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Regina Hall says her father’s death led her to shift her career from journalism to acting

August 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Regina Hall says she has her father to thank for her career in acting.

In an interview with Health magazine, Hall, who attended NYU grad school for journalism in her 20s, says that while she was always interested in acting, it was her father’s unexpected death that ultimately led her to pursue a career in the arts.

“It was his passing that really shifted how I looked at life — I realized how brief it can be and how suddenly it can change,” she said. “That’s what led me to acting. The thing about feeling broken is that it forces you to be open — you feel like you don’t have much, so you don’t overthink everything.”

After celebrating her 50th birthday this past December and surviving a pandemic, Hall now says she has a different perspective on life.

“I think it enforced that you can’t take anything for granted,” she says. “You have to have gratitude for every day that you have.”

The September 2021 issue of Health, featuring Regina Hall, is now available on newsstands.

Why getting in bed with Madonna will cost you $5,000

August 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Madonna attends the opening ceremony of the Mercy James Children’s Hospital; AMOS GUMULIRA/AFP via Getty Images

For her upcoming birthday on August 16, Madonna wants get in bed with you — metaphorically and physically.

Madonna is asking her fans to help support the Mercy James Centre, the hospital she built in Malawi four years ago, which is the only pediatric intensive care unit in the entire country. Specifically, she needs more beds in the hospital — 50 of them, to be exact — so she’s asking fans to donate money to purchase those beds.

“I want to ensure that every child that comes into that hospital and has an operation or surgery of any kind has a bed to recuperate in afterwards, and is taken care of,” Madonna explains in an Instagram video.

She adds, “I will name that bed after you and you will forever be, not only in my heart, but in the hearts of all the children of Malawi and their families. Thank you in advance for your generosity, and happy birthday to me!”

You can donate at RaisingMalawi.org. If you’ve got deep pockets, you can donate $5,000 and get a bed named after you. If you don’t have that kind of money, you can donate $2,500 and share the bed name with one other donor, or $500, to have your name listed with nine other donors.

Even if you can’t afford that, you can give $100 to contribute to a nurse’s salary, or even $25 to pay for a month’s worth of medicine for one child.

Of course, helping the children of Malawi is one of Madonna’s pet causes, because it’s the country where four of her children — David, Mercy, Stella and Estere — were born.

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Elvis Presley box set focusing on 1971 Nashville sessions due in November; watch unboxing event today

August 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

A new archival Elvis Presley box set focusing on May-June 1971 recording sessions that the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll did in Nashville will be released as a four-CD set and digitally on November 12.

Elvis: Back in Nashville features recordings Presley made with his session musicians that were intended for use in various releases. Some of the recordings, after being augmented by orchestral and vocal overdubs, wound up — with subsequent orchestral and vocal overdubs — on 1971’s Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas, the Grammy-winning 1972 gospel album He Touched Me, 1972’s Elvis Now and 1973’s Elvis.

A special unboxing event for the Elvis: Back in Nashville package takes place today in Memphis at the Guest House Theater at Graceland as part of Elvis Week 2021, and will stream live at YouTube.com/ElvisPresley and Facebook.com/ElvistheMusic starting at 5 p.m. ET.

Back in Nashville features a total of 82 tracks, and includes songs from a variety of genres. Disc One includes various country and folk covers, a selection of Ivory Joe Hunter tunes featuring just Elvis and piano accompaniment, and renditions of classic pop compositions, including “My Way.”

Disc Two focuses on contemporary and classic gospel and Christmas songs.

Disc Three features additional country and folk tunes, including an epic rendition of Bob Dylan‘s “Don’t Think Twice, (It’s Alright),” as well as covers of such rock songs as Chuck Berry‘s “Johnny B. Goode” and The Beatles‘ “Lady Madonna.”

Disc Four boasts outtake versions of various religious and holiday songs.

One of the tracks, a raw first-take version of the song “I’m Leavin’,” has been released as an advance digital single.

A two-LP vinyl version of Back in Nashville also will be available, while Graceland.com is offering an exclusive colored-vinyl edition.

Silk Sonic Sushi: Bruno Mars’ “Leave the Door Open” partner invests in new restaurant

August 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Bruno Mars‘ latest project Silk Sonic, featuring himself and Anderson. Paak, has only released two singles, but both have been quite successful. Now, Anderson has found the perfect place to park all the cash he’s been raking in.

The “Leave the Door Open” singer posted a photo of himself at a restaurant called Taisho, and captioned the image, “The boy done invested his #silksonic money in the best sushi in town! The foodies are calling it ‘BUSSIN!!’ Come see for yourself!”

The restaurant is located in Sherman Oaks, California, and Anderson, a California native, joked in his caption, “Tell them you know AP and they will charge you full price with no hesitation! God is the greatest!”

He also jokingly added the hashtag “#DontAskForNoDiscounts.”

As for Bruno, he’s got his own food and beverage side hustle going as one of the co-owners of Selva Rey Rum.

Silk Sonic’s latest single and video is “Skate,” and fans aren’t the only ones who are getting impatient for the duo’s debut album, which still doesn’t have a release date. Last month, when Bruno posted childhood photos of himself and Anderson, Anderson himself jumped in the comments and wrote, “WE WANT THE ALBUM!!!“

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Billy Idol says his one-year-old granddaughter is a fan of his music

August 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Billy Idol became a grandfather for the first time last year, and the 65-year-old pop-punk singer tells People that the experience has enriched his life.

“It opens you up emotionally,” he says. “Everything is a new experience for her. In a way, I’m reliving those experiences myself.”

Idol’s daughter, Bonnie Broad, gave birth to a daughter of her own in May 2020. Billy says his one-year-old grandkkid, who’s named Poppy Rebel, is already a fan of his music.

“The other day she was bouncing up and down to ‘Rebel Yell,'” he says of his 1983 hit. “But of course, she also loves ‘Baby Shark.'”

The rocker, who just announced that he’ll be releasing a four-song EP next month titled The Roadside, says the downtime he had during the COVID-19 pandemic gave him the chance to spend some quality time with his granddaughter. He tells People that he’s been teaching the little one how to talk and walk.

“She can say ‘dude,’ ‘duck’ and ‘fish,'” he reports.

Last month, Billy posted an adorable video on his Instagram of Poppy feeding him blueberries.

Idol recently launched a run of 2021 U.S. tour dates that continues tonight with a show in Airway Heights, Washington. The trek winds down with a four-show Las Vegas residency in October.

Meanwhile, the lead single from The Roadside, “Bitter Taste,” is available digitally now.

Chicago Health Commissioner finds “no evidence” Lollapalooza was a “super-spreader event”

August 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The Chicago Health Commissioner has found that there’s been “no evidence” that Lollapalooza was a “super-spreader event” for COVID-19.

Speaking with media Thursday, Dr. Allison Arwady said that the department has “had no unexpected findings” in regards to COVID numbers 14 days after the start of Lollapalooza. The festival had required attendees to either be fully vaccinated, or show proof of a negative COVID test obtained within 72 hours of entering the grounds.

Arwady said that 203 people that attended Lollapalooza have tested positive for COVID-19, which is in line with the expectation of around 200 cases. Fifty-eight of those were Chicago residents, 138 were from Illinois but not Chicago, and seven came in from out of state.

Arwady estimates that about 90 percent of Lolla attendees were vaccinated. Of those vaccinated, .0004 percent, or four in 10,000, tested positive. The unvaccinated positivity rate was .0016 percent, or 16 in 10,000. As of Wednesday, August 11, no hospitalizations or deaths have been reported.

Lollapalooza took place from July 29 to July 1. Performers included Foo Fighters, Limp Bizkit, Journey, Black Pumas, All Time Low, Angels & Airwaves, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Tyler, the Creator, Marshmello, Megan Thee Stallion and Jimmy Eat World.

Also on August 12, the nation’s second-largest events promoter, AEG, announced that come October 1, all ticket holders at its events will need to show proof of vaccination. That’s a step further than the largest promoter, Live Nation, which said it’d be up to the artists to the decide if audiences at their shows must test negative or be vaccinated.

Reba McEntire to help announce the 2021 Country Music Hall of Fame incoming class

August 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Who will be the next group of musical legends to join the Country Music Hall of Fame? Fans can find out soon. An inductee announcement will take place next week, hosted by Reba McEntire.

The Country Music Association will livestream the event on their YouTube page at 10 a.m. CT on August 16. Reba, who’s making the announcement, has been a member of the Hall of Fame since 2011; she was inducted via the “Modern Era Artist” category.

Each year, the Country Music Hall of Fame selects a new class of members across three different categories: “Modern Era Artist,” “Veteran Era Artist” and “Songwriter.” Last year, the three incoming acts were Dean Dillon (as a Songwriter), Marty Stuart (as a Modern Era Artist) and Hank Williams, Jr. (as a Veteran Era Artist.)

After the new class is announced, they’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a formal Medallion Ceremony.

Reba’s no stranger to that event, either: In addition to receiving a medallion of her own when she became a Hall of Famer in 2011, she returned to the ceremony in 2019 to help induct her longtime friends and frequent collaborators, Brooks & Dunn, who were that year’s Modern Era inductees.

Ed Sheeran explains why he and his wife have a “strict date night” every week

August 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Courtesy The Rebecca Judd Show on Apple Music 1

Like any new parents, Ed Sheeran and his wife Cherry want to spend as much time as possible with their baby daughter, Lyra, but Ed says they also make sure to take time for themselves, too.

Appearing on Apple Music 1’s The Rebecca Judd Show, Ed says, “Me and my wife have a date night. It’s a strict date night every single week. And no matter who’s in town or who wants to see us, it’s always this one night in the week and we go out and our rule is we can’t talk about our baby. We have to talk about each other and catch up.”

“As a parent, you spend so much time discussing being a parent that you kind of forget who you were before,” he notes. “So we have one night a week where we are who we were before.”

Ed also revealed that he hasn’t listened to his debut album + (Plus) since it came out, so for the 10th anniversary concert he’s doing next month — in which he’ll play the album in its entirety — he’s literally having to relearn his own songs. As he explains, “I wouldn’t have played [some of the songs] since the tour in 2011,”

In addition, Ed also sang Judd the first song he ever wrote: “Typical Average Teen.”

“The creator of The Simpsons was doing a show, my cousin knew him,” Ed recalls. “And…they were doing this show about a typical average teen. And he was like, ‘My cousin wrote something like that!’ So it was actually going to be the soundtrack to this thing for a while.”

Ed continues. “I don’t know what happened, but it would have been so weird to have my first song end up being the soundtrack of a TV show.”

Shinedown’s Brent Smith donates $10K to Spiritbox after cancellation of Limp Bizkit tour

August 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Shinedown‘s Brent Smith helped keep Spiritbox‘s spirits high after the band’s tour with Limp Bizkit was canceled.

According to the “Secret Garden” metallers, Smith sent them $10,000 toward covering the losses the band incurred due to the tour’s cancellation.

“Can we talk about what an amazing person @TheBrentSmith from @Shinedown is?” Spiritbox tweeted Thursday. “He just gifted us $10,000 towards our losses since our tour was recently cancelled. This is such an amazing and kind gesture, seriously thank you!”

And Smith wasn’t the only one who reached out. Spiritbox added that We Came As Romans, from whom they rented a large part of their light package for the Bizkit tour, waived the invoice to “help soften our losses.”

“We have never met @TheBrentSmith and we barely know the guys in @wecameasromans,” Spiritbox wrote. “These people were not helping out a friend in need, they are just truly selfless people who wanted to do something kind for another band. We hope to conduct ourselves like them someday.”

Limp Bizkit had canceled the tour “out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the band, crew and most of all the fans.”

Summer Walker called out for telling people who got the COVID vaccine to “stay away”

August 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Summer Walker

Summer Walker landed herself in hot water on Wednesday when sharing her thoughts about the COVID-19 vaccine and asked those who got it to keep their distance from her.

This isn’t the first time Walker, 25, has been called out for spreading conspiracy theories about the vaccine. Most recently, she took to her Instagram side account and expressed in a Wednesday story, “If u vaccinated please stay away from me.”

The remarks didn’t go over too well on Twitter, causing #SummerWalker to start trending. While most fans lamented they are having a harder and harder time defending her, one joked the “Over It” singer is “trying to make sure her next tour has no guests.”

In March, the R&B singer wiped her official Instagram account after sharing a hoax video that contained lies about how the coronavirus spread.

She then peddled more false COVID-19 theories on her side account. Those posts have also been deleted.

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