Doja Cat no longer has a blue checkmark on Twitter — and she had quite the response when one fan pointed it out.
On Tuesday, after a fan said “its over” in response to the missing verification, the “Streets” singer replied, “only fans have blue ticks.”
“Having a blue tick now means theres a higher chance that you’re a complete loser,” Doja added in a following tweet. “And that you’re desperate for validation from famous people.”
Before being acquired by Elon Musk, Twitter granted blue checkmarks to verified entities such as companies, celebrities, journalists, and others so that users could decipher between fraudulent and authentic accounts.
Now the program, called Twitter Blue, is “an opt-in, paid subscription,” where users can pay $8 a month to have the coveted tick, according to the company. Any legacy accounts that choose not to pay forfeit their checkmark.
Tell me why we’re still singing Backstreet Boys‘ “I Want It That Way” 24 years after its release? Because, like so many of their hits, it’s “timeless.”
On April 12, 1999, “I Want It That Way” was released as the first single from Backstreet’s album Millennium. While the song was never actually a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 — it peaked at #6 — it topped the charts in 25 other countries and became the group’s signature song.
The song, co-written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson, was also nominated for three Grammys and has been RIAA-certified triple Platinum in the U.S. alone. Its famous video is one of just a handful from the ’90s to have hit 1 billion views on YouTube.
And while even Carlsson and Backstreet’s Kevin Richardson have admitted that “I Want It That Way” doesn’t make much sense, it’s still iconic. The song and its video have been parodied numerous times, it’s been sampled by rappers, gone viral on TikTok, been the subject of debates on Twitter and has been heard in ads, movies and TV shows.
Later this month, Backstreet Boys will celebrate their 30th anniversary, and Howie says one reason he thinks they’ve lasted so long is because songs like “I Want It That Way” are so good.
He told ABC Audio last year, “Looking back at it, especially some of the stuff that we recorded in the early years, I feel like we got very blessed to have a team of writers and producers, including Max Martin, who’s the Svengali of music, I think, for the past three decades.”
“We just got some amazing hits that are, I think, timeless,” he adds. “Songs that still stand the test of time today if they played on the radio.”
Questlove‘s expanding his book collection with the release of his very first children’s book. The Rhythm of Time comes out April 18, in partnership with G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers.
The book, co-authored by S.A. Cosby, is written for readers between the ages of 8 and 12. It follows Kasia and Rahim, two slightly nerdy Black teens from Philadelphia, who “travel back through time, inadvertently rewriting the future.”
“The Rhythm of Time is a fast-paced story of how the best of intentions can unravel into the most dire of circumstances — and how those problems can only be solved through the power of family and friendship,” a press release reads. It’s set to be the first in a three-book series.
The Rhythm of Time will mark the latest book from Quest, who has co-authored several books, including bestsellers Mo’ Meta Blues, Creative Quest and Music is History. He recently launched his own book imprint, AUWA Books, which will publish a range of eclectic nonfiction and fiction stories.
Universal Music Enterprises, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
April 12 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of R.E.M.’s debut album, Murmur, which helped launch Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Bill Berry and Peter Buck from indie artists to eventual Rock & Roll Hall of Famers.
Released by I.R.S. Records in 1983, Murmur, produced by Don Dixon and Mitch Easter, featured songs the band had already been performing for fans on tour, including a rerecorded version of their debut single “Radio Free Europe,” which was originally released in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone.
The album debuted at 36 on the Billboard Albums chart, but it was a huge hit with critics. In fact, Rolling Stone named Murmur the Best Album of 1983, beating out such classics as Michael Jackson’s Thriller, The Police’s Synchronicity and U2’s War.
By 1991, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA, and continued to land on “best of” and “must have” lists, including the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die;Rolling Stone’s 2013 list of The 100 Best Debut Albums of all Time, where it landed at 18; and Blender’s list of the 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die.
Of course, following Murmur, R.E.M. went on to have huge success, releasing 15 studio albums. Their two biggest commercial hits were 1991’s Out of Time and 1992’s Automatic for the People. They earned three Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, their first year of eligibility.
Much to many fans’ dismay, R.E.M. officially disbanded in 2011, although there are still plenty of folks holding out hope for a reunion one day.
Amanda Bynes was released from a Southern California mental health facility on Monday and will start outpatient treatment sources tell TMZ.
The actress, 37, was released after both Bynes and the medical staff determined she was ready to get back to her day-to-day life, say the insiders.
The sources add that Bynes will live in her own home and maintain much of the independence she enjoyed following her nine-year conservatorship.
TMZ previously reported that the former Amanda Show star was spotted wandering naked in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 19.
Bynes reportedly waved down a car, telling the driver she was coming down from a psychotic episode, and then called 911 on herself, according to the outlet. After arriving at a police station unharmed, she was placed under a routine 72-hour psychiatric hold.
Bynes’ struggle with mental health was at the center of the nine-year conservatorship that was placed on her affairs. It was terminated last year.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
LA Angels 2, Washington 0
Pittsburgh 7, Houston 4
Chi Cubs 14, Seattle 9
AMERICAN LEAGUE
NY Yankees 11, Cleveland 2
Tampa Bay 7, Boston 2
Toronto 9, Detroit 3
Baltimore 12, Oakland 8
Minnesota 4, Chi White Sox 3
Texas 8, Kansas City 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Francisco 5, LA Dodgers 0
Miami 8, Philadelphia 4
San Diego 4, NY Mets 2
Atlanta 7, Cincinnati 6
St. Louis 9, Colorado 6
Milwaukee 7, Arizona 1
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
LA Lakers 108, Minnesota 102 (OT)
Atlanta 116, Miami 105
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Edmonton 2, Colorado 1 (OT)
Vegas 4, Seattle 1
Vancouver 3, Anaheim 2
Carolina 4, Detroit 1
New Jersey 6, Buffalo 2
Philadelphia 4, Columbus 3 (OT)
Boston 5, Washington 2
Toronto 4, Tampa Bay 3
Chicago 5, Pittsburgh 2
Winnipeg 3, Minnesota 1
(RICHMOND, Ind.) — More than 2,000 residents are under an evacuation order after a large fire broke out Tuesday afternoon at an Indiana recycling plant, officials said.
Any resident within a half-mile radius of the Wayne County plant has been ordered to evaluate due to the “large industrial fire,” local officials said.
The evacuation zone impacts approximately 2,011 residents, according to a representative from the Wayne County Emergency Management office.
Anyone who can see the large smoke plume from the fire should shelter in place, according to officials.
It is unclear how harmful the smoke is, officials said. No injuries or deaths have been reported amid the fire.
As of 6:30 p.m. ET, emergency officials told ABC News that the fire has been brought under control.
Richmond Mayor Dave Snow called the incident a “worst-case scenario” in a phone interview with ABC News Tuesday, while expressing concern for the air quality in the town.
“This is something we never wanted to see happen,” Snow said.
The plant, located near the Indiana-Ohio border, processes recyclables, including plastics.
“We want everyone to limit their exposure to that black smoke and stay far away from the area,” Snow said. “Not only is it a dangerous area right now … limiting your exposure to this black smoke is the best thing for your health.”
Richmond resident Aaron Stevens told ABC News he saw a “huge pillar of smoke” and heard “explosions and pops” from his home, located roughly a half mile from the plant.
“There is an odor, a burning odor,” Stevens said. “What is more disheartening is the fact that I’m hearing explosions and pops this far away.”
Stevens’ home is located within the evacuation zone, though he said he has opted not to leave because he is hobbled by a knee injury. The police officer and school board member said he has a plan if he gets another evacuation alert.
“If it gets to the point where I realize that this is really going to be unsafe, I’m within just a minute or two away from having someone come and get me,” Stevens said.
Richmond resident Brad Walton described what smelled like burning tires from his home, located about five miles from the fire.
“It’s just not a good smell,” Walton told ABC News, adding that he could see the smoke plume in Hamilton, Ohio, roughly 35 miles away.
(FALL TOWNSHIP, Pa.) — A Pennsylvania man accused of drugging his 72-year-old mother with fentanyl and fatally shooting her has been charged with her death, according to prosecutors.
On Monday, Buck County prosecutors charged 28-year-old Sean Rivera with criminal homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault and other crimes for the death of Carol J. Clark.
According to officials, police were alerted of a domestic dispute Sunday between two brothers about the location of their mother.
Rivera told his brother, Adam Clark-Valle, who lives in New York, that their mother had died, according to a criminal complaint.
Clark-Valle arrived at the home and was told by Rivera that their mother got sick, died and that she was at a hospital after suffering a heart attack, according to the complaint.
According to police, Clark-Valle checked area hospitals to look for his mother and called police upon returning to the home after Rivera was missing.
An investigation revealed that Rivera and Clark lived together in Fall Township, Pennsylvania.
The Falls Township Police Department issued an alert, asking the public to help them find Clark, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said.
After getting a warrant to search Clark’s home and vehicle, detectives found two guns, bolt cutters, a padlock, an empty padlock package and a receipt from Home Depot, according to officials.
Prosecutors allege that Rivera put fentanyl inside of his mother’s iced tea on Saturday night, placed Clark inside her vehicle and drove her to a shed in Philadelphia early Sunday morning, where he shot her multiple times and locked her inside using one of the purchased padlocks.
Authorities discovered Clark’s body inside the shed covered in a blue tarp. She was pronounced dead on Monday.
Rivera is being held at Bucks County Correctional Facility without bail, prosecutors said.
Buck County prosecutors have not disclosed a motive.
Passion Pit has announced a reissue of their 2012 album, Gossamer.
The set will be released June 2 and includes two bonus rarities: “Almost There” and “American Blood.” You can listen to “American Blood” now via digital outlets.
Gossamer, the sophomore Passion Pit album, spawned the singles “Take a Walk” and “Carried Away.”
Passion Pit’s most recent album is 2017’s Tremendous Sea of Love.
John 5 is lending his guitar wizardry to a new Dolly Parton album.
The virtuoso, who played in Rob Zombie‘s band and is currently Mötley Crüe‘s live guitarist, shares in an Instagram post that he’s “so honored that I got the opportunity to play guitar on one of the songs on the upcoming @dollyparton album.”
“I’ve been listening to Dolly ever since I can remember,” John adds. “Words cannot describe how exciting this is.”
Presumably, John is referring to Parton’s much-hyped rock album, which came about after she was nominated and subsequently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Crüe’s Nikki Sixx is also on the record, along with Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks and others.
John 5 joined Mötley Crüe last year after Mick Mars announced he was retiring from touring. Mars has since sued Mötley Crüe over a financial disagreement and alleged the band played along to prerecorded tracks during their Stadium Tour last summer.
