The child abuse charge against Alabama Shakes drummer Steven William Johnson has been dismissed, ABC affiliate WAAY reports.
Johnson was arrested this past March and indicted for willful abuse of a child. In a statement to AL.com at the time, Johnson’s lawyers denied the allegations.
“We do not believe, and have been presented no evidence, that Mr. Johnson has willfully abused or tortured any child, and he maintains his innocence,” the statement read, adding that the charge stems from an alleged “spanking incident.”
Johnson is a founding member of Alabama Shakes, and played on both of the band’s albums: 2012’s Boys & Girls and 2015’s Grammy-winning Sound & Color. The band’s been on hiatus since 2018; frontwoman Brittany Howard released her debut solo album, Jaime, in 2019.
Luke Combs recently wrapped his What You See Is What You Get Tour, and he’s looking ahead to his new album.
On Sunday, the superstar shared a reflective Instagram post about the massive arena tour that saw him headline such prestigious venues as Madison Square Garden. The tour was originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but was delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Well, we made it. The ‘What You See Is What You Get’ tour is finally completed after 2+ years of setbacks,” Luke writes in a lengthy caption, accompanied by a gallery of photos from the tour. “This was the funnest, scariest, most rewarding, most stressful musical experience of my life and I’d do it all over again tomorrow.”
Luke then proceeds to profusely thank his loyal fans who waited patiently for tickets and allowed him to sell out many of the arenas. “You are the reason we get to do things like this and I hope we came close to putting on the show you deserve,” he declares.
Luke also praises his team, including the band, crew, management, bus drivers, venue staff and more, along with his wife Nicole and friends and family. “I love you all tremendously,” Luke writes.
The hitmaker also acknowledges that the tour brings to a close “the long strange chapter of my last album” that the tour is named after, allowing him to focus on his upcoming third studio album.
“I’m taking a few weeks off and then we’re putting the finishing touches on LC3. Until then, hope y’all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See y’all soon!” he concludes.
What You See Is What You Get has been certified three times Platinum by the RIAA and spawned seven consecutive number-one singles.
The Pumpkins were originally on the 2020 Beale Street lineup before the festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 festival was scrapped, as well.
Spider-Man: No Way Home had an even bigger box office debut than initially reported.
According to Variety, the superhero flick took in $260 million in North America over the weekend, more than Sunday’s initial estimates of $253 million. That means it’s now enjoyed the second-highest opening ever at the domestic box office, surpassing Avengers: Infinity War, which had a $257 million box office take when it opened in April, 2018.
Avengers: Endgame is the only film that has grossed more in its debut weekend. In pre-COVID times, it raked in $357 million when it bowed in April, 2019.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is also the first pandemic-era film to gross more than $100 million in its debut.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a co-production of Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios, the latter of which is owned by ABC News’ parent company, Disney.
If you experienced an embarrassing Christmas fail this year, leave it to Kelly Clarkson to help you feel better.
Taking to her YouTune channel on Saturday, the singer laughed her way through the most hilarious holiday fails submitted by her fans.
The storytelling had a strong start, with one person admitting that their Christmas tree not only toppled over on top of their mother-in-law, they also took a photo that they shared with Kelly. That elicited an “Oh, snap!” and a chuckle from the Grammy winner before she wondered aloud, “Is she okay?… That had to kind of hurt.”
Other fan-submitted stories include a five-foot-tall dancing Santa that lost its head and scared a small child, a bunch of praying mantis babies hatching in someone’s Christmas tree, a family settling for a Burger King holiday meal because the turkey wasn’t going to cook in time, and a dog eating the engagement ring someone planned to propose with at the family dinner, after which it took them two days to “get the ring back.”
When dishing on the latter story, Kelly marveled, “I wonder if he told her that day or just let the dog poop it out and then he told her… And that’s the ring you’re getting! You’re getting a poop ring! I don’t know if that’s a good omen.”
Kelly also flipped through several photos fans shared of their hysterical children crying on Santa’s lap and remarked, “We traumatize our children, don’t we? We’re like, ‘Just take the picture! Smile!'” The Voice coach admitted she’s also forced her little ones, River Rose and Remington Alexander, to take photos with Santa, and they also threw a fit.
Christina Aguilera proves she keeps getting better with age. The singer turned 41 on Saturday and flaunted her figure in a series of celebratory snaps.
Wearing just oversized sunglasses and long, black leather gloves, Christina shared five photos to Instagram and captioned them, “XTINA XLI.”
She is topless in every picture, but has her hair or arms strategically positioned in each snap to ensure fans don’t see anything too naughty. In addition, the Grammy winner has her face made up with dramatic eyeliner, long lashes and a dark, wine-colored lip liner. Her hair is also bleached blonde for the glamorous photoshoot.
Fans were quick to compare the makeover to the Christina they saw in the early aughts. This isn’t the first time the singer embraced a throwback look: she paid homage to her Stripped album when performing a medley of her biggest hits at the People’s Choice Awards earlier this month.
As for what the “Hurt” singer has coming up, her second Spanish-language album is due out next year. A title and release date are forthcoming.
It’s pretty well known that Spider-Man stars Tom Holland and Zendaya aren’t just an on-screen couple, but are an item off-screen as well — something that producer Amy Pascal said she warned them against.
“I took Tom and Zendaya aside, separately, when we first cast them and gave them a lecture,” Pascal told The New York Times. “Don’t go there — just don’t. Try not to.”
Clearly, her advice didn’t stick and like the previous Spider-Man leads before them — Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, and Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield — Tom and Zendaya wound up together in real life.
Pascal also recalled giving the same advice to Emma and Andrew.
“It can just complicate things, you know? And they all ignored me,” she said.
Elton John and ABBA are among the artists who received nominations for the 2022 BRIT Awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Grammys.
Elton’s collaborative hit with British pop star Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart,” which appears on his new album The Lockdown Sessions, received a nod for Song of the Year.
ABBA, which released its first new studio album in 40 years, Voyage, in November, is among the nominees for the International Group of the Year prize.
Receiving the most 2022 BRIT nominations are Adele and Ed Sheeran who both scored four, including nods for Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.
Notably, gender-based categories have been removed.
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association voted Saturday on the best films and performances of 2021, with Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Japanese Oscar entry Drive My Car taking Best Picture and Best Screenplay. The Power of the Dog‘s Jane Campion walked off with Best Director honors, with Red Rocket‘s Simon Rex taking Best Actor and Parallel Mothers‘ Penélope Cruz grabbing Best Actress. The award for Best Documentary went to Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s Summer of Soul. The complete list of winners can be found at LAFCA.net…
HBO Max has pulled the plug on its Head of the Class reboot after one season, according to Deadline. Based on the sitcom that aired on ABC from 1986-91, Head Of the Class revolved around a group of overachieving high school students whose teacher, Alicia Gomez, played by Isabella Gomez, urges them to focus less on grades and more on experiencing life. The reboot also starred Jorge Diaz, Jolie Hoang Rappaport, Gavin Lewis, Dior Goodjohn, Brandon Severs, Adrian Matthew Escalona and Katie Beth Hall. Original Head of the Class alum Robin Givens reprised her role as Darlene Hayward…
Trevor Noah, host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, is suing The Hospital for Special Surgery and a doctor after they allegedly botched a surgery the comedian underwent in 2020. Noah says the defendants “were negligent and careless in failing to treat and care for [him] in a careful and skillful manner,” according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by People. It further accuses the defendants of “failing to use approved methods in general use in the care and treatment,” failing “to prescribe proper medications,” failing to “discontinue certain prescription medications,” and failing “to use proper tests and examinations in order to diagnose the conditions” from which he “was suffering.” Noah, 37, claims to have suffered “serious personal injury” from which he was “rendered sick, sore, lame, and disabled.” The hospital has denied the claims, People reports. The surgery Noah underwent wasn’t specified…
(NEW YORK) — Along the East Coast, residents are waking up to the coldest morning of the winter so far.
The wind chill — or what temperature it feels like — plunged to 16 degrees in New York City, 7 in Boston, 17 in Philadelphia and 24 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Northeast will stay cold through Tuesday morning, with temperatures 5 to 10 degrees below normal, before the region warms up for the rest of the week.
Some models predict Christmas Day temperatures reaching 52 degrees in Chicago, 60 in Washington, D.C., and 51 in New York City.
Meanwhile, the West Coast is bracing for a series of storms. Up to 10 feet of snow is expected in the Sierra Nevada mountains while flooding will threaten a large swath of California, from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.
The heavy rain is expected Tuesday through Thursday, which could cause flash flooding, mudslides and debris flow, especially in the wildfire burn scar areas.
By Christmas Day, the Sierra Nevada mountains will have 5 to 10 feet of fresh snow.
