Country music fans likely noticed a familiar face in the new commercial for Call of Duty.
Kane Brown is one of the many celebrities taking part in the ad campaign for Call of Duty Modern Warfare II‘s new game, “Squad Up,” starring alongside Nicki Minaj, Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson, rapper Lil Baby and more.
Kane appears in a dark bar, surrounded by people raising a glass and echoing him as he sings during the mass sing-along, with each artist performing a different line.
The singer is a longtime Call of Duty fan, using it as a pastime during the COVID-19 quarantine in 2020. He’s also shared that he and Luke Combs have played Call of Duty together.
One Music Fest in Atlanta saw performances by some of music’s top artists last weekend, but it was a special set by LaurynHill that stole the show.
Midway through her medley of classic hits, the legendary R&B singer performed “To Zion” and was met onstage by the song’s inspiration — her son ZionMarley.
Toward the end of the performance, Marley surprised his mother by walking onstage and embracing her with a hug. “That’s my son Zion, y’all,” she told the audience, which cheered during the exchange.
“So we’re going to talk about generations,” she added, as she requested Marley’s children, her two grandchildren, be brought onstage.
Hill wrote and released the emotional ballad in 1998 as an ode to Marley, her first born. It landed on the chart-topping album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and is a musical representation of a woman’s choice and the joy that comes from having a child.
The first verse of the song reads, “Unsure of what the balance held, I touched my belly overwhelmed. By what I had been chosen to perform / But then an angel came one day, Told me to kneel down and pray. For unto me a man child would be born.”
The song came when Hill was at a peak in her career; many critics, she says, suggested her music career would suffer as a result of her baby.
“Woe this crazy circumstance, I knew his life deserved a chance. But everybody told me to be smart / ‘Look at your career,’ they said ‘Lauryn, baby, use your head’ But instead I chose to use my heart.”
Marley, the grandson of BobMarley, is now 25. Hill went on to have five more children.
What happens when you combine the vocals of Chris Cornell and the guitar of Eddie Van Halen? Unfortunately, we may never know, but such a song apparently came close to happening.
According to guitarist Pete Thorn, who played in Cornell’s live solo band, the Soundgarden frontman and the Van Halen shredder had developed a friendship, which they one day hoped to channel in the studio.
As Thorn explains, a Cornell Van Halen collaboration became a possibility toward the late 2000s, when Thorn was putting together some alternate, stripped-down demos of songs off Cornell’s 2009, electronic and pop-driven solo album, Scream. Upon hearing Thorn’s recordings, Cornell suggested they ask Van Halen to play on them.
While Thorn was waiting for Cornell to reach out to Eddie, he happened upon a friend who built amps for Van Halen. Thorn shared Cornell’s idea with him, who then gave Thorn Van Halen’s number. A few days later, Van Halen called Thorn back and the two set up a recording session. While Van Halen did play on the recording, that’s as far as it got.
“I don’t wanna get anybody excited thinking that this ever got finished, because it didn’t,” Thorn says. “But, [Van Halen] did work on it.”
“It’s a long story, but it never got a vocal on it by Chris,” Thorn continues. “It just never ended up getting finished.”
Sadly, it will stay that way, as Cornell died in 2017, while Van Halen passed in 2020.
Charlie Puth has weighed in on fellow artist Greyson Chance‘s accusations that Ellen DeGeneres‘ music label, which they were both signed to, was an insufficient mentor. Charlie alleges that the label also ghosted him, but said he’s happy with how things turned out.
“We both have different experiences, me versus Greyson,” Charlie said of his time being signed to the now defunct music label. “I do agree with him that nobody was really present … certainly after the creation of my first demo EP. I didn’t really hear from anybody after that.”
Charlie continued, “Not putting any blame just on one person, but, like, from a collective, all the people that were in that room, they just [whooshing sound] disappeared.” The singer insisted he isn’t upset his EP has been permanently shelved. “I never heard those songs again, but I don’t know how good they are,” he said.
He’s also happy he had a backup plan, which was a scholarship to Berklee College of Music. Charlie noted, “I’m so fortunate and grateful that I got to fall back on school and continue my education.”
Greyson, who previously spoke with Rolling Stone, said he was “completely abandoned” by Ellen’s team when his career underperformed. He also called Ellen “manipulative” and “blatantly opportunistic.”
Charlie countered Greyson when it came to their personal experiences with Ellen. “People describe Ellen as rude. I’ve never experienced that,” he said. “Maybe she likes me.”
Ellen’s label shuttered in 2012, the same year Charlie left the label. Her team has yet to respond to Charlie’s comments.
One cannot accuse Aubrey Plaza of not going the distance for a role — even if it meant “weirding out” one of America’s greatest living actors.
Such was the case on the set of the 2016 gross-out comedy Dirty Grandpa, which saw the Emily the Criminal star lusting after the much, much older Oscar winner.
During a London Film Festival ScreenTalk session, Variety quoted Plaza as saying, “By the time he’d show up, I’m in character. My character had one goal: to have sex with him. I was acting totally insane as the character because we were about to shoot. I don’t think he understood that wasn’t me. You’d think he would because he’s an actor and an amazing one.”
Plaza even recalled getting a call from her agent, who warned her that De Niro’s reps said, “Bob’s a little freaked out.”
Aubrey came on so strong, apparently, that when De Niro threw a party for the cast, he didn’t recognize her out of character. “I showed up and he’s like, ‘Who are you, sweetheart?’ And after that he was normal.”
The Parks and Recreation vet mused, “At first I think I came on really strong. I did some questionable things I wouldn’t do anymore.”
Rex Orange County has reportedly been charged with sexual assault.
According to The Sun, the “10/10” artist, born Alexander James O’Connor, denied the allegations while appearing at England’s Southwark Crown Court on Monday. The charges include six counts of sexual assault. The assault allegedly occurred in June.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, a rep for O’Connor says, “Alex is shocked by the allegations, which he denies, and looks forward to clearing his name in court. He is unable to make any further comment because of the ongoing proceedings.”
The Sun reports that O’Connor was released on unconditional bail and has a provisional trial date set for January 2023.
If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively.
Amazon has posted to social media the first glimpses of two of the stars of the fourth season of the Emmy-nominated show The Boys, which is currently shooting in Vancouver.
Producers are remaining tight-lipped about the characters, which didn’t appear in Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson‘s graphic novel source material.
However, their social media debut came with some hints. “Meet Sage. She’s already a thousand steps ahead of you,” read one, hinting that she could be a speedster, what with Jessie T. Usher‘s A-Train being literally not up to speed himself.
On the latter character, her photo came with the caption, “Let’s just say this Firecracker has a short fuse.”
The show’s executive producer, Eric Kripke, hinted in August that the characters “are some of the best & craziest ever written for #TheBoys. You are going to love them. And by love, I mean be absolutely horrified & a tiny bit nauseous. WELCOME TO THE FAMILY YOU GUYS.”
On Monday, he replied to the new photos, “Wait till you see @susanheyward & @valoriecurry in action. Horrific & hilarious & very, very dangerous.”
Kelly Clarkson understands divorces aren’t easy, especially for young kids. Kelly’s parents divorced when she was young, and she’s using that experience to help coach her kids amid her divorce from ex Brandon Blackstock.
Kelly, who is the mom of eight-year-old River and six-year-old Remington, opened up about the advice she’s given her young kids onThe Kelly Clarkson Show.
“I tell my kids this all the time. You’re each other’s buddies,” Kelly revealed. “You’re, like, two years apart.” The singer continued, “Especially because we went through a divorce, right? So they go to their dad’s and mine. So it’s, like, anytime you travel, you’ve always got each other.”
“I always try and make them buddies when they fight,” she added, noting she’s been teaching her kids to view the other as their “wing man.”
Kelly’s guest, actress Mila Kunis, then joked about the advice her father gave her after she had kids of her own — which is that nothing will strengthen a bond between siblings than uniting them against a common enemy. Kunis seemingly meant she had to be her kids’ common enemy.
Kelly agreed with the tactic and joked she’s been trying to make her kids unite against her. “I’m like, ‘No, you’re supposed to stick [with] each other. Don’t tattle tell the time on me,'” Kelly asserted. “Unless it’s something super important.”
Kelly and Blackstock filed for divorce in 2020. They were married for seven years.
Foreigner has unveiled plans to return to Las Vegas in the spring of 2023 for a new residency at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort.
The eight-date engagement, dubbed “The Best of Foreigner 4 & More Live,” will take place on March 24, 25, 29 and 31 and April 1, 5, 7 and 8. The concerts will feature the band playing selections from its best-selling studio album, 1981’s 4, as well as many other classics from the group’s back catalog.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public this Friday, October 14 at 10 a.m. PT.
Foreigner fan club members will be able to buy pre-sale tickets starting Tuesday, October 11 at 10 a.m. PT, while Live Nation customers and members of The Venetian Resort’s Grazie loyalty program can purchase pre-sale tickets beginning Wednesday, October 12 at 10 a.m. PT.
You can buy tickets via Ticketmaster.com, VenetianLasVegas.com, the box offices at the resort and by calling 702-414-9000 or 866-641-7469.
Foreigner has played multiple residencies at The Venetian Theatre over the years, most recently in March and April of this year.
Meanwhile, their next scheduled concert takes place on Tuesday, October 11 in Cape Town, South Africa. The band has 10 other confirmed dates on its upcoming schedule, not including the Vegas performances. Visit ForeignerOnline.com for a full list of those shows.
The midterm elections are fast approaching, and many new voters will be heading to the polls on November 8 thanks to Harry Styles, Bonnie Raitt and the Dave Matthews Band.
The artists have partnered with HeadCount, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization working to register all eligible voters. Thanks to their efforts in raising awareness about the upcoming elections, HeadCount confirmed to ABC Audio that 150,000 new voters have registered so far this year.
In a previous statement, Tappan Vickery, HeadCount’s senior director of programming and strategy, explained why the organization’s partnered with such well-known celebrities. “Midterm elections do not receive the same attention as presidential cycles and often see fewer voters at the polls – especially young voters,” Vickery told ABC Audio. “Working with cultural leaders, like the incredible Harry Styles, is one of the most effective ways to increase awareness and participation in the 2022 midterm election.”
The organization teamed up with artists like Harry and Bonnie after the most recent census data showed nearly half of all individuals between 18 and 24 years old were not registered to vote. In addition, over 8 million 18- to 19-year-olds are now eligible to vote; HeadCount aims to reach them through its registration campaigns.
Other artists to have partnered with HeadCount include Beyoncé, Anderson .Paak, Ariana Grande, Panic! At The Disco and Billie Eilish.
