Music

Thomas Rhett had the special opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs baseball game. 

Before headlining Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in the Windy City, the country star took the mound at Wrigley Field Sunday to throw out the symbolic first pitch at the Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals game. 

A series of photos from the event shows Thomas running onto the field with a ball and glove in hand, embracing player #48, Rex Brothers, before striking an impressive pitcher’s stance on the mound. He also shared a snap of he and wife Lauren Akins, who is pregnant with their fourth daughter, in their Cubs jerseys and ball caps on the field. 

“One for the books!! Thank you @cubs for letting me throw the first pitch today. Love this city so much,” Thomas shares in the caption. 

Thomas continues on his Center Point Road Tour through October 9.

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Young Thug, Gunna, Bia, Lil Jon, Baby Keem and Isaiah Rashad will be among the stars performing at the BET Hip Hop Awards on October 5 In Atlanta. Big Daddy Kane will pay special tribute to the late Biz Markie, who passed away July 16 in New York City at the age of 57.

Trina, ​Remy Ma, Jermaine Dupri and Tank will also appear as presenters. As previously reported, Nelly will be honored with the I Am Hip Hop Award for career achievement.

Cardi B, Lil Durk and Megan Thee Stallion lead all artists with nine nominations each, followed by Drake, with eight nods.

DC Young Fly, Karlous Miller and Chico Bean from the 85 South digital comedy show will host for the second year in a row.

The 16th annual BET Hip Hop Awards will air Tuesday, October 5 at 9 p.m. on BET

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She took a loss on it, but Kelly Clarkson has finally managed to unload the Encino, California home she shared with her soon-to-be-ex-husband after first listing it in May of 2020.

Realtor.com reports that after splitting with husband Brandon Blackstock, who will officially become her ex-husband on January 7, 2022, she listed the mansion, described as a “modern farmhouse,” for just under $10 million. She then slashed the price twice before closing the deal this month for $8.24 million; it cost $8.5 million in 2018.

Kelly’s “farmhouse” is more than 10,000 square feet, and includes eight bedrooms, nine full bathrooms, two half-baths, a home theater, a fitness center, a game room, a wine cellar, a three-car garage, a multi-level pool, fire pit, outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven and a two-bedroom guesthouse. 

Some of the neighbors she’s leaving include Nick Jonas and Selena Gomez.

This past summer, Kelly also sold her home in Hendersonville, TN for just over $6 million, and bought a five-bedroom house in Toluca Lake for a mere $5.45 million.

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When Machine Gun Kelly recently dissed Slipknot as “50 years old, wearing a f***ing weird mask on a f***ing stage,” he angered a lot of the beloved metal outfit’s fans, including Trivium frontman Matt Heafy.

In a tweet over the weekend, Heafy wrote, “I’d like to formally diss Machine Gun Kelly for ‘being 31 years old wearing a f***ing 16 year old pop punk cosplay identity on a f***ing stage.'”

If that didn’t adequately get his point across, Heafy provided MGK with a new nickname: “Squirt Gun Smelly.”

“I never thought about [Kelly] till he took a shot at Slipknot — who are a band who’s paved the way for bands like mine. Thousands of bands like mine,” Heafy added. “Squirt Gun is a clout chaser. And even though it’s all a PR stunt, a shot at SK needs an addressing.”

In addition to the online criticism, Kelly also learned how metal fans felt about him in person during his set at the Louder than Life festival over the weekend, which was met with a roar of boos from the crowd.

Kelly first slung his diss at Slipknot during his performance at Riot Fest earlier this month. Bad blood between him and Knot frontman Corey Taylor apparently stems from a scrapped collaboration between the two that was planned for Kelly’s 2020 album, Tickets to My Downfall.

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A rare electric guitar that The Ramones‘ Johnny Ramone played and recorded with from 1977 to 1996 sold for more than $900,000 at a rock memorabilia auction held over the weekend in Boston.

The 1965 Mosrite Ventures II model, which the late guitarist used at every Ramones gig from November 1977 through the band’s final concert in August of ’96, fetched $937,500, according to the Boston-based RR Auction company.

Ramone, born John Cummings, played the Mosrite at nearly 2,000 shows and also used it to record most of The Ramones’ albums.

The guitar has a white body and a black pickguard, and Johnny signed the back in black marker, “Johnny Ramone, My Main Guitar, 1977-1996.”

The instrument was one of many Ramones-related items sold at the auction, which offered memorabilia from a collection belonging to veteran producer and musician Daniel Rey, a longtime associate of the legendary punk band.

“The consignor was thrilled with the results and is very happy that the guitar is in the hands of someone who will curate Johnny Ramone’s Mosrite for future generations to enjoy,” says RR Auction executive Bobby Livingston.

The winning bidder wished to remain anonymous.

Among the other items sold at the auction was a blue Mosrite Mark-2 Johnny Ramone signature model guitar owned and played by Johnny, which brought $46,875. In addition, three Shure microphones that Ramones frontman Joey Ramone used at the group’s final concert, which took place in Los Angeles in August 1996, fetched $13,125.

You can check out the full results of the sale at RRAuction.com.

Johnny died of prostate cancer at age 55 in 2004.

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Before the release of Demi Lovato’s new Peacock series Unidentified with Demi Lovato this week, the singer is opening up about their experiences with UFOs and extraterrestrial beings.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Demi says in making the show, they now believe they may have been abducted by aliens at one point.

“We were looking into [abductions], and as I started talking to these abductees, I was realizing that I had some very similar experience[s],” Demi says. “I had an experience where I feel like I astral-projected in my sleep, and I’m realizing that maybe it wasn’t that and it was possibly that I went somewhere.”

The unscripted series features Demi, their skeptical friend Matthew and their sister Dallas, as they visit known UFO hot spots, talk to experts, examine alleged “secret government reports” and interview people who’ve had first hand encounters with E.T.s. 

Demi says they hope that people will watch with an open mind and realize that these “beings” are nothing to fear.  “You would think that I would be freaked out, but what I have found in these experiences is the love, and there’s no fear,” they say.

Demi adds, “I think they’re very caring, very intelligent beings that are just looking out for the best interest of our planet, because we need some help.”

All four episodes of Unidentified with Demi Lovato debut September 30 on Peacock.

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Maren Morris is bidding a fond farewell to the Girl era as she welcomes in new music. 

During an appearance at Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in Franklin, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville on Saturday, Maren revealed that it was her final show before she releases new music. She followed up the claim with a social media post with photos from the stage, writing, “End of an era” with a blue heart. 

She bared even more of her heart on her Instagram Stories, citing the past two years since Girl was released, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, as “quite possibly, the most formative years of my existence thus far.” 

In addition to growing in her marriage with husband Ryan Hurd and becoming a mother to one-year-old son Hayes, Maren says she also developed a closer relationship with her fans.

“I am ready to rest and recalibrate so I can finally give birth to what I’ve been toiling away at for the last two years. It is my happiest work. I can’t wait to share it,” she reflects, adding, “I love you, I do.”

Following its release in 2019, Girl spawned three singles: the chart-topping title track, crossover smash “The Bones,” and current single “To Hell & Back.” 

Maren and Ryan’s first duet, “Chasing After You,” is currently climbing into the top 10 on country radio.

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A 25-year-old Kanye West previews a song from his debut album in the trailer for his new Netflix documentary, titled Jeen-Yuhs.

Yeezy appears with Yasmine Bey, then known as Mos Def, and they rap “Two Words” from West’s 2004 album, The College Dropout. The project was RIAA-certified four-times Platinum and remains Kanye’s best-selling project of his 17-year recording career. It features Jay-Z, Jamie Foxx, Ludacris, Common, Talib Kweli, Freeway, Twista, and the Boys Choir of Harlem.

Jeen-Yuhs has been in production for 21 years for a reported $30 million, according to Pitchfork, and will debut in 2022. A release date will be announced later.

In other news, Kanye’s Donda album falls from number two to number four this week on the Billboard 200 after debuting at number one earlier this month.

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Metallica continued to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Black Album at his past weekend’s Louder than Life festival.

For their second of two headlining sets at the event, the metal legends performed their iconic 1991 record in its entirety and in reverse order, starting with closer “The Struggle Within,” and ending the main set with “Enter Sandman.”

While Black Album singles “Sandman” and “Nothing Else Matters” are staples in Metallica’s sets, the band hadn’t played deeper cuts such as “Struggle” or “Don’t Tread on Me” in concert since 2012.

Earlier this month, Metallica released a deluxe reissue of The Black Album in honor of its 30th anniversary. They also put together The Metallica Blacklist, a 53-track tribute compilation featuring covers of every song off the record.

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Shinedown bassist Eric Bass has tested positive for COVID-19.

In an Instagram post announcing the news, frontman Brent Smith writes that Bass is “doing fine” and is currently quarantining, and is set to return to the road once he tests negative.

“To be crystal clear everyone on the tour including bands, and crew were tested today all of which are all negative,” Smith says.

With Bass out of commission for a bit, the remainder of Shinedown — Smith, guitarist Zach Myers and drummer Barry Kerch — performed as a three-piece during their two shows this past weekend. Josh Sturm, husband of ex-Flyleaf singer Lacey Sturm, will fill in going forward.

Bass is the second Shinedown member to contract COVID-19 in as many months — Kerch tested positive back in August.

 

 

 

 

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