Jennifer Nettles is returning to Broadway! The singer-songwriter, who previously played Roxie in the musical Chicago, will show off her acting skills in the lead role of Jenna in Waitress. The role is currently being played by pop star and Waitress creator Sara Bareilles, with Jennifer set to begin her run on October 19, and starring in the musical through November 24.
“It is an absolute dream,” Jennifer tells People of performing in the musical. “There are so many layers to Waitress that make it so meaningful to me. It is heart-warming, heart-breaking at times, and absolutely heart-inspiring. I’m thrilled to be able to finally get to wear the apron.”
Waitress is scheduled to run through January 9, 2022 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
Jennifer’s latest solo album, Always Like New, was released in June. The record includes covers of Broadway classics, from musicals like My Fair Lady,Hamilton,Oklahoma!,Annie and more. “She Used to Be Mine,” from Waitress, appears on the deluxe version of the record.
Dan Reynolds finally revealed how he decides which songs make it onto Imagine Dragons‘ albums, and credits his family for being the masterminds behind the process.
“I play music for them every day. I write [music] every day and, between them and my wife…they’re the ones who pick what goes in an Imagine Dragons record,” Reynolds told Kelly Clarksonon her daytime talk show. “I play them the songs and if they wanna hear it again, I’m like ‘Okay, there’s something here.’ If they don’t, then it doesn’t make the record.”
Adds the “Follow You” singer, “You can thank my four-year-olds for putting together the record.”
Imagine Dragons released their fifth studio album, Mercury — Act 1, earlier this month. It debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200.
Reynolds is the father of four children with wife Aja Volkman: Arrow, nine, Coco, four, Gia, four, and Valentine, who is one. He and Volkman have been married since 2011 and celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in March.
Ringo Starr took part in a Zoom press event this week to promote his forthcoming EP, Change the World. During the virtual Q&A, the former Beatles drummer shared a humorous memory involving The Rolling Stones‘ Charlie Watts and another famous late drummer, Led Zeppelin‘s John Bonham.
Ringo said he’d hang out with Watts from time to time, particularly when they used to live near each other in London, and he recalled an incident at a party he threw at his place during the 1970s that Charlie and Bonzo attended.
“I had a drum kit up in the attic…And Charlie came and so did John Bonham. And so, we’ve got three drummers just hanging out,” Starr remembered. “And Bonham got on the kit, but because it [wasn’t nailed down],…as he was playing and the bass drum was hopping away from him, you had Charlie Watts and Ringo holding the bass drum for him as he played.”
Reflecting on the comical scene, Ringo added, “[T]hat would have been a great little video or TikTok, or a photo would’ve gone worldwide, you know what I mean? But in the ’70s, I had parties and you’ll never find any photos, because I wouldn’t let you take photos…you know, in my house.”
Starr said of Watts, who died last month at age 80, “Charlie was a great guy. He was a lot of fun, and he had a harder band than I did to keep together…[W]e will miss Charlie. He was a beautiful human being.”
(WASHINGTON) — Amid outrage over images the White House said President Joe Biden found “horrible,” the U.S. Border Patrol has temporarily stopped using agents on horseback against Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas, Homeland Security officials said Thursday.
Shortly afterward, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the decision to end the horse patrols in what critics said was offensively harsh treatment of the migrants.
“We have taken very specific actions as it relates to the horrific photos that we — we’re not going to stand for in this administration,” she told reporters at her daily press briefing.
The agents have been put on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Images of Border Patrol agents using their horses for crowd control on the banks of the Rio Grande have incensed Democratic lawmakers, some of whom drew a connection to white supremacy and slavery.
“Haitian lives are Black lives, and if we truly believe that Black lives matter, then we must reverse course,” Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said at a news conference Wednesday.
Pressley also called on the Biden administration to “immediately and indefinitely” stop the removal of Haitian nationals back to Haiti. Democrats and immigrant advocates remain concerned that the administration’s rapid removal of migrants from the border has limited their access to humanitarian protections outlined under the law.
Homeland Security official said Thursday the removals would continue.
Law enforcement agencies across the country use mounted patrols on a regular basis to traverse rough terrain, including in remote areas of the border that don’t have paved roads.
While many were disturbed by what appeared to be aggressive behavior by the agents on horseback, Border Patrol agents who spoke to ABC News said their colleagues in the controversial photographs were following procedures. They said it’s common practice for agents on horseback to use “long reins” to control the horse, apparently leading a photojournalist at the scene in Del Rio to describe them as “whips” being used by the agents.
Any use of whips, even on horses, would be out of line with agency policy, Border Patrol Agent and Union Vice President Jon Anfinsen told ABC News.
“These agents are highly trained along with their horses and they were doing exactly what they were trained to do,” Anfinsen said.
About 4,000 migrants remain at the camp and the officials estimated that about two-thirds of the entire group that gathered in Del Rio were families.
The final trailer for Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana, has just dropped, and it’s clear the accolades the actress has already garnered are well deserved.
Spencer takes place in the 1990s over a crucial Christmas holiday during which Diana plotted her divorce from Prince Charlesand a life away from the British royal family. As in the teaser, a choral version of Lou Reed‘s “Perfect Day” haunts the new footage of the young princess crushed between the pressures of her title, her crumbling marriage, the paparazzi, and a holiday weekend with the King and Queen.
“Three days,” she says as she steels herself. “That’s it.”
An aide warns her, “They know everything,” as her royal relatives shoot her icy glares from across a finely appointed dinner table.
“They don’t,” Diana replies.
As the pressure mounts in the trailer, Diana’s young son, Prince William, asks her, “Mummy, what’s happened to make you so sad?”
“You have to be able to do things you hate,” Diana’s advised. “There has to be two of you. There’s the real one, and the they take pictures of.”
She’s told it’s for, “the good of the country.”
“The country?” Diana protests, before slapping a sofa in frustration.
“Fight them,” a friend tells her. “You’re your own weapon.”
Diana asks rhetorically of the royals, “Will they kill me, you think?”
Princess Diana was killed August 31, 1997 in a car crash in Paris that was caused in part by a high-speed pursuit by paparazzi. Her partner, Dodi Fayed, and their driver, Henri Paul, were also killed. Paul was later found to have been driving drunk. A bodyguard survived the crash.
Spencer debuts November 5 from Pablo Larrain, who previously called the shots on Natalie Portman‘s Oscar-nominated 2016 Jacqueline Kennedy biopic, Jackie.
Rihanna‘s Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3 on Wednesday was more spectacular than ever, featuring performances by Nas, Daddy Yankee, BIA, Jazmine Sullivan, Ricky Martin, Normani, and Jade Novah.
Joined by a group of models, RiRi made a dynamic appearance, seductively lying on a couch to the beat of Busta Rhymes and Janet Jackson‘s “What’s It Gonna Be? and Busta’s “Break Ya Neck,” according to Billboard.
“It’s not easy in a corset!” the nine-time Grammy winner told Entertainment Tonight. “I had to make it work!” she added with a laugh. “But it’s my way of just being part of my show. I won’t do it every single time, but I like to be in there a little bit.”
Now in its third year, the Savage X Fenty show has become a high priority for many stars.
“They’re calling us now, and it feels so great that it has that credibility and that people value the stage,” Rihanna shared. “People even pull out from other shows to be a part of it. If we keep pushing ourselves and challenging our show year after year, I feel like we could really do wonders.”
Recorded at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles, Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3 will stream on Amazon Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide beginning Friday, September 24.
Fifteen years after Enchanted sang its way into theaters, fans will finally see the story continue in Disenchanted, and star James Marsden is teasing what to expect when the sequel premieres next year.
The 48-year-old actor, who plays Prince Edward, told Entertainment Tonight the movie will acknowledge the length of time that passed since everyone supposedly went off on their happily ever after.
“I have never felt older,” he laughed. “Fifteen years is not the sort of time frame you want to wait for the sequel of your movie where you play a Disney prince [to come out]. You go back in and you just got a belly and three chins.”
“I think we made something special,” Marsden amended. “I hope people will dig it.”
Because 15 years had passed since the first and second movies, Marsden was at first skeptical that the sequel was being made.
“They have been talking about making it for years…I got my hopes up many times before,” the actor said. “And recently I was like, ‘Sure, sure, they’re going to make it.’ And last year they said, ‘We are actually doing this, and they sent songs, and I am like, ‘OK, this is actually real.'”
“Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz did all of the music again, and Amy Adams [is] playing her great role as Princess Giselle,” Marsden raved. “It was a lot of fun getting back and working with Idina [Menzel] and getting the pipes back to working properly and the singing stuff.”
Disenchanted, also starring Patrick Dempsey and Maya Rudolph, will waltz onto Disney+ sometime in 2022.
(EUROPE) — Lawmakers in Europe on Thursday unveiled a proposal to force smartphone makers to adopt a universal, brand-agnostic charging cable in an effort to reduce electronic waste.
The plans call for a USB-C cable to become the universal standard for all smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. While years of collaborating with the industry on a voluntary approach have brought the number of mobile charger types from 30 to 3 within the last decade, according to a statement from the European Commission, the new legislation would establish a single common charging solution.
Apple, with its proprietary Lightning cables, remains one of the major holdouts to have a unique charger for its devices — though some of its more recent devices do include USB-C charging. The company has previously argued that the proposal would impede innovation.
“Chargers power all our most essential electronic devices,” Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, said in a statement. “With more and more devices, more and more chargers are sold that are not interchangeable or not necessary. We are putting an end to that.”
“With our proposal, European consumers will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics — an important step to increase convenience and reduce waste,” Breton added.
Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s executive vice president for the digital age, added that consumers have been “frustrated long enough about incompatible chargers piling up in their drawers.”
“We gave industry plenty of time to come up with their own solutions, now time is ripe for legislative action for a common charger,” Vestager said in a statement Thursday. “This is an important win for our consumers and environment and in line with our green and digital ambitions.”
Some 420 million mobile phones and other portable electronic devices were sold in the European Union in 2020, the lawmakers said, and consumers on average own about three mobile chargers but only use two on a regular basis. The group estimates disposed of and unused chargers pile up to some 11,000 metric tons of waste each year.
The Commission also seeks to unbundle the sale of chargers from the sale of electronic devices in order to reduce the environmental footprint associated with the production and disposal of chargers. It also is asking producers to provide clearer information about charging performance, including how much power is required by a device for charging.
The lawmakers estimate that all together the new measures will help consumers in Europe limit the number of new chargers purchased and save nearly $294 million (€250 million) per year on unnecessary charger purchases.
Apple told ABC News that it is continuing to work with the European Commission to understand the full details of the proposal, but argued that the legislation could disrupt a thriving ecosystem, inconvenience users and actually create electronic waste.
“Apple stands for innovation and deeply cares about the customer experience. Some of the most innovative thinking at Apple goes toward building products with recycled and renewable materials,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement. “We share the European Commission’s commitment to protecting the environment and are already carbon neutral for all of our corporate emissions worldwide, and by 2030 every single Apple device and its usage will be carbon neutral.”
“We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world,” the statement added. “We look forward to continued engagement with stakeholders to help find a solution that protects consumer interest, as well as the industry’s ability to innovate and bring exciting new technology to users.”
The U.S.-headquartered company also noted that the European Commission previously sought to mandate that all smartphones only use USB Micro-B connectors, which would have restricted the advancement to Lightning and USB Type-C chargers.
The proposal will next need to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, and the lawmakers have proposed a transition period of two years — which Apple has called concerningly short — from the date of adoption to give the industry time to adapt.
One sign that Adele’s relationship with sports agent Rich Paul isn’t just a passing phase is the fact that the two recently went Instagram official. But according to a source, their romance is much deeper than that.
A source close to Adele tells E! News, “Adele is very much in love with Rich and their relationship has become more serious in the last few months. They have both met each other’s kids, but have been keeping it low-key around them.”
Adele shares son Angelo with her ex-husband Simon Konecki. According to The New Yorker, Paul, who’s never been married, has three children.
“They both stay at each other’s places in L.A., and are pretty much inseparable,” adds the source, noting that Adele has been enjoying hanging out with Rich, who reps LeBron James, and his friends.
“She feels really comfortable around him and is in a good headspace right now,” the insider continues. “She is all about having fun and being in good company and Rich definitely provides that.”
The source also claims that Adele, who hosted SNL last October, is planning to release new songs later this year, hopefully “in December before the holidays.”
As for performing live, the insider claims, “She would love to…go back on tour, but is being cautious of COVID and doesn’t have concrete plans yet.”
Sony Music Entertainment/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
In July, the popular Bruce Springsteen fan site Backstreets.com reported that an archival film focusing on the performances that The Boss and his E Street Band gave at the historic 1979 “No Nukes” concerts would be coming out later this year. Now official details about the release have been announced.
The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts will be released digitally on November 16 and on DVD, Blu-ray and audio formats on November 19.
The film and companion audio feature Springsteen and the E Street Band playing 13 songs at two of the MUSE benefit concerts, aka the “No Nukes” concerts, a star-studded series of shows that took place in September 1979 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ten of the performances are previously unreleased.
The movie was edited by longtime Springsteen collaborator Thom Zimny using the original 16-millimeter film, and the audio was remixed by lauded engineer Bob Clearmountain.
Springsteen’s set list included renditions of two songs from his then-upcoming album The River — the title track and “Sherry Darling” — as well as covers of Buddy Holly‘s “Rave On” and Maurice Williams‘ “Stay,” the latter of which featured guest appearances from Jackson Browne and Tom Petty.
“A few years ago, I started re-examining the filmed archives for Bruce and the Band’s appearances at the No Nukes concerts of 1979,” says Zimny in a statement. “I quickly realized that these were the best performances and best filming from the Band’s legendary Seventies, and dedicated myself to bringing out the full potential of the footage.”
The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts, which you can pre-order now, is available as a two-CD/DVD or two-CD/Blu-Ray set, a two-LP vinyl package, and on digital audio and video formats.
Here’s the full track list:
“Prove It All Night”
“Badlands”
“The Promised Land”
“The River”
“Sherry Darling”
“Thunder Road”
“Jungleland”
“Rosalita Come Out Tonight”
“Born to Run”
“Stay”
“Detroit Medley”
“Quarter to Three”
“Rave On”
