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Martin TV series 30th anniversary reunion; Will Smith wins NAACP Image Award for his memoir; and more

February 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Martin Lawrence and his TV series crew are back together again to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his self-titled sitcom. Taping for reunion special began Sunday; it’ll air on BET+ later this year.

“To be able to sit here thirty years later with this amazing cast that has had such an impact on pop culture is truly a blessing,” Lawrence said in a statement. “I am always humbled that the fans still want more of the show and its characters. I am looking forward to the reunion special.”

Lawrence and Tisha Campbell, who portrayed his girlfriend Gina, both won NAACP Image Awards for their roles in the show. Martin also won Outstanding Comedy Series in 1994 and 1995. Martin aired from 1992-1997.

In addition to Martin and Tina, the reunion will also feature Tichina Arnold, who starred as Pam, and Carl Anthony Payne II, who played Cole. You can expect some very emotional moments as the fifth regular cast member, the late Thomas Mikal Ford, is remembered. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 52.

In other news, Will Smith was among the winners of the non-televised portion of the NAACP Image Awards on Monday. Smith won Outstanding Literary Work — Autobiography, for his memoir, Will. The late Cicely Tyson was also honored with the Outstanding Literary Work — Debut Author Award, for Just As I Am. The 53rd NAACP Image Awards will air live on Saturday, February 26 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on BET.

Finally, Netflix announced that Dave Chappelle is executive-producing four specials starring some of his favorite comics. The first show, premiering Monday, February 28, titled Legendary, will feature comedian Earthquake. A date for the second special, starring Donnell Rawlings, will be announced later.

‘Weird’ all right: Roku releases first picture of Daniel Radcliffe as “Weird” Al Yankovic

February 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Streaming service Roku has released the first official picture of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe in the biopic of Grammy-winning song-parody master “Weird” Al Yankovic.

The shot shows Daniel as Al, in a curly fright wig, wearing one of Yankovic’s trademarks, a loud Hawaiian shirt, while rocking out on an accordion. “Your first look at #WEIRD is here,” the network announced, referencing the film’s title, WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story.

As previously reported, “The biopic holds nothing back,” according to a press statement from the streaming network, “exploring every facet of Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle.”

The release further notes, cheekily, “WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time.”

There’s no release date yet for the film, which will stream exclusively on Roku.

Halsey explains to fans why they’re “glad I stayed alive”

February 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Halsey is glad they are alive, and explained why in an uplifting new TikTok video.

The “Without Me” singer recorded themselves eating snacks while playing Phoebe Bridgers‘ “Motion Sickness” in the background. Halsey then reflects on major milestones in their life and how their past selves would have reacted.

“8 year old me would be so surprised my brothers and I are best friends,” one caption reads, while another declared, “14 year old me would be confused why we didn’t marry Harry Styles.”

Looking past at their 17-year-old self, Halsey stated they “would have loved my fans,” while their 19-year-old self “wouldn’t believe we are Grammy Nominated.”

“21 year old me would love the beautiful son that arrived after the losses,” Halsey continued of their one-year-old, Ender, whom they share with partner Alev Aydin. The singer also noted that “24 year old me would thank god we got out,” but did not elaborate.

Arriving at present day, the singer said of their current state that they are “glad I stayed alive.” Halsey previously revealed to Billboard that they attempted suicide at age 17 because of bullying, and was subsequently sent to a psychiatric hospital.

Halsey captioned the sweet video, “Love this cutie trend.”

If you are in crisis or know someone in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. You can reach Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 (U.S.) or 877-330-6366 (Canada) and The Trevor Project at 866-488-7386.

Tommy Davidson on the longevity of ‘The Proud Family’, and its new follow-up on Disney+

February 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

More than two decades after the acclaimed original premiered, a continuation of the animated series The Proud Family, called The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, drops Wednesday on Disney+.

The streaming service is also home to the original series, which stars Kyla Pratt as Paula Proud, Tommy Davidson as her dad, Oscar, Paula Jai Parker as her mom, Trudy Proud, and Jo Marie Payton as Paula’s grandma, Suga Mama.

Tommy tells ABC Audio that after the original series signed off on 2005, fans couldn’t wait for a return. “Over the years, there’s been a presence for The Proud Family…” he explains. “You know, and I’m out there tactile in every market in the country, and I know for a fact that people are wanting the show back from from from the time that we went off the air. You know, so with it coming back, if it’s just double, it’s double the amount of people that want it.”

In his long career, Davidson explains he’s often recognized for his animated alter-ego, no matter where he goes — including a particular comedy club, he recalls.

“There was a really young waitress there, and all of the staff…were like waiting to say hey, goodbye and take pictures. And she was like, ‘I don’t know who he is. I don’t know.’ So they were saying, Ace Ventura and all this stuff…”

“And then somebody said, ‘What about The Proud Family?'” Affecting Oscar Proud’s boisterous voice, Tommy replied, “Yeah, what about The Proud Family?” He laughs, “She was like, ‘AHHH!'”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Tickets to ‘The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise’ go on sale next month

February 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

We now have an on-sale date for tickets for the new musical based on Neil Diamond’s life.

Tickets for The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise will go on sale to the general public March 4 at 10 a.m. ET; a presale is available starting March 1 at 10 a.m. ET. To sign up to buy those presale tickets, visit ABeautifulNoisetheMusical.com.

As previously reported, A Beautiful Noise, featuring hits from Diamond’s legendary song catalog, will have its pre-Broadway premiere at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre. The six-week limited engagement starts June 21 and runs through July 31.

In his 50-plus years of performing, Diamond has played Boston and the surrounding area nearly 40 times; his signature song “Sweet Caroline” is famously played during the eighth inning of all Red Sox games at Fenway Park.

There’s no word on when A Beautiful Noise –– titled after Diamond’s 1976 album of the same name, which was produced by The Band‘s Robbie Robertson — will arrive on Broadway.

Albums by Dr. Dre and Eminem return to Billboard 200 top 10 following Super Bowl halftime performance

February 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

After over 100 million people viewed the Super Bowl halftime show, Dr. Dre and Eminem — who performed alongside Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar — are reaping the benefits on the Billboard 200.

Slim Shady signed to Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment label in 1998, and now both stars have returned to the top 10 of the album chart. Eminem’s 2005 compilation Curtain Call: The Hits, which has been certified seven-times Platinum by the RIAA, vaulted from #126 to #8 this week. The album includes his Academy Award-winning “Lose Yourself,” which he performed during the halftime performance. This is the first time Curtain Call has been in the Billboard 200’s top 10 since 2006.

Dre’s second studio album, 2001, which was released in 1999, jumped from #109 to #9. The six-times-Platinum record has not been in the top 10 since 2000. Songs from the album performed at the Super Bowl included “The Next Episode,” “Forgot About Dre” and “Still D.R.E.”

As previously reported, all the Super Bowl performers experienced big sales bumps immediately after the game.

Sales of the songs heard during the performance increased by an overall factor of 775% compared to the two days prior to the show. The top-selling song performed was “The Next Episode,” which opened the show. Sales of that song alone increased 994%.

The next best-selling songs were “Lose Yourself“; “Still D.R.E.”; Blige’s Dre-produced 2001 hit “Family Affair”; and 2Pac‘s 1995 song “California Love,” which also was produced by Dr. Dre and was performed by Dre and Snoop during the show.

Mod Sun teases new song, “Rich Kids Ruin Everything”

February 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Mod Sun has announced a new song called “Rick Kids Ruin Everything.”

The track, which follows Mod’s album Internet Killed the Rockstar, will drop March 11.

“This one’s for the kids who grew up broke [and] didn’t have s***,” Mod says. “The new era is here.”

Internet Killed the Rockstar, which features the Avril Lavigne collaboration “Flames,” was released in 2021. Mod later dropped an expanded, deluxe version of the record, plus “Down,” a new tune with Blink-182‘s Travis Barker.

Lzzy Hale takes you to church in Halestorm’s new video for “The Steeple”

February 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Halestorm has premiered the video for “The Steeple,” a track off the band’s upcoming album, Back from the Dead.

The clip finds frontwoman Lzzy Hale dressed in all white and surrounded by interpretive dancers as she preaches rock n’ roll salvation. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

“The Steeple,” which premiered earlier this month, is the second track to be released from Back from the Dead, following the lead single and title track. The record is set to arrive in full on May 6.

Halestorm is about to launch a tour of the U.K. this weekend. They’ll be back in the U.S. in May to play the Welcome to Rockville festival.

Katy Perry stresses over her toddler’s fascination with electrical outlets

February 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Katy Perry is finding out real fast how stressful it can be to have a toddler. Her daughter, Daisy Dove, is doing a great job preparing her for the so-called “terrible twos” after developing a fascination with electrical outlets.

Speaking Tuesday on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Katy opened up about her child’s stressful new habit. “If you gave [her] all of the toys that you ever wanted to [give] to a kid, they would still want to touch electrical outlets,” Katy lamented, which earned sympathetic remarks from host Kelly Ripa.

The Grammy nominee then beseeched toymakers to “make a plushy electrical outlet” so she can use “reverse psychology” on Daisy. “She loves to push her boundaries,” Katy explained, hinting that is how she hopes to teach her daughter that electricity is not a toy.

In other developments, Katy revealed her little one also has a penchant for throwing her “food on the floor to the dogs.” The singer then recreated the creepy, wide-eyed smile her daughter displays whenever she drops her food.

Speaking alongside her fellow American Idol judges about the times they prefer to record music, Katy also revealed she puts Daisy to bed at 7 p.m. before she heads into the studio.

Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Kane Brown & more added as ACM Awards performers

February 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Another round of ACM Awards performers have been announced, adding more superstars to the lineup.

Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Kane Brown, Jason Aldean, Eric Church and Jordan Davis have been tapped to perform at the show, along with Brothers Osborne, Chris Young, Mitchell Tenpenny, Brittney Spencer, Kelsea Ballerini and host Dolly Parton in a series of collaborative performances.

Dolly and Kelsea are set to team up on “Big Dreams and Faded Jeans,” an original song featured on Dolly’s album Run, Rose, Run, that will be released in tandem with a book of the same name. Dolly’s co-hosts, Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett, will open the show with a two-song set, while Luke will take the stage with Jordan to perform their recent #1 hit, “Buy Dirt.”

Brittney will make her ACM Awards debut with a special performance with Brothers Osborne, while Chris and Mitchell will join forces on their duet, “At the End of a Bar.” Kane will use the ACMs to debut his brand-new song, “Leave You Alone.”

The ACM Awards air live from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on March 7 at 8 p.m. ET. The two-hour show will air uninterrupted on Amazon Prime Video.

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