Kelsea Ballerini returns today with a new country-pop jam about the giddy early stages of new love. Called “Heartfirst,” the song recounts meeting a guy at a party and diving into a relationship with arms wide open, even though it might end in heartbreak.
“Could be forever or we might break / That’s just the kind of risk that we take,” Kelsea sings in the song’s chorus. “My head is yelling that I could get hurt / But I’m gonna jump right in / Baby, with my heart first.”
It’s the singer’s first new music of the year, and the follow-up to a very different kind of single: The chart-topping “Half of My Hometown,” an introspective ballad that Kelsea released as a duet with Kenny Chesney.
Before she released the song, Kelsea told fans that “Heartfirst” would be very different than “Half of My Hometown.” “It’s like, a bop: Breezy, windows down, go for a drive, get right,” she explained to E! News on the red carpet of the Grammy Awards earlier this month.
Speaking of awards shows, Kelsea will introduce fans to the live version of “Heartfirst” during next week’s CMT Music Awards, a show she’s also co-hosting with actor Anthony Mackie. Tune in to the show on Monday, April 11 on CBS to watch Kelsea’s performance.
Oliver Contreras/for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will celebrate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court at a large-scale event at the White House on Friday amid new concerns about COVID spreading among Washington’s power players.
Jackson’s Senate confirmation by a 53-47 bipartisan vote Thursday marked a big political win for Biden’s long-term legacy — and his short-term efforts to energize Democrats. But a cluster of positive COVID cases since Monday, including some like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who have had contact with Biden, has raised questions about whether the celebration could turn into a superspreader event.
Jackson, the first Black woman nominated and confirmed to the Supreme Court in its 233-year history, joined Biden in the Roosevelt Room Thursday afternoon to watch Democratic senators and other supporters break out in applause when Vice President Kamala Harris announced the vote.
Besides Biden, Harris is scheduled to deliver remarks at the outdoor event on the White House South Lawn in what will be a powerful image of the first Black female vice president alongside the first Black woman to soon sit on the Supreme Court. The White House said Jackson will speak as well.
But what should be considered a celebration for Democrats and the Biden White House risks being overshadowed by the pandemic Biden said this week is “under control.”
A growing number of Washington officials have tested positive for COVID, including two Cabinet members, two White House staffers, and at least 13 members of Congress.
Harris was in “close contact” with her communications director who tested positive, she but presided over Jackson’s vote in the Senate chamber without a mask just two days later. According to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone deemed a close contact should “wear a well-fitting mask for 10 full days any time you are around others inside your home or in public.”
“After consulting with a White House physician and reviewing CDC guidance, which we do for all engagements, the Vice President presided over the Senate while practicing social distancing — with limited and brief interactions from her chair. In addition, the Vice President tested negative today, and will continue to maintain strong protocols and follow the CDC’s guidance,” a White House official told ABC News.
The highly transmissible BA.2 variant appears to be closing in on Biden, 79, after he also appeared with Pelosi at two White House events this week — even sharing a kiss at one — prior to her positive COVID test.
Some 200 guests were invited to Friday’s ceremony including Jackson’s family, all current and former Supreme Court justices, Cabinet members, some members of the House, Democratic members of Congress from Florida — Jackson’s home state — and all 53 senators who voted for Jackson’s confirmation. No justices will attend, however, ABC News has been told.
While Biden is sure to want Republicans on hand for the victory lap as he aims to shore up the court’s credibility and Jackson’s vote, all three who voted for Jackson won’t be there. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine won’t be attending after she also tested positive for COVID this week, Sen. Lisa Murkowski was traveling to Alaska and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who gave Jackson a standing ovation in the Senate chamber, won’t attend either, his office said, but didn’t explain why.
The White House insists it won’t be a repeat of former President Donald Trump’s infamous and maskless Rose Garden event in October 2020 at which he nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the court, but with hugging and maskless photos likely a part of Friday’s festivities, the White House risks appearing at odds with CDC protocols and public messaging it has touted.
While the White House has said Biden and his inner circle follow the strictest COVID protocols for safety, Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director, notably is now acknowledging that it’s possible the president will test positive for COVID “at some point.”
“The president is vaccinated and double boosted, and so protected from severe COVID. We take every precaution to ensure that we keep him safe, we keep the vice president safe, the first lady, second gentleman, our staff here,” she said on CNN Friday morning. “But, you know, it is certainly possible that he will test positive for COVID and he is vaccinated, he is boosted and protected from the most severe strains of the virus.”
While masks are no longer required at the White House, senior administration officials say the president continues to be tested regularly and people meeting with him are also required to be tested. All White House employees also undergo regular testing.
When pressed on Thursday by ABC’s Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce if those protocols also apply for other individuals meeting with the president, such as invited guests, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said they assess each event on a “case-by-case” basis.
“Now, if you are at an event, obviously there are assessments made on a case by case. But if somebody is going to be in close proximity, standing next to him, sitting next to him on a stage, that would be obviously different than a broad group of attendees,” she said.
(NEW YORK) — At least 50 people, including five children, were killed in a rocket attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine on Friday, authorities said.
Two Russian rockets struck the station in Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast on Friday morning, according to Ukraine’s state-owned railway company, which in a statement via Facebook called the attack “a purposeful strike on the passenger infrastructure of the railway and the residents of the city of Kramatorsk.”
Donetsk Oblast Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said 38 of the 50 people killed died at the scene while 12 died in hospitals. At least 100 people were injured, according to the governor.
Graphic images provided by Ukrainian officials showed the aftermath of the attack — bodies lying on the ground next to scattered luggage and debris, with charred vehicles parked nearby.
The remains of a large rocket with the words “for our children” in Russian painted on the side was also seen on the ground next to the main building of the station. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement via Facebook that a Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile was used in Friday’s attack.
Russia has denied involvement in the attack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed involvement of Russian forces was already ruled out by the Russian Ministry of Defense, based on the type of missile that was used — a Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile.
“Our Armed Forces do not use missiles of this type,” Peskov told reporters during a press briefing Friday. “No combat tasks were set or planned for today in Kramatorsk.”
According to a senior U.S. defense official, the initial assessment by the U.S. is this was a short-range ballistic missile fired by Russian forces from inside Ukraine.
The attack occurred as “thousands” of civilians fleeing the Russian invasion were at the train station waiting to be taken to “safer regions of Ukraine,” according to Kyrylenko, who accused Russian forces of “deliberately trying to disrupt the evacuation of civilians.”
“The evacuation will continue,” the governor added. “Anyone who wants to leave the region will be able to do so.”
Earlier this week, large crowds of people were seen waiting on the platform to board trains at the Kramatorsk railway station as they fled the city in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region.
Since 2014, Russia-backed separatist forces have controlled two breakaway republics of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the Donbas. The separatists have been fighting alongside Russian troops to seize more territory there, after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Now, the Russian military is said to be refocusing its offensive in the Donbas as its troops withdraw from northern Ukraine.
Machine Gun Kelly, Twenty One Pilots and Glass Animals are among the nominees for the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.
All three will compete for the Top Rock Artist prize, alongside Måneskin and Imagine Dragons.
The Top Rock Album nominees are Twenty One Pilots’ Scaled and Icy, Imagine Dragons’ Mercury — Act 1, AJR‘s OK ORCHESTRA, Coldplay‘s Music of the Spheres and John Mayer‘s Sob Rock.
In the Top Rock Song category, the contenders are Måneskin’s “Beggin’,” Imagine Dragons’ “Follow You,” Coldplay and BTS‘ “My Universe,” The Anxiety, WILLOW and Tyler Cole‘s “Meet Me at Our Spot” and, surprisingly, country stars Elle King and Miranda Lambert‘s “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).”
Rock dominates the all-genre Top Tour category, with nominees including Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer‘s Hella Mega tour, The Rolling Stones‘ No Filter tour, Eagles‘ Hotel California tour and Genesis‘ The Last Domino? tour, as well as Harry Styles‘ Love on Tour.
Hella Mega, No Filter and The Last Domino? are the nominees in the dedicated Top Rock Tour category.
Other nominees include Glass Animals and Imagine Dragons for Top Duo/Group, and Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” for Top Streaming Song and Top Viral Song.
The 2022 BBMAs will air live May 15 on NBC. The winners will be decided based on Billboard chart figures for the tracking period between March 26, 2021, through March 17, 2022.
She’s widely recognized as the first Black woman promoted to head writer of a late-night talk show. She’s acted, done comedy, both professionally and personally, and even hosted her own late-night show. But multifaceted entertainer Robin Thede says her current project, HBO‘s A Black Lady Sketch Show, is “100 percent” the thing she’s most proud of.
Ahead of season three’s premiere Friday, Thede told ABC Audio that the purpose of the Emmy-winning sketch comedy series is to serve as a safe space for Black women, like co-stars Gabrielle Dennis, Ashley Nicole Black and Skye Townsend, to “play” and be unapologetically themselves.
Creating it as such, of course meant employing Black women only, to help bring the project to life.
“People are always like the cast is predominantly Black women, the writers are predominantly [Black women]. I’m like no, it’s all Black women, all the time,” Thede said, setting the record straight.
One of the many ways her mission to elevate the Black voice was always evident was through the guest stars Thede invited on set. With appearances from actors and entertainers such as Michael Ealy, Ava DuVernay and Kel Mitchell, Thede admittedly aimed to up the ante with this season’s line up.
“[I want this to be a safe place] for all of these amazing guest stars to come in and be able to play and know that they’re going to be taken care of every year,” she said, adding that Janet Jackson, Beyoncé and Blue Ivy all have an open invitation to play when they’re ready.
Thede says her main goal for A Black Lady Sketch Show‘s six-episode new season was simply to top what she’s done in seasons past. “I know that we’ve done that this season. I’m so excited,” she said.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images For US Weekly/ Lester Cohen/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
With 17 nods, The Weeknd will be the act to beat at the Billboard Music Awards next month, but Doja Cat and her 14 nods will give him fierce competition.
The “Blinding Lights” singer is a finalist in several major categories, including top artist, top R&B artist and top radio songs artist. His “Save Your Tears” collab with Ariana Grande earned him six nods — including top Hot 100 song, top streaming song and top radio song.
Doja Cat is up for a majority of the same big awards as The Weeknd — such as top artist and top R&B artist — and her “Kiss Me More” collab with SZA earned her plenty of recognition, including top collaboration and top viral song.
Tied with the third-most nominations are Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Bieber and Kanye West, with 13 each. Meanwhile, Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran are tied with nine nods, while The Kid LAROI follows up with eight. BTS and Taylor Swift have each been nominated seven times.
Taylor is the most-awarded female artist in Billboard Awards history, earning 25 wins over her career. She’s also now scored her eighth top artist nod, making her the most-recognized person in that respective category. This year, she’s also been nominated in some country categories thanks to her re-released albums Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version).
The BBMAs will air Sunday, May 15, starting at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and on the Peacock streaming service. A host for this year’s ceremony has yet to be announced.
Bullet for My Valentine has dropped a new single called “Omen.”
The track, which is available now via digital outlets, will appear on the upcoming deluxe version of the Welsh metal outfit’s 2021 self-titled album, due out July 8.
“Omen” is one of four previously unreleased tracks included on the deluxe, along with “No More Tears,” “Step Out from the Inside,” and “This Means War.” The expanded set also includes the song “Stitches,” which had previously only been available in Japan.
The original Bullet for My Valentine dropped last November. It includes the singles “Knives” and “Rainbow Veins.”
(NEW YORK) — Clea Shearer, co-founder of The Home Edit, a home organizing company, announced she has breast cancer and shared a message encouraging women to be their own advocates when it comes to their health.
Shearer, a Nashville, Tennessee-based mom of two, shared on Instagram Thursday that she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer after finding a lump in her breast in February.
She said that her OBGYN was not able to see her, so she had to seek out her primary care doctor to have a mammogram done.
“I had to request a mammogram from my general doctor, which led to an ultrasound, and then an emergency triple biopsy,” Shearer wrote in an Instagram post. “I have two tumors, 1 cm each, that are aggressive and fast moving – but I caught it early. Had I not taken this upon myself, I would be in a completely different situation right now.”
Shearer, 40, said in a later Instagram story that she has an invasive type of breast cancer, which means the cancer has spread into surrounding breast tissue, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
The star of Netflix’s Get Organized with The Home Edit, said she is undergoing a double mastectomy and shared a photo of herself Friday in the hospital awaiting surgery.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On average, over 255,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year in the U.S., and over 40,000 people die each year from the disease, according to the CDC.
Screening for breast cancer — which includes mammograms, at-home breast self-exams and clinical breast exams done by a doctor or nurse — can help catch the disease early, when it is easier to treat, according to the CDC.
Shearer said she decided to share her cancer battle publicly to encourage other women to “to self-examine on a regular basis, self-advocate always, and to prioritize your health over your busy schedules.”
She noted that she was under the age of 40 when her tumors were found and has no family history of breast cancer.
“The most important thing for everyone to remember is that I found these tumors myself,” Shearer said in her Instagram stories. “I felt something and I said something.”
“I’m begging you all. I’m pleading with you. Please examine yourself on a regular basis. Please fight for your own testing and your own scans, even if your doctor is not being helpful, and please prioritize your health,” she added.
The music video for “I’ll Get Through It,” Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler‘s new collaboration with the symphonic metal band Apocalyptica, has premiered online.
The clip features dramatic portraits of Butler and the cello rockers, as well as singer Franky Perez, who handles lead vocals on the track. You can watch it now streaming on Apocalyptica’s official YouTube channel.
“I’ll Get Through It,” which was released last month, was written by prolific hit songwriter and 13-time Oscar-nominee Diane Warren, whose long list of credits includes Aerosmith‘s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Chicago‘s “Look Away,” Cher‘s “If I Could Turn Back Time,” and many, many others.
Apocalyptica’s most recent album, Cell-0, was released in 2020. The band will launch a U.S. headlining tour Thursday night in Atlanta. Perez, who sang on Apocalyptica’s 2015 record, Shadowmaker, will be the vocalist for the tour.
As for Butler, he’s written a graphic novel called The Antibody that’s which is being released as a multi-part NFT collection via the NFT marketplace YellowHeart, the first chapter of which was made available last month at yh.io. The digital book tells the story of a mutated antibody that goes on to wreak havoc on humanity. Each episode will feature original music composed by Geezer.
Toto‘s landmark fourth studio album, the aptly titled Toto IV, was released 40 years ago today.
The album yielded four top-40 singles, including the melodic rock band’s two biggest hits, “Africa” and “Rosanna,” which peaked at #1 and #2, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100. Toto IV also included “I Won’t Hold You Back” and “Make Believe,” which reached #10 and #30 on the chart.
Toto IV peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200, and has sold over 3 million copies in the U.S.
“Africa” was co-written by Toto keyboardist David Paich and drummer Jeff Porcaro, and features Paich sharing lead vocals with founding frontman Bobby Kimball. Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit contributed backing vocals to the track, as well as to two other songs on the album, “I Won’t Hold You Back” and “Good for You.”
In 2020, “Africa” was certified six-times Platinum by the RIAA.
The song enjoyed a resurgence in popularity over the last couple of decades, at first as part of the “yacht rock” craze, and then after alternative rock band Weezercovered the tune in 2018.
In 2019, founding Toto guitarist Steve Lukather admitted to ABC Audio that he didn’t understand the enduring popularity of “Africa.”
“That was the weirdest tune we’ve ever cut,” he said. “We buried it…on side two on the IV album. The fact it was hit the first time was just staggering to me, but the fact that all these years later it’s become this thing [baffles me.]”
Reflecting on why the “kitschy” tune is so beloved, Lukather posed, “It’s not about love or politics or the end of the world. It’s just a silly song to make people dance and sing and forget about things for four minutes, I guess.”
Here’s Toto IV‘s track list:
“Rosanna”
“Make Believe”
“I Won’t Hold You Back”
“Good for You”
“It’s a Feeling”
“Afraid of Love”
“Lovers in the Night”
“We Made It”
“Waiting for Your Love”
“Africa”
