Emmy-winning actor and singer Darren Criss is hitting the road for a holiday tour in support of his new album, A Very Darren Crissmas, which is out today.
The album features guest appearances by Adam Lambert, actress Evan Rachel Wood and country singer Lainey Wilson. It’s a collection of classics like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” off-kilter holiday tunes like “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” and one original, “Drunk on Christmas.”
Meanwhile, his A Very Darren Crissmas Tour kicks off December 3 in Indianapolis, IN and is set to wrap up December 22 in Hershey, PA. Tickets go on sale October 15th at DarrenCriss.me/avdctour.
On Instagram, Criss writes, “Who wants to live on a tour bus during the coldest time of year? THIS GUY. Wanna know why? Cuz I wanna take A Very Darren Crissmas on the road and play these tunes for you live and in person! The real question is- will you join me?“
The former Glee star also already has plans for 2022: He’ll be starring in the Broadway revival of David Mamet‘s classic 1975 drama American Buffalo, along with Sam Rockwell and Laurence Fishburne. Performances begin March 22, 2022, with the opening set for April 14, 2022.
Viral kid music sensation Nandi Bushell has released a new song in collaboration with Tom Morello and his son, Roman.
The track, which is titled “The Children Will Rise Up,” is a protest anthem about the dangers of climate change. It’s accompanied by a video starring Bushell and both Morellos, as well as Jack Black and teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
“I am so proud of myself and Roman Morello for writing our EPIC song with Tom Morello!” Bushell says. “We hope you love it and we really hope our song helps raise awareness for climate change!”
You can download “The Children Will Rise Up” now via digital outlets, and watch its video streaming now on YouTube.
On the same day his concert doc Justin Bieber: Our World is released on Amazon, Justin also drops the new music video for “Ghost.”
As previously reported, the visual features Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton, who plays Justin’s grandmother or mother — it’s not entirely clear. The video opens with the two mourning the loss of the family’s patriarch. It then jumps to two years later, as we see them try to move past their grief while keeping the memory of their loved one alive.
Earlier this week, Keaton shared her excitement about being involved in the project, writing on Instagram, “AM I DREAMING??? WHAT AN HONOR IT WAS TO WORK WITH JUSTIN BIEBER AND HIS INCREDIBLE TEAM!!!”
In addition to inspiring countless metal musicians the world over, Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi has now inspired the name of a newly discovered fossil.
The fossil, uncovered by a team of scientists in Russia, is named Drepanoistodus iommii. It’s part of the conodont species, an “extinct clade of marine vertebrates” from the Middle Ordovician geological period.
In the etymology section of the research paper, which was published via the European Journal of Taxonomy, the scientists write, “Named in honor of legendary guitarist Tony Iommi, founding member of heavy metal band Black Sabbath.”
Last month, another team of scientists announced that they’d named three newly discovered fossils after the band Gojira. Meanwhile, Metallica previously inspired the name of a deep-sea crustacean, and a venomous snake species was named after frontman James Hetfield.
This Saturday, October 9, marks what would’ve been John Lennon‘s 81st birthday, and to commemorate the special day, the third annual “Dear John” charity tribute concert will be held virtually at Veeps.com starting at 3 p.m. ET.
The star-studded event, which is organized by U.K. rock band Blurred Vision, will feature performances or appearances by Peter Frampton, ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum, Lennon’s pre-Beatles group The Quarrymen, former David Bowie guitarist Earl Slick, actors Martin Freeman and Matt Lucas, and many others.
In addition to paying homage to Lennon, the show raises funds for the War Child UK charity, which seeks to help children affected by war around the world.
Tickets for the virtual concert can be purchased at BlurredVision.Veeps.com. The event will be available to watch on demand until October 17.
To raise additional money for War Child, a new song called “Dear John” that Blurred Vision recorded with Frampton and Mollie Marriott — the daughter of late Small Faces/Humble Pie frontman Steve Marriott — has been released and is available now digitally and via streaming at OpenEyesRecords.com.
You also can check out a music video for the tune at Blurred Vision’s official YouTube channel.
Madonna‘s new documentary that captures her Madame X tour is now streaming on Paramount+. But if you don’t have Paramount+, you can still experience it with your ears.
Madame X — Music from the Theater Xperience, a companion soundtrack to the film, is now available on all digital download and streaming platforms. The soundtrack and the film were both recorded in January of 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal. In addition to live performances of songs from Madonna’s Madame X album, the soundtrack features live versions of hits like “Like a Prayer,” “Frozen” and “Vogue.”
Here’s the full track listing:
“Intro”
“God Control”
“Dark Ballet”
“Human Nature”
“Vogue”
“I Don’t Search I Find”
“American Life”
“Batuka”
“Fado Pechincha” (featuring Gaspar Varela)
“Killers Who Are Partying”
“Crazy”
“Welcome To My Fado Club”
“Medellin”
“Extreme Occident”
“Breathwork”
“Frozen”
“Come Alive”
“Future”
“Like A Prayer”
“I Rise”
In other Madonna news, during her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Thursday night, she talked about her upcoming biopic, explaining, “The reason I’m doing it is a bunch of people have tried to write movies about me, but they’re always men…there’s nobody on this planet that can write or direct or make a movie about me better than me and that is just the truth!”
Madonna also revealed that she turned down the chance to play the role of Catwoman in Batman Returns — which she says she regretted — and the lead in Showgirls, which she didn’t regret. Her biggest regret, however, was turning down a role in The Matrix, which she calls “one of the best movies ever made.”
“I wanted to kill myself!” she told Jimmy of the choice.
(NOTE LANGUAGE) Billie Lourd, the daughter of the late Carrie Fisher and granddaughter of the late Debbie Reynolds, is opening up about the grief she experienced after losing both family members so suddenly.
Fisher passed away December 27, 2016 and, barely 24 hours later, Reynolds died from a stroke.
“It was brutal. It was really, really brutal, and I still hesitate and stutter because it’s really hard for me,” Lourd told the New Day podcast. “I miss my mom every day and my grandma, but really, my mom the most.”
Lourd revealed how she remembers her famous mother and Star Wars legend.
“She was the greatest, funniest person ever. She was my best f****** friend, ever. There’s no one who will ever be as funny as her,” the 29-year-old actress described. “She is amazing.”
Lourd also revealed that her mother taught her what not to do when raising her own son, Fisher, whom she welcomed last year with partner Austen Rydell. She said that is to be her child’s parent and not his friend.
“My main job when [my mom] was alive was taking care of her and making sure she was okay… I was her main support,” the actress reflected. “I grew up really fast because I was her best friend. I was her mother, I was her kid, I was her everything. And that’s one of the things I’m learning not to do with my kid.”
“That’s one of the things that I will not do to my son is put this pressure on him that I had on me,” said Lourd.
The latest offering from the buzzy Italian rockers is called “MAMMAMIA” — all one word, as opposed to the ABBA classic. While ABBA was singing about a devastating break-up in their song, Måneskin’s “MAMMAMIA” has a very different vibe, thanks to lyrics like “Spit your love on me” and “They ask me why I’m so hot/’cause I’m italiano.”
You can listen to “MAMMAMIA” now via digital outlets.
“MAMMAMIA” follows Måneskin’s breakout singles “Beggin'” and “I Wanna Be Your Slave.” “Beggin’,” a cover of a Four Seasons song, hit number one on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart this week.
(BODEGA BAY, Calif.) — Surfer Eric Steinley is recovering in the hospital after he was bitten by a great white shark in Bodega Bay, California.
The 38-year-old told ABC News he was on his surfboard Sunday at Salmon Creek Beach waiting to catch a wave when the harrowing incident occurred.
“I was in a lot of pain and still thinking, you know, I’m either going to lose my leg or I’m gonna die,” Steinley said. “I just felt this heavy thing pull on me and it was like a clamp right around my leg. And we went underwater together in slow motion.”
Another surfer who was nearby in the water, Jared Davis, said he saw “the tail fin of a shark. They were kind of going down into the water.”
As Steinley was under the surface and bleeding, he fought back.
“I punched this thing. And I mean, you can see just from grazing its teeth. I cut my hand. But it was such a measly punch compared to how big this creature was,” he explained.
The shark loosened its bite, according to Steinley, who then came up for air and warned other surfers.
“He was saying, ‘shark,’ he was saying ‘out,’ he was saying ‘help,'” Davis recalled.
Nearly a five minute paddle from shore, Steinley said he questioned his own fate.
“I started to see spots and then I know, you know, [thought] I’m definitely I’m not going to make it,” he said. “And I catch up to Jared and he paddles next to me.”
When Davis saw Steinley’s leg, he said it looked like there was a red stripe on his wetsuit.
“He goes, ‘You going to make it, don’t look at your leg, let’s just keep going.’ And then we paddled in together until a wave came, and then I gave it my all,” Steinley said of the moment he fought to get to safety.
Nearly a dozen surfers rushed in to help once they got to shore, using surfboard leashes as a makeshift tourniquet to help stop the bleeding.
“All of the surfers that were with me out in the water came out altogether and grabbed this big, long board and put me on that long board,” Steinley said. The group “held me on the board, kept up the board and carried me all the way up the steps, saving time for when the ambulance got there.”
Timothy Saluzzom, a paramedic who responded on the scene, said the care Steinley got prior to his arrival “really helped to save his leg.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that this was a great white shark, at least 10-feet long, based on the DNA and bite radius from Steinley’s surfboard.
Dave Bader, chief operations and education officer at the Marine Mammal Care Center, said bites from great white sharks can be severe. Steinley “was lucky enough to be in and around a space where there were other people that were there to help him.”
He added, “Eric did all the right things by being in a space where he could get that immediate help.”
Steinley is out of the ICU after two surgeries with a long recovery ahead. While surfing may not be the same, he said he wants to get back up on the board at least one more time.
“I still want to be part of the lifestyle,” Steinley explained. “I’m just so thankful … and still in disbelief that I’m alive because of it.”
(ANDERSON, Texas) — Authorities in Grimes County, Texas, are scrambling to find any clues surrounding the disappearance of 3-year-old Christopher Ramirez, who has been missing since Wednesday.
Ramirez’ mother, Araceli Nunez, is pleading with the public for help in finding her son.
“I am asking you all to please help and find my son. I don’t know anything about him, and a lot of time has passed. I don’t know what to do. Please everyone help me,” she told reporters in Spanish at a press conference Thursday.
“I’m desperate and my heart has a hole in it. Please bring back my son, please help me,” she said.
Nunez said she believes that someone may have abducted her son, but Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell said there is no evidence of foul play.
According to authorities, Christopher was playing with a neighbor’s dog on Wednesday around 2 p.m. local time while his mother unloaded groceries from her car. The boy then followed the dog into the woods.
The dog returned but Christopher hasn’t been seen since.
Sowell told ABC News on Thursday that the search is ongoing.
“We continue what we’ve been doing yesterday and last night with a new team, fresh teams and no news to report,” he said.
“We’ve had search teams on the ground also yesterday and through the night, so we have another group of them already on the ground,” he added.
Crews and community volunteers are canvassing the wooded area and using everything from drones and dogs to track Christopher’s scent.
The FBI has also offered to help in the search.
“The FBI has offered all of our assistance,” Brittany Garcia, public affairs representative at the FBI in Houston, told ABC News affiliate KTRK on Thursday. “The biggest resource that we are offering to them is personnel. So our evidence response team is out here doing searches high and low, between the trees everywhere, even in water to to find Christopher.”
