Glass Animals has pulled out of two European festivals this week as frontman Dave Bayley battles swollen vocal cords.
“I absolutely hate cancelling shows, but my vocal cords have had it,” Bayley says in a statement. “I took steroids to bring down the swelling the last two shows but it doesn’t seem to be doing the trick anymore and I’ve been recommended to take a few days to rest them so it doesn’t turn into something worse.”
The affected dates include sets at the Mad Cool Festival in Spain and Portugal’s Nos Alive.
“We were so looking forward to these shows, but we’ll be back ASAP,” Bayley adds. “I’m so sorry again.”
In happier Glass Animals news, Bayley and company have been teasing a rerelease of their 2020 album Dreamland, which spawned the mega-hit “Heat Waves.”
Rihanna has been named the youngest self-made woman billionaire in the U.S.
With a net worth of $1.4 billion, the nine-time Grammy Award winner, 34, lands at #21 on the Forbes list of America’s self-made women, making her the youngest billionaire among the list’s 24 billionaires.
While Rihanna’s music contributes to her wealth, the singer’s astronomical financial status is mostly due to her fast-growing beauty, cosmetic and lingerie lines: Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin and Savage X Fenty.
According to Forbes, the cosmetics company, which she co-owns with French luxury retailer LVMH, generated more than $550 million in revenue in 2020. The lingerie line, in which Rih owns a 30% stake, raised money at a $1 billion valuation in February 2021.
Forbes initially reported Rihanna’s official billionaire status in August 2021, when her worth was $1.7 billion, making her the wealthiest female musician in the world and second richest female entertainer next to Oprah Winfrey.
In a conversation with The New York Times Magazine about money in 2019, Rihanna said, “My money is not for me; it’s always the thought that I can help someone else or, in the future, for if I have kids. The world can really make you believe that the wrong things are priority, and it makes you really miss the core of life, what it means to be alive.”
Speaking of kids, Rihanna announced she was pregnant with her first child with her boyfriend, rapper A$AP Rocky, in January and welcomed their sonin May.
Crosby, Stills & Nash‘s music can be streamed on Spotify again, five months after the legendary folk-rock trio requested their labels pull all their collective recordings off the streaming service. The move was made in solidarity with Neil Young over alleged COVID-19 misinformation hosted by Spotify.
CSN’s music returned to Spotify on Saturday, July 2; A source tells Billboard that David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash will be donating money brought in from the streams to charities focused on the COVID-19 crisis for at least one month.
In January, Young insisted that his music be removed from Spotify over alleged COVID-19 misinformation that was featured during the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast, which is hosted by the streaming service.
On February 2, CSN posted a joint Instagram statement that read, “We support Neil and we agree with him that there is dangerous disinformation being aired on Spotify’s Joe Rogan podcast. While we always value alternate points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences. Until real action is taken to show that a concern for humanity must be balanced with commerce, we don’t want our music — or the music we made together — to be on the same platform.”
In late January, Young had sent a letter to Spotify that basically gave them an ultimatum between keeping his music or continuing to host Rogan’s podcast, and the service ended up removing his music rather than cutting ties with the podcaster.
Meanwhile, Rogan responded to Young’s decision in late January, posting a video in which he denied he was “trying to promote misinformation.”
After Young exited Spotify, the company announced that it would be adding content advisories before podcasts that discuss COVID-19.
Ava Max is enraged that violence broke out following her performance during Monday’s Fourth of July fireworks show in Philadelphia. Two police officers were shot, and as of print time, a suspect has not been identified.
Ava took to Instagram to express her outrage, captioning her post, “This needs to stop. End gun violence now.”
She elaborated further in a black-and-white infographic, where she said in a statement, “I am devastated at the shooting that happened after our show in Philly last night. I don’t know what this country has come to.”
“Everywhere we go we are terrified. We are traumatized,” she continued. “This needs to end. I pray everyone stays safe in the upcoming shows & events.”
The “Kings & Queens” singer and Jason Derulo performed at a July 4th concert in Philadelphia on Monday, and a fireworks spectacular followed their set. Gunfire erupted in Center City as the display was coming to an end, causing panicked spectators to scramble for safety.
The two officers who sustained gunshot wounds were treated at a nearby hospital and have since been released. A suspect in the Philadelphia shooting has not yet been named or arrested. A motive for the shooting has not been identified.
If you missed seeing ABBA at the Voyage concert series last May, you now have another chance to see them perform. The hitmakers are coming together for an upcoming live concert, set for Wednesday on TikTok.
The Swedish pop icons announced their upcoming show on Monday and shared a video of them working hard at rehearsal.
Fans also took note of some special foot attire Björn Ulvaeus sported during the promo shot — his iconic platform boots. Last month, he shared a hilarious video of him mourning his favorite footwear and wrote, “Those shoes went out of style decades ago… they’re never coming back.”
In this new video, Ulvaeus is sitting at a piano and the camera pans down to his feet to show he’s wearing knee-high white platform boots that are embossed with a very familiar glittery silver design.
Boots aside, the video also shows Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad gearing up for their new show by singing at the microphone, holding up throwback photos of the group and hashing things out in the studio.
No other hints about what the concert will entail were provided in the preview. “ABBA live on TikTok July 6th!” the hitmakers wrote in the caption.
No time was mentioned for the upcoming show, but several sleuthers claim it’ll air at 5 p.m. London time, which is noon ET.
Critics were not feeling Katy Perry‘s Independence Day post.
On Monday, July 4, the pop star published a tweet sharing her point of view in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which led to many states outlawing abortions almost immediately.
“‘Baby you’re a firework’ is a 10 but women in the US have fewer rights than an actual sparkler smh,” Katy wrote, referencing her 2010 song.
While the tweet conveys an abortion rights stance, Katy is facing criticism because she previously publicly supported billionaire Rick Caruso‘s run for Mayor of Los Angeles. The issue? Caruso is viewed as someone who holds an anti-abortion stance, despite his current campaign which touts that he is in favor of abortion rights.
In the past, Caruso reportedly donated nearly a million dollars to lawmakers who say they oppose abortion, including former presidential candidate John Kasich and Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy. In May, he was called out by Planned Parenthood for supporting “some of the strongest enemies [of] reproductive rights in the country.”
The responses under Katy’s July 4th tweet were flooded with people calling her out for supporting Caruso.
“You supported an anti-abortion mayoral candidate in the last 30 days,” one social media user responded, reposting the “Firework” singer’s June 4 tweet showing support of Caruso.
Another tweeted, “Girl you endorsed Rick Caruso maybe sit this one out.”
“Hey remember literally a month ago when you tweeted out support for a dude that has donated millions of dollars to forced birth politicians?” yet another commented.
Those enjoying a night out at a dive bar in Manchester, England got the surprise of their life — an impromptu Olivia Rodrigo concert.
It should be noted that the legal drinking age in the U.K. is 18, so the 19-year-old singer had no problem getting into the Bunny Jackson pub. A fan snagged footage of the unexpected moment, which begins with Olivia taking the stage and declaring, “You guys, I am dead sober” and that a member of her team “is making me do this.”
The Grammy winner then launches into a cover of Natalie Imbruglia‘s 1997 hit “Torn,” to which the crowd sings along. She serenades patrons, leaning over the protective barrier several times to sing with her fans.
The drummer of a different band that had been performing at the dive bar shared alternative footage on Twitter and jokingly wrote, “Why yes Olivia Rodrigo, of course you can turn up at Bunny Jacksons on a bloody Sunday evening and play a song for a laugh before our 3rd set.”
When Olivia’s fans asked for clarification, he added, “mate, it was wild. They just showed up after playing the arena and her TM asked to jump on between our sets! They were all very lovely.”
While the band member claimed he didn’t jam with Olivia because “her band was there,” he noted he “just leant my stuff out” for them to use.
Olivia is wrapping up her sold-out SOUR world tour this week, with the final two stops taking place July 6 and July 7 at the Eventim Apollo in London.
WNBA star Brittney Griner sent a handwritten letter to President Joe Biden seeking assistance with her detainment in Russia and asking him not to forget about her.
“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner said, according to the letter obtained by ABC News.
“I realize you are dealing with so much,” she continued. “But please don’t forget about me and the other American detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home.”
On Feb. 17, the 31-year-old star was detained at a Russian airport after being accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
“It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate [the Fourth of July] because freedom means something completely different to me this year,” she wrote.
Griner appeared in person in a courtroom in Khimki, a suburb of Moscow, on the first day of her trial last Friday. Her detention was extended to Dec. 20.
Speaking to Good Morning America‘s Robin Roberts in May, Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, called for the Biden administration to act. “I just keep hearing that he has the power. She’s a political pawn,” she said. “So, if they’re holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it.”
“I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore,” Griner said in the letter. “I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.”
Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has released his debut solo single, “London Bridge.”
“When I lived in London things just started happening when I was near London Bridge, going over London Bridge on the bus, or on the tube going underneath London Bridge,” Rowntree explains. “I would just notice events occurring, or have life changing thoughts, make decisions and it was slightly unsettling. I had to confront my London Bridge demons.”
You can listen to “London Bridge” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.
“London Bridge” is the first preview of an upcoming solo “body of work” from Rowntree, the details of which will be announced at a later date.
While “London Bridge” marks Rowntree’s first official solo outing, he’s pursued many interests outside of Blur, including U.K. politics. In 2017, he was elected to Norfolk County Council as a member of the Labour Party, a position he held until 2021.
Meanwhile, Rowntree’s Blur bandmate Damon Albarn just released a new solo album last November and has also been busy with his band Gorillaz. Blur’s most recent album is 2015’s The Magic Whip.
