Dreezy and Coi Leray are getting us ready for summer with their empowering anthem, “Balance My Lows.”
The track is full of layered Autotuned vocals and a swaying beat as the two rap about being validated by the amount of money they’ve made, and looking back at when they had nothing in their bank account.
“Tryna balance look at where my lows/ Yeah goin’ thru some s*** that no one knows/ Every time that I was down I lift my dough, yeah,” Dreezy raps.
The track also calls attention to the “brand new Rollie flood my wrist” that’s “full of diamonds.”
“I used to put this s*** on layaway/ Now we gon’ see better days,” Coi raps,”F*** whoever in the way/ Just pour up let’s get faded.”
“Balance My Lows” is gearing fans up for Dreezy’s debut album HITGIRL, which drops next Friday, May 20. The album is now available for pre-order.
CHVRCHES has announced a run of U.S. headlining dates in continued support of the band’s latest album, Screen Violence.
The newly added shows begin July 26 in New Orleans, and include stops peppered throughout August and September before wrapping up October 3 in Boise, Idaho.
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit CHVRCH.es.
Screen Violence, the fourth CHVRCHES album, was released last August. It includes the single “He Said She Said” and the Robert Smith collaboration “How Not to Drown.”
(PHOENIX, Ariz.) — Arizona performed its first execution in nearly eight years, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied an eleventh-hour request from attorneys who said the man had schizophrenia and should not be put to death.
The high court denied a request for a stay of execution early Wednesday, clearing the way for Arizona to move forward with the execution of 66-year-old Clarence Dixon by lethal injection at 10 a.m. local time. The drugs were administered at 10:19 a.m. and he was pronounced dead officially at 10:30 a.m.
Dixon was convicted of murder and sexual assault in connection with the death of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin in 1978.
The case went unsolved for decades until DNA connected Dixon to the murder in 2001, according to authorities. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2008.
A judge ruled on Friday that he was mentally fit to be put to death.
Dixon gave his last words before a doctor administered the drugs for the lethal injection.
“Maybe I’ll see you on the other side, Deana,” Dixon said in part, according to officials. “I don’t know you and I don’t remember you.”
Bowdoin’s sister, Leslie James, gave a statement to the press following the execution and said that it was her late mother’s wish that her sister’s name be remembered.
“It was way too long. This process was way, way, way too long,” James said of the decadeslong case.
“I don’t know how I’m going to feel,” she said. “The process is final.”
This was Arizona’s first use of the death penalty since the execution of Joseph Wood in 2014. That execution took almost two hours and witnesses reported Wood gasped and snorted, prompting his lawyers to request an emergency halt to the procedure.
Officials said the only time Dixon showed any signs of discomfort was when the IV was put in.
Dixon was the sixth inmate to be put to death in the U.S. so far this year.
Thomas Rhett is one of the biggest stars in country music, but it’s clear that his daughters are his biggest fans.
The hitmaker recently performed a show in Austin, TX that turned into a family affair, as he was joined by wife Lauren and their four daughters Willa, Ada, Lennon and Lillie. And while his kids may have been the smallest fans in the audience, they were the most passionate, Thomas sharing pictures from the event that show his family cheering from their seats, a big smile on Lauren’s face.
Another sweet pic finds Thomas carrying eldest daughter Willa on his back, in addition to four-year-old Ada excitedly holding a lit up phone in the air, while sister Lennon claps while being held in Lauren’s arms.
“Thanks for the memories Austin, TX,” Thomas writes alongside the photos that were taken by Lauren’s brother, Grayson Gregory.
Thomas and Lauren adopted Willa from Uganda in May 2017, soon followed by sister Ada, who was born in August of that same year. Lauren gave birth to Lennon in February 2020, with Lillie joining the family in November 2021.
The Country Music Hall of Fame is planning to announce its next class of inductees on Tuesday, May 17.
Fans can follow along from home, as the event will be livestreamed on the CMA’s YouTube channel beginning at 10 a.m. CT that day. Brooks & Dunn — who joined the Hall of Fame as part of its 2019 class — will be on hand to announce the new inductees.
Each year, the Country Music Hall of Fame welcomes inductees in three different categories. Modern Era and Veterans Era inductees join the Hall each year, and there’s one more rotating category, which can be in the Non-Performer, Songwriter and Recording and/or Touring Musician fields.
The new inductees will be announced less than a month after the last class of inductees were welcomed in the Hall’s annual Medallion Ceremony. This year, The Judds, Ray Charles, Eddie Bayers and Pete Drake joined the Hall. Just one day before the ceremony, Naomi Judd — one half of The Judds — unexpectedly died.
The next class of inductees will be formally welcomed into the hall at a Medallion Ceremony of their own, taking place at a later date.
Selena Gomez recently revealed she’s no longer on social media and, after an unexpected controversy involving Hailey Bieber, the wife of ex Justin Bieber, she hinted drama is the main reason why she’s staying off the gram.
On Tuesday, Hailey shared a tutorial video on TikTok that showed her skin care and makeup routine. Soon after, Selena posted a tutorial of her own on the same platform.
Sure enough, that coincidence was enough to get some fans speculating that Selena was dunking on Hailey. But Selena immediately shut down the rumors and wrote in the comments, “This is why I believe in taking care of your mental health. Guys [I have] no idea what I did but I really am sorry. Zero bad intention. Deleting soon.”
While the video hadn’t been removed as of noon Wednesday, Selena turned off the comments on it.
Selena and Justin famously dated off and on for several years before going their separate ways for good in 2018. Shortly after, the “Peaches” singer began dating Hailey and the two wed that September.
While both Justin and Selena have moved on, a small but vocal group of fans still believe the two — whom they dub “Jelena” — were meant to be and have continued to attack Hailey because of that. Both Selena and Justin have publicly condemned the abuse.
Hailey herself has spoken out several times, most recently in April when she took to TikTok to “beg” those haters to “leave me alone” because “enough time has gone by.” She also told those same ‘Jelena’ fans, “Go be miserable somewhere else.”
Jon Pardi is keeping the new music rolling. He took to social media this week to preview another new song, called “Fill ‘Er Up,” which will be out in full on Friday.
“Fill ‘er up again, I need another round/ Yeah, I’m cuttin’ loose ‘cause I’m all wound up and I wanna knock ‘em down,” Jon sings in the snippet he shared of the mid-tempo track.
When it arrives, “Fill ‘Er Up” will be the next installment off an as-yet-unnamed upcoming album. He’s already shared the lead single from that project — a song called “Last Night Lonely.”
Though Jon hasn’t revealed all that many details about his next project, it can’t be too far away. Back in April, he shared a celebratory studio shot to mark the album’s completion.
His last studio album, Heartache Medication, came out in 2019. During the pandemic, Pardi also dropped a fun covers project called The Rancho Fiesta Sessions, plus a deluxe version of Heartache Medication.
(HOUSTON) — Nearly 2,400 people required medical treatment following last year’s deadly Astroworld music festival in Houston, according to a new court filing.
Attorneys representing thousands of people suing promoter Live Nation, headliner Travis Scott and dozens of other companies over the tragedy said in a court document filed this week that 732 claimants sustained an injury requiring “extensive medical treatment” during the concert on Nov. 5, 2021. Another 1,649 claimants suffered an injury requiring “less extensive medical treatment,” according to the filing, which does not define the injury categories.
Additionally, the injuries of another 2,540 claimants are under review, attorneys said.
“Plaintiffs will continue to evaluate and update this for the Court as additional information and details are received and reviewed,” the attorneys stated in the document, filed in the 11th Judicial District in Harris County on Monday.
Ten people died in a massive crowd surge during Scott’s set, including a victim as young as 9 who was trampled in a crowd of 50,000 people at NRG Park, according to officials.
According to Houston Police and witness accounts, a wave of tens of thousands of people surged toward the stage when Scott — and later rapper Drake — appeared. Concert attendees say they were pushed into one another from all sides. As the crowd pressed its way forward, some began to fall, pass out and get trampled by others in the audience.
Hundreds of lawsuits filed against the event organizers, managers and performers in the wake of the tragedy were consolidated and are being handled by one judge.
Following the concert, Scott released a statement on Twitter, saying, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld festival.”
In an extensive interview with radio host Charlamagne Tha God in December, the rapper said he was unaware of the injuries and fatalities among fans until after his performance was over.
Asked if he feels responsible for the tragedy, Scott said, “I have a responsibility to figure out what happened here. I have a responsibility to figure out the solution.”
In a statement to ABC News in the days after the concert, Live Nation said it was working with law enforcement to get answers.
“We continue to support and assist local authorities in their ongoing investigation so that both the fans who attended and their families can get the answers they want and deserve, and we will address all legal matters at the appropriate time,” Live Nation said.
The Houston Police Department is investigating the deadly concert. The House Oversight and Reform Committee also launched a probe into the deaths late last year.
ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Amidst the nation’s latest resurgence in COVID-19 infections, new forecast models used by the CDC show that daily hospital admission levels and new virus-related deaths in the U.S. are projected to continue increasing over the next four weeks.
The forecast comes as a growing number of COVID-19 positive patients are entering hospitals and requiring care each day, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are now more than 20,000 virus-positive Americans currently receiving care in the U.S., the data shows — the highest total number of patients hospitalized since mid-March. On average, more than 2,500 virus-positive Americans are entering the hospital each day — a total that has increased by 18.1% in the last week. This also marks the highest number of patients entering the hospital in nearly two months.
However, totals remain significantly lower than during other parts of the pandemic when there were more than 160,000 patients hospitalized with the virus in January.
The forecast also predicts that about 5,400 deaths will occur over the next two weeks. California, New York and Florida are projected to see the largest death tolls in the weeks to come.
A new ABC News analysis this week showed a growing proportion of COVID-19 deaths are occurring among the vaccinated. In August 2021, about 18.9% of COVID-19 deaths were occurring among the vaccinated. Six months later, in February 2022, that percent of deaths had increased to more than 40%.
Comparatively, in September 2021, just 1.1% of COVID-19 deaths were occurring among Americans who had been fully vaccinated and boosted with their first dose. By February 2022, that percent of deaths had increased to about 25%.
Health experts said vaccines and boosters continue to provide significant protection against severe disease. However, waning immunity re-emphasizes the urgency of boosting older Americans and high-risk Americans with additional doses.
During an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged there has been an increase in the number of vaccinated people who are dying of COVID-19, many of whom are elderly, immunocompromised or have underlying conditions.
“As long as you have vulnerable people in the population, even though the unvaccinated are going to be much more at risk, even vaccinated with underlying conditions and a high degree of susceptibility to severe disease will account for those deaths,” he said.
The other group of Americans, who are becoming severely ill and dying, is still the unvaccinated, Fauci said. He stressed that a large proportion — about a third of Americans — have not been fully vaccinated, while about half of eligible Americans are still unboosted with their first dose.
Fauci said that in order for the U.S. to move into an endemic phase, the prevalence of the virus across the country has to come down.
“What we’re hoping for is that when the level comes down, it stays in a well-controlled level, and those people who’ve been vaccinated and boosted even though they might get infected, they won’t get a severe disease that would lead to hospitalization, and tragically in many cases, to deaths of individuals,” Fauci explained.
Actor Will Poulter recently appeared opposite Michael Keaton in the latter actor’s Emmy-winning Hulu series Dopesick, and while he admitted that he was blown away by the Batman veteran, Will recently got to play a superhero himself.
Poulter joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe by starring as Adam Warlock in the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The super-powered, artificially grown “perfect human” first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1967.
Closer to our timeline, Warlock was glimpsed — still hidden in his cocoon — at the close of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
As reported, writer-director James Gunn‘s third Guardians film just finished shooting. While promoting his new thriller The Score, Poulter told ABC Audio that his Marvel movie turn was “really fun.”
“I think my first audition was in June [2021] and then [I] kind of did a series of auditions up until getting the role in September, started in December and wrapped on Friday,” he recalled. “So [it’s] been a bit of a kind of rollercoaster, but one that I’m very, very glad that I was…invited onto.”
Will explains, “The Guardians clan is just this, like, amazing, wonderfully weird group. And I couldn’t be…prouder and more grateful to have been…welcomed into it.”
Gunn recently posted photos from the film’s last shooting day, and said he had to fight from “sobbing” in closing the trilogy. “Yeah, I can believe it’s incredibly emotional for him,” Poulter says. “You know, a sort of 10-year journey.”
Poulter says he has “an immense amount of respect and appreciation for” Gunn, adding, “Such a talented guy, such a lovely guy, so fun to work for.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 debuts May 5, 2023, from Marvel Studios, which is owned by ABC News’ parent company Disney.
