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Paula Abdul sprinted down Broadway barefoot to make it to musical on time

August 24, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Paula Abdul knows what it’s like when people arrive late to her shows — so that may explain why she recently ran down Broadway barefoot to make it to a musical on time.

Page Six reports that the “Straight Up” singer was set to watch MJ: The Musical on Saturday, but she realized she was cutting it a little too close to show time. Eyewitnesses say Paula ripped off her high heels and sprinted down 52nd Street, which is located in New York City’s Midtown area.

According to a source, the speedy 60-year-old singer “made it into her seat seconds before the curtain went up.” She also reportedly screamed “You killed it!” to lead Myles Frost, who portrays Michael Jackson in the stage production.

MJ: The Musical is playing on Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre. Apparently, Beyoncé and Jay-Z also saw the musical that day. But, unlike Paula, the pair were fashionably late. Apparently, the couple chose to head into the venue when the lights were off so they wouldn’t cause a scene.

The pair also dipped after the curtain fell and rushed into their waiting SUV. As for the former American Idol judge, she chatted up the cast and gave them hugs.

It should be noted Paula was discovered by the Jackson family and was hired to help choreograph Janet Jackson‘s music videos.

Lady A named this year’s recipient of the Nashville Symphony’s “Harmony Award”

August 24, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Lady A is getting a spotlight at the Nashville Symphony’s annual Symphony Ball this December. The country trio will receive the organization’s “Harmony Award,” an honor presented each year to a Nashville-connected artist, group or industry figure.

According to the Tennesseean, the “Harmony Award” — which celebrates those who “exemplify the harmonious spirit of Nashville’s musical community” — will be presented at the symphony’s fundraising gala, set to take place at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Others who have won the award in the past include Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini and Toby Keith.

Over their years as a band, Lady A has been the recipient of many awards and honors, including recognition for the charitable efforts and contributions to the Nashville community.

Recently, though, the band has kept relatively quiet: They postponed their planned Request Line Tour a year in order to support bandmate Charles Kelley’s decision to get sober.

“So, right now in order to be the healthiest, strongest and most creative band we can be, Lady A will take the time with the support of our families and team of professionals to walk through this together,” the band said in a statement at the time.

The group will receive their award at the Symphony Ball on December 10.

The Wanted’s Tom Parker posthumously honored with National Television Award nomination

August 24, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Wanted‘s late singer, Tom Parker, has been posthumously nominated for a National Television Award — essentially the U.K.’s version of an Emmy Award — for his documentary Inside my Head.

Parker died of brain cancer in March of this year.

BBC reports the “Glad You Came” singer is up for Best Authored Documentary for his film, which shared an unflinching look at his cancer diagnosis and how he tried treating his brain tumor. In addition, the movie followed Tom as he arranged a star-studded charity concert — of which Ed Sheeran, Liam Payne and more were part of — to benefit Stand Up To Cancer.

The special premiered five months before he died, airing in October 2021.

Also nominated in Parker’s category is Caring for Derek — a film about Good Morning Britain‘s Kate Garraway caring for her husband, Derek Draper, during COVID-19 — as well as a few other documentaries.

Winners are determined by public vote and will be revealed during a ceremony set for September 15 in London.

Parker was diagnosed with an inoperable glioblastoma, a stage 4 brain tumor, in October 2020 after experiencing seizures. He and his band achieved fame in 2012 with their hits “Glad You Came” and “Chasing the Sun.”

Miranda Lambert + hubby Brendan McLoughlin step out at the PBR Ariat Music City Knockout

August 24, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Professional Bull Riders organization brought its Ariat Music City Knockout to downtown Nashville for two nights this week, and they had at least one major country star in the audience.

Miranda Lambert posted a selfie from the crowd, decked out in cowboy getup befitting her Texas roots and recent single, “If I Was a Cowboy.”

With her in the audience was husband Brendan McLoughlin, who seemed to be enjoying himself just as much as his superstar wife, even if he doesn’t have quite the same Western-leaning background. Brendan hails from New York City and is a former NYPD officer.

The pair frequently turn out for industry events together, however: Miranda has said that Brendan loves the glamor of being at awards shows and on red carpets, and he never minds getting gussied up to play the role of arm candy to his superstar wife.

Earlier this summer, the pair wrapped a trip out West in their Airstream camper, which they dubbed “The Sheriff.” Both Miranda and Brendan documented the trip on their social media accounts.

Harry Styles wrote an original song for ’Don’t Worry Darling’

August 24, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Harry Styles does more than star in the psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling; he soundtracked a part of it, too.

Director Olivia Wilde revealed to Variety the “As It Was” hitmaker wrote a “sweet and creepy” original song just for the film. The tune has been dubbed the “trigger song,” which Florence Pugh‘s character, Alice, hums to herself for unknown reasons.

“In prep, Harry called me and said, ‘What’s the trigger song? Like, what’s the melody?'” Wilde recalled. “I said, ‘I don’t know. I’m going to [ask] different writers to write it. Do you have anything in mind?'”

Harry told her he’d “think about it” — but apparently he didn’t have to think too hard. “Five minutes later, he sent me a demo from his piano, and it was what ended up in the film,” Wilde revealed. “He called me and said, ‘What about this?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s it. That’s it. And that’s really insane that you did that in five minutes.'”

Harry went on to explain his vision for the song, saying he “wanted something that could be both sweet and creepy, entirely dependent on the context.”

“I remember first playing it on the piano, and it had a sort of homemade nursery rhyme feel to it. Applied to the different moments in the film, I think it takes on a couple of different lives — I hope,” the Grammy winner added.

While Harry won’t show off his vocal talents in the upcoming thriller, he does get to demonstrate his fancy footwork. “’Twas I, tap-dancing,” he cracked. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for someone to require a 35-second tap routine from me my whole life.”

Don’t Worry Darling arrives in theaters on September 23.

Keith Urban, Tim McGraw + more feature on Rita Wilson’s ‘Now & Forever: Duets’ album

August 24, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Keith Urban, Tim McGraw and Willie Nelson are just a few of the featured collaborators joining Rita Wilson for her new ‘70s cover album, Now & Forever: Duets.

The track list features a span of guest vocalists from a variety of different genres — for example, Smokey Robinson and Elvis Costello each get a feature — but country music is especially well represented. Jimmie Allen and Vince Gill also join Rita for a track.

According to Billboard, Rita chose to focus on ‘70s covers because of the personal significance the decade holds for her.

“I wanted to honor where I came from with songs from the ’70s,” the singer explained. “It was really about showing enormous appreciation for the songwriting of that period — how these songs are still relevant even though they’re 50 years old. This album is really a continuation of sharing who I am musically, and what it is that I want to say.”

Now & Forever is due out September 27.

Watch trailer for upcoming Ronnie James Dio documentary, ’Dreamers Never Die’

August 24, 2022 by WDNY Radio

A trailer for the upcoming Ronnie James Dio documentary Dio: Dreamers Never Die has been released.

The 30-second clip, streaming now on YouTube, showcases some of those interviewed for the film, including Jack Black and Lita Ford.

“When you’re a kid, you’re looking for a voice that says, ‘This is my generation,'” the Tenacious D frontman says. “Then all of a sudden, here comes Ronnie James Dio.”

Dreamers Never Die is described as the “first-ever, career-spanning documentary” on Dio, who passed away from stomach cancer in 2010. The film will follow Ronnie’s life from his days with the bands Elf and Rainbow, to joining Black Sabbath in place of the fired Ozzy Osbourne and forming his own namesake band, Dio.

Other rockers interviewed for the doc include Sabbath’s Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, ex-Deep Purple bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, Dio drummer Vinny Appice, Rob Halford and Sebastian Bach.

Dreamers Never Die will screen in theaters on September 28 and October 2. Tickets are available now via DioDreamersNeverDie.com.

Demi Lovato said they began experimenting with drugs “when I was 12 or 13”

August 24, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Demi Lovato is thankful to be sober after surviving a near-fatal overdose in 2018. The 30-year-old singer spoke of their yearslong struggle with addiction, saying they began experimenting with hard drugs when they were young.

Appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast, the Grammy winner got candid about their sobriety struggles. “I started experimenting for the first time when I was 12 or 13. I got into a car accident and they prescribed me opiates,” Demi recalled. “My mom didn’t think that she’d have to lock up the opiates from her 13-year-old daughter, but, like, I was already drinking at that point.”

The “Anyone” singer said they turned to the pills because they were “looking for an escape.” Demi’s mom locked up the pills after noticing how quickly they were disappearing.

Demi said they “drank a lot in my teenage years” and began abusing pills when they were 15 and 16. “I’d steal my mom’s Xanax … she had a Xanax addiction, so it was off and on,” the singer recalled. “And then at 17 is when it kind of was the first time I tried [cocaine] and loved it too much. And then that kind of led into me going to treatment right after I turned 18.”

The singer also admitted to “doing crack” between 2016 and 2018. Demi said this journey is represented in their new album, Holy Fvck, and in the song “29,” which was written after seeking treatment again.

“I … came out of treatment with anger. I came out of treatment with understanding and growth. And so it was like a reflective song for me,” they said. “And even though there’s undertones of anger … I really learned a lot about that experience.”

Holy Fvck is available to stream and purchase now.

MCR’s Gerard Way recalls origins of “Welcome to the Black Parade” in excerpt from upcoming book

August 24, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Gerard Way recalls the origins of My Chemical Romance‘s opus “Welcome to the Black Parade” in Anthems We Love: 29 Iconic Artists on the Hit Songs That Shaped Our Lives, an upcoming book by music writer Steve Baltin.

In an excerpt from the book, published by The Daily Beast, Way explains how “Welcome to the Black Parade” came together, sharing that he and his bandmates “knew it was special.”

“The song actually had started as this song called ‘The Five of Us Are Dying,’ which is like a riff on an old Twilight Zone episode title,” Way says. “It was these chords we really liked, it was a striving kind of a punk song.”

The track began to take on a new meaning, Way says, as the concept for what became MCR’s The Black Parade album began to take shape.

“I started to realize during the actual tracking of the album that there was no song that introduced or encapsulated some of the concepts on the record in that way,” Way explains. “There was definitely stuff that was capturing certain conceptual elements, like hell, and being raised Catholic and mothers, and it had a lot of stuff, there’s like a war theme. But there was no ‘Black Parade’ song, and I had known that that’s what I wanted to call the album.”

Anthems We Love, due out October 25, dives deep into 28 other iconic songs by artists including U2, Linkin Park, The Beach Boys, Aerosmith, The Doors, Fleetwood Mac, KISS, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Bob Marley and Toto. Among those interviewed include U2’s The Edge, Brian Wilson, Linkin Park‘s Brad Delson and The Doors’ Robby Krieger. The foreword is written by acclaimed director Cameron Crowe.

INXS’ Andrew Farriss explains how he’s embraced country music as a solo artist

August 24, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Founding INXS member Andrew Farriss has been busy promoting his 2021 debut solo album, a self-titled effort that sees the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter putting aside his famous band’s funky modern-rock sound in favor of tunes with strong country and Americana influences.

Farriss, who lives on a cattle farm in his native Australia, says his lifestyle has helped him relate to people who reside in the rural Southern and Southwestern U.S., and to embrace the music that’s popular in those regions.

“These experiences for me drew me more and more into where I’m now in, which is sort of country rock, Americana, folk music,” he explains to ABC Audio, “because I feel I’ve connected with communities that aren’t city or suburban people. I understand now. I get it, now [that] I’ve lived out there and I’ve done it.”

Andrew also notes that additional inspiration for the songs on his solo album from a horseback riding trip came from he took with his wife a few years ago along the Mexican border in Arizona and New Mexico. Farriss says he became fascinated with the history of the Western U.S. and began writing tunes that drew parallels between the area and his own country.

“I started thinking more and more and more lyrically about how to draw in both from Australiana and Americana, and join them together,” he explains. “I could sing songs about bushrangers, as we call ’em, or outlaws, in Australia, I could sing about outlaws in America. But it was the cultural fusion…that was a powerful thing.”

Farriss tells ABC Audio that when he plays live, he does include some INXS songs alongside his solo material, noting that when he performs tunes by his old band, “I like to rearrange them.”

Andrew Farriss is available now.

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