If the ABBA comeback needs a drummer, then look no further than Dave Grohl.
Last month, the Swedish pop icons announced plans for their first new album in 40 years, and released a pair of new songs: “I Still Have Faith in You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down.” The news was very exciting for Grohl, who, one might say, has been brokenhearted — blue, even — since they day ABBA parted.
“Oh my god, I’m such a big ABBA fan,” Grohl tells the BBC. “When I saw that they were coming back and they had a record, I shot that link to 100 people I knew, then listened to the new song and wept like a baby. I cried like a baby. Oh man!”
When the interviewer suggests the idea that the former Nirvana drummer could reprise his role on ABBA’s 2022 reunion tour — which will feature digital avatars of the group — Grohl did not hesitate.
“Listen, I will get up and play drums at the opening of an envelope,” he says. “Show me a drum set and I will sit down to it. So yes, I would play with ABBA.”
Lil Wayne celebrated his 39th birthday Monday in Miami with several of his Young Money Entertainment artists, including Drake, who hosted the party. However, one of the biggest stars on the label, Nicki Minaj, was missing — because, Nicki says, she was not invited.
As photos of the big bash were posted on the Internet, Pink Barbie reacted, sarcastically commenting, “I had so much fun” under a group shot from the event.
Label president Mack Maine quickly apologized to the “Motorsport” rapper for the oversight.
“Lawwwdddd,” Mack wrote. “Don’t do it like that Nicketo!!! This s**t was so last minute. We could run it back deaux it wasn’t complete without you.”
Despite not being at the party, Minaj showed love for Wayne, her mentor, who launched her career in 2009 on the We Are Young Money compilation album. She posted a photo of her with Weezy on her Instagram Story and commented, “The 1st pic I took w the man who changed my life. Happy Birthday to my everything,” as captured by Rap-Up.
Nicki celebrated a very special birthday on Thursday: her son, whom she calls Papa Bear, turned one year old.
On Saturday, Sting celebrates his 70th birthday. The man born Gordon Sumner is truly one of rock’s renaissance men, and not just because he literally recorded an entire album of Renaissance-era lute songs in 2006.
Over the years, Sting’s artistry has expanded from fronting the now-legendary new wave band The Police into a thriving solo career, acting on the stage and screen, composing for movies and the theater, collaborating with dozens of artists across multiple musical genres, and working tirelessly for various charitable causes.
Music
With The Police, Sting released five albums, four of which made the list of Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The Police officially disbanded in 1986 but reunited in 2007 for a hugely successful one-off tour. The Police have sold more than 75 million records, won six Grammys and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
Sting launched his solo career in 1985 with The Dream of the Blue Turtles and was immediately successful. He’s continued releasing solo albums at a steady pace, including best-sellers Ten Summoner’s Tales,…Nothing Like the Sun and The Soul Cages. His 15th solo album, The Bridge, is due in November. As a solo artist, he’s won more than 10 Grammys.
Movies & TV
Sting’s acting career started in 1979, when he appeared in not one but two movies, the most famous of which is Quadrophenia, based on The Who‘s 1973 concept album. Since then, he’s acted in films like Dune, Plenty, The Bride, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and appeared as himself in Zoolander 2 among others.
His TV resume includes Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, Saturday Night Live,The Simpsons, Ally McBeal, The Larry Sanders Show and more.
Sting’s also found great success in writing music for films. He’s been nominated four times for the Best Original Song Oscar, and also either wrote or recorded songs for The Thomas Crown Affair, Leaving Las Vegas, The Three Musketeers and Lethal Weapon 3, among many others.
Theater
Sting made his Broadway debut as Macheath, aka Mack the Knife, in a 1989 production of The Threepenny Opera. His original musical, The Last Ship, debuted on Broadway in 2014 and received two Tony nods. In the final weeks before it closed in 2015, Sting also starred in the show.
Philanthropy
It’s difficult to find a major musical charity event that Sting hasn’t appeared at in the past 30 years, from Amnesty International-sponsored tours to Live Aid to the 9/11 fundraiser A Tribute to Heroes. However, he’s most associated with the Rainforest Foundation Fund, which he and his wife, Trudie Styler, founded in 1989. It’s since funded projects that have protected 28 million acres of rainforest around the globe.
Sting has also held regular benefit concerts at New York’s Carnegie Hall to support the Rainforest Foundation Fund, with star-studded lineups that have included the likes of James Taylor, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Lady Gaga.
(NEW YORK) — Breast Cancer Awareness Month has started and Victoria’s Secret is launching several new initiatives around the cause.
The lingerie line is launching its first mastectomy bra throughout October and while supplies last.
The Body by Victoria Mastectomy Bra was created to support thousands of women who undergo mastectomies each year as part of their fight against breast cancer, the company says.
The undergarment features a wire-free design made with soft micro fabric and lace. The bra also includes a pocket located within the inner lining to fit a prosthetic.
Priced at $49.50, the bra is available in black and champagne white. One hundred percent of sales will be donated to The Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers to support breast cancer research and discoveries.
In addition to Victoria’s Secret’s new mastectomy bra, the company has teamed up with fashion designer Stella McCartney to launch a public service announcement that aims to create a greater understanding of the risks of breast cancer and the importance of early detection.
“As the world’s leading lingerie brand, the health and well-being of women is paramount to our community,” said Victoria’s Secret chief marketing officer Martha Pease in a statement.
She continued: “We have a unique opportunity but also a responsibility to use our platform and scale of our global footprint to bring greater awareness to the risks of breast cancer, especially among younger women, and educate around the effectiveness of self-checks.”
The campaign extends now through Oct. 31, 2021, and will also include a #CheckYourself reminder along with a guide provided by The Stella Cares Foundation, on how to effectively perform a breast self-exam.
The campaign will extend to social media and over 25,000 Victoria’s Secret employees worldwide will receive educational materials to help reach hundreds of thousands of women, the company said.
The company also said it will invest at least $5 million annually in cancer research, including examining and addressing racial and gender inequities and unlocking new innovations that improve cancer outcomes for all women.
The news of Victoria’s Secret’s breast cancer awareness plans comes a few months after the brand announced a total rebrand that aims to include diverse, inclusive messaging.
The company also launched VS Collective — a platform created to develop new associate programs, revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content and rally support for causes vital to women. Notables such as Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Megan Rapinoe, Paloma Elsesser and several more are a part of the collective.
Ahead of her next major movie role in House of Gucci this fall, Lady Gaga is opening up about getting into character as Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of designer Maurizio Gucci, who hired a hitman to kill him in 1995.
The Oscar-winner tells The Wall Street Journalit was important for her to authentically play the part. She spent six months perfecting an Italian accent and then stayed in the accent for the entire shoot.
“I knew I was about to play a murderer,” she says. “I also knew how Tony [Bennett] feels about Italians being represented in film in terms of crime. I wanted to make a real person out of Patrizia, not a caricature.”
“I felt the best way to honor Maurizio and Italians was for my performance to be authentic, from the perspective of a woman,” Gaga adds. “Not an Italian-American woman, but an Italian woman.”
She says working on a film set in Italy also brought her closer to her roots. “When I went over to film this year, every day I was able to plant my feet on the ground and know that I was in a place where my family lived before coming here and working hard so I could have a better life,” Gaga says.
House of Gucci hits theaters November 24. Gaga’s new duets album with Tony Bennett, Love for Sale, is out today.
(CHANDLER, Ariz.) — A helicopter and a fixed-wing plane collided in mid-air in Chandler, Arizona, Friday, local authorities confirmed.
Chandler police tweeted that they are currently at the scene.
“We are at the scene of a mid-air collision between a plane and helicopter at a Chandler Airpark. We ask anyone who possibly witnessed or caught this incident on camera to contact Chandler PD at 480-782-4130,” the police posted.
The plane was able to land safely, but the helicopter crashed and caught on fire, the Chandler Fire department reported. Chandler Police have confirmed two deaths.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
In advance of the upcoming 45th anniversary reissue of KISS‘ classic 1976 album, Destroyer, the rock legends have made available a new acoustic mix of their hit ballad, “Beth” — one of the previously unreleased tracks that will be featured on the deluxe collection.
The new mix, which can be purchased digitally or streamed now, features a fully restored version of an original acoustic guitar track mixed with original piano, vocal and synthesizer tracks to create a fresh sonic take on the memorable tune.
“Beth,” which was sung and co-written by KISS drummer Peter Criss, was the band’s highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #7.
As previously reported, the Destroyer reissue will be released on November 19 in multiple configurations.
Among the various versions of the reissue is a Super Deluxe box set featuring four CDs, a Blu-ray audio disc, an assortment of collectible items, and a 68-page hardcover book.
The first CD features a remastered version of the original album. Disc two boasts demos from the Destroyer era, and the third CD includes various previously unreleased outtakes, alternate versions and mixes, single edits and more. Disc four features a previously unreleased concert that KISS played in Paris in May 1976.
The Blu-ray offers Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround mixes of Destroyer, plus two bonus tracks, including the new acoustic mix of “Beth.”
Released in March 1976, Destroyer peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 and became KISS’ most-successful studio album, selling over two million copies. In addition to “Beth,’ the album included the top-40 hit “Shout It Out Loud” and other enduring songs including “Detroit Rock City,” “King of the Night Time World” and “God of Thunder.”
With Halloween creeping up, the streaming service Vudu polled more than 2,500 fans to see what their favorite scary movies and TV shows are — and the A Quiet Place films and The Twilight Zone series topped the lists.
When it comes to movies, 1978’s Halloween took the second spot, followed by 2017’s It and 1984’s original A Nightmare on Elm Street. 1980’s Friday the 13th round out the top five.
When it comes to television shows, after the original Twilight Zone, which ran from 1959-1963, Vudu users ranked The X-Files as their second-favorite spooky series, followed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, American Horror Story, and The Walking Dead.
Meanwhile, Fandango’s streaming service has opened up their Horror Store, offering some cheap thrills — literally. Movies like The Purge films, the Resident Evil movies and more at available a discount, and thousands of other titles are free.
Vudu Fan Picks for Top 10 Horror TV Series:
1. The Twilight Zone (1959-1963)
2. The X-Files
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. American Horror Story
5. The Walking Dead
6. What We Do in the Shadows
7. Hannibal
8. Penny Dreadful
9. Bates Motel
10. Lovecraft Country
Vudu Fan Picks for Top 10 Horror Movie Franchises:
1. A Quiet Place
2. Halloween
3. It
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street
5. Friday the 13th
6. The Conjuring
7. Saw
8. The Purge
9. Child’s Play
10. Scream
Ellen Pompeo sat down with her former Grey’s Anatomy co-star Patrick Dempsey recently and discussed, among other things, a fight she had with Denzel Washington on the set of the show.
The 51-year-old actress told Dempsey during a recent episode of her Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo podcast that she considered leaving the long-running ABC medical drama after Dempsey’s exit in 2015, but opted to stay, in part, because Washington — whose wife was a fan of the show — stepped in to direct an episode called “The Sounds of Silence” the following year.
Unfortunately, Pompeo ended up getting into a fight with the 66-year-old two-time Oscar-winner after she went off script during a particularly intense scene, which Washington didn’t like.
“He was like, ‘I’m the director. Don’t you tell [the other actor] what to do.’ And I was like, ‘Listen, mother*****, this is my show, this is my set. Who are you telling?'” Pompeo recalled. “Like, ‘You barely know where the bathroom is.'”
“I have the utmost respect for him as an actor, as a director, as everything, but like, yo, we went at it one day,” said Pompeo.
The two ultimately made up, says Pompeo, adding, “Working with Denzel was amazing. He went nuts on me,” but said she still “love[s] the guy.”
Grey’s Anatomy, which just kicked off its 18th season, airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
