Primary election updates: Stacey Abrams projected to win Dem gubernatorial primary in Georgia

Primary election updates: Stacey Abrams projected to win Dem gubernatorial primary in Georgia
Primary election updates: Stacey Abrams projected to win Dem gubernatorial primary in Georgia
Andi Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — May ends with another round of notable primary elections on Tuesday, this time in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Texas.

The most-watched races will be in Georgia, with primaries for governor and the Senate.

The results should give more insight into the strength of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement as well as the conservative appetite for the “big lie.”

Latest headlines:

  • Texas candidates respond to elementary school mass shooting
  • Here’s what time polls close in each state
  • Stacey Abrams speaks after David Perdue’s ‘go back’ attack
  • What races Republicans, Democrats will be watching closely in Tuesday’s primaries

Here is how the news is developing. All times Eastern. Check back for updates.

May 24, 7:19 pm
Stacey Abrams projected to win Democratic gubernatorial primary in Georgia

In the Georgia gubernatorial Democratic primary, ABC News projects Stacey Abrams will win.

Abrams’s victory in the primary means November’s general election could be a rematch between her and Gov. Brian Kemp. Kemp defeated Abrams in 2018 by a very narrow margin that she claimed was influenced by tactics that suppressed the vote.

Following her election loss, Abrams turned to advocacy and founded a voting rights group in Georgia. She’s credited as a main figure in helping Democrats flip the state from blue to red in the 2020 election cycle.

May 24, 7:07 pm
Polls close in Georgia

Polls have closed in Georgia, where voters are picking their party’s nominees in several highly-watched Senate, House and gubernatorial primary elections. Anyone already in line as of the 7 p.m. close will still be able to cast a ballot.

The Peach State has a fraught history of long lines and voting issues on Election Day, but Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told reporters Tuesday afternoon that “everything so far has been smooth sailing.”

Candidates must receive more than 50% of the vote to win the nomination, or they will face a runoff race on June 21.

May 24, 6:54 pm
Georgia elections are biggest test yet for Trump’s “big lie”

Former President Donald Trump has gone all-in on Georgia, where he’s desperately trying to oust sitting Republican officials who pushed back on his baseless claims about the 2020 presidential election.

His picks include fellow election deniers David Perdue, a former senator running against Gov. Brian Kemp; Rep. Jody Hice, who is challenging Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger; celebrity football star Herschel Walker, who’s seeking a Senate seat; and John Gordon, a businessman trying to unseat Attorney General Chris Carr.

May 24, 6:05 pm
Texas candidates respond to elementary school mass shooting

Democrats Jessica Cisneros and Henry Cuellar, who are competing in a runoff election for a South Texas congressional seat, issued statements after 14 students and one teacher were [killed in a shooting] () at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

“This is a devastating tragedy,” Cisneros wrote on Twitter. “How many more mass shootings do children have to experience before we say enough? Sending my condolences to the children and families in Uvalde who are experiencing this unthinkable tragedy.”

Cuellar said he was “heartbroken” and urged the public to come together to support the community.

May 24, 5:05 pm
Stacey Abrams speaks after David Perdue’s ‘go back’ attack

Stacey Abrams, a Black Democrat running for Georgia governor, declined on Tuesday to directly comment on Republican David Perdue saying she should “go back to where she came from.”

“No, not at all,” Abrams, said at a news conference in Atlanta, when asked by ABC News whether she wanted to respond to what was widely labeled as racist remarks from Perdue on Monday night while giving a campaign speech in which he also charged she was “demeaning her own race.”

“I will say this,” Abrams told ABC News at Tuesday’s press conference. “I have listened to Republicans for the last six months attack me. But they’ve done nothing to attack the challenges facing Georgia. They’ve done nothing to articulate their plans for the future of Georgia. Their response to a comment on their record is to deflect and to pretend that they’ve done good for the people of Georgia.”

Perdue, running to get the GOP nomination for Georgia governor, seized on Abram’s comments last week that Georgia was “worst state in the country to live,” citing residents’ disparities in mental health and maternal mortality, among other issues.

“She ain’t from here. Let her go back to where she came from,” Perdue, a former senator challenging Gov. Brian Kemp for their party’s nomination, said at a campaign event in the Atlanta suburbs on Monday night. “She doesn’t like it here.”

May 24, 5:03 pm
Early voting surges in Georgia as state navigates new election rules

A historic number of people have voted early in Georgia’s primary elections. According to the secretary of state’s office, approximately 857,401 people voted in-person or through an absentee ballot as of Friday — roughly three times as many as at the same point in the 2018 midterm election cycle.

Republicans are touting increased voter turnout as proof a controversial election law signed last year wasn’t as restrictive as its opponents described, while Democrats say the numbers are indicative of public pushback to the legislation.

“I think it tells us that Georgia voters got the message and the message was, ‘We gotta go vote, and we’ve got to go vote early, and we’ve got to go vote in person,’” Bee Nguyen, the leading Democratic candidate for secretary of state, told ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks.

May 24, 4:25 pm
Here’s what time polls close in each state

Here’s what time polls close in each state on Tuesday. All times Eastern.

  • Georgia: 7 p.m.
  • Alabama: 8 p.m.
  • Texas: 8 p.m. in most of the state, 9 p.m. in the western tip
  • Arkansas: 8:30 p.m.
  • Minnesota: 9 p.m

May 24, 5:07 pm
What races Republicans, Democrats will be watching closely in Tuesday’s primaries

Tuesday’s primary elections, stretching across four Southern states, will continue to test Republican voters’ appetite for former President Donald Trump and his push of the “big lie.”

Nowhere is that more apparent than in Georgia as Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — two Republicans who balked at Trump’s requests to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential race — face challenges from enthusiastic proponents of Trump’s baseless election claims. Kemp is hoping to fight off former Sen. David Perdue, while Raffensperger is looking to rebuff Rep. Jody Hice.

Another high-profile contest in the Peach State will be the Senate primary, where football star Herschel Walker is running for the Republican nomination to likely challenge Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock. Trump-endorsed Walker has been leading the pack despite several controversies, including prior accusations of domestic violence. (Walker has denied some of the allegations and said he doesn’t remember others.)

For Democrats, the most-watched race of the night will be a runoff in Texas’ 28th Congressional District as 29-year-old immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros tries for a third time to unseat nine-term incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar. The heated primary is the first clear test of how abortion rights may motivate voters this election cycle, given Cuellar’s position as the sole anti-abortion Democrat in the House.

And in Georgia, two Democratic incumbents — Rep. Lucy McBath and Rep. Carolyn Bordeaux — are running against each other because of redistricting.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Kellyanne Conway says she ‘never’ lied to Trump about outcome of 2020 election

Kellyanne Conway says she ‘never’ lied to Trump about outcome of 2020 election
Kellyanne Conway says she ‘never’ lied to Trump about outcome of 2020 election
Lou Rocco/ABC via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Kellyanne Conway, former campaign manager to Donald Trump, sat down with “The View” co-hosts on Tuesday to discuss her new memoir, her husband’s attacks on then-President Trump and a moment with the former president that she says left her heartbroken.

When Trump won the 2016 presidential election, Conway, who served as Trump’s campaign manager and would become one of his longest-serving aides, became the first woman to successfully run a presidential campaign in America.

While she helped lead Trump to victory in 2016, Conway didn’t take on his 2020 campaign. She left her White House role in August 2020 to spend more time with her family, she announced at the time.

When Trump lost the presidential election in November 2020, he began offering his theory, the so-called “big lie,” of a stolen presidential election. It is a theory Conway does not subscribe to.

Conway, in her new memoir “Here’s the Deal,” writes that losing the presidential election in 2020 was more shocking to Trump than winning it in 2016. When asked if she agrees that Trump lost both the popular vote, the electoral vote and had a free and fair election with President Biden, Conway said, “It’s pretty obvious that Joe Biden is the president. I can’t believe we’re still talking about this, respectfully.”

Conway told “The View” that she “never” lied to former President Trump about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. “I’m the closest person to Donald Trump to tell him the earliest that he came up short. It broke my heart, I wanted him to get reelected,” she said.

“I only wish that the people who were in charge of his 2020 campaign, with the $1.4 billion that they wasted, had won outright and overwhelmingly,” she continued. “He should have won huge, he had all these accomplishments.”

On “The View,” Conway said that “President Trump was told again and again by people in his campaign, ‘You’re going to win in a landslide.'”

With rumors swirling that Trump is looking to run for president again, Conway told “The View” that Trump “would like to run in 2024” because he believes he has “unfinished business” and sees that “Biden is not doing a great job.”

Alyssa Farah Griffin, who was the White House director of strategic communications and assistant to the president in the Trump administration in 2020, was a guest co-host on “The View” Tuesday. She resigned from her position on Dec. 4, 2020, and spoke out after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

The two former Trump staffers exchanged strong words at “The View” table.

Griffin asked, “How do you still defend [Trump]? Do you still think he could be a good president after he tried to overturn our democracy?”

“I left three months before you did for my children, I have four of them. And I said, ‘Less drama more mama,’ and that’s exactly what I did,” Conway responded. “I think you stayed a whole month after the election that you were having a problem with.”

Griffin quickly retorted, “I wanted to help my junior staff get jobs. I stayed for three weeks after.”

“I think people should know that,” Conway said. “Because I haven’t seen you since you’ve changed.”

“Just to be clear, I didn’t change,” Griffin said.

“Alyssa, I don’t want to argue,” Conway said. “You get to talk here every day, I’m here as a guest.”

Alyssa told Conway and the audience, “I swore an oath to the Constitution, not to Donald Trump.”

During Conway’s time as a counselor to Trump, her husband, George Conway, who supported her taking the job, was an outspoken critic of the president on Twitter. In her tell-all memoir, Kellyanne Conway wrote about her husband of nearly 25 years, “My husband abandoned me for Twitter.”

“Night after night, I would come home from a busy day at work,” she wrote in her memoir. “While I was minding dishes, dogs, laundry, managing adolescent dramas and traumas, George would be just steps away from me, tucked away in his home office, plotting against my boss and me.”

In the afterword of her memoir, Conway wrote, “Democracy will survive. America will survive. George and I might not survive.”

On “The View,” Conway made it clear that “George does not owe fealty or loyalty to Donald Trump or any political ideology. The vows were to me to love, honor and cherish. And I would not have been able to be Donald Trump’s campaign manager to the level I was had George not said, ‘You are taking your shot and I will help more with the kids and around the house … This guy can actually win with you. Go take your shot.’”

Co-host Joy Behar noted that Conway’s husband “turned” on her. Conway said that “the public nature” of her husband’s anti-Trump position was “so jarring” because of the values about George she appreciates, but he “became publicly bombastic.”

“I felt I couldn’t compete with the tweet, and why would I? Why would I compete with Twitter?” She’s not even hot, she doesn’t even have a personality,” Conway said of her husband’s many tweets bashing Trump. “I felt like there was another woman in our life.”

“George turned on Trump, which would be OK, except it took on this whole folk hero syndrome with the mainstream media,” she added.

George wasn’t the only Conway who took to social media to criticize Trump. Conway’s daughter Claudia, who had also become a critic of Trump, shared frequent posts about her mother and father on social media. Her mother spoke out about how her daughter was treated following her posts.

“Claudia was doing what a lot of teenagers do: pushing back on authority, mom and dad, posting TikToks and getting on Twitter,” Conway said of her daughter. “What I don’t appreciate and will never forgive or forget are a bunch of adults direct messaging my 15-year-old daughter without even trying to reach easy-to-reach parents.”

“It is outrageous. You can’t have a 15-year-old in your audience without a parent. She can’t get her ears pierced, go to an R-rated movie, drive, vote,” she continued.

“People just contacting my daughter. I would never contact your children. By the way, are we supposed to feel better if it were a 35-year-old man contacting Claudia at 1:00 a.m. and promising her fame, fortune, attention? But I’m so proud of her and her three siblings. They are resilient, they are hardy, they have more class, dignity, discretion and judgment in their pinkies than a lot of these adults.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Death Cab for Cutie teases “Roman Candles” video

Death Cab for Cutie teases “Roman Candles” video
Death Cab for Cutie teases “Roman Candles” video
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

Death Cab for Cutie is teasing the video for the band’s latest single, “Roman Candles.”

The clip is set to premiere this Wednesday, May 25, at 10 a.m. ET. It was directed by Lance Bangs, who’s previously worked with artists including Nirvana, R.E.M. and Green Day. Bangs is also known for his work on the camera crew for the Jackass movies.

Judging by a preview of the video, it’ll certainly reflect the song’s fireworks-inspired title.

“Roman Candles” the song, which premiered earlier this month, is the lead single off the upcoming Death Cab album Asphalt Meadows. The follow-up to 2018’s Thank You for Today is due out September 16.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Art created from sound waves of The Band’s “The Weight,” signed by Robbie Robertson, being sold for charity

Art created from sound waves of The Band’s “The Weight,” signed by Robbie Robertson, being sold for charity
Art created from sound waves of The Band’s “The Weight,” signed by Robbie Robertson, being sold for charity
Matt Winkelmeyer/amfAR/Getty Images for amfAR

Original paintings created from the sound waves of The Band‘s classic 1968 song “The Weight,” along with prints of the art pieces, are being sold now to raise money for the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

Founding Band guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson has signed 30 of the prints and a few of the original pieces, which are available now, respectively, for $500 and $3000 at SoundwavesArtFoundation.com.

Robertson signed the art and prints this month at his home in Los Angeles.

Unsigned prints also are available, priced at $75.

In a post on his Twitter feed, Robbie writes, “Sweet Relief Musicians Fund is an amazing non-profit supporting music industry workers unable to pay medical and everyday bills. 100% of profits [from sales of the Soundwaves pieces] will be donated.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

14 students, 1 teacher dead after shooting at Texas elementary school: Gov. Abbott

14 students, 1 teacher dead after shooting at Texas elementary school: Gov. Abbott
14 students, 1 teacher dead after shooting at Texas elementary school: Gov. Abbott
mbbirdy/Getty Images

(UVALDE, Texas) — Fourteen students and a teacher are dead after a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, according to Gov. Greg Abbott.

The 18-year-old suspect, a student at Uvalde High School, is also dead, he said.

“He shot and killed horrifically and incomprehensibly 14 students and killed a teacher,” Abbott said during an unrelated press briefing.

The suspect also allegedly shot and killed his grandmother before entering the school and again opening fire.

Abbott said the shooter — identified by law enforcement sources and the governor as Salvador Ramos — had a handgun and also possibly a rifle.

“When parents drop their kids off at school, they have every expectation to know that they’re going to be able to pick their child up when that school day ends. And there are families who are in mourning right now,” Abbott said. “The state of Texas is in mourning with them for the reality that these parents are not going to be able to pick up their children.”

Two responding police officers were among those injured, Abbott said. They are expected to survive, he said.

Uvalde Memorial Hospital had said 15 students were being treated in the hospital’s emergency department in the wake of the incident. Two patients were transferred to San Antonio for treatment, while a third was pending transfer, the hospital said. A 45-year-old was also hospitalized after getting grazed by a bullet, the hospital said.

University Health in San Antonio said it had two patients from the shooting incident — a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl — both in critical condition.

Two adult victims of the shooting, both in critical condition, are also being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, according to an Army official.

A number of the shooting victims are children of Customs and Border Patrol agents, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin did not confirm casualties, but told ABC News in a text message that “this is a very bad situation.” He said the office is trying to contact parents before releasing any information.

Earlier, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District had said a shooter was located at Robb Elementary School and asked people to stay away from the area.

“There is an active shooter at Robb Elementary,” the school district said on Twitter. “Law enforcement is on site. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as more information is gathered it will be shared.”

A school official initially told ABC News that the shooting took place off campus, and that Robb Elementary School was under lockdown.

The shooting occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m. local time, police said.

The school, which has students in the second, third and fourth grades, informed parents shortly after 2 p.m. that students had been transported to the Sgt. Willie Deleon Civic Center, the reunification site, and could be picked up.

Parent Ryan Ramirez told San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT he had gone to the civic center and the elementary school trying to find his fourth grade daughter in the wake of the shooting.

“[I’m] just confused and worried. I’m trying to find out where my baby’s at,” he told the station.

Uvalde, Texas, is located about 90 minutes west of San Antonio.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and San Antonio Police Department are sending aid, and the FBI is responding.

The Houston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said it is assisting in the investigation.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has been briefed on the situation and the agency “is actively coordinating with federal, state, and local partners,” a spokesperson said. Customs and Border Protection officials in the area also responded to the scene.

The National Counterterrorism Operations Center believes there is “no known terrorism nexus” at this time, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News.

ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky, Nicholas Kerr and Mireya Villarreal contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Primary election updates: Big night in Georgia and beyond

Primary election updates: Stacey Abrams projected to win Dem gubernatorial primary in Georgia
Primary election updates: Stacey Abrams projected to win Dem gubernatorial primary in Georgia
Andi Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — May ends with another round of notable primary elections on Tuesday, this time in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Texas.

The most-watched races will be in Georgia, with primaries for governor and the Senate.

The results should give more insight into the strength of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement as well as the conservative appetite for the “big lie.”

Latest headlines:

  • Texas candidates respond to elementary school mass shooting
  • Here’s what time polls close in each state
  • Stacey Abrams speaks after David Perdue’s ‘go back’ attack
  • What races Republicans, Democrats will be watching closely in Tuesday’s primaries

Here is how the news is developing. All times Eastern. Check back for updates.

May 24, 6:05 pm
Texas candidates respond to elementary school mass shooting

Democrats Jessica Cisneros and Henry Cuellar, who are competing in a runoff election for a South Texas congressional seat, issued statements after 14 students and one teacher were [killed in a shooting] () at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

“This is a devastating tragedy,” Cisneros wrote on Twitter. “How many more mass shootings do children have to experience before we say enough? Sending my condolences to the children and families in Uvalde who are experiencing this unthinkable tragedy.”

Cuellar said he was “heartbroken” and urged the public to come together to support the community.

May 24, 5:05 pm
Stacey Abrams speaks after David Perdue’s ‘go back’ attack

Stacey Abrams, a Black Democrat running for Georgia governor, declined on Tuesday to directly comment on Republican David Perdue saying she should “go back to where she came from.”

“No, not at all,” Abrams, said at a news conference in Atlanta, when asked by ABC News whether she wanted to respond to what was widely labeled as racist remarks from Perdue on Monday night while giving a campaign speech in which he also charged she was “demeaning her own race.”

“I will say this,” Abrams told ABC News at Tuesday’s press conference. “I have listened to Republicans for the last six months attack me. But they’ve done nothing to attack the challenges facing Georgia. They’ve done nothing to articulate their plans for the future of Georgia. Their response to a comment on their record is to deflect and to pretend that they’ve done good for the people of Georgia.”

Perdue, running to get the GOP nomination for Georgia governor, seized on Abram’s comments last week that Georgia was “worst state in the country to live,” citing residents’ disparities in mental health and maternal mortality, among other issues.

“She ain’t from here. Let her go back to where she came from,” Perdue, a former senator challenging Gov. Brian Kemp for their party’s nomination, said at a campaign event in the Atlanta suburbs on Monday night. “She doesn’t like it here.”

May 24, 5:03 pm
Early voting surges in Georgia as state navigates new election rules

A historic number of people have voted early in Georgia’s primary elections. According to the secretary of state’s office, approximately 857,401 people voted in-person or through an absentee ballot as of Friday — roughly three times as many as at the same point in the 2018 midterm election cycle.

Republicans are touting increased voter turnout as proof a controversial election law signed last year wasn’t as restrictive as its opponents described, while Democrats say the numbers are indicative of public pushback to the legislation.

“I think it tells us that Georgia voters got the message and the message was, ‘We gotta go vote, and we’ve got to go vote early, and we’ve got to go vote in person,’” Bee Nguyen, the leading Democratic candidate for secretary of state, told ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks.

May 24, 4:25 pm
Here’s what time polls close in each state

Here’s what time polls close in each state on Tuesday. All times Eastern.

  • Georgia: 7 p.m.
  • Alabama: 8 p.m.
  • Texas: 8 p.m. in most of the state, 9 p.m. in the western tip
  • Arkansas: 8:30 p.m.
  • Minnesota: 9 p.m

May 24, 5:07 pm
What races Republicans, Democrats will be watching closely in Tuesday’s primaries

Tuesday’s primary elections, stretching across four Southern states, will continue to test Republican voters’ appetite for former President Donald Trump and his push of the “big lie.”

Nowhere is that more apparent than in Georgia as Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — two Republicans who balked at Trump’s requests to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential race — face challenges from enthusiastic proponents of Trump’s baseless election claims. Kemp is hoping to fight off former Sen. David Perdue, while Raffensperger is looking to rebuff Rep. Jody Hice.

Another high-profile contest in the Peach State will be the Senate primary, where football star Herschel Walker is running for the Republican nomination to likely challenge Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock. Trump-endorsed Walker has been leading the pack despite several controversies, including prior accusations of domestic violence. (Walker has denied some of the allegations and said he doesn’t remember others.)

For Democrats, the most-watched race of the night will be a runoff in Texas’ 28th Congressional District as 29-year-old immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros tries for a third time to unseat nine-term incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar. The heated primary is the first clear test of how abortion rights may motivate voters this election cycle, given Cuellar’s position as the sole anti-abortion Democrat in the House.

And in Georgia, two Democratic incumbents — Rep. Lucy McBath and Rep. Carolyn Bordeaux — are running against each other because of redistricting.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Music notes: Lance Bass, Taylor Swift, Lindsey Stirling, Sam Smith and more

Music notes: Lance Bass, Taylor Swift, Lindsey Stirling, Sam Smith and more
Music notes: Lance Bass, Taylor Swift, Lindsey Stirling, Sam Smith and more

Lin-Manuel Miranda will receive the National Music Publishers’ Association’s Songwriter Icon Award, says Billboard. The songwriter will be the first theatrically focused recipient. Previous winners include Taylor SwiftAlicia KeysJon Bon Jovi and Pharrell.

Speaking of Taylor … is she heading to Grey’s Anatomy? We know she named her cat Meredith after the drama series’ main character, and fans are convinced she will make a cameo in the upcoming 400th episode, titled “Out for Blood,” because the IMDb page allegedly listed her among in the cast. She has since been removed. We’ll find out if Tay will make her long-awaited debut when the episode drops this Thursday.

Lance Bass says his twins are “NEVER getting a pony” because Alexander and Violet were caught wearing “I love Backstreet Boys” onesies. “BUSTED,” the NSYNC singer captioned the Instagram snap. “Looks like the twins have picked a side.” He later admitted, “I guess I was asking for it after naming [my son] after AJ McLean.”

Lindsey Stirling is celebrating the milestone 10th anniversary of her career. “Time is a funny thing,” she captioned the Instagram Reel that shows her growth over the past decade. The violinist added on an Instagram Story, “5 albums, 1,000+ shows and 4 hair transformations later: So much has changed and so much is still the same.”

Sam Smith is flexing their vocals to bring a cartoon character to life. Deadline reports the “Love Me More” singer is joining the cast of Amazon Studios’ The Hospital, about alien surgeons, which also stars Maya RudolphNatasha Lyonne and Kieran Culkin. Sam voices the character Dr. Azel.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Music notes: Demi Lovato, Lil Nas X, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift and more

Music notes: Demi Lovato, Lil Nas X, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift and more
Music notes: Demi Lovato, Lil Nas X, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift and more

Demi Lovato confirmed the lead single off their new album is called “Skin of My Teeth.” The exchange happened after a fan tweeted, “Skin of My Teeth is the lead [single] according to the streets” and another demanded to know “what street” they were talking about. Demi responded, “My Street.”

Lil Nas X has been reunited with his son — kinda. The singer shared a photo of a plush Elmo toy buckled into the passenger seat on his Instagram Story and wrote, “They lost my old elmo in london so i want everyone to welcome my new son elmo jr.  he’s coming to work with me today.”  

Sam Smith is flexing their vocals to bring a cartoon character to life. Deadline reports the “Love Me More” singer is joining the cast of Amazon Studios’ The Hospital, about alien surgeons, which stars Maya Rudolph, Natasha Lyonne and Kieran Culkin. Sam voices the character Dr. Azel.

Lin-Manuel Miranda will receive the National Music Publishers’ Association’s Songwriter Icon Award, says Billboard. The songwriter will be the first theatrically focused recipient. Previous winners include Taylor SwiftAlicia Keys and Pharrell.

Speaking of Taylor … is she heading to Grey’s Anatomy? We know she named her cat Meredith after the drama series’ main character, and fans are convinced she will make a cameo in the upcoming 400th episode, titled “Out for Blood,” because the IMDb page allegedly listed her among in the cast. She has since been removed. We’ll find out if Tay will make her long-awaited debut when the episode drops this Thursday.

Lance Bass says his twins are “NEVER getting a pony” because Alexander and Violet were caught wearing “I love Backstreet Boys onesies. “BUSTED,” the NSYNC singer captioned the Instagram snap. “Looks like the twins have picked a side.” He later admitted, “I guess I was asking for it after naming [my son] after AJ McLean.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Will Smith recalls being called a “soft” rapper, Rico Nasty drops a new single and more

Will Smith recalls being called a “soft” rapper, Rico Nasty drops a new single and more
Will Smith recalls being called a “soft” rapper, Rico Nasty drops a new single and more
SER BAFFO/NETFLIX

-On a recent episode of David Letterman‘s Netflix show, My Next Guest Needs No IntroductionWill Smith opened up about being mocked early on his music career. 

In the sit-down interview, which was reportedly filmed before the Oscars slap, Smith talked with the late night host about his life and acting career, including feeling hurt when he was called “soft” for his nonexplicit songs.

“Dave, I hated that, being called soft,” he said, adding, “I couldn’t even curse well.” The actor told the story of a time his grandmother found one of his rap books that had lyrics with profanity in it. Recalling that incident, Smith said, “[She] wrote a letter in [the] front of my book and said, ‘Dear Willard, truly intelligent people do not have to use words like these to express themselves. Please show the world that you’re as smart as we think you are. Love, Gigi.'”

Smith said the exchange with his grandmother was the reason he never cursed in any of his records. 

–Rising DMV rapper Rico Nasty released her latest single “Intrusive” on Tuesday, along with the accompanying music video. The “beautifully, chaotic” new single — as described in a press release — follows “Vaderz,” which was released last month on 4/20, and will be featured on her upcoming project. 

Sharing an image of the single’s artwork, the rapper alerted fans of the new drop on Instagram, saying, “INTRUSIVE OUT NOW ! Go watch the video link in BIO.”

–Complex Magazine reminded fans about ComplexLand kicking off Wednesday. The free digital experience takes place May 25-27 and features exclusive sneaker drops, art, daily prizes and more. To join the brand in the “metaverse” this week, visit ComplexLand.com.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ex-Blue Öyster Cult member Joe Bouchard reflects on band’s ’70s heyday in new solo tune “In the Golden Age”

Ex-Blue Öyster Cult member Joe Bouchard reflects on band’s ’70s heyday in new solo tune “In the Golden Age”
Ex-Blue Öyster Cult member Joe Bouchard reflects on band’s ’70s heyday in new solo tune “In the Golden Age”
Rockheart Records/Deko Entertainment

Former Blue Öyster Cult bassist Joe Bouchard has released a second advance track from his forthcoming solo album, American Rocker, a melodic rock tune called “In the Golden Age” that finds him reflecting on the band’s 1970s heyday.

“‘In the Golden Age’ is a high energy rocker that sets the pace for the entire album,” Joe says. “The song started out inspired by the old ’60s TV show Route 66. I updated the theme to be about the early shows of Blue Öyster Cult when we began playing big shows on the West Coast of the U.S. Yes, my life in the ’70s was an endless highway with adventures at every turn … It was all good and exciting!”

The track is available now as a digital download and via streaming services, and a lyric video has premiered at the Deko Entertainment label’s official YouTube channel. It was preceded by the first advance song from American Rocker, “My Way Is the Highway.”

The album is an 11-track collection that will be released on June 3. As Joe explains, “American Rocker is a musical journey of my life as a rock star,” adding, “I feel lucky to live a life of music, and to be fulfilling my wildest dreams.”

CD copies of the album can be preordered now at MerchBucket.com. Special bundles also available are pairing the CD with a T-shirt and an autographed booklet.

Joe has a series of five North American shows lined up in July with his band Blue Coupe — which also features his brother and fellow Blue Öyster Cult alum Albert Bouchard and original Alice Cooper bassist Dennis Dunaway. He and Albert will also be playing a series of U.K. concerts in August, performing as The Bouchard Brothers.

Here’s American Rocker‘s full track list:

“My Way Is the Highway”
“In the Golden Age”
“Deadly Kisses”
“Love Out of Thin Air”
“Off Season Hotel”
“Hounds of Hell”
“Conspiracy”
“Rocket to Fame”
“The Devil’s in the Details”
“Katherine”
“Hey There Suzi Dear”

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