Music

Nile Rodgers enjoyed reuniting with his legendary band CHIC for their first performance in over a year during last month’s Juneteenth Unityfest. The guitarist, songwriter and producer says he appreciates being a founder of the legendary pop-disco group, whose music transcends various musical genres. 

“We play funky dance music. We started in the late ’70s. Even though CHIC had a very short run in just those two years, every single record we put out was a minimum of gold,” he tells ABC Audio. “And then after we had our first gold record, every record after that was platinum and multiple platinum, every single one.”

Among the hits Rodgers and CHIC co-founder Bernard Edwards crafted were “Dance, Dance, Dance,” and “Good Times,” the latter of which was a major inspiration for The Sugarhill Gang‘s classic “Rapper’s Delight.”  

“‘Good Times’ went to number-one, but after that, we never had another number-one record. But my career kept going, because we were already signed with Diana Ross,” Rodgers explains. “We wound up making the biggest Diana Ross record ever.

After CHIC disbanded in the 1980s, Rodgers says he went on to produce a string of major hits for a variety of other artists. “I wound up making the biggest David Bowie record ever. Then the biggest Duran Duran record. Then the biggest Madonna record. Then the biggest INXS record,” he declares. 

Looking back over his last 30 years in the music industry, Rodgers says it’s been “a great career,” but he expects to have more hits on the way.

“I look at it as being very fortunate and being lucky,” he adds.

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Britney Spears addressed California Superior Court Judge Brenda J. Penny on Wednesday, stating her desire to have her father removed from her conservatorship. “I am here to get rid of my dad,” she said.

She also said during Wednesday’s hearing that she wanted to charge her father, Jamie Spears, with conservator abuse.

Britney also has a new attorney. Penny approved high-powered attorney Mathew S. Rosengart to be the pop star’s new legal counsel. The judge also approved Samuel D. Ingham III‘s request to resign as the singer’s court-appointed attorney.

While Rosengart appeared in person in court, Britney and Jamie Spears called in via telephone. Also appearing remotely were Britney’s mother, Lynne Spears, as well as co-conservator Jodi Montgomery, who has served as the conservator of the singer’s personal affairs since 2019 when Jamie vacated the role.

Penny also approved the request from Bessemer Trust to step down as co-conservator in the handling of Britney’s estate, leaving Jamie in sole control of her finances. Jamie’s involvement in the conservatorship has been a point of contention for some time; during Wednesday’s hearing, Britney spoke about her “serious abandonment issues” and said that as a child, she was “extremely scared” of her father.

“My dad needs to be removed [from the conservatorship] today,” she said, adding that she approved of Montgomery’s job as conservator of her person.

These developments came three weeks to the day after her bombshell testimony about her conservatorship on June 23. This testimony did more than just make headlines — it served as the catalyst for several changes regarding her 13-year conservatorship.

Britney, 39, has been in a conservatorship since 2008, when she was hospitalized for mental health reasons.

The Grammy winner’s next day in court is scheduled for September 29.

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It seems like everything ’90s is back — so why not All-4-One?  The chart-topping vocal group is back with a remake of their number-one 1994 hit “I Swear,” which is now promoting Xbox.

Retitled “It’s All There,” the song now promotes Xbox All Access, which features a new Xbox console and 24 months’ worth of Game Pass Ultimate, “all for one” monthly price.  In the two-minute long viral ad, the group passionately sings the song while an oblivious female gamer is completely absorbed in the entertainment she’s getting from her new Xbox All Access.

“It’s all there/next-gen console, games, friends, for one price,” the foursome croons. “Series X or an S/Game Pass Ultimate/All in one place/I can’t believe it/it’s all there!”

The original “I Swear,” a remake of a number-one country hit by John Michael Montgomery, topped the pop charts for 11 weeks.  All-4-One’s other hits include “I Can Love You Like That,” “So Much In Love” and “Someday,” from Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

This summer, All-4-One will be part of the I Love the ’90s Tour, which kicks off August 12 in South Bend, IN. Other acts on the bill include Vanilla Ice, Sir Mix-A-Lot, C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams, Naughty by Nature, Coolio, Young MC, Tone Loc and more. Tickets are on sale now at ilovethe90stour.com.

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The latest video in Ariana Grande’s VEVO Official Live Performance series has arrived.

This time, Ari is singing “my hair,” from her latest album Positions.  She sings the jazzy, sexy R&B tune while seated on a stool wearing a two-piece black outfit and tall boots. She’s surrounded by her band, on the same garden-like set she used for her previous VEVO clips.

At about two minutes in, she unleashes some very Mariah Carey-like whistle tones as she sings, “Come run your hands through my hair/baby, ’cause that’s why it’s there/come run your hands through my hair/don’t you be scared.”

“the biggest possible thank you to my incredible band,” Ariana wrote on Instagram about the performance, and offered a special thanks to Rashawn Ross “for joining us for this one.” Ross plays trumpet for the Dave Matthews Band, and has worked with everyone from Stevie Wonder to The Fugees.

“thank you guys for your brilliance, kindness and for sharing your gifts, ears and time with me,” she adds. “i feel sooooooo blessed to sing with you fellas!”

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Garth Brooks + Trisha Yearwood were among the many stars who honored former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in honor of their recent 75th wedding anniversary.

As People reports, Garth and Trisha were on the guest list for an anniversary party the couple had planned last weekend.  But before the festivities began, the two country superstars met privately with the Carters to offer them a jaw-dropping gift with a sweet personal meaning.

According to Jill Stuckey, a close friend of the Carters who spoke to People about the anniversary celebration, Garth and Trisha presented the couple with a red convertible car built in 1946 — the year they wed

Delivering a car to someone’s house in advance without ruining the surprise of the gift is no small feat, but Garth and Trisha managed to pull it off with help from the Secret Service, who stored it in an area of the couple’s Plains, Georgia compound where they wouldn’t see it until the moment arrived.

“Bright eyes, big smiles,” Stuckey says of the Carters’ “very excited” reaction to their gift. “But there was so much special [about the day] because [of] the people that were here from all aspects of their lives.”

Celebrities, politicians, church friends and more flocked to the Carters’ party to celebrate the couple: Billy and Hillary Clinton were in attendance, as was Nancy Pelosi and more.

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Jessie J is giving an update on her mysterious throat issue that has made it painful for her to sing or even talk for extended periods of time.

The singer, who first opened up about her throat pain last month on Instagram, tells Billboard that her doctors still don’t know what’s causing it.

“It just hasn’t got any better — it’s gotten worse and worse,” she says.

She tells Billboard the problems began last year when she was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease, an inner ear disorder, and was put on steroids to treat it. She then started to experience a burning in her throat that she initially thought was acid reflux, but it wouldn’t go away.

“[I’ve] done everything you can imagine, from eating [the same] three things for two months, to acupuncture, massage, medication,” she says. “I’ve had procedures done. I’ve had everything done.”

Thankfully, though the area around her vocal cords is inflamed, she’s been told that there’s no danger of them being significantly damaged.

Still, Jessie says it’s a frustrating experience, especially with a new album coming out soon.

“I just want to do what I love — and obviously, before this whole shebang, we had a year where we couldn’t [due to the pandemic],” she says. “So I’m just trying to stay in good spirits, stay working out, make a diary of everything I’m eating. But I really don’t know when it will be great.”

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R&B vocalist Kiana Ledé has announced her upcoming collaboration with It Was Good Until It Wasn’tsinger Kehlani. 

“The moment we’ve been waiting for,” Ledé wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday along with a winking face emoji. “My dream collab is coming to life, and if you know me, you know how special this is for me. Be sure to pre-save my new single ‘Ur Best Friend’ feat. @Kehlani NOW!”

According to the comments, everyone, including Ant Clemons, Sinead Harnett and Melanie Fiona, is excited about Kehlani and Kiana’s soft vocals on the same track. 

“We got one,” wrote Grammy-nominated producer OG Parker, who produced “Ur Best Friend,” alongside Smash David, Mike Woods and songwriter Tenroc.

“Ur Best Friend,” which likely will arrive this Friday, follows Kiana Ledé’s “Cut Em Off” from the female compilation album Big Femme Energy Volume 1. This marks Kehlani’s fifth collaboration this year and follows her previous releases with T-Pain, Pink Sweat$, Ant Clemons and emerging producer Amorphous. 

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On Wednesday, Camila Cabello‘s boyfriend Shawn Mendes dropped a new track: a remix of the Spanish song “KESI” by Colombian star Camilo.  But now it seems Camila may be planning to release something of her own.

The “Senorita” star posted a photo of the side of her face, showing her wearing a gold earring, tons of blush and some winged eyeliner, with her hair in a ponytail.  She captioned the image, “listos?” which is Spanish for, “Ready?”

The other pictures in the series were shots of a brightly colored eyeshadow palette, Camila’s closed eye with the lid done in baby-blue eyeshadow, and Camila’s hand, with each nail painted a different color, resting on top of the palette. According to Billboard, it’s Morphe 25L Volume 2 Live With Love Artistry Palette.

So what is Camila teasing?  Well,  Hits Daily Double reports that on Friday, she’ll release a new single called “Don’t Go Yet,” described as a “big, scorching Latin record.”  If so, it’ll be her first release of 2021.

 

 

 

 

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