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BTS‘ V opened up about struggling to come to terms with fame and how it made him question who he really was.
In a video posted on his label Big Hit’s Twitter, the singer, whose real name is Kim Taehyung, spoke about BTS’ new album, Proof, and what songs stood out to him most.
V performs the demo tracks “Singularity” and “00:00 (Zero O’Clock)” on the record, saying he was drawn to the songs because of what they represent.
“I tended to think of Kim Taehyung and the artist V as being separate and thought that I had to choose one or the other,” he says, which is why he chose “Singularity” because that struggle was “visually portrayed” in the song’s music video.
“That was when I thought hard about who I was as a person and I felt a bit confused. Artist V performs on stage and enjoys himself with ARMY. But Kim Taehyung spends ordinary days with family and friends,” the Korean singer expressed.
V assured fans he no longer grapples with these thoughts, adding, “Now I’m able to accept both sides of myself, but also keep them separate. I’ve lessened the burden of thinking so much, too, just like how the day resets at midnight.”
The Grammy nominee insisted these thoughts “made me into who I am today.”
Proofarrives June 10 at midnight ET and is available to preorder now.
With Matt Cameron still absent from Pearl Jam‘s tour due to testing positive for COVID-19, the grunge rockers reunited with their original drummer, Dave Krusen,during their show Monday in Fresno, California.
According to a photo of the concert’s set list shared by the PJ Twitter, Krusen manned the kit for a run of songs off of Ten, including “Even Flow,” “Alive” and “Jeremy.” Ten, Pearl Jam’s Diamond-certified 1991 debut album, was the only album Krusen played on before leaving the band shortly after it was recorded.
Krusen previously reunited with Pearl Jam when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside Eddie Vedder and company in 2017. During the ceremony, he joined PJ for a performance of “Alive,” marking the first time he played with the band in over 25 years.
In addition to Krusen, Pearl Jam’s drummers for the Fresno show included Jeff Ament collaborator Richard Stuverud, and ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist and current PJ touring member Josh Klinghoffer, who both also filled in for Cameron the last two shows he missed since testing positive last week. The first show also featured Pearl Jam jamming with a fan named Josh Arroyo, while the second show found an 18-year-old high school student named Kai Neukermans joining the band for a song.
Pearl Jam’s tour is set to continue Wednesday in Sacramento, California.
Despite the tragic shooting that occurred on set, the producer behind Rust is hopeful that they’ll be able to finish the film.
Last year while filming the Western near Sante Fe, New Mexico, star Alec Baldwin was using a revolver as a prop gun when it accidentally discharged a fatal live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. Production has been suspended since the tragic incident occurred on October 21. The case is currently under investigation by the Sante Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
“Rust is obviously a horrific tragedy. The investigation will hopefully be resolved soon and will unveil what happened,” Rust producer Anjul Nigam tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Obviously, there will be people out there who will have negative perspectives, but we’re confident about continuing to make quality movies.”
Anjul adds that he hopes that after the investigation is complete, they’ll be able to resume filming.
“We’re confident we’ll be able to complete the movie,” he says, adding in a clarifying statement,“My statement that I was confident the film could be completed was just my optimism, and not an actual plan. Many of those who were involved hope to honor Halyna by completing her last work, but at this point it is just hope.”
Anjul and Alec are working on another project together, financing False Awakening, a horror film by Ben Tomson under a rebrand of their production company, Persona Entertainment.
(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Assuming his role as consoler in chief, President Joe Biden traveled to Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday to visit a community in mourning following Saturday’s racially-motivated mass shooting at a supermarket that left 10 Black people dead, three wounded and countless others fearing for their lives.
Biden was meeting with victims’s families to “try to bring some comfort to the community, particularly to those who lost loved ones” and “grieve with them,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.
“The president wants to go to a community he wants to grieve with them and he wants to send a message to the entire country, that we stand behind them and with them, and that is so important,” she said.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the Tops market memorial to pay their respects on Tuesday morning, laying flowers. They then met behind closed doors with the families of victims and first responders at a community center. During a later speech, the president will call on Congress to take action to “keep weapons of war off our streets” and ask Americans to “reject racial animus that radicalize” and lead to violence.
Biden has said in the past that he was compelled to run for office, in part, because of how former President Donald Trump responded to white nationalists marching in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was the first president to directly address white supremacy in his inaugural speech, calling it “domestic terrorism that we must confront” and released the first-ever national strategy to counter domestic terrorism — but advocates say it’s not enough.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing Ruth Whitfield, an 86-year-old who was among those killed Saturday, called on the Biden administration to label the shooting an act of domestic terrorism.
“We can’t sugarcoat it, we can’t try to explain it away talking about mental illness,” Crump said in a press conference with the victims’ families on Monday. “This was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated by a young white supremacist.”
Biden’s first in-person comments on the shooting came while speaking at an event on Sunday to honor law enforcement officers killed on duty, where he described the accused gunman as “armed with weapons of war and a hate-filled soul.” He also said that he has been receiving updates from his team at the White House, which remains in close contact with the Department of Justice, while it investigates the shooting as both a hate crime and an act of racially-motivated violent extremism.
“As they do, we must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America,” Biden said. “Our hearts are heavy once again, but the resolve must never, ever waver.”
During a previously scheduled Medal of Valor ceremony at the White House on Monday, Biden also paid tribute to retired Buffalo Police Department officer Aaron Salter, the security guard at the Tops Friendly Market who was killed after engaging the shooter and “gave his life trying to save others,” Biden said.
“He actually was able to shoot the assailant twice, but he [the assailant] had a bulletproof vest, and he [Slater] lost his life in the process,” Biden added.
On a somber Monday afternoon, Jean-Pierre — taking over for former White House press secretary Jen Psaki — began her first briefing by reading out the names of each victim of the shooting and giving a little description of who they were.
Asked who or what may have influenced the shooter, Jean-Pierre opted, at first, to speak about the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, which saw one counterprotester dead, saying Biden “is determined as he was back then, and he is determined today, to make sure that we fight back against those forces of hate and evil and violence.”
When pressed again by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega about elected officials who have expressed views echoing those espoused by the alleged gunman, such as Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Jean-Pierre said the administration would call out those who “spew this type of hate” — but refused to name anyone — and gave few details about what the White House can do to prevent these kinds of views from becoming more widespread.
“What we’re going to continue to do anyone, any one person, right, doesn’t matter who they are, who spews this type of hate, hatred, we’re going to, we’re going to call out we’re going to condemn that,” she said. “I’m not going to speak or call out any individual names. I’m saying that this is something that we need to call out. And so this is what the president has been doing and will continue to do that.”
“I’m not going to get into a back and forth on names and who said what,” Jean-Pierre added. “We’re just saying, if someone does that, if there’s an individual that is espousing hate, xenophobia, you know, has, you know, has just white supremacy type of extremism, we need to call that out. And this president has done that.”
With renewed calls for gun control from the public, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told ABC’s This Week Sunday that Democrats in Congress is “of course trying to do something about gun violence” but noted that efforts to address mass shootings on Capitol Hill have fallen short not in the House but in the Senate, where Republicans have opposed gun control measures, making it impossible for Democrats to advance legislation over the 60-vote threshold in the chamber.
A document obtained by ABC News Monday appears to show how the alleged shooter, Payton Gendron, 18, carefully planned out his attack at least two months before he was arrested at the supermarket on Saturday and charged with first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez and Armando Garcia contributed to this report.
Papa Roach and Falling in Reverse have announced a co-headlining U.S. tour.
The joint outing, dubbed the Rockzilla Summer tour, launches July 27 in East Providence, Rhode Island, and will wrap up August 31 in Nashville. Bad Wolves and Hollywood Undead will also be on the bill.
“We’re thrilled to bring an absolutely packed lineup — an evening of non-stop rock, to some amazing cities this summer,” says Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix. “We haven’t been to some of these cities in a long time…Only right that we celebrate with these amazing bands, who all are bringing heat of their own!”
Falling in Reverse’s Ronnie Radke adds, “We are very glad to bring out such a phenomenal lineup. Fans have asked for years for a FIR/Papa Roach tour, and now the time has finally come. Not to mention Hollywood Undead and Bad Wolves are also on the bill. This will be a tour to remember.”
Tickets go on sale this Friday, May 20, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit PapaRoachMerch.com or FIRMerch.com.
Papa Roach released their latest album, Ego Trip, this past April. Falling in Reverse’s most recent release is the single “Zombified,” which just last month hit number one on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
Journey has released a third advance track from its forthcoming studio album, Freedom, a heavy, funk-flavored mid-tempo rocker called “Let It Rain.”
The song is available now as a digital download and via streaming services, while a visualizer video for the tune has debuted at Journey’s official YouTube channel.
“Let It Rain” showcases some sizzling guitar work by Neal Schon, who in a post on his socialmediapages describes the song as “a Sassy Funkin Rocker,” adding, “New Chapter from us and definitely proud of it.”
As previously reported, Freedom is a 15-track collection that will be released on July 8. The other songs that have been issued from the album are “The Way We Used to Be” and “You Got the Best of Me,” which debuted in June 2021 and last month, respectively. You can pre-orderFreedom now.
Meanwhile, this Friday, May 20, at 9 p.m. ET, Schon will make an appearance on Talk Shop Live’s Rock N Roll Channel, where he will chat about the album and Journey’s upcoming tour plans. In addition, autographed copies of Freedom will be available to pre-order during the steaming event.
Journey recently wrapped up the initial leg of its Freedom Tour 2022, although the final four shows were postponed because an unspecified member of the group tested positive for COVID-19. Those dates are expected to be rescheduled in the coming months.
The band next scheduled performances are a series of four special symphonic concerts in Las Vegas that will take place at the new, state-of-the-art Resorts World Theatre. The shows are scheduled for July 15, 16, 22 and 23 and tickets are available now.
Schon also promises that Journey is planning a summer leg of its tour.
(DALLAS) — Dallas police arrested a suspect in connection with the May 11 shooting of three women in a hair salon in the city’s Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and could be linked to a series of recent shootings at Asian-run businesses in the city, police said.
The salon owner, an employee and a customer are all Korean, according to ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women suffered nonfatal injuries and were transported to a local hospital, according to police.
Police said Tuesday morning that a suspect, who was not named, was in custody and that further information on the arrest will be provided by Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia later in the day.
The FBI is investigating the incident as a hate crime.
“The Dallas FBI Field Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District in Texas, and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice have opened a federal hate crime investigation into the incident at Hair World Salon in Dallas,” a spokesperson for the FBI field office in Dallas told ABC News in a statement on Monday. “We are in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to thoroughly investigate this incident. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to comment further at this time.”
Police met with members of the community at a town hall in Koreatown on Monday amid concerns for the public’s safety.
Two of the shooting victims — the owner and an employee — were present at the meeting, according to WFAA. The employee spoke with the help of an interpreter and her was face covered. The women did not reveal their names.
Garcia said at a press conference on Friday that law enforcement “concluded three recent shootings of Asian run businesses may be connected” and the suspect in each incident was driving a similar vehicle.
Police said they learned from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked what appeared to be “a dark color minivan-type vehicle” on Royal Lane and then walked across the parking lot and into the establishment, allegedly opening fire as soon as he entered the salon.
Police also released a security image of a maroon minivan they said the gunmen fled the scene in.
Garcia said the shooting at the salon may be linked to one that happened a day before and one that took place last month.
Police learned from witness reports that on April 2 a driver in a red minivan drove past a strip mall of Asian-run businesses and fired shots at three businesses. No one was injured.
On Tuesday a suspect in a burgundy van or car drove by and shot into Asian-run businesses near 4849 Sunnyvale Street, police said.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we have reached out to our partners to make them aware of the possible connection and ask for their assistance,” Garcia said. “This includes the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Task Force. We are also working with North Texas police partners to determine if this criminal action has or is taking place in their jurisdictions.”
Garcia said police will be increasing the presence of high visibility patrol officers in areas in the city where there are large Asian American populations.
“We are turning to every resident of the city of Dallas to keep an eye out and safeguard our city,” Garcia said. “Hate has no place here.”
These incidents in Dallas come amid a spate of attacks targeting Asian Americans across the nation, which spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
Harry Styles only has to wait a few more days until fans can listen to Harry’s House, his third studio album, which drops Friday. To make the occasion all the more special, the singer is taking over a New York venue for a special event.
Harry announced the event, dubbed “ONE NIGHT ONLY IN NEW YORK,” will see him taking over UBS Arena at Belmont Park in Elmont, NY, this Friday. He’ll perform the entirety of Harry’s House for the first time ever.
If you can’t make it to Elmont in person, no worries — the concert will be streamed exclusively on Apple Music in 167 countries around the world starting at 9 p.m. EST on May 20, the same day his album arrives. There will also be several encore presentations airing on May 22 at 12 p.m. ET and May 26 at 11 a.m. ET.
Harry is very passionate about his new project, which he recently told Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, “This is my favorite album at the moment, and I love it so much.”
He also hinted Harry’s House is “so much more intimate” than his past works and that he’s excited to reintroduce himself with his new project.
Friends of late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins tell Rolling Stone that he expressed concern with the band’s heavy touring schedule in the days leading up to his unexpected death this past March.
According to Pearl Jam‘s Matt Cameron, Hawkins had a “heart-to-heart” conversation with Foo frontman Dave Grohl about the subject.
“[Hawkins] told me that he ‘couldn’t f***ing do it anymore’ — those were his words,” Cameron says. “So I guess they did come to some understanding, but it just seems like the touring schedule got even crazier after that.”
An anonymous friend adds, “The fact that [Hawkins] finally spoke to Dave and really told him that he couldn’t do this and that he wouldn’t do it anymore, that was freeing for him…That did take a year of working up the guts to do.”
Meanwhile, “multiple friends” tell Rolling Stone that Hawkins had “lost consciousness” while on a plane this past December.
“[Hawkins] just said he was exhausted and collapsed, and they had to pump him full of IVs and stuff,” says Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, adding that incident was “one of the straws that broke the camel’s back” that led him to approach Grohl and the band’s management with his concerns.
However, a rep for Foo Fighters tells Rolling Stone that Hawkins “never ‘informed Dave and [management]'” of wanting to scale back his touring, and also denies that there ever was a “heart-to-heart” or “any sort of meeting on this topic” between Hawkins, Grohl and the band’s management. The rep also tells Rolling Stone that the reports of Hawkins losing consciousness on the plane are “not true.”
Hawkins died March 25 ahead of a scheduled Foo Fighters show Bogotá, Colombia. He was 50. All Foo Fighters’ remaining tour dates have been canceled.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
May 17, 9:20 am
Biden to meet with leaders of Sweden, Finland as they seek to join NATO
President Joe Biden will host Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland at the White House on Thursday as the two countries seek to join NATO, the White House announced Tuesday.
The three leaders will “discuss Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO applications and European security,” according to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
