Music

A new documentary is taking a deep dive into the mass shooting at Route 91 Harvest Festival in 2017.  

In remembrance of the fifth anniversary of the Las Vegas tragedy, where 58 people were killed and more than 800 injured in a mass shooting at the country music festival, Paramount+ is releasing the four-part documentary 11 Minutes. 

Jason Aldean, who was onstage when the shooting occurred, sits down for his first in-depth interview recounting his experience. He recalls his bass player having a “deer in the headlights” look on his face as his security guard was urging them to get off the stage. 

“It’s hard not to feel a little guilty. I mean, those people were there to support us,” he says. 

The documentary also features first-person stories from survivors along with interviews with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and trauma teams at Sunrise Hospital, where many of the concert goers were treated. The doc is co-executive produced by survivor Ashley Hoff. 

“As I ran out of that field, I believe I witnessed some of humanity’s greatest moments …,” Ashley says. “I’ve gotten to hear from many fellow survivors, some of the strongest, bravest, most resilient people I’ve ever met.”

11 Minutes premieres on September 27. 

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Elton John will play his final U.S. concert at LA’s Dodger Stadium on November 20, but if you can’t make it, don’t worry, Disney+ has got you covered.

Deadline reports that the streaming platform will livestream the concert as Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.

Elton will play three shows in all at Dodger Stadium on November 17, 19 and 20. These shows are particularly symbolic for the  since his original 1975 Dodger Stadium shows, during which he played to 100,000 fans, are legendary. They were the first at that stadium by a rock act since The Beatles a decade before, and are depicted in Elton’s biopic Rocketman.

Deadline notes that the livestream is in addition to the documentary Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances and the Years that Made His Legend, which will also stream on Disney+. 

As previously reported, the documentary will focus on Elton’s final months on the road but will also feature concert footage from the past 50 years, plus present-day footage of the star and his family. The doc will also have a limited theatrical release.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Mötley Crüe doesn’t plan to be staying “Home Sweet Home” for too long over the next couple years.

The Los Angeles metallers, who launched their reunion tour this summer after playing their supposed “final” show in 2015, are setting their sights on returning to U.S. stages in 2024.

“We’re far from being over,” vocalist Vince Neil tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “When we come back in ’24, we’re going to do it all over again.”

Those 2024 dates may also include another Las Vegas residency following Mötley’s previous Sin City engagements in 2012 and 2013.

“We have definitely talked about doing it, and everybody loves to do the residencies, so I say, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna do it,'” Neil says. “We just have to look at sometime in ’24, to be back in Vegas. But we will be back.”

Mötley’s reunion tour, which also featured Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, launched in June after a two-year pandemic delay and concluded last Friday in Vegas.

In addition to the potential return stateside in 2024, Mötley plans to take the reunion international in 2023 with dates in Mexico, South American and Europe.

Meanwhile, Tommy Lee will be busy with a different kind of venture. The drummer has announced that he’s launching an OnlyFans account where he can have “fun that Instagram won’t let us have here.”

The news follows the controversial, nude selfie Lee posted on Instagram over the summer, which was eventually removed from the social media platform for violating its content guidelines. Lee addressed the post multiple times onstage, and during one Mötley show, pulled a dachshund out of his pants after asking the crowd if they wanted to see his “wiener.”

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Harry Styles‘ movie Don’t Worry Darling has been somewhat overshadowed by behind-the-scenes drama, but luckily, he’s got another movie coming out this fall that’s all about his acting — and so far, audiences like what they see.

Harry’s film My Policeman, which features the pop star as Tom, a married British policeman in a forbidden relationship with a male lover, premiered Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Variety reports it received a standing ovation. In fact, Variety says the applause had to be cut short because Harry had to leave right after the screening to get back to his tour.

And prior to the screening, Harry and My Policeman co-stars received the ensemble award at the festival’s award ceremony on Sunday night. Variety reports that Harry told the crowd, “Thank you so much to everyone here, on behalf of all of us, for this wonderful, wonderful award. We all loved working on this film so much. And we hope you enjoy it.”

That was the first, but it may not be the last acting award — or nomination — Harry receives for the film.  Variety speculates that if Amazon, which is releasing the movie, decides to launch an Oscar campaign for the singer, they may have success putting him in the supporting role category. That’s because in My Policeman, Harry plays the younger version of his character; an older version of Tom is played by Linus Roache.

• However, Variety also notes that it might be an uphill battle since Harry’s so busy on tour that he may not have enough time to do the glad-handing that’s required for an Oscar campaign. Plus, Variety says, Academy voters may want him to prove himself as an actor for a while longer.

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Blake Shelton returned to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this week and performed his new single “No Body,” but that’s not all: He also invited show host Jimmy Fallon to the stage for a very special performance of a goofy song they invented special for the occasion.

The song, called “I’ll Bring the Ice,” stars Blake and Jimmy as two country boys getting ready for a classic backwoods party — and no middle-of-nowhere throwdown would be complete without plenty of ice to keep the beer nice and cold.

So Jimmy tasks himself with bringing the ice and gets a little bit preoccupied with making sure he’s got enough, making extra gas station runs and even raiding a freezer for backup ice.

The twist? Well, you’ll have to watch the video to find out, but let’s just say that despite his foresight about enough ice, Jimmy might have forgotten one other, very important, party essential.

Blake put “No Body” out last month.

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It’s hard to believe it’s been a quarter century since Usher released his sophomore 1997 album My Way, which made him a star. Now, he’s marking that milestone with a special 25th anniversary edition of the release.

The special edition features the original album, plus three “reimagined” versions of the album’s three monster hits: “My Way,” “Nice & Slow” and “You Make Me Wanna.”  Instrumental versions of those tracks round out the package.  The reimagined versions of those tracks, produced by Ryan James Carr, were the inspiration for Usher’s now-iconic Tiny Desk performance.

The new version will be released on September 16, 25 years to the day of the original album’s release.  Since then, the original album has been certified for sales of seven million copies. 

The 25th anniversary edition is now available to pre-save, and you can also pre-order it pressed on two “silver cloudy” vinyl LPs; those will be available in early 2023.

Also dropping September 16: a mini-documentary featuring a new interview with Usher talking about the legacy of the album and the reimagined tracks, plus interviews with Jermaine Dupri and Ryan James Carr, and archival footage of Usher back in 1997. That will premiere on Usher’s YouTube channel; a trailer is available now.

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Ray J is aiming to set the record straight when it comes to his 2007 sex tape with Kim Kardashian.

In multiple videos, including a 44-minute video shared over the weekend, the singer lodged claims that Kim, along with Kris Jenner, have lied about their involvement in the release of the tape. 

Ray J claims that there were three sex tapes in total, with the labels “Intro,” “Cabo,” and “Santa Barbara,” and said that Kris picked the tape in which Kim looked the best.

He also showed followers the alleged original contract for the deal with Vivid Entertainment, the adult entertainment company that released the tape, and claims Kim filled out the section containing the names of the three tapes. He also shared snapshots of handwritten notes allegedly from Kim to compare the handwriting to the contract, claiming that it was the same. 

The “One Wish” singer also shared alleged text messages between himself and Kim’s ex, Kanye West, in which  they discuss the tape.

The lengthy video was prompted by Kris’ recent appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden where, while hooked up to a polygraph test, the momager was asked if she assisted in the release of the sex tape.

When the crowd gasped at the question, Kris answered, “It’s OK. No, no.” After the man administering the test confirmed her answer was truthful, Kris added, “We cleared that up.”

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Last Friday, a collaborative album titled California Gold that Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford recorded in 1978 with one-time Derek & the Dominos member Bobby Whitlock got its release via digital formats.

Clifford produced the 10-track collection, and co-wrote all the songs with Whitlock, while legendary Booker T & the MG’s bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn lent his talents to about half the album.

Clifford tells ABC Audio that the album came together at a time when looking to put together a new band, and Dunn suggested that he contact Whitlock, who sang well and played Hammond B3 organ.

“[Duck] introduced me to Bobby, and we hit it off and started writing songs, and that worked really well,” Cosmo recalls. “We had a good writing team and wrote very easily.”

Clifford continues, “The collaboration was a perfect one. [Bobby] had what I didn’t and I had what he didn’t … [A]nd so we got songs together that we thought would represent us.”

Other musicians who contributed to California Gold included former Graham Central Station guitarist David Vega, another guitarist named Mike O’Neill and bassist Tom Miller.

“It’s a good record,” says Cosmo. “And it has kind of a combination of Delaney & Bonnie [with whom Whitlock previously played] and Creedence and some old blues guys.”

He adds, “I listened to it again … [and] it’s like I’m listening to somebody else … And I’m going, ‘Wow, these guys are pretty good. I wonder who they are. Oh, that’s us.'”

Clifford explains that the album initially got shelved because before the project was completed, Dunn wound up joining The Blues Brothers, while Whitlock decided to move away from the Bay Area.

Cosmo says he recently rediscovered the recordings while “doing a little spring cleaning” trough his archives.

Here’s California Gold‘s track list:

“Good Times”
“Get Down Fever”
“It Ain’t Like Mama Told Me”
“Turn the Beat Around”
“On Hold Again”
“Purple Mountain”
“It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn”
“Do or Die”
“I’m Happy Just Being Alive”
“Rollin’ On”

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After becoming a TikTok star, singer/songwriter Jax has her first big radio hit, “Victoria’s Secret.” She was inspired to write the song after Chelsea, the girl she babysits, was told by a friend that she looked “too fat and too flat” in a Victoria’s Secret bikini. Jax says she felt writing the song was a “responsibility” — but didn’t think it would be a “movement.”

“I had Victoria’s Secret, the concept, in my notes for ever, and I … could never find the right words, so I just gave up on it,” she tells ABC Audio. She says she didn’t feel she was in a place to preach body positivity: I’m not, even now, in a place where I’m feeling super body positive.”

But Jax says Chelsea’s story “made my blood boil.” 

“This was the first time I felt like it was more a responsibility to Chelsea and her friends and kids that age to talk about it, now that I have a platform,” Jax notes. She especially didn’t want Chelsea to have the body issues she had at that age.

“My friends and I were racing for the thigh gap. We would eat ice cubes to see [if] you could lose 5 pounds quicker,” Jax admits. So, she says, “Not only for mental health reasons, but for physical health, like, I could not watch her start that.”

The success of the song, however, has taken her by surprise.

“I didn’t expect it to turn into people of all ages, shape, sizes telling their own backstory about their own body issues, and self-love and dysmorphia, eating disorders and all this stuff,” she says. “So we kind of, in our own little funny relationship, started a movement!”

Jax is currently working on her debut album.

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It’s been six years since Prince passed away, but his high school friend Morris Day will always remember their many joyful moments together.

“He was an avant-garde, introverted person. But once you got past that surface, he was a really fun and funny dude to be around,” the lead singer of The Time tells Billboard.

Prince recruited Day to front The Time, and they made the Minneapolis sound famous around the world. With their hits “Cool,” “777-9311,” “Jungle Love,” “Ice Cream Castles,” “The Bird” and “Jerk Out,” The Time often toured with Prince. They appeared with the Oscar and Grammy winner in Graffiti Bridge and the classic Purple Rain.

“We had a lot of good times as we jammed nonstop. Sometimes I’d be in the grocery store on what I thought would be a night off. And he’d run into me there, saying he wanted to go in and cut a record,” Morris fondly recalls. “He loved music so much. I’ve never met anybody who cared about the craft as much as he did.”

Now, after more than 40 years as a recording artist, Morris will release what he calls his final solo album in November.

The 64-year-old singer plans to drop his fifth solo album, titled Last Call, on November 11. Snoop Dogg, Big Daddy Kane and Flo Rida are among the stars featured on the project.

Day regrets that Prince will not be able to hear his new music.

“I think he’d be happy with some of the songs, and proud to know that I’m still in the game,” Morris says. “That’s the hardest part, you know. Him not being around, and wondering what he, as [a] mega-talented musician and songwriter, would think about projects I’m working on.”

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