Kelly Clarkson may now be a Grammy-winning singer and an Emmy-winning talk show host, but she’ll always be known as the very first American Idol winner. On the 20th anniversary of her historic win — September 4, 2002 — Kelly took to her socials to reflect on what a moment like that — pun intended — meant to her.
“20 years ago today I won American Idol and it forever changed the course of my life,” Kelly wrote on Sunday. “That moment was the door that opened up so much access and opportunity, and the creative partnerships that I will be grateful for all of my days.
Kelly went on to praise “the family and friendships I have created over these 20 years in music and TV,” adding, ‘We only get so many trips around the sun and…I am most proud and grateful for those friends that have become family, and for their arms that have held me when I needed it and their hearts that listened to me when I felt lost.”
The star then thanked “every single person that voted 20 years ago,” repeating “Thank you!” three times. She wrapped up her note by expressing her hope that all those voters “have people in your lives that fill you with laughter, and hope, and happiness.”
“If you don’t feel like you have that, then keep searching because I promise they’re looking for you too,” she concluded.
Foo Fighters hosted the first of two tribute concerts honoring late drummer Taylor Hawkins on Saturday at London’s Wembley Stadium.
The show featured a jaw-dropping lineup of music stars that included one particularly special surprise guest, Paul McCartney, who joined the Foos during their event-closing set.
McCartney was accompanied by The Pretenders‘ Chrissie Hynde — whose own band played a set earlier in the day — and two performed duet version The Beatles‘ “Oh! Darling.” Then, Sir Paul and the Foo Fighters rocked out on the Fab Four’s “Helter Skelter.”
The concert, which ran for a whopping six hours, began with a video montage set to the Foos song “Aurora,” after which frontman Dave Grohl, flanked by bandmates Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee, came onstage to deliver his first public remarks since Hawkins unexpectedly died on March 25 at age 50.
“Tonight, we’ve gathered with family, and [Hawkins’] closest friends, his musical heroes and greatest inspirations, to bring you a gigantic f***ing night for a gigantic f***ing person,” Grohl told the cheering crowd.
The concert began with ex-Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, who performed his old band’s songs “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” and “Live Forever” alongside Foo Fighters, with Grohl on drums.
The first half of the show was mostly a tribute to the music that Hawkins himself loved. Among the highlights: Chic‘s Nile Rodgers was joined by Queens of the Stone Age‘s Joshua Homme and Supergrass‘ Gaz Coombes for David Bowie covers; Wolfgang Van Halen channeled the spirit of his late father Eddie Van Halen with performances of Van Halen‘s “Hot for Teacher” and “On Fire” with Grohl on bass; and the Joe Walsh-fronted band James Gang reunited for their first live set since 2006.
The concert also included performances by Hawkins’ side projects Chevy Metal and Coattail Riders, The Pretenders with Grohl on bass, and reunited supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, featuring Grohl, Homme, Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones and Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Alain Johannes.
In between performances, the Wembley screens showed video tributes sent in by artists including Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Slash and Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, and Elton John. Fleetwood Mac‘s Stevie Nicks also sent in an audio message, while comedian Dave Chappelle and actor Jason Sudeikis gave in-person remarks.
The concert then started to channel a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony when the Foos returned to the stage with AC/DC‘s Brian Johnson and Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich to play AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and “Let There Be Rock.” Police drummer Stewart Copeland then joined the Foo Fighters for two of his old band’s songs.
Next, Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson rocked out with Grohl on drums on “2112: I. Overture” and “Working Man.” Lee and Lifeson were then joined by former Bowie drummer Omar Hakim for “YYZ.”
A Queen set followed, with Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor joining the Foos for renditions of “We Will Rock You,” “Somebody to Love,” “I’m In Love with My Car” and “Under Pressure.” May then played a solo rendition of Queen’s “Love of My Life.”
The night closed out with a greatest-hits performance of Foo Fighters songs, with the band joined by several guest drummers, including Hakim, Roger Taylor’s son Rufus and viral kid drummer Nandi Bushell.
After McCartney’s surprise appearance, the Foos closed the night with their classic “My Hero,” with Taylor Hawkins’ son Shane on drums, and a Grohl solo rendition of “Everlong.”
You can watch an archived stream of the entire show via MTV’s YouTube channel. CBS will air a one-hour special version of the concert Saturday at 10 p.m. ET. A two-hour special will air on MTV later in September.
Proceeds from the Wembley concert will be donated to Music Support and MusiCares. The second Hawkins tribute show will take place September 27 in Los Angeles.
Here’s the Wembley set list:
Foo Fighters with Liam Gallagher — “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” (Oasis)
Foo Fighters with Liam Gallagher — “Live Forever” (Oasis)
Joshua Homme, Chris Chaney, Omar Hakim, Nile Rodgers — “Let’s Dance” (David Bowie)
Gaz Coombes, Chris Chaney, Omar Hakim, Nile Rodgers — “Modern Love” (David Bowie)
Chevy Metal — “Psycho Killer” (Talking Heads)
Kesha with Chevy Metal — “Children of the Revolution” (T. Rex)
Justin Hawkins with Coattail Riders — “Louise” (Coattail Riders)
Justin Hawkins with Coattail Riders — “Range Rover B****” (Taylor Hawkins)
Justin Hawkins with Coattail Riders — “It’s Over” (Coattail Riders)
Wolfgang Van Halen, Dave Grohl, Josh Freese, Justin Hawkins — “On Fire” (Van Halen)
Wolfgang Van Halen, Dave Grohl, Josh Freese, Justin Hawkins — “Hot for Teacher” (Van Halen)
Violet Grohl, Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin, Alain Johannes, Chris Chaney, Jason Falkner — “Last Goodbye” (Jeff Buckley)
Violet Grohl, Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin, Alain Johannes, Chris Chaney, Jason Falkner — “Grace” (Jeff Buckley)
Supergrass — “Richard III”
Supergrass — “Alright”
Supergrass — “Caught By the Fuzz”
Them Crooked Vultures — “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (Elton John)
Them Crooked Vultures — “Gunman”
Them Crooked Vultures — “Long Slow Goodbye” (Queens of the Stone Age)
Pretenders with Dave Grohl — “Precious”
Pretenders with Dave Grohl — “Tattooed Love Boys”
Pretenders with Dave Grohl — “Brass in Pocket”
James Gang — “Walk Away”
James Gang — “The Bomber: Closet Queen/Bolero/Cast Your Fate to the Wind”
James Gang with Dave Grohl — “Funk #49”
Violet Grohl, Mark Ronson, Chris Chaney, Jason Falkner — “Valerie” (The Zutons)
Foo Fighters with Lars Ulrich & Brian Johnson — “Back in Black” (AC/DC)
Foo Fighters with Lars Ulrich & Brian Johnson — “Let There Be Rock” (AC/DC)
Foo Fighters with Stewart Copeland — “Next to You” (The Police)
Foo Fighters with Stewart Copeland & Gaz Coombes — “Everything Little Thing She Does Is Magic” (The Police)
Dave Grohl, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson — “2112: I. Overture” (Rush)
Dave Grohl, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson — “Working Man” (Rush)
Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Omar Hakim — “YYZ” (Rush)
Foo Fighters with Roger & Rufus Taylor, Brian May, Luke Spiller — “We Will Rock You” (Queen)
Foo Fighters with Roger & Rufus Taylor, Brian May — “I’m in Love with My Car” (Queen)
Foo Fighters with Roger Taylor, Brian May, Justin Hawkins — “Under Pressure” (Queen & David Bowie)
Foo Fighters with Roger Taylor, Brian May, Sam Ryder — “Somebody to Love” (Queen)
Brian May — “Love of My Life” (Queen)
Foo Fighters with Josh Freese — “Times Like These”
Foo Fighters with Josh Freese — “All My Life”
Foo Fighters with Travis Barker — “The Pretender”
Foo Fighters with Travis Barker — “Monkey Wrench”
Foo Fighters with Nandi Bushell — “Learn to Fly”
Foo Fighters with Rufus Taylor — “These Days”
Foo Fighters with Rufus Taylor — “Best of You”
Foo Fighters with Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde & Omar Hakim — “Oh! Darling” (The Beatles)
Foo Fighters with Paul McCartney & Omar Hakim — “Helter Skelter” (The Beatles)
Foo Fighters with Omar Hakim — “Aurora”
Foo Fighters with Shane Hawkins — “My Hero”
Dave Grohl — “Everlong”
Foo Fighters held the first of two tribute concerts to late drummer Taylor Hawkins Saturday at London’s Wembley Stadium.
The show began with a video montage set to the Foos song “Aurora,” after which frontman Dave Grohl, flanked by bandmates Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee, came onstage to deliver his first public remarks since Hawkins unexpectedly died on March 25 at age 50.
“Tonight, we’ve gathered with family, and [Hawkins’] closest friends, his musical heroes and greatest inspirations, to bring you a gigantic f***ing night for a gigantic f***ing person,” Grohl told the cheering crowd.
The concert more than lived up to that lofty promise, stretching six hours with performances from some of the biggest names in music, beginning with Liam Gallagher, who kicked off the night with performances of the Oasis songs “Rock ‘N’ Roll Star” and “Live Forever” alongside Foo Fighters, with Grohl on drums.
The first half of the show was mostly a tribute to the music that Hawkins himself loved. Queens of the Stone Age‘s Joshua Homme joined Nile Rodgers for a cover of David Bowie‘s “Let’s Dance,” Wolfgang Van Halen channeled the spirit of his late father Eddie Van Halen with performances of Van Halen‘s “Hot for Teacher” and “On Fire” with Grohl on bass, Grohl’s daughter Violet sang two Jeff Buckley songs, and the Joe Walsh band James Gang reunited for their first live set since 2006.
Hawkins’ side projects Chevy Metal and Coattail Riders also performed, as did Supergrass, Pretenders with Grohl on bass, The Darkness‘ Justin Hawkins, and a reunited Them Crooked Vultures, featuring Grohl, Joshua Homme, Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones and guitarist Alain Johannes.
In between performances, the Wembley screens showed video tributes sent in by artists including Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, Slash and Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe‘s Nikki Sixx and Elton John. Fleetwood Mac‘s Stevie Nicks also sent in an audio message, while comedian Dave Chappelle and actor Jason Sudeikis gave in-person remarks.
The concert then started to channel a Rock & Roll Hall of fame induction ceremony when the Foos returned to the stage with AC/DC‘s Brian Johnson and Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich to play AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and “Let There Be Rock.” They then jammed two Police songs with drummer Stewart Copeland, followed by Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson joining Grohl for renditions of “2112: I. Overture” and “Working Man.”
The final guest performances came from Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor, who joined the Foos for “We Will Rock You,” “Somebody to Love,” “I’m in Love with My Car” and “Under Pressure.” May then played a solo rendition of the Queen track “Love of My Life.”
The night closed out with a greatest hits performance of Foo Fighters songs, beginning with “Times Like These,” during which Grohl was overcome with emotion, and had to step away from the mic for a moment to gather himself.
The Foos jammed through songs including “Learn to Fly,” “The Pretender” and “Best of You” with guest drummers including Blink-182‘s Travis Barker, Bowie drummer Omar Hakim, Roger Taylor’s son Rufus, viral kid drummer Nandi Bushell and session drummer Josh Freese.
The Foos hit parade was briefly interrupted when Paul McCartney made a surprise appearance to play The Beatles‘ “Helter Skelter” and “Oh! Darling” with Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde.
The night finally closed with the Foos classic “My Hero” with Hawkins’ son Shane on drums, and a Grohl solo rendition of “Everlong.”
You can watch an archived stream of the entire show via MTV’s YouTube channel. CBS will air a one-hour special version of the concert Saturday at 10 p.m. ET. A two-hour special will air on MTV later in September.
Proceeds from the Wembley concert will be donated to Music Support and MusiCares. The second tribute show will take place September 27 in Los Angeles.
Here’s the Wembley set list:
Foo Fighters with Liam Gallagher — “Rock ‘N’ Roll Star” (Oasis)
Foo Fighters with Liam Gallagher — “Live Forever” (Oasis)
Joshua Homme, Chris Chaney, Omar Hakim, Nile Rodgers — “Let’s Dance” (David Bowie)
Gaz Coombes, Chris Chaney, Omar Hakim, Nile Rodgers — “Modern Love” (David Bowie)
Chevy Metal — “Psycho Killer” (Talking Heads)
Kesha with Chevy Metal — “Children of the Revolution” (T. Rex)
Justin Hawkins with Coattail Riders — “Louise” (Coattail Riders)
Justin Hawkins with Coattail Riders — “Range Rover B****” (Taylor Hawkins)
Justin Hawkins with Coattail Riders — “It’s Over” (Coattail Riders)
Wolfgang Van Halen, Dave Grohl, Josh Freese, Justin Hawkins — “On Fire” (Van Halen)
Wolfgang Van Halen, Dave Grohl, Josh Freese, Justin Hawkins — “Hot for Teacher” (Van Halen)
Violet Grohl, Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin, Alain Johannes, Chris Chaney, Jason Falkner — “Last Goodbye” (Jeff Buckley)
Violet Grohl, Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin, Alain Johannes, Chris Chaney, Jason Falkner — “Grace” (Jeff Buckley)
Supergrass — “Richard III”
Supergrass — “Alright”
Supergrass — “Caught By the Fuzz”
Them Crooked Vultures — “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (Elton John)
Them Crooked Vultures — “Gunman”
Them Crooked Vultures — “Long Slow Goodbye” (Queens of the Stone Age)
Pretenders with Dave Grohl — “Precious”
Pretenders with Dave Grohl — “Tattooed Love Boys”
Pretenders with Dave Grohl — “Brass in Pocket”
James Gang — “Walk Away”
James Gang — “The Bomber: Closet Queen/Bolero/Cast Your Fate to the Wind”
James Gang with Dave Grohl — “Funk #49”
Violet Grohl, Mark Ronson, Chris Chaney, Jason Falkner — “Valerie” (The Zutons)
Foo Fighters with Lars Ulrich & Brian Johnson — “Back in Black” (AC/DC)
Foo Fighters with Lars Ulrich & Brian Johnson — “Let There Be Rock” (AC/DC)
Foo Fighters with Stewart Copeland — “Next to You” (The Police)
Foo Fighters with Stewart Copeland & Gaz Coombes — “Everything Little Thing She Does Is Magic” (The Police)
Dave Grohl, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson — “2112: I. Overture” (Rush)
Dave Grohl, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson — “Working Man” (Rush)
Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Omar Hakim — “YYZ” (Rush)
Foo Fighters with Roger & Rufus Taylor, Brian May, Luke Spiller — “We Will Rock You” (Queen)
Foo Fighters with Roger & Rufus Taylor, Brian May — “I’m in Love with My Car” (Queen)
Foo Fighters with Roger Taylor, Brian May, Justin Hawkins — “Under Pressure” (Queen & David Bowie)
Foo Fighters with Roger Taylor, Brian May, Sam Ryder — “Somebody to Love” (Queen)
Brian May — “Love of My Life” (Queen)
Foo Fighters with Josh Freese — “Times Like These”
Foo Fighters with Josh Freese — “All My Life”
Foo Fighters with Travis Barker — “The Pretender”
Foo Fighters with Travis Barker — “Monkey Wrench”
Foo Fighters with Nandi Bushell — “Learn to Fly”
Foo Fighters with Rufus Taylor — “These Days”
Foo Fighters with Rufus Taylor — “Best of You”
Foo Fighters with Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde & Omar Hakim — “Oh! Darling” (The Beatles)
Foo Fighters with Paul McCartney & Omar Hakim — “Helter Skelter” (The Beatles)
Foo Fighters with Omar Hakim — “Aurora”
Foo Fighters with Shane Hawkins — “My Hero”
Dave Grohl — “Everlong”
U2‘s Bono is among a variety of Irish celebrities featured reading the poetry of acclaimed late Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh on a new album titled Almost Everything… that will be released September 23.
The album is a two-part collection, combining recordings of 15 different Irish figures reciting Kavanagh’s poems backed by a musical soundtrack with a remastered version of the 1964 record Almost Everything that captured Kavanagh reading his own poetry.
Bono kicks off the album with a recitation of perhaps Kavanagh’s most famous poem, “On Raglan Road.” Other contributors to the album include Ireland’s president, Michael D. Higgins; singers Sharon Corr, Christy Moore, Hozier and Imelda May; and actors Liam Neeson, Aisling Bea, Evanna Lynch, Aidan Gillen and Jessie Buckley.
Almost Everything… will be available as a two-CD or a two-LP set, and can be preordered now at CladdaghRecords.com and Amazon.
The physical versions of Almost Everything… will come packaged with a booklet featuring all the poetry heard on the album.
Kavanagh, who began his professional writing career during the early 1930s, was known for his unsentimental depiction of everyday life in Ireland. He died in 1967 at age 63.
Here’s the track list of Almost Everything…:
CD1 (read by guests):
“On Raglan Road” — read by Bono
“Stony Grey Soil” — read by Michael D. Higgins
“Memory of My Father” — read by Liam Neeson
“Canal Bank Walk” — read by Imelda May
“Peace” — read by Hozier
“Inniskeen Road: July Evening” — read by Lisa McGee
“In Memory of My Mother” — read by Kathleen Watkins
“The Hospital” — read by Lisa Hannigan
“Pegasus” — read by Rachael Blackmore
“October” — read by Christy Moore
“Shancoduff” — read by Aisling Bea
“Lines Written on a Seat on the Grand Canal, Dublin” — read by Evanna Lynch
“Extract from The Great Hunger” — read by Aidan Gillen
“A Christmas Childhood” — read by Sharon Corr
“Epic” — read by Jessie Buckley
CD2 (read by Patrick Kavanagh):
“Autobiographical Prose”
“The Same Again”
“Jungle”
“Narcissus and the Women”
“Epic”
“God in Woman”
“Kerr’s Ass”
“Peace”
“The Hospital”
“On the Death of Jim Larkin”
“Extract from The Great Hunger“
“Living in the Country: Part One”
“Dear Folks”
“Miss Universe”
“About Reason, Maybe”
“To Hell with Commonsense”
“October”
“Come Dance with Kitty Stobling”
“Prelude”
“Having Confessed”
Kevin Nixon/Classic Rock Magazine/Future via Getty Images
Phil Mogg, founding lead singer of the veteran U.K. hard-rock band UFO, suffered a heart attack last week, forcing the group to cancel its final series of farewell tour dates, which were scheduled for October in Europe.
A message posted Friday on UFO’s official website announced the news, and added that Mogg “has had an operation placing stents into two arteries.”
Mogg, 74, also issued a statement that reads, “I have just got back from my doctors, and obviously asked amongst other things my resuming work, playing, touring, etc. She said most definitely not, unless you want another heart attack. So there it is, I have to go on a rehabilitation program which starts in about six weeks and lasts for six weeks. Three months more or less. I certainly didn’t want to bow out in this fashion, as I am sure you chaps didn’t.”
The band adds, “At this point in time it is absolutely unclear whether or not the dates will [be] postponed into 2023. Most important now is that Phil recovers fully. Let’s see what the future will bring. Sorry for the bad news, but it is what it is. It was a pleasure working with you all, and if we don’t meet again (for obvious reasons) I wish you all the best.”
UFO launched its farewell tour in June. The band’s final shows had been scheduled to run from an October 15 concert in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium through an October 29 performance in Athens, Greece.
Mogg co-founded UFO in 1968. The band’s most successful album in the U.S. was 1977’s Lights Out, which peaked at #23 on the Billboard 200. Their most recent studio album was the 2017 covers collection The Salentino Cuts.
The Who‘s 10th studio album, It’s Hard, was released 40 years ago this Sunday — September 4, 1982. The album was the British rock legends’ final studio effort to feature their founding bassist, John Entwistle, and their second and last recorded with ex-Faces/Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones, who replaced Keith Moon after Moon’s 1978 death.
It’s Hard peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 and yielded the hit single “Athena,” which reached #28 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the enduring tune “Eminence Front.” “Athena” and “Eminence Front” also ascended to #3 and #5, respectively, on Billboard‘s rock-radio airplay chart.
It’s Hard was produced by Glyn Johns and was recorded at his Turn Up-Down Studio in Surrey, U.K. It has gone on to be certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 in the U.S, and features the song “Eminence Front,” which has been used in commercials, in TV shows and at sporting events.
The Who supported It’s Hard with a major trek that the band had planned to be its farewell tour. The outing included the famous concert at New York’s Shea Stadium that featured The Clash as one of the opening acts.
This past June, an expanded 40th-anniversary edition of It’s Hard was released as a limited-edition two-LP vinyl set as part of this year’s Record Store Day event. The release featured bonus tracks and one orange and one yellow LP.
Here’s the full original track list of It’s Hard:
“Athena”
“It’s Your Turn”
“Cooks County”
“It’s Hard”
“Dangerous”
“Eminence Front”
“I’ve Known No War”
“One Life’s Enough”
“One at a Time”
“Why Did I Fall for That?”
“A Man Is a Man”
“Cry If You Want”
Elton John is soaring to the top of the charts thanks to his Britney Spears collab, “Hold Me Closer.” Billboardreports the song has gone to #1 in Australia and is currently in third place in Sir Elton’s native England. We’ll find out how “Hold Me Closer” fared on the U.S. charts next week.
If you need a reason to join TikTok, just know even Janet Jackson is on the platform and shared a funny before-and-after glam video. Mariah Carey commented, “Love you!!!”
Gavin DeGraw shared an acoustic version of “Greatest of All Time,” which he said he filmed in his backyard. Accompanied by a single guitarist, the singer dove into the heartfelt song. Singer Colbie Caillat was a fan and spammed him with emojis of approval.
Madonna is proud to be part of the “broken hearts club” and unveiled a tattoo of a broken heart on her wrist. Taking to her Instagram story, she showed it is placed under her “X” tattoo — a tribute of her Madame X album — and her “maman” ink. “All mothers get their hearts broken,” she cryptically wrote.
Ed Sheeran is selling 3,000 limited edition guitars celebrating his album= (Equals). He’s selling them via Sheeran by Lowden.
The Backstreet Boys‘ AJ McLean is ditching the dad bod. He showed off his physical transformation, writing on Instagram, “Found the pic on the left from a year ago on vacation and wow it’s amazing what a little dedication and setting goals can do for a person.” He also saluted his sobriety and encouraged, “If I can do it so can you!!”
Richard Marx is out with “Shame on You” off his upcoming Songwriter album, due out September 30. The new rock anthem was co-written by his son, Jesse Marx.
50 Cent turned Houston into “Big Rich Town” for his annual Tycoon Houston Weekend, but he was so angry about Trey Songz’s wild antics, he’s banning the “Bottoms Up” singer.
Fiddy hosted the four-day event in H-Town, and says Songz was destructive and violent. He posted an Instagram photo of Trey with the bold letters, “BANNED FROM TYCOON.”
The entertainment mogul commented, “Last TYCOON he crashed a Wraith. This TYCOON he was acting crazy, wanting to fight and sh** over the girls. He broke some sh** up in his room. Nah tell @treysongz he can’t come. SMH.”
In 2019, 50 used Trey’s version of “Big Rich Town” as the theme song for season 6 of Power.
The Tycoon Houston Weekend featured numerous events, including a celebrity basketball game, and a comedy and music festival starring Bill Bellamy, Lil Duval, Fetty Wap, Flo Rida, Jacquees and Jeremih.
Chase Rice held quite a few interesting jobs before becoming a country star, including lots of high-profile gigs, like being on reality TV.
But when it comes down to the toughest jobs he’s ever worked, Chase says that nothing compares to being a college football athlete — not even working on a NASCAR pit crew.
“The hardest job I ever had was college football,” says the singer, who’s a former linebacker for the University of North Carolina.
“It isn’t a job — it’s a full-time job, but you know, back then we didn’t get paid for it,” he continues. “But that was much harder [than NASCAR], because there’s just a more strenuous, longer season. Well, I don’t know about a longer season, but it was just harder — it flat out was.”
For one thing, the level of sustained physical activity was more grueling — “A 4 1/2-hour day, when you’re playing the whole time, is a lot harder than five or six pit stops” — and for another, there was more pressure involved.
“The hard part comes when you’ve got a guy like Jimmy Johnson and championships on the line,” Chase continues. “So there is a whole lot of pressure. [NASCAR] is a very, very hard job. But for me, football is harder.”
Image Group LA/Disney Channel via Getty Images Image Group LA/Disney Channel via Getty Images
Britney Spears is making good on her promise to close her wallet to her family now that her conservatorship has been terminated — and she’s starting by getting rid of a piece of property her family loves to use as a vacation spot.
Realtor.com reports the hitmaker listed her condo in Destin, located in the Florida Panhandle, for $2 million. Those who followed the “Free Britney” movement will recognize this piece of property as the place her little sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, declared her “favorite vacation spot.”
She tweeted in 2015 when responding to a fan’s question, “We have a condo [in] Destin, Florida and it’s the best getaway.” The Zoey 101 star also spoke in detail about the controversial piece of real estate to CMT about a year later.
“I host everyone at our condo,” she said at the time. “We’re pretty blessed with a big condo. It can sleep about 10 people. We all have breakfast together, I plan a big dinner, and we have a space at the beach.”
These comments came back to bite Jamie Lynn when she claimed in 2021 she hadn’t been “paid a dime” from her big sister’s controversial conservatorship. Fans pointed out she had been living — probably for free — in the condo her sister bought.
Tax records show the “Toxic” singer purchased the property over two decades ago via her Bridgemore Timber LLC company.
Now Britney is ready to cash in on the contested condo. Should it sell for her $2 million asking price, she’ll make a hefty profit, as she originally bought it in 2000 for $920,000.
The property boasts three beds and three baths, in addition to 3,600 square feet of living space and breathtaking, panoramic views of the ocean.
