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Kate Bush, Harry Styles hits are Spotify’s Top Songs of Summer 2022

August 31, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The numbers have been crunched and the Songs of Summer 2022 have been revealed — at least on Spotify. The digital music platform unveiled its annual lists of the most-streamed songs in the U.S. and globally this summer.

The most-streamed song of Summer 2022 in the U.S. was a 37-year-old track by a 64-year-old British singer: Kate Bush‘s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” absolutely ruled Spotify.

Thanks to its inclusion in the latest season of Stranger Things, people couldn’t get enough of the song, which originally appeared on Bush’s 1985 album Hounds of Love. In fact, first-time streams from listeners aged 24 and under increased more than 7800% this summer, Spotify says.

The second-most streamed song of Summer 2022 was, unsurprisingly, “As It Was” by Harry Styles — after all, it’s also spent 11 non-consecutive weeks at number one on Billboard over the past few months. Harry also had the ninth most-streamed song: “Late Night Talking.”

The rest of the top 10 includes two Bad Bunny tracks — “Me Porto Bonito” and “Tití Me Preguntó” — as well as Joji‘s “Glimpse of Us,” Steve Lacy‘s “Bad Habit,” Drake’s “Jimmy Cooks,” Post Malone and Doja Cat‘s “I Like You (A Happier Song)” and Lizzo’s “About Damn Time.”

Globally, Harry and Kate flipped positions, with “As It Was” topping the Song of Summer 2022 chart and “Running Up that Hill” taking the number two spot. The rest of the Global top 10 includes five songs by Bad Bunny plus Glass Animals‘ deathless track “Heat Waves,” “Glimpse of Us” and “Quevedo: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52” by Bizarrap and Quevedo.

Rush’s Alex Lifeson to be presented with special award at charity golf event

August 31, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson will receive a special honor at the 24th Annual Ann Liguori Foundation Charity Golf Classic event, which will take place September 22 at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton, New York.

The annual fundraiser, organized by veteran sports broadcaster and talk-show host Ann Liguori, benefits various cancer-related charities, including the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and East End Hospice.

Lifeson, who in addition to his well-known career as a rock musician is an avid golfer, will be presented with the 2022 ALF Music Honoree Award at the charity event’s Award’s Dinner following the golf tournament. The benefit will also feature a silent auction.

“[Cancer] is a disease we are all too familiar with,” says Liguori in a statement. “We are all directly or indirectly affected by this dreadful disease and anything we can do to fight cancer has been a mission of mine for decades since our family lost my Dad to cancer in 1981. We also lost my brother to leukemia when he was 22. My sister Jean, brother Dan and I, are committed to this cause forever.”

Lifeson, along with his Rush bandmate Geddy Lee, is also scheduled to take part in the two star-studded tribute concerts the Foo Fighters have organized in honor of their late drummer Taylor Hawkins. The shows will take place on September 3 at Wembley Stadium in London and on September 27 at the Kia Forum near Los Angeles.

Ana de Armas “didn’t understand” Netflix’s NC-17 rating for Marilyn Monroe movie ‘Blonde’

August 31, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Netflix raised eyebrows when it announced its upcoming Marilyn Monroe film Blonde would be branded with a rare NC-17 rating, and apparently, a pair of them belonged to its star Ana de Armas.

Gracing the cover of the French magazine L’Officiel, de Armas noted, “I didn’t understand why that happened.”

She explained further, “I can tell you a number of shows or movies that are way more explicit with a lot more sexual content than Blonde. But to tell this story, it is important to show all these moments in Marilyn’s life that made her end up the way that she did. It needed to be explained.”

She added, “Everyone knew we had to go to uncomfortable places. I wasn’t the only one.”

The film was based on Joyce Carol Oates’ bestselling novel of the same name, which detailed the sexual abuse and mental illness Monroe suffered.

de Armas admired the blonde bombshell, noting, “She wanted to have control of the material she was going to work on. No one was thinking like that [back then].”

Ana also expressed she related to Marilyn in another way, when her former relationship with Ben Affleck made her a tabloid fixture: “Something from this interview is going to be taken [out of context] and become something else,” the actress lamented.

“It’s terrifying because there is nothing you can really do,” she continued. “That’s why having family and people who love you is so important. And [Marilyn] didn’t have that. When you think about that, it’s easy to understand how you can break.”

Ana added, “People can be so cavalier about commenting on someone’s life or body or sexuality or relationships. It can really do damage.”

Blonde debuts September 8 on Netflix.

Swae Lee and girlfriend Victoria Kristine are expecting their first baby

August 31, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Congratulations to Swae Lee of Rae Sremmurd and his girlfriend, Victoria Kristine, who announced they are expecting their first child together.

Swae hosted an outdoor, jungle safari-themed baby shower for Victoria over the weekend, and she posted a series of Instagram photos on Tuesday.

She wrote, “Our little wild one is on the way.” Kristine also posted shots from a maternity photo shoot in which she’s covered in pearls. “Kill ‘‘em with elegance and grace,” she penned in the caption.

At the event, Lee surprised his lady with a brand new Land Rover. “Thank you baby daddy,” Victoria captioned a video on her IG Stories displaying her present.

Pooh and Piglet go on a rampage in the trailer to the horror movie ‘Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey’

August 31, 2022 by WDNY Radio

When many of the copyrights surrounding A.A. Milne‘s Winnie The Pooh characters expired on January 1 of this year, some might not have envisioned this: A horror movie called Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey.

The haunting trailer for the movie just dropped, showing that Pooh and Piglet didn’t take too well to Christopher Robin leaving them behind for college.

The beloved childhood characters have been abandoned by Christopher Robin and have turned wild,” title cards read, as Robin makes an ill-fated return to the Hundred Acre Woods to reunite with his one-time pals.

“You know you’re the first person I’ve ever shared this place with,” Robin tells an apparent girlfriend. But their trip through the woods takes a dark turn when they find a wood sign scrawled with “RIP Eeyore,” the name of the books’ mopey donkey.

Director Rhys Waterfield tells Variety he shot the slasher flick in England’s Ashdown Forest, Milne’s inspiration for the honey gobbler’s home, the Hundred Acre Woods. In his retelling, Robin returns to find his cuddly friends have changed.

“Christopher, we have to leave!” his companion warns desperately. However, a man-sized Pooh materializes from the shadows and breaks her neck.

Oh, bother.

Later, both Pooh and Piglet are seen stalking a group of young women, Michael Myers style, after the young women decided to stay in a quaint cabin in the woods.

ABC News’ parent company Disney owns the copyright to Pooh and pals’ traditional appearances, so here the bear is wearing a red plaid hunting jacket instead of his traditional shirt and no pants ensemble.

Safe to say, it’s not safe for kids. The movie debuts later this year.

Black Veil Brides announce free Denver show after Red Rocks set canceled due to “technical issues”

August 31, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Black Veil Brides are making the best of an unfortunate situation after their scheduled performance at Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre Tuesday was unexpectedly canceled.

As the “Scarlet Cross” rockers explained to the crowd, the cancellation was due to “technical issues.”

“Our gear did not arrive, we have nothing to play with,” frontman Andy Biersack shared. “We are extremely sorry, we cannot play tonight.”

To make it up to the Colorado BVB faithful, the band announced that they’d be playing a free show at Denver’s Oriental Theater on Thursday, September 1.

After Biersack tweeted a video of him sharing the news, Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider retweeted the clip alongside the caption, “Did somebody say…classy? I did. Well done gents, well done.”

“Thanks so much Dee. That means a lot man,” Biersack replied. “We are so bummed that this happened…and want to do whatever we can to make it up to the people who bought tickets and traveled and had hoped to see us play. I appreciate you sharing it.”

In other BVB news, Biersack and company are planning to release a new song called “Saviour II” on September 6. The track follows Black Veil’s 2021 album, The Phantom Tomorrow.

BVB previously released a song called “Saviour” on their 2011 album, Set the World on Fire.

Kelsea Ballerini + more lead the first round of ‘New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash’ performers

August 31, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Kelsea Ballerini, Zac Brown Band, Brooks & Dunn and Little Big Town have been announced as the first round of performers scheduled to take the stage during Nashville’s big New Year’s Eve concert this year, according to Billboard.

The event, called New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, will take place at various locations across downtown Music City. The event promises a five-hour set of 50+ performances on a variety of stages, including the main stage in the city’s Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park.

The Big Bash has been a Nashville tradition for many years, but last year was the first time it was televised. In 2022, the event will air live for the second time at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Additional performers will be announced at a later date. Last year, acts like Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley rocked the stage as Nashville counted down to the new year.

Cher responds to a fan saying Dua Lipa is the “Cher of our generation”

August 31, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Cher has been an icon since the 1960s, so it’s no wonder she doesn’t think she’s easily replaced.

In a now-deleted tweet, a fan on Twitter posted side-by-side pictures of Cher and Dua Lipa, both sporting long, sleek hair, blue eye shadow and skimpy, glittery gowns. The fan captioned the pic, “Dua Lipa, the Cher of our generation.” Another fan retweeted it, tagged Cher and Dua and added, “So much truth in one tweet.”

Replying to both, Cher wrote, “How many yrs are in a generation,” followed by the “thinking” emoji.

Fans quickly began arguing over the relative merits of Cher versus Dua, with many defending Cher as still being “the Cher of our generation,” pointing to her legendary status, worldwide album sales of 100 million-plus and cultural influence. Others defended Dua, pointing out that the statement is correct for Gen Z’ers.

One fan tried to see both sides, noting, “Dua is the Dua Lipa of our generation. Cher is Cher. No need to compare two completely different individuals in talent just because one dress[es] like the other.”

Finally, the fan who posted the original tweet with the side-by-side photo clarified the intention behind the comment. They responded to Cher, “don’t look at the quotes…I was praising u and dua[‘s] style but some people didn’t get the message.”

Tate McRae praises Shawn Mendes for being open about his mental health

August 31, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Tate McRae has long admired Shawn Mendes and is proud of the “Stitches” singer for prioritizing his mental health.

In July, Shawn canceled his Wonder Tour for mental health reasons. He explained to fans, “I have to put my health as my first priority” and also promised, “I will be back as soon as I’ve taken the right time to heal.”

Tate, a fellow Canadian, sat down with ET Canada to share her thoughts on Shawn’s revelation. “Anyone can make up any excuse about canceling a tour,” she began. “I feel like he’s just being straight up about it.”

The “she’s all i wanna be” singer said Shawn is setting a positive example to everyone in the music industry. “I think that more artists need to be open about their mental health to make sure that they’re doing okay as a person, too,” she offered.

Tate added Shawn has “been my idol for forever” and she “really, really respect[s]” what he’s done.

The singer knows what it’s like to feel the pressure of touring, noting she’s recently toured the U.S. and sold out the U.K., Europe and Australia.

Noting tickets to her Australia gig “sold out in 4 minutes,” she remarked, “It’s just bizarre because you don’t ever think that people that far away would actually hear you or know who you are.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Tate teased a possible collaboration with friend Olivia Rodrigo. “We’ve talked about writing a song together for so long. Honestly, the problem is when you get in the studio with your friends, you get nothing done,” she laughed.

Tate also hopes to collaborate with fellow Canadian The Weeknd or Post Malone one day.

Björk announces ‘Fossora’ album release date

August 31, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Björk‘s new album has a release date.

The milestone 10th studio effort from the Icelandic artist, titled Fossora, will arrive September 30.

“Each album always starts with a feeling that I try to shape into sound,” Björk shares. “This time around
the feeling was landing on the earth and digging my feet into the ground.”

Fossora will be Björk’s first new record since 2017’s Utopia.

Along with Fossora, Björk is launching a retrospective podcast going through each of her previous nine albums. The first three episodes, which will cover 1993’s Debut, 1995’s Post and 1997’s Homogenic, premiere this Thursday, September 1.

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