Elton John’s post-surgery present? His first UK #1 in 16 years

Elton John’s post-surgery present?  His first UK #1 in 16 years
Elton John’s post-surgery present?  His first UK #1 in 16 years
Interscope Records

It’s the best “get well” present he could’ve received: Elton John has scored his first number-one single on the U.K. charts in 16 years.

The song that did it for the Rocket Man is, of course, “Cold Heart,” his mashup remix with Dua Lipa. The song, which combines four of Elton’s previously released tracks, took over the top spot on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart after three weeks at number two.  It dethroned Ed Sheeran‘s “Shivers,” which has been number one for four weeks. 

Last week, Ed actively encouraged his fans to stop streaming his song and stream Elton’s instead, writing, “It will be his first number one in almost twenty years and I really want it to happen…Who doesn’t wanna be knocked off [the top] by Elton anyway?”

The last time Elton topped the charts in his native country was in 2005, as a featured performer on “Ghetto Gospel,” a posthumous single by slain rapper 2Pac which samples Elton’s 1971 song “Indian Sunset.”  The last time Elton had a number-one hit on his own was in 1997, with “Something About the Way You Look Tonight/Candle In the Wind ’97.”

Elton, who recently had hip surgery, posted a photo of himself celebrating while wearing a bathrobe.

We did it – UK NUMBER 1!! I cannot begin to tell you how much this means to me,” he wrote, adding, “You’ve made me feel infinitely better after my surgery and I can’t wait for you to hear the whole of The Lockdown Sessions when it comes out next week!”

Elton’s Lockdown Sessions album also includes collaborations with Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks, Charlie Puth, Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X and many more.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn)

 

 

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Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil breaks ribs in fall from stage at Tennessee hard-rock festival

Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil breaks ribs in fall from stage at Tennessee hard-rock festival
Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil breaks ribs in fall from stage at Tennessee hard-rock festival
Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images

Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil is recovering from broken ribs after falling off the stage during his performance with his solo band on Friday at the Monsters on the Mountain festival in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

“Vince is back home and resting after breaking a few ribs on Friday night,” a message on Mötley Crüe’s Twitter feed reads. “Our love and best wishes for a speedy recovery and ready to rock in ’22!!”

According to TMZ, the incident happed a few songs into Neil’s set when he accidentally stepped off the edge of the stage and fell about four feet onto a cement floor.

TMZ reports that Vince, 60, was helped to his feet by his roadie and a security guard, and then was taken to a local hospital via an ambulance.

According to the website, Neil’s band finished up the set with guitarist Jeff Blando taking over lead vocals.

A video of the accident posted on the Metal Sludge Twitter feed shows Neil falling into a gap between the stage and the monitors. A separate fan-shot video showing a different angle of Neil’s tumble has been posted on YouTube.

Next year, Mötley Crüe is slated to team up with Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts on The Stadium Tour, a major U.S. trek that’s is slated to kick off June 16 in Atlanta. The tour originally was supposed to have taken place in 2020, then was postponed until this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic before being pushed back yet again because of the ongoing health crisis.

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Adele jokes Ed Sheeran should “panic” that their new albums come out around the same time

Adele jokes Ed Sheeran should “panic” that their new albums come out around the same time
Adele jokes Ed Sheeran should “panic” that their new albums come out around the same time
Simon Emmett

Adele is confident that, in a battle between her new album versus fellow Brit Ed Sheeran‘s, her music would reign supreme.

Speaking recently to UK radio show Heart Breakfast, one of the personalities asked the “Hello” singer about her and Sheeran’s long-awaited studio albums.

After a six-year wait, Adele’s anticipated 30 arrives November 19 while Sheeran’s (pronounced Equals) comes out October 29.

The DJ appeared to confuse the respective release dates and stated the records were both coming out “at the same time,” which prompted a hilarious exchange with the Grammy winner.

“[Ed’s album comes out] on the 19th?,” she questioned the radio hosts, which prompted one of the personalities to tell her not “to panic.”

That off-the-cuff remark caused Adele to burst out into a haughty laughter before she declared while raising a hand, “I ain’t panicking!  HE should panic!”

The ribbing was all in good fun, though, with the “Rumors” singer quickly assuring, “I love Ed… and I really love his wife, Cherry [Seaborn].”

The feeling of love and rivalry is seemingly mutual because Sheeran previously told British GQ just how much he respects her.

“Adele is the one person who’s sold more records than me in the past 10 years. She’s the only person I need to sell more records than,” he said during the 2017 sit down. “That’s a big f****** feat because her last album sold 20 million. But if I don’t set her as the benchmark then I’m selling myself short.”

We shall see if Ed accomplishes his goal when he releases his new album at the end of the month… and whether or not 30 sets a new record that he must beat.

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Why The Kid LAROI’s success is a full-circle moment for him…and his parents

Why The Kid LAROI’s success is a full-circle moment for him…and his parents
Why The Kid LAROI’s success is a full-circle moment for him…and his parents
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartMedia

When he was eight years old, The Kid LAROI decided that he wanted to be a musician — but he says it was just a coincidence that, years before he was born, his parents were in the music business too…kind of.

“My dad was trying to be a singer, I guess, and my mom was a model in Sydney,” the Australian rapper says of his parents. “My dad had some minor success in the U.K. but I guess, you know, stuff just didn’t work out. He came back to Australia, they met and they started like a little business together.”

The “Stay” singer continues, “They actually found a [music] act and signed an act to Sony Australia” — the label that LAROI is currently signed to, as it happens.  But, he notes, “When they split up, they kind of left the whole music thing behind because they were kind of doing it together.”

And since LAROI was only three when his parents split, he wasn’t really aware of their music business background, and his parents no longer had any connections that would help him, either.  Still, the “Without You” singer thinks it’s pretty crazy that he ended up in the business anyway, and succeeded where his parents hadn’t.

“They had a good little run with whatever they did, but I guess they didn’t even get to experience the full capacity of it,” he explains. “And a lot of stuff that I’m doing now is a big first time for them, like, they’re still learning this stuff. It’s just funny how s**t full-circles around!”

The Kid LAROI is now working on his debut album and will launch his first headlining tour in 2022.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Longtime Elvis Presley drummer Ron Tutt, who also played on Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” dead at 83

Longtime Elvis Presley drummer Ron Tutt, who also played on Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” dead at 83
Longtime Elvis Presley drummer Ron Tutt, who also played on Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” dead at 83
Ron Tutt in 2001; Jon Super/Redferns

Drummer Ron Tutt, who played with Elvis Presley‘s longtime backing group the TCB Band from 1969 to Elvis’ passing in 1977 and also worked with many other famous artists, has died at age 83.

Tutt’s death was announced Saturday in a message posted on Elvis Presley Enterprises’ Graceland.com website.

“In addition to being a legendary drummer, [Ron] was a good friend to many of us here at Graceland,” the tribute reads. “We enjoyed each time he joined us here to celebrate Elvis Week, Elvis’ Birthday and many other special occasions. Ronnie was an amazing ambassador to Elvis’ legacy — sharing his memories of working with Elvis with fans — as well as bringing Elvis’ music to arenas around the globe through later Elvis in Concert shows and performances.”

The note adds, “Our hearts go out to [his wife] Donna, his family, his fellow TCB Band members — and to his fans around the world. He will be deeply missed by all of us.”

During his time playing with the TCB Band, Tutt also established himself as an in-demand session drummer. He played on two Billy Joel albums, 1973’s Piano Man and Streetlife Serenade, and recorded and toured for several years with the Jerry Garcia Band.

He also recorded with Neil Diamond from the 1980s till the early 2000s, and was a member of Diamond’s touring band until Neil’s retirement.

Other well-known artists that Tutt recorded and/or performed with included Johnny Cash, The Carpenters, Kenny Rogers, Elvis Costello, Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks, Michael McDonald, Glen Campbell and Gram Parsons.

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‘Halloween Kills’ scares up $50.4 million to top the weekend box office

‘Halloween Kills’ scares up .4 million to top the weekend box office
‘Halloween Kills’ scares up .4 million to top the weekend box office
Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Halloween Kills, the 12th and latest installment in the Halloween horror franchise, slashed its way to the top of the box office — opening with an estimated $50.4 million.

The film, also available via VOD on the Peacock+ streaming service, delivered the highest-grossing opening weekend for a simultaneous release in theaters and on streaming, topping Godzilla vs. Kong’s $31.6 million debut back in March.

Overseas, Halloween Kills — starring Jamie Lee Curtis — earned an estimated $5.5 million, bringing its worldwide gross to $55.9 million.

No Time to Die, now in its second week, slipped to second place and grabbed an estimated $24.3 million. That brings its total here in the states to $99.5 million. The latest Bond adventure, which has yet to open in China, is faring much better overseas, where it racked up an estimated $348.3 million so far. Its global tally currently stands at $447.8 million

Landing in third place was Venom: Let There Be Carnage, earning $16.5 million stateside, for a three-week total of $168.1. The film added on another $115.6 million internationally, bringing its global box-office total to $283.7 million.

The Addams Family 2, also available on premium VOD for $19.99, earned an estimated $7.2 million in its third week of release. The animated sequel has collected an estimated $16.2 million overseas, putting its current worldwide haul at $58.5 million.

Rounding out the top five was the long-awaited reunion of Good Will Hunting’s Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, whose historical drama The Last Duel fizzled at the box office, delivering an estimated $4.8 million domestically. The news was just as bad internationally, where the Ridley Scott-directed film, which stars Adam Driver and Jodie Comer, added an estimated $4.2 million. That brings its worldwide total to just $9 million.

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Britney Spears is “afraid” she’ll “make a mistake” after conservatorship ends

Britney Spears is “afraid” she’ll “make a mistake” after conservatorship ends
Britney Spears is “afraid” she’ll “make a mistake” after conservatorship ends

If you were suddenly freed from prison after 13 years, you’d no doubt have some worries about how you’re going to fit back into society.  Well, Britney Spears is evidently having similar worries as the end of her 13-year-long conservatorship approaches.

In a lengthy Instagram post on Friday, Britney wrote, “I’ll just be honest and say I’ve waited so long to be free from the situation I’m in…and now that it’s here I’m scared to do anything because I’m afraid I’ll make a mistake!!!”

“For so many years I was always told if I succeeded at things, it could end…and it never did!!!” she continued. “I worked so hard but now that it’s here and getting closer and closer to ending I’m very happy but there’s a lot of things that scare me.”

For example, she says, she’s concerned that the paparazzi “try to scare me and jump out..onto the road when I drive home,” adding, “It’s like they want me to do something crazy.”

“I’m fearful of doing something wrong…I started experiencing that when I got the keys  to my car for the first time 4 months ago and it’s been 13 years !!!!” Britney went on, and pronounced herself, “disgusted with the system.”

“I haven’t done anything to be treated the way I have for the past 13 years !!! [I]…wish I lived in another country!!!” she declared.

Britney also seemed to threaten to spill the tea about how her family has allegedly been complicit in her mistreatment, adding, “Lord have mercy on my family’s souls if I ever do an interview !!!”

She concluded, “In the meantime … I’m staying clear of the business which is all I’ve ever known my whole life … which is why this is so very confusing for me !!!”

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Trailer for ‘The Batman’, ‘The Rock’ teases ‘Black Adam’ and more: Nerd news from Saturday’s DC Fandome

Trailer for ‘The Batman’, ‘The Rock’ teases ‘Black Adam’ and more: Nerd news from Saturday’s DC Fandome
Trailer for ‘The Batman’, ‘The Rock’ teases ‘Black Adam’ and more: Nerd news from Saturday’s DC Fandome
TM & © 2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

For fans of DC’s big and small-screen properties, the wait ended Saturday, with the long-awaited launch of the marathon online event DC Fandome. 

This year, all eyes were on Matt Reeves The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson‘s turn as the super-powerful anti-hero Black Adam. The Batman‘s trailer capped the four-hour presentation. 

“Fear is a tool,” Robert Pattinson‘s Dark Knight whispers darkly in the new snippet.

“When that light hits the sky,” he says of the Bat Signal, “it’s not just a call. It’s a warning.”

What follows are not only shots of Bats dispatching hordes of bad guys, but scenes prominently featuring Zoe Kravitz as Selena Kyle/Catwoman. “Who are you under there?” she purrs, feeling Pattinson’s cowl.

As reported, Paul Dano plays Batman’s main nemesis in the film, The Riddler — albeit a much darker version than Jim Carrey played in 1995’s Batman Forever.

The villain has morphed more into a serial killer in this version — but like the comic original, he’s obsessed with matching wits with Batman — and the obsession is clearly mutual. 

Also shown more prominently in the new trailer is Colin Farrell — though you’d be hard-pressed to recognize him as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin.

The Batman opens March 4, 2022.

Earlier, Warner Bros. unveiled its upcoming Black Adam, with the help of the character’s alter ego himself.

While Johnson said the film just started post-production, he lobbied director Jaume Collet-Serra — who he tapped from Jungle Cruise — to present fans with the scene where Black Adam is revealed.

The Black Adam teaser featured cast members introducing their characters: Aldis Hodge plays Hawkman, Noah Centineo plays Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell plays Cyclone, and Pierce Brosnan, who went from James Bond to “silver fox,” plays Doctor Fate.

The snippet shows explorers coming upon an ancient site, and eventually releasing the god-like figure. A gunman approaches him, and Black Adam picks him up by his throat and electrocutes him into dust. As you might imagine, the victim’s heavily armed comrades also prove no match. That film opens July 29, 2022.

Other content included a sneak peek of November 2022’s time-shifting The Flash teasing the return of Michael Keaton as Batman; an extended trailer for Peacemaker — John Cena and writer-director James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad spin-off series for HBO Max — and cast interviews and sneak peeks of CW shows like Supergirl and Batwoman.

(Peacemaker trailer contains uncensored profanity.)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Convicted murderer Robert Durst diagnosed with COVID-19, attorney says

Convicted murderer Robert Durst diagnosed with COVID-19, attorney says
Convicted murderer Robert Durst diagnosed with COVID-19, attorney says
Etienne Laurent/Pool/Getty Images

(LOS ANGELES) — Robert Durst has been diagnosed with COVID-19, his attorney confirmed Saturday, two days after the real estate heir was sentenced to life in prison on a first-degree murder conviction.

Durst, 78, was sentenced Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2000 killing of Susan Berman, his close confidant. The wheelchair-bound Durst appeared in the courtroom for his sentencing, looking frail and wearing a face mask.

His attorney, Dick DeGuerin, did not share any additional details on Durst’s condition.

The high-profile trial has been plagued by a series of delays due to the pandemic. After two days of testimony, the trial was delayed for 14 months after the coronavirus shuttered courts, with testimony resuming in May.

In August, testimony was briefly paused again after a courtroom observer tested positive for COVID-19. There was another holdup in June, when Durst was hospitalized for an unspecified health issue.

Durst did not appear in the courtroom when the verdict was announced in September because he was in quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19 by one of his sheriff drivers. Jurors found him guilty after deliberating for about seven hours over three days.

The New York real estate scion was accused of killing his best friend, Berman, who was shot in the back of the head in her Los Angeles home in 2000. Prosecutors alleged Durst killed Berman to prevent her from telling police she helped him cover up the unsolved murder of his wife, Kathleen Durst, in 1982. Durst has never been charged in his wife’s disappearance.

Durst pleaded not guilty in 2018 to the murder charge for Berman’s death. His attorneys have unsuccessfully sought a mistrial, arguing the lengthy delay impeded his chances of a fair trial.

Durst was also charged in the 2001 killing of a neighbor in Galveston, Texas. He claimed self-defense and was acquitted.

ABC News’ Cassidy Gard contributed to this report.

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Double amputee beats breast cancer diagnosis

Double amputee beats breast cancer diagnosis
Double amputee beats breast cancer diagnosis
ABC

(NEW YORK) — Even before her stage two breast cancer diagnosis in 2020, Yvonne Llanes knew her strength — and her community.

Llanes, who was first introduced to “World News Tonight” in 2017, had lost both of her legs nearly 16 years ago in a freak accident. For a decade, Llanes was confined to a wheelchair.

But, in 2017, she had made a promise to herself — and her late father — to walk again.

“I was just depressed. I was sad. I was mad at the world and I wanted my life back. I wanted my legs back,” Llanes told “World News Tonight” in 2017.

Llanes found a community at the Hanger Clinic’s Bilateral-Above-Knee Amputee Bootcamp.

With the support of fellow amputees and after months of determination, Llanes pushed herself to get out of her chair and walk across a stage in front of her friends and family.

“I met a group of amputees such as myself that were doing extraordinary things. They were up and they were walking and they were out of their wheelchairs and I was just incredibly amazed and I told myself I want to be like them,” said Llanes.

“I decided enough was enough I was going to get up and get on with life,” she added.

Nearly four years later, Llanes returned to the Hanger Clinic’s Bootcamp for Amputees to celebrate another victory. This time, to announce that she was cancer-free.

She was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer and underwent surgeries in 2020 and 2021. Across the country, her Bootcamp family was there for her by sending photos and wearing “Yvonne Strong” T-shirts.

“All my amputee friends here have stood behind me through this diagnosis and have been very supportive of me 100%, and I just appreciate it tremendously,” said Llanes on Thursday.

Llanes told “World News Tonight” Friday that the community’s motto, “Decide to rise,” can be applicable to anyone.

“Life is going to throw obstacles at you — do not let those obstacles get in your way,” she said. “Have faith, have courage, have hope, overcome those obstacles and never forget to decide to rise.”

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