Music

The Hulu/FX documentary The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears reignited the #FreeBritney movement when it came out back in February, but Britney herself didn’t seem to be a fan.

In an Instagram post last month, the singer wrote in part, “I didn’t like the way the documentaries bring up humiliating moments from the past.”

Framing Britney Spears director Samantha Stark tells Billboard she doesn’t blame Britney for feeling that way.

“While we were making the film, we talked a lot about re-traumatizing Britney and her family by showing these moments,” Stark says. “Part of the reason it’s called Framing Britney Spears is there are these still-photo frames that were humiliating to her.”

Stark continues, “We thought it was really important to pull outside the frame because so many people had all these assumptions based on one frame, one still image that they saw. In the end, we felt like we had to put some of them in because we wanted people to have more context.”

Stark concedes that Britney “100 percent deserves to be mad that we’re still looking at those photos, because it’s ridiculous that we’re still looking at them, and they shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”

“As much as I want to explain myself to her, I totally understand where she’s coming from,” she says.

The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears received two Emmy nominations: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program.

And in Britney conservatorship news, People reports Britney’s lawyer Mathew Rosengart filed a motion for an “immediate suspension” of her father Jamie Spears as conservator of her estate before her next court hearing on September 29.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ever since Reba McEntire’s mother, Jacqueline McEntire, died last spring, the singer has been hoping to have the chance to have a public memorial for her late mom. 

A service was previously scheduled for this Sunday, August 8, but Reba now explains that that event is being canceled in light of an uptick in local COVID-19 cases.

“If you knew mama, you know she would scold us to pieces for putting on a memorial on her behalf with so many lives in danger of COVID exposure,” Reba wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of her mother. “If and when we are able to honor our Mama, we will let you know.”

The singer also asked for help spreading the word to anyone who might have been planning on attending, since the cancellation was coming on such short notice. 

Jacqueline died of cancer on March 14, 2020, at the age of 93. Earlier this year, on the one-year anniversary of her death, Reba remembered her mom with a moving social media tribute that featured her song “You Never Gave Up on Me.” 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Reba (@reba)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

It looks like Jennifer Hudson is ready to take the Verzuz stage in a battle with another Grammy-winning vocalist.

“I live for Verzuz,” says Hudson during a recent interview captured by The Shade Room on Instagram. When asked if she would go hit for hit with Fantasia Barrino, Hudson replies, “That’s a dope idea.”

“I got some Verzuz ideas too that I want to see as well,” she continues. That’s a beautiful idea maybe one day we can make that happen, maybe one day. I want to see somebody like Smokey Robinsonvs. Stevie Wonder.”

Hudson said she loves old-school music, adding, “That’s why I’m sitting here.” 

Fans sounded off in the post’s comments, declaring whether Jennifer Hudson or Fantasia would win a friendly Verzuz battle.

“She don’t want no smoke with Fantasia,” said one fan, while others suggested Hudson go against Jazmine Sullivan. Still others made it point to mention that Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia previously competed against each other on the third season of American Idol in 2004. Both made it to the final 12, though Fantasia was chosen as the season winner. 

“American Idol vs American Idol. I’m with it,” wrote one fan in the comments, while another said, “OMG I’d tear up lol. They both got so much love, passion and soul in their music.”

Verzuz co-founder Swizz Beatz also caught wind of Hudson’s response, writing, “Let’s go.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Weren’t in Los Angeles to catch Justin Bieber headline The Freedom Experience concert event last month? Well, you’re in luck. The whole show will be broadcast on YouTube for a limited time.

The concert, presented by 1DayLA, will be available to stream for free on the Love Has No Limits YouTube channel starting on Sunday, August 8, at 5:30 p.m. PT.

The show, which took place on July 24, also featured performances by Chance the Rapper, Jaden Smith, Tori Kelly, Kari Jobe and Chandler Moore, live from L.A.’s SoFi Stadium.

It capped off a week-long 1DayLA initiative that mobilized volunteers and helped organize city-beautification projects, back-to-school events, free medical clinics and homeless assistance, and aid distribution in communities throughout L.A.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Boosie has unveiled the music video for his latest single, “Premonition.” It features clips of the Louisiana rapper smoking in a car with friends while he raps about dreams and reflects on his time in prison. The nearly three-minute video also features an image of his former crush: Rihanna.

“Feeling like I can have her, now she don’t want me,” Boosie raps as a hologram of the singer with black hair appears next to him. 

Due to Rihanna’s new relationship with A$AP Rocky, Boosie recently decided to let go of his years-long crush on the singer. But that didn’t stop fans on Twitter from making jokes about Boosie’s infatuation with Rihanna.

“Boosie is out his damn mind for putting a hologram of Rihanna in his video,” tweeted one fan, while another wrote, “Lil Boosie funny af. Rihanna is with A$AP Rocky, my boy. She ain’t never leaving him. She’d be a damn fool.” One more fan said, “Boosie better get his badazz on somewhere with that damn Rihanna hologram in his video.”

“Premonition” is available on Boosie’s mixtape, GOAT Talk 3, which is out now.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As its annual ACM Honors celebration nears, the Academy of Country Music is adding new performers to the show’s bill. 

Keith Urban, Toby Keith, Jamey Johnson and Sam Williams are all among the newly-added acts. The ACM also announced on Thursday that Carly Pearce — who’s hosting the show — will perform, too. Also on the bill are acclaimed songwriters Jordan Reynolds, Nicolle Galyon and Jessie Jo Dillon and Laura Veltz. 

Chris Janson was previously announced as a performer, but this week, it was revealed that he will also present this year’s ACM Industry Awards and Studio Recording Awards. Other special guest presenters are Trace Adkins and Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern. 

Previously-announced performers include Lady A, RaeLynn, Lauren Alaina, Ashley McBryde and many more. While Keith is a new addition to the bill itself, the ACM did previously announce that he’s playing the annual pre-show ACM Party for a Cause, which takes place this year on August 24. 

This year’s ACM Honors will take place at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on August 25. It will livestream on Circle Network’s social channels, and will also be filmed for a television special set to air on the Circle Network later this year.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Gloria Estefan sings a new song written by Lin-Manuel Miranda in the new Netflix animated film Vivo, which starts streaming on Friday. You can watch a video of the sequence where Gloria’s character performs the song, called “Inside Your Heart,” on YouTube now.

Vivo stars Miranda as the voice of Vivo, a kinkajou who entertains people on the street by playing music with his owner, Andrés.  Andrés’ former musical partner, a now-famous Cuban singer named Marta Sandoval, played by Gloria, invites him to her farewell concert.  However, it eventually falls to Vivo to deliver to Marta a song that Andrés wrote for her many years ago.

Miranda wrote all the songs for the film, and Gloria tells Variety it was hearing the sad romantic ballad “Inside Your Heart” that convinced her to accept a role in Vivo.

“It was a moment when I was so incredibly busy, I thought it was going to be impossible,” she says. “But he sent me the demo of him singing it, and it tore my heart apart.”  She adds of Vivo, “It’s a story after my own heart because I’m Cuban American, and that story of love, loss and separation is near and dear to my heart.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sanaa Lathan says she’s doing better mentally and physically now that she’s stopped drinking alcohol.

“I stopped drinking about three years ago,” Lathan tells People. “Alcohol was not going well with me physically. Just, it was not working anymore. It affects everything, and that’s part of the reason why I stopped, because even if you’re going out a couple of times a week and you’re drinking, it was starting to affect me throughout the week. It wouldn’t be necessarily a hangover, but it definitely dimmed my energy. I didn’t feel as good. It was affecting anxiety.”

After noting some of the affects of alcohol, Lathan admits she had to “educated” herself on why drinking wasn’t necessary to be social.

“There’s this whole belief that you can only have fun with alcohol,” she says. “I had to really reprogram that aspect, because it’s just all over in our culture. So, I haven’t missed it. My life has definitely become more of a morning life, but I can still go out and have fun.”

Now that alcohol is absent in her life, Lathan shares that she journals regularly as a form of self-care, and also incorporates meditation to help her cope with unexpected stress.

“I grew up with a mother who taught me about meditation so, I did it on and off,” she says. “The reason why I came to this practice was several years ago, I went through a lot of trauma. I had a best friend who died suddenly. She was not sick. It was completely unexpected. I didn’t process it. I was in a shock type of situation.”

“So I started [meditating],” Lathan continues. “And as soon as I started, they went away. There’s so many benefits. And so, I’m a huge believer, a huge advocate.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.