Toby Keith is this year’s BMI Icon Award recipient. The award is in recognition of his lengthy career in country music, dating back to his hit debut single from 1993, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” Toby will be celebrated at the 2022 BMI Country Awards, set to be held in Nashville on November 8.
LeAnn Rimes will be this year’s recipient of the ASCAP Golden Note Award. She’ll receive the honor in a special ASCAP Experience broadcast session, set to broadcast on ASCAP’s YouTube channel on October 12 at 3 p.m. ET.
The first look at the highly anticipated The Super Mario Bros. Movie is finally here.
Nintendo and Illumination, the studio behind the Despicable Me and Minions films, released the first teaser for the movie on Thursday at 4:05 p.m. ET during a Nintendo Direct presentation specifically focused on the film.
While revealing more about the movie’s story, the trailer also debuted Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt‘s voice as the iconic Italian plumber, one of the most popular and instantly recognizable video game characters of all time.
Joining Pratt is The Queen’s Gambit actress Anya Taylor-Joy as Mario’s beloved Princess Peach and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor Charlie Day as Mario’s sidekick and brother Luigi.
Also in the film’s cast are Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.
Charles Martinet, who has voiced Mario since the ’90s, will also be featured in “surprise cameos.”
Some fans expressed apprehension upon learning Pratt would voice Mario. However, the actor has since addressed this directly and provided insight into his approach to the role. “I worked really closely with the directors [Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic] and [tried] out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of and can’t wait for people to see and hear,” he told Variety in June.
“It’s an animated voice-over narrative. It’s not a live-action movie. I’m not gonna be wearing a plumber suit running all over,” Pratt continued. “I’m providing a voice for an animated character, and it is updated and unlike anything you’ve heard in the Mario world before.”
TheSuper Mario Bros.Movie hits theaters on April 7, 2023.
Fans who hoped Justin Bieber would be able to return to the road following his recovery from Ramsay Hunt syndrome were disappointed Thursday when it was announced that all remaining dates of the tour are postponed.
The tour — which was originally scheduled to wrap up this December and then resume in January, officially ending in March 2023 — was put on pause September 6 when Justin revealed that his face was partially paralyzed due to Ramsay Hunt.
Then, on September 15, it was announced that 12 shows through October 18 were being canceled. Now all the remaining scheduled dates on the tour have been postponed. Ticket holders will be “informed on next steps as updates occur,” reads an Instagram message.
It turns out the final date of the tour was Justin’s Rock in Rio show on September 4. He said in a statement after the show, “I gave everything I have to the people in Brazil. After getting off stage, the exhaustion overtook me.” It was then that he knew he had “make my health the priority” and announced, “I’m going to take a break from touring for the time being.”
New visuals are out from New York rapper BennytheButcher.
The Griselda member dropped off the music video for “Thowy’s Revenge” to match the previously released single off his latest project, Tana Talk 4.
Produced by TheAlchemist, the music video follows Benny’s appearance at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards, where he was nominated for Lyricist of the Year and Best Collaboration.
Tana Talk 4 includes features from J. Cole, Diddy, WestsideGunn and more.
Check out the video for “Thowy’s Revenge” on Benny The Butcher’s official YouTube page.
Of course, the legendary singer couldn’t stay silent about the high honor and hilariously reacted to the news. “I think @billboard just crowned me the Queen of Karaoke?!” she said on Twitter, using a shocked face and crying emoji to convey her reaction.
Shania continued, “Seriously though, it’s really really cool to see the life that ‘Man! I Feel Like A Woman!’ has taken on and I’m just obsessed with you all…”
The country star then revealed that she creeps on fans who post videos of them singing the song and shared a highlight reel of her favorites. “I’m not much of a karaoke singer (I’m actually quite bad at it ) but I do love watching other people do karaoke, so… show me what you’ve got!” she said, adding she wants more fans to tag her when they post such clips.
When fans begged Shania to clarify that she doesn’t sing karaoke, she relented that the statement wasn’t totally true. “Well sometimes I do karaoke… on special occasions,” she joked and shared a photo of her singing in a saloon.
Wynonna Judd is setting the record straight about some rumors that she and her sister, actor Ashley Judd, are in disagreement over their mom’s will.
Together, Wynonna and Naomi Judd made up legendary country duo The Judds. In April, Naomi died by suicide at the age of 76 after a lifelong battle with mental illness; her famous daughters’ grief has been relatively public from the start. One day after her death, The Judds were scheduled to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and both Wynonna and Ashley spoke emotionally about their mom from the stage.
Now, rumors are flying about how Naomi’s estate will be divided up — and how Wynonna and Ashley feel about it. But Wynonna tells People that there’s no truth to those claims.
“Fighting over what? I have such a great life. Ashley has such a great life. Why would we be fighting over the will?” the singer asks.
Wynonna adds that Naomi appointed her husband, Larry Strickland, as the executor of her will; when he dies, the estate will be split between her and Ashley.
“I am the last person in the family — and if Ashley was here, I hope she’d agree with me — who knows stuff like this,” Wynonna continues. “I’m not savvy enough to go, ‘I’m going to contest the will.’ It never occurred to me.”
Earlier this week, Ashley made an onstage cameo during a show on The Judds Final Tour, which Wynonna is helming solo with help from a rotating cast of country stars.
As the two sisters stood onstage together, Wynonna said, “I’m sick and tired of the press saying a bunch of c*** about us.”
“We love each other,” she continued, according to fan-captured video.
Katy Perry is thinking about her next music era, but admits nothing is set in stone — especially when it comes to what it’ll sound like.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, the hitmaker opened up about her inevitable follow-up to 2020’s Smile and what she’s been focusing on since releasing her sixth studio album.
“I put out Smile during the pandemic a couple of years ago, and I’ve done a couple of other things. I really enjoyed putting out ‘When I’m Gone’ with Alesso. But I was putting all of my energy into Vegas,” she explained. The singer added, “I miss my fans around the world, and I really want to go to them and see them and just travel the world again. Some of them can’t come and see me in Vegas, so I’m going to head out and see them.”
“I’m just excited for the future because there’s so much more to come,” she teased, adding that she plans to offer up new music when she launches her next world tour.
Elsewhere in the interview, Katy gave herself a pat on the back for vouching for Dua Lipa when she first tried breaking into the industry.
“I remember even championing Dua because I was like, ‘Oh, this girl is going to be the next big girl pop star. She’s the it girl, and she’s coming,'” she recalled, adding how she watched Dua take over the Hollywood Palladium before hitting it big.
Katy recalled she “left work early” while filming American Idol and told fellow judge Luke Bryan who she was seeing. When Bryan wanted to know who Dua was, Katy remembers replying, “Don’t worry, you’ll know her name.”
As for the new it girl, Katy says it’s the artist Cyn.
(NEW YORK) — More than eight in 10 kids under the age of 17 have antibodies from a past COVID-19 infection, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The analysis shows that as of August, 86% of children between 6 months and 17-years-old have had at least one COVID infection since the pandemic began.
That number is an increase from data in April, when the public health agency found 75% of people under the age of 17 had been infected with the virus.
“What we have to recognize is this is more of an indication that there’s been broad spread of this virus in the pediatric community,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an ABC News contributor and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital. “And that, you know, the kids are not sheltered from this virus. And we know that in a small number of cases, there’s severe impacts.”
What the findings don’t mean is that 86% of children and adolescents are now protected against COVID reinfection because they’ve had COVID before. Experts have noted that they don’t know exactly how long protection from infection lasts after contracting the virus.
“What we should not take away from this data is that that the kids are now immune from infection, so we can’t make the leap that continual investment in vaccines and protections of our kids is not important,” Brownstein said. “As we know, immunity wanes, variants evolved to evade prior immunity and so, you know, this is more a reflection of how amazingly widespread this virus is but it’s not a reflection of future risk.”
One ABC News analysis of state data found that, as of June, there’d been more than 1.6 million reinfections across 24 states, but experts said the number was likely much higher.
The CDC recommends everyone, regardless of prior infections, stay up to date on vaccinations — including the newest booster shot, which targets the currently circulating BA.4 and 5 variant.
The agency recommends people ages 12 and older to receive one updated booster at least two months after their last vaccine dose. Boosters are also available for kids ages 5 through 11, but only if they received the Pfizer-BioNTech primary vaccine series.
The booster for that age group targets the original virus strain, not variants, but the CDC has said it expects vaccine boosters designed to target variants like omicron to be available for children aged 5-11 years by mid-October.
The CDC previously said it expects vaccine boosters designed to target variants like omicron to be available for children aged 5-11 years by mid-October.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have submitted requests to the Food and Drug Administration to authorize their updated boosters for adolescents for emergency use.
Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine chief, said in late September he was “confident that we’re only a matter of weeks away” from authorizing new boosters for the 5-11 age range. For kids under 5, Marks said there were still “a few months away” from authorization.
In the meantime, Marks encouraged parents to make sure their children get the primary vaccine series.
“There are a lot of kids ages 5 to 11 out there who haven’t had their primary series, so you can’t get the updated booster until you’ve had the primary series. So it’s a good idea to think about getting your child vaccinated against COVID-19,” he said.
(TUCSON, AZ) — A professor was shot and killed on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson on Wednesday afternoon, allegedly by a former student, campus police said.
The suspect, Murad Dervish, 46, was taken into custody hours later following a traffic stop by the state’s Department of Public Safety near the town of Gila Bend, University of Arizona Police Chief Paula Balafas said at a news conference.
Police said the suspect used a handgun.
The victim was identified Thursday as professor Thomas Meixner, department head of the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, said university president Robert Robbins.
“This incident is a deep shock to our community, and it is a tragedy. I have no words that can undo it, but I grieve with you for the loss, and I am pained especially for Tom’s family members, colleagues and students,” Robbins said.
KanyeWest — and whatever outspoken thing he’s done or said — if often a leading topic in entertainment. As of the last few weeks, it seems the rap star has been making even more headlines than usual.
Struggling to keep up? We’ve broken down some of the current Ye headlines:
Adidas places Yeezy partnership under review
The shoe and clothing brand issued a statement Thursday that said they’re reviewing the partnership with the rapper after attempts to resolve issues behind closed doors. According to Complex, the statement reads in part, “After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review.” The news comes after Ye posted images, later shared by The Shade Room, of the brand’s “fake Yeezy” slides back in June.
Ye roasts Kim K’s fashion choices
During the latest episode of The Kardashians, Kim shared a few text messages sent from her ex-husband about her fashion choices. Kim said Kanye reached out about the “orange look” that made him “so mad.” He allegedly said via text, “I would have went to jail before I went out in that.”
Ye says his dad supports his “White Lives Matter” shirt
In a repost by The Neighborhood Talk, the music producer shared a recent text thread between him and his dad about his decision to wear the controversial shirt during a recent fashion show. Ye says he made his “Black Panther father proud.” Since sporting the shirt, Ye has responded to criticism from many celebrities and public figures.
Who should play Kanye in a biopic?
Amid all of the controversy, Ye took to social media to inquire about who’d be best to play him in a movie. His pick was JamieFoxx, “one of the greatest geniuses,” he said.
