With 10 number-one hits to his name and another — “Never Say Never,” with Lainey Wilson — quickly ascending to the top of the chart, Cole Swindell knows first-hand that songs can change lives.
But when he was making his new album, Stereotype, the power of music took on a whole new meaning for Cole. He got to know his now-girlfriend, Courtney Little, after he asked her to play the role of his love interest in the music video for his song, “Some Habits.”
“That was kind of like our first date,” the singer tells People, admitting that being in an on-screen relationship with someone he didn’t yet know well in person was “pretty awkward.” Still, they hit it off, and went out after filming wrapped.
“And we’ve been together ever since,” Cole continues. “It’s a pretty, pretty wild story, but you never know. They say songs are powerful. I feel like now, after meeting her, I can finally check all the boxes.”
Yungblud has released a new EP called The Funeral, dedicated to his new single of the same name.
The four-track set, which is available now via digital outlets, includes the original tune, as well as an acoustic, demo and live version. You can watch a video for the acoustic performance streaming now on YouTube.
Yungblud first premiered “The Funeral” in March alongside a video featuring appearances by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.
“The Funeral” is the follow-up single to Yungblud’s 2021 tune, “Fleabag.” His most recent album is 2020’s Weird!
While Tom Cruise arguably certainly doesn’t look like — or perform stunts like — most 59 year olds, he didn’t actually vault over six foot tall funnyman Keegan-Michael Key.
However, you’d be forgiven if you saw him do just that, thanks to a now viral video reportedly taken backstage at January’s AFI Awards.
The footage shows reportedly 5-foot-7-inch Cruise running behind and then vaulting over the taller actor, then shaking his hand, saying, “I just wanted to jump in and wish you luck.”
Cruise then says, “Congrats on the AFI Awards, congrats on life — work on the humor a little bit,” before laughing and walking away.
A shocked Key thanks him, and talks to camera, “Just here at the AFI Awards. That happens every three minutes.”
The video was posted by DeepTomCruise, a TikTok account with 3.4 million followers that uses Deep Fake AI technology to convincingly mimic the Top Gun star doing various things.
This time, while both Key and the jump were real, the star’s face was digitally stuck on whoever it was who stuck the landing.
Oh, and while the gag was fake, the video’s 675,000 likes and counting are very real.
(NEW YORK) — The images of five bodies found fatally shot in a basement in Bucha, Ukraine, with their hands tied behind their backs, apparently tortured and executed, alerted the world to possible war crimes.
The images, revealed just over a week ago, included the son of Galyna Matyoshko, who spoke to ABC News from a monastery where she had taken refuge.
The Ukrainian mother said her son Serhiy was helping evacuees when the Russians arrived.
“They came like a hurricane, causing so much pain. For what?” said Matyoshko. “You can’t even imagine this pain. My soul is crying. God forbid this happens to anyone.”
Matyoshko said she has the images of her son’s body on her phone. Despite her pain, she is keeping them so that the world can see what happened to her son.
“I didn’t want to delete them; I wanted the whole world to see it and know that it’s a fact,” she said. “I’m not holding on to them to hurt myself, I want everyone to know that this isn’t fake. That this is my son, that this happened to me and my son.”
According to Matyoshko, her son was helping evacuate women and children from the houses near the Bucha summer camp when he disappeared along with a friend who was doing the same on March 12. Both men’s bodies were found in the basement.
“I don’t know how long he was there, he lost half of his weight. I don’t know if they fed him or not. How? For what? I fed this child for myself, for joy,” said Matyoshko.
Matyoshko said that the official report from the police crime investigators said that her son was killed by two gunshots. Unofficially, she says she was told by police that they had found eight gunshots and multiple knife wounds on the body.
Russian officials have denied all allegations surrounding what was found in the Bucha basement.
Matyoshko said she wanted to share a message with Vladimir Putin.
“Look at what you did to us,” she said. “What is our fault? What have I done wrong? Why am I crying at a stranger’s place, with no home to live in? You have children; what if the same happened to them? And when our people come to tell you ‘it’s all fake,’ would you believe them?”
Marta Fernandez Jara/Europa Press via Getty Images/ Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage
Michael Bublé revealed some surprising secrets about himself and his career in a tell-all interview — including a duet with Cher that almost came to be.
Speaking to ET Canada, the “I’ll Never Not Love You” singer, who has several major collaborations under his belt, was asked if he’d ever jump into the studio with Madonna and Cher.
“I’m trying to think what that would be [like],” Michael laughed at the thought of all three of them performing together. While that may remain a pipe dream for many, he confirmed fans almost got to hear what a collaboration between him and Cher sounded like.
“I was very close to working with Cher just a little while ago,” he spilled of the “Believe” singer. “There was a Christmas thing or something I was doing and it didn’t happen.”
When discussing other future collaborations, Michael revealed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu is at the top of his wish list.
While that may be surprising for some, it should be noted the Grammy winner is a big Marvel fan and Liu is not only Canadian, he’s hosting the upcoming Juno Awards that Michael’s hosted multiple times. Also, Liu expressed he would love to sing with Michael one day.
The Grammy winner was open to the idea and then took it a step farther, adding, “I would leave my wife [for him].”
Michael also hailed his “wonderful, lifelong friendship” with OneRepublic‘s Ryan Tedder. When working in the studio together, the singer noted he not only walked away “with a hit song,” he left “12 pounds” heavier “because he kept bringing Chik-fil-A to the writing sessions… It is ridiculously good.”
Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has released a new song called “High Plains Drifter,” the first preview off his upcoming debut solo EP, Portals.
The instrumental piece includes contributions from orchestra conductor Edwin Outwater, who previously collaborated with Metallica for their 2019 S&M2 concerts, as well as Queens of the Stone Age drummer Jon Theodore and members of the LA Philharmonic.
“The music for ‘High Plains Drifter’ initially came from a Flamenco piece I had written,” Hammett explains. “It was a two-and-a-half-minute piece, and I really liked it, but it was one of those riffs that would be hard to integrate into Metallica.”
“I knew I wanted to do something with it, even though it came out spontaneously,” he adds. “I had been sitting outside messing around with a Flamenco acoustic guitar I’d just bought, and it flowed out in the moment. I was determined it would have a life. It would have its moment.”
“High Plans Drifter” is available now via digital outlets. It’s one of four instrumental tracks included on Portals, which will be released in full on Record Store Day, April 23.
Chester Bennington‘s pre-Linkin Park band Grey Daze has announced a new album called The Phoenix, due out June 17.
Like Grey Daze’s previous album, 2020’s Amends, The Phoenix features newly recorded instrumentals accompanying Bennington’s original vocal takes from when he fronted the band in the ’90s.
“Amends was more emotional and reflective,” says Grey Daze drummer Sean Dowdell. “We felt sad when we were writing it. Now that we’re a couple of years removed, it’s very clear what we were going through. We were at a different stage of grief. We went through the shock and the sadness. Now, we’re back to gratitude.”
“The Phoenix is more of a celebration of our friend, his talent, and the music,” Dowdell continues. “It captures Chester’s angst and energy that people fell in love with. It’s much more aggressive. If you love Chester’s scream, you’ll love this record.”
The first single to be released from The Phoenix is called “Saturation (Strange Love),” and is available now via digital outlets. An accompanying video, featuring archival video of Bennington, is streaming now on YouTube.
The Phoenix also includes guest spots from Jane’s Addiction‘s Dave Navarro, Filter‘s Richard Patrick, and Bennington’s daughters Lily and Lila.
Bennington had announced a reunion with Grey Daze prior to his untimely death in July 2017. The remaining band members decided to continue on with the project with the blessing of Chester’s widow, Talinda Bennington.
Here’s the track list for The Phoenix:
“Saturation (Strange Love)”
“Starting to Fly”
“Be Your Man”
“Holding You” feat. Dave Navarro
“Hole” feat. Lily & Lila Bennington
“Drag”
“Believe Me” feat. Richard Patrick
“Anything, Anything”
“Spin”
“Wake Me”
Founding Blondie guitarist Chris Stein has announced that he’ll be sitting out the band’s next series of concerts because of an issue with his heart.
In a message posted on his Twitter and Instagram pages, Stein writes, “I’m sad and frustrated to report that I’m not going out with the next bunch of Blondie touring. I’ve been dealing with a dumba** condition called Atrial Fibrillation or AFib which is irregular heart beats and combined with the meds I take for it I’m too fatigued to deal.”
The 72-year-old musician adds, “I’m still all in with recording and other band projects and I should be out for [discussion events, etc.,] later on…That’s it, I’m fine, I’m around here and I love you all.”
Stein also reports that original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock will be playing with Blondie on the band’s upcoming shows.
Meanwhile, in a separate Facebook post, Stein notes that the heart condition was the reason he was sitting down during Blondie’s most recent shows.
He adds, “My brain is doing great and I’ve been writing during [the COVID-19 pandemic],” while revealing that he has a book deal in place in the U.K. for a memoir, while things are pending in the U.S.
Blondie kicks off a 10-date U.K. tour on April 22 in Glasgow, Scotland. The trek runs through a May 7 concert in Birmingham, England, and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr will open all dates. The band also has a handful of California performances lined up in May, including sets at the 1980s-themed Cruel World festival on May 14-15 in Pasadena.
Then, in August, Blondie will launch a 10-show U.S. trek dubbed the Against the Odds Tour, featuring U.K. punk veterans The Damned as the support act.
Late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins posthumously guests on a newly released song from Edgar Winter, frontman of “Free Ride” band The Edgar Winter Group.
Hawkins lends his vocals to a track called “Guess I’ll Go Away,” an energetic rocker that nonetheless takes on a heavy new meaning in light of his unexpected passing last month.
“Guess I’ll Go Away” appears on Winter’s new album Brother Johnny, which itself is a tribute to Edgar’s late brother, blues-rock guitar legend Johnny Winter.
“I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to meet [Hawkins],” Winter previously told ABC Audio. “He had such energy, just pure love of music…And it touched my heart.”
Edgar added, “It’s probably one of [Hawkins’] last performances, and it means the world to me to have him on the song.”
“Guess I’ll Go Away,” along with the rest of Brother Johnny, is out today.
Hawkins died March 25 ahead of a Foo Fighters show in Bogotá, Colombia, planned for that night. He was 50 years old.
A few days after Hawkins’ passing, Foo Fighters canceled their upcoming tour dates.
“I Hope” you’ll tune in when Gabby Barrett makes her return to American Idol.
The country/pop star came in third on the ABC show in 2018. Since then, she’s scored massive hits with “I Hope” — for which she was joined by Charlie Puth — and “The Good Ones.” The latter song is about her husband, Cade Foehner, a fellow top 10 Idol finalist who she married in 2019.
Billboard reports that Gabby will return to Idol as a mentor to this season’s top 14 contestants, in an episode airing April 24.
Because this season is American Idol‘s 20th, the show is bringing back past contestants. Country star Jimmie Allen, who competed on the show alongside future winner Scotty McCreery, mentored the Top 24 in Hawaii last week. On May 2, past contestants and winners, including Scotty, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Ruben Studdard, Kris Allen and Lauren Alaina, will appear in a reunion special.
