So how does Kelly Clarkson feel about her divorce? According to a source, People reports, “Kelly is obviously happy to have the divorce finalized.” The source adds, “The kids have always been her main priority through everything. She truly is able to begin the next chapter of her life with her kids, and she’s also busier than ever with her career. She’s in a great place.” The Grammy winner and her ex, Brandon Blackstock, were married for seven years.
Kristin Chenoweth wept when she found out Ariana Grande would be playing Glinda in the upcoming Wicked movie. “I love her so much; I’ve known her since she was 10,” Kristin, who originated the role on Broadway, told Today. “I think that crown and wand are going to the exact correct person. And I think she’s gonna nail it… I did cry when she got it.”
Kesha is celebrating her recent 35th birthday with brand-new merchandise. She launched the Kesha Birthday Collection online store, which features new clothes, hoodies, sweatpants and socks with new prints. “In honor of my birth and to all my Pisces season emotional open hearted ocean rainbow babies, happy birthday! To all of you with all the zodiac signs, this merch was designed by me to encourage opening that third eye,” Kesha said in a statement.
Doja Cat had an interesting way of promoting her new partnership with Taco Bell, for which she previously starred in a Super Bowl commercial. She shared a video on TikTok begging fans to forgive her for her upcoming Taco Bell “jingle” — a word she “banned” because she hates the word so much. “They want me to rap about Mexican pizza,” she explained. “Just know, it’s contractual. I know it’s bad.” Then, with fake enthusiasm, she dropped her jingle, in which she jokes the Mexican pizza “ain’t even Mexican food.”
As part of its coverage of Disney+’s upcoming series Obi-Wan Kenobi, Entertainment Weeklyreleased an extended interview with Ewan McGregor, who portrays the titular hero.
McGregor explained that he’d first returned to the Star Wars universe a couple of years ago, and after he’d agreed to the show, he was asked to do so-called “chemistry reads” with potential co-stars, which were held on the set of The Mandalorian.
He was given “generic Jedi robes” to wear for the test shoot, but they had the desired effect. “I was walking out…and I was aware, suddenly of the crew…looking at me coming in [wearing] Obi-Wan’s costume, and I could feel that sort of excitement running through,” McGregor said, smiling. “It was exciting.”
McGregor said the best part was reuniting with his prequels co-star Hayden Christensen, who reprises his role as Kenobi’s fallen student and battle brother Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader.
“It was sort of spine-tingling,” the Emmy-winning actor enthused. “It was just amazing to see Hayden, full stop. I’m so close with him. We’ve stayed in touch over the years, but we hadn’t seen each other in a long time. And…once Hayden was on board…we met [during the lockdown] in Santa Monica in a park…and we had this long catch-up.”
McGregor noted, “I love him so much, and we have this special bond of making those two…films together…And to be with him on set again…it was just odd.”
Ewan added, “I look over at him…as Anakin…and it was…like the period of time between [the prequels] and now didn’t exist. It was so peculiar!”
Sure, you can’t see Adele in Las Vegas yet, but you can see her perform on your TV later this month.
An Audience with Adele, a concert she taped last year at the London Palladium, will air March 20 on NBC at 9 p.m. ET/PT. You can catch it streaming the next day on Peacock.
The show was Adele’s first in London since 2017, and the star-studded audience included Emma Thompson, Idris Elba, Emma Watson, Boy George, Dua Lipa, Samuel L. Jackson, Naomi Campbell, Graham Norton, Killing Eve star Jodie Comer, Doctor Who/Broadchurch star David Tennant and Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber.
In addition to performing songs from her latest album, 30, Adele also performed some of her past hits, answered questions posed by celebrities and, in a tearful moment, was reunited with her old English teacher.
This special follows Adele’s CBS concert special last year, which also featured a sit-down with Oprah Winfrey.
You’ve probably heard about “the metaverse” — a virtual reality online environment in which you can interact with things almost as if they were real. And one of those things you can interact with is Harry Connick Jr., who will teach you how to play the piano.
The singer, songwriter and actor has launched a “socially-immersive experience” called The Neutral Ground, described as a metaverse “community” where people can “connect, engage and interact around some of [Harry’s] passions, including music, food, and family.”
The first experience in The Neutral Ground is called Piano Party, and it’s an online course designed for all ages and abilities. Season one of Piano Party launches March 29, and features nine on-demand lessons, two live interactive sessions with Harry, and access to “an exclusive, private learning community.” Those who sign up can get priority access to The Neutral Ground. The experience costs $70, which is a lot cheaper than having a piano teacher come to your house every week.
“The Neutral Ground is a place for all of us to hang out and have a good time. Music, food, shows, hangouts… it’s gonna be a lot of fun,” Harry says in a statement. “I can’t wait to go on this adventure with everyone. There’s still a lot to figure out in this new world, and I’m excited about all of the possibilities.”
Stevie Wonder and Elton John released a music video on Thursday for their 2021 collaboration, “Finish Line.”
Taken from Elton John’s album The Lockdown Sessions, the heartwarming visualfeatures a montage of video footage and images through the decades depicting pivotal moments of life, including the pandemic. Images of the two musicians, both of the present and the past, are sprinkled throughout the video, showcasing the long-running friendship and companionship they share.
The new video marks the latest for the legendary duo and arrives over 35 years since featured together on the hit charity song, “That’s What Friends Are For.”
Alicia Keys says she remembers the moment she realized her single, “Girl on Fire,” would be more than just a hit song.
“I called my husband (Swizz Beatz) and I said, ‘Babe, I think something special is happening right now,'” she said in an interview with USA Today.
In honor of the track’s 10-year anniversary, the 15-time Grammy-winning musician released the Girl on Fire graphic novel. The book’s purpose is to continue the story first presented in the 2012 song. Keys said, “You definitely get to imagine who this girl on fire is.”
Congratulations are in order for grown-ish star Yara Shahidi, who took to her Instagram to post the exciting new that she recently submitted her undergraduate degree thesis.
The actress has been studying at Harvard University and after completing the 136 pages of writing, she commemorated the event by flexing her stats in the middle of a snowy street.
The social media age is famous for making mundane life moments the stuff of posts — nobody took pictures of their lunch back in the day, after all. But Amanda Bynes is apparently making up for lost time on her new Instagram account while apparently feeling out the finer points of posting.
A day after Tuesday’s first message, in which she rapid-fired an introduction and news she’s got a court date over terminating her conservatorship, Bynes posted throughout the day Wednesday.
Among the things she detailed were evidence she’s removing the heart she’d had tattooed on her left cheek, and proof she just had her hair dyed, to eliminate the ombré tips she just had. In both cases, she stared at the camera wordlessly and blinked, adding only brief captions.
Another post was a shot of both her sneaker-clad feet, and according to the caption, those of the 35-year-old Easy A star’s 29-year-old fiancé, Paul Michael — the first person she followed on the ‘Gram.
Michael appeared in another video, via a TV monitor, recorded as he seemingly filmed an internal-use commercial for a medical facility. “BTS commercial for San Miguel Urgent Care,” Bynes chronicled.
Amanda changing her appearance to something more conservative could be an attempt to get ready for her March 22 day in court regarding her current condition, a key step to dissolving the conservatorship over her affairs.
Bynes’ mother, Lynn, was put in charge of Amanda’s affairs following a 2013 incident in which Bynes reportedly started a small fire in a neighbor’s driveway, after which Bynes was placed on a temporary psychiatric hold. The conservatorship was reinstated in 2014, the same year the actress revealed she’d been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
(WASHINGTON) — CIA Director William Burns told lawmakers Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to agree to settlement talks with Ukraine for tactical reasons because he “does not have a sustainable end game” for his invasion.
“Given Putin’s track record, given the fact that he’s someone who hates to act out of what he believes to be weakness, that he needs to concede or admit mistakes, that’s probably a long shot,” Burns said of any chance talks might succeed after a session Thursday in Turkey between the countries’ top two diplomats failed to produce a cease-fire.
Burns also told the Senate Intelligence Committee that Putin, at the same time, is turning Russia into a “propaganda bubble.”
“He’s intensified his domination of the state run media and in his strangulation of independent media, especially in recent years, and particularly since the invasion of Ukraine began.”
“I don’t believe he can wall off [Russians] indefinitely from the truth, especially as realities began to puncture that bubble. The realities of killed and wounded coming home in an increasing number. The realities of the economic consequences for ordinary Russians as I was discussing before, the realities of you know, the horrific scenes of hospitals and schools being bombed next door and Ukraine, enough civilian casualties there as well. I don’t think he can bottle up the truth indefinitely,” he said.
Intelligence agency leaders from around the government testified in the second of two hearings detailing their annual report on “worldwide threats,” after speaking to the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.
Burns told Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, that the U.S. needs to “focus” on Russia’s potential use of chemical weapons both in terms of a “false flag” operation and in reality.
“This is something as all of you know very well is very much a part of Russia’s playbook,” Burns said. “They’ve used those weapons against their own citizens. They’ve at least encouraged the use in Syria and elsewhere. So, it’s something we take very seriously.”
He said believes the U.S. is adequately pushing back on the Russian narrative.
“In all the years I spent as a career diplomat, I saw too many instances in which we lost information wars with the Russians. In this case, I think we have had a great deal of effect in disrupting their tactics and their calculations and demonstrating to the entire world that this is a premeditated and unprovoked aggression, built on a body of lies and false narratives,” he said.
The head of U.S. Cyber Command, Gen. Paul Nakasone, defended U.S. information-sharing with Ukraine amid Republican suggestions the U.S. was holding back.
“The intelligence that we’re sharing is accurate. It’s relevant, and it’s actionable. I think when we look back at this, that’s the key piece of, of what we’ve been able to do as an intelligence community,” he said.
Defense Intelligence Agency Director Gen. Scott Berrier admitted he could have done a better job assessing problems Putin’s military would have overcoming the Ukrainians’ will to fight.
“So, we assessed prior to the invasion that he was overestimate or underestimating, rather, the Ukrainians … resistance,” he said. “We did not do as well in terms of predicting the military challenges that he has encountered with his own military.”
“We made some assumptions about his assumptions, which proved to be very, very flawed,” Berrier said.
“Among the many profoundly flawed assumptions that President Putin made in launching this invasion, was his assumption that he had built a sanctions-proof economy,” Burns said.
Putin, Burns said, thought he built a “very large war chest to foreign currency reserves and gold reserves, and by not anticipating that the sanctions against the Russian Central Bank, by not anticipating that the German leadership would show such resolve in particular, I think he deeply underestimated the economic consequences, and I think they’re just now being felt in Russia, and that’s going to intensify.”
ACM New Male Artist of the Year Parker McCollum is getting married later this month, and he recently told People that he won’t be performing at his wedding — though if he could book his dream wedding singer, it’d be either George Strait or John Mayer.
It’s unknown whether George or John will be available for Parker’s nuptials, but there are plenty of country stars who do have a background in wedding gigs. For example, Brett Eldredge used to be a wedding DJ, and sometimes he’d sing, according to a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly. As one of country music’s most legendary crooners, Brett undoubtedly stole the show as a wedding emcee.
Jake Owen is a wedding singer of sorts, too: He sang his song, “Made for You,” at Carly Pearce’s wedding to fellow artist Michael Ray. That marriage didn’t last, but Jake’s love ballad is still a romantic choice for any couple’s first dance song — and if you can get the singer himself to boot, even better.
But perhaps the most romantic instance of a country star singing at a wedding was Blake Shelton’s performance of “We Can Reach the Stars,” which he sang as his wedding vows to Gwen Stefani. Held at Blake’s Oklahoma ranch at a chapel built just for the occasion, Blake and Gwen’s nuptials were romantic down to the last detail, and Blake’s sweet song for Gwen was the cherry on top.
Imagine Dragons will be performing at the 2022 NCAA March Madness Music Festival, taking place April 1-3 in New Orleans alongside the Final Four of the men’s college basketball tournament.
Dan Reynolds and company will take the stage on April 3 as part of the event’s Capital One JamFest. The bill also includes Grouplove, rapper Macklemore, and New Orleans jazz outfit Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.
Admittance is free, though you do need to register for tickets ahead of time. Registration opens March 23 at 10 a.m. ET, though Capital One cardholders can sign up beginning March 21 at 10 a.m. ET.
After releasing a new remix of her 1998 hit “Frozen,” created with producer Sickick and Nigerian singer Fireboy DML, Madonna has now dropped a video for the track.
The clip incorporates elements of Madonna’s original video for “Frozen” — specifically, shots of a huge black dog and an effect that showed Madonna hitting the ground and turning into a flock of black birds. The rest of the track has her performing in a black leather bustier, gloves and boots, plus fishnet stockings, against a flashing, multi-colored background.
Fireboy DML, with whom Ed Sheeran collaborates on the current single “Peru,” shows up and sings alone, and then to Madonna; they stand together and then appear to go their separate ways.
As previously reported, this version of “Frozen” was created by Sickick and blew up on TikTok in 2021, where it soundtracked more than 100,000 different videos. Fireboy jumped on the track and added his own verse.
2022 marks the 40th anniversary of Madonna’s recording debut: Her first single, “Everybody,” came out in October of 1982. A partnership deal she signed last year with Warner Music Group will include a “career-spanning multi-year series of releases that will revisit her whole catalog.”
