Friday is Elton John‘s 75th birthday, so Billboard asked some fellow stars to pick their favorite songs by the Rocket Man. Here are just a few:
Billy Joel, who toured with Elton on and off for years, picked “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” He tells Billboard, “We used to play it together during the shows while we were on the ‘Face to Face Tours’…I always liked playing that unorthodox chord progression and singing the soaring melody in that song.”
He adds, “I still do it from time to time on my own — but it’s not the same without Elton there, too. Rock on, old friend!”
Lionel Richie picked “Your Song,” telling Billboard, “I fell in love with Elton’s music when I heard this song, and from that point on I was hooked.”
Sting chose “Come Down In Time,” from the album Tumbleweed Connection, which he later recorded his own version of. “I used to play a version of it on guitar when I played folk clubs in the early ’70s…,” he says, calling it a “beautiful song with lovely and mysterious lyrics.”
Jimmy Buffett also chose a song from Tumbleweed Connction, “Country Comfort.” Buffett says he first heard the song and album while working as a reporter for Billboard, and recalls that he was surprised by the record’s country-influenced sound.
“I like the pedal steel guitar on it,” Jimmy notes. “My thought at the time was, ‘Why isn’t anybody here doing this song?’ or ‘Why isn’t in on country radio?'”
Annie Lennox and Neil Diamond both chose “Rocket Man,” with Annie noting, “It’s a full-blown spiritual experience packed into a ‘song!'”
Foreigner launches a new eight-show Las Vegas residency tonight at The Venetian Theatre, and the veteran rockers have just announced that, in conjunction with the concerts, they will be partnering with the American Red Cross to help the organization’s Ukrainian relief efforts.
The band will donate $5,000 from each of its residency performances to the cause, and also will encourage fans attending the shows to donate money to American Red Cross reps who will be at the venue.
“The plight of everyone impacted by this conflict is an international tragedy,” says founding Foreigner guitarist and songwriter Mick Jones. “While we face our own ongoing struggles here at home, I am thrilled at the opportunity to work with the American Red Cross in doing our part in the relief efforts.”
He adds, “Our goal is to offer some solace or small comfort to traumatized people in the region. I could think of nothing more American than a gesture of such brotherly love to those who are feeling so displaced and alone in this world right now.”
The Red Cross is providing humanitarian aid to Ukrainians in need both in their own country and to those who have fled to neighboring countries during Russian’s military invasion. International crisis responders have been deployed by the Red Cross to Poland, Moldova, Hungary and Romania to provide relief. Visit RedCross.org for more info.
Foreigner’s Las Vegas residency show features a full performance of the band’s chart-topping 1981 album, 4, in honor of its 40th anniversary. The rockers also will play many of their other hits during the concert.
Tickets are available for now at Ticketmaster.com, VenetianLasVegas.com, at Venetian Resort box offices or by calling 702-414-9000 or 866-641-7469. The engagement runs through April 9.
(SALT LAKE CITY) — The Utah state legislate has voted to override Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto of an anti-transgender sports bill that would ban transgender girls’ participation in sports.
The state House and Senate each gathered the necessary two-thirds of votes to override Cox’s veto Friday. The ban will take effect July 1.
Cox wrote a letter Tuesday to state Senate President Sen. J. Stuart Adams and state House Speaker Rep. Brad R. Wilson listing the “fundamental flaws” he considered when vetoing the bill.
He wrote that he chose to veto it “because the bill was substantially changed in the final hours of the legislative session with no public input and in a way that will likely bankrupt the Utah High School Athletic Association and result in millions of dollars in legal fees for local school districts.”
Adams responded by vowing to override the veto.
“Doing nothing is taking a step backward for women. Finding a solution to this complicated issue is necessary to maintain fair competition now and in the future,” Adams said in a March 22 online statement.
HB11 initially allowed trans participation in girls’ sports and proposed that a commission decide if there is a threat to safety or fairness against cisgender girls in competitions.
However, on the last day of the legislative session, a substitute of the bill was introduced to implement an all-out ban on transgender women’s participation in sports, and the commission would only come into play if a court prohibited the ban.
“It is important to note that a complete ban was never discussed, never contemplated, never debated and never received any public input prior to the Legislature passing the bill on the 45th and final night of the session,” Cox wrote.
Cox warned that school districts will also be liable for any lawsuits to come from this ban.
He states that only four trans students are playing sports in the state, with only one athlete in girls’ sports, and they are not unfairly dominating. He said the high rates of mental health challenges transgender youth face due to discrimination also influenced his decision.
“Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something. Four kids trying to get through each day,” Cox said.
He added, “Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few. I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live.”
Cox warned legislators that he also plans on calling a special session to change the section of the bill in order to avoid bankrupting the athletic association and local schools if they override his veto.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has also vetoed a transgender sports bill this week and is also facing attempts from the legislature to override his decision.
At least 11 other states have implemented bans against transgender athletes.
ABC’s hit reality show franchise The Bachelor got its start on this night in 2002, and in that time we’ve seen a lot of drama, hundreds of roses, gallons of Chardonnay quaffed, and, well, not many happily ever afters.
In fact, after 26 seasons, only season 17 couple Sean and Catherine, who tied the knot in 2013, remain married to this day. Both Arie and Becca from season 22, and Peter and Hannah from season 24, broke up after just one day.
As Entertainment Weekly points out, the first season on re-watch appears quite different from how it does today, and not only because the Rose Ceremony was called Invitation Night, and the Bachelor Mansion was a different location known as “The Villa.”
In the years since a dude named Alex Michael turned to reality TV to find his soulmate, the show has become a collection of beloved — or groan-inducing, depending on your point of view — tropes, like the oft-uttered phrase “my person,” “for the right reasons,” and the dreaded, “can I steal him for a second?”
Arguably, the casting has upped the ante, too. Truth told, Alex was a pretty average-looking guy, but today’s hopefuls are nearly always lantern-jawed superhunks — so much the better for those outdoor shower scenes to which viewers have become accustomed. Likewise, those lucky ladies vying for the Bachelor’s attention — regardless of their actual careers — wouldn’t look out of place in a modeling photo shoot.
As for the show’s purported goal, helping its Bachelor find love, the results aren’t nearly as sparkling as a Neil Lane diamond. For the record, even Alex didn’t find his soulmate on the show. He dated his final choice, Amanda, for about a year after the finale, and then they broke up.
Before the most recent season launched, Express VPN crunched the numbers when it comes to final rose-getters and their would-be “persons,” and it’s not particularly encouraging, demonstrating the average lifespan of a Bachelor relationship over the years at only three months and 16 days. Here are some of the short-termed “soulmates”:
Season 14 — Jake & Vienna — Broken up after 3 months, 21 days
Season 15 — Brad & Emily — Broken up after 3 months, 15 days
Season 16 — Ben & Courtney — Broken up after 6 months 23 days
Season 18 — Juan & Nikki — Broken up after 7 months 18 days
Season 19 — Chris & Whitney — Broken up after 2 months, 19 days
Season 20 — Ben & Lauren — Broken up after 2 months, 1 day
Season 21 — Nick & Vanessa — Broken up after 5 months, 12 days
Season 22 — Arie & Becca — Broken up after 1 day
Season 23 — Colton & Cassie — Broken up after 2 months, 17 days
Season 24 — Peter & Hannah — Broken up after 1 day
Season 25 — Matt & Rachael — Dating since March 15, 2021
After a tumultuous season 26, Clayton & Susie are still dating.
From hot rap collabs to fast-paced movie soundtracks and even gospel ballads, check out this week’s New Music Friday for the culture’s latest & greatest in music.
New Music
— Kid Cudi, “Stars in the Sky“: The Ohio-based rapper delivered an upbeat ballad to accompany the game-based film Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which hits theaters April 8.
— Tory Lanez, “Taken Care“: After dropping a few bar-heavy projects recently, the Canadian artist took it back to his R&B roots in the new romantic-ish track “for the ladies.”
— DDG ft. Gunna, “Elon Musk“: Apparently they’re both “feeling like Elon Musk,” as per the new rap track. And while DDG hinted that he was a planning a trip to space, the rapper surely transported himself to the outer galaxy in the new song and video.
— Erica Campbell, “Positive“: She’s half of the beloved gospel duo Mary Mary, but on her new uplifting track, Erica delivers all alone. It’s the latest single from the singer’s upcoming album, which is expected in September.
— Denzel Curry ft. T-Pain, “Troubles“: T-Pain is known for hopping on tracks and adding his legendary sound and flare, and he did just that on Curry’s new single.
— Nigo, I Know Nigo: The long-awaited album from the Japanese producer may have changed the game. With features from Tyler the Creator, Pusha T and his good friend Pharrell, the 11-track album is more than pleasing to fans so far.
— Latto, 777: With the release of her 16-track second studio album, featuring Lil Durk & Lil Wayne and more, the Atlanta-based artist proves that she isn’t letting up anytime soon.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts‘ recently announced first-ever acoustic album, Changeup, got its release today.
The album is a 25-track collection featuring new, unplugged versions of songs spanning Joan Jett‘s entire career, from her work with the trailblazing 1970s all-female group The Runaways through to some of her most recent songs with her backing band, The Blackhearts.
Changeup is available now as a digital download, via streaming services and in the immersive audio formats Sony 360 RA and Dolby Atmos. A vinyl version will be released at a later date.
Among the tracks on Changeup are acoustic versions of Jett’s classic early hit “Bad Reputation,” “Androgynous,” her cover of Tommy James and the Shondells‘ “Crimson and Clover,” the Runaways classic “Cherry Bomb,” the Bruce Springsteen-penned “Light of Day,” and a wide variety of deeper cuts.
Prior to Changeup‘s release, Joan released her unplugged renditions of “Bad Reputation” and “(I’m Gonna) Run Away,” a song from Jett and the Blackhearts’ 1981 debut album, I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.
In other news, Joan will be one of the guest performers at acclaimed New Orleans musician Trombone Shorty‘s sixth annual Treme Threauxdown concert, scheduled for April 30 at the Saenger Theatre in the Big Easy. The event, which also will feature Gary Clark Jr., Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Tank and the Bangas, takes place during the first weekend of the 2022 New Orleans Jazz Fest.
Meanwhile, Jett and her band have a series of spring U.S. headlining dates scheduled leading up to the group’s stint on The Stadium Tour, the major U.S. summer trek that also features Def Leppard, Motley Crue and Poison. The tour kicks off June 16 in Atlanta. Visit JoanJett.com for her full itinerary.
Here’s the complete track list of Changeup:
“(I’m Gonna) Run Away”
“You’re Too Possessive”
“Long Time”
“Victim of Circumstance”
“Coney Island Whitefish”
“Love Is Pain”
“Oh Woe Is Me”
“You Drive Me Wild”
“Frustrated “
“Bad Reputation”
“Fake Friends”
“Fresh Start”
“Soulmates to Strangers”
“Make It Back”
“Fragile”
“I Love Playin’ with Fire”
“Cherry Bomb “
“I Want You”
“Crimson and Clover”
“A 100 Feet Away”
“Androgynous”
“You Don’t Know What You’ve Got”
“School Days”
“Good Music”
“Light of Day”
(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has been providing daily updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s efforts to resist.
Here are highlights of what a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Friday on Day 30:
In apparent shift, Russian offensive toward Kyiv stopped, troops now in defensive positions
The official described how Russian forces around Kyiv appear to have stopped offensive operations toward the capital city and are moving into defensive positions as they seem to be prioritizing offensive operations in the Donbas, the eastern part of the country.
“It appears that the Russians are at the moment not pursuing a ground offense or ground offensive towards Kiev,” said the official. They are digging in. They are establishing defensive positions.” However, the official said that the bombardment of the city using long-range weapons is continuing.
“They don’t show any signs of being willing to move on Kyiv from the ground,” said the official. “And that is in keeping with our assessment of a couple of days ago that they are going to prioritize the eastern part of the country with in terms of ground offense. And that is exactly what we’re seeing.”
Earlier on Friday, a top Russian general told reporters that Russia’s initial military operations had been completed and that operations would now focus “on the most important thing, the complete liberation of Donbas.”
“They have stopped trying to move forward and what they have started to do is try to defend what they have,” said the senior U.S. defense official. “We’re seeing the Ukrainians really go now on the offense on them around Kyiv and that includes to the west of it.” The official described heavy fighting in the towns of Bucha and Irpin northwest of Kyiv where he said the Ukrainians are ‘trying hard to dislodge the Russians.'”
Russian military now prioritizing operations in Donbas in eastern Ukraine
“They are putting their priorities and their effort in the east of Ukraine and that’s where still there remains a lot of heavy fighting,” said the official. “We think they are trying to not only secure some sort of more, more substantial gains there as a potential negotiating tactic at the table, but also to cut off Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country.”
“They are more focused on the Donbas,” said the official, describing the easternmost area of the country where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting against Ukraine’s military for the past eight years.
“The defensive crouch that they’re now taking in Kyiv, we think is consistent with their desire now to be more on the offense and to be more aggressive in the east and Donbas.” And that includes increased air bombardment in the region including in the port city of Mariupol that continues to see what the official described as “vicious vicious fighting.”
Russian forces lose full control of strategic southern city of Kherson
In a significant setback, Russian forces have lost full control of the strategic southern city of Kherson according to the official. If the Ukrainians were to retake the city, it would mark the first time that Russian troops will have been pushed out of a major city seized by Russia.
“It doesn’t appear to be as solidly in Russian control as it was before,” said the official. “The Ukrainians are trying to take Kherson, but we would argue that Kherson is actually contested territory again.”
If Ukrainian forces were to retake the port city, it “would be a significant development, no question about that in terms of the southern part of the war,” the official said. If that happened Russian troops would be “sandwiched” between Ukrainian forces in Mykolaiv to the west and Kherson, the official said.
“That would put them smack in the middle and that would make it very, very difficult for them to make any kind of ground movement on Odessa. If in fact, that was their plan,” the official said.
Russian reinforcements headed to Ukraine from Georgia
“We’ve seen our first indications that they are trying to send in some reinforcements from Georgia,” said the official. “We have seen the movement of some number of troops from Georgia.
In recent days, U.S. officials have said that it appeared that Russia was seeking reinforcements for its military operations in Ukraine, but interestingly from outside of Russia.
“We don’t have an exact number,” said the official. “I couldn’t tell you whether it’s a whole BTG (battalion tactical group) or how many troops.”
Russian troops have been in breakaway Russian areas of Georgia since 2008.
Russian missile failure rates between 20% and 60%
The senior U.S. defense official did not dispute press reports that Russian missiles are failing to launch between 20% and 60% of the time.
“It’s hard for us to assess that perfectly in terms of numbers, but we have seen some failures,” said the official.
“The ranges I’ve seen in the press from anywhere from 20 to 60%. I would not push back on that assessment,” said the official.
“But again, it’s a range, and it’s very nearly from day to day, but we have seen times … when our assessment is they have they have experienced a significant amount of failure in their missiles,” the official added.
While the airspace over Ukraine remains contested, the official said that Russian planes are now flying about 300 sorties a day and are continuing to fire a lot of missiles that are causing their supplies to dwindle.
“They still have more than 50% but that’s the air launch cruise missiles in particular the thing that they’re running the lowest on,” said the official.
Since the start of the war, Russia has fired more than 1,250 missiles into Ukraine.
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration official is steering clear of defining any use by Russia of chemical weapons in Ukraine as a “red line,” a senior administration official told ABC News.
“We learned our lesson” the official said in describing the Obama administration’s ineffective response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons in 2012.
Instead, the administration is considering a new round of economic sanctions against Russia as a potential response should Russia use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, according to a senior administration official.
A senior administration official told ABC News that the U.S. would most likely respond to Russia’s use of chemical and biological weapons “with dramatically stepped-up” sanctions that could target Russia’s gold reserves or Russian leadership.
However, the official noted that developing additional rounds of sanctions might be difficult to put into play given the wide range of international sanctions against Russia that have been put in place since Russia’s invasion.
ABC News has previously reported that the Biden administration and NATO are looking to get chemical and biological detection systems into Ukraine in light of the concerns raised about the possible Russian use of the weapons.
In recent weeks, American officials have expressed concerns that Russia has been preparing a false-flag operation — claiming Ukraine’s use of chemical or biological weapons — that Russia could use as a justification for its use of such weapons.
Following meetings with NATO leaders in Brussels on Thursday, President Joe Biden said the United States would respond to Russia’s use of chemical and biological weapons, but did not lay out specifics for possible responses.
“We would respond if he uses it,” Biden said at a news conference. “The nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use.”
“We are working through contingency planning for a range of different scenarios,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters traveling with the president on Friday. “In broad terms, I believe that there is convergence around the fundamental nature of how the alliance would respond to these issues.”
“Any use of weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, chemical, biological, Russia would pay a severe price for the use of those weapons, as the president has previously said,” Sullivan added. “We have spoken to our allies, we’ve done contingency planning within our own government, and we have communicated directly to the Russians.”
The administration also is weighing how it would respond should Russia target the supply lines inside Poland and other NATO countries that are flowing in thousands of American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine’s military.
The administration will most likely pursue a response of “careful reciprocity” to avoid escalation according to the official. Such a response might include the proportional targeting of any Russian weapons system involved in an attack on supplies inside of Poland said the official.
Contemplating a tougher response is tempered by the reality that “everyone knows what that would lead to” said the official.
Tiffany Haddish has announced her second collection of essays, I Curse You with Joy, will be out this November.
The follow-up to 2017’s The Last Black Unicorn, this new book will feature candid personal stories from Haddish’s life and career. They include auditioning for SNL and then becoming the first Black female comedian to host it, reuniting with her estranged father after 20 years, and going viral on Instagram for shaving her head.
“After my first book, I knew I wanted to share more of myself in I Curse You with Joy,” Haddish says in a statement obtained by Rolling Stone. “I want to bring readers on a journey with me that is hahahas and highs and lows, so people know even through the hurt you can spread joy.”
Christina Perri is back with an all-new single, “Evergone,” and she credits Taylor Swift for influencing her new sound.
Speaking to Consequence, the “Jar of Hearts” singer explained that listening to Taylor’s sister albums folklore and evermore reignited her love of making music. “I could only listen to her when I was in my deepest, saddest season,” Christina explained. “I feel so selfish [thinking] she did those records for me.”
The singer announced in November 2020 that her daughter, whom she named Rosie, was stillborn. The devastating news followed a miscarriage Christina suffered at the start of the year.
The singer added, “I love Taylor Swift, but she never was my go-to, listen-to all the time and every day.” She said that changed when folklore was released because, “it felt like it was for me, I’m not gonna lie.” Christina added she would play with “a bunch of LEGOs” while listening to Taylor’s music “over and over and over again while I was healing.”
Because Taylor’s music is what pulled Christina from such a dark moment in her life, she looks forward to being able to “meet her and thank her for that because I feel like somehow she knew I needed that.”
The singer admits her music has always had a “melancholy” twinge, but said listening to Taylor’s albums “inspired me to keep going down the lane I’ve always loved. And it also made me feel like I don’t need to make happy music for people.”
Christina said her new music healed her and will be her way of telling fans everything she went through over the past few years. “I hope it reaches others and helps others,” she said.
