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Idina Menzel recalls Broadway’s tear-filled return after September 11, 2001

September 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which claimed the lives of 2,977 people in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The attacks left New York City at a standstill for weeks — but just 48 hours after the horrors in Lower Manhattan, all Broadway theaters were re-opened. New York City’s then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani saw the Great White Way’s return as a key to the city’s recovery.

One of the performers that night was Tony winner Idina Menzel, then a struggling actress.

“I was going into Aida at the time, and…I was replacing Taylor Dayne … I was sort of at a low point in my career, and I was really excited about it,” she recalls to ABC Audio. “And then the day I was supposed to get on stage was 9/11.”

“When we finally did come back. I remember my dad was in the audience, and it was quarter filled, people were just not in the mood or weirded out or scared to be in a public space together,” she adds. “And it…felt, I remember, awkward to be up there. Is it OK to be singing and celebrating and making the attention about ourselves? But yes, it’s good for people because they…needed to heal.”

“I remember we all sang ‘America the Beautiful’ at the curtain call, and I remember my dad was with my husband at the time, he just started bawling, and he’s not a very emotional man. And my…ex-husband Taye [Diggs], he didn’t know what to do with my father,” Idina recalls, laughing.

She adds, “So…I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of those kinds of moments and to provide some kind of sanctuary when we’re all going through things.”

Josh Homme’s sons reportedly file for domestic violence restraining order

September 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Two of Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme‘s children have filed for a domestic violence restraining order against their father, TMZ reports.

According to documents obtained by the site, Homme’s sons Orrin, 10, and Wolf, 5, submitted documents through their mother and Homme’s ex-wife, The Distillers‘ Brody Dalle.

TMZ reports that the docs accuse Homme of verbal and physical abuse, including hitting and throwing things at his children, grabbing them inappropriately, and threatening to kill Dalle’s boyfriend. The kids also allege that Homme drove them while drinking alcohol. They describe Homme as “scary,” and are requesting that he must stay 100 yards away from them.

In a statement to TMZ, Homme’s lawyer says, “Ms. Dalle has previously brought these claims to the police, DCFS, and the presiding judge of the family law court, all of whom have declined to take any action based upon these spurious claims.”

TMZ does not mention whether Homme and Dalle’s oldest child, daughter Camille, is involved.

Both Homme and Dalle previously filed restraining orders against each other following their divorce in 2019.

For anyone affected by abuse and needing support, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or if you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474.

‘Tis ‘The Season’: Ex-Journey singer Steve Perry releasing new holiday album in November

September 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

In 2018, former Journey frontman Steve Perry returned to music with Traces, his first new solo album in 24 years. Now he’s set to release his first-ever collection of holiday tunes.

The Season, which is due out on November 5, features Perry’s renditions of eight classic yuletide tunes, including “Winter Wonderland,” “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “Auld Lang Syne,” “Silver Bells” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

“I hope when people hear this record, they’re teleported in the same way I was when I recorded all these songs,” says Steve. “I hope it brings them back to those golden moments with their loved ones and gives them that feeling of joy and connection and comfort that we all need so much.”

In conjunction with the album announcement, Perry has debuted one of the songs as a digital single, a jazzy, stripped-down rendition of “I’ll be Home for Christmas.”

“When I was recording vocals for ‘I’ll be Home for Christmas,’ as I was singing ‘Please have snow and mistletoe and presents under the tree’…I was emotionally thrown into standing in my grandmother’s house staring through the door that I always hung mistletoe and then I saw her beautiful Christmas tree in front of her living room window,” Perry notes. “I had to stop singing because it felt like I was really there…I was a bit stunned…Back Home for Christmas is where everyone wants to be!”

The Season, which you can pre-order now, is available in multiple formats, including CD, digital, streaming and vinyl. Various limited-edition colored-vinyl versions of the album can be purchased at Perry’s official online store, Target and Barnes & Noble.

Here’s the full track list of The Season:

“The Christmas Song”
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
“Auld Lang Syne”
“Winter Wonderland”
“What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve”
“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
“Silver Bells”
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

‘Glitter’ turns 20: How Mariah Carey’s 2001 album went from flop to cult classic

September 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Twenty years ago Saturday, Mariah Carey’s most maligned and misunderstood album, Glitter, was released. Here’s the story of this project, which is now a cult classic.

Mariah had been planning a movie and soundtrack project called All that Glitters since 1997, but didn’t get a chance to work on it until she signed a new five-album, $100 million contract with Virgin Records in April of 2001.

But on July 19, after the release of the soundtrack’s lead single, “Loverboy,” Mariah made a bizarre appearance on MTV’s Total Request Live, handing out ice cream to fans and stripping off her shirt to reveal a more revealing outfit. “Loverboy” failed to reach number one — which, in Mariah terms, made it a “flop.”

After the TRL incident, Mariah posted a voice note on her website saying she’d like to “take a little break.” On July 26, she was hospitalized for two weeks, citing “extreme exhaustion” and a “physical and emotional breakdown.” Mariah would later reveal in 2018 that it was during this time that she was diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder.

As Mariah became the butt of late-night jokes, the release of Glitter the album was delayed from August 21 to, unfortunately, September 11. When it finally emerged, critics disliked its ‘80s vibe and felt Mariah was overshadowed by the album’s many guest stars, which included rappers Ludacris, Da Brat, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous and others.

Glitter was the lowest-selling album of Mariah’s career to that point — something she would later blame on the 9/11 terrorist attacks — but when the film also flopped at the box office, Virgin Records dropped her.

Flash forward to 2018: Mariah Carey fans launched a #JusticeForGlitter social media campaign, urging people to buy the album. It worked: The album ultimately reached number one on iTunes. A grateful Mariah, then on tour supporting her album, Caution, added a medley of songs from Glitter to her tour set list.

Many music critics subsequently changed their tune, praising Glitter as “brilliant,” “undeniably ahead of its time” and “the perfect ‘80s tribute.”

Thieves steal sign in Taylor Mill, KY honoring Carly Pearce

September 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Carly Pearce is celebrating receiving two CMA Awards nominations this week, but it hasn’t all been good news for the singer. Carly, who was recently honored with an official Carly Pearce Day on September 2, in her hometown of Taylor Mill, KY, had a sign placed at the entrance to the town, which read “Welcome to Taylor Mill, Hometown of Country Music Star, Carly Pearce.”

Unfortunately, the sign was stolen less than a week after it was erected.

“She was nice enough to take pictures with a lot of the police officers that helped protect her that day. Unfortunately, just yesterday morning, somebody had stolen that sign,” Taylor Mill Police Chief Steve Knauf told WKRC TV, adding that someone removed the bolts and took it off of the metal poles where it was attached.

“They purposely put it up high so people could see it but also to deter theft,” he added. “We are thinking it was probably a two-person job.”

Pearce was also given a key to the city, a place she credits with instilling in her a love of country music.

“This is where my love of country music began, and I’m so grateful and proud Taylor Mill, KY is my hometown,” Carly said at the time.

Carly received CMA Awards nominations for both Album of the Year (for 29) and Female Vocalist of the Year.

Listen to new Glass Animals song, “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)”

September 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Glass Animals has released a new song called “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance).”

“Talking is great, don’t get me wrong,” says frontman Dave Bayley. “But this pandemic has made so many of us look inwards in a way we maybe haven’t before. The uncertainty in the world and the inability to go out and create new memories makes you dig deep into the past. It really fed people’s deepest insecurities and rattled our foundations in so many ways.”

“It felt like we were all put in a pressure cooker, but there was no way to let out the steam,” he continues. “That’s what this track is about — that pressure cooker exposing and expanding so many cracks, but struggling to fill them in and decompress. I want people to switch their devices off, put this song on, close their eyes, and have that release for a moment.”

You can listen to “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)” now via digital outlets. Its accompanying video, which, fittingly, includes a whole lot of dancing, is streaming now on YouTube.

“I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)” follows Glass Animals’ 2020 album, Dreamland, which includes the singles “Heat Waves” and “Your Love (Déjà Vu).”

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

Mastodon announces new album, ‘Hushed and Grim’; listen now to first single, “Pushing the Tides”

September 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Mastodon has announced a new album called Hushed and Grim.

The eighth full-length effort from the Atlanta metallers — and their first since 2017’s Emperor of Sand — will arrive October 29. You can listen to the first single, titled “Pushing the Tides,” now via digital outlets.

Hushed and Grim is also a tribute to Mastodon’s late manager Nick John, who passed away in 2018.

Here’s the Hushed and Grim track list:

“Pain with an Anchor”
“The Crux”
“Sickle and Peace”
“More than I Could Chew”
“The Beast”
“Skeleton of Splendor”
“Teardrinker”
“Pushing the Tides”
“Peace and Tranquility”
“Dagger”
“Had It All”
“Savage Lands”
“Gobblers of Dregs”
“Eyes of Serpents”
“Gigantium”

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

Zendaya explains why she’s sitting out this year’s Met Gala

September 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Rabbani and Solimene Photography/WireImage

With the 2021 Met Gala just days away, Zendaya announced that she’ll be sitting out this year’s festivities.

Speaking to Extra from the Venice Film Festival, the 25-year-old fashion icon and actress revealed, “I will unfortunately not be able to attend [the Met Gala] because I’ll be working for Euphoria. I got my time off to come here and do this Venice experience, which has been really, really special.”

Noting that her “fans are going to be very upset with me” because she will not be going, Zendaya expressed, “I wish I could, especially since this fashion icon [Timothée Chalamet] is going to be hosting,” referring to her Dune co-star.

The upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home star has gained a reputation for being one of the best-dressed attendees at the Met, rocking looks such as a Joan of Arc-inspired Versace dress from 2018 and a Tommy Hilfiger illuminated Cinderella gown in 2019. Reflecting on the latter, she quipped, “That one almost took me out, let me tell you.”

Chalamet will be serving as co-chair of Monday night’s Met Gala, along with tennis star Naomi Osaka, singer Billie Eilish and inaugural poet Amanda Gorman.

This year’s theme will highlight an exhibition of the same name, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” which opens September 18 at the Anna Wintour Costume Center, exploring “a modern vocabulary of American fashion.” The 2021 event will also commemorate the Costume Institute’s 75th birthday.

The Rolling Stones added second LA show to 2021 No Filter Tour

September 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Rolling Stones fans in the U.S. will have an additional chance to see the band on their upcoming 2021 No Filter Tour. The British rock legends have just announced that a second concert at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles has been confirmed for October 14, three days before the previously scheduled show at the venue will take place.

Tickets for the October 14 performance go on sale to the general public on Friday, September 17 at 10 p.m. PT via RollingStones.com.

Pre-sale tickets will be available for people who’ve signed up for the Stones mailing list starting Wednesday, September 15 at 10 a.m. PT. You can sign up for the mailing list at uk-umg.com.

The Rolling Stones’ U.S. tour leg, which now features 13 dates, kicks off September 26 in St. Louis and is mapped out through a November 20 concert in Austin, Texas. The trek will feature lauded session drummer Steve Jordan stepping for the band’s beloved longtime beat keeper Charlie Watts, who died August 24 at age 80. Jordan’s participation was arranged prior to Watts’ unexpected passing.

Meanwhile, in honor of Watts, the band is asking fans to share photos and memories of Charlie and of their favorite pieces of vintage Rolling Stones-related memorabilia, artwork and more, on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #mystonesmerch. The Stones also have been displaying many of the images on a fan wall that you can check out at digital.umusic.com/rollingstones.

Kelly Clarkson doesn’t want to be compared to Ellen DeGeneres

September 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Kelly Clarkson‘s daytime talk show will fill the time slot vacated by Ellen DeGeneres‘ when its 19th and final season concludes next year. However, Clarkson is making it clear she doesn’t want to be compared to the talk show legend — or anyone, for that matter.

In a candid conversation with The New York Times, the singer expressed, “No one can take over for Ellen. It’s an iconic show.”

“I’m never going to be Whitney Houston — I’m never going to be Cyndi Lauper, Reba or Trisha [Yearwood] or Mariah [Carey],” Clarkson further declared. “I’m going to be me. I think that’s fine. There’s room for everyone at the table.”

The Kelly Clarkson show, now in its third season, draws an average daily audience of 1.3 million viewers, which currently puts it ahead of Ellen‘s totals. Clarkson credits her hosting chops to her time on American Idol, saying it prepared her to helm something as chaotic as a daytime television talk show.

“We were on TV all the time,” she cracked. “Doing random things — being interviewed, interviewing other people, doing skits.” Those unscripted moments, Kelly says, desensitized her to having a camera in her face and even inspired her be a little bit unpredictable.

“I don’t really feel pressure from that. That can be scary for other people sometimes, like, ‘Oh God, what’s she going to say?'” Clarkson laughed.

However, her biggest hurdle came last year, when she shot her show remotely from her Montana cabin because of the pandemic.

“We were in the middle of nowhere…I’m in snow up to my thighs. And I’m like, well, I have a camera,” she recalled. “I’m trying to be America’s cheerleader. And I never completely broke down about it, but I definitely laughed hysterically at several moments.”

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