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Beyoncé narrates Gatorade commercial celebrating Serena Williams’ historic career

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

As Serena Williams plays in what she says will be her final tournament this week, the US Open in New York City, her good friend Beyoncé is paying homage to the tennis star by narrating a Gatorade commercial in tribute to her historic career.

“When the world writes her down in history, we’ll begin where she started: at love,” Queen Bey says, opening the ad titled “Love Means Everything.”

“To feel like a queen unapologetically, with a crown indefinitely,” Beyoncé continues. “A movement to always love being a proud Black woman, a parent, a dreamer, a leader. To love being one of a kind.”

The Renaissance singer has known the 23-time Grand Slam tennis champion for many years. Serena appeared in Beyoncé’s 2016 “Sorry” video from the Lemonade film. Williams also joined the 28-time Grammy winner as she performed the song on the Formation Tour in October 2016 at Met-Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Last year, Beyoncé recorded the Oscar-nominated song “Be Alive” for King Richard, the film about how Serena’s father, Richard Williams, developed her and sister Venus into tennis superstars.

“So when we write her down in history, no matter who you are, no matter where you are, we’ll remember what she’s shown us,” Beyoncé concludes. “A movement to love you.”

Serena appears on the cover of this week’s TIME. The magazine writes, “The greatest female athlete of all-time—check that: perhaps the greatest athlete of all-time.”

Ed Sheeran’s song with Cradle of Filth is actually happening: “He’s done some of it”

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Ed Sheeran‘s collaboration with Cradle of Filth is actually, really happening.

The extreme metal outfit’s frontman, Dani Filth, has confirmed the news in an interview with Knotfest.com.

“He’s done some of it,” Filth says of the “Castle on the Hill” singer. “But then he had a baby, and then he got sidetracked with that and doing whatever Ed does, which is play massive shows around the globe.”

“[Sheeran] is going to finish it, he assures me,” Filth adds. “Actually, I spoke to him quite recently. Yeah, so that’s happening.”

As for how anyone would even think that Cradle of Filth recording with Ed Sheeran could occur, you may recall last year when the pop star was quoted as saying that he’s a big metal fan, and loved bands including Cradle of Filth and Slipknot growing up, adding that he “would not be opposed” to recording a metal album of his own.

After Filth responded with an Instagram post reading, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” he and Sheeran got in touch and started discussing a potential collaboration.

Now that Filth is, indeed, believing and seeing an Ed Sheeran metal song, he tells Knotfest.com what he likes about the idea of working with someone who plays such a different style of music.

“The clash of interests, the marriage of extremes, I think, that’s interesting in itself,” Filth says.

Sheeran previously dipped into the rock world earlier this year with a new version of his song “Bad Habits” featuring Bring Me the Horizon.

Eric Church describes his “love-hate relationship” with the term “outlaw” in first ‘They Called Us Outlaws’ trailer

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Upcoming docuseries They Called Us Outlaws previewed its first trailer this week, and it offers a glimpse into the impressive array of country star guests sharing their insights into the outlaw country movement.

Among those is Eric Church, who reflects on the term “outlaw country” in an interview in the trailer.

“I have a love-hate relationship with the term ‘outlaw,’” Eric explains. “The connotation of that is that you’re outside the law. And the real artists, the real songwriters, I don’t think they ever knew what the rules and laws were. They just did what they did.”

At the forefront of the outlaw movement were artists like Waylon Jennings, Billy Joe Shaver, Kris Kristofferson and many more. Some of the mainstays of the movement and their descendants appear in the docuseries, plus modern-day outlaw-leaning stars like Miranda Lambert, Tyler Childers and Margo Price.

No more Demi documentaries: “I’m sick of watching myself”

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

When Demi Lovato released their 2021 album Dancing with the Devil… The Art of Starting Over, they also released a four-part documentary, Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil. It was the third documentary in which the singer detailed their personal struggles, following 2017’s Simply Complicated and 2012’s Stay Strong. But now, Demi says, they’re done with docs.

Speaking to Alternative Press, Demi explains, “Honestly, I’m really sick of watching myself, and I think other people probably are, too. And if they aren’t, then they can watch my music videos.”

While Demi used those documentaries to discuss topics like their substance abuse, rehab, eating disorder, sexuality, sexual assault, mental health issues and more, they now regret putting them all out before their 30th birthday.

In particular, Demi says their feelings about drugs have changed: In Dancing with the Devil, they said their version of sobriety included smoking pot and drinking in moderation. That’s no longer the case.

“I wish I would have waited until I had my s**t figured out more because now it’s cemented,” Demi explains. “Sobriety is what works for me and nothing else.” The next time they want to tell all, they say, it’ll be in the form of a book or a sit-down interview.

“My story’s not done,” they explain, “So I want to be able to say by the time I’ve written a book, ‘OK, this is me grown up.’”

Another thing they won’t do anymore? Make pop music. Or, as Demi puts it to Alternative Press, “I think that my pop-R&B days are gonezo.”

Sly Stallone responds to estranged wife Jennifer Flavin’s divorce filing

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Sylvester Stallone is denying that he tried to dissipate his assets before his wife of 25 years, Jennifer Flavin Stallone, filed for divorce.

In court documents from Palm Beach County, Florida, obtained by People, the 76-year-old Rocky star’s attorneys denied her accusations he was doing that, insisting he “has not engaged” in “the intentional dissipation, depletion and/or waste of marital assets.”

Sly apparently had no issues with some of his 54-year-old estranged wife’s other requests, but reportedly did object to her request to have “exclusive” use of their Palm Beach home.

Stallone also agreed to the model and entrepreneur’s dropping of his surname from hers, calling their marriage “irretrievably broken.”

And evidently his new dog had nothing to do with it. TMZ asked Sly about the rumor that a rottweiler called Dwight led to the bust-up: While he agreed she wasn’t happy with him buying the dog, Stallone explained, “We did not end the relationship on such a trivial argument.”

Further, he told the gossip site, “We just went in different directions,” adding, “I have the highest respect for Jennifer. I will always love her. She’s an amazing woman. She’s the nicest human being I’ve ever met.”

Labor unions reach highest level of approval in US since 1965: Gallup

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Labor unions reached their highest level of approval in the U.S. since 1965, according to a new Gallup poll.

Seventy-one percent of poll respondents said they approve of such organizations, up from 68% last year. Prior to the pandemic, 64% of poll respondents said they approved of unions.

Support for unions peaked in the 1950s, when three in four Americans said they approved of unions, Gallup data showed.

The increase in support for labor unions arrives amid a surge of labor activity nationwide. Petitions for union elections increased 57% over the first six months of fiscal year 2022, which ended on March 31, compared with the same six-month period a year prior, the National Labor Relations Board said in April.

Union victories at high-profile companies like Starbucks and Amazon in recent months have drawn heightened public attention to labor campaigns.

Since an initial union drive at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York, in December, 232 additional company locations have voted to unionize, the NLRB said on Monday. Over that period, 47 stores have voted against a union, the agency said.

Meanwhile, in April, a worker-led labor organization won the first-ever U.S. union at a 6,000-employee Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, New York.

Even as approval for unions has increased in recent years, the union membership rate has dropped to a historic low.

Last year, the union membership rate fell to 10.3%, which amounted to 14 million members, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rate had dropped from 10.8% in 2020, the BLS found.

By comparison, the union membership rate stood at 20.1% in 1983, the first year for which comparable data was collected, the BLS said. That membership rate amounted to 17.7 million workers who belonged to a union.

The Gallup poll released on Tuesday reinforced the finding that the vast majority of Americans have foregone union membership. Eighty-four percent of respondents said they do not belong to unions, the poll showed.

There appears to be an opportunity for union growth, however. Roughly one in 10 nonunion workers said they’re “extremely interested” in joining a union, according to a separate Gallup poll conducted in June.

Fifty-eight percent of respondents, however, said they’re not interested at all in joining a union.

Some economists have attributed a surge in union activity in recent months to a tight labor market in which employers are eager to hire, thereby affording leverage to workers.

The U.S. economy added a robust 528,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, matching its lowest level in 50 years.

Nita Strauss premieres new solo song, “Summer Storm”

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Nita Strauss has premiered a new solo song called “Summer Storm.”

The track finds the guitarist returning to her instrumental roots following her 2021 single “Dead Inside,” which features guest vocals by Disturbed‘s David Draiman. Strauss’ debut solo album, 2018’s Controlled Chaos, is all instrumental.

You can listen to “Summer Storm” now via digital outlets. Its accompanying video, which features live footage from Strauss’ recent solo tour, is streaming now on YouTube.

Strauss is currently playing guitar in Demi Lovato‘s live band in support of the pop star’s new, rock-driven album, Holy F***. News of Strauss’ collaboration with Lovato came after she’d announced she wouldn’t be joining Alice Cooper on his fall tour after eight years playing in the shock-rocker’s band.

The Who adds two concerts to upcoming North American tour leg

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

With The Who gearing up to launch the second North American leg of their 2022 The Who Hits Back! tour in the fall, the band has just added two more shows to the trek.

The new dates are scheduled for October 24 at the SAP Center, San Jose, California, and October 30 at Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix, Arizona. Founding Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and his current band, The Dirty Knobs, will open for The Who at both concerts. Campbell and The Dirty Knobs had previously been announced as The Who’s support act for the British rock legends’ upcoming shows from October 14 through November 1.

Tickets for the San Jose and Phoenix concerts will go on sale to the general public this Thursday, September 1, at 10 a.m. local time, while presale tickets are available now. Visit TheWho.com for more information.

The upcoming leg of The Who Hits Back! tour, which now features a total of 16 concerts, kicks off on October 2 in Toronto and is plotted out through a November 4-5 engagement in Las Vegas.

Ex-Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page will open for The Who from October 2 through October 12, while contemporary British rock band The Wild Things will be the support act at the tour’s two-show finale in Las Vegas.

Deadly storms strike Midwest, rough weather now takes aim on East Coast

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — At least two people have died amid severe storms in the Midwest.

In Michigan, a 14-year-old girl was electrocuted and killed on Monday when an electrical line fell during a thunderstorm, according to the Monroe Public Safety Department. She was walking with a friend in her backyard and reached for what she thought was a stick, but it was the charged electrical line, authorities said.

And in Toledo, Ohio, a woman was killed when a tree fell on her, fire officials said, according to ABC affiliate WTVG-TV.

More than 250,000 customers were without power across Michigan, Illinois and Indiana as the storms rolled through Monday.

That cold front is now moving to the East Coast on Tuesday, bringing strong storms from Virginia to Maine. Damaging winds will be the biggest threat.

Arctic Monkeys preview ‘The Car’ album with new song, “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball”

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Arctic Monkeys have premiered a new song called “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball,” the first preview of the band’s much-anticipated upcoming album, The Car.

Sonically, the track follows in the lounge-y direction of 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, though is lyrically more grounded than its science fiction-themed predecessor. “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” also gives The Car its title with the lyric, “If you wanna walk me to the car.”

You can listen to “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

The Car, the seventh Arctic Monkeys album, is due out October 21.

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