live this Sunday, September 19, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

The American Utopia show features Byrne accompanied by 11 musicians, dancers and singers who move freely about an almost-empty stage. The production includes monologues by David connecting performances of songs from his 2018 American Utopia album, as well as Talking Heads songs and several other Byrne solo tunes.

Another music-themed winner at the Creative Arts Emmys was the documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, which won the honor for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera).  The doc premiered on on HBO and HBO Max in December 2020.

For more details about the Creative Arts Emmys, visit Emmys.com.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

David Byrne’s American Utopia, the Spike Lee-directed TV special presenting former Talking Heads singer David Byrne‘s critically acclaimed Broadway show of the same name, won two awards Sunday at the 2021 Creative Arts Emmys ceremony.

The program was a winner in two technical categories — Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special.

The program, which premiered on HBO and HBO Max in October 2020, also will vie a trophy in the Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) category at the 2021 primetime Emmy Awards, airing live this Sunday, September 19, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

The American Utopia show features Byrne accompanied by 11 musicians, dancers and singers who move freely about an almost-empty stage. The production includes monologues by David connecting performances of songs from his 2018 American Utopia album, as well as Talking Heads songs and several other Byrne solo tunes.

For more details about the Creative Arts Emmys, visit Emmys.com.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Static-X has announced a 2022 headlining tour.

The outing, dubbed the Rise of the Machine tour, is set to kick off February 21 in Portland, and will wrap up April 3 in San Francisco. Other artists on the bill include Fear Factory and Dope, as well as Mushroomhead and Twiztid on select dates.

On the tour, Static-X will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 2001 sophomore album, Machine. The band previously launched a 20th anniversary tour for their 1999 debut, Wisconsin Death Trip, during which they introduced Xer0, the mask-wearing mystery singer who now fronts Static-X in tribute to the late Wayne Static.

“We are so excited to finally get back out on the road,” Static-X says. “We plan to play most of the songs off of both Machine and Wisconsin Death Trip, as well a number of nice surprises that are being incorporated into the set list.”

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Static-X.com.

Meanwhile, Static-X is planning to release a deluxe 20th anniversary reissue of Machine on February 18.

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