Kelly Clarkson broke into the limelight in 2002 when she became the first winner of American Idol. And Vanessa Hudgens says Kelly’s Idol journey is what inspired her own career.
Appearing Tuesday onThe Kelly Clarkson Show, Vanessa revealed she wanted to follow in the “Breakaway” singer’s footsteps and compete on American Idol, to be just like her. She said she “grew up doing theater” and acting has “always been a passion of mine” — just like Kelly — so she committed to being on Idol. But life had other plans when she was ready to try out.
“That next week I got an audition for High School Musical and booked it. So then I was like, ‘Never mind,'” she laughed. “But I was like, ‘I’m doing it.’ And you were the catalyst.”
Kelly and Vanessa then bonded over the audition process, with Kelly disclosing, “People don’t know that, but there were many auditions before you even got to the TV part.”
As for the Princess Switch star, she “remember[s] all the auditions” she had to go through to play Gabriella Montez on High School Musical. Noting that the the hit Disney Channel movie turns 16 this year, Vanessa says, “It’s wild, the time just keeps flying.”
Marveling on American Idol turning 20, Kelly agreed it “feels weird” that the show is celebrating its platinum anniversary this year, because she was “so young” when it became a part of her life.
The late Minnie Riperton‘s timeless song, “Lovin’ You,” peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on April 5, 1975. Penned by Riperton, the beautiful love ballad is from the singer’s second studio album, Perfect Angel, and was produced by her husband, Richard Rudolph, along with Stevie Wonder. The tune is still considered an R&B classic, and boasts the most famous high note of the 70s.
Here are a few facts you might not know about the track:
— According to the liner notes on Riperton’s album, “Lovin’ You” is said to have been created as a distraction for Riperton’s daughter, actress and SNL star Maya Rudolph, so that Riperton and Rudolph could have some alone time.
— Speaking of her daughter, Riperton can be heard singing Maya’s name at the end of the track, but only on the unedited version.
— “Lovin’ You” has been featured in numerous commercials, including a 1998 Burger King spot and a Visa ad.
— “Lovin’ You” was sampled many times over the years by artists like R&B singers Shanice and Sparkle and pop singer Olivia Newton-John. Grammy-nominated singer Chloe Bailey gained lots of recognition after covering the hit song earlier this year.
(NEW YORK) — Severe weather continues to strike the South with damaging winds, tornados and huge hail.
Chunks of hail the size of golf balls were reported Monday night in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
On Tuesday afternoon severe thunderstorms will move into Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
A tornado already touched down overnight in Jackson County, Texas, near the town of Joshua.
A tornado watch will be in effect until 7 p.m. CT across the South.
Six tornadoes were also reported in central Mississippi and Alabama. One of the confirmed tornadoes caused some structure and tree damage near the town of Newtown and Highway I-2.
Tornado warnings are ongoing in Alabama.
Thousands are without power in Washington state as a major storm moved through the area, producing wind gusts near 81 mph.
As this storm system moves east, wind and snow alerts are issued from the Rockies into the Plains with high fire danger from Texas to South Dakota. Red flag warnings have been issued for the Plains where winds could gust up to 70 mph.
California’s first major heat wave of the season is expected soon; a heat advisory was issued for Los Angeles and San Diego with high wind alerts posted for the mountain areas.
The heat wave will begin Wednesday with highs in the lower to middle 90s.
Artists including Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Carole King and Julian Lennon have joined the Stand Up for Ukraine social media campaign.
As previously reported, the Global Citizen-organized initiative will feature musicians coming together on social media this Friday, April 8, to show support for Ukraine as it continues to fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Stand Up for Ukraine is designed to mobilize people across the globe to call on world leaders to commit billions of dollars to help refugees. It takes place ahead of a global humanitarian pledging summit taking place on April 9.
Among the other artists that have newly signed on to take part in the initiative are Metallica, Third Eye Blind, Dave Matthews, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, Hozier and Panic! at the Disco.
Previously announced participants include are Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Nicks, Madonna, U2, Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alanis Morissette, Chris Isaak, Celine Dion and many more.
More than 12 million people need assistance due to the war in Ukraine, and more than 6.5 million have been displaced internally; in addition, more than 3.5 million have left the country for neighboring countries. Nearly two million are women and children. Since the conflict began, one child from Ukraine becomes a refugee every second.
Bad Boys and Bad Boys II director Michael Bay didn’t want to talk about the Oscar moment everyone has been talking about — but like the rest of us, he found himself doing it anyway.
After initially telling Yahoo! Entertainment he didn’t really care about the buzzworthy moment between Will Smith and Chris Rock, Bay relented.
“First of all, it’s wrong to begin with,” said the filmmaker, who was promoting his new movie Ambulance.
He added, “I don’t really care. Hollywood gets very self-absorbed. There are babies getting blown up in the Ukraine right now. We should be talking about that…”
That said, Bay noted regarding Smith, “I’ve worked with him. He’s not that guy. I’ve never seen him lose his cool like that.”
He also maintained that when he first saw the incident, “I thought it was a setup because I saw his smirk. I’ve been on set when Will has screwed with people and joked with people.”
However, Bay said that when he heard Will yell, he could tell he was really mad.
Bay also seemed to think Smith could have done more damage if he’d wanted to. “Listen, it was a slap. It wasn’t a punch. He’s very good at fighting, he’s trained at that,” the director said, before repeating, “It was wrong.”
Paul McCartney‘s childhood home in Liverpool at 20 Forthlin Road will be opened to unsigned music artists for them to record and perform there as part of a new initiative launched by the U.K.’s National Trust organization, which focuses on heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
As part of the campaign, dubbed “The Forthlin Sessions,” the National Trust will team up with Sir Paul’s younger brother, Mike McCartney, and U.K. journalist and broadcaster Pete Paphides to choose artists who will have the opportunity to record and/or perform at the historic residence and have those sessions publicized.
To find out how to apply for the chance to perform at the home, and other details about the initiative, visit NationalTrust.org.uk. Those who apply must be based in the U.K. and at least 18 years old.
The McCartney family moved to 20 Forthlin Road in 1955. A few years later, the residence became the site where Paul wrote and rehearsed many Beatles songs with John Lennon, including “Love Me Do,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” “I’ll Follow the Sun” and “When I’m 64.”
The initiative is being launched to mark a few Beatles-related milestones taking place in 2022, including Paul’s 80th birthday in June and the 60th anniversary of “Love Me Do” in October. The goal of “The Forthlin Sessions” is to help inspire creativity in young musicians and increase interest in McCartney’s childhood home as a tourist destination.
In conjunction with the launch of the talent search, a new poem titled “Ordinary House, An Ordinary Street,” which tells the story of the residence, has debuted as part of a short film available for viewing at NationalTrust.org.uk.
The clip features a number people associated with the house, including Mike McCartney and Quarry Men drummer Colin Hanton.
Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian are reportedly married.
According to TMZ, the Blink-182 drummer and the reality TV star tied the knot during a Las Vegas ceremony early Monday morning after Barker performed at the Grammys Sunday night. E! News and People confirmed the news with the Vegas chapel’s owner, Marty Frierson.
Adding to the Vegas vibes, the wedding was apparently officiated by an Elvis Presley impersonator.
“I didn’t know who it was until they pulled up,” Frierson tells People. “I advertise as 24-hours but they wanted to make sure I was still there. They paid and they requested Elvis Presley, that was mandatory. I called back five minutes later and was like, I got an Elvis, and there they were.”
TMZ and E! News both note that Barker and Karsdashian did not have a marriage license, so the nuptials might not be official official just yet.
Barker and Kardashian got engaged last October. This is Kardashian’s first marriage, and Barker’s third.
(INDIANAPOLIS) — Police have named a man who died in 2013 as the serial killer responsible for the deaths of three women in the late 1980s.
Harry Edward Greenwell was identified as the man known as the “I-65” or “Days Inn” killer, an elusive figure who killed three motel clerks along Interstate 65 in Indiana and Kentucky, Indiana State Police spokesperson Sgt. Glen Fifield told reporters at a news conference Tuesday.
The case began on Feb. 21, 1987, after the murder of Vicki Heath, a 41-year-old mother who would had recently gotten engaged and was working the night shift at the Super 8 motel in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Fifield said. By March 3, 1989, Indiana State Police were investigating two more murders that occurred under similar circumstances on the same day Heath was killed, Fifield said.
Margaret Gill, also known as Peggy Gill, was murdered while working the night shift at the Days Inn in Merrillville, Indiana, while Jean Gilbert was murdered while working the night shift at the Days Inn in Remington, Indiana, Fifield said. Gill, who was 24 at the time, had been promoted from maid to night auditor, while Gilbert, a mother of two, had traded shifts to watch her daughter’s last game as a cheerleader, the Indy Star reported.
The women were raped before they were killed, the Indy Star reported.
On Jan. 2, 1990, a clerk working in the Days Inn in Columbus, Indiana, was attacked in a similar manner as the previous three victims, but she was able to escape her attacker and survived, later giving authorities “an excellent physical description of the suspect and details of the crime,” Fifield said. The clerk was sexually assaulted and stabbed in the attack, the Indy Star reported.
The primary factor that linked the four cases together was the proximity to Interstate 65. Numerous pieces of forensic evidence were collected and preserved to include DNA, clothing, hairs, fibers and ballistic evidence from the cases, allowing investigators to match ballistic evidence linking the Gill and Gilbert murders and to later match DNA evidence linking the Heath and Gilbert murders to the case of the surviving victim, Fifield said.
Decades after the murders took place, Indiana State Police and the FBI were able to use genetic genealogy to generate investigative leads on the killer. Greenwell — who was born on Dec. 9, 1944, and died in January 2013 — had an “extensive criminal history” and had been “in and out of prison several times,” Fifield said.
Investigators were able to put together a timeline of Greenwell’s movements through police reports, newspaper archives and “some self-reporting by him” Fifield said. Greenwell is feared to be responsible for additional murders, rapes, robberies and assaults stretching from Gary, Indiana, down to Mobile, Alabama, the length of Interstate 65, Fifield said.
Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter addressed the family members of the victims, saying he hopes the announcement “might bring a little bit of solace to you to know that the animal that did this is no longer on this earth.”
Carter described the decadeslong investigation as a “relentless and dogged pursuit” that had detectives chasing leads all over the country. Advances in technology finally allowed investigators to solve the cold case, Carter said.
“It’s amazing what happens over the course of generations,” Carter said. “There’s detectives in this very room that have been involved in this in some form or another, literally for generations. And they’re owed a debt of gratitude that we could never possibly repay. But, you know, their effort was for you.”
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway and Beatrice Peterson contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Three Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah — have taken the political risk of breaking from their party to vote for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court this week, elevating the first Black woman to the nation’s highest court in its 233-year history.
Democrats on Monday were able to advance Jackson’s nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 53-47 vote, with the help of those three Republicans, putting President Joe Biden’s nominee on a clear path to being confirmed later this week by the full Senate.
But it’s unclear if they will face blowback from constituents or colleagues as they continue to explain their reasoning.
Collins was the first Republican to pledge her support to Jackson last week, after meeting twice with the nominee who she said alleviated her concerns. Murkowski and Romney’s endorsements followed on Monday, to the relief of the Biden White House, which had pushed for a bipartisan vote.
Jackson left “quite an impression” on Murkowski during her Judiciary Committee hearings, where “she was put under some pretty, pretty intense scrutiny, and I think you saw grace under pressure there,” Murkowski said.
“There was a level of personal attack that was not warranted,” she added, also calling out corrosive politics around the confirmation process.
“This is an awful process it’s just awful,” Murkowski said. “We’re strapped into it, we’re so divided now. We are to that point where it is almost automatic where if it is a president who is not of my party puts forth a nominee I am somehow obligated to just barely even give consideration.”
Moments after Murkowski announced her intention Monday, Romney followed suit — becoming the only Republican to reverse course and announce plans to support Jackson after previously voting against her confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last year. He told reporters Tuesday that he got to yes after becoming convinced she’s within the “mainstream.”
“In her previous confirmation votes I had concerns about whether she was in the mainstream and having spent time with her personally and reviewing her testimony before Congress I became convinced that she is in the mainstream,” Romney said.
While Jackson did, then, get the support of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on that vote, Graham said he will vote no this time around, adding that Jackson wouldn’t have been given hearings had Republicans controlled the Senate.
Republicans, led by Sen Josh Hawley, R-Mo., repeatedly challenged Jackson’s sentencing of child porn offenders during the proceedings in an effort to paint her as “soft on crime” — a label Democrats dismissed as false (A handful of offenders received sentences below federal guidelines from Jackson, but the prison terms were above those recommended by the probation officer, putting her in the mainstream of judicial action).
Romney, like Collins and Murkowski, also lamented Tuesday that the process of confirming Supreme Court nominees has becoming increasingly politicized.
“I think, perhaps, we are going to have to reconsider the process that we are going to pursue in the future in part because you could have a setting where you have a president of one party and a Senate of another, and maybe there will be a change,” Romney said. “But at this stage, I was convinced that Judge Jackson is well qualified, intelligent capable, and I became convinced that she is within the mainstream.”
Collins said she was “delighted” to learn that her colleagues had “reached a similar conclusion” on Jackson’s confirmation, adding she’d had “some conversations” with the two before they announced their positions but only learned of their support “earlier yesterday.”
She also raised concerns with the, at times, combative process wrecking the court’s credibility.
“I hope we can get back to a time where we have bipartisan support for qualified Supreme Court nominees because it is important for public confidence in the court,” Collins said. “The court is not supposed to be a politicized institution, and if the nomination process leading up to confirmation is overly political, I believe it undermines the public’s confidence in our courts and regrettably that’s what we’ve seen with the last few nominees.”
While Collins aired concerns with some of Jackson’s sentences, she said in a statement that the fact she “will not agree with every vote that she casts as a Justice…is not disqualifying.”
(NEW YORK) –Through lockdowns, remote working, travel restrictions and school closures — many have not had a cold in two years. Now cold and flu rates appear to be on the rise as Americans return to pre-COVID activities sans masks.
Dr. Peter Chin Hong at UC San Francisco says his hospital is seeing an influx of cold and flu complaints.
“Usually we’ve gotten several colds a year for most people,” he told ABC News. “I think not having them means when you do get one it lasts a little bit longer.”
While cold and flu symptoms can often resemble COVID-19 symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says testing may be necessary to confirm a diagnosis.
Dr. Hong stressed the importance of returning to public life with caution.
“It’s really crucial to keep up your street smarts not just about COVID, but these other pathogens that you can transmit,” he said.
