The Weeknd teams up with creator of ‘Euphoria’ for new HBO series
The Weeknd is teaming up with ‘Euphoria’ creator Sam Levinson on a new HBO series. The Weeknd will star in, co-write and produce The Idol, a drama series he co-created with Levinson and Reza Fahim.
The Idol follows a female pop singer who develops a romance with a Los Angeles club owner who is the leader of a secret cult. Joshua Epstein will serve as showrunner, writer and executive producer on the series, with Mary Law to write and co-executive produce. Kevin Turen and Aaron L. Gilbert will also serve as executive producers.
This isn’t The Weeknd’s first stab at acting; in 2019, he played a fictionalized version of himself in Adam Sandler’s acclaimed crime drama, Uncut Gems, and in 2020 he lent his voice to an animated version of himself on American Dad! in 2020. The Weeknd released his fourth studio album, the critically acclaimed After Hours, in March 2020.
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BTS’s “Butter” stays on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for record-breaking 5th consecutive week
Billboard announced that BTS’s “Butter” has once again taken the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 for the fifth consecutive week. “Butter” also topped the list for top-selling songs of the week.
BTS set the record for the longest-running No. 1 hit by any Asian act when it topped the Hot 100 for the fourth consecutive time last week, and this week’s fifth consecutive No. 1 extends that record. Billboard’s Gary Trust writes, “Only one song by a group has topped the Hot 100 for more weeks from its debut than ‘Butter’: Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s ‘One Sweet Day,’ which spent its first 16 weeks on the chart at No. 1 in 1995-96.”
According to Billboard, “Butter” is just the 11th song out of the 54 songs that have debuted at No. 1 to spend its first five weeks at No. 1 in the history of the Hot 100. “Butter” also took No. 1 on Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart and No. 2 on the Global 200 chart again this week. The song also topped the Digital Song Sales chart again and ranked No. 18 on the Streaming Songs chart and No. 22 on the Radio Songs chart.
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Actor Allison Mack sentenced to 3 years in prison in NXIVM sex-slave case
Actor Allison Mack, 38, was sentenced to 3 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to charges she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for NXIVM’s leader, Keith Ranier. NXIVM was a cult group that masqueraded itself as a self-help organization. Mack also received a $20,000 fine.
Mack – best known for her role on the series “Smallville” – appeared in Brooklyn federal court, seeking credit for cooperating against Raniere and taking responsibility for helping him create a secret society of brainwashed women who were branded with his initials. Mack wrote in a letter filed with the court last week that devoting herself to Raniere “was the biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life. I am sorry to those of you that I brought into NXIVM. I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man.” Mack was once part of the inner circle of Raniere, whose group attracted millionaires and actors among its adherents. Prosecutors said she became a “master” for “slaves” whom she ordered “to perform labor, take nude photographs, and in some cases, to engage in sex acts with Raniere.”
Mack provided information to prosecutors about how Raniere encouraged “the use of demeaning and derogatory language, including racial slurs, to humiliate ‘slaves,’” the government papers said. More importantly, she provided a recording of a conversation she had with Raniere about the branding. Raniere was sentenced last year to 120 years in prison for his conviction on sex-trafficking charges.
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‘The Demi Lovato Show’ to premiere on The Roku Channel in July
The Demi Lovato Show will premiere July 30 on The Roku Channel. Lovato will be joined by a celebrity guests in each ten-minute episode of the series as they discuss topics such as activism, feminism, gender identity, sex and body positivity, mental health and UFOs. Celebrity guests will be announced at a later date.
The Demi Lovato Show was originally set for the now-defunct Quibi streaming service and was first announced in February 2020. Lovato said in a statement: “Some conversations can be difficult, but I’ve never been one to shy away from speaking candidly about things. We wanted to create a space that normalizes living your own truth — where people can speak, engage and more importantly, learn, together. There’s something therapeutic about having raw discussions that people can relate to and with ‘The Demi Lovato Show’ no topics are off limits and opinions are welcome. I’m so excited for people to see how these conversations unfold on The Roku Channel.”
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Lil Nas X announces debut album ‘Montero’
Lil Nas X announced his debut album, Montero. The rapper/singer shared the news via Twitter, stating that the project is “coming soon!”
Spoofing the opening to Marvel movies, Lil Nas X introduced Montero with a cinematic album trailer containing clips from his videos for “Old Town Road”, “Panini”, “Holiday”, and “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)”. It also includes a snippet of an unreleased song, in which Lil Nas raps, “Couple Grammys on him/ Couple plaques, eh, that’s a fact.”
Lil Nas dropped his debut EP, titled 7, in June 2019. He returned in November 2020 with “Holiday”, the controversial “Montero” and recently released “Sun Goes Down” in late May.
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Gal Gadot welcomes third daughter with husband Yaron Varsano
Gal Gadot, 36, announced on Tuesday that she and husband Yaron Varsano, 46, have welcomed their third daughter together. Gadot captioned an Instagram photo: “My sweet family. Couldn’t be more grateful and happy (and tired). We are all so excited to welcome Daniella into our family. I’m sending all of you love and health. GG.”
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Gadot and Varsano, a real estate developer, are also the parents of Alma, 9, and Maya, 4. In April, the Wonder Woman star announced that baby No. 3 was on the way, captioning a picture of her baby bump: “Here we go again.” The couple celebrated 12 years of marriage in September 2020, and Gadot wrote via Instagram at the time: “To many more to come. I’m yours forever.”
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Halsey announces fourth album ‘If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’ produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Halsey has announced her next album will be called If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, produced by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
No release date has yet been announced for If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, but Halsey shared a short teaser of the album earlier on her social media pages with the caption: “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power The FOURTH album by Halsey Produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.”
If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power
The FOURTH album by Halsey
Produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross pic.twitter.com/BbUx2htDkY
— h (@halsey) June 28, 2021
Halsey has been dabbling in the rock genre recently, releasing “11 Minutes” with Yungblud and Travis Barker in 2019, “Forget Me Too” with Machine Gun Kelly in 2020, and several songs with Bring Me the Horizon. Her last release, Manic, reached number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts and included hit such as “Graveyard” and “Without Me.” The full-length album also featured BTS’ Suga and Alanis Morissette.
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Courtney Love calls out Olivia Rodrigo for allegedly copying Hole’s album cover
Courtney Love is calling out Olivia Rodrigo, saying she didn’t ask permission to use a very similar picture of cover art from her band Hole‘s 1994 album Live Through This, for Rodrigo’s Sour Prom Concert Film. The 56-year-old Love reposted a tweet that 18-year-old Olivia posted, showing her in a prom dress with a crown and mascara running down her face. Love added the comment: “Spot the difference! #twinning! @Olivia_Rodrigo.”
Olivia’s picture appears to copy a close-up shot of model Leilani Bishop from Hole’s album, where Leilani is holding flowers, wearing a crown on her head as mascara runs down her face. Love also posted on her Facebook, adding: “Stealing an original idea and not asking permission is rude. There’s no way to be elegant about it . I’m not angry . It happens all the time to me . And he really I’m very gracious or say nothing . But this was bad form . That’s not bullying or bomb throwing . This persons music has nothing to do with my life . Possibly never will . It was rude And I gave every right to stick up for my work . Don’t gatekeep me ! I’m honorable as f*ck to my fellow artists, and I expect the same.”
https://twitter.com/Olivia_Rodrigo/status/1407762942200668163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1407762942200668163%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.929thebeat.com%2Fcourtney-love-calls-out-olivia-rodrigo-for-allegedly-copying-holes-album-cover%2F
After Courtney shared Olivia’s pic, Olivia responded with a comment that seemed to indicate she was paying homage to Hole and the album. “love u and live through this sooooo much,” the comment read. Courtney replied: “Olivia – you’re welcome. My favorite florist is in Notting Hill, London! Dm me for deets! I look forward to reading your note!”
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Jamie Lynn Spears breaks her silence to show support for sister Britney Spears
Just days after Britney Spears made an emotional plea to a Los Angeles judge to terminate her conservatorship, her younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears broke her silence, saying that she wants nothing but happiness for her sister and that she always has and “always will” support Britney.
Jamie Lynn said in the video message shared Monday to her Instagram stories, “I just want to take a second to address a few things. The only reason I hadn’t before is because I felt like until my sister was able to speak for herself and say what she felt she needed to say publicly that it wasn’t my place and it wasn’t the right thing to do. But now that she’s very clearly spoken and said what she needed to say, I feel like I can follow her lead and say what I feel I need to say.”
Jamie Lynn continued by saying she had made a “very conscious choice” to “only participate” in Britney’s life as a sister, adding “my sister knows I love and support her… I’m not my family. I’m my own person. And I’m speaking for myself.” Jamie Lynn also said she’s “very proud” of Britney for speaking up and that she has always supported her and her happiness: “Maybe I didn’t support the way the public would like me to with a hashtag on a public platform but I can assure you that I support my sister long before there was a hashtag and I’ll support her long after.”
The statement from Jamie Lynn comes less than a week after Britney spoke publicly during a court hearing, addressing her conservatorship and how she hopes it is terminated.
Olivia Rodrigo to air ‘SOUR Prom’ concert film on YouTube
Olivia Rodrigo announced that she will host her own alternative prom — titled the Sour Prom Concert Film – to stream Tuesday, June 29, at 8:30 p.m. PT on her official YouTube channel. Rodrigo wrote on Twitter: “Since I never got to go to prom, I wanted to throw a little prom party with my fav ppl (you guys obvs).”
https://twitter.com/Olivia_Rodrigo/status/1407762942200668163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1407762942200668163%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.929thebeat.com%2Folivia-rodrigo-to-air-sour-prom-concert-film-on-youtube%2F
During the event, the singer will be performing tunes from her hit debut album as fans enjoy what the press release calls “the ultimate alternative prom experience.” There will also be a pre-prom event hosted by Rodrigo on her YouTube page, which begins 30 minutes before the livestream, at 8 p.m. PT. Rodrigo will be answering questions from fans and sharing behind the scenes stories about the making of Sour Prom.
The 18-year-old singer surprised some fans with an in-person invitation to the event ahead of the announcement. The ‘promposals’ come just days after Rodrigo graduated from high school herself, which she celebrated on social media.
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