Dua Lipa denied the rumors she’s heading to Qatar to perform for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“There is currently a lot of speculation that I will be performing at the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. The singer added, “I will not be performing and nor have I ever been involved in any negotiations to perform.”
Dua noted she will be cheering England’s soccer team “from afar” and added, “I look forward to visiting Qatar when it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup.”
Dua isn’t the only artist condemning Qatar. Sir Rod Stewart revealed in an interview with The Guardian that he was “offered a lot of money, over $1 million, to play there.”
“I turned it down,” he added, noting it “was not right to go.”
Critics have slammed Qatar for its alleged injustices, mainly for its labor laws and persecuting members of the LGBTQ+ community. Reports have surfaced of forced labor of migrant workers and the conditions they must work under, which activists say have resulted in thousands of alleged deaths.
This has led to soccer fans calling for a boycott of the forthcoming World Cup.
Foreigner have announced that their 2023 tour will be their last.
“Many years ago, I wrote a song called ‘Feels Like The First Time’ and today we are launching one last worldwide tour,” says Foreigner leader and co-founder Mick Jones. “We will be presenting a show that I know will have the same enthusiasm as our very first appearances.”
He continues, “We hope to get to every place that we have played over the last several years. While I’m sure our fans will have mixed feelings about the end of the road for the band, I know our shows are going to delight audiences everywhere.”
Singer Kelly Hansen adds, “Foreigner has a brilliant and increasingly demanding catalogue of songs to sing and I refuse to give them less than they deserve. So, we’re going to finish strong.” He adds, ” I’m sure there may be occasions when we’ll do some special appearances, but I think the time is coming for us to live off the road. Thank you all so much!”
The tour kicks off July 6 in Atlanta, GA, and is currently set to wrap up September 3 in Holmdel, NJ. For the first leg of the tour, Loverboy will open the shows. Tickets go on sale November 18 via LiveNation.com.
Foreigner is also inviting choirs nationwide to enter for a chance to kick off each concert with a live a cappella performance of classic rock songs. One winning choir will be chosen for each show, and they’ll receive new musical equipment. Visit foreignerchoirs.com to find out how to enter.
(DALLAS) — Six people are dead following a collision that occurred at a World War II air show in Dallas, authorities said Sunday.
Two vintage aircraft collided in mid-air and crashed during the event Wings Over Dallas on Saturday, organizers said. The event featured flying demonstrations of WWII fighter planes at the Dallas Executive Airport.
“Authorities will continue working today on the investigation & identification of the deceased. Please pray for their families and all involved,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Sunday.
A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided and crashed around 1:20 p.m. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Five of the victims were on the B-17, while one victim was on the P-63 when they crashed, National Transportation Safety Board member Michael Graham told reporters during a news conference on Sunday.
Investigators are using radar to pinpoint the point of collision, Graham said. They are also interviewing other pilots and looking into the training records of the pilots involved, including how they practiced the maneuvers they planned and cleared with officials, as well as the maintenance records of the aircraft, according to the NTSB.
They were no black boxes on the planes, NTSB officials said, adding that the planes are not required to have them.
The air show, timed to coincide with Veterans Day, is organized by the Commemorative Air Force, an education association focused on American military aviation.
Leah Block, a spokesperson for Commemorative Air Force, told ABC News she believes there were five crew members on the B-17 and one aboard the P-63, which is a single-seat plane. The Houston-based aircraft were not giving rides to paying customers at the time, she said.
There were no injuries to spectators or others on the ground, according to Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.
The airport said there was an “incident” during the show and that Dallas Fire and Rescue were responding.
Bystanders captured a cloud of black smoke following the crash. Debris from the planes could also be seen littering a nearby highway.
The debris field includes the airport grounds, Highway 67 and a nearby strip mall, the mayor said.
Commemorative Air Force CEO and President Hank Coates said there will counseling available for first responders and attendees who witnessed the crash.
“It’s very difficult for me to talk about it because I know all these people, these are family and they’re good friends,” he told reporters.
This was the company’s seventh air show in Dallas and had anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 attendees and volunteers present at the time of the crash, organizers said.
“This is the first issue like this that we’ve ever had to deal with,” Coates said.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the collision. The NSTB will release a preliminary report, Coates said.
“The NTSB is launching a go-team to investigate Saturday’s mid-air collision between a Boeing B-17G and a Bell P-63F near Dallas, Texas. Member Michael Graham will serve as spokesperson on scene. Team expected to arrive tomorrow,” the NTSB said Saturday in a statement.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the incident a “tragedy” and said on Twitter state agencies were assisting local officials in the response.
ABC News’ Jeffrey Cook, Amanda Maile and Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — Police have arrested a driver who allegedly crashed his car through a street carnival in South Los Angeles on Saturday night, injuring seven people.
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 23-year-old Steven Weems for felony hit and run, officials told ABC News. Weems is being held on $50,000 bail, the LAPD confirmed.
The incident occurred near the 3000 block of South Trinity Street, Los Angeles Fire Department officials said.
Police told ABC News Los Angeles station KABC that the victims were between 30 and 50 years old. The police also told ABC News the victims in the incident suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
(WARSAW, Ind.) — At least 16 were injured Saturday night, after a tractor-trailer ran a red light and slammed into a bus carrying high school hockey players in Warsaw, Indiana, according to law enforcement officials.
In a press release Sunday, the Warsaw Police Department said it received reports of a semi-truck speeding excessively and swerving into other lanes.
According to the students’ high school, Saint Ignatius College Prep, there were 23 students on the bus, with 16 being injured. Three students were critically injured and required surgery, the school said.
The students ranged between the ages of 14 and 17 years old, with most of them being 15 years old, police said. The students were traveling from Chicago for a weekend hockey tournament. Warsaw is about 120 miles south of Chicago.
“The Saint Ignatius Wolfpack Hockey Club says, ‘we will get through this together.’ Our thoughts, prayers, and heartfelt concern are with them,” the school’s president John Chandler and director of communications Kristyn Hartman said in a statement on the school’s website.
Police arrested the suspected semi-truck driver, identified as 58-year-old Victor Santos from Brooklyn, New York, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Authorities said they smelled alcohol on the suspect when they arrived and noticed he was slurring his words. Santos reportedly failed a field sobriety test, according to Warsaw police.
Police are currently investigating the crash and continuing to hold the suspect in custody due to pending drunk driving charges.
George Strait is adding yet another stadium engagement to his 2023 calendar.
He’s just been announced as the headliner for the 2023 Buckeye Country Superfest, which will take place next May in Columbus, Ohio. Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town and Warren Zeiders are joining the King of Country on the bill for that festival.
Chris and Little Big Town are also George’s opening acts on seven stadium dates throughout the year — a robust touring calendar for the semi-retired country legend, who typically plays one-off shows and hasn’t mounted a full tour in a decade.
George will hit six different markets next year, and he recently added a second Nashville show at the city’s Nissan Stadium due to fan demand.
Tickets to the 2023 Buckeye Country Superfest go on sale Saturday, November 19 at 10 a.m. ET. There’s a presale for American Express cardholders, which begins on Tuesday and will run through Friday.
If you’ve ever uploaded a video of yourself playing “Dimebag” Darrell‘s riffs to YouTube, there’s a chance Zakk Wylde is watching it to help prepare for Pantera’s upcoming reunion shows.
Wylde will be filling in for the late Dime for the performances, which will also feature Pantera members Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown, along with Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante in place of Dime’s late brother, Vinnie Paul.
Speaking during an interview with metal YouTube personality Ola Englund, Wylde shares how it’s been going learning Pantera’s songs for the shows.
“Any of these things that I got stumped on, I was, like, ‘What the hell was that?’…I’d go on to YouTube and just see all these other amazing players playing the stuff,” Wylde explains.
For Wylde, watching YouTube covers is another resource for him alongside Pantera’s recordings.
“Playing it with the record is one thing, but then you take the record away, it’s, like, ‘Alright, play it for me,'” Wylde says. “It’s a guideline. It’s like cover by numbers, you know where you’re going.”
Pantera’s first show back is December 2 in Mexico.
Louis Tomlinson was “gutted” he had to postpone several fan events after suffering a significant injury — a broken arm.
The singer took to Instagram on Sunday to share a note to his followers explaining what happened. “The show last night in New York was incredible. Unfortunately on the way back I’ve managed to fall and break my arm pretty badly,” he explained. “So I’m gutted to say I’ll have to reschedule the in-store signings next week.”
He vowed to reveal the rescheduled dates “very soon” and thanked his fans for their support.
Louis also showed the severity of his injury by sharing two X-rays of his right arm. The slides show the snapped bone, which appears to be the humerus.
Louis did not reveal how long it’ll take his injury to fully heal or how it’ll affect his future plans. He also declined to reveal how that nasty break happened.
The singer later took to Twitter to thank fans for the support of his new album, Faith in the Future, and remarked it is “Easing the pain of my broken arm haha!”
The Neighbourhood drummer Brandon Fried is no longer in the band following an allegation of sexual misconduct against him.
Over the weekend, musician María Zardoya, lead singer of the band The Marías, posted in an Instagram Story that Fried had “groped [her] under the table” while they were both at a bar.
“It was one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve ever experienced,” Zardoya wrote. “I felt an invasion of my space, privacy and body.”
Tagging The Neighbourhood, Zardoya wrote that the band “need[s] a new drummer,” adding that Fried is “a complete creep.”
The “Sweater Weather” outfit then tweeted that “As a result of Brandon’s actions, he will no longer be a member of The Neighbourhood.”
“We are grateful to Maria for coming forward,” the tweet reads. “We have zero tolerance for any kind of inappropriate behavior towards women.”
Fried, who’d been The Neighbourhood’s drummer since 2014, has also released a statement on his Instagram Story apologizing to Zardoya for his “inexcusable and intolerable” actions.
“They are not reflective of who I am as a person, but clearly a reflection of who I become while under the influence,” Fried wrote. “It is evident that I must address my problems with alcohol and substance abuse, which I am now seeking help for.”
“I want to apologize to women who have been victims of any behavior that has left them feeling uncomfortable or violated,” he added. “I am also sorry to The Neighbourhood and our fans for letting them down.”
It was a Beatles family reunion over the weekend, starring Paul McCartney and John Lennon‘s son Julian.
“It’s Amazing who you run into in an airport Lounge! None other than Uncle Paul…. So, so lovely, and what are the chances,” Julian tweeted along with a black-and-white photo of himself posing with Macca. Anther photo showed Paul holding up his cell phone, which is displaying Julian’s new album, Jude.
Jude, Julian’s first album in more than 10 years, takes its title from “Hey Jude,” the 1968 Beatles song that McCartney famously wrote for him when he was five years old, to cheer him up after his parents split.
Julian recently told ABC Audio that titling the record Jude partly ties in with his recent decision to legally change his given first name, John, to Julian, which he’s been called since childhood.
“Jules, Jude, me, retrospective, collection of songs from life, taking ownership of the name Jude and/or being me finally…that all made sense to me,” he explained.
