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06 Jul 2023

Kim Kardashian Reacts To Kanye’s Antisemitism In Latest Episode Of ‘The Kardashians’

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Kim Kardashian

Source: STEFANO RELLANDINI / Getty

Kanye West’s antisemitic rants has cost him dearly both in his music career and other business ventures, but now we get to see how his unhinged rants affected the personal life of his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.

Variety is reporting that in the latest episode of The Kardashians, cameras were around Kim Kardashian when Kanye took to Twitter to spew his antisemitic rhetoric, and naturally, it did not go over well in the Kardashian household. Touching on the situation, Kim admits that “It’s really confusing for me that it’s so different than the person that I married because that’s who I loved and that’s who I remember,” and that “I’ll do anything to get that person back.”

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Of course, like the rest of us, she loved the old Kanye, but doesn’t want to get involved in his messiness. “I don’t ever want to jump in and be apart of a downfall for the father of my kids,” she said.

Variety reports:

“It’s really fucking hard,” she adds. “And I don’t wish that upon anybody.”

In the episode, Kardashian is in conversation with her sister, Khloé Kardashian, distraught over how to navigate her emotions and the public backlash against her ex-husband’s hate speech, while continuing to support her children and their father. “I’m just not OK. I’m just having such a hard day today,” Kardashian says through tears to her sister. “I literally haven’t changed my outfit in like two days. I just have to get it together. I just can’t.”

“You don’t have to get it together. You don’t have to be strong all the time,” Khloé tells Kim. “You’re allowed to go through this and have your feelings. What you’ve been dealing with is not okay.”

“I feel so bad for him,” Kim responds. “I don’t even think he feels bad for himself because I don’t even know if he knows how…I just feel so bad.”

Many women who’ve been scorned by an ex would gladly watch their former lover’s life crash and burn before them, but Kim isn’t one of those women. Good for her.

Still, Kim felt that if she weighs in on Kanye’s rants that “he’ll probably go off on me,” and the way he was acting at the time, he probably would have. Still, after Kanye’s unprovoked rant against the Jewish community, Kim took to Twitter to denounce hate speech, but never mentioned Ye in the tweet saying “I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.”

Well, she tried.

Kanye, meanwhile, felt the backlash immediately as he was canceled by millions of his fans and dropped by adidas, Gap, Balenciaga, and basically every other venture he had going for him at the time.

Well, at least he doesn’t have to see Kim and Pete Davidson enjoy life together anymore.

What do y’all think of Kim Kardashian’s reaction to Kanye West? Should she have called him out at the time or was she smart to keep her distance? Let us know in the comments section below.

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06 Jul 2023

Instagram Threads Gained Over 10 Million Users In Just Seven Hours Following Wednesday Launch

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Meta Introduces Twitter Competitor Threads

Source: NurPhoto / Getty / Instagram Threads

Wednesday, Instagram decided to “shock drop” its answer to Twitter to strike while the iron is still hot as the mass exodus from Elon Musk is underway. So far, Mark Zuckerberg and co’s decision to hit the launch button was brilliant and is paying off.

Spotted on Engadget, Threads, Meta’s rival to Twitter is off to an impressive start and has already exceeded ten million signups in just seven hours after going live, according to a Thread from CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The massive signup number was a testament to the platform’s ability to handle the rapid signup rate, which could also be a direct result of Instagram successfully luring some of its 2 billion users over to Threads.

Zuckerberg wasn’t done egging on his rival, Elon Musk, whom he could fight in a cage match. No, we’re not kidding about that. In his first tweet in over a decade, the Meta chief used the classic Spider-Man meme signaling a standoff between the two billionaires.

While this is a solid start for Threads, the platform’s launch is not without issues. Users are enjoying their time with Threads, but complaints are coming in. One of the main issues is the lack of chronological or following-only feed options, which both Twitter and Instagram are still dealing with to some extent.

Current Threads users are stuck with the current algorithm throwing random users on their feeds, directly resulting from seeing posts other users are replying to.

Threads also lack a post-editing feature, something both Facebook and IG users enjoy, hashtags, account switching, a dedicated button to insert GIFS, and more.

Adam Mosseri Spoke About Instagram Threads’ Issues

In a Threads post, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said that a following-only feature, post-editing, and account switching are “on the list,” and hashtags will be tappable “in time.”

In a recent update from his Broadcast channel, Mosseri admits things are “hectic” behind the scenes.

“Things have been hectic behind the scenes this week, most of the Threads team is focused on keeping the app up and fixing all the bugs we’re finding it,” Mosseri begins. “It feels a little bit like what working at this company felt like ten years ago, everyone’s rolling up their sleeves, hustling and trying to help the best they can.”

He continues, “We didn’t expect 10s of millions of people to sign up in less than a day, but supporting that is the definition of a champagne problem.”

Well, Rome was not built in a day. We only expect Threads to come into form over time. Plus, you can still spend time on Spill as Threads continues to figure things out.

—

Photo: NurPhoto / Getty

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06 Jul 2023

Here’s How J Balvin Reacted When a Fan Thought He Was Maluma

J Balvin is back on social media after taking a nearly 10-month hiatus, and now that he’s back, he’s shared a real-life fan encounter on TikTok — or rather, “fan” encounter.

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In a recent video that he shared with his more than 20 million TikTok followers on Wednesday (July 5), Balvin is seen meeting a gentleman who claims to be his fan. “Who’s this sir?” asks the person recording the video. “Maluma … bien moso (good looking)” replies the man without hesitation and a big smile on his face. An astonished Balvin just smiles back and says, “Maluma baby… Don Juan!” before taking a photo with his “fan.”

The Colombian artist then captioned the video with “the one who is cute is cute and that’s why they confuse him. Don Juan, they are looking for you.”

The video was backed by Balvin’s comeback single “En Alta” with newcomers Quevedo, Yovngchimi and Omar Courtz. The Hear This Music-produced track is an infectious electro-trap fusion about manifesting nothing but good vibes and being surrounded by positive-minded people.

“Really right now, I’ve been focused on my family,” he told Billboard earlier this year about his break from the internet and creating music. “I left social media to be connected to my reality and to my family. That has taught me a lot — to live more in the present. Obviously, I miss my fans, but when the time is right, I’ll be back.”

Now that he’s back, he’s been spotted hanging out with his colleagues, including his good friend Maluma, who shared the stage with Balvin at his Ibiza concert.

“It’s been more than 10 years without sharing a stage,” Balvin expressed on Instagram after the two performed their 2019 collaborative effort “Que Pena.” “It’s such an honor seeing the big artist you’ve become and even bigger, the person you are. And see how sexy we are, jejeje.”

The Balvin and Maluma bromance goes unnoticed, and it’s easy to see why fans confuse them. See the funny moment below:

06 Jul 2023

Andrew Ridgeley Says George Michael’s Delayed Coming Out Came At a ‘Personal Cost’ to Wham! Bandmate

While George Michael may be remembered today as a queer icon in his own right, the “Freedom ’90” singer’s former bandmate recently revealed that his delayed coming out cost the superstar dearly.

According to Michael’s longtime Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley, the “Faith” singer’s decision to keep his sexuality secret before eventually announcing it on live TV in 1998 ultimately hurt him more than it helped. “I think it is fairly unarguable,” Ridgeley told People in an interview published Wednesday (July 5). “He made the point that it had a personal cost, which I don’t think he ever quite reconciled.”

“George was thinking, ‘Yeah, I’ll just come out and say it,’ and I thought, ‘Well, how’s this gonna change anything for us?’” Ridgeley also told the publication. “The music’s still great and once the initial sort of hullabaloo is over, then it’ll probably be just that. But that was not the case, and George says that for him personally, that was the wrong decision.”

Michael’s decision to delay his coming out was based out of fear for “how his father would react, along with the press and the label,” Ridgeley said. “He was all ifs and buts, but the fact is the decision was taken not to make his sexuality public, and that personally cost him.”

Michael hid his sexuality from fans for years before he was arrested in 1998 for lewd conduct, an event that essentially outed him to the public and led him to confirm he was gay in a televised interview on CNN. Before his death in 2016, the English musician said himself that he regretted staying in the closet for so long, even though doing so likely helped his career in the long run.

“I’d been out to a lot of people since 19,” he said in a 2007 radio interview. “I wish to God it had happened then. I don’t think I would have the same career – my ego might not have been satisfied in some areas – but I think I would have been a happier man … Then AIDS changed everything. I was too immature to know I was sacrificing as much as I was.”

The difficulties Michael faced before and after coming out are covered in the new Wham! documentary, which arrived on Netflix Wednesday (July 5). But while the “Careless Whisper” musician faced judgment and scorn from some listeners afterward, Ridgeley shared with People that for him, his longtime friend’s revelation didn’t change a thing between them.

“Shirlie told me George was anxious about telling me, which I found a little surprising,” he reflected, referencing former girlfriend and singer Shirlie Kemp. “When he told me it was like, ‘Oh, well, yeah. That explains a few things,’ but it was unremarkable. It was unsensational.” 

06 Jul 2023

Billie Eilish Announces Her New Song ‘What Was I Made For’ on ‘Barbie’ Soundtrack: ‘Get Ready to Sob’

The Barbie takeover continues! Grammy-winning global pop sensation Billie Eilish has revealed that she is the latest artist to contribute a song to the Barbie soundtrack.

On Thursday (July 6), Eilish shared news of the song via Instagram with a caption that read, “We made this song for Barbie and it means the absolute world to me. This movie is gonna change your lives and hopefully the song will too. Get ready to sob.”

The new song, titled “What Was I Made For,” is slated for a July 13 release and features contributions from Eilish’s go-to collaborator, her Grammy-winning older brother, FINNEAS.

Executive produced by Academy Award-winning songwriter and producer Mark Ronson, the Barbie soundtrack is set to feature songs from some of contemporary pop’s biggest and brightest stars, such as Lizzo, Fifty Fifty, Kali, Gayle, Khalid, Haim and Ava Max. A slew of singles have already been released from the soundtrack, including two that have reached the Billboard Hot 100: Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” (No. 31) and Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and AQUA’s “Barbie World” (No. 7).

“What Was I Made For” marks Eilish’s second release of the year. In May, the “Bad Guy” singer uploaded her 2018 cover of Drake’s “Hotline Bling” on all streaming platforms. The new Barbie song also continues Eilish’s foray into film. In 2020, she released “No Time to Die,” the Oscar-winning theme song for the James Bond movie of the same name. Two years later, she and her brother penned three original songs for the Turning Red soundtrack, including “Nobody Like U,” which peaked at No. 49 on the Hot 100.

Check out the official announcement below:

06 Jul 2023

Ice-T Has One Question After Criticism of Wife Coco’s July 4th Bikini Shoot: ‘Why Do You Still Follow Her???’

Ice-T has zero time for your judgement. The rapper/actor wasted no time hitting back at commenters who criticized his wife Coco Austin’s NSFW July 4th photo shoot. “Happy ‘4th of July’!! I’m celebrating in AZ. Yes, it gets HOT outside,” Coco wrote alongside an image in which she showed off her assets in a barely-there white string bikini bottom, red, white and blue sunglasses and a red half-shirt while holding an American flag between her teeth.

A second poolside shot showed the model from the front, where her curves were framed by two flags held aloft. “She’s a mom! Do you want your daughter to dress like that? Think about it,” wrote one commenter.

That’s the one that got Ice into meltdown mode, inspiring the longtime Law & Order: SVU star to respond, “If you have a Problem with Coco… Why do you still Follow her??? Weirdo s–t.” Elsewhere, the happy couple posed fully dressed for the holiday in a sweet snap in which Coco rocked a white tank top and red shades perched on her head while the MC sported a patriotic polo shirt and matching blue baseball hat.

“Coco and I wish EVERYONE a incredible 4th of July… and keep smiling,” he wrote.

Austin, whose Insta feed is proudly filled with pics of her in skin-baring swimsuits and curve-hugging outfits, kicked off the summer last month with a shoot by the pool with the couple’s 7-year-old daughter, Chanel, in which mother and daughter sported matching hot pink bikinis.

Check out Coco and Ice-T’s pics below.

06 Jul 2023

Randy Rogers, Rodney Crowell, Aaron Watson & More Revamp ‘God Blessed Texas’ to Honor Song’s 30th Anniversary

Nearly three decades ago, on July 17, 1993, the group Little Texas released “God Blessed Texas,” what would become one of the band’s signature songs, reaching the top five on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart.

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The tune, written by the group’s lead guitarist Porter Howell and keyboardist-vocalist Brady Seals, appeared on the group’s second album, Big Time. Tim Rushlow provided lead vocals on the track.

Now, a slate of artists from the Lone Star State are teaming up to celebrate the song’s 30th anniversary by offering a revamped version of the hit. Randy Rogers, Casey Donahew, Josh Abbott, Aaron Watson, Rodney Crowell, Kevin Fowler and Pat Green each contribute their own styles to the revised version of “God Blessed Texas.”

“This song made me proud to be from Texas,” Rogers said in a press release. “I discovered my love for country music right as this song was released, and I watched the video a thousand times. So this is truly a full circle moment for me.”

“Like many other Texans, this song is part of my DNA,” Donahew added. “I wish I had written it. What an honor to be asked to collaborate on the new version. I have toured all 50 states and I can say one thing for certain, God definitely blessed TEXAS!”

The new version of “God Blessed Texas” was recorded at The ER Studio in Nashville with musicians including Mark Matejka, Duane Propes, Corey Wright and Dane Bryant. 

The new version will be available Friday, July 14. Until then, check out the original Little Texas classic below:

06 Jul 2023

Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice’s ‘Barbie World’ Bursts Into Top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart

Barely two months after they teamed up on “Princess Diana,” Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice again storm into the upper reaches of Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as their second collaboration, “Barbie World” with Aqua, debuts at No. 3 on the list dated July 8.

“Barbie World,” a drill track that samples Aqua’s 1997 top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Barbie Girl,” launches with 16.2 million official U.S. streams in the week ending June 29, according to Luminate. The sum sparks a No. 4 arrival on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. The collaboration also generates a splashy sales week, with 37,000 downloads sold in the same period. As the song hits No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales, Minaj banks her 22nd champ on the list, while Ice Spice nabs her second.

With “Barbie World,” Minaj secures a 41st career top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and her third of 2023, following “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” a No. 4 hit in March, and “Princess Diana,” which peaked at No. 2 in April. Ice Spice posts a second top 10 on the chart, after “Princess Diana.” It’s the first for Aqua.

Elsewhere, “Barbie World” begins at No. 3 on the Hot Rap Songs chart to become Minaj’s 46th top 10, while Ice Spice claims her third, after “Princess Diana” and her own “In Ha Mood,” which climbed to a No. 9 high in March. It’s the first top 10 on the list for Aqua. On the Hot 100, “Barbie World” enters at No. 7, matching the peak rank of Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” in 1997.

“Barbie World” will appear on the soundtrack to the feature film Barbie, which will be released alongside the movie on July 21. The soundtrack includes an array of hitmakers, including Dua Lipa, Lizzo, PinkPantheress, Karol G and more.

Pop and rhythmic radio have been the earliest adopters for “Barbie World,” with the track debuting at No. 36 on Rhythmic Airplay and the anchor slot, No. 40, on Pop Airplay. The collaboration did also generate some activity at Minaj and Ice Spice’s core format, R&B/hip-hop, but notably, both artists also have other active tracks there. On the latest Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, “Princess Diana” rises 21-17 through a 16% gain in plays. Minaj also climbs four spots with another hit collaboration – on Sexxy Red and Tay Keith’s “Pound Town,” which she joined for a remix – as it advances 23-19 with a 28% surge in plays in the latest tracking week.

06 Jul 2023

Bob Marley’s Meteoric Rise to Fame Documented in ‘One Love’ First Trailer: Watch

Bob Marley‘s story will come to life on the big screen with the forthcoming film Bob Marley: One Love. While fans of the late reggae legend will have to wait until 2024 for the movie to hit theaters, the first trailer — released on Thursday (July 6) — offers a first look at what to expect from the Reinaldo Marcus Green-directed film.

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The trailer kicks off with Kingsley Ben-Adir as the Jamaican singer-songwriter preparing to play a concert in Jamaica with the help of background singers and instrumentalists. Scenes then flash of Marley’s star rising, from recording in the music studio to having international meetings in England and brushing shoulders with Mick and Bianca Jagger in nightclubs.

Meanwhile, tensions back home in Jamaica are running high as political parties clash. In a conversation, Marley asserts, “There’s a war going on. You can’t separate the music and the message.” The person replies, “And what is the message?” to which the icon simply replies, “Peace.”

The clash comes to a head when rebels shoot up Marley’s home. “Bob, they tried to kill you and your wife, and now you’re choosing to return home to Jamaica to play a peace concert? Don’t you fear for your life?” a person inquires. Later in the trailer, Marley’s views become clear: “My life is not for me. My life is for people.”

According to the official synopsis for the film, One Love “celebrates the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity” and tells the tale of the singer-songwriter “overcoming adversity and the journey behind his revolutionary music.”

The movie — produced in partnership with the Marley family — will be released in theaters on Jan. 12, 2024.

Watch the trailer in full in the video above.

06 Jul 2023

Fall Out Boy, Falling in Reverse Cover Their Way to Top of Alternative Digital Song Sales Chart

Remakes take the top two spots on Billboard’s Alternative Digital Song Sales chart dated July 8.

Falling in Reverse’s “Last Resort (Reimagined),” the band’s rendition of Papa Roach’s song, debuts at No. 1, while Fall Out Boy’s updated version of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” begins at No. 2.

“Last Resort” leads the list with 5,000 downloads earned in the June 23-29 tracking week, according to Luminate, despite being released four days into the tracking period on June 26.

It’s Falling in Reverse’s second No. 1 on the survey, following the one-week reign of “Watch the World Burn” in February.

In addition to its sales, the song earned 2 million official U.S. streams. In all, those metrics are hefty enough to send the song to a No. 21 debut on the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs tally.

The song is a largely orchestral take on Papa Roach’s 2000 original. It became a breakthrough hit for the Jacoby Shaddix-led band, crowning the Alternative Airplay chart for seven weeks beginning in August 2000 and peaking at No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Concurrently, the original “Last Resort” sports a 3% boost in streams to 2.5 million June 23-29.

Meanwhile, Fall Out Boy’s rendition of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” bows on Alternative Digital Song Sales with 4,000 downloads.

While a cover in melody and via its chorus, Fall Out Boy’s version updates Joel’s verses to reference world happenings that occurred since the 1989 release of the original, a two-week No. 1 on the Hot 100 in December 1989.

Fall Out Boy’s cover racked up 767,000 streams in addition to its sales. All told, the song starts at No. 44 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, with a higher position likely following its first full week of tracking running June 30-July 6 (after the song was released June 28).

Joel’s original, meanwhile, scored a 5% jump in streams to 1.8 million.