The lineup of performers at the 2023 Grammys will include Jay-Z, according to a Variety report. The rapper is said to be joining DJ Khaled for a performance of the Grammy-nominated song “God Did,” which also features Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend and Fridayy.
“God Did” is up for three awards Sunday, including Song of the Year, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance. The album of the same name is nominated for Best Rap Album and Album of the Year, and Khaled’s “Beautiful” featuring SZA & Future secured a nod for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
The 65th annual Grammy Awards take place Sunday in LA. Lizzo, Mary J. Blige and Steve Lacy are performing at the event, which will feature a tribute to Takeoff and a star-studded segment celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary.
“Watch out for the internet trolls,” raps GloRilla on a new song she released Friday. The accompanying video finds her climbing out of a troll’s computer monitor and tackling a room of them head-on.
Speaking to Apple Music 1’s Eddie Francis, GloRilla explains that “Internet Trolls” is a reminder for fans to live a life outside of the internet, which she says includes “fake pages just trying to tear you down.”
“People, they don’t leave their house. They don’t get off their phone. They don’t go outside and see what the real world got to offer,” GloRilla said. “This the song, you know what I’m saying, to let people really know it’s a world outside of the internet. … Go explore it. So much fun.”
“A lot of people, they can’t take the internet … They let it get to them,” she continued. “And sometimes it will get to you, but at the end of the day, you got to know that these are a lot of times, it be fake pages just trying to tear you down. It’s just a lot of people trying to tear you down. Some of them may hate they self, but they want you to hate yourself and you just got to know that it ain’t real.”
GAYLE may be opening for Taylor Swift on her upcoming Eras Tour, but this weekend she’s going head to head with her in the Grammy Song of the Year category. Taylor’s nominated for “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” while GAYLE’s up for her hit “abcdefu.” Receiving her first Grammy nod has the 18-year-old singer in a tizzy.
“It is such an honor to be nominated. The last thing I think is that I’m going to win,” GAYLE told ABC Audio. “I did not think I could get nominated in any way. And so the fact that I am, it just blew my mind.”
What convinced her she actually had a shot at a nod, she says, was “seeing some predictions and it was, like, Variety and Rolling Stone and things. And I was like, ‘That’s my name and my face. That’s terrifying.'”
“And then it got my brain thinking, it got my brain spinning, and then I was just pacing around when the Grammy noms were coming out,” she explained. “And then my name and my song got said and I just, I bawled.”
What makes the nod even more special is that the nomination is for GAYLE and her two co-writers, one of whom is a childhood pal.
“One thing I’m so grateful for is that I got nominated as a writer and my best friend also did, as well,” she noted. “And we started out at [age] 12, at 15 in my bedroom, and then to get to go to the Grammys together, it’s such a high honor.”
The Song of the Year competition includes hits by Adele, Lizzo, Harry Styles, Beyoncé, DJ Khaled, Bonnie Raitt and Kendrick Lamar. The Grammys air Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
Spotify hosted its annual Best New Artist Grammy party Thursday, celebrating all 10 nominees in the category this year.
Held at West Hollywood’s Pacific Design Center, the event showcased the contenders’ skills, as they each took the stage for performances of their hit songs. Among them were Muni Long and Latto.
According toUSA Today, Muni performed “Hrs and Hrs,” as well as her song “Time Machine.” Latto rapped hits “It’s Givin'” and “Big Energy (Remix),” which is up for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
The Spotify party marked its return after being on hiatus since 2020; the Grammys will broadcast Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS, and will stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.
Chris Stapleton will likely lean into his R&B side Sunday night as he performs on the Grammys with the legendary Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson. The announcement came Friday on CBS Mornings.
Smokey’s being honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year for 2023, along with his longtime friend, Motown founder Berry Gordy.
Stapleton, of course, is a Grammy favorite, already amassing a collection of eight trophies. This year he’s up for Best Country Song, but ironically, it’s not for his singing — it’s for writing “I’ll Love You Till the Day I Die” with Rodney Crowell, which was recorded by Willie Nelson.
Luke Combs and Kacey Musgraves will also represent country music at the Grammys, with Kacey set to pay tribute to the late Loretta Lynn. You can watch all the action live from LA Sunday starting at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
Mary Wilson may have passed away on February 8, 2021, but fans will soon get to hear her voice again in a never-before-heard tune.
A previously unreleased Wilson track, “Soul Defender,” is set to be released March 3 to coincide with what would have been The Supremes singer’s 79th birthday on March 6. The track, written by Billy Ray Martin and produced by Paul Brewer, will be released by Sweet Face Music in three versions: a radio version, an extended dance mix and an instrumental version.
“Growing up in the ’70s it was not hard to hear the Supremes and see them on TV,” says Sweet Face Music’s Brewer. “Although I grew up the son of a preacher and secular music was banned in our home, The Supremes and Mary Wilson always represented class and style, and also the music world I daydreamed to one day be a part of.”
“Soul Defender” is the first Wilson release since The Motown Anthology, which was released in January 2022. It was a two-disc collection spanning her Motown career.
Zakk Wylde has commented on Pantera‘s recent canceled concerts in Germany and Austria.
The Black Label Society frontman plays guitar in the reformed version of the “Walk” metallers, which features longtime members Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown alongside Wylde and Anthrax‘s Charlie Benante in place of the late Abbott brothers, “Dimebag” Darrell and Vinnie Paul, respectively.
In January, Germany’s Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals removed Pantera from its lineups, citing “criticism” surrounding the booking. According to German news site DW.com, said criticism stems from when Anselmo yelled “white power” while giving the Nazi salute during a performance at the 2016 Dimebash concert. Austria’s Gasometer festival canceled Pantera’s set a few days later.
During an interview with Guitar Worldpublished Thursday, Wylde was asked if he has a “reaction” to the cancellations.
“There’s nothing I can do about that, you know what I mean?” Wylde responded.
“In terms of my role, it’s always a case of being ready for whatever — as in seeing if the fellas want to add any more songs or anything like that while we’re out rolling together on this tour,” he continued. “If I get a call from Phil or Rex and they want to change up the set or do whatever, I’m usually just in the back lounge working on more songs!”
Anselmo apologized several times following the initial incident in 2016, while his band Down was dropped from several European festivals that year.
Pantera is set to play Japan in March, followed by a European tour kicking off in May. They’re also scheduled to launch a U.S. headlining tour in July, in between playing several U.S. festivals and opening for Metallica.
(NEW YORK) — A dangerous and possibly record-shattering freeze is invading the Northeast.
The cold moved into the Northeast Friday morning, with a wind chill — what the temperature feels like — reaching minus 21 degrees in Maine, minus 22 degrees in Vermont and minus 7 degrees in Buffalo, New York.
Boston is bracing for its coldest temperatures since 2016. By Saturday morning, it’ll feel like minus 31 degrees in Boston.
Public schools in Boston are closed on Friday and sports are canceled through the weekend due to the extreme cold.
The coldest air for the Northeast will hit Saturday morning, when wind chills are forecast to plunge to a bone-chilling minus 9 degrees in New York City, minus 42 degrees in Burlington, Vermont, and minus 51 degrees in Lake Placid, New York.
The most extreme forecast is for Caribou, Maine, near the Canadian border, where wind chills could be as low as minus 55 degrees on Saturday morning. Caribou’s lowest wind chill ever recorded was minus 58 degrees in 1951.
Portland, Maine, could break its all-time record low windchill of minus 41 degrees.
At Mount Washington in New Hampshire — the highest mountain in the Northeast — the wind chill could reach its coldest on record: minus 102 degrees.
Parts of northern Maine are also under a blizzard warning as the high winds are expected to blow snow, creating whiteout conditions.
But the bitter blast won’t last long. On Sunday and Monday, Boston is forecast to thaw to the mid-40s. New York City could reach 50 degrees by Monday.
Madonnapolled her fans on what songs they most want to hear her perform on her upcoming Celebration Tour — or, as she put it, “Think of me as your waitress….. What songs would you like on the menu?” And it looks like she’s giving us a peek into her appetizers and main course.
On her Instagram Story, Madonna is seen writing down the titles of some of her most beloved hits, as well as some songs that weren’t singles but are fan favorites. They include “Rescue Me,” “Like a Prayer,” “Physical Attraction,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “Bad Girl,” “Human Nature,” “Crazy for You,” “Lucky Star” and “Erotica.”
Whether or not Madonna actually performs these songs is anybody’s guess. According to Setlist.FM, “Like a Prayer,” “Human Nature” and “Papa Don’t Preach” are among her top 10 most-performed songs, so those may be a safe bet. Then again, Madonna doesn’t like to repeat herself.
Madonna’s Celebration Tour kicks off July 15 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. officials say a massive surveillance balloon believed to be from China and seen above Montana is being tracked as it flies over the continental United States.
“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is flying over the continental United States right now,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement on Thursday. “NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] continues to track and monitor it closely.”
China’s foreign ministry has claimed it is a civilian balloon used for meteorological purposes, but U.S. politicians, many on the right, are already demanding President Joe Biden shoot it down.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 03, 2:16 PM EST
Biden first briefed Tuesday, took military’s recommendation on balloon: WH
President Joe Biden was first briefed about the Chinese surveillance balloon on Tuesday, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, two days before the news was publicly confirmed by U.S. officials.
“He asked the military to present options,” she told reporters in a gaggle on Air Force One. “It was the strong recommendation by Secretary Austin, Chairman Milley, the commander of Northern Command, not to take kinetic action because of the risk to safety and security of the people on the ground. President Biden took that recommendation from the military seriously.”
“The president will always put the safety of the security of the American people first,” she said.
Jean-Pierre said Biden continues to receive regular briefings from national security team, and that he “agreed” with Secretary of State Blinken’s decision to delay his trip to China.
“We are tracking closely and keeping all options on the table,” the press secretary said.
Feb 03, 1:41 PM EST
Biden again ignores questions on Chinese balloon
President Joe Biden didn’t answer questions reporters shouted about the Chinese surveillance balloon as he left the White House and boarded Marine One shortly after 1 p.m. Friday.
Biden has yet to publicly comment on the balloon since it was confirmed to be flying over the continental U.S. by officials on Thursday.
Biden is heading to Philadelphia, where he and Vice President Kamala Harris will appear at an infrastructure event in the afternoon and then later will speak at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting.
Feb 03, 1:27 PM EST
‘Gang of 8’ staff received classified briefing on Chinese surveillance balloon
Staff to the so-called “Gang of 8” received a classified briefing on the balloon by the administration Thursday afternoon, according to multiple congressional officials.
The “Gang of 8” refers to the group of congressional leaders who are briefed on classified intelligence matters. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., requested a meeting with the group on Thursday.
“China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent,” McCarthy said.
It’s unclear if the classified briefing for the staff is a precursor to their bosses being briefed. No meeting appears to be on the books so far.
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
Feb 03, 12:50 PM EST
Surveillance balloon is ‘maneuverable,’ Pentagon says
After saying the Chinese surveillance ballon was headed eastward, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the balloon is “maneuverable.”
“So, the balloon is maneuverable. Clearly, it’s violated U.S. air space, and again we’ve communicated that fact to the PRC,” Ryder said.
“The balloon has changed its course, which is why we are monitoring it. That is as specific as I can get,” he said, not giving further details on how it could be maneuvered.
“We continue to assess and make appropriate decisions based on how we are going to address what we perceive as a potential threat,” Ryder added. “The safety and security of the American people is paramount. At this time we assess it does not pose a physical threat to people on the ground.”
Feb 03, 10:26 AM EST
Pentagon to hold press briefing at noon
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder will conduct an on-camera press briefing at noon on Friday as the Biden administration faces questions about what U.S. officials call a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the U.S.
Ryder said in a statement Thursday that the government was tracking the balloon and that it didn’t present a military threat.
“Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years. Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,” Ryder said.
Feb 03, 9:36 AM EST
Secretary of state delays visit
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is postponing his visit to China after the balloon was tracked soaring across the country.
Blinken will delay his upcoming trip to Beijing, originally scheduled for next week. The official noted that Blinken did not want to blow the situation out of proportion by canceling his visit, but also does not want the balloon to dominate his meetings with Chinese officials.
Feb 03, 9:29 AM EST
China claims balloon is civilian in nature
The Chinese Foreign Ministry is saying the balloon is civilian in nature and used for scientific research, “mainly meteorological.”
“The airship is from China,” the foreign ministry said. “Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure.”
It continued, “The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure.”
“Force majeure” refers to something that is done beyond the control of the government.
