Bastille has teamed with Jeep to showcase a new song, “Give Me the Future.”
The song is featured in a video for the automaker’s latest campaign, Life Electrified, which shows the evolution of Jeep over the past 80 years and all the new technology the brand’s vehicles will be featuring in the coming years. And if you need another reason to watch it, there’s also an adorable dog featured in the video.
Bastille frontman Dan Smith says “Give Me the Future” is about “plugging into endless possibilities,” adding, “Literally, it feels like everything is out there for the taking, all tastes catered for.”
Smith goes on to say that the spaceship sound at the start of the track is “us crash landing in the future.” He explains, “The reality we live in at the moment was the science fiction of not that long ago. Take a film like Minority Report. The technology in that seemed so far off, a fantasy. But it’s here, we’re way beyond it already. Had someone told you that 20 years ago, when the film came out…you’d have laughed. Or been terrified.”
“Give Me the Future” is the follow up to Bastille’s latest single, “Distorted Light Beam,” which was co-written and co-produced by Ryan Tedder of the pop group OneRepublic. Bastille will perform on ABC’s Good Morning America on August 23.
(NOTE LANGUAGE) Chrissy Teigen is offering up her honest thoughts about being cancelled. The media personality fell from grace after it was discovered she sent messages urging a then-teenaged Courtney Stodden to kill themselves.
The Cravings author released an extensive apology last month, but the fallout continued with Teigen losing endorsement deals, television opportunities and — overall — saw her brand tarnished.
Since then, the former model remained silent on social media, but on Wednesday, she addressed fans for the first time on Instagram and discussed what she’s learned in “Cancel club.”
“I don’t really know what to say here,” Teigen began, “just feels so weird to pretend nothing happened in this online world but feel like utter s*** in real life. Going outside sucks and doesn’t feel right, being at home alone with my mind makes my depressed head race.”
“I feel lost and need to find my place again, I need to snap out of this,” she continued. “I desperately wanna communicate with you guys instead of pretending everything is okay.”
Teigen, who is the wife of singer John Legend, added, “Cancel club is a fascinating thing and I have learned a [whole] lot.” She said the important takeaway is that she fully understands she had “clearly done something wrong.”
“It just sucks. There is no winning,” the Bring the Funny alum admitted. “I just needed an honest moment with you because I’m just…tired of being sick with myself all day. I don’t even know if it’s good to say any of this.”
Expressing concern that her latest admission will be “brutally picked apart,” Teigen said she can no longer remain silent.
She concluded, “If you or someone you know has also been cancelled please let me know if there is a cancel club reunion because I could use some time off my couch!”
Judas Priest fans have another thing comin’: a massive box set that includes every official live and studio album the heavy metal icons ever released, plus 13 discs of unreleased material.
Judas Priest: 50 Heavy Metal Years, due out October 15, includes photos signed by band members Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Richie Faulkner and Scott Travis, as well as a numbered British Steel metal razor blade — which has been blunted, of course — plus replica tour programs and posters.
The albums span from 1974’s debut Rocka Rolla to 2018’s Firepower. Also included are the concert albums Unleashed in the East, Priest…Live!, ’98 Live Meltdown, Live in London and A Touch of Evil Live.
The unreleased material includes numerous newly restored live sets: Live in Atlanta ’82, Live in Houston ’86, Live at the Mudd Club ’79, Live in New Haven ’88, Los Angeles ’90, London ’81, Denver ’80 and Irvine ’91. Plus, there are two albums’ worth of demos and various live tracks recorded over the years. All in all, you’ll get 42 discs.
You can pre-order the set now at JudasPriestStore.com: It’ll set you back $480. If your pockets aren’t that deep, you can get Reflections –– a collection of highlights from the box — on vinyl for 40 bucks, or on CD for $12.
The set is being released as the band gears up to finally celebrate its 50th anniversary with a U.S. tour this fall. The metal god himself, Rob Halford, describes the project as “the ultimate treasure trove defining the bands unwavering commitment to keeping and defending the heavy metal faith.”
Here’s the track list for the Reflections highlights package:
“Let Us Prey/ Call for the Priest”
“You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise”
“Fever”
“Eat Me Alive”
“All Guns Blazing”
“Never the Heroes”
“Dissident Aggressor” (Live)
“Out in the Cold” (Live)
“Judas Priest – Running Wild” (Live)
“Victim of Changes” (Live) — May 9, 1978, Cleveland, OH, Agora Theatre*
“The Green Manalishi (with the Two Pronged Crown)” (Live) — Point of Entry Worldwide Blitz Tour, November 21, 1981, London, U.K., Foundations Forum – Hammersmith Odeon*
“Bloodstone” (Live) — Screaming for Vengeance World Vengeance Tour, December 11, 1982, Atlanta, GA, The Omni*
“The Ripper” (Live) — July 12, 1991, Irvine, CA, Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre*
“Beyond the Realms of Death” (Live) — Killing Machine Hell Bent for Leather Tour, March 11, 1979, New York, NY, The Mudd Club*
“The Hellion/Electric Eye” (Live) — Turbo Fuel for Life Tour, June 21, 1986, Houston, TX, The Summit*
“Sinner” (Live) — Ram It Down Mercenaries of Metal Tour, August 7, 1988, New Haven, CT, New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum*
Jeff LaBar, lead guitarist for the hair-metal band Cinderella, has died. He was 58.
His son, Sebastian, confirmed his father’s death on Instagram and shared a slew of family photos in the emotional tribute.
“So i just got the call… @jefflabar , my father, my hero, my idol, passed away today,” he wrote Wednesday. “I’m currently at a loss for words. I love you pop!”
Sebastian added, “If you could, please share pictures or video of all the fun times we all had with my dad. It would be greatly appreciated.”
Gaile LaBar-Bernhardt, LaBar’s ex wife, said in a separate statement to TMZ that LaBar was found deceased in his Nashville home. A cause of death has not been revealed.
According to LaBar-Bernhardt, she went to check on her ex-husband after no one heard from him in a few days.
LaBar’s Cinderella band mates — frontman Tom Keifer, bassist Eric Brittingham and drummer Fred Coury — issued joint statement paying homage to him.
“Heavy hearts cannot begin to describe the feeling of losing our brother Jeff,” the musicians say. “The bond between us over decades of creating music and touring the world is something that we as a band uniquely shared. Those memories with Jeff will be forever alive in our hearts. It’s unimaginable that one of our band brothers has left us. We’re sending his wife Debinique, his son Sebastian, family, and friends our deepest condolences.”
Jill Scott and Michelle Buteau are once again tapping into their funny and spontaneous sides in the second season of the BET+ series First Wives Club.
Scott, who reprises her role as Hazel, an ambitious and often unpredictable singer, tells ABC Audio that the new season will bring the same old Hazel — but with plenty more drama.
“You know Hazel is nuts, right?,” Scott laughs. “She’s absolutely nuts and she is going to do whatever her heart moves her to do. She’s showing up to her friends with a little more excitement, and a new boo that her girlfriends [aren’t] necessarily feeling. But Hazel is going to do what Hazel wants to do.”
While Buteau’s character Bree is a bit more family-oriented, the comedian says that when it comes to important decisions, Bree’s a lot like Hazel — she always looks to her gal pals for guidance.
“This is probably the difference between between Bree and I,” Buteau explains. “Bree goes to her friends first and then figures out how to present it… And for me…I go to [my husband] first..”
Even though the characters they portray are mostly scripted, Scott and Buteau agree that the relationships they have on and off screen very “real.”
“The chemistry is on fire because we respect each other, we love each other, and we work well together,” Buteau shares. “We are actual friends. We check in with each other and that’s so important. You can’t just show up to set, especially during COVID and just say your lines and leave. No, we have done too much to get here safely. And we’re going to have fun and we’re going to make it count. And so this season really matters.”
The new season of First Wives Club is now available to stream on BET+.
Former Empire star Jussie Smollett again appeared in a Chicago courtroom Wednesday on matters stemming from that 2019 incident in which he claims he was jumped by two white supporters of President Donald Trump in what he alleges was a hate crime.
The Chicago Tribune reports Wednesday’s proceedings centered on one of Smollett’s attorneys, Nenye Uche, having a potential conflict of interest in the case. Nigerian brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo,who claimed Smollett paid them $3,500 by check to help orchestrate and stage the crime, said Uche had previously reached out to represent them, something Uche denies.
Smollett was indicted for a second time in February of last year on six counts, including lying to investigators about the case. Prosecutors maintain he’d hired the brothers to stage the incident, and furnished as evidence the check the actor claimed was for “personal training.”
After they were seen on surveillance footage near the crime scene, the brothers told police Smollett concocted the assault after he became upset that a threatening letter sent to him did not get enough attention, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Smollett continues to insist the attack wasn’t staged.
Dan Webb, the special prosecutor tapped to investigate the case after the charges were initially dropped, said in February of 2020 that the actor made “numerous false statements to Chicago Police Department officers on multiple occasions, reporting a heinous hate crime he, in fact, knew had not occurred.”
That letter itself, which contained a white powder later found to be a pain reliever, is the center of a separate federal investigation. At the time, former Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson claimed the letter was also phony, but the investigation is apparently still ongoing.
(NEW YORK) — Days after an avid long-distance runner mysteriously vanished in Northern California, police are “further scaling down operations” to find him, they announced Wednesday evening.
Philip Kreycik, 37, drove to the Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park at about 11 a.m. Saturday, parking at the Moller Trail staging area, to go for an 8-mile run, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
The Berkeley resident told his wife he’d be gone for an hour, police said. He has been missing ever since.
“Philip is an endurance athlete and is in top physical condition. He is also well versed on rural terrain and outdoor environments,” Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly said in a statement Tuesday. “Temperatures that day on the ridge were about 106 degrees but were not a deterrent for Phillip who thrives in extreme environments.”
“This is a very bright man who went to Harvard and MIT, a man that’s analytical in his thinking, a guy that runs ultramarathons,” Kelly told ABC San Francisco station KGO-TV.
Wednesday marked “the last fully operational day” of the “exhaustive” five-day search, Pleasanton Police Department said, announcing that the department and aiding agencies are “further scaling down operations” to find him.
The search included more than a dozen agencies from across the state and nearly 300 volunteers, police said. Dogs, drones, helicopters and an airplane with advanced thermal imagery were also deployed, the sheriff’s office said.
Kreycik is the father of a 3-year-old and 10-month-old with his wife, Jen Yao.
“I know in my heart of hearts he’s out there,” Yao told KGO. “He’s out there and he’s alive and he’s waiting for us. And maybe he’s dehydrated, maybe injured, delirious.”
Police said Kreycik is described as white with a thin build, brown hair and brown eyes. He has no known health conditions.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Pleasanton Police Department at (925) 931-5107.
Pitbull is the latest celebrity to speak out about the ongoing crisis in Cuba. In an emotionally charged message to fans on Wednesday, he called upon Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to “step up” and help.
“This is a message for the world,” the Cuban-American singer addressed via Instagram. “We need to stand up, step up — but if you don’t understand what’s going on — you need to wake the f*** up.”
Cuba, which is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, is experiencing one of its largest anti-government demonstrations in recent history, with thousands protesting rising prices, food and medicine shortages amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and persistent blackouts.
Cuba’s government stoked tensions further by deploying armed forces into the streets.
“This isn’t about politics — this is about saving lives… bottom line, this is about taking action,” the Grammy winner said before revealing he is unable to send aid to his home country.
“It frustrates me… Being a Cuban American and having a platform to speak to the world and not being able to help my own people. Not being able to get them food, not being able to get them water, not being able to get them medicine,” he said, explaining that he is most frustrated that he can’t give Cubans what they deserve, which he says is “freedom.”
Pitbull then issued a call to action on global businesses to get involved and raise awareness before he singled out Bezos, who has Cuban ties.
“Jeff Bezos, Cuban-American, graduated from a high school in Miami, built one of the biggest companies in the world. The richest man in the world. He’s somebody that can get involved and really help us,” the rapper said.
He closed out his video telling his fellow Cubans to “keep the fight up.”
Foo Fighters announced on Wednesday that they’re postponing Saturday’s show at the Forum in Los Angeles due to a confirmed case of COVID-19 “within the Foo Fighters organization.”
The announcement, shared on the band’s official Twitter page, notes they came to the decision “out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the band, crew and most of all the fans.”
Tickets for the show will be honored at a rescheduled date, which has yet to be announced.
Foo Fighters are set to head out on their 26th anniversary tour, which was rescheduled from their planned 25th anniversary tour for 2020.
Last month, the band headlined New York City’s Madison Square Garden, marking the famed arena’s first full-capacity in-person concert since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
An Oklahoma judge has ordered resentencing for Tiger King star Joe Exotic.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit handed down the order Wednesday in the case of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, the man known as “Joe Exotic” from the popular Netflix series Tiger King,ABC News affiliate KOCO in Oklahoma City reports. However, his conviction was affirmed.
In 2019, Maldonado-Passage was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison for violating wildlife laws in addition to the failed murder-for-hire plots against his nemesis, Carole Baskin. At the time, he asked that the judge combine the sentence for the two murder-for-hire counts, but was instead given an individual sentence for each.
“For the foregoing reasons, we affirm Maldonado-Passage’s conviction but vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing,” the court documents state.
To sum it up, “Joe Exotic is not going free,” KOCO reporter Dillon Richards shared on Twitter.
“He was originally sentenced to 264 months (the lower end of the 262-327 month range) Now the judge will have to re-sentence, but this time his range will be 210-262 months instead,” Richards explained. “So essentially the likely effect is that this could knock a couple years off his 22-year sentence.”
