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Good 4 them: Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, BTS and more lead 2021 Spotify “Wrapped” year-end charts

December 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

With one month left before we ring in the new year, it’s time to look at who ruled the music streaming charts in 2021. Spotify is out with its annual year-end “Wrapped” lists and says its users couldn’t get enough of Taylor Swift, BTS and Olivia Rodrigo.

When it came to the most popular songs in the U.S., Olivia claims first and second place with her respective hits “drivers license” and “good 4 u.” Doja Cat‘s “Kiss Me More” collab with SZA is the third most-popular song of 2021, while Glass Animals‘ “Heat Waves” and Dua Lipa‘s “Levitating,” with DaBaby, round out the top five.

Spotify crowned Olivia’s “drivers license” the most-streamed song in the world, with more than 1.1 billion global streams. Parking right behind her on the global streams chart is Lil Nas X‘s “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” while The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber‘s “STAY” takes third. Olivia also snags the fourth most-streamed song of 2021 with “good 4 u,” while Dua’s “Levitating” ranks fifth.

Olivia also claims a first-place finish on another Spotify chart, with her debut SOUR topping the most-streamed albums list. Dua is in second with Future Nostalgia, while Justin is third with Justice. Closing the top five is Ed Sheeran‘s = (Equals) and Doja’s Planet Her.

Of all the artists previously mentioned, only Justin ranks among the world’s top-five most-streamed artists. The “Peaches” singer placed fifth on this year’s roundup — right after fellow Canadian Drake, who’s fourth. BTS has “Permission to Dance” after finishing 2021 in third place, while Taylor will ring in the new year knowing she’s the second most-streamed artist on the planet.

So, who’s Spotify’s top artist of 2021? Boasting over 9.1 billion streams, it’s Latin superstar Bad Bunny.

Jeris Johnson isn’t happy with Papa Roach Grammy snub: “Make it make sense”

December 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Jeris Johnson is losing his sight, losing his mind over his collaboration with Papa Roach getting snubbed by the Grammys.

The TikTok musician, who teamed up with Jacoby Shaddix and company earlier this year for a new version of their signature single “Last Resort,” has released a video asking why the track wasn’t nominated in the Best Rock Performance category for the 2022 ceremony.

“It was literally one of the biggest rock songs of the entire year, coming from a brand new artist and a legacy band,” Johnson says in the clip. “It got way more streams and attention than any of the other songs on that list did besides…AC/DC.”

That AC/DC song would be “Shot in the Dark,” the lead single off the “Back in Black” legends’ 2020 comeback album, Power Up. The other Best Rock Performance nominees are “Making a Fire” by Foo Fighters, “Ohms” by Deftones, the late Chris Cornell‘s cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and Black Pumas‘ “Know You Better (Live from Capitol Studio A).”

“Instead of highlighting something that’s actually bringing rock into the future and pushing things forward, you just keep nominating the same irrelevant corpses from, like, 80 f***ing years ago,” Johnson says. “Make it make sense.”

Given Cornell’s posthumous nod, Johnson may come to regret using the word “corpses.” And while the Foos and Deftones are certainly veteran artists, Black Pumas just released their debut album in 2019.

Johnson, by the way, isn’t the only musician unhappy with the Grammy rock nominations — Machine Gun Kelly tweeted, “wtf is wrong with the grammys” after his album, Tickets to My Downfall, got shut out.

Whether you’re happy with the nominations or not, the 2022 Grammys take place January 31.

Kathy Griffin declares to Jimmy Kimmel that she’s “uncanceled” and “cancer free”

December 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Kathy Griffin was back to her old self — minus her usual voice — in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in which she told him she’s now “cancer free.”

As previously reported, Griffin discovered in 2021 that she had lung cancer, and in August she underwent surgery to remove part of her lung.

The former Fashion Police co-host first explained to Jimmy and his audience that her voice is “two octaves higher” as a result of intubation from the surgery.

“I had a tumor, right? And I’ve never smoked, and it was in there for 10 years. So get this, they took it out and found [cancer] in another scan.”

Griffin, 61, made light of her new higher, huskier pipes, which she called “Minnie Mouse meets Marilyn Monroe” and which the former My Life on the D List star said would be temporary. For now, she’s enjoying it, saying her voice is “higher than Mariah Carey‘s.”

The comic also revealed that she gained 20 pounds during the pandemic, so she says she’s taken to wearing Gucci tracksuits, which she did on the show, complimented with a fanny pack. “So I’m chubby…but I look rich,” she quipped.

Obviously in good spirits, Griffin joked her surgery gave her some inspiration for a new drag moniker: Diva Half-a-Lungoria. She also admitted that her fight with the disease gave her a good excuse to get out of anything. “I have too much cancer,” she recalled saying, to laughs.

Kathy also alluded to her being “cancelled” following a 2017 photoshoot where she was shown holding up a decapitated head made to look like former President Donald Trump‘s. “I’m uncanceled. I think I’m an actress again, you guys,” exclaimed Griffin, who appears in season five of the show Search Party.

Garth Brooks books a 2022 Stadium Tour date in Baton Rouge

December 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Garth Brooks is continuing to pile up 2022 Stadium Tour dates. The singer just announced a stop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for Saturday, April 30.

The show will mark Garth’s first Louisiana date in nearly five years, and it’ll also be the first time he’s ever played this particular venue, Tiger Stadium. You should act fast to grab your seat: It’s the only time Garth is planning to play Louisiana or Mississippi in 2022.

Garth resumed booking dates on his Stadium Tour last month. He’d hit the brakes on booking new shows earlier in the year amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. In the meantime, he continued his Dive Bar Tour of smaller shows, and also performed a handful of intimate shows at legendary Nashville venues the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry.

As ever, Garth’s newest Stadium Tour date will feature in-the-round style seating, and tickets sell for $94.95, all-inclusive. You can snag your spot at the show beginning Friday, December 10 at 10 a.m. CT.

Wife of legendary music executive Clarence Avant fatally shot during home invasion

December 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Jacqueline Avant, the wife of legendary music executive Clarence Avant, was fatally shot during a home invasion early Wednesday morning, a source close to the family confirms to ABC News. She was 81 years old.

The Beverly Hills Police Department issued a statement Wednesday, declaring that they received a phone call at 2:23 a.m. “regarding a shooting that had just occurred on the 1100 block of Maytor Place. Police units arrived and discovered a victim with a gunshot wound. The suspect(s) were no longer on the scene.”

The statement continues: “Beverly Hills Fire Department paramedics transported the victim to a local hospital. Unfortunately, the victim did did not survive. Beverly Hills Police Detectives are conducting an investigation.”

“The City of Beverly Hills and the Beverly Hills Police Department extends our deepest sympathies to the victim’s families,” the statement concludes.

Clarence, 90, and Jacqueline were married for 54 years and have two children.

Clarence Avant received the Ahmet Ertegun Award and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October. He was the subject of the 2019 Netflix documentary The Black Godfather. Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Babyface and Diddy, as well as former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, were among the many celebrities who paid tribute to him in the film.

Russia planning ‘significant aggressive moves against Ukraine,’ Blinken warns

December 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. is “deeply concerned by evidence that Russia has made plans for significant aggressive moves against Ukraine,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

In the most urgent warning yet, Blinken said the U.S. and its NATO allies would impose a steep cost on Moscow if it attacked its neighbor.

But that cost would be economic and political, with the top U.S. diplomat threatening “a range of high-impact economic measures that we’ve refrained from using in the past.” But he and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stopped short of mentioning the use of force to defend Ukraine, which is not a member of the military alliance.

“We don’t know whether President Putin has made the decision to invade. We do know he’s putting in place the capacity to do so in short order,” Blinken said — the clearest statement to date of Western worries of an invasion, as Russia masses approximately 100,000 troops, along with heavy equipment, near Ukraine’s border.

Blinken will meet his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on the sidelines of a summit on European security Thursday, as well as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

It will be the latest high-level engagement between the U.S. and Russia amid heightened concern about Russia threatening Ukraine. President Joe Biden deployed his CIA Director Bill Burns to Moscow last month to convey U.S. concerns in person, Blinken said, declining to specify whether he would lay out precisely what those “high-impact” sanctions would be with Lavrov.

Russia has denied it is mounting any attack on Ukraine and instead accused Ukraine, the U.S. and NATO of menacing forces near its borders. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday his government is seeking guarantees from the West that it not move troops or weapons systems “in close vicinity to the Russian territory,” while Lavrov called the presence of Ukrainian troops “alarming.”

Blinken literally laughed off that latter comment, telling reporters after a two-day NATO summit in Latvia that it was “perplexing,” “profoundly wrong” and “misguided.”

“The idea that Ukraine represents a threat to Russia would be a bad joke if things weren’t so serious,” he added, warning that Russia may “claim provocation for something that they were planning to do all along.”

To that end, Blinken said, Russia has not only massed combat forces, it’s also “intensified disinformation to paint Ukraine as the aggressor” — increasing anti-Ukrainian propaganda by more than tenfold to levels not seen since its 2014 invasion.

Russia’s “plans include efforts to destabilize Ukraine from within, as well as large-scale military operations,” he added — the former, a possible reference to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s claim that Russia is behind a potential coup attempt to overthrow his government. The top U.S. diplomat for Europe said last Friday that the U.S. was in touch with Ukrainian authorities “to obtain additional information” and verify Zelenskiy’s statement.

The Lumineers premiere “A.M. Radio” video; release new holiday song, “This Is Life (Merry Christmas)”

December 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The Lumineers have premiered the video for “A.M. Radio,” a track off the band’s upcoming album, Brightside.

The clip, streaming now on YouTube, was filmed at the same high school frontman Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites attended when they were growing up in Ramsey, New Jersey.

“I spent a lot of time daydreaming there about making music one day, but had no idea about a decade later it’d actually come into fruition,” Fraites says.

Brightside, the fourth Lumineers album, will arrive January 14.

In other Lumineers news, the “Ho Hey” duo has released a new holiday single called “This Is Life (Merry Christmas)” in collaboration with singer-songwriter Daniel Rodriguez. The track is a reworked version of Rodriguez’s song “This Is Life,” with some extra seasonal cheer added in.

You can download “This Is Life (Merry Christmas)” now via digital outlets. Proceeds benefit MusiCares.

(“A.M. Radio” video contains uncensored profanity.)

Trevor Noah to return as host of the 2022 Grammy Awards

December 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

A familiar face will host next year’s 64th Annual Grammy Awards. The Daily Show‘s Trevor Noah will return in the role and induct a new class of Grammy winners on January 31.

Next year’s award show will be held at the newly renamed Crypto.com Arena — formerly the Staples Center — in Los Angeles, California.

Trevor last held down the fort for the pandemic-delayed 63rd Grammy Awards on March 14. This continues a streak LL Cool J started in 2012, where every host has returned for at least two consecutive stints. James Corden hosted both the 2017 and 2018 ceremonies, followed by Alicia Keys‘ back-to-back appearances in 2019 and 2020.

Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement, “We’re so excited to welcome Trevor back to the GRAMMYs stage and feel fortunate to once again have him hosting what we believe will be an unforgettable evening.” He also called Trevor an “amazing” host and said he garnered “praise from the music community, music fans and critics” during 2021’s socially-distanced ceremony.

Although the host will remain the same, things will run a little differently for next year’s nominees. Last week, the Recording Academy announced some changes in the so-called Big Four categories. For first time in Grammy history, there are 10 nominees up for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.

Artist Jon Batiste heads into the ceremony with a leading 11 nominations. Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. are also top nominees, with eight nods each.

The 64th Annual Grammy Awards will air January 31 starting at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Michigan school shooting suspect used dad’s newly purchased gun: Latest

December 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich.) — The teenager who allegedly gunned down three classmates and injured eight others took his father’s gun with him to his Michigan high school, officials said.

The suspected gunman, a 15-year-old boy, was taken into custody after the Tuesday afternoon shooting at Oxford High School in Oxford Township. The semiautomatic handgun, a 9mm Sig Sauer pistol, was confiscated, officials said.

Three students ages 14 to 17 were killed and eight others, including a teacher, were injured.

The suspect’s father purchased the weapon on Black Friday and officials are looking into how the family stored its guns and how much access the teen had to them, according to a source briefed on the investigation. The suspect had apparently used the gun prior to the school shooting, the source said.

Detectives are also examining the suspect’s writings and devices, the source said.

It has not yet been announced if the 15-year-old will be charged as an adult.

Out of the eight injured, three were in critical condition Tuesday night: a 15-year-old boy shot in the head; a 14-year-old girl shot in the chest; and a 17-year-old girl shot in the chest, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said.

A 14-year-old boy was in serious condition with jaw and head wounds.

Three students were in stable condition: two 17-year-old girls and a 15-year-old boy. The teacher, a 47-year-old woman, was treated and released from the hospital with a graze wound to the shoulder, Bouchard said.

Ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett to launch new North American tour in March 2022

December 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett has announced plans to bring his Genesis Revisited: Seconds Out + More Tour to North America next spring.

The 35-date outing will begin with four shows in Canada, kicking off with a March 26-27 stand in Oakville, Ontario, then moving on to Quebec City on March 29 and Montreal on March 30 before heading to the U.S. for the remainder of the trek.

The stateside portion of the tour gets underway on April 2 in Boston and works its way across the country, wrapping up with a May 19 concert in Seattle.

The Genesis Revisited: Seconds Out + More Tour features Hackett and his solo band performing his former group’s 1977 live album Seconds Out in its entirety, as well as additional songs from Genesis’ back catalog and selections from his latest studio album, 2021’s Surrender of Silence.

Some of the U.S. shows are make-up dates from Hackett’s postponed 2020 and 2021 tours, and those concerts also will include a full performance of Genesis’ 1973 studio album Selling England by the Pound.

Seconds Out was a double album that was released in October 1977 and was mostly recorded during shows that Genesis played in Paris in June of that year. Seconds Out was the last new album that Genesis released featuring Hackett.

“I’m thrilled to bring Seconds Out back to life, featuring Genesis material at its most exciting and virtuosic,” says Steve. “This time with all numbers played in full plus additional surprises!”

Hackett wraps up his 2021 itinerary tonight with a show in Paris. For his full tour schedule and to purchase tickets, visit HackettSongs.com.

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