djfrosty

20 Dec 2022

WATCH: Rasheeda Celebrates 23 Years Of Marriage With Kirk Frost: ‘Through Everything…We Pushed TF Through’

Rasheeda Celebrates 23 Years Of Marriage With Kirk Frost

Rasheeda and Kirk Frost are still going strong! This couple recently celebrated 23 years of marriage, per an Instagram post she dedicated to her husband.

The artist and entrepreneur shared a video montage featuring clips of her and Kirk enjoying their lives. Her short clip showed them in different scenes, from baecations and being on set to sharing smooches, public appearances, and throwing that Georgia peach in a circle on Kirk.

In the caption, she penned Kirk a sweet note–highlighting how they’ve made it through their ups and downs.

“I really don’t have the words to fully express our union! Love is so many things & has so many sides. You are truly my soulmate & our journey through this life is exceptionally unexplainable,” Rasheeda wrote. “I love you so much @frost117 through everything [up arrow and down arrow emojis] highs & lows, we pushed TF through, and today we celebrate 23 years of marriage #happyanniversary I love you till the end.”

Meanwhile, Kirk made no page posts about their anniversary. However, he did re-post a few congratulations from people in his life on his Insta-Story, including someone who reshared Rasheeda’s post. But Frost is a man of few words when it comes to their relationship and his public praise of his wife of 23 years.

For her birthday in May, he posted a video of pictures from what appeared to be a celebration. There were about one or two photos of him and Rasheeda together, and the rest featured Rasheeda or him with party guests.

His caption said, “it’s officially your birthday @rasheeda, Happy birthday babe wishing you many blessings,” along with a few celebration emojis and hashtags.

Rasheeda & Kirk Agree That Publicizing Their Marital Issues Helped Other Couples

Days before celebrating Rasheeda’s birthday on May 25, the couple appeared on The Breakfast Club. They spoke on a variety of topics, including entrepreneurship and “living their relationship in the spotlight.”

Rasheeda highlighted that a lot of people haven’t even been in a 20+ year relationship. At the time, they both agreed that they’d be celebrating their 22nd marriage anniversary in November. But that number is inconsistent with Rasheeda’s anniversary post–just like it’s inconsistent with the marriage year of 1999–as listed online.

Nonetheless, Rasheeda and Kirk alluded on Breakfast Club that airing their marital issues was a blessing to others.

“They don’t understand the levels of the relationship, but, you know, it’s difficult just living your life out, everybody seeing it. People talk about things still like it just happened yesterday…that’s six years,” Rasheeda said.

“Those days, they’ll never go away, but I will say this, and I hate to just be honest about it,” Kirk said. “Me…putting my relationship on Broadway, it changed the whole aspect of just relationships, period. I had a lot of guys come up to me and be like: yo, you helped me save my marriage; I went back home, we got back together.”

As you may already know, the couple has starred in several shows, most notably Love & Hip-Hop ATL. The show displayed some of the “ups and downs” Rasheeda mentioned in her anniversary post–including Kirk doing a DNA swab of their youngest son Karter and his cheating scandal with Jasmine Washington, leading to the birth of another son, Kannon.

Rasheed and Kirk share two children together–Karter, born in 2013, and Ky, born in 2000. Congratulations to the thriving couple on 23 years!

Bollywood Ballads, Punjabi Hip-Hop & Cross-Border Pop: What India Listened to In 2022

MUMBAI — In a post-pandemic year when Hindi films finally returned to the cinemas in full force, their soundtracks were expected to claim back some of the audience they lost to “non-film” releases on Indian music streaming services. That didn’t happen.

In 2022, Bollywood lost some of its clout to movies from south India at the box-office — such as the Oscar-tipped Telugu blockbuster RRR. And on the audio-streaming charts, regional language and independent music proved that the growth of the non-film segment over the last two years wasn’t just a passing fad.

The past 12 months have shown India’s music industry that a hit can come from just about anywhere, such as a TV series in Pakistan or a Punjabi rapper in Canada. Or even from a pathologist and part-time Hindi singer in Chandigarh like Aditya A., whose two-year-old song “Chaand Baaliyaan” went viral on Instagram Reels, reached No. 5 on Spotify for the year and landed him a deal with Sony Music India.

Billboard’s look at the most-played (and viewed) tracks of 2022 on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube in India highlights the ways in which the country’s consumption patterns are evolving and how the nation, with its continent-like range of states and languages, is among the most dynamic music markets in the world.

International music’s share is shrinking

A sole English-language track, short format video sensation “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals, is on Spotify’s year-end top 10. None appear on Apple Music, on which “Heat Waves” was also the most-heard international song of 2022 (it’s in the top 15 on the platform). A year ago hits in non-Indian languages represented 40% of 2021’s top 10 tunes on both services. However, this doesn’t mean that listenership of international music is falling. As Spotify and Apple Music — global platforms whose early adopters were English-speaking users in large cities — expand their customer bases in India, consumption is increasing in absolute terms, even though the overall share of foreign tracks on the services is decreasing. Significantly, international hits account for nearly 30% of Spotify’s top 100 of 2022. Short format video fueled the streaming success of a majority of these songs, such as Ruth B.’s “Dandelions” from 2017 and Elley Duhé’s “Middle Of The Night” from 2020.

Bollywood isn’t as big as it used to be

Bollywood or Hindi film music’s share of overall listenership has been steadily falling over the last three years and this is reflected once again in 2022’s biggest hits. The percentage of Bollywood songs in Spotify’s year-end top 10 fell from 80% in 2020 to 30% this year, a proportion that includes two older tracks, “Raataan Lambiyan” and “Ranjha” from Shershaah, which were No. 1 and No. 2 for all of 2021. This time, the highest-ranked Hindi film hit is another ballad, “Kesariya” from Brahmastra, at No. 3. On Apple Music’s year-end top 10, the decline has been more gradual, from 50% in 2020 to 40% in 2021 and 30% in 2022, a share made up of the aforementioned “Ranjha” and “Kesariya” and “Doobey” from Gehraiyaan. Surprisingly, there’s not a single Bollywood smash in YouTube’s list of top 10 music videos, which only lists 2022 releases. There were two in 2020 and in 2021 when the No. 1 video of the year was “Lut Gaye” from the movie Mumbai Saga.

Regional language music rules YouTube

The consumption of music in Indian regional languages — songs in languages apart from Hindi, Urdu and English — has been increasing exponentially as internet penetration rises and streaming services gain users across the country’s smaller cities, towns and rural areas. Regional language music streamers’ first port of call is YouTube on which the 2022 top 10 includes tracks in Tamil (the official music and lyric videos of “Arabic Kuthu” from the film Beast), Haryanvi (“Kacha Badam”, a remake of a viral Bengali hit), Bhojpuri (“Le Le Aayi Coca Cola” and “Nathuyina”), Telugu (“Oo Antava Mawa Oo Oo Antava” from the movie Pushpa: The Rise) and Punjabi (“Pasoori” from the Pakistani version of music TV series Coke Studio). Notably, the three Hindi tracks that make up the rest of the chart — “Srivalli,” “Saami Saami” and “Oo Bolega Ya Oo Oo Bolega” — are dubbed versions of Telugu tunes from the soundtrack of Pushpa, an action drama that was also released in Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil.

Punjabi music has crossed over into the mainstream

Out of all of India’s regional languages, Punjabi music has the largest listenership, thanks partly to its similarity to Hindi. Over the last two decades, it’s become increasingly common for Hindi film songs to have Punjabi lyrics. Punjabi’s music popularity has even spread to parts of the country where it isn’t widely spoken. Evidence of this is seen on Apple Music’s top 10 for 2022 on which Punjabi hits comprise the top eight. Five of them feature Canadian hip-hop artist A. P. Dhillon whose breakthrough smash “Brown Munde” was No. 1 for 2021 and whose “Excuses” was No. 1 all this year. “Excuses” tops Spotify’s list too. But the Punjabi music party is not limited to one act. “No Love” by Canadian rapper and singer Shubh is No. 4 on Spotify and “Bijlee Bijlee” by pop singer and actor Harrdy Sandhu is No. 7 on Apple Music.

“Pasoori” proves a cross-border sensation

Strained relations between India and Pakistan have led to a ban on Indian films in Pakistan and a similar restriction on the hiring of Pakistani actors and singers in India. But when it comes to the charts, both nations love thy neighbor. The only hit to feature across the year-end top 10s of Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube is “Pasoori” by singer-composer Ali Sethi, vocalist Shae Gill and producer Zulfiqar ‘Xulfi’ Jabbar Khan. The song, created for the fourteenth season of Coke Studio Pakistan. “Pasoori,” was the third highest streamed track on Indian streaming platform Wynk Music after “Kesariya” and “Arabic Kuthu.” It was also the most-played tune on Amazon Music in India, which is currently available only to subscribers of its Prime service. Conversely, Indian hip-hop stars A. P. Dhillon, Shubh and King feature in the top 10 of 2022 on Spotify in Pakistan.

Top 10 Songs of 2022 on Spotify in India

1. “Excuses”, A. P. Dhillon, Gurinder Gill and Intense, Run-Up Records

2. “Pasoori” (from Coke Studio Pakistan 14), Shae Gill and Ali Sethi, Giraffe Pakistan

3. “Kesariya” (from Brahmastra), Pritam, Arijit Singh and Amitabh Bhattacharya, Sony Music

4. “No Love,” Shubh

5. “Chaand Baaliyan,” Aditya A., Sony Music

6. “Raataan Lambiyan” (from Shershaah), Tanishk Bagchi, Jubin Nautiyal and Asees Kaur, Sony Music

7. “Heat Waves,” Glass Animals, Polydor

8. “Tu Aake Dekhle,” King, Kingsclan Records

9. “Arabic Kuthu – Halamithi Habibo” (from Beast), Anirudh Ravichander, Jonita Gandhi and Sivakarthikeyan, Sun Pictures

10. “Ranjha” (from Shershaah), Jasleen Royal and B. Praak, Sony Music

↓

Top 10 Songs of 2022 on Apple Music in India

1. “Excuses,” A. P. Dhillon, Gurinder Gill and Intense, Run-Up Records

2. “Desires,” A. P. Dhillon and Gurinder Gill, Run-Up Records

3. “Pasoori” (from Coke Studio Pakistan 14), Shae Gill and Ali Sethi, Giraffe Pakistan

4. “Insane,” A. P. Dhillon, Shinda Kahlon, Gurinder Gill and Gminxr, Run-Up Records

5. “Ranjha” (from Shershaah), Jasleen Royal and B. Praak, Sony Music

6. “Spaceship,” A. P. Dhillon, Shinda Kahlon and Gminxr, Run-Up Records

7. “Bijlee Bijlee,” Harrdy Sandhu, B. Praak and Jaani, Desi Melodies/Universal Music

8. “Tere Te,” A. P. Dhillon and Gurinder Gill, Run-Up Records

9. “Kesariya” (from Brahmastra), Pritam, Arijit Singh and Amitabh Bhattacharya, Sony Music

10. “Doobey” (from Gehraiyaan), OAFF, Savera, Lothika and Kausar Munir, Sony Music

↓

Peter Paterno to Receive Service Award at Entertainment Law Initiative Event During Grammy Week

The Recording Academy Entertainment Law Initiative (ELI) will honor Peter T. Paterno, partner at King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, LLP, with the 2023 Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award. The award will be presented at the ELI’s 25th-anniversary event at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023 — two nights before the 65th Annual Grammy Awards are presented at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

“We’re thrilled to return to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for the 25th anniversary ELI Grammy Week Event to salute the impact of entertainment law on the music industry,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “The creative community is grateful for Peter’s advocacy on behalf of music makers, and I look forward to celebrating ELI’s mission to inspire dialogue between industry professionals and to cultivate an inclusive future generation of entertainment law practitioners.”

Over the course of his career, Paterno has nurtured the careers of dozens of recording artists. He has extensive experience in all aspects of copyright and trademark law, tax planning relating to the entertainment industry, litigation management and live theater production.

Paterno’s clients include Dr. Dre, Metallica, Van Morrison, Blink-182, Twenty One Pilots, Skrillex, Tyler the Creator, Q Tip, Goo Goo Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, Rancid, Alice In Chains, Offspring, Linda Ronstadt, Jared Leto/Thirty Seconds to Mars, Roddy Ricch, Richard Sherman, Sia, Shirley Manson, Alanis Morissette and Tori Amos — as well as the estates of Tupac Shakur and Henry Mancini.

Peter Paterno — Peter T. Paterno

Ron Lyon

In 1990, Paterno started and became the first president of Hollywood Records, the Walt Disney Company’s popular music record label.

The Service Award winner is determined by ELI’s executive committee, which is currently chaired by Laurie Soriano. Members include Kris Ahrend, Sandy Crawshaw-Sparks, Susan Genco, Renee Karalian, Michael Kushner, Dina LaPolt, Wade Leak, Angie Martinez, Tanya Perara, Julian Petty, Leron Rogers, Henry Root, Bobby Rosenbloum, Julie Swidler, Jeff Walker, Robert Windom and Stephanie Yu.

The ELI Grammy Week event will also celebrate the winner and two runners-up of the Entertainment Law Initiative writing contest, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association. The contest challenges students in Juris Doctorate and Master of Laws programs at U.S. law schools to research a pressing legal issue facing the modern music industry and outline a proposed solution in a 3,000-word essay. Students have until Jan. 3, 2023, to enter the contest.

A $10,000 scholarship is awarded to the author of the winning paper, and $2,500 scholarships are awarded to two runners-up. The winning paper will be published in the ABA’s journal Entertainment & Sports Lawyer. The winner will also receive travel and tickets to Los Angeles to attend the 65th Grammy Awards, MusiCares Person of the Year and the ELI Grammy Week Event. See official rules, detailed prize packages and deadlines at recordingacademy.com/eli.

Individual tickets and a limited number of discounted student tickets to the ELI Grammy Week event are on sale now.

20 Dec 2022

Dave Grohl and P!nk Light Up Night Two of 2022 ‘Hanukkah Sessions’ With Rocking ‘Get the Party Started’

If night two is this rockin’, how are we even going to make it six more crazy nights? For the second installment of this holiday season’s “Hanukkah Sessions,” Foo Fighters boss Dave Grohl and producer Greg Kurstin roped in P!nk for a raucous run through the singer’s 2001 smash “Get the Party Started.”

“One of the music world’s biggest and brightest stars of David, P!nk shows a couple of schmendricks how it’s done by joining us for her very own Bat Mitzvah staple ‘Get The Party Started!,’” read the description of the clip.

P!nk, dressed down in ripped green pants and a blue denim shirt worked the tiny stage at L.A. club Largo backed by Grohl on drums and Kurstin on keys, hilariously flubbing a few lines from the single on her second album, Missundaztood, while getting a bit of forceful backup vocal assistance from one of the night’s other special guests, Jack Black.

This is Grohl and Kurstin’s third year posting eight nights of covers of songs made famous by Jewish musicians. In a twist, this year’s efforts were all recorded live at Los Angeles’ intimate Largo on Dec. 5 with a cast of all-star guests taking the stage at the 250-capacity club that also included the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O and Grohl’s 16-year-old daughter, Violet. Night one featured beloved director Judd Apatow rocking through a cover of Blood, Sweat & Tears’ 1969 Grammy-nominated Billboard Hot 100 No. 2 hit “Spinning Wheel.”

Grohl and Kurstin released the first “Sessions” in Dec. 2020 in the midst of the first winter of the COVID-19 pandemic, dropping one new cover for each night of the holiday. In the midst of a concerning rise in antisemitic incidents and hate speech in the U.S., proceeds from the Largo night went to the Anti-Defamation League.

The inaugural 2020 “Sessions” featured covers of songs by he Beastie Boys, Drake, Mountain, Peaches, Bob Dylan, Elastica, The Knack and the Velvet Underground, while last year’s edition brought eight crazy nights of covers, including a black metal take on Lisa Loeb’s “Stay (I Missed You),” as well as the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana (At the Copa),” the Clash’s “Train in Vain,” Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite,” Van Halen’s “Jump,” Amy Winehouse’s “Take the Box” and Billy Joel’s “Big Shot.”

Watch P!nk get the party started below.

20 Dec 2022

BTS Movie Chronicling Busan Concert, ‘BTS Yet to Come in Cinemas,’ Due Out in Early 2023

If you missed out on BTS‘ Oct. 15 show at Busan’s World Expo 2030 bid on Oct. 15 then you’ll have another chance to re-live the magic in early 2023. The on-hiatus K-pop superstars will release BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas in movie theaters worldwide on Feb. 1.

According to a release announcing the movie the footage from the concert has been fashioned into a “special cinematic cut, re-edited and remixed for the big screen,” complete with new close-ups and a “whole new view” of the entire show. The concert in front of a huge crowd in Busan, South Korea featured the band’s members — Jin, RM, Jimin, V, J-Hope, Suga and Jung Kook — playing some of their most beloved hits, including “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “Idol,” as well as the first concert performance of “Run BTS” from June’s Proof album.

The movie presented by HYBE, Trafalgar Releasing and CJ 4DPlex will hit screens for a limited run in more than 110 countries and territories, with a special Feb. 4 event dedicated to “light stick screenings,” during which ARMY members can light up the theaters with the group’s signature glow devices. In addition to standard formatting, Yet to Come will also be released in a number of special versions, including immersive 270-degree field of view ScreenX, 4DX, which mimics the effects of the concert’s live atmosphere and 4DX Screen, which combines both formats.

“We look forward to collaborating once again with the teams at CJ 4DPlex, and HYBE to bring BTS’ awe-inspiring Busan concert to the big screen in this special cinematic cut,” said Trafalgar Releasing CEO Marc Allenby in a statement. “The group’s engagement with audiences has always been perfectly suited to the cinema, and we are excited to welcome fans from all corners of the globe to this must-see celebration.”

Tickets for the screenings will go on sale here beginning Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. ET.

“We are thrilled to announce our second ScreenX collaboration and first 4DX, 4DXScreeen collaboration with BTS,” added Jong Ryeol Kim, CEO of CJ 4DPLEX. “This film is made for both special formats, which fans can experience our movie completely through enlarged screens with 3 different angles and moving motion seats aligning to BTS’s music.”

Yet to Come is Trafalgar’s fifth release with BTS, following on the heels of this year’s BTS Permission to Dance on Stage — Seoul: Live Viewing, as well as 2020’s Break the Silence: The Movie, 2019’s Bring the Soul: The Movie and 2018’s Burn the Stage: The Movie. The one-off concert in Busan was BTS’ final performance together for the immediate future as the elder members of the group are facing enlistment for South Korea’s mandatory military service: oldest member Jin enlisted for active duty earlier this month.

19 Dec 2022

Coke or Crack?: DOJ Revises Drug Case Rules To Combat Racial Disparities 

HipHopWired Featured Video

Attorney General Garland Delivers Remarks On Oath Keepers Verdict And Jackson Water Crisis

Source: Pete Marovich / Getty

The Department of Justice is now moving to right a historic wrong by instructing prosecutors to eliminate racial disparities in drug cases at the behest of U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

On Friday (Dec. 16), Garland issued directives to federal prosecutors to pursue the same charges and establish equivalent sentencing for both cocaine powder and crack cocaine. The current law sees people who are convicted of possessing 28 grams of crack cocaine receive a mandatory sentence of five years in prison. That same sentence is only given to those who are convicted of possessing nearly twenty times that amount in the powdered form of cocaine. The previous situation highlighted how Black and Latinx defendants were unfairly given heavier sentences under those guidelines which began under President Ronald Reagan’s “War on Drugs” in 1986.

Garland’s move to step in and issue these new guidelines comes after the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act, or EQUAL Act, was passed by the Democratic-led House of Representatives last year with Republican support. But despite 11 GOP Senators backing it, the bill was ultimately stalled once it was presented to the Senate for a vote due to lacking the 60 votes needed for its advancement. The ratio at the heart of the act was lowered in 2009 from 100-to-1 under the Fair Sentencing Act which was passed by Congress while President Barack Obama was in office in 2010.

The attorney general sent out his directives in a memo. “In such cases, prosecutors should consider supporting a downward departure or variance,” Mr. Garland wrote. The memo also outlines that these new guidelines should also cover sentences that result from plea agreements. Individual prosecutors still have the leeway to use discretion on this matter from case to case.

The directive prompted some concern from Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa who claimed in a statement that “it undermines legislative efforts to address this sentencing disparity.” He continued: “That hard-won compromise has been jeopardized because the attorney general inappropriately took lawmaking into his own hands.”

The move is something that President Joe Biden and his administration have been agitating for since entering office. Garland had issued a memo early last year stating that attorney general’s offices across the country should expect new guidelines to be released. The timing of the move is significant as well, as Congress is in a lame-duck session before the Republicans regain control of the House next year while the Democrats have a firmer control of the Senate.

19 Dec 2022

NewJeans Follow Up Explosive K-Pop Debut With Subtle Winter Single ‘Ditto’: Watch

As 2022’s most successful K-pop debut with the triple-punch release of surprise singles “Attention,” “Hype Boy” and “Cookie,” NewJeans have followed up with the new track “Ditto” that shows off a cooler and more subtle pop approach suitable for the winter months.

While their NWJNS EP was more focused on effervescent pop hooks suited for the sunshine, “Ditto” is more subtle while remaining true to the sweet style NewJeans established at the start. Over a soft, chopped-staccato beat somewhat reminiscent of the Baltimore club style, members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein mix eerie, dulcet harmonies with fun and fast melodies to match the breakbeat. The quintet spill about the rush of hoping to take the next step in a relationship and having their feelings reciprocated: “I don’t want to stay in the middle, like you a little/ Don’t want no riddle…/ Say it back, oh say it ‘ditto’/ I want you so I want you/ So, say it ‘ditto.’”

While Danielle wrote on “Attention” and Hanni wrote on “Hype Boy,” this time eldest member Minji helped write “Ditto,” giving three of the five members songwriting credits just five songs into their career. As the group told Billboard in an earlier interview, NewJeans label CEO Min Hee Jin gives the group “plenty of opportunities to participate” in different ways in their music despite being so new in the industry.

Just like how “Hype Boy” and “Attention” were released in multiple music video versions to help tell the group’s stories, “Ditto” comes with two different visuals. The video’s “Side A” and “Side B” versions both focus on a look back to the five NewJeans members playing and dancing in younger school days alongside a sixth, faceless friend in an arm cast who tends to record their dance rehearsals. While the viewer never gets to see the sixth friend’s face fully, we follow her journey which includes a crush on a schoolmate and reminiscing on her time with the girls by looking through old VHS tapes as an adult.

Visually, the “Ditto” video does a fantastic job in capturing not just the technology middle ground of the ’90s/’00s, where memories lived on fuzzy video cameras and grainy VHS tapes, but in the loneliness and awkwardness one can feel in adolescence, even when surrounded by friends. Lyrically, “Ditto” might be initially thought to be about a romantic crush, but the visual offers the possibility of hoping a new friend reciprocates your feelings to take a friendship to the next level too.

As previously reported, “Ditto” is NewJeans’ pre-release buzz track ahead of the new single “OMG” dropping on Jan. 2. Check out both the “Side A” and “Side B” versions of “Ditto” below:

19 Dec 2022

Holiday Travel Guide: 7 Items That Should Be On Your Packing List

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Heading out of town for the holidays? According to AAA, an estimated 113 million people are expected to travel to their holiday destination and 102 million of them will be hitting the road.

Meanwhile in the friendly skies, the TSA expects 2022 holiday travel numbers to hit “pre-pandemic levels.”

With gas prices still high and seasonal stress levels rising, the holidays can be overwhelming, but there are things that can help relieve some of your anxiety, like making sure that you have everything needed for your upcoming trip. To make the travel process a little easier, we’ve put together a list of travel necessities to take on your flight or road trip.

Hard Shell Suitcase

Zimtown 3-Piece Nested Spinner Suitcase

$114.99 $299.99 62% off% OFF

First on the list: luggage! When it comes to the best suitcase for travel, pricier doesn’t always equal better quality. Although top brands such as Samsonite, CalPak and Rimowa suitcases are well worth the investment, you can find moderately-priced, hard shell suitcases and duffle bags at just about every major retailer, including Walmart where this 3-piece set is on sale for $114.99 (regular $299.99). Hard shell suitcases are great for flying but a soft-shell suitcase might be more suitable for other trips. Traveling by car? Be sure to keep snacks, travel toiletries and other necessities within arm’s reach, so that they’re easily accessible.

Airline passengers are allowed to bring one carry-on and a small personal item, including a purse or tote bag or travel backpack such as the Troubadour Momentum Backpack ($275). See more travel backpack options here.

Not sure what you can and can’t bring on the plane? Be sure to review the TSA travel guidelines.

Comfortable Shoes

Cariuma Knit Sneakers

$98

Sneakers, UGGs or slides? No matter your style preference, comfortable shoes are a must for travel. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly option, try Cariuma knit sneakers. Comfortable, affordable and low maintenance, the sustainable shoe is made from recycled plastics, bamboo knit, a sugarcane outsole and cork insole. Cariuma knit sneakers are available in low-top and high-top designs in over a dozen different colors. Click here to see our list of best shoes for travel.

Tablet Streaming Device

Amazon Fire 7 tablet, 7-Inch Display, 16 GB

$59.99

Whether you’re traveling by car, bus, plane, or train, you’ll probably need a streaming device. You can stream mostly anything from a smart phone nowadays, but it doesn’t hurt to get an Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Microsoft Surface Pro or Amazon Fire 7, which is only $59.99 at Amazon. If you’re traveling by plane, most streaming platforms allow subscribers to download content that you can catch while the device is in airplane mode.

Delta and other airlines provide in-flight entertainment on domestic flights, while American Airlines passengers have to stream from their own devices. If you plan on flying AA, be sure to have a smart phone, notebook or tablet device handy, a charging cable and a travel adapter, if you’re traveling internationally.

Headphones or Earbuds

Beats Studio Buds – True Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds

$89.95 $149.95 40% OFF

You’ll need headphones to binge all your favorite content, jam away to music playlists, listen to podcasts and more, without disturbing those around you. If you prefer earbuds, you can’t really go wrong with Beats Studio Buds, AirPods, Google Pixel Buds or Sony LinkBuds. Click here for the best over-ear headphones.

A Good Book

Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story

$21.29 $34.00 37% OFF

A long flight might be the only time you get to relax and read a good book! Kindle, Nook Glow and other gadgets have made it easy to read digitally, but for those of you who still enjoy reading physical books, the New York Times Best-Sellers List is a great guide. The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama tops the most recent listm followed by Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died. Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono landed at No. 4 on the list.

Travel Blanket & Pillow

EverSnug Travel Blanket and Pillow – Premium Soft 2 in 1 Airplane Blanket with Soft Bag Pillowcase

$29.95 $34.95 14% OFF

Bring a warm and cozy travel blanket and matching pillow, or you can go for a traditional neck pillow.

Disinfectant Wipes

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, Bleach Free Cleaning Wipes

$11.90 $15.05 21% OFF

The pandemic has made us all more aware of spreading germs. Airplanes and hotels get professional cleaning, but it’s good to have your own disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer or anti-bacterial spray. Face masks are no longer required for travel, but the CDC recommends wearing them due to rising cases of the flu, COVID-19 and RSV.

19 Dec 2022

Justin Bieber Claims H&M Released Merch Collection Without His Permission

Justin Bieber is calling out retail clothing company H&M for selling products featuring his image and song lyrics, claiming that the items were released without his approval.

“I DIDNT APPROVE ANY OF THE MERCH COLLECTION THAT THEY PUT UP AT H&M,” Bieber wrote in an Instagram Story on Monday afternoon (Dec. 19), adding that it was done “all without my permission and approval SMH I WOULDNT BUY IT IF I WERE YOU.”

“The H&M MERCH THEY MADE OF ME IS TRASH AND I DIDNT APPROVE IT DONT BUY IT,” he emphasized in a second Instagram Story.

Bieber was referring to items that appeared online on H&M’s website including a tote bag, a sweatshirt, a sweatshirt dress and more. On a fan Instagram account that shared images of some of the products, Bieber left the comment “When everyone finds out I didn’t approve any of this merch smh.”

Billboard reached out to H&M for comment on Bieber’s allegation.

“As with all other licensed products and partnerships, H&M followed proper approval procedures,” a representative for H&M said in a statement via email Monday night.

19 Dec 2022

‘Almost Famous’ to Close on Broadway in January

The musical stage adaptation of Almost Famous will play its final Broadway performance on Jan. 8, the production announced Monday (Dec. 19).

The musical, an adaptation of Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film, began previews at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Oct. 3 and opened on Nov. 3.

This is the latest Broadway show to announce its closure, following KPOP, which closed on Dec. 11, two weeks after opening, and Ain’t No Mo, which received a closing notice, but is now extended through Dec. 23 after the production and celebrities backers rallied around the show.

The closing notices come as tourism remains down in New York and as Broadway shows grapple with higher running costs and changing audience behavior. Almost Famous also received mixed to poor reviews, with The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney highlighting its “infectious energy” while asking, “Did it need to become a stage musical? Debatable.” Grosses have been fairly average, with the musical bringing in $765,060 in the week ended Dec. 11, but while playing to theaters at 74 percent capacity.

“Almost Famous, like the music it celebrates, will endure. We look forward to the release of the cast recording on March 17, and to the many productions in communities across the country and world, for years to come,” said producers Lia Vollack and Michael Cassel.

The musical features a book by Crowe, a score by Tom Kitt, direction by Jeremy Herrin and choreography by Sarah O’Gleby.

The Broadway production stars Chris Wood as Russell Hammond, Anika Larsen as Elaine Miller, Solea Pfeiffer as Penny Lane, Drew Gehling as Jeff Bebe and Casey Likes as William Miller.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

1 … 5,230 5,231 5,232 5,233 5,234 5,235 5,236 … 5,595

Tour

Aug

MONTGOMERY, AL

THE KING'S CANVAS

FREE EVENT

Aug

SELMA, AL

RIVERFRONT PARK

FREE EVENT

Aug

MONTGOMERY, AL

SONS Of Kia Montgomery

FREE EVENT

djfrosty

WATCH: Rasheeda Celebrates 23 Years Of Marriage With Kirk Frost: ‘Through Everything…We Pushed TF Through’

Rasheeda & Kirk Agree That Publicizing Their Marital Issues Helped Other Couples

RELATED STORIES

The Latest Tea Sent Daily