Pop Smoke‘s label, Victor Victor Worldwide, has released the tracklist for the rapper’s second posthumous album, Faith, which drops Friday.
The 20-track album has a number of surprising guests, including Kanye West, Pharrell, Pusha T, Rick Ross, The-Dream, 21 Savage, 42 Dugg, Future, Takeoff, Kid Cudi, Swae Lee, and more.
Chris Brown will bring his R&B vocals to the track “Woo Baby,” while pop singer Dua Lipa joins Pop on “Demeanor.”
In addition, Faith will shed light on Pop Smoke’s connection to other emerging Brooklyn drill rappers such as Bizzy Banks and Rah Swish, who also make appearances on the album. Yet in the comments, fans wished the album featured fellow drill rappers Sheff G, and Fivio Foreign. Meanwhile, others declared Faith would become “the album of the year.”
Pop Smoke’s posthumous debut album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, was released in July 2020, months after the Brooklyn rapper was shot and killed at age 20. The album topped both the all-genre Billboard 200 chart and Billboard‘s Top Rap Albums chart.
(NEW YORK) — The World Health Organization warned Thursday that the surging COVID-19 pandemic in many parts of the world increases the likelihood that new, potentially dangerous variants may emerge in the future.
“The pandemic is nowhere near finished,” said Professor Didier Houssin, chair of the WHO Emergency COVID-19 Committee.
The global surge in new cases has highlighted the ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic. In Africa, cases surpassed their second wave peak during the seven days ending on July 4 and the death toll this week climbed by 40%, according to WHO.
At the start of the pandemic, there was only one variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. As the virus spread across the globe, it mutated, sprouting thousands of new versions of itself — some of which were more contagious than the original.
Currently, there are four variants of concern, labeled by the WHO using the Greek alphabet. The most recent, the delta variant, which was first detected in India, has been identified in more than 111 countries and is now responsible for nearly 60% of all cases in the U.S.
“We expect it to be the dominant strain circulating worldwide, if it isn’t already,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
As the virus continues to spread, new variants might emerge in the future that may be even more challenging to control, the WHO warned.
Vaccines are one of the world’s most important tools to prevent the spread of current SARS-CoV-2 variants, giving the virus less of an opportunity to evolve into new variants. But many countries don’t have enough vaccine supply. Globally, only 25.8% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the University of Oxford’s Global Change Data Lab.
The WHO continued to stress Thursday the importance of leveraging all vaccines currently approved for emergency use and issued a call to action to have at least 10% of every country’s population vaccinated by September 2021.
The WHO encouraged wealthier countries to share vaccine supplies with the rest of the world. Combined with vaccinations, use of evidence-informed public health and social measures, including masks, physical distancing and hand hygiene, remains the most effective strategy for combatting the spread of all SARS-CoV2 variants.
“The virus continues to evolve, resulting in more transmissible variants,” Ghebreyesus said last week, as the world marked four consecutive weeks of rising cases.
Chidimma J. Acholonu, M.D., M.P.H.. is a pediatric resident physician at the University of Chicago and a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.
Actor and successful investor Ashton Kutcher apparently had the dough to go to space aboard one of Richard Branson‘s Virgin Galactic flight to space, but his wife, Mila Kunis, scrubbed his launch.
Kutcher revealed to the business channel Cheddar in an on-camera interview, “When I got married and had kids, my wife basically encouraged that it was not a smart family decision to be heading into space when we have young children. So I ended up selling my ticket back to Virgin Galactic, and I was supposed to be on the next flight. But I will not be on the next flight.”
The former That ’70s Show star then added defiantly, “But, at some point, I’m going to space.”
Apparently, Kutcher listened to Kunis this time, but, thankfully, not when the actress told her husband that she thought some of Kutcher’s earliest investments — Bitcoin, Airbnb and Uber — — weren’t worth backing.
As Kunis explained during a recent appearance on Stephen Colbert‘s The Late Show, “He is also really smart at knowing that, sometimes, you shouldn’t listen to your wife.”
The Four Good Days star told Colbert that she initially thought Bitcoin was “a horrible idea,” and said of a then-fledgling Uber, “You’re going to put me in a car with a stranger? What is wrong with you?”
Kunis then confessed, “I’ve never been happier to be wrong,”
Ashton considered her input, but invested anyway — and that paid off big time. It’s no wonder he could afford the reportedly $250,000-a-seat flight.
Actor and investor @aplusk says he was supposed to be on the next Virgin Galactic flight, but sold his ticket to space. 🚀 Don’t miss the full interview on Cheddar at 3:20 p.m. ET. https://t.co/fi07qhm3FEpic.twitter.com/HVMei8mnrZ
David M. Benett/Getty Images for the Elton John AIDS Foundation
Elton John is celebrating 300 episodes of his Apple Music show Rocket Hour.
As he reflected on the milestone with Zane Lowe, Elton said one of the things he’s loved most about the show was getting to discover new, young artists like Lorde, Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa.
“When I first heard the first thing I ever heard from Lorde, which was ‘Royals,’ I just thought it was unlike nothing I’d ever heard before,” he said. “It…just blew my mind. It was so simple and yet so moving. The same thing with Billie Eilish; it was like, when I hear her records, there’s nothing [like] the space and the feel of it.”
As for Dua, Elton tells Zane, “She’s amazing…She just has this inner beauty and an outer beauty, but she deserves every success that comes her way.”
Dua, meanwhile, offered Elton praise right back in a congratulatory message for hitting 300 episodes.
“I’ll never forget when you played ‘Levitating’ on Rocket Hour, I absolutely lost my mind,” she said.
“I just think you’re absolutely incredible, but I also love how incredibly supportive you are of so many new artists and artists from all over the world, and how much you champion and love and respect artists all over,” she added. “It’s just been an absolute dream, getting to know you and getting to see all the magic that you are.”
Elton’s 300th episode airs Saturday on Apple Music 1.
Grohl: Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty Images; Post: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
Coming across a YouTube post of her own isolated backup vocals on Foo Fighters’ classic “Everlong” has sent Veruca Salt‘s Louise Post down a rabbit hole — leading her to reminisce about the recording of the song, which Dave Grohl wrote about their then-romance.
Posting a snippet of that isolated recording on Instagram, Post wrote, “I sang these back-ups over the phone at 2am after being woken up from a deep sleep in Chicago by [Dave Grohl] who was tracking the vocals for ‘Everlong’ in LA.”
“He wanted me to sing the doo-doo’s, which were inspired by our song ‘Shimmer Like a Girl,” she continues. “While I was at it, I wrote a harmony for the chorus and sang that too.”
“The whispered section of this song was originally the dream I was having when the phone rang. It was a dream about us,” she adds poetically. “He later removed it and replaced with his own whispers, one which was a love letter to me.”
“Maybe I’ll tell the full story…eventually…if I feel like it,” she concludes. “But I just came across this post and thought I would share for anyone who is interested.”
While Grohl’s relationship with the “Seether” rocker didn’t end well — Post claimed onstage in 1997 during a show in Australia that Grohl had cheated on her with Winona Ryder — she said several years ago that she and the drummer are now “friends.”
(NEW YORK) — Despite an alleged plot to lure and kidnap her, the arrest of her brother in Iran and ongoing death threats, Iranian American activist and journalist Masih Alinejad refuses to be silenced.
Eight months ago, the FBI arrived at Alinejad’s Brooklyn, New York, home to alert her that she was under surveillance by Iranian intelligence. They had obtained photos of her husband, children and even her as she watered flowers in her garden, Alinejad said.
“It was shocking because I left my beloved homeland to be safe here, and I was like, ‘Wow, so now the officials are that close to me,’” she told ABC News Live Prime, adding that authorities moved her to several different safe houses.
A federal court unsealed an indictment Tuesday charging four Iranian nationals with conspiring to kidnap Alinejad for “mobilizing public opinion in Iran and around the world to bring about changes to the regime’s laws and practices.”
Federal prosecutors said the suspects were directed by the government of Iran to conduct surveillance on Alinejad and lure her to a third country to be captured and brought back to Iran.
The group allegedly also targeted people in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Four suspects are believed to remain at large in Iran while a fifth suspect was arrested in California.
“The FBI was asking me to go live [on Instagram from a] safe house … because they were trying to find out whether the [Iranian] intelligence was going to find out my new location, and they did,” Alinejad said. “I … couldn’t believe it. But at the same time, I don’t know why, but something just helped me to be more determined, to be more loud.”
While she was still at the safe house, she said that she started to contact some of the mothers whose children were killed at protests in Iran.
“Now, every week, I’m giving them a voice. … I got my power back,” she said. “The goal of the [Iranian] government [is] just to actually take my focus away from my work, from my job, because I’m a journalist. I’m an activist and I’m giving voice to millions of Iranian voiceless people. So I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to do what I’m going to do.’”
Alinejad says “the Islamic Republic is scared” of her in part because she’s a woman.
“You go to my beautiful country, you will be beaten up because you’re unveiled. … I launched a campaign against compulsory hijab, and that is why, actually, I’m receiving death threats,” she said. “Of course, it is a scary [thing] that they were going to kidnap me, but that shows that they [are] scared [of] me and millions of other Iranian women, Iranian men, who got united this time loudly sending videos to me saying no to Islamic Republic. That’s why they sent someone here in New York to kidnap me. They didn’t want to after because they didn’t want any, you know, no Americans. So that’s why I strongly believe they are scared of their own people. And I’m giving voice to the people.”
In an attempt to discredit her, Alinejad says Iranian national television aired a report saying that she was raped, which was a lie. She also said Iran created a law that if anyone sent her videos, they could face up to 10 years in prison.
“I said to myself, ‘One day, I didn’t give up. I’m not going to give up,’” she said. “Then, after my family, they brought my sister on TV to disown me publicly. Then they interrogated my 70-year-old mother who wears [a] hijab. She has nothing to do with my campaign, but they interrogated her.”
Alinejad’s brother is in jail.
She says it was a difficult decision to reveal publicly that she had been the target of the kidnapping plot — mainly out of fear for her family.
“Sometimes I cannot even breathe when I think about my brother and my family. I love them. I’m a village girl,” she said. “My dream is to be in my own country. But what helps me to be strong and not give up [on] the people inside Iran [is] when I see that women were sending videos to me walking unveiled, which is a punishable crime. These are like Rosa Parks of Iran. So when they don’t give up, then I’m not going to give up because otherwise I’m going to actually [be] betraying my own people.”
Now, her goal is to send a message to the Biden administration and other Western powers that the Iranian regime must be dealt with.
“Stand up for human rights values because the regime [is] actually trying to manipulate the rest of the world. And it breaks my heart when I see the people of Iran are being abandoned,” she said. “I want to actually ask all the leaders of the free world to … not abandon Iranian people.”
After teasing them online, Alessia Cara has released her two much-anticipated new songs: “Sweet Dream” and “Shapeshifter.”
The tracks are the first taste of new music from the singer’s upcoming third album and both have two very different vibes.
“The theme of duality is recurring on this next album, so it made sense to release two songs to introduce both ends of the thread,” Alessia explains in a statement.
She says “Sweet Dream” represents “the hardship and helplessness surrounding my last couple of years.” On the flip side, she says “Shapeshifter” is “witty and sophisticated,” and represents “the more mature and light-hearted parts of the album.”
She adds of “Shapeshifter,” “I had to go through lots of pain to regain my footing and this song feels unwavering, despite it not being about the happiest of things.”
Alessia debuted the “Sweet Dream” video Thursday and will be premiering the “Shapeshifter” video Friday, July 23 on CBS This Morning. She’s also lined up a performance of “Sweet Dream” on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday, July 19 and on Live with Kelly & Ryan on Wednesday, July 21.
Machine Gun Kelly is featured in the August issue of GQ, and he says appearing in the famed magazine is just another aspect of how he’s currently living his childhood dream.
“You know what the dream was? It was exactly what happened to me [at the Billboard Awards], which was go to an awards show, shut down the carpet, go onstage, accept an award,” Kelly tells GQ.
Kelly dominated the coverage of that awards show, where he was named Top Rock Artist, because he showed up with his girlfriend, Megan Fox. And that’s the GQ part of his dream.
As detailed in the article, when Machine Gun Kelly was just plain old Colson Baker, a teenager growing up in Ohio, he got the Decepticons logo from Transformers tattooed on his arm and hung a poster of the movie’s star — Megan Fox — in his bedroom, vowing he’d marry her one day.
“It was the GQ poster, right?” Kelly shouts to Fox during the interview, asking her to confirm exactly which image of herself hung in her boyfriend’s childhood bedroom.
“It was from her GQ shoot,” Kelly goes on to say. “So that’s some full-circle s***.”
But in addition to his dreamlike love life, Kelly is also experiencing his most successful musical moment yet, thanks to Tickets to My Downfall, his current album, produced by Travis Barker. Barker, who says he considers Kelly his “best friend,” first met him years ago after a Blink-182 show.
“He was successful at a completely other genre of music,” Barker says of Kelly, who was a popular rapper before turning to pop-punk. “Not many people can do that.”
Fresh from its 20 Emmy nominations earlier this week, the Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso leads the pack with five nominations for this year’s Television Critics Association (TCA) awards.
Jason Sudeikis‘ series is in good company: Disney+’s Emmy leader WandaVision, along with HBO’s Emmy nominees Mare of Easttown, Hacks, and I Will Destroy You all earned four TCA nominations each.
Other shows recognized by the Television Academy this week were also represented in the TCA’s nominations, including The Flight Attendant, The Mandalorian, and Pose.
Like last year, the pandemic means no actual event will be held for the winners to gather their gold; instead, they’ll be notified at a later date.
Here are the nominees for the 37th Annual Television Critics Association Awards:
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA
Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You – HBO
Ethan Hawke, The Good Lord Bird – Showtime
Thuso Mbedu, The Underground Railroad – Amazon
Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision – Disney+
Mj Rodriguez, Pose – FX
Omar Sy, Lupin – Netflix
Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit – Netflix
Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown – HBO
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY
Bo Burnham, Bo Burnham: Inside – Netflix
Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant – HBO Max
Maya Erskine, Pen15 – Hulu
Renee Elise Goldsberry, Girls5Eva – Peacock
Charlotte Nicdao, Mythic Quest – Apple TV+
Jean Smart, Hacks – HBO Max
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso – Apple TV+
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso – Apple TV+
OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM
Bridgerton – Netflix The Flight Attendant – HBO Max Hacks – HBO Max I May Destroy You – HBO Mare of Easttown – HBO P-Valley – Starz Ted Lasso – Apple TV+ WandaVision – Disney+
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES, MINISERIES OR SPECIALS
Bo Burnham: Inside – Netflix The Good Lord Bird – Showtime I May Destroy You – HBO It’s a Sin – HBO Max Mare of Easttown – HBO The Queen’s Gambit – Netflix The Underground Railroad – Amazon WandaVision – Disney+
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA
Bridgerton – Netflix The Crown – Netflix For All Mankind – Apple TV+ The Handmaid’s Tale – Hulu Lovecraft Country – HBO The Mandalorian – Disney+ Pose – FX P-Valley – Starz
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY
The Flight Attendant – HBO Max Girls5Eva – Peacock Hacks – HBO Max Mythic Quest – Apple TV+ Pen15 – Hulu Superstore – NBC Ted Lasso – Apple TV+ Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist – NBC
PROGRAM OF THE YEAR
Bridgerton – Netflix Hacks – HBO Max I May Destroy You – HBO Mare of Easttown – HBO The Queen’s Gambit – Netflix Ted Lasso – Apple TV+ The Underground Railroad – Amazon WandaVision – Disney+
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VARIETY, TALK OR SKETCH
The Amber Ruffin Show – Peacock A Black Lady Sketch Show – HBO The Daily Show with Trevor Noah – Comedy Central Desus & Mero – Showtime Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – HBO Late Night with Seth Meyers – NBC The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – CBS Saturday Night Live – NBC Ziwe – Showtime
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS AND INFORMATION
Allen v. Farrow – HBO City So Real – NatGeo Framing Britney Spears – FX/FX On Hulu Frontline – PBS I’ll Be Gone in the Dark – HBO Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special – CBS The Rachel Maddow Show – MSNBC 60 Minutes – CBS
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN REALITY
Couples Therapy – Showtime Deaf U – Netflix The Great Pottery Throw Down – HBO Max Legendary – HBO Max Nailed It! Double Trouble – Netflix The Real World Homecoming: New York – Paramount+ Taste the Nation – Hulu Top Chef: Portland – Bravo
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH PROGRAMMING
The Baby-Sitters Club – Netflix Bluey – Disney Jr. Donkey Hodie – PBS Kids Emily’s Wonder Lab – Netflix Odd Squad – PBS Kids Sesame Street – HBO Waffles + Mochi – Netflix Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum – PBS Kids
Granger Smith and his wife, Amber, are just weeks away from welcoming a new baby boy into their family. The couple are already parents to nine-year-old London and seven-year-old Lincoln, and they lost their youngest son, River, at the age of three in a tragic drowning accident in 2019.
From the beginning, the country couple has been open with fans about their emotional journey towards deciding to have another baby. This week, however, Amber highlighted a moment of celebration. She shared a series of snapshots from her shower for the new baby, whose name will be Maverick.
“I honestly can’t believe I’m doing this all over again,” Amber wrote. “Many tears were shed, grief and joy are parallel on this journey, but Mavi is so loved and we can’t wait to hold him in about 5 weeks. God is good.”
In an hour-long documentary uploaded to their YouTube channel this spring, Granger and Amber shared their IVF journey, which included a heartbreaking miscarriage along the road to a healthy pregnancy.
