As copies of Adele’s latest album, 30, continue to fly off the shelves, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has certified it triple Platinum, meaning it has officially sold over three million units.
The RIAA also revealed Wednesday that the British singer’s latest track, “Oh My God,” is certified Gold, meaning it sold over half a million copies, while lead single “Easy On Me” has crossed into the same triple Platinum category as 30.
Also earning new accolades is Justin Bieber, whose track “Ghost” earned Platinum status for more than one million sales. In addition, his “STAY” collaboration with The Kid LAROI is now considered four-times Platinum, while his 2015 hit “Love Yourself” has officially sold over nine million copies.
Speaking of LAROI, his “Not Fair” track that features Corbin is now certified Gold.
The RIAA also had some love for Ellie Goulding, whose 2012 Halcyon album crossed the two million sales mark, while her 2015 smash hit “Love Me Like You Do” was awarded seven-times Platinum status, just in time for Valentine’s Day. In addition, Ellie’s debut single “Lights” just captured six-times Platinum certification.
John Mayer‘s 2018 single “New Light” has moved into Platinum territory after selling over two million copies, while the RIAA says Lauren Diagle‘s “You Say” is now five-times Platinum. Also earning new certifications was Lil NasX‘s Platinum single “That’s What I Want”, The Chainsmokers‘ “Roses” at six-times Platinum, and “Cold Heart,” by Elton John and Dua Lipa, which officially sold over a million copies.
Vans and Record Store Day Compilation Album – Portraits of Her/Art by Sofia Enriquez
Taylor Swift is the global ambassador for Record Store Day, so it’s only natural she’d be releasing something on that day too.
Taylor will contribute to Portraits of Her, an album that’s a collaboration between Record Store Day and Vans. The 16-song compilation album will benefit Moving the Needle, the organization that supports female recording professionals like audio engineers and producers. According to a 2021 report, women make up only two percent of music producers and three percent of engineers/mixers.
In addition to Taylor, the album will also feature songs from other female acts like Julia Michaels, Girl in Red, K. Flay, Princess Nokia, Against Me! front woman Laura Jane Grace and more. It’ll be available at independent record stores on Record Store Day, which is April 23.
Emily Lazar, founder of Moving the Needle, says in a statement, “To close the vast gender gap in this industry, we must all work together to empower women on and off stage, behind the music, in the studio, and everywhere else in this business. We are grateful for the support from Vans, Record Store Day, and these amazing female artists.”
Record Store Day co-founder Carrie Colliton adds, “The music that women make, as musicians, as songwriters, as producers or engineers or executives, has always had a place in record stores…As we see more and more female faces on both sides of the record store counter, it only makes sense to spotlight that, and this compilation…is a great way to do it.”
Billboard reports that Taylor also has plans to release her own item — it’s unclear if it’s an album, a single or what — to mark Record Store Day.
Caleb Kennedy, a former American Idol finalist, has been arrested in the death of a South Carolina man.
ABC affiliate WCIV reports that the 17-year-old is charged with a felony DUI for driving under the influence in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, when he veered off the road and onto private property. Police say Caleb collided with a building and his vehicle struck a man, who later died of his injuries.
The victim has since been identified as Larry Duane Parris, 54, according to reports from WYFF.
Kennedy was also taken to the hospital, and was arrested Tuesday. Further details on the incident are pending.
Caleb was once considered a front runner on American Idol when he competed during the 2021 season, making it into the top five, but he abruptly left the show after an old Snapchat photo surfaced that depicted him in a negative light.
As previously reported, the footage showed Caleb, who was 12 at the time, sitting next to a friend who was wearing what appeared to be a Ku Klux Klan hood. Caleb said in a statement that the picture “displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way.”
Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Kanye West reportedly hosted a listening party for his Donda 2 album Monday night at Nobu restaurant in Malibu, California, that was attended by Travis Scott, Kendall Jenner, French Montana, Offset and more, according to Page Six and TMZ.
West also posted a photo of himself in a studio session with Scott, Drake, Baby Keem and Young Lean, with the caption, “Donda 2 2 22 22,” hinting they may appear on the album, set to drop February 22.
Following the listening session, the group went to the Sunny Vokda party at The Nice Guy in Hollywood where they caught up with Drake.
On Tuesday, Yeezy also posted a six-minute Instagram video following up his previous statement about changing the name of Black History Month to Black Future Month.
In the clip, the “Pop Style” rapper is in the center of a group of people wearing hoodies, describing the disparities he feels as a Black man in this country.
“America is made to enslave us, what they ever gave us?” West said. “We’d improve. We didn’t show, it’s documented, now it’s cemented, lack future it’s time to invent it. If Ye said it, you know that he meant it. There’s no more Black History Month, every February reminding us that we just barely can vote.”
Kanye continued rapping, “When they write the history, when they write the narrative, when they take something that’s strong and make it look like it’s an embarrassment, when they take something that’s weak and even try to make a comparison, when you say something that’s strong and they say that you arrogant.”
“I’ve been waiting for us to take the power in our own hand,” Ye added. “I’ve been waiting for us to control our narrative.”
Machine Gun Kelly has premiered the video for his new single “Emo Girl,” featuring WILLOW.
The clip begins with a cameo by Blink-182‘s Travis Barker, who plays a teacher bringing a class on a field trip to a museum featuring both the “Bloody Valentine” and the “Transparent Soul” rockers performing on video screens. By the end, the kids ditch their clean-cut school clothes for some Hot Topic-esque outfits and hairstyles.
You can watch the “Emo Girl” video streaming now on YouTube.
“Emo Girl” will appear on MGK’s upcoming album Mainstream Sellout, due out March 25. The record, formerly titled Born with Horns, follows 2020’s Tickets to My Downfall, and is also produced by Barker.
Simon and Colbert will be providing “special greetings” during the event, while Lauper is part of the lineup of performers.
Previously announced performers include Patti Smith, Phish‘s Trey Anastasio, Nathaniel Rateliff, Laurie Anderson, Angélique Kidjo, actor Keanu Reeves, and country/Americana artists Jason Isbell and Margo Price, while Iggy Pop and New Order frontman Bernard Sumner will be delivering special greetings.
Influential composer Philip Glass is the event’s artistic director.
Now in its 35th year, the annual concert raises money for Tibet House US, a non-profit organization that works to preserve Tibetan culture. It’s usually held in-person at New York City’s Carnegie Hall but is taking place online for the second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can watch the 2022 Tibet House US concert via the streaming platform Mandolin. The show starts at 8 p.m. ET. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit Mandolin.com.
(WASHINGTON) — Sarah Matthews, a Trump White House press aide who resigned over the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, appeared Tuesday for an interview with the House select committee investigating the attack, sources familiar with her appearance told ABC News.
Matthews, who declined to comment, appeared before the committee voluntarily, a source told ABC News. She is one of several former Trump aides approached by the committee who now work as GOP congressional staffers.
“I was honored to serve in the Trump administration and proud of the policies we enacted,” she said in a statement announcing her resignation on Jan. 6, 2021. “As someone who worked in the halls of Congress, I was deeply disturbed by what I saw today. Our nation needs a peaceful transfer of power.”
Matthews was one of a handful of Trump aides and administration officials to resign following the Capitol attack — a list that includes first lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff Stephanie Grisham, and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
The committee questioned Matthews about activities inside the White House on Jan. 6, according to a source, as investigators work to reconstruct then-President Donald Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 using official records and call logs obtained from the National Archives.
Committee officials declined to comment.
The panel has also successfully subpoenaed the phone records of Trump White House staffers including former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, ABC News previously reported.
Committee chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told ABC News the committee was scheduled to interview multiple former White House officials this week.
The committee has conducted nearly 500 interviews and has received tens of thousands of pages of Trump White House records from the National Archives.
(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called out GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday, saying he “literally ran away” from ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott as she asked him one day earlier about the Republican National Committee censure resolution — a moment that has now captured international headlines and produced countless memes.
“Republicans seem to be having a limbo contest with themselves to see how low they can go,” Pelosi said at her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill. “They seem to have reached rock bottom with their statement that what happened on January 6 was normal political discourse — legitimate, legitimate political discourse.”
The House speaker directly blasted her Republican counterpart for repeatedly dodging questions on the censure resolution in what’s unfolding as a defining moment for the GOP.
“It’s disturbing to see that Republican leader of the House ran — actually literally refused to condemn that resolution of legitimate political discourse. He literally ran away from the press when he was asked about his position,” Pelosi said.
“Republicans can run but they cannot hide from what happened on January 6,” she said. “To call that legitimate political discourse: 140 law enforcement officers were wounded, some people die. It was an assault on Capitol, on Congress. More importantly, an assault on our democracy.”
McCarthy has not publicly responded.
Pelosi went on to equate the Republican Party with a “cult” — echoing messaging from House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, who said earlier this week that the “C” in “RNC” stands for “cult.”
“I say this to Republicans all the time: ‘Take back your party from this cult.’ Take back your party. America needs a strong Republican Party and a strong Democratic Party,” she added.
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega asked the White House on Tuesday for reaction to the RNC resolution and whether they agree with some Democrats’ characterization that the GOP is a “cult.”
“I think it’s clear to Americans that what happened on January 6 was not legitimate political discourse, storming the Capitol in an attempt to halt the peaceful transition of power is not legitimate political discourse, neither is attacking and injuring over 140 police officers, smashing windows and to defiling offices,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
“It’s telling to all of us that some leading Republicans have projected that characterization, including the former president’s national security adviser and the chief of staff to the former vice president, who, as he put it, had a front-row seat that day, including as rioters chanted for the former Vice President to be hanged,” she continued. “So again, we certainly reject the notion that that was legitimate political discourse as we think – very a large number of Americans would as well.”
Pelosi putting Republicans on blast comes one day after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, asked about the “legitimate political discourse” language the RNC used directly, pointedly characterized Jan. 6 as a “violent insurrection” and suggested the RNC was out of line to single out sitting members.
Survivor Kara Cagle speaks during a news conference to announce a $243-million settlement in the UCLA sex abuse case of former UCLA gynecologist/oncologist James Heaps in Irvine, Calif., Feb. 8, 2022. – Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
(IRVINE, Calif.) — The University of California announced on Tuesday that it reached an agreement to pay $243.6 million to 203 women, settling lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct by former UCLA Health physician James Heaps.
The women filed a lawsuit against the university in California state court, according to UCLA.
“The conduct alleged to have been committed by Heaps is reprehensible and contrary to the university’s values. We express our gratitude to the brave individuals who came forward, and hope this settlement is one step toward providing healing and closure for the plaintiffs involved,” UCLA said in a statement to ABC News.
The settlement comes after the university agreed in December to pay $73 million in the settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed by seven women, on behalf of 5,500 women who were patients of the former UCLA gynecologist, court records show.
Heaps faces 21 charges in an ongoing criminal case brought against him in a Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to court records.
In addition to UCLA Health, the University of California’s Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center was also named in the litigation. The university had called for an independent review by a special committee to look into UCLA Health’s as well as the Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center’s responses to allegations of sexual misconduct by medical professionals, according to UCLA.
UCLA Health and the Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center representatives say they have taken substantial action to address the issues alleged in the litigation.
The report was completed and released publicly in June 2020, recommending additional policies and procedures to prevent, identify and address sexual misconduct, all of which are being adopted and implemented, according to UCLA.
“In light of this settlement and these changes at UCLA, we reiterate our ongoing commitment to never tolerate sexual violence or harassment in any form. Allegations of sexual misconduct by any health care provider will be promptly addressed, and appropriate actions will be taken to ensure our patients are safe, protected and respected,” UCLA said in a statement.
“As we move forward, we remain committed to providing top quality care that respects the dignity of every patient, and we remain dedicated to taking all necessary steps to ensure our patients’ well-being and to maintain the public’s confidence and trust,” UCLA said.
Kim Kardashian graces March’s cover of Vogue — a fitting choice, according to Demna Gvasalia, creative director for Balenciaga, the fashion house behind Kim’s masked Met Life look.
“She did something that is very similar to what Marilyn Monroe did back in the day. She redefined our understanding of what beauty is,” says Gvasalia.
And while most people profess “new year, new me” in January, Kim’s turning a page in 2022.
“For so long, I did what made other people happy, and I think in the last two years I decided, I’m going to make myself happy. And that feels really good,” Kardashian says. “And even if that created changes and caused my divorce, I think it’s important to be honest with yourself about what really makes you happy. I’ve chosen myself.”
Vogue also explores Kim’s divorce from Kanye West last year. The pair are co-parenting their four children: daughters North, 8, and Chicago, 4, and sons Saint, 6, and Psalm, 2.
Of late, West has been very vocal on his dissatisfaction with their custody arrangement. Kim insists, “You could be so hurt or angry at your ex, but I think in front of the kids, it always has to be ‘Your dad’s the best.’ Make sure you are your co-parent’s biggest cheerleader, no matter what you’re personally going through.”
Kim, who turned 41 in October, adds, “My 40s are about being Team Me. I’m going to eat well. I’m going to work out. I’m going to have more fun, spend more time with my kids and the people who make me happy.
Ironically, for arguably the most influential influencer in history, Kim vows, “I’m going to put my phone down. Unfollow if I don’t want to see something on Instagram.”
