Music

Bleachers will be living up to the name of their new album with a last-minute performance on Saturday Night Live.

The NBC show announced Wednesday that Jack Antonoff and company will be the musical guests on this Saturday’s episode, hosted by West Side Story star Ariana DeBose.

The episode was originally supposed to feature rapper Roddy Ricch, but Variety reports he dropped out due to his team being exposed to COVID-19.

Bleachers released their now very fittingly titled album Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night last July. On New Year’s Day, Antonoff announced that he plans to release another Bleachers record later in 2022.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jared Leto is among the nominees for the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman’s role as Paolo Gucci in the film House of Gucci is up for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role. 

“To be nominated and recognized by your peers is one of the highest honors imaginable and upon hearing the news this morning I was filled with gratitude and humility,” Leto says. “Making House of Gucci and working with this incredible cast was an absolute inspiration.”

Leto previously won a SAG Award for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club, which also earned him an Oscar.

The 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards will air February 27 on TNT and TBS.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Cordae announced a star-studded lineup for his second studio album, including Stevie Wonder, Eminem, Lil Wayne and Nas.

They will be joined by H.E.R., Roddy Ricch, Gunna, Lil Durk, and Freddie Gibbs on the 14-track project, titled From a Bird’s Eye View, which will be released Friday. Wayne is featured on the second single from the album, “Sinister.”

From a Bird’s Eye View is the followup to the “Gifted” rapper’s 2019 debut album, The Lost Boy.

The two-time Grammy nominee will promote the project with his From a Bird’s Eye View tour. Cordae will perform in 28 cities, beginning February 3, in Dallas. Tour stops will include New Orleans, Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and his hometown, Raleigh, North Carolina.

In the summer, Cordae announced he was launching his own label, High Level Records.

“I had this epiphany right in the middle of the pandemic. It’s a frame of my mind. Everything I do, I must do it at the highest level,” he said Monday on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Cordae also revealed that despite his success, when he returns home, his mother makes sure to keep him grounded.

“She’s not that impressed to be honest,” he said. “I go back home. I gotta wash the dishes, mow the lawn, for real. That’s her way of, hold on, don’t put too much dip on your chip now,” Cordae said with a laugh.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Silk Sonic co-founder Anderson .Paak is skating on over to Sesame Street to sing about the holidays with its cast of lovable muppets.

In a new promo, the “Leave the Door Open” singer is seen teaming with Elmo to teach Cookie Monster what makes a holiday and why they’re so special.  While the lesson goes on, images play in the background showcasing all types of celebrations and the activities families enjoy during those moments — such as dancing, singing and craft making.

“Holidays remind us of an event that we remember/ Like Memorial Day, Juneteenth / Not to mention Veteran’s Day and Purim and 4th of July / And, sometimes, things that happen every year,” Anderson raps while playing the drums.  He also lists off a few dates that honor people, like Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Mother’s Day.

Between him and Elmo, they cover a broad spectrum of holidays celebrated by different cultures and religions across the world.  They also pull an April Fools’ prank on Cookie Monster by convincing him the world ran out of his favorite treat.

Anderson is just the latest celebrity guest to make a cameo on the long running children’s show, with previous guests including Kacey Musgraves and Tennis star Naomi Osaka.  Billie Eilish is set to appear on the show in June.

Catch Anderson when he joins the cast of Sesame Street tomorrow, January 13, on HBO Max.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Thomas Rhett‘s family grew once again in November when he and his wife, Lauren, welcomed baby girl Lillie Carolina. But the singer’s not too phased by the prospect of life with four young kids.

“Minus the lack of sleep, not a whole lot has changed,” he says, adding that he got some parenting advice from fellow country star dad Walker Hayes, who’s got six children of his own.

“Walker Hayes told me one time that anything after four is just more kids,” Thomas notes. “And I said, ‘There’s no way that that’s possible,’ but I’m starting to understand that that’s true.”

Going from “two to three was definitely harder than three to four,” the singer admits, adding that his almost-two-year-old daughter Lennon Love has had to adjust to not being the youngest child in the family.

“Lennon is still a bit jealous, and I would say that is the hardest part, is that she’s not the baby anymore,” Thomas explains, adding that it’ll be awhile before he and Lauren further expand their family.

“We’ll see what happens in the next five or six years, but we’re definitely gonna take a small break from trying to have babies right now,” he says.

For now, Thomas’ oldest children — Willa Gray and Ada James — are eager babysitters who can’t wait to take care of their baby sister.

“You know, they beg to hold Lillie every day,” Thomas says. “I literally could put Lillie in Willa Gray’s arms and be like, ‘Are you good for five minutes?’ And she’d be like, ‘Yeah, I’m good.’ She’ll feed her a bottle. Ada James can hold her.”

In music news, Thomas is looking ahead to a big year in 2022. His current single, “Slow Down Summer,” is inside country radio’s top 30.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Lauren Akins (@laur_akins)

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After 12 years as a recording artist, K. Michelle says she is about to release her sixth and final R&B album in March.

The “V.S.O.P.” singer tweeted that the project, titled I’m the Problem, “is definitely some ole school 90’s R&B crying s***.”

In a separate tweet, the former Love & Hip Hop star noted about the current state of R&B, “It’s a lot of awesome R&B music out now. The sound is just different right now. Every artist has their o[w]n take and version of R&B, and that’s what makes it so dope. I love 90’s vibes. The Jagged Edge, Mary [J. Blige], Brandy, Usher.”

Michelle says she was “going to pick the songs that show my true emotions,” and wants her R&B career to “end honest.” The 39-year-old entertainer plans to changes lanes and segue into country music.

As she records her upcoming album, her Lifetime series, My Killer Body with K. Michelle, will premiere on Thursday, February 3, at 9 p.m ET. The show will focus on her recovery from harmful body enhancements and document the journeys of other women who’ve had traumatic cosmetic surgery experiences.

“I decided to have an open form of communication that could save someone’s life. I WISH someone had told me the truth,” Michelle wrote about the series in an Instagram post. 

“This world is a tough place and will tear you down if you let it, she added. “I’m so blessed to have met a group of individuals who are struggling to live, who just want to heal, and they want to share their true story to help other woman and men.”

The Memphis, Tennessee, singer will also star in the Lifetime film Single Black Female, premiering Thursday, February 3.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

“Life Goes On” singer Oliver Tree will release his new album, Cowboy Tears, on February 18th.  He’s also released a music video for the album’s title track, in which he co-stars with Bella Thorne.

The album is now available for pre-order. In a statement, Oliver explains the concept of the song, noting, “Cowboys are the toughest guys. It’s okay for us tough guys to cry, and the thing is, it’s okay for everyone to cry.”

“There’s a lot of anger that comes out of holding in your emotions, and that’s really popular for guys,” he continues., “Cowboy Tears is teaching people how to let it out and be able to put it out in a way that isn’t going to be violent or self-destructive.”

Thursday night on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Oliver will perform a medley of “Cowboys Don’t Cry” and “Life Goes On,” the latter of which is currently rising up Billboard‘s Pop Airplay chart.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Evan Rachel Wood, who has accused Marilyn Manson of abuse, will detail her experience with domestic violence in a new documentary titled Phoenix Rising.

The first installment of the two-part film will premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, taking place virtually from January 20 to January 30. According to a description on the Sundance website, Phoenix Rising follows Wood as she “moves toward naming her infamous abuser for the first time.”

While the description does not mention him specifically, it is presumably referring to Manson, to whom Wood was once engaged. In a February 2021 social media post, Wood wrote that Manson, born Brian Warner, had “horrifically abused [her] for years.” Warner responded with a statement that did not mention Wood’s allegations specifically, only that “recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality.”

Following Wood’s allegations, more women came forward with accusations of sexual, physical and mental abuse against Warner, including actor Esmé Bianco, model Ashley Morgan Smithline, and Warner’s former assistant, Ashley Walters, all of whom filed lawsuits against him. Through lawyers, Warner has denied the allegations.

For anyone affected by abuse and needing support, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or if you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.