Josh Groban is currently starring on Broadway in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and now fans who can’t make it to New York are getting a taste of his performance. A clip from the upcoming cast recording has just been released, featuring Groban’s performance of the act one climax, “Epiphany.” The new cast recording, which will feature the show’s 26-piece orchestra, so far doesn’t have a release date.
Dua Lipa’s new spy thriller, Argylle, has a release date. Deadline reports the Matthew Vaughn-directed flick will hit theaters on February 2, 2024, before streaming globally on Apple TV+. The film also stars Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, Ariana DeBose and Samuel L. Jackson.
No, Celine Dion wasn’t rude to a former member of Fifth Harmony. Ally Brookeposted a TikTok setting the record straight after she was misidentified in a now-viral video showing a girl singing “I Surrender” to Celine as Celine sits in the back of a car. An edited version of the video shows Celine seemingly rolling up her window midway through the performance. “I know most of y’all are in on the joke, but so many people think it was really me!!!” Ally writes.
Ryan Griffin has unveiled the title and cover art of his new EP, Phases. The forthcoming set will include several previously released tracks, including his latest single, “Heart to Break,” as well as two unreleased songs. Phases is available for presave now.
Kip Moore‘s dropped a live performance video of “One Heartbeat” with Jillian Jacqueline. The clip was recorded during their recent tour stop in Newcastle.
Miranda Lambert shared a clip of her and Leon Bridges performing their duet, “If You Were Mine,” on the keys. Watch it on Twitter.
You rarely think of heavy metal when you think of board games, but the two now go together thanks to a collaboration between Iron Maiden and board game publisher Usaopoly (The Op Games). The pair has just come out with a new Maiden version of the popular board game Monopoly, dubbed Monopoly: Iron Maiden Somewhere on Tour.
While played with traditional Monopoly rules, the board has been given a Maiden makeover, with properties named after classic Iron Maiden albums, including The Number of the Beast and Brave New World. The money features the Maiden mascot Eddie, and he also appears on the Chance and Community Chest cards, which are renamed “Feeling Lucky?” and “Open The Box.”
And gone are the top hat and thimble. Instead, players move about the board using one of six custom sculpted pewter tokens, including an albatross, amp stack, flying helmet, Nicko’s drum kit, “Wasted Years” computer and Steve’s bass.
“We’re delighted to have been given the opportunity to have Monopoly get the full Eddie treatment,” Iron Maiden’s manager Rod Smallwood says. “The game is full of our humor (who else would ransom Nicko’s pal Sooty?), even the player pieces reflect our unique history (yeah, the impaled albatross!) and the weird and wonderful world we share with our fans and they have come to expect from us!”
Al Pacino has become a father for the fourth time, ABC Audio has confirmed.
The 83-year-old’s 29-year-old producer girlfriend, Noor Alfallah, gave birth to a son named Roman Pacino, according to a rep for the Godfather icon, who said, “No other statements or comments will be provided.”
Pacino made headlines in May when it was confirmed he and Alfallah were expecting, with the mom-to-be reportedly around eight months along when the news broke.
Pacino also has a 33-year-old daughter, named Julie Pacino, from his relationship with acting coach Jan Tarrant, as well as 22-year-old twins Anton and Olivia Pacino from his time with Vacation actress Beverly D’Angelo.
The mostly undead gang from What We Do in the Shadows is coming back July 13 on FX, and to spread the word, FX has dropped a new trailer.
The fifth season of the acclaimed show picks up where the last season left off: Harvey Guillén‘s Guillermo has lost his patience with Nandor (Kayvan Novak) and decides to find someone else to make him a vampire.
However, in the trailer, we learn the transformation isn’t going smoothly — particularly what should be his transformation from a bat and back. Matt Berry‘s Lazlo is trying to guide him, but offering about as much help as one would expect from the self-centered character.
Meanwhile, Colin Robinson, who survives by draining people’s energy, has found a perfect job to do just that — local politics. The coming attraction even shows that Colin will finally get into bed with Natasia Demetriou‘s Nadja, who in the trailer is also trying to find a sexual partner for the ghost of her deceased human form, which as viewers know has inhabited a creepy little doll version of the vampire.
The Staten Island-set show also features a vampire trip to the mall, according to the trailer, which shows Nandor trying to convince a cashier to use a cutout photo of Ryan Seacrest as a coupon.
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a major challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, upholding a landmark law long hailed by tribes for giving priority to Native American families in the adoption of Native children.
The state of Texas and a group of non-Native foster parents had challenged the preferences as an infringement on state authority in child welfare policy and unlawful discrimination on the basis of race.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority in the 7-2 decision, rejected the claims.
“Congress’s power to legislate with respect to Indians is well established and broad,” wrote Barrett. “When Congress enacts a valid statute pursuant to its Article I powers, state law is naturally preempted … End of story.”
Barrett said the court was not deciding, however, whether the law violates the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment by disfavoring non-Native families because none of the parties in the case was directly injured by that part of the law.
“We do not reach the merits of these claims because no party before the court has standing to raise them,” wrote Barrett.
The conclusion leaves the door open to a potential future challenge to the law as discriminatory. “The equal protection issue is serious,” wrote Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a concurring opinion that agreed with Barrett’s overall judgment but also raised concern.
“A child in foster care or adoption proceedings may in some cases be denied a particular placement because of the child’s race,” he wrote, “even if the placement is otherwise determined to be in the child’s best interest.”
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented in the case. Both argued that Congress did not have the power to displace state authority to manage child placement decisions.
“The Federal Government thus lacks a general police power to regulate state family law,” Thomas wrote.
The law, known as ICWA, was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in response to generations of government-sponsored separation of hundreds of thousands of Native children from their families through the 1960s.
Native tribes have long called it the “gold standard” in adoption, requiring state courts to give first preference to a Native child’s immediate family, then another member of the child’s tribe, then a member of an unrelated tribe, before consideration of parents who are non-native.
Tribal leaders have said the law is critical to keeping their cultures alive and protecting their sovereignty as independent nations.
“Today’s decision is a major victory for Native tribes, children, and the future of our culture and heritage,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., Morongo Band of Mission Indians Chairman Charles Martin, Oneida Nation Chairman Tehassi Hill and Quinault Indian Nation President Guy Capoeman in a statement on the ruling.
“It is also a broad affirmation of the rule of law, and of the basic constitutional principles surrounding relationships between Congress and tribal nations,” the leaders said.
A representative for Chad and Jennifer Brackeen, the Texas parents who brought a case against ICWA and are trying to adopt a Native American girl they have been fostering, told ABC News the couple is “crushed” by the court’s decision.
Ms. Brackeen, an anesthesiologist, and her husband, a civil engineer turned stay-at-home dad, are parents to two biological children and two Native American siblings — a 7-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl — whom they’ve fostered for years.
While they have successfully adopted their 7-year-old son, his sister’s fate has not yet been decided.
Both adoptions, the Brackeens say, have been hindered by ICWA.
By giving adoption priority to American Indian families over white families, they argued, the law discriminates on the basis of race.
“Cultural considerations are a challenge for every adoptive family, no matter what race they are or what race their children are,” said Jennifer Brackeen in an interview last year.
“For [our son] to just get taken away and moved to someone he’s never met before, who is not related — to me, it didn’t seem like the right thing to do as his mom,” she said of the boy, who is part Navajo. The couple won custody in 2018 after a two-year legal battle when the Navajo Nation backed down.
The nation’s 574 federally recognized tribes, backed by years of Supreme Court decisions, argued that tribes are political entities and that ICWA’s preferences are not about race, much in the same way the U.S. government sets objective requirements for citizenship.
“The Court has always held that Indian law is not race-based,” said Cherokee Nation Deputy Attorney General Chrissi Ross Nimmo in an interview law year.
Native children are four times more likely than white children to be placed in foster care in this country, according to the National Indian Child Welfare Association.
More than a decade ago, 27% of Native foster children were placed with other family members; today, it’s up to 38%, according to the 2020 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. Experts attribute the improvement to ICWA.
In a statement, President Biden celebrated the high court’s decision in the case, Haaland v. Brackeen, saying it “keeps in place a vital protection for tribal sovereignty and Native children.”
“The touchstone law respects tribal sovereignty and protects Native children by helping Native families stay together and, whenever possible, keeping children with their extended families or community who already know them, love them, and can help them understand who they are as Native people and citizens of their Tribal Nations,” Biden said.
Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration is returning Saturday, June 17.
The annual event will feature the family-favorite Gazillion Bubble Show, a drone and fireworks show under the summer skies, a dance party under the Wildwood Grove tree, and a vibrant display of summer colors throughout the park. Additionally, visitors will get the chance to ride on the newly launched Big Bear Mountain roller coaster.
Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration runs from June 15 to August 6.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit dollywood.com.
BET is celebrating 50 years of hip-hop at its annual award show, and they’ve tapped some of the genre’s favorites to ensure they do it the right way. On this year’s iteration of Culture’s Biggest Night, fans will see performances from veterans including Big Daddy Kane, Kid ‘N Play, MC Lyte, Master P,The Sugarhill Gang, Trick Daddy, Trina, Tyga,Uncle Luke, Ying Yang Twins and Fat Joe.
New schoolers Lil Uzi Vert, Doechii, GloRilla and Coco Jones will also take the stage. More performers will be announced at a later date.
“We have an incredible lineup of performers who will take us on a musical journey, covering Hip Hop spanning every decade, style, and region. From music to dance and fashion, we are digging through every crate as we celebrate 50 years of Hip Hop and its diversity, evolution, and global impact,” said BET’s Connie Orlando. “This wall-to-wall party will reverberate with the amazing energy and passion these artists bring to the stage and the culture. Prepare for an unforgettable night of reunions and surprises as we celebrate Hip Hop’s rich history, enduring legacy, and promising future.”
BET Awards 2023 will take place Sunday, June 25, in Los Angeles, airing at 8 p.m. ET on BET.
July will mark the 50th anniversary of David Bowie‘s final performance as Ziggy Stardust, and now fans will be able to relive the experience in theaters across the country.
A fully restored version of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture will screen in over 500 theaters across the U.S. throughout July, with tickets on sale now.
In addition, a 50th anniversary edition of the soundtrack is being released on August 11, with remastered audio and new mixes from Bowie producer Tony Visconti. It is available for preorder now.
As previously reported, the anniversary will also be marked with a special world premiere screening of the restored film on July 3 at London’s Eventim Apollo Hammersmith (formerly the Odeon), the actual site of Bowie’s last Ziggy show on July 3, 1973. The event will also include a live Q&A with some of Bowie’s famous friends.
Bowie took on the fictional character of Ziggy Stardust, an androgynous alien rock star, throughout 1972 and 1973, performing as Ziggy for his concert tours of the U.K., Japan and North America.
On Thursday, June 15, Teddy Riley will join the likes of Berry Gordy, Babyface and his protégé Pharrell when he’s inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He says “it feels amazing,” but notes it doesn’t indicate the end of his musical journey.
“I mean, it’s always good to get recognized for what you’ve done in your craft, and I just really feel like it’s just another thing on my belt and I’m still going,” he tells ABC Audio. “So I’m not overly excited because I’m still doing what I love and I still have this mission to do more.”
Ironically, the desire to do and learn more is exactly what led Teddy to songwriting, as he started in the industry as a producer.
“Songwriting just naturally got into the mix because as I was going up into my craft, I said to myself, ‘I want to learn everything there is to know about the entertainment business.’ So writing was one of those things,” he explains. “I had to learn the fundamentals of it first, and once I learned … it just became a part of making music. It was just a part of my repertoire and a part of my mission to become … one of the greats, as people say.”
Teddy is responsible for writing hits including Michael Jackson‘s “Remember the Time,” Keith Sweat‘s “Make It Last Forever,” a few songs from his groups Guy and Blackstreet, and Bobby Brown‘s “My Prerogative,” which he wishes he would have kept for himself.
As he continues making music, Teddy says he’s inspired by the ability to breathe, talk to his children and mother, look forward to his forthcoming grandson and obtain success by staying true to himself. His peersBabyface, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Pharrell also serve as inspirations.
