It’s a big day for New Order:not only is it the 40th anniversary of “Blue Monday,” but the group has joined the lineup for the 2023 Primavera Sound festivals, taking place in Spain and Portugal in June.
“Blue Monday” was first released as a 12-inch vinyl single on March 7, 1983, and became the bestselling release in that format of all time. It’s now one of New Order’s signature songs, and was memorably sampled on Rihanna‘s “Shut Up and Drive.”
New Order’s also marking the “Blue Monday” anniversary with a new merch collection.
Other artists playing Primavera Sound include Måneskin, Blur, Depeche Mode and Turnstile. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit PrimaveraSound.com.
Global country superstar Morgan Wallen sits at #1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart for three weeks in a row with his hit single, “Thought You Should Know.”
This is Morgan’s eighth career #1 single, following “You Proof,” which previously sat at #1 for 10 weeks in total.
“Thought You Should Know” is the latest single off Morgan’s newly-released album, One Thing at a Time. The Tennessee native celebrated his 36-song collection with a free show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, which amassed 19,292 attendees and broke the venue’s attendance record.
Additionally, as reported by Billboard, Morgan’s One Thing at a Timebroke Spotify’s single-day streaming record set by a male artist with 52.29 million streams on release day.
Falling in Reverse is hitting the road this summer on the Popular Monstour.
The U.S. headlining trek, which takes its name from FiR’s 2019 single “Popular Monster,” will run from June 26 in Charleston, West Virginia, to July 30 in Redding, California.
Bands including Ice Nine Kills, Underoath, Spiritbox and Crown the Empire will also be on the bill for select dates.
Tickets go on sale Friday, March 10, at 10 a.m. local time, with various presales throughout the week. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit FiRMerch.com.
Falling in Reverse’s most recent release is January’s “Watch the World Burn” single.
While he continues to recover at home from his near-fatal New Year’s Day snowplow accident, Jeremy Rennertook to Instagram to announce his docuseries Rennervationswill debut on Disney+ on April 12.
The four-part series will see the big-screen superhero and real-life renovation expert rehabbing vehicles and donating them to communities that need them the most.
In a press release, Renner said, “I’ve been on this journey for many years, and I started in my community by building vehicles for people in need. But a few years ago, I thought, how can I plus this up and create a bigger impact on a whole community – and that’s what this show does.”
The two-time Oscar nominee adds, “This is one of my biggest passions and it’s a driving force in my recovery, and I can’t wait for the world to see it.”
Disney+ teases, “With his best friend and business partner, Rory Millikin, and an all-star build crew, Renner travels the globe to reimagine decommissioned vehicles and rebuild them to serve a new purpose, such as turning a tour bus into a mobile music studio, a delivery truck into a mobile water treatment facility, a shuttle bus into a mobile recreation center, and a city bus into a mobile dance studio.”
The show will see Renner partnering with celebrity guests, including his Hurt Locker and Marvel movie co-star Anthony Mackie, actress and entrepreneur Vanessa Hudgens, Slumdog Millionaire and Mission: Impossible star Anil Kapoor, and Encanto singer and songwriter Sebastián Yatra, to provide vehicles to charities like Big Brothers Big Sisters, The BASE Chicago and Casa Hogar of Cabo San Lucas.
(NEW YORK) — The government-backed 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ pilot program is now offering text and chat services 24/7 in what officials are calling a “major step forward” for the multimillion-dollar prevention program.
“We are thrilled that the 988 Lifeline LGBTQ+ pilot line will be expanding services across all modalities,” said Dr. Tia Dole, the chief lifeline officer at Vibrant Emotional Health, which administers the service. “We know that LGBTQIA youth are one of the most at-risk communities for suicide. Vibrant, SAMHSA and 988 want to be there to change that through affirming care.”
“Expanding this service is a major step forward in strengthening 988, the mental health safety net for all people in America,” Dole added.
The lifeline’s LGBTQ-specific pilot program launched in September after an initial $7.2 million investment from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
The users have already been able to dial 3 after calling to reach a crisis counselor trained to support LGBTQ youth and young adults, with call services available 24/7, but chat and text had only been available during select hours.
From the beginning of the program in September through Feb. 26 (the most current available data), about 11% of chats and texts coming through the lifeline have been for the LGBTQ line, along with 6% of calls — accounting for about 138,000 total contacts — a spokesperson for SAMHSA told ABC News.
“We want all young people who are experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis or who are feeling suicidal to know they can call, text or chat 988 any time of day without fear of judgment and with the expectation that when they do reach out for help, they are met with affirming, compassionate support,” said Dr. Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, the head of SAMHSA. “So far, the demand for the services provided by this pilot program have exceeded even our own expectations. This response has shown us the value in providing a specialized service for LGBTQI+ young people, who we know are at higher risk for suicide.”
In January, $29.7 million in additional money was appropriated to help expand training and access for this program through the fiscal year 2023 federal government funding bill.
About 45% of LGBQ students seriously considered suicide and more than 20% attempted suicide in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey trends report for 2011-2021. That compares to about 15% of heterosexual students who seriously considered suicide and about 6% who made an attempt during that same year, according to the CDC report.
Kasey Suffredini, vice president of advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ suicide prevention group, said that his organization is “incredibly excited” about the expansion of the chat and text offerings.
“Increasing access to LGBTQ-inclusive crisis care services is critical for addressing the public health crisis of youth suicide, as we know LGBTQ youth continue to face unique challenges, victimization, and barriers to care across all 50 states,” he said.
“When an LGBTQ young person reaches out for help in a moment of crisis — where every second counts — it’s vital that they are met with compassion and care from a trained counselor who understands them,” Suffredini said. “This expansion of services is another step forward in reimagining crisis care in the U.S., as we continue the collective work to raise awareness of the 988 Lifeline among the most marginalized communities and build upon its infrastructure to expand access to non-police crisis intervention responses and long-term mental health, behavioral health and addiction care.”
If you are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises, please call or text the new three-digit code at 988. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.
(WASHINGTON) — Popular self-help author and speaker Marianne Williamson — the first notable candidate for the 2024 Democratic primary and challenger to President Joe Biden’s presumed reelection bid — issued a pointed rebuttal on Tuesday to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre jokingly dismissing her candidacy.
During a press briefing on Monday, Jean-Pierre was asked about but said she was “just not tracking” Williamson’s campaign, which formally launched Saturday.
“I mean, if I had a — what’s it called — a little, little globe here … a crystal ball, that I could tell you, a Magic 8 Ball or whatever, if I could feel her aura — I just, I just don’t have it. I just don’t have anything to share on that,” Jean-Pierre said to laughter in the briefing room.
“Gosh, you guys are making me laugh now,” she said then.
Williamson, in a response video posted on Twitter, said: “I was so sad to see the commentary of the president’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, about me, about crystal balls, which I’ve never spoken or written about, and auras, which I’ve never spoken or written about, and just speaking so derisively and in such mocking terms about someone who is running for president of the United States and as a woman, and this is the Democratic Party.”
“I have a constitutional right to run, and my candidacy is about substantive issues and policies,” she said.
Considered a long-shot candidate after a failed bid for the White House in 2020 and Congress in 2014, Williamson told ABC News’ Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl during an exclusive interview for ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that she doesn’t see her bid as a challenge to Biden — but as “challenging a system.”
She repeated that view on Tuesday.
“I have made it clear in interview after interview that the president is a nice man and that I have no interest in taking personal potshots. But apparently the White House, or at least as expressed by Karine, doesn’t share my commitment to the high ground,” she said.
She then referenced a notable remark from Biden when he first assumed office after unseating former President Donald Trump. At the time, Biden warned his senior aides at a virtual swearing-in ceremony against disrespect while encouraging decency, something he said had been “missing in a big way the last four years.”
“But I am not joking when I say this: If you are ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect … talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot,” Biden said then. “On the spot. No ifs, ands or buts. Everybody … everybody is entitled to be treated with decency and dignity.”
Williamson said in her video on Tuesday that didn’t want Jean-Pierre to lose “her job over this” but that the remarks were indicative of larger attitudes.
“I do hope that from now on this low, derisive, this narrative about me … it just obviously meant to get me out of the conversation,” she said.
“I hope that everyone who is watching realizes this is not just about me. They’re not just telling me to get away — like flick her off like a mosquito. It’s about you. It’s about anyone who, first of all, I think that has faith and takes faith seriously. Or is it just about any woman who speaks out of turn? I don’t know. That’s for you to decide,” she said.
Karl asked Williamson on Sunday about media coverage of her in 2020, noting she was previously labeled as “anti-science, anti-vax [and] a crystal lady” and asking how Democrats should view her candidacy this time around.
She described herself as an “FDR Democrat.”
Her signature 2020 proposals included reparations for slavery and the creation of a Department of Peace and Department of Children and Youth while also supporting progressive policies like universal health care and free college — issues she has again centered in her nascent 2024 run.
“I am a Democrat,” Williamson told Karl. “I’m old enough to remember a time when the Democratic Party more than not, did make an unequivocal stance. … [T]he Democratic Party needs to be a conduit for the healing of this country,” she continued. “But first, the Democratic Party needs to look in the mirror and heal itself.”
ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett, Meghan Mistry and Brittany Shepherd contributed to this report.
Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five recently sat down with The Art of Dialogue, and his thoughts on some modern-day rappers have sparked much reaction — especially from members of the hip-hop community.
In particular, his belief that Eminem‘s skin color helped mint his status in the genre caught some flak.
“Obviously he’s a capable rapper. If you was talking about sales, he’s sold more than everybody. If you were talking about rhyme style, OK he got a rhyme style. But he’s white. He’s white!” Melle said when discussing Em’s place as #5 on Billboard/Vibe‘s Top 50 rappers list. “So now if Eminem was another n***a like all the rest of us, would he be Top 5 on that list when a n***a that could rhyme just as good as him is 35? That had records and all that? He’s 35. He’s white.”
The likes of Fat Joe, Kevin Gatesand 50 Cent disagreed with Mel, with 50 saying he’s not sure that hip-hop culture “would be what it is today without artist[s] like Eminem.”
“I am not sure I would be who I am with out him but you know it is competitive so n***as gonna hate,” he added. “LOL f*** outta here! We sucker free.”
While on the show, Melle Mel also maintained “nobody wants to rap like Eminem” or Kendrick Lamar. He also said Lil Wayne can’t be a top rapper because he used auto-tune and “people don’t even know his real voice.”
Public Enemy‘s Chuck Dchimed in on the backlash, noting rappers “Gotta have tougher skin,” “MAN up and keep it moving.”
For context, Melle landed at #48 on the list, while Kendrick, Eminem and Wayne secured the second, fifth and seven spots, respectively.
Speaking with People, the 43-year-old singer explained why she’ll still fly through the air during her upcoming tour. “I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast before I was a singer. And once you get to fly, why would you not?” she reasoned.
Pink continued, “My mom was like, ‘Are you ever going to stay on the ground?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to stand there [and] lip sync. Sure, that sounds fun.'”
“No, why would I stay on the ground if I don’t have to? It’s really fun, it’s really physical, it’s really hard, it keeps me engaged, and it keeps me humble,” she added.
So what inspired Pink to soar through the air during her performances? We can thank Cher for that. Pink says she had the idea after watching the legendary singer’s Living Proof: The Farewell Tour in the early 2000s.
That said, Pink doesn’t think she’ll stop with the acrobatics anytime soon. “If there was a thing I would’ve stopped for, it would’ve been my kids, but now they get to do it at soundcheck though — we’re all good,” she said.
Pink’s North American tour — her first since 2019 — kicks off October 12 in Sacramento, California. It wraps up November 18 in Orlando, Florida.
Parker McCollum took to Instagram and TikTok to reveal the look of his newly designed tour bus.
Boasting a clean, minimalistic and luxurious layout, Parker’s new Dreamliner Coach is an alluring house on wheels for any entertainer and touring musician. From the clips shared, it appears it has a mix of gray, silver, white and gold finishes that add to its overall elegance.
“Took 6 months to design and build this bus! 1000% worth the wait!” the Texas native said in the video’s caption. Several artists were green with envy on Parker’s Instagram post, with the Josh Abbott Band commenting, “Damn dude, you weren’t playin’. [exhaling emoji]”
Parker’s single “Handle On You” is currently No. 7 and climbing on the country chart.
When Paul Mescal agreed to act in Aftersun, awards were the last thing on his mind. So, when he found out he was up for best leading actor at this year’s Academy Awards, Mescal tells ABC Audio it came as a shock.
“The way awards season works, there’s always three or four [performances] that are fairly sure bets as you get to Oscar nominations morning. And we were never, ever inside that,” Mescal says. “The drama of that actually happening is probably something that won’t ever happen again.”
While being an Oscar-nominated actor seemed like a far-off dream, Mescal says there was one person who always believed in him — his mother.
“She’s had that date booked in her diary for years. She had lots of confidence, probably more confidence than I did, that this was ever going to happen,” Mescal says.
That date is quickly approaching. Mescal and his mother will attend the ceremony on March 12, and he says he’s been thinking about what it will feel like to experience the Oscars in person.
“I just have a hyper fixation of what it’s going to feel like,” Mescal says. “I distinctly remember waking up in the middle of the night to watch it back in Ireland. That’s the image in my head, is sitting in the car with my mum and driving to it.”
While Mescal’s mother will sit next to him during the ceremony, his father will also attend, seated elsewhere in the theater. Their support, Mescal says, was crucial in getting him to this moment.
“I feel like I’ve had a network of people around me who never said no,” Mescal said. “If I’m ever going to be a parent, I’m going to take a leaf out of their book and never say no. Ever.”
