After appearing together Monday at the premiere of Marvel Studios’ film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,Swae Lee from Rae Sremmurd and Jhené Aiko have collaborated on “In the Dark,” which they dropped Friday.
Swae kicks off the mid-tempo track with a romantic appeal to Aiko: “Don’t leave me in the dark I deserve more/ I’m somebody’s reward Don’t leave me in the dark.”
“In the Dark” will appear in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which opens September 3, as will previously released tracks “Run It,” with DJ Snake and Rick Ross, and “Lazy Susan,” featuring 21 Savage.
Young Thug has dropped “Tick Tock,” the first single from his upcoming album, Punk, due out October 15. In the video, he arrives in a pink Lamborghini wearing a full-length pink fur coat, and he calls his surreal clip his “Punk Thuggerverse” fantasy. The “Go Crazy” rapper performed the song for the first time last month at Rolling Loud in Miami.
Grammy, Tony and Emmy winner Cynthia Erivo released the inspiring “Glowing Up,” the fourth single from her upcoming album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1, due out September 17. “I wanted to write a song that was triumphant because I’ve done so much growing up in these last few years,” she says, “and I’ve experienced so many wonderful things.”
Finally, Grammy nominee After 7 returns with their first new album in five years, Unfinished Business, featuring the single “Bittersweet,” about the joy and pain of a relationship. Lead singer Kevon Edmonds, brother of Babyface, says about the track, “I am fairly certain that if you live long enough, you’ll learn that you can’t have the sunshine without the rain.”
Just a reminder that star-studded We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert takes place Saturday in New York City at Central Park’s Great Lawn, and will air live starting at 5 p.m. ET on CNN and some of its affiliated networks.
This show’s impressive lineup includes Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Journey, Carlos Santana, Matchbox Twenty‘s Rob Thomas, Earth, Wind & Fire, Barry Manilow, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, Rob Thomas and many others.
About 60,000 people are expected to attend the concert, and proof of vaccination for those ages 12 or over is required to gain entry. Most of the tickets to the event were made available for free, although a limited number of VIP passes were sold.
As previously announced, the “We Love NYC” concert is meant to celebrate the “rebirth” of the Big Apple amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
This week, Santana and Thomas confirmed that they’ll be performing together at the show. On Wednesday, the two artists released a new collaborative track called “Move,” which arrives 22 years after Santana and Thomas’ massively successful 1999 single, “Smooth.”
Meanwhile, Earth, Wind & Fire will be joined by Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and young R&B singer Lucky Daye for a premiere live performance of their just-released collaborative tune, “You Want My Love.”
Other music artists and entertainers on the “We Love NYC” bill include LL COOL J, Andrea Bocelli, Cynthia Erivo, Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Hudson, Wyclef Jean, The Killers and Kane Brown.
Pre-event coverage will begin at 4 p.m. ET. The concert was produced by New York City, music mogul Clive Davis, and Live Nation.
Paul Bettany was proud, and surprised, when his Marvel Cinematic Universe spin-off series WandaVision conjured up 23 Emmy nominations — including Marvel’s first ever acting nominations for him, co-star Elizabeth Olsen, and scene stealer Kathryn Hahn.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Bettany explained, “We always thought that we were going to be the sort of kooky cousin that was kind of niche.”
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was supposed to run on Disney+ ahead of WandaVision, he explained, but instead, Marvel Studios launched with WandaVision, an adventure couched in an homage to classic sitcoms.
“When it all flipped, I was a little apprehensive,” Bettany admits. “But I was so heartened to see it embraced in the way that it was.”
Despite a career featuring solid performances in films like A Beautiful Mind, on which he met his wife, Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly, it was WandaVision that snagged Bettany’s first major award nomination, in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series category.
“It came as a huge surprise and a very welcome one,” the 50-year-old explained. “I was pretending not to care about it, but it turns out I did.”
Bettany has been a part of the MCU since its inception, first voicing Tony Stark’s AI system J.A.R.V.I.S. starting in 2008’s Iron Man, before appearing as Vision in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.
He says of WandaVision, “It’s been such a great ride. It’s been so lovely to actually have something really substantial for both Lizzie [Olsen] and I to do…” calling it, “a lovely explosion of creativity from everybody involved.”
The 73rd Emmys will be held live and in person from on Sunday, September 19 at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS.
Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
With children heading back to school and the summer holidays coming to a close, nothing sends off the season better than gathering around the campfire to roast marshmallows. However, not everyone knows how to toast a s’mores-worthy marshmallow.
Leave it to Cake Boss star Buddy Valastro, who’s toasted his fair share of the plump and fluffy confections, to reveal his secret to getting it right every time.
Speaking to ABC Audio, the celebrity chef remarked, “S’mores is like an American icon. I mean, we’ve been doing it for over a hundred years.” Yet despite the treat being around for over a century, Valastro notes that some people still mishandle the marshmallow, which is the most important ingredient.
“People get antsy. They want to put it right into the fire, light it on fire and then it charcoals,” he said, while making a face.
Buddy stressed that a little bit of patience goes a long way. “You got to keep it nice and high so it gets gooey inside,” he explained, noting that it’s time to bring out the chocolate and graham crackers when the marshmallow is “golden brown on the outside.”
“Then it’s got that creamy bite,” Valastro grinned.
Speaking of s’mores, the Food Network star is helping make the American staple a little more creative, by nominating the “official” fourth ingredient to the classic s’mores trio. Valastro teamed with Jet-Puffed on a nationwide contest, where people submitted their ideas for a chance at $10,000 and a lifetime supply of marshmallows.
He’s currently judging entries on his TikTok and tells ABC Audio, “We’ve had everything from peanuts to pretzels to cream cheese… which was a little weird.”
Earlier this week, Darius Rucker once again hosted his annual “Darius & Friends” fundraiser, which is in its 12th year of raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The event, which returned to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium this year after going virtual amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, was sold out, raising $410,000 in 2021 alone. The show also pushed the total money raised since the event’s inception up to over $2.5 million.
The surprise lineup consisted of Jason Aldean, Brothers Osborne, Runaway June, Elvie Shane, Keb’ Mo’, and golfer John Daly. Of course, Darius also took the stage, closing out the night with an encore that included his rendition of “Wagon Wheel.”
In addition to selling out the Ryman, the “Darius & Friends” show kept its livestream component in place, inviting fans who weren’t able to be there to join from home via the Mandolin livestream.
Marvel fans will get a chance to see Dominique Thorne before she officially stars in her highly anticipated Disney+ series, Ironheart.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed to Comicbook.com that Thorne will make her MCU debut in next year’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Her character, Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, was first introduced in the Marvel comics in 2016 as a 15-year-old MIT student who designs a suit of armor similar to Iron Man’s. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to hit theaters on July 8, 2022. Ironheart does not yet have a premiere date. Marvel is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
In other news, Chadwick Boseman will be honored by his wife Simone and host Anthony Anderson at this year’s Stand Up to Cancer fundraising special. The event, which raises money for cancer research and therapies, will air a special tribute to Boseman, who passed away last year at the age of 43 after a private battle with colon cancer. Stand Up To Cancer airs commercial-free fundraiser across all major networks on August 21, including ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, as well as major streaming networks, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
Finally, Issa Rae‘s new reality series, Sweet Life: Los Angeles, has debuted. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Rae explains how the series concept series came about and why she felt it was needed. “This idea came to my team and we discussed it,” she said. “And just as an avid reality fan, I was like, ‘Oh, I want to do this. I want to do my version of [MTV’s] The Hills meets [BET’s] Baldwin Hills… I wanted it to be real L.A. people that natives would be proud of..” The first three episodes of Sweet Life: Los Angeles are available on HBO Max.
Justin Bieber unites with Skrillex and rapper Don Toliver on the pleading hip-hop song “Don’t Go.”
Justin’s smooth vocals shine on the track, which features solid production tricks from Skrillex and Don contributing his own vocal skills. The song that finds Justin and Don missing the company of the person they love, begging them not to go.
The eclectic video that dropped with the song on Friday shows the trio dancing inside a multi-colored, neon prism and posing in a studio alongside a taxidermy moose, while a mannequin-like Justin is covered in metallic gold paint.
Justin and Skrillex are longtime collaborators, beginning with the 2015 hit “Where Are Ü Now,” which was named Best Dance Recording at the Grammy Awards. The EDM DJ is also the producer behind Justin’s multi-platinum hit “Sorry.”
Meanwhile, Don shot to the top of the charts with Internet Money, Gunna and Nav in 2020 with “Lemonade,” which reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. He’s also collaborated with Eminem, Big Sean, Nas and more. He’s slated to open for The Weeknd on the After Hours Tour next year.
Marvel fans will get a chance to see Dominique Thorne before she officially stars as Riri Williams in her highly anticipated Disney+ series, Ironheart.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed to Comicbook.com that Thorne will make her MCU debut in next year’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
First created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato Jr., Riri was first introduced in Marvel Comics in 2016 as a 15-year-old MIT student who designs a suit of armor similar to Iron Man’s. Tony Stark takes the young inventor under his wing, and eventually gives her an Iron Man suit of her own.
However, since Robert Downey, Jr.‘s Stark is dead in the MCU, the Wakanda Forever connection would likely see Riri catch the attention of Letitia Wright‘s Princess Shuri, Wakanda’s resident tech genius, and one of the smartest people on the planet, according to the Marvel Universe.
Not only was Shuri tasked with heading up the Wakandan International Outreach Centre in Los Angeles at the end of Black Panther, but the character had toyed with her own Wakandan Iron Man-style suits, as seen in the interactive Avengers: Damage Controlexperiencewhich was co-produced by Marvel Studios.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to hit theaters on July 8, 2022. Ironheart does not yet have a premiere date.
Marvel is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest
In honor of their 29th birthday Friday, Demi Lovato has released a liberating music video for their song “Melon Cake.”
The song references Demi’s past birthdays, when the singer’s former team gave them watermelon covered in fat-free whipped cream instead of real birthday cakes in an attempt to keep their weight down.
“The song is me saying goodbye to melon cake,” Demi previously told Apple Music. “It was a big step for me, and I wanted to celebrate it.”
The video premiered exclusively on Demi’s Facebook Page, along with a behind-the-scenes feature IGTV, and a birthday-themed Stories Playlist on Instagram.
(KABUL, Afghanistan) — With thousands of Americans and Afghan allies still waiting to be evacuated, an American stuck in the chaos described the area around Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul as “very dangerous” after he and his family were forced to turn back before securing a flight home.
While U.S. troops have taken control of the airport, Taliban soldiers have set up checkpoints in the area outside, and have repeatedly fired shots into the air and clashed with Afghans trying to flee. At least 12 people have died in the area since Sunday, Taliban and NATO officials told Reuters this week.
President Joe Biden’s administration has been heavily criticized for its handling of the evacuation flights.
David Fox, 39, runs a marketing firm in Kabul and has been desperately trying to get his wife, who his Afghan, and his son, out of the country since the Taliban took control of the city.
Fox set out for Kabul airport on Wednesday with his family, and with the family of an Afghan-American acquaintance, on the advice of a friend in the State Department, he said.
“When we got there, there was a crowd of several hundred, potentially even over a thousand, individuals, I mean, Afghans who are desperate to get into the airport,” he told ABC News. “I was trying to make eye contact with the U.S. Marines who were at the gate. At one point, I was about 10 feet away, which I felt like, with the big number of people that were there, felt like a football stadium’s length.”
On the outer perimeter, where Taliban soldiers inspect documents, Fox said one of them hit him with a “fan belt” as other militants jabbed people with weapons and fired warning shots.
As Fox’s group neared the gate where U.S. troops were, it became apparent the situation was deteriorating, he said.
“The Marines are just firing their weapons, firing warning shots in the air, throwing flash bangs. And every time they would do a series of volleys of warning shots, the whole crowd would surge back,” he said. “If we stayed there longer, there was the chance that we would, you know, pass out from exhaustion.”
A U.S. official told ABC News on Friday that there are now 5,800 troops at the airport, but the American Embassy in Kabul still issued a security alert saying the U.S. government “cannot ensure safe passage to the airport” as the soldiers aren’t pushing out into the city.
Recent reports have highlighted growing fears of Taliban reprisals against Afghans who worked with the U.S., despite Taliban leaders declaring an amnesty for those individuals.
Taliban fighters executed nine ethnic Hazara men in the Afghan city of Ghazni last month, according to Amnesty International, as reports continue to trickle in of human rights abuses during their lightning-quick capture of all but one of the country’s 34 provinces. Amnesty International said the killings “likely represent a tiny fraction of the total death toll inflicted by the Taliban to date.”
While the situation in Kabul remains as uncertain as ever, the chaos at the airport may mean that Fox will have to bide his time before he and his family can flee.
“For me as a father, I have to weigh the risk of [getting to] the airport — to me the airport is very dangerous,” Fox said. “The issue of the mob at the airport is that there is a belief in Afghan society that if you can get into that airport by hook or by crook, then you will get on a free flight to America … so we are going to wait until evacuation flights stop and commercial flights resume.”
ABC News’ Conor Finnegan and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
