Music

It’s official — Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton tied the knot.

After much speculation, the “Slow Clap” singer confirmed the news on Monday by sharing a trio of stunning photos from their big day.

“July 3rd 2021 dreams do come true,” Stefani, 51, captioned the Instagram post that showed the newlyweds overlooking the countryside as Shelton embraces her from behind. 

Another picture shows a snapshot of the pair in the back of what appears to be a limo while a third shows them kissing beside their five-tier wedding cake. 

Page Six also posted photos of the wedding festivities taking place at a chapel built on the sprawling estate.

The two reportedly got hitched at Blake’s ranch in Oklahoma on Saturday, after they were spotted applying for a marriage license earlier in the week, People reports.

Earlier this month, Gwen shared snaps from her bridal shower on Instagram. “I got kidnapped by family to celebrate that I’m getting married!” she said in a post on her Instagram Story. She captioned another post, “Feeling loved, feeling blessed.”

Gwen and Blake got engaged last October after dating for five years. They first met on the set of The Voice, where they both served as coaches. Their relationship began in the wake of Gwen’s split from rocker husband Gavin Rossdale and Blake’s very public divorce from another country superstar, Miranda Lambert.

Since announcing their relationship, the two have released a handful of high-powered duets, including a Christmas song for a holiday album of Gwen’s as well as two hit country singles, “Nobody but You” and “Happy Anywhere.”

 

 

 

 

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Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton have officially tied the knot, People confirms.

The two reportedly got hitched at Blake’s ranch in Oklahoma on Saturday, after they were spotted applying for a marriage license earlier in the week.

Page Six posted photos of what appears to be the wedding festivities taking place at a chapel built on the sprawling estate.

Earlier this month, Gwen shared snaps from her bridal shower on Instagram. “I got kidnapped by family to celebrate that I’m getting married!” she said in a post on her Instagram Story. She captioned another post, “Feeling loved, feeling blessed.”

Gwen and Blake got engaged last October after dating for five years. They first met on the set of The Voice, where they both served as coaches. Their relationship began in the wake of Gwen’s split from rocker husband Gavin Rossdale and Blake’s very public divorce from another country superstar, Miranda Lambert.

Since announcing their relationship, the two have released a handful of high-powered duets, including a Christmas song for a holiday album of Gwen’s as well as two hit country singles, “Nobody but You” and “Happy Anywhere.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Yandy Smith is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Love & Hip Hop, the VH1 reality series franchise that helped launch the careers of many personalities we see today, including Grammy Award winner Cardi B.

Smith, who recently joined the Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta cast after starting on Love & Hip Hop: New York in 2011, says she’s still amazed by her journey as one of the original members.

“It’s so crazy looking back, because literally my whole entire adult life has happened with all of you,” Smith tells ABC Audio. “Every single thing from being a dating woman, to being an engaged woman, to a married woman — well a mom first — then a married woman. Then a single mom… every single step of the way you guys have endured with me.”

Smith says having that endurance over the years wasn’t an easy feat. That’s until she learned one of her biggest lessons: “You got to get thick skin.”

“And you also have to really figure out who your protective village is because you will get torn down,” she says. “Everyone once in their life deals with a breakup. Everyone once in their lives makes a stupid decision. Everyone once in a while says something that just is like, ‘Why did I say that? Why did I do that?'”

Unfortunately, Smith says, having those stupid decisions “in front of a million people or more” will lead to some really harsh feedback.

“You get a lot of judgment,” she says. “And if you don’t have thick skin, it will break you down to the core of the white meat.”

The new season of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, also starring Rasheeda Frost, Spice and Erica Mena, premieres Monday, July 5, at 8 p.m. ET on VH1.

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Rapper D Smoke has seen a massive amount of success since winning Netflix’s competition series Rhythm + Flow in 2019. After wowing judges — Cardi B, Chance the Rapper and T.I. — he released his Black Habits debut, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album last year.

As he prepares his sophomore album, D Smoke says he doesn’t feel pressure to release another Grammy-nominated project.

“The only pressure is the pressure to dig deep and go back into yourself and create something that’s honest…dope and…new,” he tells ABC Audio. “So that’s the only pressure, but that pressure is immense enough, because [my team and I] plan on and take pride in being different.”

The Inglewood, California, artist says his forthcoming album somewhat reflects his recent single “I’m Alive,” featuring rising singer Asia Fuqua. The song is featured in Infinite, a new film from director Antoine Fuqua, who is Asia’s father.

“‘I’m Alive’ is in some ways…similar to what we’re putting out. I wouldn’t say sonically, but in the sense that it’s one of those concepts that challenged me to dig deep and talk about something that’s conceptual,” D Smoke explains. “The movie is very conceptual, abstract, and beautiful in that way. So I always try to approach my life and the stories I want to tell in the music as somewhat of a movie.”

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Cory Marks has premiered the video for “Blame It on the Double,” his collaboration with Theory of a Deadman frontman Tyler Connolly.

The clip finds the “Outlaws & Outsiders” artist in the studio with Connolly as the two record their vocals and throw back one or several glasses of whiskey. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

“Blame It on the Double” originally appears on Marks’ 2020 debut album, Who I Am. He released a version with Connolly and ex-Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Jason Hook this past April, as well as a special “country mix” of the collaboration for his new EP, Nashville Mornings, which dropped in June.

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It’s all happening, and by “it’s,” we mean a Mariachi version of the Saint Motel single “It’s All Happening.”

The updated track, recorded by the group Mariachi Los Toros, recreates the melody of the tune with strumming acoustic guitar in upbeat, yet mournful horns. You can listen to it now streaming on YouTube.

The original “It’s All Happening” appears on Saint Motel’s new album, The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which was released last Friday. The record also includes the singles “Van Horn” and “Preach.”

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John Lennon, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam and Jimi Hendrix are among the music stars who are being turned into Funko Pop! figures.

The toy company has announced a slew of new, music-themed editions of its ever-popular big-headed collectables as part of its Popapalooza event.

Multiple Lennon figures were revealed in a post on Funko’s official Twitter feed, including one depicting the late Beatles legend wearing a khaki army jacket, and another showing him as he looked in a famous 1974 photo taken of him flashing a peace sign in front of the Statue of Liberty. However, the post notes that the designs currently are “subject to licensor approval.”

The Ozzy figure is inspired by the cover of Osbourne’s 1981 solo album Diary of a Madman and is packaged in a box that features a replica of the album.

The Pearl Jam Funkos feature figures of all five band members packaged together and are designed after Eddie Vedder and company’s early stage look.

The Hendrix toy shows the guitar great in the outfit he wore for his Live in Maui performance. The figure’s design also is “subject to licensor approval.”

Other Popalooza announcements include new figures of Green Day and Elvis Presley.

The new Funko Pop! toys are expected to be released in the coming weeks and months.

Popapalooza 2021: Pop! Rocks- John Lennon. Pre-order today! #Popapalooza #FunkoPopapalooza #Funko #FunkoPop@EntEarth: https://t.co/piKYmqrtgL
Distritomax: https://t.co/YeMzeB8DjE pic.twitter.com/sCZiCKPFWN

— Funko (@OriginalFunko) June 30, 2021

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Nas has dug into his massive catalog to bring new life to some of his classic records from the 1990s. The rap veteran tapped Freddie Gibbs, Cordae, and his Grammy-winning producer Hit-Boy to finish his track “Life Is Like a Dice Game.”

Nas recorded the original version as a freestyle during sessions for his classic 1994 debut album, Illmatic. He says industry vet Carl Chery convinced him to finish the record for the RapCaviar x Spotify Singles collaboration series. 

“Spotify pulled out a leak from the ’90s that I did ago and asked if I could resurrect it,” Nas tells Complex. “I can’t remember where I recorded it or who produced it — maybe Easy Mo Bee, he was killin’ the game at the time. Carl Chery from Spotify suggested we connect with Freddie Gibbs and Cordae to bring the song new life, and I loved it.”

Projecting it to be a hit, Nas concluded “Life Is Like a Dice Game” with the declaration, “When I finish this s***, it’s gonna be a hit.”

Nas also released an expanded edition of his sophomore album, It Was Written, to celebrate its 25th anniversary today. The upgrade features the cassette-only bonus track “Silent Murder,” and a bonus verse on “Street Dreams.”

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The latest episode of Queen‘s weekly YouTube video series Queen The Greatest premiered today, and the feature focuses on the successful songs that bassist John Deacon has written or co-written for the band.

The installment begins by noting that although Deacon didn’t write as many songs as his three band mates, some of his compositions were among Queen’s biggest hits.

The narrator first points out that it was John’s bass part that helped drive the band’s classic 1981 collaboration with David Bowie, “Under Pressure.”

The episode then looks at one of the first tunes John contributed to the group, “You’re My Best Friend,” which appeared on Queen’s 1975 album A Night at the Opera. The song reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the U.K. singles chart.

Next up is “Spread Your Wings,” from 1977’s News of the World. Cited as a “fan favorite” by the narrator, the song also broke into the top 40 of the U.K. singles chart.

The third song profiled is none other than “Another One Bites the Dust,” which sold over seven million copies worldwide, making it Queen’s best-selling single. The funky tune, from the band’s number-one album The Game, spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980.

The fourth Deacon-penned track that the episode looks at is “I Want to Break Free,” from 1984’s The Works. The single, whose memorable music video featured the band members in drag, just missed the top 40 in the U.S., but reached number three in the U.K.

The final song showcased in the episode is 1986’s “Friends Will Be Friends,” which John co-wrote with Freddie Mercury.  It hit #14 in the U.K.

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