Friday marks the 25th anniversary of NSYNC‘s eponymous debut album, one of the bestselling albums of all time.
Chris Kirkpatrick spoke with ABC Audio at 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut, about how he and his bandmates created their unique footprint when boy bands were all the rage.
“We understood who we were and we didn’t try to be anything that we weren’t,” Chris said, adding the only thing he and his bandmates wanted to change was the stigma around groups like theirs.
As for how they shaped the mold, Chris said, “Mostly it was us looking at it like, ‘What would we do to have fun? What kind of music would we listen to? What kind of clothes would we wear? What kind of shows would we want to go see?’ And that was it … everything we did, we did as a fan first.”
Another part of their plan was to embrace pop culture. “We were a pop band,” Chris said, but they still wanted to define what their style of pop was. “Bubblegum pop kept getting thrown in our faces … and I was like, ‘Man, this isn’t bubblegum pop … It’s darker than that. It’s like dirty pop.”
Chris said that criticism led to Justin Timberlake writing the band’s 2001 song “Pop” with record producer Brian Transeau.
“[It was] freakin’ awesome,” the singer winked. “It was still pop music, but it wasn’t your parents’ pop music.”
Chris continued, “We just embraced it. We just said … ‘We’re going to come out here and get in your face until the end. And you guys are going to be tired when you leave the shows.'”
He said the NSYNC song he wishes he had written is “I Thought She Knew,” off the No Strings Attached album.
Queen is back with episode 10 of their YouTube series Queen The Greatest Live, this time focusing on a classic performance of their iconic track “Tie Your Mother Down.”
Continuing last week’s look at the importance of lighting, this week’s episode features a performance of the 1976 track at the band’s famous concert at Milton Keynes Bowl in June 1982.
At the time of the show, Milton Keynes Bowl was one of the U.K.’s largest open-air venues, which had the band a bit concerned. “It’s a big field,” Roger Taylor says in a backstage interview. “I hope it goes well.” Brian May adds, “Outdoor gigs are fraught with all kind of unexpected things.”
The Milton Keynes Bowl show turned out to be a classic Queen concert, with Queen On Fire: Live At The Bowl, a DVD and CD of the concert, released in 2004.
If you want to be among the privileged few who get to hear Ed Sheeran‘s new album, –, pronounced Subtract, in its entirety before it’s released, then you should plan on heading to New York.
The singer announced Friday that he and the album’s producer, Aaron Dessner, will take over the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn on April 10, announcing they “will be playing Subtract all the way through with a full band.”
“These shows are gonna be some of the most magical of my career, I can’t wait for this one. We rehearsed this on Monday and I can’t describe how excited I am,” he said.
Fans can enter to win a pair of tickets to the show if they presave Subtract now. The album arrives May 5, and the first song off the album, “Eyes Closed,” was released Friday.
BTS‘ Jimin is out with his debut solo album, FACE, and he also released the official music video for the album’s main track, “Like Crazy.”
Demi Lovato updated their 2013 hit “Heart Attack” by giving it a mosh-ready rock makeover. The singer also rerecorded their vocals for the rebooted song, which features a bumping drum beat and heavy guitars.
Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding dropped the music video for their new techno song “Miracle.” The video sees Ellie standing in a desert as a storm rolls in, as well as people who are seemingly worshipping her.
Hailee Steinfeld released new song “SunKissing,” which appears to be designed to make fans think about the summer months. Critics are already hailing the song as a contender for a summertime smash.
Trevor Daniel dropped “SYL” and its music video. He said in a statement, “To me, this record is special – it’s about finding myself and finally being true to that version of me that maybe I’ve suppressed for a while.”
The estate of the late Whitney Houston releasedI Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston, which includes 15 tracks — six of which are never-before-heard songs. The album showcases Whitney’s deep love of gospel music.
Elton John’s 50th anniversary release of the 1972 album Honky Château is out now, and to celebrate he’s sharing some rare live footage with fans.
The CD version of the release includes the original album, plus outtakes from the original session tapes, as well as eight live recordings from a concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
Elton has also posted a video of his performance of “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” from that 1972 concert, which was his first performance of the album in its entirety.
“This album, with ‘Mona Lisas’, ‘Honky Cat’ and ‘Rocket Man’ was a real game changer for me, Bernie (Taupin) and the band and I’m so proud to be celebrating 50 years since its release,” Elton shares.
Honky Château was the first of Elton’s six consecutive Billboard number-one albums. The 50th anniversary edition is available now.
Oscar-winning director James Cameron knows a thing or two about artificial intelligence — after all, he conceived of Skynet, the AI system that tried to end humanity in the Terminator films.
However, in real life, he tells Sean Hayes, Will Arnett and Jason Bateman‘s SmartLess podcast that we also have something to fear about the technology.
“I’m not afraid but I’m certainly pretty concerned about the potential of misuse of AI,” the Avatar director said. “I think AI can be pretty great. I think it could also literally be the end of the world.”
He agreed that experts in the field “start laughing” at him when he brings it up, given his Terminator bona fides, but he clarifies, “The point is that no technology has ever not been weaponized.”
Cameron asks, “And do we really want to be fighting something smarter than us that isn’t us? On our own world? I don’t think so.”
He also added, “Look, an AI could have taken over the world and already be manipulating it but we just don’t know because it would have total control over all the media and everything. And what better explanation is there for how absurd everything is right now?” he said. “Because nothing makes a damn bit of sense to me, I don’t know about you guys,” he said to his hosts.
(WASHINGTON) — With a grand jury weighing possible charges against former President Donald Trump, the case is drawing comparisons to the indictment of a rising Democratic star over a decade ago that also involved hush money accusations.
In 2011, John Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina and two-time presidential candidate, was charged in an alleged plot to violate campaign finance laws during his 2008 bid for the White House.
Federal prosecutors accused Edwards of soliciting nearly $1 million from wealthy donors to hide his affair with videographer Rielle Hunter — and that he was the father of their baby — to prevent damage to his reputation as a family man during the campaign.
Edwards’ defense team argued the donations were personal gifts from friends, not campaign contributions, and were intended only to hide the affair from his cancer-stricken wife, not voters.
A North Carolina jury found Edwards not guilty of one count of receiving illegal campaign donations but deadlocked on five other charges, leading to a mistrial. The Justice Department ultimately dropped the charges.
It was the most recent major case of a hush money scheme in a presidential campaign, until now.
On Saturday, Trump claimed he expected to be arrested this past Tuesday in connection with a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the final stretch of the 2016 campaign.
It remains unclear what action Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will take, or when.
Prosecutors are said to be considering whether Trump falsified business records when reimbursing his attorney Michael Cohen for the payment to Daniels. That would be a misdemeanor under New York law, though it could become a felony if prosecutors contend he falsified records to conceal another crime.
Trump attorney Joe Tacopina made a comparison to Edwards during a recent appearance on MSNBC.
“This is very — look, John Edwards — remember that case, where a third party paid for John Edwards’s mistress who was pregnant with his baby and all that stuff? … He was acquitted. And the DOJ dropped all charges on the hung counts on that,” Tacopina said.
Tacopina has also echoed Edwards’ defense that the Daniels payment wasn’t related to the campaign and was intended to protect the Trump family.
“He made this with personal funds to prevent something coming out false but embarrassing to himself and his family’s young son,” Tacopina told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America.”
Similarities, differences in Trump and Edwards cases
“There are a lot of similarities in how these two cases may run,” said Steven Friedland, a law professor at North Carolina’s Elon University and a former federal prosecutor.
Both cases involve salacious details of a presidential candidate paying a woman to keep quiet about an alleged affair.
After first denying the affair, Edwards admitted his relationship with Hunter, a videographer hired to document his campaign, in an interview with ABC News’ Bob Woodruff in 2008. He denied being the father of their child until he eventually acknowledged that in 2010.
Trump has long denied Daniels’ allegation of a 2006 affair, and his team has cast the funds given to her as an extortion payment.
Politics also hover over the two cases. Trump and Republicans have assailed Bragg as a Democrat abusing his authority to go after a political enemy. In the Edwards case, some Democrats questioned whether George Holding, a Bush-appointed U.S. attorney who later ran for Congress as a Republican, was acting out of his own political ambition.
And both cases involve star witnesses whose credibility has been questioned.
In Edwards’ case, it was his former aide Andrew Young who took the stand under a grant of immunity to testify against him. The defense cross-examination painted Young as an inconsistent witness.
In Trump’s case, it is Cohen. Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and other crimes, including lying to Congress, for his role in orchestrating the payment to Daniels.
He told ABC News he is ready to testify against Trump, should there be an indictment. But Trump and his allies, including attorney Robert Costello, have sought to undermine his credibility.
“Just like the cross-examination of Andrew Young was pivotal in the John Edwards case, it looks like no matter what charges are brought, the cross examinations of Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, if she testifies, will be pivotal,” Friedland said.
There are also differences between the two cases, observers noted, with one of the most notable being the timeline of the payments.
The payments to Edwards’ mistress began in 2007 and continued after he suspended his campaign, while Daniels received a one-time payment just before the 2016 election.
“It’s really hard to believe that the primary motivation wasn’t to prevent it from coming out and affecting the presidential election,” Brett Kappel, a campaign finance law specialist, said of the payment to Daniels.
Another key contrast is that the Edwards case played out at the federal level, while Trump is being investigating at the state level.
What the Edwards case could mean for Trump
While it remains to be seen what charges and evidence Bragg may bring forward, the Edwards case showed even trials dominated by sordid details involving a high-profile politician ultimately hinge on the legal intricacies involved.
It also left the remaining question of whether hush money can amount to a campaign contribution.
Friedland noted that alleging a campaign finance rules violation was a “novel” approach to bringing criminal charges in Edwards’ case, and that it remains so today.
“It isn’t a well-established violation of criminal law,” he said.
Despite no conviction in the Edwards case, the revelation of the affair and hush payments promptly ended his political career. What would the impact be on Trump, who has already weathered several scandals?
“Certainly, all the things that have happened to him up to this point, including impeachment twice, has not dampened the ardor of his supporters,” said Stanley Brand, an election law expert. “And I don’t know that a New York prosecution on something that is essentially to begin with a misdemeanor is going to do that, either.”
Brothers Osborne fans, new music is arriving, and it’s coming sooner than you think.
On Friday, March 24, the award-winning duo shared on social media that three new songs are dropping on Friday, April 7: “Nobody’s Nobody,” “Might As Well Be Me,” and “Rollercoaster (Forever and a Day).” They will be packaged as the Nobody’s Nobody Sampler.
While not much was revealed about the tracks, the announcement post also included a back-view photo of T.J. Osborne and John Osborne in black T-shirts, which adds to the mystique surrounding the duo’s upcoming release.
The Nobody’s Nobody Sampler is available for presave now.
Grouplove has announced a new album called I Want It All Right Now.
The sixth studio effort from the “Tongue Tied” group — and the follow-up to 2021’s This Is This — arrives on July 7.
You can listen to two new songs off I Want It All, titled “All” and “Hello,” now via digital outlets. Both tracks are combined into a seven-minute video streaming now on YouTube.
The Zombies have shared a new video for “Merry-Go-Round,” the third single off their upcoming album, Different Game.
The video features footage of their recent experience at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, including clips of their performances, meeting fans and more.
And speaking of SXSW, The Zombies were awarded the Career Act Grulke Prize at the fest, which is given to an established artist who attends SXSW “to reinvent themselves or launch a new project.” The band decided to donate the prize to Oxfam America to support their fight against world poverty and injustice.
That new project is Different Game, the follow-up to 2015’s Still Got That Hunger. It will be released March 31 and is available for preorder now.
