Music

Fans who saw “Weird Al” Yankovic‘s show in Seattle this week took a trip back to the ’90s when The Presidents of the United States of America frontman Chris Ballew made a surprise appearance.

Ballew took the stage to join Yankovic for a rendition of the PUSA hit “Peaches.” In addition to hearing Al sing the immortal line “Peaches come from a can/They were put there by a man,” the crowd was also treated to the two artists jumping in unison for a song-ending high kick.

You can watch official footage of the performance streaming now on YouTube.

You may recall that Yankovic previously put his own spin on the PUSA song “Lump,” turning it into the Forrest Gump-referencing “Gump.” However, Al’s been taking a break from his parody songs on his ongoing Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent Ill-Advised Vanity tour, which features a set of almost entirely original material.

While Al is certainly a fan of “Peaches,” the same can’t be said for Larry David. You may recall that the song was included in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm last year, during which David’s character called it “idiotic.”

Ballew, however, was honored, writing in an Instagram post, “I am complete now that I have received Larry David’s scorn.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

It’s Cole Swindell’s birthday today, and he’s celebrating with a new ‘90s-inspired single.

“She Had Me at Heads Carolina” is a fun and flirty dance-a-long track following a guy who walks into karaoke night at a bar and is immediately transfixed by the girl singing a ‘90s country classic into the mic.

The song’s lyrics and melody heavily reference “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” Jo Dee Messina’s country hit from 1996, and Cole says the throwback makes the song feel familiar, even to fans who haven’t heard his new single before.

“We’ve played it live a few times, and obviously, people think they know it when it gets to that chorus,” he explains. “I mean, they’re screaming this song, because it’s such a big hit from the ‘90s, but when it gets to that line about south Georgia, it kind of throws them off.”

That part of the chorus — where Cole sings “Heads Carolina, tails California / Maybe she’d fall for a boy from south Georgia” — is where his version’s lyrics depart from the original. Still, the melody continues to hearken back to Jo Dee’s song, and Cole says he’d like to incorporate the ‘90s hitmaker into more aspects of the new song.

“I hope somebody I get to sing it — whether I do something, I want her to be involved, because we wouldn’t have the song without the writers and without her making it what it is,” he says.

“She Had Me at Heads Carolina” comes off Cole’s newest album, Stereotype.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Light the Torch has premiered the video for “Become the Martyr,” a track off the band’s latest album, You Will Be the Death of Me.

The clip finds Howard Jones and company delivering an intense performance while surrounded by burning TV sets.

“Not all relationships end with friends going separate ways,” Jones says of the “Become the Martyr” message. “Sometimes, peace can be found in taking all the blame.”

You can watch the video streaming now on YouTube.

You Will Be the Death of Me was released in June 2021. It also includes the single “Wilting in the Light.”

Light the Torch will hit the road on a North American tour with Avatar beginning July 6 in Toronto.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Will Taylor Swift finally get her first Academy Award nod? Her new song “Carolina,” which is for the movie Where the Crawdads Sing, is garnering serious Oscar buzz. Billboard points out she wasn’t nominated for The Hunger Games‘ “Safe and Sound” or 50 Shades of Grey‘s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.” We don’t talk about Cats …

Ellie Goulding says she has new music coming out “next month” and, on Twitter, said she has “a little gift coming this week.” She has since changed her profile image to a yellow circle, which fans believe is a hint of what her next album will be called.

Ingrid Michaelson‘s musical based on The Notebook has revealed its cast. “We have made something so magical and so human. I can not wait for the world to see,” she raved on Instagram. The musical, which Ingrid composed the music for, premieres at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on September 6.

Speaking of musicals, Sara Bareilles is officially on Broadway for Into The Woods. The show’s Instagram celebrated its opening night, and Sara shared the post to her stories, writing, “Off to the woods we go…” The show runs for eight weeks only.

Shawn Mendes felt nostalgic on Wednesday and re-created the cover of his album Illuminate, which he released six years ago. “Back in time,” he captioned the post. Illuminate came out September 23, 2016.

Joe Jonas has launched his own line of fizzy sangria, called Ohza. Joe told Forbes, “It is the first canned ‘sparkling’ sangria on the market, so I’m looking forward to getting it out there.” He hopes to take on those spiked seltzers that are uber popular right now. The sangria is made from Joe’s own “secret recipe.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After reportedly retiring from Hollywood, Cameron Diaz is Back In Action, literally.

Jamie Foxx tapped an expert on “unretiring,” NFL legend Tom Brady, to help him convince the actress to co-star in a Netflix action comedy called Back In Action.

“Had to call in the GOAT to bring back another GOAT,” Foxx captioned the audio conversation posted on Instagram.

Asking his Annie co-star if he could add another caller to the phone call who can “help her through” her nerves about jumping back into the movie game, Diaz agreed.

“I was talking to Jamie, and he said you needed a few tips on how to unretire, and I am relatively successful at unretiring,” said Brady, who recently decided to rejoin the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following an announcement he was hanging up his jersey.

“Honestly, exactly what I need,” Diaz giggled.

Back In Action gets underway next year, Oscar winner Foxx explained to his Instagram followers.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ne-Yo is preparing to drop his eighth studio album, titled Self-Explanatory, on July 15, four years after Good Man. The three-time Grammy winner says a major reason his new project was delayed was the pandemic.

“I wasn’t inspired at all, no,” he tells Haute Living magazine. “I gained a little weight, weight that I’m still blaming on the quarantine and still trying to get off. I was three years vegan when COVID started, but I had to let go of that because I was like, ‘Listen, if I’m going to die tomorrow, I’m going to have a burger. Sorry, but leave me alone.’”

“I wasn’t inspired to write because I was just terrified,” Ne-Yo continues. “What’s going to happen to me, to my kids? I was in a dark place.”

The singer/composer/producer also says his six-year marriage was in trouble.

“My wife, Crystal Williams, and I weren’t in the best place, either,” Ne-Yo confides.

The “Sexy Love” singer says the pandemic caused them to confront and solve their differences. “We were forced to sit in each other’s faces and talk about things we wouldn’t have talked about otherwise, and really and truly figure out a way to navigate ourselves back to what it is we wanted to be together as a couple,” the 42-year-old entertainer says.

Ne-Yo is celebrating the Independence Day weekend by hosting a party Saturday for the Essence Festival in New Orleans, then performing Sunday at Drai’s Nightclub in Las Vegas.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Britney Spears may have been released from her restrictive 13-year conservatorship, but her legal woes are far from over.

TMZ reports her lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, is butting heads with the pop singer’s father, Jamie Spears.  The family patriarch asked a judge to compel his daughter to sit for a deposition. Rosengart says the request was made “shortly after his daughter’s wedding and just before Father’s Day.”

Rosengart argued Jamie’s “shameless” request was out of “revenge,” which he said is “morally abominable.”  The attorney admonished, “Mr. Spears refuses to simply go away, as he should and as any decent man or father would do.”

As previously reported, both parties have been wrestling for more than six months to compel both Britney and Jamie to sit for their respective depositions. Jamie’s attorney, Alex Weingarten, previously stated his client would answer Rosengart’s questions — but only if the “Toxic” singer agrees to be deposed by him.

Rosengart previously said he wants Jamie to answer questions — under oath — about alleged financial misconduct during Britney’s conservatorship. Rosengart also wants Jamie to respond to the allegations that he bugged Britney’s bedroom and recorded her private conversations — and paid for it with Britney’s money.

It is not known what questions Britney would be asked should she be deposed. Since her bombshell testimony last June, she leveled numerous and often serious accusations against her family. She called the conservatorship “abusive” and alleged she was forced against her will to take medication, enter a mental health facility and have an IUD contraceptive inserted.

Britney could be compelled to clarify her remarks.

Depositions aside, Britney is also fighting against separate requests from Jamie and her mother, Lynne Spears, to pay their attorney fees. The next major hearing is set for July 27.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Carly Pearce and Brett Eldredge are on deck to perform during NBC’s Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks for Independence Day. They’re joining an all-genre bill featuring acts like 5 Seconds of Summer, Jaoquina Kalukango, Pitbull and rising country act Filmore.

Speaking of Pitbull and Filmore, the two artists are about to release a new duet called “USA.” The track is due out Friday, just in time for the Fourth of July next week.

Just weeks after revealing his stomach cancer diagnosis, Toby Keith and his team are telling fans to be aware of imposter social media accounts issuing “falsified updates” about the singer’s health. They issued a statement reminding fans to be watchful of fake accounts, especially any account requesting money.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.