For his latest gig, he’s hosting BET’s new show After Happily Ever After. He says making the decision to join the reality dating series was a “no brainer.”
“It was kind of crazy how God works…” Bow Wow told ABC Audio, referencing a “similar” show idea he thought of before getting the call from BET. “For me it was like a no brainer because I was like, ‘Okay, what’s different about the show?'”
After learning about the show’s premise — a group of exes from failed long-term relationships (Peter Gunz, Amina Buddafly, Melissa Meeks, Ugo Maduka and more) who play matchmaker to find their former partner love — the host immediately jumped on board.
“I love doing things that are different,” said Bow Wow, a fan of dating shows. Though After Happily Ever After sounded like “the most toxic thing ever,” it was still something he wanted to be a part of.
The rapper isn’t new to hosting. His moniker “Mr. 106 & Park” grew out of his couple-years tenure as host on the long-running music video show 106 & Park. But make no mistake, the two gigs are “like apples and oranges,” Bow said.
The new show, he added, gives him the opportunity to fully “be himself.”
“I love to be off-script,” Bow said. Due to the show’s unpredictable nature, he explained, he gets a chance to be “more Shad than Bow Wow” and also the “glue” that holds all the craziness together.
How is Bow Wow the best person for the job? “Let’s just say Bow Wow can go back in his past [relationships] and draw inspiration from those moments,” he said.
After Happily Ever After premieres October 19 at 10 p.m. ET on BET.
rafalgar Releasing/Warner Music Entertainment/MTV Entertainment Studios
Earlier this week, Liam Gallagher announced a new documentary called Knebworth 22, which chronicles his two shows at the historic English site over 25 years after Oasis‘ record-breaking concerts there in 1996. Liam performed a mixture of his solo songs and Oasis tracks during his shows, but the Oasis tunes won’t make the film.
As for why, Liam says that the blame lies with his former Oasis bandmate and estranged brother, Noel Gallagher.
“No Oasis songs as the angry squirt has blocked them,” Liam tweeted Wednesday, adding that Noel “also blocked the Oasis I sang for Taylor Hawkins tribute.” Liam opened September’s London tribute concert to the late Foo Fighters drummer with renditions of the Oasis songs “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” and “Live Forever.”
“He’s a horrible little man,” Liam wrote of Noel.
Liam later posted, “You can stop us using the songs but you can’t erase our memories shame on you Noel Gallagher.”
Knebworth 22 will premiere in theaters on November 17. Tickets go on sale beginning this Friday, October 21. For more info, visit LGKnebworth22.com.
Times have changed since Christina Aguilera first released her music video for “Beautiful,” so she remade it to reflect the challenges of today and to mark the 20th anniversary of her fourth album, Stripped.
Stripped was released on October 22, 2002, and the song “Beautiful” subsequently became an anthem for self-love and acceptance. Now, Christina hopes the song becomes a warning about the dangers of social media’s impact on children.
The music video tackles how girls are flooded with images of women with youthful faces and voluptuous bodies, while boys are encouraged to have the sculpted body of an action hero.
Throughout the video, children are either seen holding up their cameras to film what they are pressured to look like — through the exposure of liposuction, bodybuilding and other cosmetic surgeries — or have the camera trained on themselves to show how they’re embracing these standards.
The music video also explores how isolating these messages are by showing a young, larger girl staring down a vending machine stuffed with diet pills, and also a boy fantasizing on how to end his life in a hospital room.
The video concludes with these same kids, without their phones, running around in the sun on a grassy field — finally acting their age.
The video warns in the end, as blood pours from a smartphone, “In the last 20 years, since Stripped was first released, social media has transformed our relationship with our bodies, and in turn, our mental health. Research suggests that time spent on social networking sites is associated with body image issues, self-harm and disordered eating in children and teens. This needs to change.”
The new music video officially kicks off the 20th anniversary celebration of the Stripped album.
Reba McEntire’s having the time of her life with her new role on ABC drama “Big Sky,” and she says she’s got Dolly Parton to thank for inspiring her to keep trying new things.
“I asked Dolly Parton, ‘You ever think about retiring?’ She said, ‘What would I do where I could have so much fun?’” Reba recounts to People. “…I’m about 10 years younger than Dolly, and she inspires me daily. As long as we can do what we do and still enjoy it, we can continue doing it.”
At the moment, that means taking on the role of Sunny Barnes — the owner of an outdoors company who just might be hiding a dark secret — in the new Big Sky season.
“I never would’ve thought in a million years I’d be doing an ABC drama at my age, but I am absolutely loving it,” she says, adding that there’s still one big acting challenge she’d like to take on in the years ahead.
“Now if I can just be a superhero or a supervillain in one of the Marvel movies, that would be the icing on the cake,” Reba continues.
Now in its third season, Big Sky airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
BTS‘ Jin has an all-new solo effort on the way, and he’s teamed again with Coldplay for its launch.
BTS’ label BIGHIT confirmed Jin had co-written a new song titled “The Astronaut” with the Chris Martin-fronted band. The song blasts into orbit on October 28. It also should be noted that Martin’s teenage son, Moses,also contributed some backup vocals for the song.
BTS last collaborated with Coldplay on “My Universe,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100.
The news is bittersweet for BTS fans as “The Astronaut” arrives shortly after the group confirmed they will all enlist in the military, as mandated by the South Korean government. As Jin is the oldest member of the group, he will be the first to join the army.
Because of this, “The Astronaut” focuses on his love for his fans and will serve as a gift for those who supported him.
BTS plans on “reconvening as a group again around 2025” following their military obligations.
Friends veteran star Matthew Perry is opening up about his decades-long battle with addiction in hopes of inspiring others with his new memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.
The actor tells People, “I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober — and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction — to write it all down. And the main thing was, I was pretty certain that it would help people.”
The book, which hits stores November 1, reveals for the first time how addiction nearly cost the 53-year-old star his life at age 49. His colon burst from opioid abuse, Perry reveals, requiring extensive gastrointestinal surgeries.
He recalls, “The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live. I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.” He later said he was one of four people put on that machine that day who lived to tell the tale.
Perry also details how bad his drinking and opioid addiction was, noting at one point during Friends‘ run, he was taking 55 pills a day and was down to 128 pounds.
He explains he had points of sobriety in the show’s run, too, noting, “Season 9 was the year that I was sober the whole way through. And guess which season I got nominated for best actor? I was like, ‘That should tell me something.'”
Perry said his caring castmates were there to “prop him up,” likening them to penguins. “[I]n nature, when one is sick…They walk around it until that penguin can walk on its own,” he said. “That’s kind of what the cast did for me.”
Robert Gordon, the deep-voiced singer who helped launch the rockabilly revival during the late 1970s, died Tuesday, Variety reports. He was 75.
Gordon’s record label, Cleopatra Records, confirmed his passing to Variety and posted a Facebook message offering “our deepest condolences to his family and friends.” “We liked working with Robert and will miss his powerful baritone vocal as well as his focused dedication to his music,” the label added.
No cause of death was mentioned, but a GoFundMe page recently launched by Gordon’s family revealed he was battling acute myeloid leukemia.
Born in Bethesda, Maryland, Gordon recorded with a group called The Confidentials as a teenager. After relocating to New York City in 1970, he joined the early punk band Tuff Darts and sang on a few of their early singles.
Gordon launched his solo career in 1977 after teaming up with veteran producer/songwriter Richard Gottehrer, who suggested he collaborate with pioneering rock ‘n’ roll guitarist Link Wray. Gordon recorded two albums with Wray — 1977’s Robert Gordon with Link Wray and 1978’s Fresh Fish Special.
Both albums showcased Robert’s booming, Elvis Presley-inspired vocals and mainly featured covers of vintage rock ‘n’ roll tunes. Fresh Fish Special included Presley’s longtime backing vocal group The Jordanaires and an early cover of Bruce Springsteen‘s “Fire” that featured Springsteen on keyboards.
Gordon went on to work with such other acclaimed guitarists as Chris Spedding and Danny Gatton. His 1981 album, Are You Gonna Be the One, reached #76 on the Billboard 200 and featured a popular cover of Marshall Crenshaw‘s “Someday, Someway.”
Robert continued to record sporadically and tour regularly throughout his life. A new Gordon album, Hellafied, a collaboration with Spedding, is due out on November 24. It includes a variety of previously unreleased archival songs.
AJR is very aware that they’ve been a little quiet as of late, which is why they broke some welcome news to explain their absence.
The trio took to Twitter and began their address by telling fans, “Love you guys, sorry if we’ve maybe been a little more quiet than usual, been writing nonstop on the road.”
“A year since OKO [OK ORCHESTRA] means a year of new weird feelings to write about. Really can’t wait for you guys to hear this new stuff,” the singers continued. That led them to finally confirming the excellent news that “AJR5 is on the way.”
It appears AJR was already teasing new music and cryptically tweeted a few days before the big reveal, “Everyone’s laughing at me, but not like they used to,” along with a violin emoji. That tweet ramped fans’ speculation that a new single is coming soon.
AJR also updated their Twitter bio to tell fans to “Pre-save new music.” The link leads to their website, but instead of a song title, fans are met with three question marks and urged to pre-save the mystery single on either Spotify or Apple Music.
AJR’s last album, OK ORCHESTRA, came out in March 2021 and produced the hits “World’s Smallest Violin,” “Way Less Sad” and the RIAA-certified twice Platinum single “Bang!”
(NEW YORK) — In another sign New York City is grappling with an increase of migrants entering the shelter system, the city has officially opened a sprawling, 84,000-square-foot emergency shelter on Manhattan’s Randall’s Island.
ABC News and other outlets were given a first look inside the center, opening Wednesday, which has a total footprint of 6.4 acres encompassing dormitories, dining facilities, recreation centers and isolation centers for migrants that may contract COVID-19 or other communicable diseases.
The decision to open the center comes amid an effort spearheaded by Texas Gov. Abbott to bus migrants to Democrat-led cities.
While Abbott’s efforts have been criticized as a political stunt to call attention to a broken immigration system, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams told ABC News that more than 20,500 asylum-seekers have moved through the shelter system since spring, with a majority of them arriving on buses from Texas.
“This situation is caused by political actors, as you know, and New York City is just having to respond and prepare for more people to arrive,” said Manuel Castro, commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
The center will house nearly 500 single male adults, but capacity can be increased if necessary. Other migrants, including families with children, are being placed at shelters and other temporary housing arrangements throughout the city. Case workers and other resources will be provided to migrants at the Randall’s Island facility so that they can figure out the next steps in their pending immigration cases and how to reach their intended destinations.
The mayor’s office is looking into obtaining funding from the state government to help migrants purchase transportation to where they have family in the United States or where they are required to show up to immigration court to proceed with their asylum claims.
New York City Emergency Management had already started building the facility at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, but severe rains that moved over the region in recent weeks proved the location to be a flood risk, and the facility was moved to Randall’s Island, just northeast of Manhattan.
NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol told reporters Monday that the decision to demobilize that location and install the facility on the island cost roughly $750,000.
Although officials aim to move migrants in and out of the center in under 96 hours, they will be allowed to stay longer on a case-by-case basis until they find more stable housing.
“New York City has had the need to open a welcome center big enough to have the capacity to welcome as many newly arrived immigrants, asylum-seekers,” said Castro. “We want to make sure that we’re able to meet all their immediate needs, which as you saw include medical attention, include an area to rest, take a shower, and most importantly, a way to connect to their loved ones. You want to help them to get to their final destination.”
Adams declared a state of emergency in the city earlier this month and said the migrant crisis would cost the city $1 billion. The city has appealed for help from the state and federal government.
“Although our compassion is limitless, our resources are not,” Adams said Oct. 7. “This is unsustainable.”
Thirty-five years after it release, the Fleetwood Mac song “Everywhere” is enjoying renewed Billboard chart success following its inclusion in a recent commercial for Chevrolet’s electric vehicle line.
In addition, “Everywhere” jumped from #7 to #3 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales tally.
According to data by Luminate, the track racked up 2.3 million streams and 5,000 downloads between October 7 and October 13, respective increases of 16% and 12% over the previous week.
“Everywhere” appeared on Fleetwood Mac’s 1987 album, Tango in the Night, which was the last studio effort recorded by the group’s full classic lineup of Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Christine McVie. The song was also the band’s last single to break into the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #14, while the album reached #7 on the Billboard 200.
![Liam Gallagher blames “horrible little man” Noel Gallagher for “block[ing]” Oasis songs from upcoming doc](https://s3.amazonaws.com/syndication.abcaudio.com/files/2022-10-19/M_liamknebworth_101922.jpg "Liam Gallagher blames “horrible little man” Noel Gallagher for “block[ing]” Oasis songs from upcoming doc")
