Music

Shania Twain is joining the celebrity judging panel for series 2 of Starstruck, the U.K. singing competition that streams on ITV.

The country superstar will join fellow stars Adam Lambert, Beverley Knight and Jason Manford on the panel. Starstruck follows talented singers as they impersonate their musical idols, going head to head as they vie for the top prize.

The latest iteration of Starstruck — a revival of Stars in Their Eyes, which first aired in 1990 — premiered this February and has since been picked up for more episodes. The show announced its series 2 judges’ lineup this week on social media.

“It’s a real honor. I am such a fan of the other artists on the panel,” Shania said in the video announcement. “… I can’t wait to see all the amazing talent there, and all I can say is, let’s go ITV!”

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Gloria Estefan is 65 today, and she’s getting a doll for her birthday.

To mark her milestone birthday, Mattel has introduced the Gloria Estefan Barbie® Doll, dressed in an outfit based on the one Gloria wore in her 1989 video for “Get On Your Feet.” The Gloria Barbie wears a black jacket with gold detailing and lace sleeves, a leopard belt with a gold waist chain and thigh-high boots.

Gloria tells E! Online that her look in the video, especially her “torero,” or bullfighter-style jacket, was inspired by her grandfather, who was from Spain. She also wanted to have Moroccan touches to honor that side of husband Emilio Estefan’s family. She tells E!, “It’s just one of my favorite looks that I’ve ever had.”

In a statement, Gloria says of the doll’s outfit, “When designing my Barbie with the team, I wanted to ensure I was staying true to my multicultural roots – and I believe we did just that.”

Gloria tells E! that of all the honors she’s ever received, having a Barbie is “a big one for me,” adding, “I played with Barbies since I was a little girl.”

You can buy the doll at Target, Amazon, Walmart and at MattelCreations.com.

As part of the partnership, the Barbie® brand is also supporting two arts programs in the Philadelphia area: Artistas y Musicos Latino Americanos and the Esperanza Arts Center. The programs help fund private music lessons for young people, and train them in arts production and administration.

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Pierce the Veil is back with a new single.

The track, titled “Pass the Nirvana,” is the first fresh offering from the “Circles” rockers in six years, following their 2016 album, Misadventures.

“‘Pass the Nirvana’ is about the many horrible traumas that the youth of America have endured over the past few years,” says frontman Vic Fuentes. “COVID, no proms, no graduations, an insurrection, school shootings. The list goes on. Their lives have been tossed around like clothes in a dryer, as the tensions within our country have infiltrated our own homes, friends, and families.”

He adds, “To me, the song represents a euphoric detachment from all of that anxiety and stress and about finding some form of peace or nirvana.”

You can listen to “Pass the Nirvana” now via digital outlets.

“Pass the Nirvana” also marks the first song from Pierce the Veil without drummer Mike Fuentes, who left the band in 2017 following allegations of sexual misconduct.

Pierce the Veil will hit the road on a tour with I Prevail beginning September 9 in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

(Video contains uncensored profanity) 

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Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ari Lennox is embracing self-love with her upcoming sophomore album, Age/Sex/Location.

According to a text message shared by J. Cole, whose label the “Pressure singer” is signed to, she opened up about what the album means for her. 

“I asked Ari what this new album means to her. I needed to know cuz I f*** with it so heavy,” he captioned the  Instagram post of Ari’s text.

In the lengthy text, Ari expressed that Age/Sex/Location, which is due out on September 9, explores the lessons she’s learned in dating and the journey to self-love. 

“Transitional space. Very vulnerable codependent and validation seeking part of my life,” she wrote. “I remember the countless times I was kicked out of dating apps because they didn’t think I was really myself, it reminded me of those age/sex/location days where I actually wasn’t being myself in those chat rooms.”

The 31-year-old singer went on to say that she spent “so much time seeing to god and good in some abusive people” which resulted in her “neglecting [her] needs and self worth.” 

“No more tip toeing,” she continued. “Providing grace and compassion to myself. Blocking those that no longer serve me or just literally not responding… Allowing accountability and maturing. Allowing growth to happen. Allowing self worth and self love and inner work to happen. Allowing therapy. Allowing dating me to happen.”

Ari concluded, “What’s for me is for me and I’m complete on my own. This is my eat love pray journey. And it’s my honest goodbye to searching for love. I got it right here inside of me. The end of searching for anything other than self love and family. Pouring into me and giving the greatest love to me.”

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Jason Aldean’s wife, Brittany, is once again putting her political viewpoints on a shirt.

The beauty influencer and country music personality just rolled out a series of “Barbie inspired” shirts and sweats reading “Don’t Tread On Our Kids.” She modeled them on social media alongside Jason’s sister, Kasi Rosa, with whom she previously launched a collection of shirts with conservative political messages written on them.

The inspiration behind the newest clothing items has a complex backstory stemming from a feud that erupted last weekend between Brittany, Cassadee Pope and Maren Morris.

Long story short, Brittany shared an Instagram reel that showed her going from no makeup to full glam. In the caption, she thanked her parents for not “changing my gender” during her “tomboy phase.”

Cassadee and Maren quickly called those comments out as transphobic, with Maren dubbing Brittany “Insurrection Barbie” — hence the Barbie vibes of Brittany’s new shirts.

Proceeds for Brittany’s new shirts benefit Operation Light Shine, a Nashville-based organization whose mission is to “fight against human trafficking and child exploitation,” according to its website.

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With spooky season just around the corner, the Trinity of Terror tour is making its return.

The triple bill of Motionless in White, Black Veil Brides and Ice Nine Kills will reunite for a second run beginning Saturday, September 3, in Omaha, Nebraska. For Motionless in White, the tour will mark their first U.S. outing since the release of their new album, Scoring the End of the World.

When the first Trinity of Terror leg launched in March, Motionless had just announced the details of Scoring the End of the World alongside the premiere of its first single, “Cyberhex.” Speaking with ABC Audio, frontman Chris “Motionless” Cerulli recalls debuting “Cyberhex” during those first shows.

“It went really well,” Cerulli shares. “I didn’t know what to think about how the song would go over well because it’s a long song, and historically longer songs just really taper off as they go on in a live scenario.”

“But [‘Cyberhex’] came out the week … of the tour starting,” he continues. “And I think that kinda lit a fire under the fans to learn the words, show up and sing along.”

Cerulli adds that he could feel a shift in the crowd’s energy when they realized they were hearing new Motionless material.

“Whether they were rejoicing at the fact that they didn’t have to hear another song that they’ve already heard 1,000 times, or whether they were actually just legitimately excited for the new song for what it was, I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Cerulli laughs. 

Along with “Cyberhex,” Scoring the End of the World includes the single “Masterpiece,” the first Motionless in White song to hit the top 10 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.

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Sean “Diddy” Combs is presenting his annual Revolt Summit in Atlanta.

“The Revolt Summit is coming back bigger and better than ever with the goal of inspiring the next generation of cultural leaders to understand that the time is now to achieve your dreams, change your life, and more importantly change the world,” the Revolt chairman said in a statement.

“The future is happening in real-time, so we all have a responsibility to share the access, information, and opportunities that will move the culture forward and the Revolt Summit is where it all starts,” Combs added.

Titled “The Future is Now,” the event will be held September 24 and 25. It will feature panels, keynote speeches and conversations with Coi Leray, Gucci Mane, Tamika D. Mallory, Big Freedia and many more.
The summit will focus on exploring the future of hip-hop and culture across categories while empowering the next generation.

Registration is now open on the Revolt Summit website.

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Before pursuing his country music career, Jackson Dean spent most of his time working in his dad’s construction business.

“Me and my brothers, from birth, worked for our father,” the singer recounts, explaining that they were part of a crew of bricklayers and stonemasons that once numbered about 300 workers. “I always worked construction. Just manual labor. Never worked in a restaurant, never did anything like that,” he continues.

However, there was at least one other job he held, and it involved some aspects of performance that just might have helped him prepare for a career in the entertainment industry.

“I was a pirate for one year,” he reveals. Specifically, he worked on a tourism ship in his hometown of Annapolis, where kids could sail the high seas and try their hand at shooting the treasure-hunting, parrot-wielding Pirate Pete.

“You got, like, a 45-passenger boat, and you’d go out in the bay and shoot water cannons at Pirate Pete,” Jackson remembers. “You got to find treasure. It was like theater, but improv.”

It was also a whole lot of fun, especially because his co-worker was his brother. “Me and my oldest brother would run trips. He would drive. I would ride up front,” the singer says. “Somebody would fall off the boat, or we’d just have dance parties. It was a good time. Like, blaring David Bowie or something.”

These days, Jackson’s not opposed to another venture into the world of acting. His song “Don’t Come Lookin’” was featured on the Yellowstone soundtrack, and he says he’d be game to take on an on-screen role on the show — especially if he got to play a bad guy.

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