Music

It seems Miguel and his wife, Nazanin Mandi‘s marriage has come to the end of the road. 

Mandi filed to divorce from the “Sky Walker” singer on Tuesday after almost three years of marriage, according to documents obtained by TMZ. She apparently cited the reason as irreconcilable differences and noted that there is a prenup in place. 

Miguel and Mandi, who were high school sweethearts,  previously announced they were separating in September 2021. At the time, a representative for the couple confirmed the news to People, stating, “After 17 years together, Miguel and Nazanin Mandi have decided to separate and have been for some time now. The couple both wish each other well.”

It was not specified how long the pair had been apart or what led to the split.

Miguel and Mandi, both 35, dated for about a decade before getting engaged in 2016. They married in November 2018. They do not have any children together.

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Niecy Nash-Betts stopped by The Tamron Hall Show on Tuesday alongside her wife, singer Jessica Betts, to discuss making history as the first same-sex couple to land the cover of Essence Magazine.

Part of Tuesday’s conversation included details of a discussion Nash had with her youngest daughter, Dia, and the fact that she wasn’t sure how to respond to the 22-year-old when asked her about gender identity. 

“How did you discuss it with the kids who were trying to understand?” Hall asks, referring to questions Nash fielded prior to her marriage to Betts. 

“My daughter was like, ‘How do you identify?’ And I said, ‘Huh?'” Nash says that her daughter asked the question again. 

“And she said, ‘Well, how do you identify?’ And I said, ‘As Black and your momma!'” The audience and Hall burst into laughter before Nash delved into her experience trying to make sense of “all the labels.”

The 52-year-old actress says her daughter made her watch a show about gender identity, but instead of helping to make sense of things, the show actually made it worse.

“I was like, ‘Girl, I’m more confused now than I was before this. I don’t know. If I have to coin it in the moment, I would say I’m Jess-sexual,'” Nash said, motioning to her wife sitting beside her. “I’ve never looked at anyone, male or female, and seen them the way I see her. So I don’t know.”

She added, “But right now I know I’m happy.”

Prior to her marriage to Betts, Nash was married twice before to men. She told Essence of her relationship with her wife saying, “We have such a natural compatibility that we can be around each other, work together and hang out all day.”

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Loretta Lynn‘s life and career are being turned into a comic book. 

In honor of October’s Country Music Month, which was instituted by former President Richard Nixon in the 1970s, TidalWave Comics is releasing Female Force: Loretta Lynn on October 5. 

The 22-page book examines her life and career, from her origins in Butcher Holler, Kentucky, to becoming a country music legend. 

Written by Ryan McCall in honor of Loretta’s 90th birthday this year, the book features images of many of Loretta’s career highlights, including performing “Coal Miner’s Daughter” on the Grand Ole Opry and the night she met her husband, Oliver Lynn, at a pie social in Butcher Holler in 1947.

There’s also a cartoonized version of Kacey Musgraves, Margo Price and Brandy Clarkexploring Loretta’s exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame, along with Sissy Spacek presenting Loretta with the CMT Artist of a Lifetime Award at the 2018 CMT Artists of the Year ceremony. 

Loretta passed away on October 4 at the age of 90. TidalWave Comics has released a statement saying the book was already in the process of being published at the time of Loretta’s death. 

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Lauv knows taking care of his mental health is key to helping him like himself better, so he’s hoping to give fans a chance to do the same.

The singer announced Tuesday he has partnered with BetterHelp, an online therapy platform, to promote World Mental Health Day. To help as many people as possible, he will be giving away $3 million worth of therapy services.

“I’m super excited to be working with them,” the singer expressed in the video announcement. “Therapy has been … so huge in my mental health journey and I think it’s super helpful, obviously.”

Lauv encouraged his fans — from those who have been able to get therapy to those who don’t have the resources available — to visit BetterHelp.com/Lauv to register. Fans who take advantage of the offer will be matched with a therapist and given access to a month of free therapy.

Lauv added “therapy is a great place to start” in improving one’s mental health and signed off with, “Love u to the moon and back and honored at this opportunity.”

World Mental Health Day is October 10.

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Jordin Sparks is on the new season of Dancing with the Stars on Disney+, and on Monday night, she and her partner Brandon Armstrong got their highest scores yet for their sensual rumba.  But Jordin says DWTS feels a bit like being back on American Idol — once again, she’s asking viewers to vote for her.

She laughs to ABC Audio. “Why am I doing this to myself again? I must love it. I must enjoy this kind of torturous pressure cooker!”  But that’s not the only thing about the competition that’s gives her Idol flashbacks.

Jordin explains, “It’s also insane because it films in the same building that Idol did. So I’m walking down these same hallways…the stage is literally a couple feet away…there’s a lot of feels that go on every week when I’m in that building!”

Jordin finally agreed to do Dancing with the Stars this year, she says, because her son DJ is “old enough to understand mommy has to go rehearse” — and because her husband Dana told her, “You can totally do this!'”

“I really have to commend Dana and also DJ for inspiring me to want to do things that scare me!” she laughs.

Another flashback for Jordin came in August, when she joined Chris Brown at his final tour stop to sing their hit duet “No Air” for the first time in 15 years.

“We’d never been able to perform it live…[in a ] concert venue…and so it was really cool to be able to have that moment and…to sing it as adults!” she laughs. “We were [17] when we recorded that song! Now we have kids, and we know what love is…[so] to be able to sing it again in this phase of our life…it was a moment!”

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Reba McEntire is opening up about taking the relationship dynamics with boyfriend Rex Linn to the screen. 

The couple’s friendship spans decades; they met on the set of Kenny Rogers‘ film The Gambler in 1991 and kept in touch. 

Fate reunited them in 2020 when Reba scored a guest appearance on Young Sheldon, where Rex portrays the principal of the high school that titular character Sheldon Cooper attends. When Rex found out Reba was going to be on the show, he jumped at the chance to reconnect. 

“He texted me, he said, ‘Oh my gosh, let’s do dinner when you get through.’ So we did, and we’ve been together ever since,” Reba recalls. 

Last year, Rex played her love interest in The Hammer, an upcoming movie on Lifetime, and now they’re starring together on Big Sky.  

“We love working together because when we’re at home, we get to practice, rehearse and he’s a rehearsal schedule freak,” Reba describes. “He makes sure I know my lines before I ever go on stage.” 

On season 3 of Big Sky, the country singer steps into the role of Sunny Barnes, the owner of Sunny Day Excursions. Rex plays her husband, Buck Barnes, and while he contributes a “strong” presence, Reba asserts that her character is the one calling the shots.  

“Sunny runs the whole operation. Sunny is very dominating, she’s bossy, but she knows how to work Buck,” Reba explains, calling her character “very devious.” “There’s a lot of things Sunny has to do behind Buck’s back because she don’t want to have to explain herself and she don’t want to have to try to talk him into anything. She’ll get her way.” 

Big Sky airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET. 

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WILLOW is hoping to add an alt-metal icon to her list of collaborators.

Speaking with Kerrang!, the “Transparent Soul” artist shares that she would love to do a song with Deftones frontman Chino Moreno.

“He’s so amazing,” WILLOW says.

Deftones is among the many metal influences on WILLOW’s upcoming album, .

“I love Lamb of God,” WILLOW says. “I love Straight Line Stitch — they’re a great band. Also, the main singer of that band is a Black woman, which I really, really love. Crowbar is an amazing band.”

“Obviously Radiohead — I wouldn’t call them metal, but they were definitely a huge inspiration for this album,” she adds. “And I’ve been listening to a lot of Primus, and I love Les Claypool.”

will be released this Friday, October 7.

Deftones, meanwhile, will headline their annual Dia de Los Deftones festival on November 5 in San Diego. The bill also includes Turnstile and Phantogram.

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Alter Bridge‘s Blackbird first took flight 15 years ago.

The record, released in October 2007, marked the sophomore effort from the group, which featured Creed members Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips coming together with vocalist Myles Kennedy. Following their 2004 debut, One Day Remains, Kennedy and company felt they had “a lot to prove” with album #2.

“When that first record came out, people had their opinions on things, and understandably so,” Kennedy tells ABC Audio. “So we were essentially trying to figure out who we were, where we were gonna go, what we were gonna be.”

Part of that included Kennedy expanding from just singing on One Day Remains to playing guitar and writing more on Blackbird.

“I’d been used to being the sole writer with [previous band] The Mayfield Four, and Mark had been used to being the sole guitar player with Creed,” Kennedy explains. “So how do you do this delicate dance in the creative realm? Man, that’s a challenge. But I think somehow we landed on our feet.”

With its epic twin guitar solos played by both Kennedy and Tremonti, the song “Blackbird” became an apt metaphor for that delicate dance. Fittingly, the eight-minute epic has also become one of Alter Bridge’s most beloved songs.

“[I] think of all the fans I’ve seen who have ‘Blackbird’ tattoos on their bodies and share the stories of how that song means so much to them,” Kennedy muses. “Yeah, it’s pretty special. It really makes me grateful.”

Alter Bridge’s latest album, Pawns & Kings, drops October 14.

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It was a big night for music at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards!

Hosted by Fat Joe from Atlanta’s Fox Theatre, the 17th annual awards ceremony, which showcases the best performers, producers and more, aired Tuesday night.

Hip hop’s biggest night was jam packed with entertainment including performances from GloRilla, King Combs, Clipse, French Montana, Pusha T, Bleu, and more. Joey Bada$$ also hit the stage as part of a tribute to Hip-Hop’s fallen ones.  

The show also included a tribute to LOUD Records and its trailblazing founder Steve Rifkind, which saw David Banner, Mobb Deep, Lil’ Kim, Wu Tang Clan, Three 6 Mafia, Remy Ma, Lil’ Flip, Dead Prez, and M.O.P, perform. 

Another exciting moment came from the high energy cypher with Baby Tate, Deetranada, Sauce Walka, Topaz Jones, Sa-Roc, Reuben Vincent, Jayson Cash, Guapdad 4000, and Big Boss Vette.

As far as awards, Kendrick Lamar led the pack with six wins including Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for his latest project Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Drake nabbed three wins including Best Collaboration for “Wait For U” with Future and Tems. The highly sought after Best Hip Hop Platform award was a tie between Yung Miami‘s podcast Caresha Please and the DJ EFN and N.O.R.E. hosted podcast Drink Champs.

Trina took home the “I Am Hip Hop” award and delivered a heartfelt speech, dedicating the award to her 17-year-old niece, Toni “Suga” Chester, who was fatally shot in Miami in July.

To end the eventful night, Fivio Foreign and Lil Tjay blazed the stage with their respectful hits “City of Gods” and “Beat the Odds.”

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