Music

Ed Sheeran fans know that the singer’s body is his own personal canvas that he’s completely covered with tattoos. But somehow, he’s found space on his body for a couple more images to commemorate some of his recent milestones.

British tabloid The Sun quotes Ed as saying, “I got some vampire teeth on my shoulder for the [‘Bad Habits] video and an orca for Antarctica.”  Orcas, or killer whales, can be found in Antarctica; Ed and his wife, Cherry, conceived their daughter while visiting that continent in December of 2019. They subsequently named her Lyra Antarctica.

Fans first spotted the whale tattoo in an Instagram post a few weeks ago: It’s located on the underside of Ed’s left arm, above his armpit.

As for the vampire teeth, in the “Bad Habits” video, he plays a glam-rock vampire with spiky blond hair, glittery eyes and a pink suit.

Ed reportedly added about his extensive ink, “I am completely covered in the weirdest, most colorful tattoos and that is the thing no one can get their head around, apart from my wife. Everyone says I look like a melted crayon. But I love them. I love that any time something random happens, I put it on my body.”

Ed’s other tattoos include images of a Heinz ketchup logo, an enormous lion, a koala, a goat, a painting by Henri Matisse, a teddy bear, a Kiwi bird, a gecko, a pair of glasses, a cup of tea, a maple leaf, a phoenix, two characters from the Shrek movies, three boxing gloves and around 50 more.

 

 

 

 

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Founding Journey and former Santana member Neal Schon has decided to part with 112 of his valuable guitars, which he’ll be selling at a July 31 auction hosted by Heritage Auctions.

The sale will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Schon joining Santana, as well as celebrate Journey’s return to touring following the COVID-19 pandemic and that group’s plan to release a new album this year.

Among the many guitars going up for bid is the 1977 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Black Solid Body that Schon used to record Journey’s chart-topping 1981 album, Escape, which featured such classic tunes as “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Stone in Love” and “Who’s Crying Now.” The opening bid for the historic instrument is set at $200,000.

Another of Schon’s guitar being auctioned that holds an important spot in Journey history is his 1974 Guild F-50R Natural Acoustic model, which he used to write “Wheel in the Sky” and “Patiently,” among other tunes. The minimum bid for this instrument is $30,000.

Schon also will sell two 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard Sunburst electric guitars, the respective asking prices for which begin at $175,000 and $150,000.

Regarding his decision to sell some of his cherished instruments, Neal explains, “I don’t feel good about having them all in cases, these guitars I’m never going to really play on albums or live or anything. They’re not meant to sit there and look beautiful. Somebody should be utilizing them, and I should allow somebody to, because there are not that many of them around.”

The auction will take place on the same day Journey will perform at the 2021 Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, one of a handful of confirmed concerts the band has scheduled this year.

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The disaster that was Woodstock 1999 is the subject of a new HBO documentary.

The film, titled Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage, is set to premiere July 23. It’ll tell the story of the ill-fated festival, which featured performances by bands including Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit, but became infamous as it erupted into scenes of chaos, violence and sexual assault.

A newly released trailer sets up how poorly planned logistics, including expensive water and shoddy bathroom facilities — “You had kids rolling around in what they thought was mud,” shares one talking head — led to mass dehydration and health risks, which ultimately contributed to the festival’s demise.

The film also explores how Woodstock ’99 reflected what was happening socially and culturally in the U.S. at the time, and how that’s manifested itself in the country today.

“A lot of that energy just wound up in chatrooms and Reddit boards in 2021,” says The New York Times writer Wesley Morris.

Peace, Love, and Rage also features interviews with a variety of artists who performed at Woodstock ’99, including The Offspring, Korn‘s Jonathan Davis and Creed‘s Scott Stapp.

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A judge has ordered Memphis rapper Pooh Shiesty to remain in a federal detention center pending trial on charges connected to an incident in Miami, Florida, last October.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced the 21-year-old, born Lontrell D. Williams, will be held without bond on robbery charges stemming from a shooting involving the purchase of marijuana and a pair of high-end sneakers.

Allegedly, Williams and two associates drove to a hotel in the Miami suburb of Bay Harbor Islands on October 9, 2020 to purchase the items from two men. “It is alleged that during the transaction, the defendants shot the sellers with semi-automatic weapons,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement declares, adding that Williams and two co-defendants then “drove away from the scene, taking with them the sneakers and marijuana they had not paid for.”

Williams and the two associates have each been charged with one count of conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence, conspiring to commit a Hobbs Act robbery, committing a Hobbs Act robbery, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office is also pursuing criminal charges against Williams in connection to another alleged shooting of a security guard at King of Diamonds strip club over Memorial Day weekend this year. Williams, who was out on bail at the time, was arrested in June.

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Britney Spears and her controversial conservatorship continue to make headlines.  There have been two new legal filings in connection with it.

First, Jodi Montgomery, who is Britney’s “conservator of the person” — the one who’s in charge of her mental and physical well-being — has requested that the court approve her request for Britney’s estate to pay for more security for her.  According to Montgomery, ever since Britney’s court testimony last month was “illegally broadcast,” she’s been receiving threats of violence and death threats via text, social media, phone calls and emails.

The filing also states that there’s been “physical security” at Montgomery’s house since June 30, but paying for all that security is “cost-prohibitive for [her] to personally bear.”  Britney’s dad, Jamie Spears, who’s in charge of his daughter’s money, has agreed to pay for it, on the condition that Montgomery gets court approval.

Interestingly, part of Montgomery’s filing includes a text message from Britney to her requesting that she continue to serve as her conservator — despite Britney telling the judge that those involved in her conservatorship “ought to be in jail.”

The second filing is from Britney’s mom, Lynne Spears, requesting that Britney be allowed to hire her own lawyer, which the pop star hasn’t been allowed to do in 13 years.  Lynne points out that in 2008, when the conservatorship was first established, Britney was found “not to have the capacity to retain counsel.” 

But since then, Lynne notes, Britney “is able to care for her person and… [has] earned literally hundreds of millions of dollars as an international celebrity,” by performing “in front of millions of people” and using “her artistic and creative talents” to “rehearse and perform for many thousands of hours.”

“[Britney] should no longer be held to the 2008 standard,” the filing maintains.

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In partnership with BLK, the dating app for Black singles, Juvenile and Mannie Fresh remixed their 1999 twerk anthem, “Back That Thang Up.“

The former Cash Money artists called on No Limit rapper Mia X to turn the classic record into the new vaccine anthem, “Vax That Thang Up.” The song encourages listeners to get the COVID-19 vaccine before meeting up with a potential date they matched with on BLK.

“You finna online date yeah /find a mate yeah / Open up BLK yea it’s okay yeah / Profile pic lookin’ tight yea, nice yea/ Gotcha bio readin’ right yeah, precise yeah / But before you find a date yeah /you gotta wait yeah / Gotta go vaccinate yeah, get it straight yeah,” Juvenile raps in the chorus. 

Mannie shared the same sentiment on his verse, while Mia comes on the end telling people to, “Go, get the shot, go, go get the shot.”

“Vax That Thang Up” marks the first collaboration between Cash Money and No Limit Records.

(Video contains sexual references.)

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Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani officially tied the knot on Saturday, July 3, and since then, the couple has been sharing details about their stunning, intimate ceremony that took place on Blake’s Oklahoma ranch.

On Instagram, Gwen celebrated her new family of five by posting a photo of herself and Blake along with her three sons: 15-year-old Kingston, 12-year-old Zuma and 7-year-old Apollo. 

All three of the boys were looking dapper in custom suits with matching bowties and boutonnieres. For his part, Blake kept it country with a pair of blue jeans, but gave his outfit a formal twist with a tuxedo jacket, vest and white bow tie.

As always, Gwen was the more sophisticated half of the couple, wearing not one but two Vera Wang dresses during the wedding ceremony. She completed her bridal look with a custom veil embroidered with her name and Blake’s, as well as those of her three sons.

Gwen’s most recent wedding snap is the latest in a series of jaw-dropping images she’s shared from her wedding day. Elsewhere on her socials, the singer posed for a romantic shot with her new husband, modeled her shorter “party dress” and goofed off with celebrity officiant Carson Daly. 

 

 

 

 

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Ariana Grande has released a live performance video of her Positions track “safety net,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign.

It’s the second video as part of Ariana’s VEVO Official Live Performance Series, which she launched last month with a video for “pov.”

The “safety net” clip features the same stage design as the “pov” performance, with Ari singing the track in a garden made up of fake flowers and grass. The camera starts from above and swoops down as she starts to sing. Ty Dolla joins her starting with the second verse. 

“For a singer, being able to set a mood is like being able to cast a spell,” reads the video description from Vevo. “Time and again Ariana Grande has proven she’s one of those vocalists who can architect an aura, and this performance of ‘safety net’ is a great example of the way she controls the emotional climate of a song.”

“Stay tuned, more coming,” Vevo promises.

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BTS is ready for another Tonight Show takeover.

The K-pop superstars are making their return to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with a double whammy of appearances next week.

On Tuesday, July 13, the group will perform the TV debut of “Permission to Dance,” their new song co-written by Ed Sheeran. The next night, they’ll perform their number-one hit, “Butter.”

Last fall, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook visited The Tonight Show for a week-long residency dubbed BTS Week. They performed “Mikrokosmos,” “Black Swan,” “Home,” “Dynamite” and “Idol.”

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50 Cent is getting back into his hip-hop roots with his latest project.

According to Deadline, 50 is working with ABC to develop a non-scripted hip-hop competition series titled Unrapped. The show will focus on celebrity contestants — who are coached by iconic hip-hop mentors — that end up in a rap battle until “a king or queen is crowned.” A release date for Unrapped has yet to be announced. Casting is currently underway.

In other news, Netflix has released the first trailer for their three-part documentary series on tennis star Naomi Osaka. Titled Naomi Osaka, the series follow the four-time Grand Slam winner in the years after her win at the 2018 US Open. It will also chronicle her meteoric rise in the tennis world. Naomi Osakahits Netflix on July 16, just ahead of her expected return to tennis at the Tokyo Olympics.

Finally, Henry Simmons and Joy Bryant have been tapped to star in season two of OWN’s anthology drama series Cherish the Day. As previously reported, each season of Cherish the Day follows the relationship of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. In season two, Simmons and Bryant will play a high school sweethearts who find themselves reunited in New Orleans. A release date for Cherish the Day has yet be announced. Production on the series begins this month.

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