Katy Perry is attributing her success as an artist and footwear designer to the financial obstacles she faced growing up.
The “Roar” hitmaker’s shoe line, Katy Perry Collections, shared a video of the star serving as keynote speaker of the PROJECT show in Las Vegas, where she opened up about her childhood. “When I was 13, I was growing up with limited resources,” Katy began. “My family didn’t have a whole hell of a lot. Sometimes, we had food stamps.”
To help get by, Katy said her family depended on the offerings from her church. To further help her family, she would sing for donations. Katy also sang at the local farmers market to raise money, joking she’d earn “about $20 and two avocados.”
The American Idol judge reflected on how that impacted her creativity and sense of style. Katy said she would shop for clothes at second-hand stores “on a shoestring budget.”
“I would go thrifting all the time,” she explained, adding she “trained” her eye to locate stylish items that would suit her. But, because she was rifling through clothes from the ’40s to the ’60s, Katy remarked, “I started dressing like a pinup girl when I was 13, which was interesting.”
However, Katy said that’s what allowed her to cultivate her own style and “stand out in a unique way,” because she wasn’t wearing the latest trends like other girls her age.
Katy also reflected fondly on a pair of dalmatian-shaped flats she bought in a thrift store, which earned her compliments from strangers.
“That was such a big deal,” she said of the attention. “I would wear them everywhere!” Katy says those are the flats that “started my love for shoes”…and of course, the rest is history.
Alt-rock mainstays The Lemondheads have announced a U.S. tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of the band’s 1992 album, It’s a Shame About Ray.
The trek, during which Evan Dando and company will play It’s a Shame About Ray in its entirety each night, will launch November 17 in Lititz, Pennsylvania, and will wrap up December 17 in Boston.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, August 12. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit TheLemonheads.net.
It’s a Shame About Ray, the fifth Lemonheads album, spawned the band’s breakout single in the title track. A rereleased version of the record also included a hit cover of the Simon & Garfunkel classic “Mrs. Robinson.”
Denim & Rhinestones isn’t merely the title of Carrie Underwood‘s new album, it also captures the spirit of the music she channels into the visual element.
When naming the project, Carrie says she took every element into consideration and didn’t want to simply name it after a song out of convenience. Instead, she thought about the fun, light-hearted spirit of the album that also carries over into the glamorous aesthetic.
“When you think denim and rhinestones, you get a picture in your head of something, so that was part of it. It’s nice when you have a theme and you can live there,” she says. “For Cry Pretty, I felt like I was in pink a lot and there’s a lot of glitter and stuff like that. So I like how each album has its own look and feel and vibe and aesthetic.”
On the cover of the new project, Carrie dons a denim dress with a matching denim jacket and sparkling fringe. The singer notes she’s now seeing similar bedazzled looks everywhere, giving her more inspiration for her style as she prepares to go on tour.
“I feel like this a fun one. Right now, there’s denim and rhinestones everywhere, so I’d like to thank all the people in the fashion industry that totally made their clothes based off my album,” she jokes. “It helps me when there’s a wide selection of clothes to choose from.”
Carrie will hit the road on the Denim & Rhinestones Tour this fall, launching on October 15 in Greenville, South Carolina, and continuing through March 2023. Jimmie Allen joins her as the opening act.
OneRepublic‘s latest hit, “I Ain’t Worried,” is from the soundtrack of the record-breaking box office smash Top Gun: Maverick. Frontman Ryan Tedder jokes to ABC Audio that the movie is doing all the promotion for them.
“It was crazy watching [Maverick] for the first time, because, basically, it’s a $200 million music video for our song,” Ryan laughs. “So I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
But things did get better, thanks to the movie’s star, Tom Cruise.
“When we shot the video … we handed it to him, and he’s like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I’m going to re-edit your video,'” Ryan says of Cruise. “And he gives us, like, $70 million worth of content [for the clip].”
Ryan laughs, “So it’s the most expensive video in history, if you think about the actual production of what’s in the video. Y’know, F-15s flying all over the place and Tom Cruise … like, it’s crazy!”
And while OneRepublic has had many hits, and Ryan’s co-written a bunch more for other artists, he says he still can’t get over how well “I Ain’t Worried” is doing.
“I mean, the whole thing is still hilarious, in [the] best way. It’s just hilarious to me,” Ryan says. “It’s like, you put out music, you never know what’s really going to be a smash, especially in 2022. And I just kept telling myself, ‘If we just keep putting out great songs, one of ’em’s gonna go nuts.’ And it did!”
OneRepublic is currently out on their Never Ending Summer tour, which hits Denver, Colorado, Friday night.
Former Yes frontman Jon Anderson just finished a U.S. tour with the Paul Green Rock Academy celebrating the 50th anniversary of his old band’s classic album Close to the Edge. Now the 77-year-old singer has revealed he’s got potential plans for a new trek with a different group of musicians.
Anderson tells ABC Audio that he recently discovered a group called The Band Geeks that he says “do very, very good interpretation[s] of Yes music.” The group is led by Richie Castellano, who’s been Blue Öyster Cult‘s bassist since 2004.
“It kind of freaked me out how good they were,” Anderson notes. “So last November, I got in touch with the bass player, and I said, ‘Guys, would you be interested in going out and doing epics and classics?’ And they said, ‘Yes! We would!'”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer continues, “They actually sound just like Yes. It’s kind of wonderful and frightening at the same time. The bass player, perfect Chris Squire sound … [The] guitarist, perfect Steve Howe. And [the drummer sounds like] Alan White, Bill Bruford-y Alan White.”
Anderson says he’s hoping to put together a set that includes the epic “Close to the Edge,” as well as some lesser-known Yes songs, among them “The Ritual,” “The Gates of Delirium” and “Mind Drive.”
“These are really, to me, very special Yes pieces of music that got lost in the quagmire of life,” Anderson maintains. “And I think they’re brilliant.”
Anderson says he recently shot a video of him singing some Yes material with The Band Geeks that he’s planning to use “to promote the idea” of the tour. However, no official plans for the trek have been confirmed.
Mindy Kaling is paying no mind to speculation that her ex B.J. Novak is the father of her children.
“It doesn’t bother me,” the 43-year-old, who is mom to four-year-old Katherine and one-year-old Spencer, said of the rumors in an interview with Marie Claire published Tuesday.
“He’s the godparent to both my kids — and they have such a great relationship — and so far [the rumors haven’t] affected my happiness at all, it hasn’t affected my kids or BJ,” she continued. “If that’s what is going to be titillating to people, I’ll take it.”
Since welcoming her children, Kaling has remained tight-lipped about their conception and their father and there’s a reason for that.
“I want them to be old enough to talk to me about it and [tell me] how they want me to talk about it,” The Office alum explained. “I’m the only parent my kids have…I think I err on the side of super cautious so that there’s less things that they can potentially be mad at me about down the line.”
Kaling and Novak dated on and off from 2004 until 2007.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Milwaukee 5, Tampa Bay 3
Atlanta 9, Boston 7
LA Dodgers 10, Minnesota 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Kansas City 4, Chi White Sox 2
Cleveland 5, Detroit 2
Baltimore 6, Toronto 5
Chi White Sox 3, Kansas City 2
Houston 7, Texas 5
LA Angels 5, Oakland 1
Seattle 1, NY Yankees 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 4, Miami 1
NY Mets 6, Cincinnati 2
Washington 6, Chi Cubs 5
Colorado 16, St. Louis 5
Arizona 6, Pittsburgh 4
San Diego 7, San Francisco 4
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Seattle 111, Chicago 100
Las Vegas 97, Atlanta 90
Connecticut 97, Los Angeles 71
(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) — Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murders of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Investigators tracked down the Volkswagen sedan with tinted windows allegedly driven by the suspect in the most recent homicide, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina announced during a tweet Tuesday afternoon news conference.
The car was stopped by New Mexico State Police near Santa Rosa, New Mexico — about 115 miles east of Albuquerque — after a tip from a community member following the release of the description of the car, Albuquerque Deputy Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock told reporters at Tuesday’s news conference.
The driver of the car, identified as 51-year-old Muhammad Syed, was then detained at a traffic stop, Medina said.
The most recent murder occurred on Friday, when Naeem Hussain, a 25-year-old native of Pakistan, was found dead from a gunshot wound near Truman Street and Grand Avenue in Albuquerque’s Highland Business neighborhood, police said.
Syed has been charged with murder in the deaths of Naeem Hussain and Aftab Hussein, Medina said, adding that investigators are working with the district attorney’s office on potential charges for the murders of the other two men.
Investigators do not have any indications yet that the murders present a serial killer case or are the result of a hate crime, authorities said.
Syed moved to the U.S. from Afghanistan several years ago and has since been arrested multiple times for domestic violence, police said, adding that those charges were dismissed. His son was also questioned but was later released, police said.
The Albuquerque Police Department’s homicide unit began noticing similarities between the murders that occurred on Friday and July 26, such as related shell casings found at both scenes that were likely fired from the same gun, Hartsock said.
After Syed was arrested, police executed a search warrant at his home, where multiple firearms were recovered and are now being tested, Hartsock said, adding that one gun found inside the home and another found inside the car match two from the crime scenes and are the basis for the charges that have been brought so far.
Police are compiling more evidence to build a case with the prosecutor’s office for the murders of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain and Ahmadi, Hartsock said.
“We think there might be involvement in two other homicide cases,” he said. “Those are still considered open and active.”
The pattern matches the murder of Ahmadi in November, police said, adding that there is a possible personal connection between Ahmadi and Syed.
Investigators are also looking into whether there are other cases that could be similar, in order to identify whether there may be a “really active public threat” from someone targeting the community, Hartsock said.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has sent additional state police to provide support to the Albuquerque Police Department and FBI, she announced on Saturday.
The community has “never gone through anything like this before,” Ahmad Assed, president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, said during a press conference Saturday, Albuquerque ABC affiliate KOAT reported.
“This is really a surreal time for us. We’re in fear of the safety of our children, our families,” Assed said.
In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, commended the Albuquerque Police Department for apprehending the suspect.
“We welcome the arrest of a suspect in this horrific shooting spree and we commend law enforcement for their efforts at the local, state and federal levels,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said. “We hope the news that this violence has been brought to an end will provide the New Mexico Muslim community some sense of relief and security.”
CAIR had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the murders.
(NEW YORK) — One person is dead and “multiple” others are injured after a bus overturned on the New Jersey Turnpike Tuesday, according to state police.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — The White House credits the drop in gas prices to President Joe Biden’s million-barrels-a-day strategic oil reserve release and his engagement with oil companies.
They say this strategy helped bring gas prices down below $4 a gallon in many parts of the country.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recalled the near-dollar-a-gallon gas price jump this summer.
“This is the fastest decline in gas prices in over a decade,” she touted.
She also hopes this drop in gas prices will have an effect on tomorrow’s Consumer Price Index report. Last month’s report showed inflation at a 40-year high.
