Flea at 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Disney/Ser Baffo)
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea is releasing a cover of the Frank Ocean song “Thinkin Bout You” on Wednesday.
“This song, and the entire album from which it comes, [2012’s] Channel Orange, touched my heart,” Flea writes in an Instagram post. “I listened to that album over and over for months.”
He adds, “It lives in me always and I’m honored to play it; an homage to its sentiment, lyricism, timeless melody, and of course to Frank himself who is one of my favorite living singers.”
The cover will appear on Flea’s upcoming debut solo album, Honora, due out March 27. The record also includes the songs “A Plea” and the Thom Yorke-featuring “Traffic Lights.”
: Giveon performs performs at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre on November 01, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jeff Hahne/Getty Images)
GIVĒON may be well into his career now, but he says he initially struggled with the speed of his rise to fame. Asked by Billboard to reflect on a challenge he faced in his career, GIVĒON said, “I can start by saying how the ascension was so quick.”
“I was always aware of my ability and talent, but as I started to break through that ceiling, at a certain point it becomes impostor syndrome,” he said. “You have to walk around like, ‘Yeah, I can sell out MSG in presale’; otherwise, you’re going to make yourself smaller than you actually are.”
Today, GIVĒON is more confident in where he stands among R&B artists.
“I don’t actually rank [myself], but there are technical abilities that you could rank, like how well you put on a show, how well you tell a story [and] your uniqueness,” he said. “I will say if we’re going off technical and not just subjectiveness, I feel like I rank among the top.”
GIVĒON added that as he looks ahead in his career, he continues to be driven by his ambition.
“I want to do a full arena tour. That’s one of the main things that drives me, just because the quality of the show could be higher for each and every city,” he said. “And I want a Grammy.”
Rickey Medlocke and Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd perform at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre on July 23, 2023, in Alpharetta, Georgia. (Photo by R. Diamond/Getty Images)
Lynyrd Skynyrd is giving folks a chance to win a VIP experience to one of their concerts simply by living their iconic tune “Free Bird.”
The band is asking fans to share their best #FreeBirdMoment, with the grand prize being VIP tickets to their upcoming Double Trouble Double Vision Tour with Foreigner.
“Show us what makes you feel AS FREE AS A BIRD—dirtbikes, guitar solos, bull rides, Hell House whiskey sippin’, hot rods,” the band says on Instagram, “if it’s EPIC, we want to see it. Enter now and let freedom Fly!”
To enter, fans need to upload videos showing off their moment soundtracked by “Free Bird.”
Not only will the winner get two tickets to a show on the tour, they’ll get to watch it from backstage, meet the band and get some free merch. They may also get to hold the American flag after the band plays “Free Bird.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Double Trouble Vision tour with Foreigner kicks off July 23 in Atlanta and wraps Aug. 29 in Rogers, Arkansas. A complete list of tour dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com.
In other “Free Bird” news … USA Today’s annual Ad Meter ranking of Super Bowl commercials, based on votes by nearly 200,000 registered panelists, has voted Budweiser’s “American Icons” ad, featuring Skynyrd’s classic song, as this year’s best. This marked the 10th time Budweiser took the top spot on the annual list.
Olivia Colman visits the IMDb Portrait Studio at Acura House of Energy on location at Sundance 2026 on Jan. 23, 2026, in Park City, Utah. (Mat Hayward/Getty Images for IMDb)
Olivia Colman has opened up about her personal connection to the queer stories she has been a part of.
The actress plays the parent of a nonbinary child in the new film Jimpa. In a recent interview with Them, Colman was asked how it feels to be part of so many stories rooted in the queer community.
“I find the most loving and the most beautiful stories are from that community. And I feel really honored to be welcomed,” Colman said.
The actress, who is married to actor Ed Sinclair, noted she has always felt as though she is “sort of nonbinary.”
“Throughout my whole life, I’ve had arguments with people where I’ve always felt sort of nonbinary,” Colman said. “Don’t make that a big sort of title! But I’ve never felt massively feminine in my being female. I’ve always described myself to my husband as a gay man. And he goes, ‘Yeah, I get that.’ So I do feel at home and at ease. I feel like I have a foot in various camps. I know many people who do.”
Jimpa‘s director, Sophie Hyde, agreed, saying the idea of binaries and gender are problematic.
“The idea of being a woman or womanhood. It doesn’t necessarily fit for all of us. I think these binaries of gender are problematic for many of us. It’s like, how can you fit? There are problems sometimes,” Hyde said.
Colman continued this thought, saying that these binaries limit men, too.
“And men are limited, too, in that — in the expectation they have to live up to. I think with my husband and I, we take turns to be the ‘strong one,’ or the one who needs a little bit of gentleness,” Colman said. “I believe everyone has all of it in them. I’ve always felt like that.”
Olivia Colman visits the IMDb Portrait Studio at Acura House of Energy on location at Sundance 2026 on Jan. 23, 2026, in Park City, Utah. (Mat Hayward/Getty Images for IMDb)
Olivia Colman has opened up about her personal connection to the queer stories she has been a part of.
The actress plays the parent of a nonbinary child in the new film Jimpa. In a recent interview with Them, Colman was asked how it feels to be part of so many stories rooted in the queer community.
“I find the most loving and the most beautiful stories are from that community. And I feel really honored to be welcomed,” Colman said.
The actress, who is married to actor Ed Sinclair, noted she has always felt as though she is “sort of nonbinary.”
“Throughout my whole life, I’ve had arguments with people where I’ve always felt sort of nonbinary,” Colman said. “Don’t make that a big sort of title! But I’ve never felt massively feminine in my being female. I’ve always described myself to my husband as a gay man. And he goes, ‘Yeah, I get that.’ So I do feel at home and at ease. I feel like I have a foot in various camps. I know many people who do.”
Jimpa‘s director, Sophie Hyde, agreed, saying the idea of binaries and gender are problematic.
“The idea of being a woman or womanhood. It doesn’t necessarily fit for all of us. I think these binaries of gender are problematic for many of us. It’s like, how can you fit? There are problems sometimes,” Hyde said.
Colman continued this thought, saying that these binaries limit men, too.
“And men are limited, too, in that — in the expectation they have to live up to. I think with my husband and I, we take turns to be the ‘strong one,’ or the one who needs a little bit of gentleness,” Colman said. “I believe everyone has all of it in them. I’ve always felt like that.”
Brent Smith of Shinedown performs at The Kia Forum on August 03, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
The Rock the Country touring festival has released a statement regarding its scheduled stop in Anderson, South Carolina, for July 25-26, which has now been canceled.
The statement comes after Shinedown, which was set to play the Anderson stop, announced on Feb. 6 that they were no longer playing the festival. The bill was also set to include Creed and rapper Ludacris, who dropped off the bill in January.
“Rock the country was created to unite people together trough music,” reads a post to the Rock the Country Instagram. “Our lineups and our crowds reflect that sentiment — a wide range of voices, backgrounds, and stories that make up this country.”
“We’re truly disappointed we won’t be bringing the show to Anderson,” the post continues. “Our fans work hard for their money, and we refuse to put on a show that doesn’t meet the standard they deserve.”
Rock the Country, which is headlined by Kid Rock and country star Jason Aldean, has garnered controversy due to its association with conservative and MAGA circles. Rock is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, and performed at conservative organization Turning Point USA’s counterprogrammed halftime show on Sunday during Bad Bunny’s performance at the Super Bowl.
Shinedown said in their statement, “Our band’s purpose is to unite, not divide.”
“Our focus remains where it’s always been: supporting our artists, honoring our fans, and delivering unforgettable nights throughout the country,” Rock the Country’s statement continues. “The shows ahead represent the heart of what Rock the Country stands for: music, community, and pride in where we come from.”
The festival concludes, “Loving America isn’t political; it’s who we are.”
Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter on ‘Good Morning America’ on Feb. 9, 2026. (ABC News)
Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter made history in January when she received an Oscar nomination for best costume design for Sinners.
Carter is already the most nominated Black woman in Oscar history with five nominations, and has won more awards than any other Black woman in Oscar history. But it’s a distinction she says she didn’t aim for when she was younger.
“I didn’t set out to be a Black costume designer or anything like that. I set out to be a great costume designer, and I had such good support along the way,” Carter told Good Morning America on Monday.
Carter likened being a world-class costume designer to being a top-tier athlete.
“There’s a lot of training, a lot of preparation, a lot of study, a lot of research, a lot of sacrifice,” Carter said, while noting, “When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.”
Carter won her first two Oscars in costume design for her work on the Black Panther series, helmed by filmmaker Ryan Coogler, with whom she teamed up again for his 2025 Oscar-nominated horror film Sinners.
“He’s a maverick,” Carter said of working with Coogler. “He is really a genius, and working with him and seeing his writing and hearing him talk about his passion, everything roots out of passion.”
Carter said she feels “so lucky” for her career longevity and would thank her younger self for staying the course.
“I would thank her, and I would say, ‘You listen to your voice,'” said Carter. “That’s the advice I give to young people, to keep going and listen to that inner voice inside of you telling you that you want to do this, and you want to be good at it.”
Carter said she plans wear one of her own designs to the 98th Academy Awards.
The 2026 Oscars will air March 15 on ABC and Hulu.
Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Hulu.
Alex Warren celebrated the one-year anniversary of the release of “Ordinary” Saturday in a unique way: He ate Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles out of his bowl-shaped Spotify award for 1 billion streams of the song. The Pebbles Cereal account commented, “we can’t tell what is more iconic, you or you eating our cereal.”
It seems as though Justin Bieber has tapped his wife, Hailey Bieber, to star in a new campaign for his Skylrk brand. He posted a video on Instagram showing Hailey posing in a Skylrk jacket, along with the news that the full campaign will arrive on Friday.
A Levi’s ad during the Super Bowl featured scenes of famous butts wearing Levi’s jeans, including the late George Michael’s iconic booty from his “Faith” video. George’s official Instagram Story reposted the scene from the ad and wrote, “Thanks @levis for giving George’s rear the celebrity it deserves.”
While performing “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” Sunday night in Sydney, Australia, Role Model delighted fans by bringing out three members of The Wiggles to dance along to the song. At the same festival on Saturday night, the crowd yelled for Chappell Roan to take part in the Australian tradition of doing a “shoey” — which means drinking beer out of a shoe. Her reaction? “No, no, no, no. I wanna talk about being gay instead.”
Grammy-winning “Don’t Know Why” singer Norah Jones is developing a stage musical version of the 1998 Sandra Bullock/Nicole Kidman film Practical Magic. Norah is co-writing the score for the production with noted producer Gregg Wattenberg.
Rep. Thomas Massie arrives for a House vote on the funding bill to reopen the government, February 3, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a key member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, is facing bipartisan calls to resign over new revelations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Documents released by the Justice Department late last month show Lutnick remained in contact with Epstein as recently as 2018, years after Epstein pleaded guilty to sex crimes including soliciting prostitution from a minor.
“Look, Howard Lutnick clearly went to the island if we believe what’s in these files. He was in business with Jeffrey Epstein. And this was many years after Jeffrey Epstein was convicted. You know, lightly sentenced, but was convicted for sexual crimes,” Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said on CNN’s “Inside Politics” on Sunday.
“So, he’s got a lot to answer for. But really, he should make life easier on the president, frankly, and just resign,” Massie said.
Massie, along with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, led the push for the Justice Department to release its files on Epstein and has since raised questions about the department’s transparency on the matter. Massie, Khanna and other members of Congress on Monday are visiting the Justice Department to view unredacted Epstein documents.
Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, wrote on X: “It’s now clear that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been lying about his relationship with Epstein. He said he had no interactions with Epstein after 2005, yet we now know they were in business together. Lutnick must resign or be fired. And he must answer our questions.”
Lutnick, who lived next door to Epstein for over a decade, previously suggested he had distanced himself from Epstein back in the mid-2000s prior to Epstein’s conviction in 2008.
“So, I was never in the room with him socially, for business or even philanthropy. If that guy was there, I wasn’t going because he’s gross,” Lutnick said on the “Pod Force One” podcast back in October.
“That’s my story. A one and absolutely done,” Lutnick said.
But one email from Epstein’s schedule for May, 1, 2011, showed plans for drinks with Lutnick.
And in December of 2012, other documents showed Lutnick and his family planned to visit Epstein’s private island. That same month, both Lutnick and Epstein invested in the same business, according to legal documents.
A spokesperson for the Department of Commerce told ABC News on Monday, “Mr. and Mrs. Lutnick met Jeffrey Epstein in 2005 and had very limited interactions with him over the next 14 years.”
The White House stood by Lutnick when asked about the latest reports detailing their relationship.
“President Trump has assembled the best and most transformative cabinet in modern history. The entire Trump administration, including Secretary Lutnick and the Department of Commerce, remains focused on delivering for the American people,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
ABC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Jay O’Brien asked House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, who is leading the panel’s investigation into Epstein, if he plans to add Lutnick to the panel’s list of subpoenas.
“We’re going to try to get these five [subpoenas] nailed down,” Comer said, referring to the individuals the committee has called to testify, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, billionaire businessman Les Wexner and others.
“We’ve got a lot of very important people we’re trying to bring in that to answer questions. We don’t want to do anything to jeopardize the five that we have on the books. So we’ll see what happens here, and we’ll move forward,” Comer, a Republican, said.
The chairman added, “We’re interested in talking to anyone that might have any information that would help us get justice for the survivors.”
Democrats, many of whom have begun calling on Lutnick to step down, were also asked if they’d be open to calling Lutnick’s testimony.
“It’s really important for folks to understand that in order for us to subpoena anybody, the majority has to consent. And so while we appreciate that there is bipartisan cooperation in this case, we have a whole list of individuals we would like to subpoena before the committee that they have not consented to,” Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat, said. “Of course, we would like to speak to Secretary Lutnick, and I personally believe that Mr. Lutnick needs to step down immediately.”
Massie, on CNN on Sunday, was asked on CNN on Sunday if Lutnick should come and testify before Congress about Epstein.
“No, he should just resign,” Massie said.
ABC News’ Isabella Murray and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
Kirk Franklin, Mannie Fresh, Andra Day and comedian Kevin “KevOnStage” Fredericks are among the artists set to appear at the inaugural FamiLee Day.
Hosted by influencer and food critic Keith Lee, the event will feature food, families and fun, along with musical performances from Kirk, Mannie and Andra. Additional performers and DJs include Subtweet Shawn, DJ RBD, Rude Jude, Ha Sizzle, DJ Keith Scott, Neace Robinson, DJ Arie Spins and Shamar.
The festival aims to celebrate community, give back to the city of New Orleans and support independently owned restaurants.
“New Orleans showed my family and me so much love and that stayed with me,” Lee said in a statement. “FamiLee Day is my way of giving that love back, bringing people together, supporting local businesses, and celebrating the culture and food that makes New Orleans so special.”
FamiLee Day is scheduled for May 16 at UNO Lakefront in New Orleans. Tickets go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m. CT via famileeday.com.
