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Lena Waithe named ambassador for the 2023 American Black Film Festival

November 2, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Master of None writer and star Lena Waithe has been named the ambassador for 2023’s American Black Film Festival (ABFF).

As such, Waithe will “help bring awareness to ABFF’s mission of showcasing Black talent and discovering new voices and…collaborate with the festival for one-of-a-kind moments.”

The actress, writer, and producer noted she’s “honored” by the news. The Emmy winner said in a statement that she is “excited to collaborate with the festival to shine a light on unique and groundbreaking stories and the creatives behind them.”

Calling Waithe a “powerhouse in the film and television industry and a trailblazer for emerging creative artists,” festival producer and ABFF Ventures President Nicole Friday hailed Waithe’s “commitment to elevate diverse voices,” which “personifies ABFF’s commitment to diversify Hollywood.”

Lena is in good company, as previous ABFF ambassadors include Oscar winners Halle Berry and Common, Emmy and Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson and Grammy-winning music legend Mary J. Blige.

Next year’s event will be held from June 14-18 in Miami Beach; a virtual program will follow June 19-25 on ABFF Play.

Country stars honor The Rolling Stones with ‘Stoned Cold Country’ tribute album

November 2, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Some of country music’s biggest stars will pay tribute to one of rock’s legendary bands on their 60th anniversary with Stoned Cold Country, an album celebrating The Rolling Stones.

Hit-making acts including Little Big Town, Eric Church, Maren Morris, outlaw country legend Steve Earle and many others provide country-influenced interpretations of some of the Stones’ biggest hits.

Though the album doesn’t drop until next year, you can get a taste now of Brothers Osborne’s country-funk take on “It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It),” with help from Americana husband and wife duo The War and Treaty. That track drops this coming Friday, November 4.

Here’s the Stoned Cold Country track list:

“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” — Ashley McBryde
“Honky Tonk Women” — Brooks & Dunn
“Dead Flowers — Maren Morris
“It’s Only Rock N’ Roll (But I Like It)” — Brothers Osborne & The War and Treaty
“Miss You” — Jimmie Allen
“Tumbling Dice” — Elle King
“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” — Marcus King
“Wild Horses” — Little Big Town
“Paint It Black” — Zac Brown Band
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” — Lainey Wilson
“Sympathy for the Devil” — Elvie Shane
“Angie” — Steve Earle
“Gimme Shelter” — Eric Church
“Shine a Light” — Koe Wetzel

Wiz Khalifa drops music video for “Keys”

November 2, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Wiz Khalifa has given his single “Keys” the video treatment.

The clip, shared on YouTube Wednesday, captures multiple versions of Wiz in Brady Brunch-style squares. He’s also seen rapping in front of different-colored backgrounds alongside his leading lady.

“Keys,” produced by Quadwoofer Bangs, appears on Wiz’s latest album, Multiverse, which dropped over the summer. Wiz and Andrea Saavedra put on their directors’ hats for the video.

The new video comes days after the Taylor Gang album G Rage dropped. Wiz is featured on the project, as are fellow Taylor Gang artists Chevy Woods and Ty Dolla $ign. Other stars, including 6am, P Fire and Lil Uzi Vert, also make guest appearances.

‘In Rare Form’: Maren Morris reimagines seven ‘Humble Quest’ tracks, pairs the music with a short film

November 2, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Maren Morris isn’t done with her Humble Quest era yet. On Wednesday, she announced plans to release a reimagined collection of seven songs from her newest album, Humble Quest: In Rare Form.

To go along with the new project, Maren will also release a short film. She shared a preview of the visual element on social media, showing footage of her sitting around a campfire with a group of musicians.

“It’s been amazing, playing this record live,” Maren tells her collaborators in the teaser clip. “Y’all did so much prep before I even walked into the rehearsal space.”

The new versions of Maren’s Humble Quests songs will take another perspective on the album’s central questions of what matters most in life and how to create and value meaning in life. “What are we gonna leave behind? As long as we have each other, it doesn’t really matter, but our songs, we get to leave behind,” Maren continues.

The teaser also shows snippets of the singer performing Humble Quest’s title track in the woods, backed by a group of string musicians.

Humble Quest: In Rare Form comes out Friday.

Kim Petras and Sam Smith cried when “Unholy” topped the ’Billboard’ chart

November 2, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Kim Petras revealed how she and Sam Smith reacted to their song “Unholy” topping the Billboard Hot 100.

Kim spoke to People about their recent victory and explained they were both in London when news broke that they topped the American songs chart.

“It was a super magical night, and we cried,” said Kim. “It was amazing. We spent it together that night, and I’ll never forget it.”

“Unholy” has gone on to make queer history on the Hot 100. Kim is now the first transgender artist to lead the Billboard chart, while Sam is the first non-binary artist. They also ushered in a new first when their song replaced Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit” at the top, marking the first time two gender-diverse artists took the #1 spot from a bisexual artist.

Kim expressed she is “so grateful” for how the audience supported “Unholy” and said she worked “so hard to get to this point” in her career.

“I’m not stopping now. I feel like I’ve reached this new plateau,” she continued before teasing her next single with Max Martin, “If Jesus Was a Rockstar.” The song arrives November 11.

Kim explained, “And now the pressure’s on for the songs to do well, and I feel ready… I have songs backed up, so many songs, that I feel are really ready [for public consumption].”

AC/DC’s Brian Johnson reveals the life-changing advice Roger Daltrey gave him

November 2, 2022 by WDNY Radio

AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson‘s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But the 75-year-old says there was a time he had all but given up on music — until another rock legend gave him some life-changing advice.

Speaking with The West Australian newspaper about his just-released autobiography, The Lives of Brian, Johnson recalls his life before joining AC/DC, when he quit his job as an engineer to focus on music. He fronted a band named Geordie that scored a single top-ten hit, enough to convince Johnson that he was on his way to stardom — until the bottom fell out.

“At the age of 28, I’d lost everything. My marriage, my career, my house,” Johnson recalls, adding, “I’d had my shot and blown it.”

Even so, Johnson formed another band, working non-music jobs, including installing car windshields, to help pay the bills. But it was while he was living with the other band members in a single apartment that The Who‘s Roger Daltrey, already a rock legend, invited them over to dinner at his country manor.

“He said, ‘I’m going to give you one piece of advice, Brian,” Johnson recalls. “Never give up. Do you understand me? Never, ever give up’.”

“And I really took that to heart,” says Johnson. “He’s probably forgotten that he said that, but I didn’t.”

Not long after that, Johnson was invited to audition for the AC/DC frontman spot after original lead singer Bon Scott‘s death. And the rest, as we all know, is rock and roll history.

The Lives of Brian is available everywhere now.

We triple dog dare you not to smile at the trailer for ‘A Christmas Story Christmas’

November 2, 2022 by WDNY Radio

HBO Max has dropped the trailer to A Christmas Story Christmas, the holiday movie that brings Peter Billingsley back as the beloved, bespectacled Ralphie.

In the movie, he returns to his childhood home to have a traditional family Christmas, only to find it’s not as easy as he thought.

“One day you’re playing Kick the Can with kids named Flick and Schwartz, and the next thing you know, you’re a certified adult,” Ralphie says in voiceover as he meets with the grown-up versions of his childhood pals.

The nostalgia for the 1983 original is layered on thick, with a return to the Higbee’s department store for a meet-and-greet with between Ralphie’s own kids and Santa. “Don’t let him kick you in the face!” Ralphie warns in one of many callbacks to the original.

There’s even a triple dog dare, with Schwartz — the kid who stuck his tongue to a pole in the original — getting goaded to sled down an apparently unfinished ramp.

A Christmas Story Christmas debuts November 17 on HBO Max.

Pharrell Williams bringing Something in the Water festival back to Virginia Beach

November 2, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water festival is set to return to Virginia Beach next year. The three-day music, arts and culture festival will take place April 28 to April 30, 2023.

“The demand for the festival in Virginia Beach and The 757 — among the people — has never wavered. If anything it has only intensified,” Pharrell, a Virginia Beach native, says in a statement.

“College Beach Weekend continues every year and the city of Virginia Beach leaders have been eager to reconcile and move forward,” he continues. “The environment is finally optimized for return and the announcement will delight everyone — from HBCU students across the eastern USA to the hundreds of small businesses who will play a role in the festival to the cities within the region and neighborhoods that will serve as hosts.”

“I need to come back home,” he concludes. “There is a pervasive feeling by almost everyone that the festival belongs in Virginia Beach, and the time is right to bring it back.”

Last year’s festival took place in Washington, D.C. after Pharrell decided to pull the event from his hometown following the fatal police shooting of a family member. He had accused the city’s leaders of having “toxic energy.”

The full lineup for this year’s festival will be announced soon. Three-day passes go on sale November 5 at 12 p.m. ET on SomethingintheWater.com.

Pink drops new teaser for “Never Gonna Not Dance Again”

November 2, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Pink is pulling all the stops to promote her new single “Never Gonna Not Dance Again,” which arrives Friday.

The singer has been hawking her new exclusive and super spicy “Vicious B****es Chips’es,” which fans can win samples of by dialing the number 1-888-262-PINK. To get more people excited for her bag of chips — as well as her new song — she shared a hilarious promo video on Wednesday.

Pink wears a red apron and stands in a grocery store as she tries getting its shoppers to taste her super spicy chips. She also hilariously chews on gum and and tries to act nonchalant as she warns her product is “spicy as f***!”

It should be noted that she is wearing the same outfit that appears in the forthcoming “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” music video, which appears to take place in the same grocery store. YouTube has just added the video to its premiere roster, where you can join the queue to watch it air live at midnight on Friday.

Checking out the link will also give you an exclusive peek of the music video, which features Pink running a food truck and sending people into a grocery store, where she is seen rolling around in skate shoes.

In addition to dialing 1-888-262-PINK and signing up to win a bag of her super spicy chips, you can also hear a new clip of her song or learn her tip of the day. Her words of wisdom for Wednesday are: “If you’re around someone who sucks all the air out of the room — go to another room.”

Ryan Tedder, Halsey and more celebrate Taylor Swift’s ‘Billboard’ victory

November 2, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Artists like Ryan Tedder, Halsey and Zara Larsson are celebrating Taylor Swift after she became the first artist to sweep the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10.

Halsey took to their Instagram Story to celebrate Taylor’s achievement. “And that’s how ya do it @taylorswift long live taykarma,” the singer wrote. Halsey assisted Taylor at the 2019 American Music Awards to perform “Shake It Off” alongside Camila Cabello.

OneRepublic‘s Ryan Tedder, who assisted Taylor in making her album 1989, also took a moment to salute the hitmaker. “That’s a first,” he wrote while sharing a screenshot of the Billboard chart. He also added two clapping hands and a head-exploding emoji.

As for Zara, she also shared a screenshot of the Hot 100 and wrote alongside a flame emoji, “This is insaaaaane.”

Taylor, herself, reacted to the news shortly after it was announced and tweeted, “10 out of 10 of the Hot 100??? On my 10th album??? I AM IN SHAMBLES.”

It should be noted that she not only swept the top 10 in the Billboard Hot 100, all 20 songs off her Midnights album and its “3am Edition” have landed on the chart.

In all, Taylor has sent 188 of her songs onto the Hot 100 and is now the artist with the third-most charting songs. She is only eclipsed by the cast of Glee, who is in second place, and first-place finisher Drake, who boasts 278 charting singles.

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