Music

New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum will honor Jon Bon Jovi this November at its 2021 Salute to Freedom gala.

Jon will receive the 2021 Intrepid Lifetime Achievement Award for his Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which helps low-income individuals and veterans find affordable housing and shelter.  The Foundation also runs three JBJ Soul Kitchen community restaurants that allow diners to work to pay for their meal, or give other diners the chance to pay for others’ meals.

In addition, Jon is being honored for opening the Walter Reed veterans housing facility in 2019, which provided homes for 77 veterans.  The other honoree is music industry executive Bob Pittman, who helped found MTV.

In a statement, the president of the Intrepid Museum says, “This year’s honorees go above and beyond for the important causes they care so deeply about, [such as] Jon Bon Jovi’s continued service to our country’s military heroes and those suffering food and shelter insecurity…We are honored to recognize the great work of these trailblazers, and we thank them for their immeasurable contributions.”

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Cole Swindell‘s mother, Betty Carol Rainey, has passed away. 

The singer announced the news on his Instagram Stories on Monday night, posting a photo from the sky in an airplane as he was flying back to his home state of Georgia.

“Took this on the flight home to Georgia this afternoon. Lost my sweet Mom today. I know she’s up there. Gonna miss her so much. Love y’all,” Cole writes alongside the photo, which shows the sun shining through the clouds.

He did not provide specific details on her passing.  

Betty Rainey’s death comes eight years after Cole’s father, William Keith Swindell, passed away suddenly at the age of 65. He served as the inspiration for Cole’s hit 2015 single, “You Should Be Here.”

Cole is currently opening for Thomas Rhett on the Center Point Road Tour.

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Selena Gomez’s murder-mystery Hulu series, Only Murders in the Building, has been picked up for season two.

The series, in which Selena stars alongside comedy greats Steve Martin and Martin Short, debuted as the most-watched Hulu Original comedy on its premiere day on August 31. It was also the most-watched comedy on premiere day across all streaming video-on-demand titles ever on the platform.

Only Murders in the Building has been a critical success as well, maintaining a 100% Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score.

“So ready for this!! Season 2!!!” Selena wrote on her Instagram Story Tuesday.

Only Murders in the Building follows three true crime-obsessed strangers who come together when a crime occurs in their own apartment building. A new episode debuts today.

And in other singers who are also actors news, Olivia Rodrigo’s Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series has been picked up for season three.

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Five for Fighting has released a new single called “Blood on My Hands,” inspired by the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

John Ondrasik, who records under the Five for Fighting name, wrote the song the day when 13 U.S. soldiers and more than 60 Afghans were killed by a suicide bomber, and he’d talked to a friend who was organizing the evacuation of civilians from the country.  “It was a highly emotional call and moment of clarity,” he says in a statement.

While John says he wasn’t motivated politically to write the song, he notes that, “like all Americans,” he was “stunned and horrified” by the images of people trying desperately to leave the country before the Taliban took over.

“I am deeply troubled by the plight of Afghan women forced to live under the return of Taliban rule, and felt great sadness when reading a story about a popular folk singer…being dragged from his home and shot by the Taliban,” says John.

He continues, “There is a great tradition of artists speaking their minds and calling out their leaders for answers. Many of those have been inspirations to me. I understand that this song might be perceived by some as a political attack, but those who follow me know I am an American with a history of calling out both sides.”

“After hearing ‘Blood on My Hands,’ a friend said that he found the song to be politically neutral, but morally-forward,” he adds.”My hope is that this song helps demand accountability, so the American promise is not forsaken.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Wondering why you didn’t see Halsey on the Met Gala red carpet Monday night? The new mom took to Twitter to explain why they didn’t attend.

“I’m still breastfeeding,” they wrote. “I only had my baby 7 weeks ago.”

Referencing the gala’s “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion theme,” the singer added, “There’s nothing more ‘American fashion’ than moms having to go back to work after just giving birth lol.”

When people on Twitter began criticizing Halsey for their response, pointing out that they had recently attended a party, Halsey responded, “Being out for 3 hours vs 9!!! I’m sorry I don’t know why I have to explain this.”

They clarified that they were “not complaining at all,” and that they understand they are “incredibly privileged to afford time off but the demands are still prevalent and the biology does not excuse me.”

“I am so grateful,” they wrote. “For my baby after everything I went through to get pregnant. For my undeserved comfort to spend time home. For the blessing to make art as a form of employment. But postpartum does not discriminate. That’s all I meant to say.”

Halsey welcomed their first child, Ender, in July with partner Alev Aydin.

I’m still breastfeeding https://t.co/OtZgDdAyZy

— h (@halsey) September 14, 2021

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Taylor Swift admits that she misses touring.

The Grammy winner shared a TikTok video Monday showing her relaxing barefooted on her couch while strumming her guitar as she reminisces about the past year.

“I’ve loved making music during the pandemic to connect with fans from afar but…,” the narration begins before jump-cutting to various concerts that show Taylor interacting with swarms of her fans.

She captioned the video “I miss us” along with the hashtag “All I think about is you.”

In March, Swift announced that she would be permanently cancelling her Lover Fest shows, which were meant to celebrate her seventh studio album, Lover.

In a tweet, Taylor wrote, “It’s not my favorite thing in the world to have to tell you news I’m sad about. I’m so sorry, but I cannot reschedule the shows that we’ve postponed.”

“I’m so disappointed that I won’t be able to see you in person as soon as I wanted to,” Taylor added. “I miss you terribly and can’t wait til we can all safely be at shows together again.”

Since issuing Lover, Swift released two surprise albums she recorded while in quarantine — folklore and  evermore.  Plans — if any — for a tour supporting the albums haven’t been disclosed, but fans are hoping Tay’s latest admission is hinting at a future announcement.

Why?  Her latest TikTok video is exactly 13 seconds long — and 13, of course, is Taylor’s lucky number.

@taylorswift

i miss us 🥺 #allithinkaboutisyou

♬ original sound – 🍒

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R. Kelly‘s longtime assistant, Diana Copeland, took the stand on Monday as the singer’s sex trafficking case continued in Brooklyn, New York.

Copeland, who has worked with Kelly for 15 years, detailed her interactions with the disgraced R&B icon and testified that he was once so paranoid he made her put on a robe to prove she wasn’t wearing a wire, Billboard reports. 

“He could get pretty heated,” Copeland explained.

She also claimed that Kelly made her cry on numerous occasions, kept strict policies, and once made her falsely write a letter confessing to stealing from him. 

Still, Copeland says that she did not observe any of the alleged abuse that previous witnesses discussed when they testified. 

Kelly, 54, whose birth name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, faces state and federal charges for sex trafficking, racketeering, coercion and other charges related to the alleged abuse and exploitation of six women — three of whom were underage at the time — over the course of 25 years. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

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Back before he found success with Midland, Mark Wystrach was an actor and model, starring on the NBC soap, Passions. 

This Friday, the “Drinkin’ Problem” hitmaker again steps in front of the camera, taking a pivotal role in the new film, The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

“I play a character named Gary Paxton,” Mark explains, “who is kind of a little-known, very large character in the music world. He had very young success in his career as an artist and as a songwriter.”

“I guess he’s best known for producing and writing a song called ‘Monster Mash,'” Mark continues, “and probably even better known for ending up being Tammy Faye Bakker‘s producer on multiple albums of hers that were recorded at their compound out in North Carolina.”

With Jessica Chastain taking the lead role and Andrew Garfield playing Tammy’s husband, Jim Bakker, Mark admits it would’ve been easy to psyche himself out.

“You find yourself suddenly, in the back of your head saying, ‘Wow, I’m the only person in this room right now on the set without an Academy Award,'” he confesses. “And that could be intimidating or you can just jump in and have fun.”

“And it was really easy with Jessica and Andrew and [director] Michael [Showalter],” Mark reflects. “They’re so gracious and so easy to work with that you just kinda jump in and go with the flow, and you just kind of swim in the river. And it was a blast, an amazing experience.”

“And I think the film — which I’ve had a chance to see — turned out brilliantly,” he adds. 

You can check out Mark’s performance when The Eyes of Tammy Faye opens on Friday. 

Meanwhile, Midland’s new EP, The Last Resort, is out now, featuring their single, “Sunrise Tells the Story.” 

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Lately, Avril Lavigne has been collaborating with some musicians who are continuing the emo-slash-pop-punk sound she helped take to the top of the charts 20 years ago, including her boyfriend Mod Sun and WILLOW, the daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.  She’s also seen how Olivia Rodrigo‘s music has been compared to her early work. But now, Avril’s ready to take back the sound for herself.

After she announced that she’s putting out new music next year, ABC News asked Avril what fans could expect from it.  “B****, I’m back to rock!” she declared, adding, “And the new music is exactly that.”

“Everyone’s having a lot of fun, sort of, like, with alternative music right now. My new album is kind of like that,” she continued. “It’s got, like, a pop-rock, pop-punk vibe. So I’m ready to have some fun…[and] rock out!”

And Mod Sun is pretty excited about his girlfriend’s new music.  He commented on Avril’s Instagram, “I can not wait for u to show the world what you’ve been working on. Ur an absolute icon + the most beautiful thing on this planet.”

Avril’s most recent album, Head Above Water, came out in 2019 and was inspired by her battle with Lyme disease.

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