As promised, Eric Clapton debuted a brand-new song titled “Heart of a Child” over the holiday weekend.
The melodic acoustic ballad, which was released on Friday, Christmas Eve Day, is available now as a digital download and via streaming services. In addition, and an animated music video for the tune has premiered at Clapton’s official YouTube channel.
Clapton co-wrote “Heart of a Child” with Robin Monotti, an Italian film producer and architect who identifies as a pro-vaccine-safety advocate, and with whom Eric apparently shares similar anti-lockdown views.
The song’s lyrics seem to be directed toward a man who is feeling dejected because he’s being criticized by others, and has recently lost a close friend for some unclear reason.
“We lost of the love of a man, I was proud to know/ They locked you down, boy, made you grieve alone,” Clapton sings. “Turn off the TV, throw your phone away/ Don’t you remember what your daddy used to say?/ Don’t break the heart of your child/ Don’t let your fear drive you wild.”
The clip features a series of enigmatic images appearing as spray-painted graffiti on walls, billboards and other public places. The images include a pair of hands reaching toward each other, musical notes, a rock band, a bride and groom, a boy with a heart with a crack in it, ominous giant hands reaching to grab a man from behind, a man chained to a TV set and a mobile phone, a young man with a gun in one hand and sadly holding his head with his other hand, and an eye with a tear dripping from it.
For more information about “Heart of a Child,” visit WheresEric.com.
(NEW YORK) — With the number of COVID-19 cases surging in New York, workers in the entertainment industry, many of whom are freelancers, are worried about the prospect of another shutdown.
At least 12 Broadway shows have canceled performances due to performers and staff testing positive. Three Broadway shows, “Jagged Little Pill,” “Waitress” and “Thoughts of a Colored Man,” announced they will close their doors permanently, after detecting multiple positive COVID-19 cases.
While understanding of the precautions, entertainment workers — many of whom have been in a precarious position for nearly two years as the live performance industry has been heavily impacted by the pandemic — are left worried this holiday season about their financial futures, especially without the safety net of benefits that had been provided in 2020.
“Eliminating the ushering salary would take a huge hit on anyone’s finances. I don’t think anyone’s really doing this just for fun, they’re doing it because they really need the money,” Rachel, an usher for a Broadway show who did not want her last name or the name of her employer used, told ABC News.
The production Rachel works for has not yet canceled a performance during this surge, and she said she feels confident in the safety protocols in place, including regular testing and indoor mask mandates, especially given the number of people she interacts with at work. But, given the rapid spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant, Rachel is still worried about the prospect of shows getting canceled.
“It’s just inevitable. It’s just a matter of time at this point. With how things are spreading, to me, it seems almost impossible to avoid,” said Rachel.
When the pandemic first hit, Rachel said she was put on furlough and was able to take advantage of unemployment benefits until the industry reopened. These pandemic-era unemployment benefits — a federal supplement on top of states benefits — are no longer available.
The prospect of shows closing again scares Rachel, who said she, like many of her colleagues, needs to work another part-time job along with ushering to cover her costs.
“It would be probably devastating because it would be a matter of going back on to unemployment in order to get paid. But at this point, there are no pandemic-like increases for the unemployment, so [it] would definitely not be enough for me to cover my expenses,” Rachel said.
Though she needs the money she gets from ushering, she said she would feel more comfortable if workers would be able to take a temporary break through the holidays.
“Would it have prevented any spread? I don’t know. Would it make me feel better? Yes. Would I lose lots of money? Yes,” Rachel said.
Elizabeth, who asked that her last name be withheld, is a freelance opera singer and has had several performances at Carnegie Hall canceled this week due to people testing positive for COVID-19, many despite being fully vaccinated and boosted. She said one of her colleagues will be missing all her Christmas shows. Christmas season is usually a high-volume time for musicians with many holiday shows going on.
Elizabeth and her wife, Sara, who both currently work in the entertainment industry, were able to stay afloat during the pandemic because of an accounting job Sara had.
Sara, who also asked that her last name be withheld, took the accounting job just before the pandemic hit and stayed there for a year. Due to her fibromyalgia, the job left her feeling burned out and sick. She left that position and took a six-month break when Elizabeth’s work started to pick up.
Elizabeth, who still had a part-time teaching job throughout most of the pandemic, lost a large portion of her income because of shutdowns. That left her only qualifying for six weeks of unemployment benefits.
During the six months Sara had taken off work, the two burned through savings they had.
“We weren’t expecting it to be bad again. We’ve just started rebuilding, financially,” Sara said. “I took this job, and she’s finally getting work again. And now we’re starting to see her first cancellation was this week.”
Three of Elizabeth’s shows this week were canceled, in addition to two more shows in January.
“It’s definitely scary. Because this time if things shut down again, we don’t have a safety net,” Sara said.
The couple said they would not be able to afford losing any of their pay.
Even now, their finances are very tight and they are having to cut costs on essential things, like health care. Sara should be going to the doctor every month for checkups but she hasn’t been since September.
“I’m getting medication still, but I’m not seeing the doctor as much as I should. I just haven’t been going,” she said. “We’re crossing our fingers and hoping nothing bad happens.”
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 816,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 61.7% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Dec 27, 7:23 am
Israel begins testing 4th vaccine dose
Medical staffers at Tel HaShomer hospital near Tel Aviv, Israel, have begun receiving a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose.
About 150 staffers were taking part in the trial, which began on Monday morning. They’ll be monitored for a week.
The Ministry of Health has yet to announce a final decision on a fourth jab. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office last week said on Twitter that it had instructed the government to “prepare for an extensive operation.”
“This is wonderful news that will assist us in getting through the Omicron wave that is engulfing the world,” Bennett said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota
Dec 27, 7:27 am
New York subway scales back service amid COVID surge
Subway trains in New York City will run less frequently than usual this week amid a spike in COVID-19 cases.
“Like everyone in New York, we’ve been affected by the COVID surge,” New York City Transit Authority officials wrote on Twitter.
Officials said the subway was dealing with staff shortages and service would be scaled back until Thursday.
“We’re taking proactive steps to provide the best, most consistent service we can,” officials said on Twitter. “That means you may wait a little longer for your train.”
Dec 27, 2:58 am
Australia records first omicron death, as daily cases top 10,000
A man in his 80s who died near Sydney, Australia, was the country’s first known death linked to the omicron variant, health officials said on Monday.
“The man was a resident of the Uniting Lilian Wells aged care facility in North Parramatta, where he acquired his infection,” New South Wales health officials said in a news release. “He had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and had underlying health conditions.”
The country’s new daily cases topped 10,000 on Sunday, local media reported on Monday.
In New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, new coronavirus infections dipped to 6,324 on Sunday, down from a record 6,394 new cases on Christmas Day, according to health officials.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden honored those grieving loved ones lost during the pandemic in their joint message to Americans on Christmas Day.
The Bidens evoked classic Christmas themes, such as “the promise of hope and renewal” during “this season of joy,” but acknowledged that many are practicing “finding light in the darkness, which is also perhaps the most American of things to do.”
“We pray for you to find strength from sorrow and purpose from pain,” the Bidens said.
During their first Christmas in the White House, the Bidens reflected on the “enormous courage, character, resilience” displayed by Americans in the past year, lauding those who “show how our differences are precious and our similarities infinite.”
“This sacred season is yet another reminder that we are a great nation because we are a good people,” they wrote.
The president and first lady later met virtually with service members to thank them for serving far from home on Christmas.
Commander, the Bidens’ new German shepherd puppy, lied on the couch between them during the meeting.
The Bidens also spread Christmas cheer on Friday by visiting children at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., the first time in history a sitting president accompanied the first lady on the traditional Christmas Eve outing, according to the White House.
Also on Friday, the Bidens called into the phone line run by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, which tracks Santa Claus’ path across the globe. During the call, a father directed a vulgar insult toward the president.
The man, who identified himself as “Jared,” spoke to the Bidens about his children before saying, “Let’s go, Brandon,” before the call ended. The statement, popular among conservatives who oppose the president, has become code for the phrase, “f— Joe Biden,” stemming from a reporter misinterpreting a chant after a NASCAR race.
The Bidens attended mass virtually on Friday, according to a White House official. They attended the Christmas Eve mass from the White House’s East Room, the official said.
Two years into the pandemic and amid another surge in positive cases with the highly transmissible omicron variant, Biden told ABC News World News Tonight anchor David Muir in an exclusive interview earlier this week that “nothing’s been good enough” when it comes to the availability of at-home coronavirus tests.
The Biden administration has purchased 500 million at-home tests to distribute to Americans for free, but they will not be available until after the new year.
Biden expressed regret to Muir for not ordering the tests sooner, saying he wished he would have thought to do it two months ago.
(CAPE TOWN, South Africa) — South Africa’s Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, an anti-apartheid activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died on Sunday. He was 90.
“The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,” Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, said in a statement.
Tutu, a crusader for equality and racial justice, died in Cape Town, South Africa, the president’s office said.
He rose to global prominence as a leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, struggling against a political and social system of minority rule that he saw as cruel and unjust. Amid a violent and turbulent time, Tutu was known for his sermons calling for non-violent action. He was awarded The Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
“Tutu was saluted by the Nobel Committee for his clear views and his fearless stance, characteristics which had made him a unifying symbol for all African freedom fighters. Attention was once again directed at the nonviolent path to liberation,” according to the prize committee.
After apartheid ended in 1994, Tutu chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a body whose daunting mandate called for investigating the country’s history of oppression, applying justice where necessary and helping the entire population step as one into a brighter future.
Under Tutu, the commission sought a middle ground between launching courtroom trials for “all perpetrators of gross violations of human rights” and total amnesty for them, Tutu wrote in a memoir, No Future Without Forgiveness, published in 1999. The commission granted amnesty to those who offered full disclosures of the crimes committed.
“Our nation sought to rehabilitate and affirm the dignity and personhood of those who for so long had been silenced, had been turned into anonymous, marginalized ones,” Tutu wrote. “Now they would be able to tell their stories, they would remember, and in remembering would be acknowledged to be persons with an inalienable personhood.”
In leading the commission, Tutu “touchingly and profoundly demonstrated the depth of meaning of ubuntu, reconciliation and forgiveness,” Ramaphosa said on Sunday.
“Desmond Tutu was a patriot without equal; a leader of principle and pragmatism who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without works is dead,” he said. “We pray that Archbishop Tutu’s soul will rest in peace but that his spirit will stand sentry over the future of our nation.”
Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born on Oct. 7, 1931, in Klerksdorp, South Africa.
He was a teacher in South Africa before becoming a priest, a vocation that led him to study at King’s College London in the mid-1960s. He moved between the United Kingdom and South Africa for the next decade, holding teaching and theological leadership positions, according to the college.
St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg appointed Tutu as dean in 1975, making him the first Black priest to hold the position. Ten years later, he became the first Black bishop of Johannesburg. He was named archbishop of Cape Town a year later, elevating him to the highest position in the Anglican hierarchy in Africa, according to a biography posted by King’s College.
“On behalf of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, the whole faith community, and I make bold to say, on behalf of millions across South Africa, Africa and the world, I extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Nomalizo Leah, his son, Trevor Thamsanqa and to his daughters, Thandeka, Nontombi and Mpho. And all of their families,” Thabo Makgoba, Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, said in a statement on Sunday.
On the morning of April 27, 1994, when all South Africans were allowed to enter voting booths, a day that would mark both the end of apartheid and the election of Nelson Mandela as president, Tutu rose early at the archbishop’s complex in Cape Town, he wrote in his memoir.
He drove from his residence in a “leafy upmarket suburb” to Gugulethu, deciding “that I would cast my vote in a ghetto township,” an action he described as symbolic.
“How do you convey that sense of freedom that tasted like sweet nectar for the first time? How do you explain it to someone who was born into freedom? It is impossible to convey,” Tutu wrote. “It is ineffable, like trying perhaps to describe the color red to a person born blind. It is a feeling that makes you want to cry and laugh at the same time, to dance with joy, and yet fearful that it was too good to be true and that it just might all evaporate. You’re on cloud nine.”
In 2020, Taylor Swift made headlines by putting out two critically acclaimed new albums. In 2021, she continued to make headlines — for, among other things, re-releasing her old albums.
Here are the highlights of Taylor’s year:
–Taylor started off 2021 by winning her third Album of the Year Grammy for folklore. That made her the first female artist ever to win Album of the Year three times, after her wins for 2008’s Fearless and 2014’s 1989.
–One of the year’s hottest new artists, Olivia Rodrigo, gave songwriting credit to Taylor on two tracks on her number-one album, SOUR, because she’d interpolated or otherwise borrowed melodic elements from two of Taylor’s songs.
–The first of Taylor’s re-recorded projects,Fearless (Taylor’s Version), came out in April and topped the Billboard album chart, making it the first re-recorded album to do so. The 26-track project included six “From the Vault” songs written around the same time as the original album, and featured guest vocals from country stars Maren Morris and Keith Urban.
–Red (Taylor’s Version), Taylor’s re-recording of her 2012 album, came out in November, with a whopping 30 tracks, plus guest appearances from Phoebe Bridgers, Ed Sheeran and country superstar Chris Stapleton.
–Red (Taylor’s Version) featured a 10-minute version of fan favorite “All Too Well.” Taylor wrote and directed a short film to go with the song and also appeared in it, along with stars Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. “All Too Well” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, setting the record for the longest song ever to top that chart.
–In addition to re-recording her own music in 2021, Taylor appeared on one song on the expanded edition of HAIM’s album Women In Music Pt. III, and on two tracks from Big Red Machine‘s album How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last.
–In 2021, Taylor also won the BRIT Awards’ Global Icon trophy, and the Songwriter Icon award from the National Music Publisher’s Association. Her 2020 documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions won a Gracie Award.
–In October of 2021, Taylor inducted one of her musical heroes, Carole King, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and performed one of King’s compositions, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” during the ceremony.
–In November of 2021, Taylor received yet another Album of the Year Grammy nod, this one for evermore.
(Note: All Too Well short film contains uncensored profanity.)
There was no shortage of wild moments in 2021. From the ongoing feud between Drake and Kanye West to Nicki Minaj‘s claims about the COVID-19 vaccine, some of the biggest names in hip-hop got people chatting.
Here are three of the craziest moments in hip-hop this year.
—Kodak Black throws money overboard: The 24-year-old rapper posted a video of himself throwing money off of a yacht and into the ocean. And it wasn’t small change, either. The money tossed overboard added up to approximately $100,000, according to My Mixtapez, which re-posted the clip.
–Drake and Kanye West beef: The feud originally ignited in 2018 after Pusha T accused the Certified Lover Boy of using a ghostwriter in the song “Infrared,” which West produced.
The beef continued this year when Drake dissed Kanye on Trippie Redd‘s track, “Betrayal, with the lyrics, “All these fools I’m beefin’ that I barely know / Forty-five, forty-four (burned out) let it go.” Kanye responded by posting, and then deleting, Drake’s home address on Instagram.
Drake and Kanye two finally squashed their beef in November and performed together in December at the Free Larry Hoover benefit concert.
–Nicki Minaj and the COVID-19 vaccine: After the “Super Bass” rapper revealed that she didn’t attend the Met Gala because she wasn’t vaccinated, she later made claims about a cousin of hers refusing to get the vaccine after “his friend” got the shot and suffered an alleged reproductive side effect.
“My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent,” Nicki tweeted. “His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding.”
Medical experts stress the COVID-19 vaccine does not cause impotency, nor does the booster.
— DaBaby gets cancelled: The rapper came under fire for making controversial HIV/AIDS remarks at the Rolling Loud festival in Miami over the summer. He was dropped from a bunch of other music festivals after that, including Lollapalooza and New York’s Governors Ball. He issued an apology and later met virtually with Black leaders from HIV organizations.
In November, a stunned Carly Pearce stepped onstage at the 55th CMA Awards to accept her very first trophy as CMA Female Vocalist of the Year.
Since she spent July through October on the What a Song Can Do Tour with her pals Lady A, the threesome had a front-row seat to watch how Carly’s career has grown in 2021.
“I mean, gosh, I’m so proud of her,” Dave Haywood tells ABC Audio. “We had so much fun with Carly, you know, Niko Moon as well, Tenille Arts.”
“I don’t know, but we’ve known Carly, and I feel like our friendship just grew and grew and grew,” he continues. “I mean, you’re sitting around having lunch every day on the road backstage. And so… I coulda toured a whole ‘nother 30 dates with them. It was so much fun.”
Carly released her 29 EP in February, followed by the full-length 29: Written in Stone in September. You can count Lady A’s Hillary Scott among the music’s biggest fans.
“To be able to say that we were touring with Carly when she released 29…this album feels different,” Hillary reflects. “It feels so special and I love all of her stuff.”
“But to be able to be a witness to her life and her career that close on tour weekend after weekend,” she continues, “hearing the crowd get louder listening to certain songs. It was a privilege to get to witness just how this music is just connecting so deeply with people.”
Watch for Lady A’s follow-up to their hit, “Like a Lady,” coming in 2022, while Carly continues to climb the chart with Ashley McBryde and “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.”
As we prepare to say goodbye to 2021, a number of well-known music artists will be celebrating milestone birthdays this week.
Two founding Moody Blues members were born 80 years ago this week — keyboardist/singer Mike Pinder and late flute player/vocalist Ray Thomas.
Pinder, whose 80th birthday is today, December 27, contributed his keyboard, songwriting and vocal talents to all of the band’s recordings from its 1965 debut album, The Magnificent Moodies, through 1978’s Octave.
The deep-voiced Pinder is perhaps best known for reciting the spoken-word piece “Late Lament,” written by drummer Graeme Edge, featured at the end of The Moodies’ classic 1967 concept album Days of Future Passed.
Thomas, who was born on December 29, 1941, contributed vocals, songwriting and flute to all of the band’s albums through 1999’s Strange Times, retiring from the group in 2002.
He died in January 2018 at age 76. Both he and Pinder were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as members of The Moody Blues in April 2018.
On Tuesday, December 28, Edgar Winter celebrates his 75th birthday. The multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter had his greatest success with his band the Edgar Winter Group‘s 1972 album They Only Come Out at Night, which featured the chart-topping instrumental “Frankenstein” and the top 20 hit “Free Ride.”
On Thursday, December 30, Patti Smith turns 75. The influential punk-rock singer, songwriter, poet and author is known for such memorable songs as her Bruce Springsteen collaboration “Because the Night,” her interpretation of Van Morrison‘s “Gloria,” as well as “Dancing Barefoot,” “People Have the Power” and many more. Smith was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2007.
On December 31, founding Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton celebrates his 70th birthday. In addition to playing bass on all of the band’s albums, Hamilton co-wrote the hits “Sweet Emotion” and “Janie’s Got a Gun,” as well as several other songs by the group. Hamilton entered the Rock Hall as a member of Aerosmith in 2001.
Rounding out the week, and ringing in 2022, Country Joe McDonald will celebrate his 80th birthday on New Year’s Day. McDonald was the frontman of Bay Area psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish, and showcased his classic anti-war anthem “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag” at the 1969 Woodstock festival.
(Country Joe McDonald video contains uncensored profanity.)
Over the past few days, three members of BTS have tested positive for COVID-19, Variety reports.
Suga tested positive on Friday, while RM and Jin tested positive on Saturday. According to Variety, all three were fully vaccinated, and hadn’t had contact with each other or the rest of the group, their management company announced. Their symptoms are mild or non-existent.
All three members were tested upon returning to South Korea after personal travel. Suga tested positive the day after returning to South Korea on Thursday. RM self-quarantined after returning on Friday and tested positive on Saturday night.
Jin, who’d returned to South Korea on December 6, had tested negative twice, but after developing mild symptoms on Saturday, he was tested again and came up positive.
BTS are currently on a break after a very busy few months. After the break, they have a tour planned for March in South Korea, and also plan to work on a new album.
