After 19 years in syndication, Ellen DeGenereswrapped up her talk show for good on Thursday. Along with Jennifer Aniston, she was joined by two music superstars as her final guests: Pink and Billie Eilish.
Aniston was Ellen’s very first guest on her very first episode, so it was fitting that she appeared on this final show. After Aniston’s appearance came Billie, who first appeared on the show in 2018, when she was just 16. She told Ellen, “You started this show the year after I was born. This was in my house constantly. Every day. I would walk into the kitchen and my mom would be watching you.”
Ellen’s great friend Pink was the final guest and musical performer. In addition to singing “What About Us,” she also gifted Ellen with some things that will help her fill all the free time she’ll suddenly have on her hands: a homemade sourdough starter; knitting needles and yarn; and binoculars for bird-watching.
Pink, who first appeared on the show in 2003, told Ellen, “I wanted to be a singer because I wanted to grow up and change the world and make it a better place. You’ve done that in so many ways. Maybe I help people find their pain. You help people find their joy.”
Ellen concluded the show by saying, “Thank you so much for being on this journey with me. I feel the love and I send it back to you. Bye.”
ABBA‘s new show Voyage, featuring digital avatars of the legendary Swedish band performing their hits with a live band, officially opens on Friday night in a purpose-built theater in London. But if you can’t make it to the United Kingdom to see the show, are there plans to bring it to the U.S.? Well, maybe.
Speaking to Variety, ABBA’s Benny Andersson says of future Vegas plans, “We’ll see. This has to get on its feet first. We have to see how attractive it is. We’ve sold 380,000 tickets or so. It’s good for a couple months. We need to see if it sells more tickets.”
He adds, “There will be promoters coming in from the U.S. to see if there’s something that will be suitable for their market.”
As for what fans can expect from the show, Benny says, “We realized we cannot not play [the hits] but we also wanted to give the concert some dynamics, so there are a few songs that the audience will not be too familiar with, but we like them so we put them in. It’s 21 songs and it feels good.”
Benny explains that the technology allows for them to swap songs in and out of the set list, because Industrial Light and Magic, which created the digital avatars, still has the data from all four band members.
“We don’t have to go back ourselves into the studio again. That’s what they have promised us,” he notes.
As for going back into a recording studio, Benny says the band’s comeback album Voyage, a surprise hit last year, is the final word on ABBA music.
“It’s never say never, but it’s a no,” he states. “Nothing is going to happen after this.”
(UVALDE, Texas) — A small town in rural Texas is reeling after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school on Tuesday, killing 19 children.
Two teachers were also among those killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, according to authorities.
Prior to opening fire at the school, the suspect also allegedly shot his grandmother, officials said.
The alleged gunman — identified by authorities as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a student at Uvalde High School — is dead.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 26, 1:55 pm
Mother of victim fatally shot says she ‘lost a piece of my heart’
Eva Dulia Orta, the mother of 10-year-old Rojelio Torres, a fourth grader who died in the Tuesday shooting at Robb Elementary, told ABC News that she is trying to stay strong for the rest of her children, but “I lost a piece of my heart,” she said.
The mother of four told ABC News she went to pick up two of her children at the school, but only came home with one.
This has not only devastated her entire family, but the community, she said, speaking with her twin sister.
“We are praying for everyone, all the children and all the families,” she said.
-ABC News’ Maria Elena Salinas
May 26, 1:49 pm
Witness recounts police response to Uvalde shooting: ‘Why aren’t they going in?’
Bob Estrada, who lives across the street from Robb Elementary School, recounted to ABC News the moments he went out on his porch after hearing gunshots, saying he witnessed the police response to the shooting unfold.
Estrada, whose grandson is a second grader at the school who survived the shooting, said he saw “quite a few” officers outside the school immediately, and then police cars started driving up — but “some of them just stood there.”
“Why aren’t they going in?” Estrada told ABC News he wondered at the time.
Estrada said it was not long before parents began to arrive. “They were hysterical,” he said.
“There were parents out there, and they were kinda motioning like they wanted to come in,” Estrada said. “They were motioning like, ‘What are you doing? Go in!'”
Estrada said he did see some officers go in immediately.
Asked if he saw reinforcements heading into the school, Estrada said no. But, he did not know what sort of presence may have already been inside.
-ABC News’ Matt Gutman, Olivia Rubin, Jeffrey Cook and Laura Romero
May 26, 1:24 pm
Young girl who gunman allegedly texted before shooting speaks out
The young girl who allegedly received messages from the Texas gunman moments before his rampage told ABC News she has been asking herself “what if I could change the outcome” since seeing the news that her friend killed 19 students and two teachers on Tuesday.
“Ever since May 24th I have been guilt tripping myself, what if I could change the outcome, what if I could change his mind to not do this. I was too dumb to realize why he bought two Rifles on his birthday May 16th and ordered a package full with ammunitions not knowing what he was going to do with it,” the 15-year-old girl, who asked to be referred to as “Cece,” told ABC News.
The messages are part of an ongoing investigation into the shooter, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Cece, who lives in Germany, said she met the accused gunman on the social media app Yubo where they would “join each others live” streams. The pair met on the app on May 9 before exchanging cellphone numbers, Cece said.
The messages reviewed by ABC News and other outlets appear to show that Cece did not respond to the gunman’s threats until after news of the shooting broke and nearly all the texts are solely from the suspect. It is unclear if the messages were at all edited.
-ABC News’ Will Steakin
May 26, 10:01 am
Texas school district cancels school after receiving ‘credible threat of violence’
The Donna, Texas, Independent School District has canceled classes after it received a “credible threat of violence,” school officials said in a letter posted on Facebook. Donna is about 4 1/2 hours from Uvalde.
The threat is currently under investigation and classes will resume on Tuesday, the district said.
“In light of the recent events and in an abundance of caution we will be canceling school district-wide and staff will be working from home,” the letter said. “The safety and security of our students & staff is our first priority.”
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
May 26, 7:32 am
Bodies of nine victims released to funeral homes, with more expected today
Nine of the deceased victims’ bodies were released to funeral homes in Uvalde on Wednesday evening, Uvalde County Justice of Peace Eulalio Diaz told CNN.
More — possibly all — of the remaining bodies are expected to be released at some point on Thursday, according to Diaz. It will mark the beginning of the funeral arrangement process for many grieving families in the wake of the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. There are two funeral homes in Uvalde, and both are offering free services to families of the victims.
“My job is to try and get them back home as quickly as possible,” Diaz told CNN in an interview early Thursday.
In a county of less than 50,000 people, there is no medical examiner and the justice of the peace in the state of Texas assumes the responsibility of the county coroner, according to Diaz.
Diaz described his job of going in and assessing the bodies of the dead at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday in the immediate aftermath of the mass shooting. He said Irma Garcia, one of the teachers who were killed, was a former high school classmate of his.
Goodfellas actor Ray Liotta has died at age 67, his publicist confirms to ABC News.
No cause of death was given, though there are unconfirmed reports that he passed away in his sleep while shooting the movie Dangerous Waters in the Dominican Republic.
Liotta caught the attention of Hollywood in the 1986 film Something Wild, playing star Melanie Griffith‘s violent ex-con husband, a role for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe. He went on to appear as Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1989’s baseball-themed classic Field of Dreams, with Kevin Costner, in which he delivered the memorable, oft-quoted line, “Hey, rookie! You were good!”
But Liotta’s breakout role came in the 1990 Martin Scorsese classic Goodfellas, as part of an all-star cast that included Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Lorraine Bracco. Based in part on the life of former mobster turned government informant Henry Hill, which Liotta played, the film became a near-instant classic and launched Liotta to stardom.
Liotta most recently appeared in films including the Sopranos spinoff The Many Saints of Newark, Marriage Story and No Sudden Move. He also starred in TV shows including Shades of Blue opposite Jennifer Lopez, Amazon Prime’s Hanna and the Apple TV+ series Black Bird, alongside Taron Egerton.
In 2005, Liotta won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Charlie Metcalf in an episode of ER called “Time of Death.”
Liotta leaves behind a daughter, Karsen, and a fiancée, Jacy Nittolo.
Phoebe Bridgers and Sam Fender are among the artists opening for The Rolling Stones during the “Gimme Shelter” legends’ upcoming two concerts in London’s Hyde Park.
The shows take place June 25 and July 3, with the “Kyoto” artist on the bill for the first date and the “Seventeen Going Under” singer playing the second.
Other openers include The War on Drugs, Courtney Barnett, Vista Kicks, JJ Rosa, Kelly McGrath, Christone Kingfish Ingram, The Dinner Party and The Flints.
The Hyde Park shows are part of the Stones’ 60th anniversary European tour, which launches June 1 in Spain.
Meanwhile, you can catch Bridgers on her ongoing U.S. headlining tour, which continues Friday in Atlanta. Fender will come to the States for a run of festival and headlining dates in July and August.
Mathew Rosengart; Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images
While Britney Spears‘ conservatorship may be terminated, the legal wheels surrounding it continue to grind.
On Wednesday, Britney’s lawyer Mathew Rosengart filed a motion compelling Britney’s dad, Jamie Spears, to sit for a deposition, Page Six reports. In the document, Rosengart writes, “Despite his demonstrably false claims that he has ‘nothing to hide’ … James P. Spears has been running and hiding from his deposition and accounting for his misconduct — under oath — as required by law.”
Rosengart claims Jamie has spent six months “engaged in stonewalling and obstruction” and refuses to respond to requests for even basic information. Rosengart says it’s not because Jamie can’t travel, noting that he’s prepared to take Jamie’s deposition “in any city in the country.”
In addition to questions about his alleged financial misconduct, Rosengart also wants Jamie to respond to the allegations that he bugged Britney’s bedroom and recorded her private conversations — and paid for it with Britney’s money.
In the document, Rosengart states that he hopes Jamie, who he calls a “misguided” fiduciary and father, “does what is right, both legally morally,” and concludes, “Be decent. Please, stop harassing and bullying your daughter. Please, leave your daughter alone.”
Britney previously described the conservatorship under her father as “abusive,” and claimed to the court that while he was in charge of her life and affairs, she was forced against her will to take medication, enter a mental health facility and have an IUD contraceptive inserted.
New York rap star DreamDoll linked up with French Montana for the new music video for one of her latest singles, “Ice Cream Dream.”
In the colorful visual, the Bronx native turns heads as she pulls up to a park in a custom ice cream truck, sporting a bikini made out of candy and trading bars with French Montana.
In what could turn out to be a hip-hop anthem for the summer, the hard-hitting track reimagines Raekwon‘s 1995 classic hit “Ice Cream,” featuring Ghostface Killah, Method Man and Cappadonna.
DreamDoll currently supports fellow New Yorker Fivio Foreign on his self-named North American tour, which is set to make its next stop in Atlanta on May 25.
Check out the new music video for “Ice Cream Dream” on DreamDoll’s YouTube page.
My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero paid tribute to the victims of Tuesday’s mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, during the band’s concert in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday.
As spotted by the fan account MCR Updates, Iero wore a shirt onstage with the words “19 Kids, 2 Adults” written on it, a solemn reference to the tragedy’s death toll.
Iero, a parent himself, also posted photos in his Instagram Story of some of the young children who were killed, along with a statement: “My son is 10. This disgusting insanity needs to stop. My heart is shattered for the families.”
He added, “How can this continue to happen without any attempt at real change?”
beabadoobee has released a new track called “Lovesong,” which will appear on her upcoming album, Beatopia.
“‘Lovesong’ is a song that I had bits written for since my second-ever EP,” the “Care” artist shares. “The chorus was actually already written since [the 2019 EP] Loveworm, I just didn’t have any chords to sing it with. It’s actually written in a really strange tuning that I forget. And, yeah, it’s just another sweet love song. It was one of the last songs I recorded for Beatopia.”
“Lovesong” follows the previously released Beatopia cuts “Talk” and “See You Soon.” The album arrives in full on July 15.
beabadoobee is currently on tour opening for Halsey. She’ll play a few headlining and festival dates, including Governors Ball, along with a run of shows supporting Bleachers.
It’s been 17 years since Carrie Underwood was crowned American Idol champ, kicking off one of the most successful careers in modern country music.
Carrie marked the big moment on social media, sharing a snapshot of the journal entry she wrote right after she won. “Please enjoy a page from the journal of a 22-year-old farm girl who just had the most incredible night!” she wrote in the caption.
The journal describes the few seconds before the winner was named, when Carrie and the other remaining contestant — runner-up Bo Bice — stood on stage waiting for show host Ryan Seacrest to announce the winner.
“I took one more look at the amazing crowd and let it sink in for a few seconds,” Carrie wrote. “My heart beat fast and I closed my eyes.”
And the moment Ryan called her name? Carrie says she was overwhelmed with emotion.
“I immediately started crying. It was a beautiful moment,” she recounts. “All the other contestants were sent out to hug me. I was crying the whole time.”
What happened next is American Idol history: As Carrie accepted her victory, she was quickly whisked to the stage to perform “Inside Your Heaven,” her coronation song, which Carrie says she “blubbered through.”
A whole lot has changed in the 17 years since her Idol win, but one thing’s the same: She still puts her powerhouse voice and sharp showmanship skills front and center in each of her performances. Carrie will treat fans to both of those at her upcoming Denim & Rhinestones Tour, which kicks off in the fall and takes its name from her next album.
