Music

Four days after actor Jussie Smollett was sentenced to five months in prison for staging a hate crime, his Empire cast mate Taraji P. Henson is calling for his release. 

“I am not here to debate you on his innocence but we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime,” the 51-year-old actress said in an Instagram post. 

To support her efforts, Henson invoked the tragic story of Emmett Till, saying, “Emmett Till was brutally beat and ultimately murdered because of a lie and none of the people involved with his demise spent one day in jail, even after Carolyn Bryant admitted that her claims were false. No one was hurt or killed during Jussie’s ordeal. He has already lost everything, EVERYTHING! To me as an artist not able to create that in itself is punishment enough. He can’t get a job. No one in Hollywood will hire him and again as an artist who loves to create, that is prison. My prayer is that he is freed and put on house arrest and probation because in this case that would seem fair. Please #freejussie.”

Twitter users reacted to the Emmit Till comparison, with some calling it “insulting,” among other things. 

Jussie’s younger sister, Jurnee Smollett, shared the same #FreeJussie message in a Saturday Instagram post saying, “Jussie is Innocent.”  She captioned the post by writing, “Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly five times the rate of White Americans. Jussie is innocent. And…you don’t have to believe in his innocence to believe he should be free…”

In a think piece for Rolling Stone, journalist Ernest Owens expressed his similar thoughts. He also tweeted, “You can believe that Jussie Smollett lied and was wrong for what he did. But you can also know that incarceration isn’t the answer…”

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Children, wake up: new Arcade Fire music is dropping this week.

Win Butler and company are set to release a fresh track called “The Lightning I, II” this Thursday, March 17, at 2 p.m. ET. You can pre-save the song now.

In announcing the news, Arcade Fire says, “We really missed you.”

For any musically inclined fans who want a head start of hearing “The Lighting, I, II,” Arcade Fire helpfully shared the chords to the new song.

“The Lighting I, II” will be the first officially released new Arcade Fire tune to follow the band’s 2017 album, Everything Now. Since then, they performed a new song called “Generation A” during Stephen Colbert‘s Election Night 2020 special, and released a 45-minute piece called “Memories of the Age of Anxiety” for a mediation app.

Earlier Monday, Arcade Fire announced their first full-length, full-band show in two years: a Ukraine benefit concert taking place tonight in New Orleans.

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Billie Eilish‘s James Bond theme “No Time to Die” was named Best Song at the 2022 Critics Choice Awards, which were held Sunday.

The win gives Eilish and her brother/collaborator, FINNEAS, their first Critics Choice Award, which are chosen by the Critics Choice Association, consisting of film TV and online critics.

“No Time to Die” previously won a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media. It will compete for Best Original Song at this year’s Oscars, held March 27.

Other 2022 CCA nominees included Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood‘s The Power of the Dog soundtrack for Best Score, Thirty Seconds to Mars‘ Jared Leto for Best Supporting Actor in House of Gucci, and HAIM‘s Alana Haim for Best Actress in Licorice Pizza. None of them won, but Greenwood and Haim did unite at the U.K.’s BAFTA Awards, which were also held last weekend, to accept Licorice Pizza director/writer Paul Thomas Anderson‘s Original Screenplay win.

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As Shawn Mendes gears up for his biggest tour yet, he’s grounded himself in something he doesn’t talk about a lot: spirituality.

Speaking with Billboard, Shawn says he “hit a low point a few years ago,” and started meditating. Then he started reading religious texts and studying the Bhakti movement in Hinduism — a form of devotion that’s considered one of the paths to a perfect state of being, self-realization and freedom.

For more than a year, Shawn tells Billboard, he’s spent one day a week meditating and discussing scripture with Think Like a Monk author Jay Shetty.

“I think everybody has a moment where they just decide it’s time to kind of do something different,” Shawn notes, adding that spirituality is “a part of my life that is much bigger than I actually even let on.”

But his newfound devotion to spirituality hasn’t stopped him from making music. Shawn says he’s “writing a ton” for what will be the follow-up to his 2020 album, Wonder, and has lately been inspired by Coldplay, rock legend Paul Simon and Grammy-winning artist and Taylor Swift collaborator Bon Iver.  According to Shawn, he’s drawn to artists who “don’t “put themselves in a box.”

As for the tabloid attention surrounding his split with Camila Cabello, Shawn tells Billboard, “I honestly don’t care.” What he’s focused on now, he says, is “making music that’s authentic.” He says his ambition is to “influence culture” and “make something very true.”

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Carrie Underwood has a big announcement coming on Friday. 

The country superstar kicked off the week with a five-second teaser video posted on socials that displays the words “Coming Friday March 18” written in bold white lettering against a black backdrop with stars glittering in the background, as a voice whispers words and sounds over a haunting melody. Carrie captions the clip with the raised eyes emoji. 

“Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to hear this! It sounds so cool and different – we can always trust you to raise the bar and break the mold!” one fan praised in the comments, while another wrote, “Sounds beautiful and ethereal!” 

Last week during the ACM Awards, Carrie hinted that she had something in the works that would be unveiled “soon.” She followed up the comment with a photo on Instagram that shows her recording in the studio. “So, I did a thing…” she captioned the picture.

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Britney Spears is opening up about her teenage sons growing older.

In an Instagram post Sunday, the singer included a photo of her new puppy, Sawyer, saying watching the dog get bigger reminded her of how she feels watching 15-year-old Jayden James and 16-year-old Sean Preston growing up.

“I will just say it just like when my boys got bigger … IT LITERALLY SUCKS,” Britney wrote. “They don’t need me anymore … I’ve cried oceans for my boys and I’m not lying !!!!”

She added, “Hopefully one day I can show recent pics of us but in the meantime, I respect their wishes !!!!”

Britney noted that unlike her boys, her pup Sawyer “will always need me and I like that !!!!”

Britney shares her two sons with ex Kevin Federline. Back in October, she shared a similar post about her boys growing up. “So bittersweet to see them get older … why can’t they just stay babies forever ???,” she captioned a series of throwback pics.

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If you’re a fan of the 2000s indie rock scene, then your week is off to an exciting start.

First, Arcade Fire has announced a concert in support of Ukraine amid its continuing fight against Russia’s invasion. The show, which is advertised as “pay what you can,” takes place Monday night in New Orleans.

Arcade Fire hasn’t played a full-length, full-band show since February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Last December, band members Win Butler and Régine Chassagne performed together at a cryptocurrency event in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, Yeah Yeah Yeahs have announced a pair of U.K. concerts for this June, marking the trio’s first club performances in England in nine years. Not only that, but Karen O and company will apparently be debuting some new material at the shows.

“We’ve got some tunes so fresh and so NEW to try out on you!” the band says.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs haven’t released a new album since 2013’s Mosquito.

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Since learning of Traci Braxton‘s passing Saturday after a private battle with esophageal cancer, celebrities, fans, friends and family have expressed their condolences in messages posted on social media. 

The Braxton family shared the sad news in a statement posted to her sister Toni Braxton‘s Instagram, along with a black and white photo of all five of the Braxton sisters. 

“It is with the utmost regret that we inform you of the passing of our sister, Traci,” the statement reads. “Needless to say, she was a bright light, a wonderful daughter, an amazing sister, a loving mother, wife, grandmother and a respected performer. We will miss her dearly.”

“She fought to the end and today she’s at peace,” Traci’s son, Kevin Surratt Jr. said in an Instagram post, sharing an image of the two hugging. “I love my mother forever and this hurts so much but I’m at peace knowing she’s isn’t in pain anymore…” 

Gabrielle Union, Mary J. Blige, Tyrese, MC Lyte and many more stars left sympathetic and encouraging messages in the comments section.

Viola Davis took to Twitter to express her condolences, saying, “I am sooo sorry! What a light you were Traci!! Condolences to the Braxton Family, her son and husband. Rest well!”

Beyoncé posted a picture of the late star on her official website, with the message, “Rest in Peace Traci Braxton.”

“My sincere condolences to The Braxton family.. Traci was talented, funny and a joy to be around.. prayers of comfort to all,” comedian Loni Love said on Twitter. 

Missy Elliot re-tweeted a snippet of a video from the Braxton Family Values reality show, saying, “It’s like she left these words with her sisters to always remember… May God give the family STRENGTH Rest in Paradise Traci you will not be forgotten.”

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