Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo has revealed he’s contracted COVID-19.
“Well, like so many others this virus has come to pay me a visit,” DeLeo writes in an Instagram post alongside a photo of him holding a rapid antigen test showing two pink lines, signifying a positive result.
“Yes, double lines…Jackpot!,” the post reads. “Except this time you don’t win anything but a nice chunk of time by yourself doing the ‘q’ word.”
“Omicron, Robotron, Lexicon, whatever they wanna call it, it’s the CRUD!” DeLeo adds. “A new year is upon us and I hope and pray everyone stays healthy and safe. Let’s all make this new year a positive and forward moving experience filled with everything we all love!”
STP’s 2022 plans include a tour of Australia kicking off in March.
While Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest will go on Friday night, two performers slated to join Seacrest and co-host Liza Koshy live in Times Square have pulled out of the show.
Neither LL Cool J nor Chlöe will be performing on the telecast, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year. In a statement, the hip hop legend said, “I know it’s disappointing to the millions of fans but my test came back positive for COVID, which means I’ll no longer be able to perform as scheduled at NYRE.”
“We were ready and I was really looking forward to ringing in 2022 in my hometown in a special way, but for now I wish everyone a healthy and happy New Year. The best is yet to come!” LL added. No reason has been given for Chlöe’s absence.
As of now, the other two Times Square performers — veteran rockers Journey and Latin star Karol G — are still set to perform.
Performers at the Los Angeles party segments of the show include Avril Lavigne, OneRepublic, Masked Wolf, French Montana, Big Boi and Sleepy Brown, Macklemore, Polo G, Mae Muller, Måneskin and Walker Hayes. Daddy Yankee will perform from Puerto Rico, while Billy Porter will hold things down in New Orleans.
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest will air on ABC Friday night starting at 8 p.m. ET.
Ed Sheeran reveals that his one-year-old daughter, Lyra, is growing like a weed and, with it, comes the additional stressors of parenthood.
Speaking to BBC Radio London recently, the Grammy winner remarked, “She just started walking now and, suddenly, we’re getting all the things that cover up the plugs and the thing that stops the cupboards from being opened.”
Ed said he and his wife, Cherry Seaborn, are “learning stuff like that” in order to keep their curious toddler safe. “Before, you just sort of plonked her down somewhere and she was good,” he stated.
The “Shivers” singer loves being a father despite all the challenges that come with his new title because it’s making him a better person.
“I would say I’m very much different to who I was 18 months ago,” Ed explained. “There’s a big difference, but it wasn’t like they handed me Lyra and I went, ‘Oh! Now I’m this person.’ It just gradually happened.”
Ed added that he’s adapting and evolving into a better parent constantly because “every day is different! When one sort of stage of baby ends, the next stage begins. So, you suddenly have to learn the next stage.”
And while Lyra continues to grow and change, the singer said he already has a good idea of what kind of father he is going to become, telling the outlet, “I can see myself being the type of dad that — not like follows her around — but just pops up and just [says,] ‘Hey!'”
However, he was warned by one of the BBC presenters that Lyra might not enjoy that kind of attention when she hits her independent teenage years…but only time will tell if that’s true.
🎄 We’ve got some cracking shows for you next week.
Join @GabyRoslin with @edsheeran as he thanks the key workers & answers some of their burning questions 👀
A new year calls for fresh beginnings and brand-new experiences, and Carly Pearce is launching 2022 in style by making her first-ever appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
That’s not the only first that’s taking place with this performance: It’ll also be Carly’s television debut of “Diamondback,” one of the songs on her latest album, 29: Written in Stone.
“Diamondback” is the lead single off of Written in Stone, the full-length version of a project that started with her 29 EP. One of the co-writers on the song is Carly’s fellow artist and longtime friend, Kelsea Ballerini.
The song tells a story of heartbreak and a marriage gone wrong — one that’s deeply familiar to Carly, whose 2020 divorce from fellow artist Michael Ray is a major source of inspiration for her 29 project. Not only was Kelsea a writer on this song, but she helped Carly through that painful chapter in her life, the singer told Peoplein early 2021.
During a time when Carly was overwhelmed by how public her divorce was, and worried that many people would judge her, Kelsea presented things from a different angle: “Do you know how many people you’re going to help?” Kelsea pointed out to her friend at the time.
To watch Carly’s TV debut of “Diamondback,” tune into her performance on Jimmy Fallon on January 3 at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Go-Go’s had five West Coast concerts scheduled for this week and next, spanning from a December 28 show in San Francisco through a January 3 performance in San Diego, but all of the events have been postponed because a member of the band’s team recently tested positive for COVID-19.
A message from The Go-Go’s announcing the unfortunate news explains, “ALTHOUGH WE ARE, OF COURSE, VERY DISAPPOINTED, we will be following proper protocols and postponing our upcoming west coast dates.”
The band adds, “We will be announcing new dates VERY soon and look forward to getting back to performing and celebrating with everyone. WISHING EVERYONE A WONDERFUL AND SAFE HOLIDAY SEASON, AND SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!”
The three other postponed concerts were scheduled for tonight, December 29, in Los Angeles, and on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in Las Vegas.
The Go-Go’s were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on October 30 in Cleveland and performed a three-song set at the ceremony. They also played a special club show on December 14 the the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, California.
The band’s next scheduled concerts will take place this June, when the group will serve as Billy Idol‘s opening act at a series of U.K. shows.
McLean: Jason Kempin/Getty Images; Taylor: Kevin Mazur/TAS/Getty Images for TAS
When Taylor Swift‘s 10-minute version of “All Too Well” topped the Billboard Hot 100, it set a new record for the longest song ever to hit number one — a record previously held by Don McLean‘s classic 1971 hit, “American Pie.” But no hard feelings: McLean says he’d even be open to a Taylor Swift collaboration.
As previously reported, after “All Too Well” broke the record, Taylor sent a bouquet of flowers to McLean, along with a sweet note. Now, the singer/songwriter, 76, tells People magazine that as far as working with Taylor in the future, “Anything is possible, if it’s done the right way. I’m always interested in doing anything.”
“Taylor takes the whole new form of entertainment to the peak by making these phenomenal videos and records and doing these massive tours that are successful, and so on and so forth,” McLean notes. “It’s really good for young people who want to get into this business.”
“You can make it as a singer with a guitar if you figure out what Ed [Sheeran] did,” he explains. “And you can make it as a major rock and roll force of nature, which is what I call Taylor Swift, if you want to do that.”
McLean is currently scheduled to kick off a tour in January that will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his American Pie album and its title track.
Cash Money Records co-founder Birdman is reportedly being sued for failure to pay rent in one of Los Angeles’ richest neighborhoods.
Cycad Management is demanding $147,000 in back rent for a mansion in Bel-Air, California, according to Radaronline.com. Birdman, born Bryan Williams, is being accused of breach of contract. Williams, whose net worth is estimated at over $100 million, launched the careers of Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and many more stars.
The lawsuit claims that the music mogul agreed to rent a property on a month-to-month basis at the rate of $33,000 a month. The mansion has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
Cycad says it reached an oral agreement with Birdman, and claims that he stopped paying his rent in the summer.
“At present, Defendants are very delinquent — nearly 5 months delinquent in rent — and also owe Plaintiff other monies for cleaning services rendered at the Rental Property at Defendant’s request,” the lawsuit reads. Cycad also demands that Birdman vacate the property by December 31.
Ahead of her Las Vegas residency kickoff tonight, Katy Perry has released a new song that’ll be featured in the show: “When I’m Gone,” a collaboration with superstar DJ/producer Alesso.
Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Katy says, “Alesso actually brought me the framework of this song about a year, maybe a year and a half ago. I was like, ‘I’m not ready to go into a new album cycle, where I’m just going bam, bam, bam…[I’m] preparing for Vegas, which is a huge undertaking.'”
But Katy says she realized that her residency, PLAY, would be a perfect showcase for the song. “It’s so big and so wild that we wanted to inject some new blood into it,” she explains. “I was like, ‘I have the perfect timing to put out a dance song that is through and through just so much fun and up, up, up.'”
“Then also with the music video that’s coming, I’m just going for it,” she adds. “I’ve been in the dance studio for weeks. Mama can’t just be pushing the pram. She’s got to push the bam.”
“Pram” is the British word for baby carriage, in case you’re not familiar.
The video for “When I’m Gone,” which Katy has described as “sexy,” will premiere January 10, during halftime of the College Football Playoff National Championship.”
Katy says in a statement, “ESPN and especially College GameDay hold a special place in my heart, so partnering with Alesso to become the first artists to ever debut a global music video within a live event on ESPN made for a perfect and natural pairing.”
In 2021, all those collaborations that Elton John had been doing for the past year or so really paid off, as he returned to the charts for the first time in decades.
In August, Elton teamed up with his new BFF Dua Lipa, who he became friendly with in 2020, to release “Cold Heart.” The mashup of four Elton songs — “Sacrifice,” “Rocket Man,” “Kiss the Bride” and “Where’s the Shoorah?” — was created by Australian dance act Pnau, with whom the music legend had previously collaborated.
–“Cold Heart” proved to be an unexpected smash, returning Elton to the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the firs time since 1999. It also officially gave him a 50-year span of singles on the top 40: the longest for any artist in Billboard history.
–“Cold Heart” was an even bigger hit in the U.K. When it hit the top 10, it made Elton the only act in the history of the singles chart in that country to score a top-10 hit in six different decades. Then in October, “Cold Heart” topped the U.K. chart, becoming Elton’s first number-one in his home country in 16 years.
–“Cold Heart” also became Elton’s first-ever number one on Billboard‘s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, and his first Australian number-one since 1997, making him, at 74, the oldest person ever to top the Australian chart.
–The number-one success of “Cold Heart” in the U.K. was helped along by Elton’s pal Ed Sheeran. After his song “Shivers” had been number one for four weeks, Ed actively encouraged his fans to stop streaming his song and stream Elton’s instead, writing, “Who doesn’t wanna be knocked off [the top] by Elton anyway?”
–After the release of “Cold Heart,” Elton surprised fans by announcing The Lockdown Sessions, an album featuring Elton duetting with everyone from Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X and Nicki Minaj, to Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder and Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder.
–Released in October, The Lockdown Sessions became Elton’s first top-10 album since 2016 in the U.S., and his first number-one album in the U.K. since 2012.
–In November, Prince Charles presented Elton with the Order of the Companions of Honour, which was first established in 1917 to reward “outstanding achievement.”
–In December, Elton and Ed teamed up for the festive holiday song “Merry Christmas,” which debuted at number one on the U.K. chart. The duo then partnered with the British duo LadBaby to create a parody of their song called “Sausage Rolls for Everyone,” a charity single which raised money for British food banks. The parody went on to become the U.K.’s much-coveted Christmas number one for 2021. It gave Elton his third U.K. number one of 2021.
–The one negative thing that happened to Elton in 2021 was that he had to push back his European tour dates because he had to have a hip operation. But his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour is one of the most anticipated of 2022.
Whether it’s showing her American patriotism by singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” or tapping into her Italian ancestry for a movie role, Lady Gaga showed all sides of herself this year. She continued to seamlessly balance her music and acting careers, and has the awards buzz to prove it.
Here’s a roundup of Gaga’s most notable 2021 moments:
— She kicked off 2021 with a powerful performance of the national anthem at President Joe Biden’s inauguration .
— In February, while she was away filming House of Gucci in Italy, her dog walker was shot and her two French bulldogs were stolen in a brazen dog-napping in LA. The dog walker thankfully recovered, and Gaga’s dogs were found and returned safe.
— Gaga and Ariana Grande won the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy in March for their number-one duet, “Rain on Me.”
— Gaga’s Born This Way album turned 10 in May. In celebration of the milestone, she released a special Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary Album, featuring the album’s 14 original songs and six reimagined versions of tracks by LGBTQIA+ artists and allies.
— Gaga released her second duets album with Tony Bennett, Love for Sale, in October. The record, which is Bennett’s final studio recording, features the 95-year-old crooner and Gaga singing songs penned by the iconic composer Cole Porter. The duo also performed two shows at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Love for Sale went on to earn six Grammy nods.
— House of Gucci, Gaga’s acting follow-up to her Oscar-nominated role in 2018’s A Star Is Born, was released in November. She plays Patrizia Reggiani, the woman who was famously convicted of arranging the murder of her ex-husband, Italian fashion heir Maurizio Gucci. The role is already garnering awards buzz, with Gaga snagging the New York Film Critics Circle honor for Best Actress.
