The bank statements of three members of BTS are now “Dynamite,” thanks to a sudden infusion of cash from stock sales.
Bloomberg reports that Jin, J-Hope and RM sold nearly 32,000 combined shares in Hybe Co., the new name of their management company, which was formerly known as Big Hit. The three members pocketed some $8.4 million from the sale.
Ahead of the company’s IPO, the founder of Hybe, Bang Si-Hyuk, gave BTS a 1.41% stake in the company, which amounted to nearly 479,000 shares. Those shares are now worth $165 million, having doubled since the IPO last October.
The sale netted Jin $4.1 million, J-Hope $1.57 million and RM $2.75 million.
Bloomberg states that the three members are likely cashing in before their mandatory two-year military service. Able-bodied men are originally required to serve 20 months in the nation’s military before they turn 28, but last December, lawmakers passed a bill allowing those who work in certain professions — like entertainment — to put off service until they turn 30.
Jin, the group’s oldest member, turned 28 last December. Another member, Suga, will turn 29 in March. RM and J-Hope are both 27.
Mariah Carey has made history. Her 1994 classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is now RIAA-certified Diamond and becomes the first holiday song to sell over 10 million copies in the U.S.
Mariah was almost at a loss for words over the honor. “The continued love for my song never ceases to amaze me and fill my heart with a multitude of emotions,” she says in a statement. “It blows my mind that ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ has endured different eras of the music industry. The RIAA DIAMOND award?! Wowww! I’m so fortunate to have the greatest fans on Earth, my Lambily, who continue to support my legacy. I love you.”
The timing of the milestone couldn’t be sweeter, because the Grammy winner just released her second holiday special on Apple TV+, Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues.
In addition, the news comes shortly after Billboardadjusted its holiday rankings and dubbed “All I Want for Christmas Is You” the greatest of all Christmas songs. It recently re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 and currently sits at number 36.
That said, Mariah is now the first and, to date, only artist to have an RIAA-certified Diamond holiday song — which makes it all the easier for her to claim she’s the true “Queen of Christmas.”
Manticore Records, the record label founded by late Emerson, Lake & Palmer frontman Greg Lake, is being relaunched by his widow, Regina Lake.
“It was always Greg’s wish to reinstate the Manticore Records Label,” Regina reveals in a statement. “Greg’s idea, in his own words, was to give new, talented musicians the chance to be heard, when other doors might have been closed to them for being different. Greg was once one such young Musician.”
She continues, “He had put everything in place for Manticore Records to start up again, but as we know, it wasn’t possible for Greg to be there to realise his vision. Just a few days before Greg died, he asked me if I would like to carry on with Manticore Records, after he had gone.”
Regina points out that Greg had set the label up in her name in case she was interested in keeping it going, while telling her it was entirely her decision.
“I told him, as I am sentimental about Manticore, having been there in the early days, I would give it my best,” she says, “with a lot of help from my friends and advisers.”
Regina adds, “On reflection I would like this label to be devoted to Greg Lake Music and Songs to keep his legacy alive for us all in years to come.”
According to a press release, the first new Manticore project will be “a definitive collection” of Lake’s solo work. To celebrate the label’s relaunch, a rare video of Greg performing his classic holiday song “I Believe in Father Christmas” in 2005 has been posted on YouTube.
Lake died of cancer on December 7, 2016. He was 69.
It’s new music Friday, so let’s see who’s out with new tunes!
After months of teasing, Ariana Grande dropped “Just Look Up,” the single she performed with Kid Cudi for the Netflix movie, Don’t Look Up. The character she plays in the apocalyptic drama is charged with writing a song that tells the world a planet-killing meteor is hurtling toward Earth. “Just Look Up” contains the blunt message, “You’re about to die soon, everybody!”
Jennifer Lopez released the music video for “On My Way,” a song she sings in the upcoming Marry Me movie. Jennifer shows off an array of fabulous outfits in the music video, which also includes small movie clip teasers. The song is ultra-romantic and also demonstrates Jennifer’s vocal range as she belts out a series of high notes. Marry Me arrives in theaters on Valentine’s Day.
Five Seconds of Summer has released their tribute single, “2011,” which honors the year they came together as a band. The reflective track marks their 10th anniversary by examining how much their lives have changed since that pivotal year. Don’t miss 5S0S performing it live this afternoon when they kick off their global livestream event at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET on their YouTube page.
The holidays are here and BTS has turned their summer smash, “Butter,” into a carol-pop Christmas song. The lyrics are the same, but the music in the background has been replaced with sleigh bells, piano riffs and other elements that make any Christmas song sparkle.
Lastly, Ed Sheeran and Elton John have released their holiday collab, “Merry Christmas.” The two co-wrote the song, the proceeds from which will benefit The Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation and The Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Slash has released a new song with his solo band, Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators.
The track, titled “Fill My World,” will appear on the group’s upcoming album, 4, due out February 11, 2022. You can download “Fill My World” now via digital outlets.
4, the fittingly titled fourth Conspirators effort, also features the lead single “The River Is Rising.”
In addition to recording a new Conspirators record, Slash has spent much of 2021 on the road playing live with Guns N’ Roses. The “Welcome to the Jungle” rockers have been touring pretty regularly since reuniting in 2016, which, as Slash tells CNN in a new interview, wasn’t necessarily the original plan.
“Everybody got along great,” Slash says of his GN’R band mates. “That’s actually why the tour has kept going, because initially it was just going to be a couple of shows.”
Former Parks and Recreation and current Master of None star Aziz Ansari is now engaged.
Page Six reports the actor and stand-up comedian broke the news Wednesday night, during a set at New York City’s The Comedy Cellar, and that his fiancée is Danish forensic data scientist Serena Skov Campbell.
“We all went nuts” about hearing the good news, a source who was there told the publication.
Ansari, who also revealed he’s been living in the U.K., reportedly joked that he hoped his kids would be more Indian than Dutch, according to the paper.
Ansari had mentioned Campbell on stage before. Things were apparently already serious between them back in 2019, when he revealed during a set at Radio City Music Hall that he planned to take Campbell to India to meet his grandmother.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.2 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 785,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 59.6% 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 03, 8:22 am
Vaccinated people make up ‘many’ of the omicron cases in US, CDC director says
With several cases of the omicron variant confirmed in the United States, officials have learned that “many” of those infected are vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But many of the patients experiencing mild symptoms from omicron are also vaccinated, Walensky said, indicating that the current COVID-19 vaccines are fending off severe disease.
“We’ve seen omicron in about five states now and we’re continuing to do investigations in other states as probable cases emerge. But what we can say, based on what these cases are showing — some have mild disease, some may have more severe disease, many of them are vaccinated — and what we’re seeing now is that many of the people with mild disease were the vaccinated people,” Walensky told ABC News’ Cecelia Vega in an interview Friday on Good Morning America.
“So we still have a lot of science to do to understand how these vaccines are working against omicron, except to say that we know for every variant that we’ve had it’s better to be vaccinated than unvaccinated,” she added.
Walensky emphasized that, despite the global frenzy around omicron, delta remains the dominant variant in the U.S.
“We have 90,000 new cases of COVID-19 every day and about 99.9% of them continue to be delta,” she said. “So we can’t lose sight of the fact that the vast majority of what we have here in the United States is delta, and we know how to tackle delta with vaccines, with boosters, with masking and all of our prevention measures we have been using all along.”
Walensky acknowledged that there are still many unknowns about omicron, including the severity of disease, transmissibility and vaccine effectiveness.
“I think we really do need to follow the science here and understand how our vaccines are going to work against omicron,” she said. “It may very well be that our vaccines actually work quite well and continue to work quite well against severe disease, and those are the studies that are ongoing.”
Dec 02, 9:08 pm
Hawaii latest state to confirm omicron case
Hawaii became the fifth state to detect the omicron variant, after confirming a case through expedited genomic sequencing Thursday, health officials said.
The individual is an unvaccinated resident of Oahu who had a previous COVID-19 infection, the state health department said. The person is experiencing “moderate symptoms,” the department said.
The resident has no recent travel history, indicating that this is a case of community transmission, health officials said.
Dec 02, 8:44 pm
LA County detects 1st omicron case
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said Thursday evening it has confirmed its first case of the omicron variant.
The county resident had recently traveled to South Africa, returning via London on Nov. 22, and the infection “is most likely travel-related,” the department said.
The person is fully vaccinated and their symptoms are improving without medical care, health officials said. Several close contacts have all tested negative.
This is the second confirmed case of omicron in California, following identification Wednesday in a resident of San Francisco who had recently traveled to South Africa.
Dec 02, 7:38 pm
Preliminary analysis suggests omicron might be more likely to lead to reinfection
A new study from South Africa suggests that the new omicron variant might be more likely to lead to COVID-19 reinfection than prior variants, though more research is needed.
The study, which is not peer-reviewed, found that in November, there was an uptick in the rate of reinfections seen within three months of a primary infection, compared to prior surges driven by the delta and beta variants.
Researchers, who reviewed records of over 2.7 million people in South Africa with COVID-19 infections in 2020 and 2021, assumed many cases in November were caused by omicron, even though the first cases of the variant were not detected there until late November.
The vaccination status of individuals with suspected reinfections was unknown in the study, so it is unclear if they had immunity from prior infection or vaccination.
Dec 02, 6:27 pm
5 omicron cases identified in New York
Five cases of the new COVID-19 variant omicron have been detected in New York state, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in a press conference Thursday evening.
Hochul emphasized that battling the delta variant is more of a challenge right now, adding that all five cases have been described as mild.
One case was located in Suffolk County, while three others were in New York City — two in Queens and one in Brooklyn, Hochul said. A fifth suspected case has also been detected, the governor said, but did not provide details.
New year, new Billie Eilish. The singer has undergone another transformation, trading in her platinum blonde hair for a shaggy brunette chop.
She teased the makeover on Thursday by taking to her Instagram story to share a selfie of just her eyes and a peek at her new, darker fringe. “Guess what,” she captioned the post, before taking to her profile to share the big update.
Unveiling her dramatic, new look, Billie simply captioned the post, “Miss me?”
Fellow Grammy-nominee Olivia Rodrigo approved of the new ‘do and raved in the comment section, “omg.”
This is the second time in a year the “bad guy” singer underwent a radical transformation. In March, she ditched her signature black and green hair she sported for two years and showed off her platinum bob. At the time, Billie revealed it took her six weeks to get the color right and wore a wig until her hair was ready.
This new look comes as Billie announces a new partnership with Gucci, which will release a limited-edition vinyl version of her Grammy-nominated album, Happier Than Ever. “The vinyl is made from recycled vinyl scraps from all the colors of the original pressing of the record and each piece is completely unique!!” Billie raved when announcing the new venture on Thursday, adding, “[T]he set is available starting today at the following boutiques!!!”
The shiny-looking record, which is now being sold worldwide, also treats fans to some nail stickers bearing the Gucci brand.
Elton John and his pal U.K. pop star Ed Sheeran are making sure fans ring in the holidays with a little extra cheer with their new single, “Merry Christmas.”
The song, which they co-wrote and released on Friday, sees the two powerhouse British singers explaining why it’s important to enjoy the season with those you love.
Sheeran begins the festive song by encouraging listeners to appreciate the season’s wonders by singing, “So kiss me under the mistletoe/ Pour out the wine, let’s toast and pray for December snow/ I know there’s been pain this year, but it’s time to let it go/ Next year, you never know.”
Sir Elton adds, “We’ve both known love, but this love we got is the bеst of all/ I wish you could see it through my eyes, then you would know.”
If that wasn’t enough to help bring some joy back to the holidays after another stressful year, Ed and Elton also released the official and ultra-campy music video for “Merry Christmas.” The two are decked out in several of their best holiday outfits, from sequined tuxedos to very short Santa-like robes, as they rotate through various Christmas-like scenes.
“Merry Christmas” is available to stream and purchase now across all platforms. Proceeds from the single will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation.
The track also appears on the “Christmas Edition” of Sheeran’s latest studio album, = (Equals).
While the story of Annie is a classic one, NBC’s Annie Live!was able to add their own pizazz and create some very memorable moments on Thursday.
The beloved story about an orphan who is adopted by a billionaire saw newcomer Celina Smith bring the titular role to life, and you can bet your bottom dollar fans were blown away by her performance.
“Celina Smith as Annie is giving ACTINGGG she full on dropped tears live on tv she is a star and she is the moment,” one viewer raved on Twitter.
Likewise, Taraiji P. Henson‘s Miss Hannigan received lots of praise, with one fan writing, “Taraji p Henson is killing this live annie role the vocals on point.”
In addition to nailing the casting, NBC’s live version also paid tribute to late Broadway legend Ann Reinking, who portrayed Grace Farrell in the 1982 film, by including the epic dance number “We Got Annie” that had previously been omitted from stage versions of the show. Taking things up a notch, Nicole Scherzinger as Farrell, belted out the jazzy hit with a dance number complete with upside-down singing and a somersault.
The show also included its familiar songs “It’s The Hard Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” and, of course, “Tomorrow.”
While fans were overall impressed with the production, there was one aspect that couldn’t be ignored — the bald head that Harry Connick Jr. donned as Daddy Warbucks.
“His bald head is unsettling, but his performance is absolutely crazy good,” one social media user noted.
Annie Live! also starred Tituss Burgess as Rooster Hannigan and Megan Hilty as Lily St. Regis — a.k.a. Annie’s fake parents.
If you missed Annie Live! or simply can’t get enough, it’s available for streaming now on Hulu, Peacock, and NBC.com.
