Ingrid Andress and Sam Hunt are “Wishful Drinking” in their new collaboration.
The pop-leaning song finds Ingrid taking lead on the first verse, longing for a lost love over a glass of something strong. Sam takes on the second verse, echoing Ingrid’s sentiment of “when I’m a couple in I get optimistic/Like me and you are realistic.”
The “Wishful Drinking” video was released in conjunction with the track. Filmed at the Flamingo Cocktail Club in Nashville, the 70s-inspired clip finds the two singing alone at opposite ends of the venue before uniting on stage.
“The sad bop you’ve wanted all summer is finally outttt! @SamHuntMusic you make everything sound better tbh thank u for being my first collab ever on a song,” Ingrid declareda on Instagram. “’Wishful Drinking’ out now for all you sad/happy hunnies out there.”
“I heard Ingrid’s music a while back and knew right away she was a very talented singer and songwriter. When the opportunity came along to be a part of this song with her I was all in,” Sam wrote on Twitter.
Ingrid will launch her headlining The Feeling Things Tour in the fall. She’ll also serve as an opening act on Dan + Shay‘s The (Arena) Tour, beginning in September.
(New York) — Boosted by a recent uptake in vaccine administrations, the U.S. crossed a long-awaited milestone Monday in its race to vaccinate the country against the novel coronavirus.
Seventy percent of U.S. adults ages 18 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, Cyrus Shahpar, the White House’s COVID-19 data director, posted in a tweet.
This is nearly a month after the country missed President Joe Biden’s July 4 deadline to meet that threshold.
Although the majority of the country’s adults have one shot, there is a major discrepancy among states, according to the CDC.
Health officials have been urging eligible residents to get their shots, which are free and shown to prevent hospitalization and death from the virus, as soon as possible as the more contagious variants like delta spread.
As of Monday, 22 states and the District of Columbia have 70% of their adult population with one dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of these states are located in the Northeast with Vermont leading the nation with over 86% of its adult residents receiving one shot, according to the health data.
A dozen states, almost all located in the South, haven’t cracked the 60% mark for their adult residents with one shot, CDC data showed. Mississippi has the lowest percentage of adults with one shot, at 50%, according to the data.
Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the country have been on the rise, particularly in locations with low vaccination numbers, health officials said.
Officials in several states, including Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri and Arkansas, are reporting that the majority of their hospitalized patients are unvaccinated people.
The U.S. began vaccinating residents in December, starting with health care workers and the elderly. By mid-April, all residents above 18 were eligible and a month later, the Pfizer vaccine was approved for Americans over the age of 12.
Two of the three approved vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, require two doses and use mRNA technology to protect against the virus. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose.
The seven-day average of new daily first shots administered peaked at 3.4 million on April 11 but it has declined to low of 217,884 on July 7, the CDC reported. Several states that had lagging vaccination numbers, however, saw a small jump in shots administered during the final weeks of July.
The seven-day average of first doses administered grew to 367,351 on July 27, the CDC data showed.
On Sunday, White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar revealed that over 517,000 people received their first shot.
Anyone who needs help scheduling a free vaccine appointment can log onto vaccines.gov.
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration is expanding the group of Afghans who could be granted refugee status and flee to the United States to escape the growing threat of the Taliban across Afghanistan, the State Department announced Monday.
The militant group is increasingly gaining control of districts across the country, as the war-torn country teeters dangerously towards collapse into all-out civil war.
But while President Joe Biden has committed to helping Afghans who helped the U.S. military and diplomatic mission in the country for the last 20 years, the new policy will apply only to Afghans who have left the country and will take at least over a year for their cases to be processed, according to senior State Department officials — even as the risk to these Afghans is urgent.
The Biden administration has launched relocation flights for thousands of Afghans who worked as interpreters, guides, and other contractors and applied for Special Immigrant Visas – some 20,000 applicants in total, according to a State Department spokesperson, although only a fraction of them will be evacuated by the U.S.
For interpreters and other contractors who did not meet the required two years of service for a Special Immigrant Visa, the State Department will now allow them to apply for refugee status instead. They’re also expanding the pool of potential refugees to any Afghan who worked for a U.S.-based media outlet, for a U.S. government-funded program, or for a U.S. government-supported project.
After 20 years of humanitarian development across the country, that’s a wide category of Afghans, along with their eligible family members. Senior State Department officials declined to provide an estimate, but said it was likely in the tens of thousands in total.
The administration has been under pressure, especially from Republican and Democrat lawmakers and U.S. veterans’ groups, to do more to help Afghans who worked with or for the U.S. during two decades of war and development – and who therefore may be at greater risk of retaliatory attacks by the Taliban.
While the militant group’s political leaders have said Afghans will not be harmed, the last year has seen a string of high-profile assassinations against journalists, women’s rights activists, minority leaders, and military and police chiefs. At least 300 interpreters have been killed by Taliban fighters since 2014, according to the advocacy group No One Left Behind.
“The U.S. objective remains a peaceful, secure Afghanistan. However, in light of increased levels of Taliban violence, the U.S. government is working to provide certain Afghans, including those who worked with the United States, the opportunity for refugee resettlement to the United States,” the State Department said in a statement.
But the refugee resettlement process takes several months, if not years, including intensive security vetting, and the process will require Afghan applicants to leave the country, according to senior State Department officials – something that many cannot afford, cannot risk, or cannot manage.
“This program is meant to expand the aperture of people who have an opportunity to be resettled in the United States beyond the SIVs. It is our attempt to try to offer an option to people,” said a senior State Department official.
The State Department has said it will evacuate nearly 5,000 of those “SIV’s,” or Special Immigrant Visa applicants, along with their eligible family members like spouses and children.
Some 750 and their dependents – 2,500 in total – who have been granted approval by the U.S. embassy in Kabul and cleared security vetting will be moved to Fort Lee, a U.S. Army base in central Virginia. The first of them arrived last Friday, with a second flight with 200 more arriving early Monday and now at Ft. Lee, according to a U.S. official.
In addition, 4,000 applicants who have been approved by the embassy, but are awaiting security clearances, will be moved to safe third countries. Along with their family members, the group could total approximately 20,000, and diplomatic discussions on where to house them all as they wait months for their applications to be processed remain underway with several countries, including Kuwait, Qatar, and Kazakhstan, according to U.S. officials.
But a senior State Department official said the administration does not plan to relocate any of the Afghans who now qualify for refugee status under this new designation, known as Priority 2, or P2. Instead, their employer will open a case with the embassy in Kabul, and once the U.S. government confirms it is ready to begin processing their case, they must find their own way to a third country and declare themselves a refugee.
“At this point in time, unfortunately, we do not anticipate relocating them, but we will continue to examine all the options to protect those who have served with or for us, and we will review the situation on the ground, and our planning will continue to evolve,” said the senior official.
Once outside of Afghanistan, it could take at least 12 to 14 months for their case to be adjudicated, per the senior official.
As the new designations could lead to thousands of Afghans fleeing the country and seeking refugee status, a second senior official said the U.S. government has had conversations with some of Afghanistan’s neighbors, like Pakistan, about preparing for refugee flows and keeping their borders open to refugees.
ABC News’s Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
Papa Roach has released the first song from their upcoming new album.
Titled “Swerve,” the defiant rap-metal track features vocals by Fever 333‘s Jason Aalon Butler and LA rapper Sueco, aka Sueco the Child.
“This track came at the very end of the writing process for our upcoming album and truly feels like the culmination of years of experimenting with our sound coming back to a new version of Papa Roach,” says frontman Jacoby Shaddix in a statement. “We’re kicking off this new chapter of our careers with a next-level track, and couldn’t imagine doing it with anyone other than Jason and Sueco.”
“This is one of the favorite songs I’ve ever made,” Sueco adds. “Papa Roach has been an inspiration of mine since I was a kid, so working with them was super dope and a dream come true!”
As for Butler, he says of Papa Roach, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — this band has somehow managed to be a legacy AND relevant all at once. So, naturally, when I got the call to hop on this track there was no question.”
Butler adds, “With Sueco doing his thing the track’s got 3 different vibes that all work together. This s**t is different and that’s exactly what rock needs. More DIFFERENT S**t. Thanks to these modern legends for making sure it happened.”
Papa Roach is also announcing that they’ve reactivated their early 2000s label, New Noize Records. No word yet on when we can expect the new album, which will be the follow-up to 2019’s Who Do You Trust?
Former Poco singer/guitarist Paul Cotton, who was one of the influential country-rock act’s main songwriters during his long tenure with the band, has died.
According to a post on his official Facebook page, Cotton “passed away unexpectedly, peacefully” at the age 78.
Cotton joined Poco in 1970, replacing founding member Jim Messina, in time to contribute to the band’s third studio album, 1971’s From the Inside.
After founding singer/guitarist Richie Furay left Poco in 1973, Cotton co-led the group with singer/pedal-steel player Rusty Young until 1987, when Paul exited the band. Among the many songs Cotton wrote for the Poco were “Indian Summer,” “Under the Gun” and “Heart of the Night,” the latter of which reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Cotton rejoined the band in 1991 and continued to play with them until 2010. He also released for solo studio albums, the most recent of which, 100% Paul Cotton, came out in 2014.
In 2015, Cotton was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame as a member of Poco and he reunited to perform with many of his former band mates at the ceremony.
Cotton’s Facebook page reports that a private and public celebration of his life and tribute concert will be held during the last week of January in Key West, Florida, where he and his wife resided for many years.
Paul’s death comes less than four months after the passing of Young, who died of a heart attack at age 75 in April.
It took a while, but The Kid LAROI officially has a number-one album.
His F*ck Love album, which just released its fourth incarnation last week, jumped from number 26 to number one on the Billboard 200 chart this week. The first version of the album dropped in July 2020, but this marks the project’s first time on top of the list.
The Australian rapper had an interesting way of celebrating the milestone, posting a photo of himself in the restroom of a private jet.
“taking a s*** on a jet because WE HAVE THE NUMBER ONE ALBUM [MIXTAPE] IN AMERICA!!!!!!” the 17-year-old captioned it. “WTF?!?!?! I LOVE YOU ALL BEYOND WORDS CAN F***** EXPLAIN MAN.”
He continued, “if someone told me that I’d have a number one ANYTHING let alone an album 3 years ago when I was in Australia I’d say that’s bloody ridiculous. but seriously I know I say this a lot, but thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am nothing without you guys & it makes me so mf happy that this project has connected with y’all in the way that it has. again, thank you and I love you I love you I love you.”
After releasing F*ck Love on July 24, 2020, LAROI released F*ck Love (Savage) in November 2020, followed by F*ck Love 3 on July 23 of this year and F*ck Love 3+ on July 27. Each version added more songs to the collection.
Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn are set for a final bow in Las Vegas.
The legendary country acts are teaming up for a final run of their REBA, BROOKS & DUNN: Together in Vegas residency in December. The trio will close out the year with a string of nine shows from December 1-15 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, performing more than 30 of their hit songs.
The shows take place on December 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14 and 15. Tickets go on sale to the public on August 6 at 1 p.m. ET.
“I can’t wait to be back in Vegas with my buddies @BrooksAndDunn for our final shows at the @ColosseumatCP Dec 1-15!” Reba shares on Twitter. “Don’t miss your last chance to see us #TogetherInVegas!”
Launched in 2015, Together in Vegas has since become the longest-running country residency in Las Vegas.
(INDIANAPOLIS) — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz will have foot surgery on his left foot, head coach Frank Reich announced Monday.
Wentz injured the foot during Thursday’s practice and did not participate on Friday or Saturday’s training camp practices.
Riech said this injury likely stemmed from a foot injury in high school Wentz never knew about.
The team says Wentz will miss 5-12 weeks.
“Obviously we’re optimistic and hopeful that we can be on the front end of that,” said Reich.
Jacob Eason will take over as the starter. The second year quarterback did not appear in a game last year after sitting behind Phillip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett.
Wentz’s history with injuries is long. In 2017, he suffered a season ending ACL injury. The following year he missed the first two games while recovering from the injury and he was shutdown at the end of the year with a back injury.
He has only played all 16 games twice in his career.
Foo Fighters had a new lead singer — temporarily — on Sunday for their set at Lollapalooza: Dave Grohl‘s 15-year-old daughter.
Violet Grohl joined her dad and his band mates to sing “Nausea,” by pioneering L.A. punk band X. In April, Violet performed the song on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, backed by her dad, his ex-Nirvana bandmate Krist Novoselic, producer Greg Kurstin, and Mr. Bungle drummer Dave Lombardo. They recorded the song for Grohl’s documentary, What Drives Us.
Sunday was also the seventh birthday of Grohl’s daughter, Ophelia, and after leading a “Happy Birthday” singalong for her, Grohl introduced Violet by saying, “If you stick around long enough, maybe your daughter will join your band, too. So since my daughter Violet Grohl is now in the Foo Fighters, we thought, ‘Why don’t we come out and sing a song for Lollapalooza tonight?'”
Dave described Violet as “the most bad-a** person I know in my life,” and boasted that “she likes to listen to the punk rock music that I like to listen to.” After claiming that he and X drummer DJ Bonebrake are related — which may actually be true — he then let Violet take the mic for “Nausea.” She acquitted herself admirably in true rock-star style, and seemed totally unfazed by the massive crowd.
Foo Fighters’ tour continues August 3 in St. Louis, MO.
(Violet’s song with the band starts at 1:32:18 into the video.)
After much speculation as to whom the buyer would be, Reese Witherspoon has reportedly sold her production company, Hello Sunshine, for $900 million.
The Wall Street Journalreports a new media company led by former Walt Disney Company executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer have scooped up Hello Sunshine, with plans to purchase other high-profile content providers.
The Legally Blonde star’s company produces Reese’s Emmy-nominated hits The Morning Show for Apple TV+ and Little Fires Everywhere for Hulu, as well as HBO’s Emmy-winning Big Little Lies.
Reese’s company also produces a podcast, and is home to Reese’s Book Club.
Dedicated to “shining a light on female authorship and agency,” Hello Sunshine — which Witherspoon runs with her husband, former Hollywood agent Jim Toth, and venture capitalist Seth Rodsky — has developed into a lifestyle brand to boot.
