It’s Women’s History Month, so now’s a good time to let you in on a little secret: While millions of fans might swoon over male pop stars like Bruno Mars and Nick Jonas, it turns out that in the U.S., it’s the female stars who are the best-known, and the best-liked.
MRC Data, the company that provides Billboard with the info it uses to compile its charts, has a new program called Artist + Genre Tracker, and used it to determine that out of the 10 best-known artists in the U.S., eight of them are women.
In fact, MRC Data says it found that at least 80% of the population knows who Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are. Only Justin Bieber and Kanye West come close to those awareness levels, says MRC Data, with Justin at 80% and Kanye, now known as “Ye,” at 77%.
But tellingly, the women blow the men away when it comes to likeability scores. 52% to 62% of people who are aware of those female artists say they like them, versus just 34% for Justin and 37% for West.
If you’re looking for Women’s History Month music programming, AXS TV is a good place to start. On March 12 starting at 2 p.m. it’ll air documentaries on Stevie Nicks, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Dolly Parton, and on March 19, starting at noon ET, AXS TV brings you profiles of female-fronted groups like Blondie, Eurythmics, The Pretenders and The Carpenters.
Cold War Kids are headlining the 2022 Sound Mind Mental Health Music Festival, taking place May 21 in New York City’s Central Park.
The annual event, now in its fourth year, aims to use music to raise awareness and funds for mental health issues and resources. The 2022 festival will focus specifically on the how mental health has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lineup also includes OutKast rapper Big Boi and “Best Day of My Life” band American Authors.
Along with their headlining performance, Cold War Kids will also be contributing a signed snare drum to a charity raffle, which you can enter by signing a petition supporting improved mental health crisis response services.
For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit SoundMindLive.org. If you can’t attend the festival in person, it’ll stream live on TikTok.
Biggie Smalls, aka the Notorious B.I.G, aka Christopher Wallace, was shot to death at a traffic light in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997 — 25 years ago today.
The murder is said to have been a culmination of rap beef between the East and West Coasts. There’s still much speculation about who killed the rap giant, including allegations against Death Row founder Suge Knight.
As reported by ABC News and according to 359 pages of court documents, Wallace was murdered as he left the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles after attending a post music awards ceremony. Wallace was in the middle of a three-car caravan when a dark Chevy SS Impala pulled next to him and fired several times into the passenger area where Wallace was sitting. He died minutes later at a local hospital.
The Brooklyn-born artist, who is arguably considered the greatest rapper of all time, rose to fame in the early ‘90s for his distinctive, relaxed delivery that accompanied his grimey, gangsta rap lyrics. He wrote and rhymed songs that mirrored his life growing up, portraying the hardships he endured as an overweight, only child, born to Jamaican immigrant parents and raised only by his mother, Voletta Wallace.
Over the course of Biggie’s short-lived but legendary rap career, he amassed a significant amount of accolades including five Source Awards, three Billboard Awards and four Grammy nominations.
Biggie’s 1994 debut album Ready to Die sold millions, his subsequent and final studio album Life After Death was released a few weeks after his murder and went on to peak at number one on three Billboard charts as well as chart in over eight countries.
Biggie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 and will forever be regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop musicians of all time.
Love Sux is Avril Lavigne‘s first top-10 album since 2013, and she says she’s “so stoked” that the new project — which she’s described as the album she’s wanted to make her entire career — is a success.
“Oh my God, we’re so thrilled! To be 20 years in [and] still be rockin’? I’m so stoked and having so much fun,” Avril tells ABC Audio. “[And even] like, doing all the work, all the TV shows, everything’s just been a blast…and…been received so well. So I’m really happy!”
Avril made Love Sux with Machine Gun Kelly, Blink-182‘s Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus, blackbear, her boyfriend Mod Sun, and producer John Feldmann. And Avril tells ABC Audio that she knew immediately it would work artistically.
“The first song we recorded, I looked over at John Feldmann and I was like, ‘Where the f*** have you been my whole life?'” she laughs. “And I was like, ‘This is awesome. Let’s keep going.'”
Avril says the album was written in two weeks, adding, “and then I was like, ‘Can we just keep doing this because this is way too much fun?’ And then we just kept working, and I never want to stop. I always want to write songs with that group of people.”
One person who really loves Love Sux is Taylor Swift, who sent Avril flowers and a note praising the “fabulous new album.” Avril says Taylor’s gesture didn’t surprise her, though.
“She’s so classy like that! She’s sent me gifts before and thank-you letters…She’s just a really sweet, genuine, classy girl,” Avril notes. “It meant so much to me to have another woman in music’s support.”
She adds, “It was super-sweet that she told me she loves the record…that made me feel really good!”
Carrie Underwood has something up her sleeve, but she’s playing coy regarding what it is.
“I’m always I’m always working on something. Obviously, we can’t spill too many beans right now, but my fans know what I mean when I say ‘soon,'” she says with a laugh. “They actually hate it when I use that word because they’re like, ‘What does that mean?’ But it’s been been busy, for sure.”
While fans are eager to know what she has in store, the superstar has been keeping busy over the past few years. She released her last studio album, the acclaimed Cry Pretty, in 2018. One year later, she welcomed her son Jacob and hit the road on the Cry Pretty Tour 360.
The powerhouse singer has spent the past two years mainly focusing on her first Christmas album, My Gift, and companion gospel album, My Savior, both of which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts, and in the top five on the all-genre Billboard 200.
The Cobra Kai fan also made a recent appearance in the season four finale of the Netflix series, performing “The Moment of Truth” from the soundtrack of the original Karate Kid.
Additionally, she and Jason Aldean took the stage at Monday night’s ACM Awards for a performance of their duet, “If I Didn’t Love You,” which was also named Single of the Year.
Moody Blues singer/bassist John Lodge returned to touring Tuesday night in Norfolk, Connecticut, almost exactly two years after he was forced off the road because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lodge has a three-week U.S. trek lined up through a March 26 show in Dania Beach, Florida, leading up to his appearance on the 2022 edition of the Flower Power Cruise.
“I’ve never had two years off [from being on stage] since I was like 14,” the 76-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer tells ABC Audio. “So, yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.”
In January, Lodge released a new live album titled The Royal Affair and After featuring performances from John’s stint on the Yes-headlined 2019 Royal Affair Tour and from his subsequent U.S. headlining trek.
The album is mainly made up of renditions of classic Moody Blues songs, and includes guest appearances by current Yes frontman Jon Davison on two songs, with a set list that reflects the one Lodge showcased on his 2019 and 2020 headlining treks.
Davison, who is friends with Lodge, joined John as a special guest throughout his previous tour, and Lodge says the Yes singer also is taking part in the new trek.
“I said to Jon, ‘You’ve go to go on the road with me,’ and he is,” Lodge tells ABC Audio. “[W]e’re gonna go have a great time.”
Meanwhile, Lodge says the set for this year’s tour, while similar to the one he played before the pandemic, will feature a few changes.
“I’ve been rehearsing some deeper cuts from The Moody Blues…for this tour, so it will be different,” he reveals.
Lodge also says he’s “really looking forward to” the star-studded Flower Power Cruise, which sets sail from Miami on March 28.
It’s fantasy suites week, and on Tuesday’s episode of The Bachelor, one lady’s questions had Clayton questioning the future of his journey.
Clayton and the three remaining ladies — Susie, Gabby and Rachel — traveled to beautiful Reykjavik, Iceland where they each enjoyed passionate dates set against the backdrop of the capitol city’s awe-inspiring landscapes. But it was here, amid the romance and breathtaking vistas, Clayton’s journey to find love was about to take a dramatic turn.
With a possible engagement just a week away, the 28-year-old Eureka, Missouri native admitted that he was possibly “falling in love” with all three women and might already be “in love” with Susie. He hoped that the overnight dates would help him find clarity.
For his part, he acknowledged, “It’s time to let my walls down” and “quit being guarded.”
Unfortunately, he realized he may have opened himself up a little too much when, after revealing to Susie that he’d already been intimate with both Rachel and Gabby and told each lady that he was in love with them, she said she couldn’t share his love with anyone else, and therefore, couldn’t move towards an engagement.
Clayton believed Susie’s bombshell announcement so late in the game left him with no other choice, but to send her home, and wondering if he should pack it in as well.
“My heart’s not in it…It’s over,” he declared.
The Bachelor returns with its two-night season 26 finale Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, don’t appear to have advanced closer to the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 09, 5:19 am
Ukraine says humanitarian corridors confirmed with Russia, Red Cross for Wednesday
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said six humanitarian corridors have been agreed with Russian officials and confirmed with the International Committee of the Red Cross to operate during a temporary cease-fire Wednesday.
According to Vereshchuk, the evacuation routes for civilians are open from towns north of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, where there has been heavy fighting, as well as from the besieged southeastern port city of Mariupol, where an evacuation failed yesterday. Another route goes from the town of Izium near hard-hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and another from the eastern city of Volnovakha, where civilians have been trying to evacuate for several days. Another route leads from northeastern city of Energodar, where shelling caused a fire at Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant last week.
Vereshchuk said Russian officials had sent a letter to the Red Cross confirming the routes and a cease-fire for Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time. She called on Russia to keep to its commitment and not to violate the cease-fire, as she said it did in Mariupol and Volnovakha on Tuesday.
“We ask Russian forces to commit to their obligations and keep the ceasefire till 9 p.m. as agreed,” Vereshchuk said in a statement Wednesday morning.
Vereshchuk noted that an orphanage with 55 children and 26 staff also needs to be evacuated from Vorzel, a town just north of Kyiv.
“The evacuation of them will be done as a separate special operation,” she said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement Wednesday that it has discussed the interaction on the Ukraine track with the Red Cross.
Mar 08, 9:59 pm
Biden calls family of US Marine detained by Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden called the parents of Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine who has been detained in Russia for nearly three years and whose case has gotten renewed attention amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
The president spoke to Joey and Paula Reed after an event in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday, according to the White House.
On the call, the president reiterated his commitment to doing everything he can to bring their son home, to staying in close touch with them through his national security team and to finding a time to meet in person, the White House said.
A Reed family spokesperson also confirmed to ABC News that Biden called them to apologize for not being able to stop and meet them in person.
The family says they have been asking to meet with the president for several months to help free Reed, a Texan who they say has been denied treatment for suspected tuberculosis, and specifically asked to meet the president in Texas on Tuesday but were denied.
Reed and another former Marine, Paul Whelan, have spent years in Russian custody on charges that their families and American officials say were fabricated by Russia in order to seize them as bargaining chips.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Brooklyn 132, Charlotte 121
Cleveland 127, Indiana 124
Phoenix 102, Orlando 99
Memphis 132, New Orleans 111
Milwaukee 142, Oklahoma City 115
Golden State 112, LA Clippers 97
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Florida 4, Pittsburgh 3
New Jersey 5, Colorado 3
Philadelphia 2, Vegas 1
Arizona 9, Detroit 2
Toronto 6, Seattle 4
Ottawa 4, St. Louis 1
Minnesota 5, NY Rangers 2
Winnipeg 7, Tampa Bay 4
Nashville 2, Dallas 1
Chicago 8, Anaheim 3
Washington 5, Calgary 4
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Gonzaga 82, Saint Mary’s (Cal.) 69
Joe Cavaretta/Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — There is growing pushback among the health care community over Florida’s decision to advise against vaccinating healthy children for COVID-19, with an increasing number of health officials coming forward to strongly criticize the move.
On Monday, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo announced his state would become the first in the country to make such a formal recommendation.
“The Florida Department of Health is going to be the first state to officially recommend against the COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children,” Ladapo said at the end of a 90-minute roundtable discussion in West Palm Beach, Florida, hosted by Gov. Ron DeSantis, aimed to close the curtain on the “COVID theater once and for all.”
However, criticism swiftly followed, coming from many of the nation’s leading health officials.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, and its Florida chapter, called the decision “irresponsible,” reasserting that the COVID-19 vaccine is still the nation’s “best hope for ending the pandemic.”
“The Surgeon General’s comments today misrepresent the benefits of the vaccine, which has been proven to prevent serious illness, hospitalizations and long-term symptoms from COVID-19 in children and adolescents, including those who are otherwise healthy,” American Academy of Pediatrics Florida Chapter President Lisa Gwynn said in a statement Monday.
“The evidence is clear that when people are vaccinated, they are significantly less likely to get very sick and need hospital care. There is widespread consensus among medical and public health experts about the life-saving benefits of this vaccine,” Gwynn said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have also been vocal in their support of pediatric COVID-19 vaccinations, stressing to parents that real-world data has demonstrated that vaccines are safe and effective at protecting children against severe disease, as well as against potential long-term consequences from the virus.
“Children can get sick from COVID, and some get very sick,” AAP President Dr. Moira Szilagyi said. “The virus is still circulating in Florida. … It is irresponsible to advise parents not to vaccinate their children against this virus.”
The Infectious Diseases Society of America also issued a strong statement in opposition to the move, which the organization described as “disturbing.”
“The Florida Surgeon General’s decision to recommend against COVID-19 vaccination for healthy children flies in the face of the best medical guidance and only serves to further sow distrust in vaccines that have proven to be the safest, most effective defense against severe COVID-19 disease, hospitalization and death,” Dr. Daniel P. McQuillen, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America said in a statement on Tuesday, further suggesting that Florida’s decision “put politics over the health and safety of children.”
“Vaccinating eligible children against COVID-19 not only protects them, but it also protects their classmates, friends and vulnerable family members from a virus that has left nearly 1 million people in the United States dead in its two-year wake,” McQuillen added.
Among the other voices in the chorus of concerns is Dr. David R. Nelson, president of UF Health and senior vice president for health affairs at the University of Florida, where Ladapo is a professor.
In a statement released Tuesday, Nelson pointed to the widespread support for COVID-19 vaccinations in children among health experts.
“UF Health and the UF College of Medicine note that while children are generally at lower risk than adults for more serious consequences of COVID-19, the risk is not zero, and the vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective, with a very low risk of adverse outcomes,” Nelson said.
Nelson noted that although at times, there can be a “significant disagreement” in the public discourse surrounding COVID-19, “the principle of scientifically sound, evidence-based medical decisions” remains critical.
“Vigorous intellectual discussion around competing opinions is at the heart of the marketplace of ideas we celebrate and is a time-honored way to advance truth. That is no less the case here,” he wrote.
Nelson also underscored the fact that Ladapo’s role as the state’s surgeon general is entirely separate from his faculty position at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki also denounced the state’s decision, telling reporters that Florida’s decision was “absolutely not” a good policy.
“It’s deeply disturbing that there are politicians peddling conspiracy theories out there and casting doubt on vaccinations, when it is our best tool against the virus and the best tool to prevent even teenagers from being hospitalized,” Psaki said during a press briefing Monday.
However, the Florida Department of Health doubled down on their support of the surgeon general’s announcement, telling ABC News in a statement that “healthy children likely have no benefit from receiving the currently available COVID-19 vaccine.”
“It is essential for health care practitioners to analyze existing data on the COVID-19 vaccine alongside parents when deciding to vaccinate children,” Ladapo said in a statement Tuesday. “Based on currently available data, the risks of administering COVID-19 vaccination among healthy children may outweigh the benefits. That is why these decisions should be made on an individual basis, and never mandated.”
ABC News’ Dr. John Brownstein and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
