djfrosty

18 Dec 2022

Lizzo Brings Holiday Cheer to ‘SNL’ With Cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Someday at Christmas’: Watch

Lizzo brought some holiday cheer to Saturday Night Live on Dec. 17.

Stepping in for previously announced performers Yeah Yeah Yeahs — who canceled because the band’s guitarist Nick Zinner is still recovering from pneumonia — the pop-rap star served as the NBC sketch comedy series’ final musical guest of 2022.

For her first performance during the Austin Butler-hosted episode, Lizzo transformed the stage into her own personal bedroom while delivering “Break Up Twice,” a moody track from her latest album, Special, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in July. Dressed in a silky white nightgown, the performance began with Lizzo rising out of bed to shut off a buzzing alarm and ended with the artist belting out the song with the backing of a full band.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Later in the show, the singer-rapper treated viewers to a cover of Stevie Wonder‘s 1967 holiday classic “Someday at Christmas,” which she released as an Amazon Music Original in November. In true holiday spirit, Lizzo donned a silver and gold dress while passionately delivering the song amid several beautifully decorated and lit Christmas trees.

“I chose to cover ‘Someday at Christmas’ not just because it’s a classic, but because it’s a reminder to us that almost 60 years later, we are still fighting for peace, compassion, and equality,” she said in a past statement. “A friendly reminder to spread love and kindness this holiday season.”

In addition to serving as the evening’s musical guest, Lizzo also made a cameo during the “Please Don’t Destroy Me” skit, where host Butler gets pitched on the idea for a plastic clothing line. “I ain’t got no planties on,” she whispers to her boyfriend Martin.

Lizzo pulled double-duty on SNL earlier this year, serving as both musical guest and host. In between hilarious sketches, the artist debuted her Special title track and performed her Hot 100 chart-topper “About Damn Time.”

Watch Lizzo’s SNL performances below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes as well.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gnvPKUUueFc&feature=oembed

https://youtube.com/watch?v=aJjTRUCfZ7c&feature=oembed

18 Dec 2022

Ozuna, GIMS Perform ‘Arhbo’ & More at 2022 FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony

The 2022 FIFA World Cup Finals between Argentina and France has arrived but one hour before the last match, a wave of artists took over the soccer field for an energetic closing ceremony held Sunday (Dec. 18) at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. 

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Dubbed “A Night to Remember,” the ceremony, which laces poetry and music, initiated with a sweet rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” as metallic dolphins floated around the stadium. A motivational poem in the Arabic language followed as a group of people held large, inflatable balls representing the 32 countries that participated in the World Cup. Argentina and France floated at the end. 

The 10-minute performance included a mashup of songs from the official FIFA music soundtrack, kicking off with American-Nigerian artist Davido and Qatari singer Aisha singing “(Hayya Hayya) Better Together.” Rocking an all-yellow leather fit, Puerto Rican star Ozuna, and French-Congolese rapper Gims joined the artists for an uplifting set of “Arhbo,” which hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Latin Airplay chart dated Dec. 17, marking Gims’ first No. 1 title on any U.S. chart. The closing ceremony wrapped with the full female lineup of “Light the Sky.” 

“Writing the history in Qatar,” Ozuna expressed on Instagram about all the activations he’s been doing in the Middle East. “Thank you to my most real fans, I love you.” 

Although Puerto Rico was not one of the countries that played at the World Cup, Ozuna has been very much involved with the tournament. 

In addition to being a part of the FIFA soundtrack, the “Hey Mor” singer teamed up with Coca-Cola Puerto Rico for limited-edition collectible cans and graced the digital cover of L’Officiel Hommes magazine for its 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar edition. 

“Thanks to you, we continue leaving a footprint around the world,” the artist noted.

18 Dec 2022

As Billie Eilish Turns 21, Here Are 10 Times She Made Chart & Awards History

Billie Eilish, who turns 21 on Sunday (Dec. 18), achieved more before reaching legal age than, well, just about anybody. She set records at awards shows and on the Billboard charts that are likely to stand for many years.

Eilish was just 15 in November 2017 when she entered the Billboard 200 for the first time with Dont Smile at Me. The EP debuted at an unimpressive No. 185, but it ultimately cracked the top 15. It has logged 246 weeks on the chart, longer than any other Eilish title.

Eilish was 16 in June 2018 when she hit the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with “Lovely,” a collab with another talented young artist, Khalid (then 20).

Eilish’s success has truly been global. Both of her first two albums reached No. 1 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Holland, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.

Eilish has won seven Grammys and an Oscar, which means she was halfway to an EGOT before she was legally able to buy a drink.

Eilish deserves credit for keeping her head on straight during the past few years of nearly unprecedented attention, acclaim and accolades. That may not sound like it would be so hard to take, but it’s a lot – and young people sometimes want nothing more than to blend in. By virtue of her talent and accomplishments, Eilish was destined to stand out.

Take a look at this sampling of her accomplishments so far – and just think of what she can achieve going forward if she, you know, sticks with this music thing.

—Assistance in preparing this report by Gary Trust and Keith Caulfield

17 Dec 2022

Cecily Strong Leaving ‘Saturday Night Live’

Cecily Strong is the latest cast member to depart NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

Strong’s final show will be Saturday night’s (Dec. 17) edition. The news was announced Saturday on SNL’s social media accounts (see below).

She joined the sketch show, executive produced by Lorne Michaels, in 2012, its 38th season. Over the years, she created such characters as “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party” and impersonated such celebrities as Kendall Jenner, Megyn Kelly and Liz Cheney.

It’s understood that the plan had been for Strong to return for only the first half of the current season. Fans had noticed her absence from the opening credits of the season premiere in October, but at the time she was appearing in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and thus was unable to tape SNL in New York.

Strong next stars in the second season of AppleTV+ Schmigadoon!, which is also executive produced by Michaels. She also took a hiatus from SNL while filming that series.

Strong follows on the heels of other cast members who have recently left SNL, including Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Pete Davidson.

Saturday night’s SNL features host Austin Butler and musical guest Lizzo.

17 Dec 2022

Billie Eilish Welcomes Childish Gambino, Khalid to the Stage in Los Angeles

Billie Eilish was joined by some special guests at her concert Friday night (Dec. 16) at the Kia Forum: Childish Gambino and Khalid.

The show — Eilish’s last scheduled for 2022, before the Happier Than Ever world tour picks up again in March 2023 — was her third of a trio of hometown dates at the Los Angeles venue. Being just two days before her Dec. 18 birthday, Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) took a moment to wish her a happy birthday with the crowd.

He also performed his Grammy-winning song “Redbone” from his 2016 album Awaken, My Love!

Khalid took the stage with Eilish elsewhere during the concert, for both his 2018 “Lovely” collaboration with Eilish and his own 2016 single “Location.”

The night prior, Eilish’s concert at the Kia Forum had featured a special duet of the 1998 Foo Fighters hit “My Hero” with Dave Grohl, in tribute to the late Taylor Hawkins, as well as an appearance from Phoebe Bridgers for a duet of her 2017 breakthrough song “Motion Sickness.”

Watch fan-filmed concert clips of Childish Gambino and Khalid’s Friday night performances at Eilish’s show below.

17 Dec 2022

‘Mamma Mia!’ Sequel Director Ol Parker Teases Future for Film Franchise

It sounds like Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again director Ol Parker might be ready to take a chance on pursuing another film in the musical franchise.

Parker, who helmed Universal Pictures’ 2018 follow-up to director Phyllida Lloyd’s 2008 hit Mamma Mia!, told Screen Rant in an interview published online Saturday (Dec. 17) that producer Judy Craymer has always intended to make a film trilogy. Craymer has credits on both films and also the ABBA-centric jukebox musical of the same name, which was the basis for the first movie and has had runs on the West End and Broadway.

“Judy Craymer, the genius producer behind the musical and the first two films, always plans for it to be a trilogy,” Parker teased. “That’s all I can say. The first one made an enormous amount of money, and I think we made a fair amount too.”

The Ticket to Paradise filmmaker continued, “I know that there is a hunger for a third, and I know that she has a plan. Wouldn’t it be lovely?”

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again brought back such castmembers from the first film as Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Dominic Cooper and Christine Baranski, along with adding new players including Lily James and Cher.

In her review for The Hollywood Reporter, film critic Leslie Felperin noted that the sequel’s selection of ABBA tunes was less notable than that of the first: “Indeed, the movie’s biggest failing is that so much of its soundtrack, the very engine that propels it, is made up of far too many actual B-sides, or at least lesser-known tunes from the back catalogue of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, the two Swedish singer-songwriters who made up half of the 1970s pop quartet ABBA.”

Here We Go Again collected $395 million worldwide, which was well below the 2008 film’s $609 million global take.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

17 Dec 2022

Austin Butler Finds Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Elvis on the Shelvis’ Ahead of ‘SNL’

Austin Butler tried to make a quick visit with Jimmy Fallon to get some advice before his SNL hosting gig this weekend. Instead of finding Fallon, he found an Elvis on the Shelvis in a skit for The Tonight Show.

“Who is this?” Butler — who starred in a biopic about rock ‘n’ roll icon Elvis Presley — asks in the skit, picking up the doll off the mantle.

Elvis on the Shelvis, played by Fallon, then comes to life for a musical performance.

“Well, I move around the house when I’m a-home alone/ You did what you did/ You done what you done/ Elvis on the Shelvis never tell no one,” Fallon’s Elvis sings.

“You’re going on the top of my tree,” Butler says after the Elvis on the Shelvis show.

Butler’s SNL episode with musical guest Lizzo airs Saturday (Dec. 17) on NBC.

Watch his clip with Fallon below.

17 Dec 2022

Inside Beyonce’s ‘Club Renaissance’ Event in Los Angeles

On Friday night (Dec. 16), lines formed outside of a relatively unmarked warehouse space in downtown Los Angeles for “Club Renaissance,” a two-night event in celebration of Renaissance, Beyoncé‘s seventh studio album. The album, released in July, is a kaleidoscopic exploration of genre, escapism and self-expression; on it, Beyoncé experiments with different shades of dance, house, disco, pop and R&B.

The party’s unspoken 1970s-era theme was interpreted by attendees for their outfits in a range of ways, much like the sonic versatility of the project itself. The event, presented by Amazon Music and Parkwood Entertainment, featured several musicians in attendance, including singers Syd, Victoria Monét and Lucky Daye.

The building was lined with graphic posters of a Renaissance promotional image, which several partygoers used as a backdrop for their photographs. And there was another wall ripe for photo opportunities, decorated with neon signs that bore song lyrics and titles from the album, like “Church Girl” and “Cozy.”

Guests chatted and sipped thematically named cocktails (“Cuff It” and “Alien Superstar,” also Renaissance titles) once doors were open, and approximately an hour after the event started at 9 p.m., the DJ began to play Renaissance top to bottom and in spatial audio. Attendees enjoyed it from the dance floor for the duration, creating the very Studio 54-esque dance party the project promises. (A group of engineers tucked along the periphery were controlling the sensory displays, which included strobe lights and fog elements.)

The glowing, holographic horse Beyoncé is seated on in the album’s cover art was prominently placed in the center of the room, enclosed in a glass box like a museum artifact. Throughout the night, the air was buzzing with the question of if Beyoncé herself would join the event, like she did in previous cities (ultimately, she did not).

Saturday’s event is expected to draw more of the singer’s fan base. Free tickets were released online to her subscribers earlier this week and sold out in under 20 minutes.

The first “Club Renaissance” was essentially the album’s official release party and was held in August at Times Square Edition hotel in New York. There was also a Parisian edition of the event in October during Paris Fashion Week.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

17 Dec 2022

Metallica Delivers Live Debut of ‘Lux Æterna’ at Benefit Concert in Los Angeles

Metallica gave the first live performance of their new song “Lux Æterna” during the legendary rock band’s Helping Hands benefit concert in Los Angeles on Friday (Dec. 16).

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

After releasing “Lux Æterna” in late November, the track launched at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart and topped Mainstream Rock Airplay. “Lux” previews the metal legends’ 11th studio album, 72 Reasons, which is scheduled for release on April 14, 2023.

“We thought that this is such a special gig here that we’d play ‘Lux Æterna,’ which is the first single from it,” Metallica’s James Hetfield told the roaring audience. “We’ll play that for the first time here live. How about that?”

The sold-out benefit show, held at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater, was hosted by late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel and featured an opening set by Greta Van Fleet.

During Metallica’s set, the band surprised concertgoers with acoustic covers of Thin Lizzy’s “Borderline” and UFO’s “It’s Killing Me.” The group was also joined onstage by special guest St. Vincent for a performance of “Nothing Else Matters.”

Proceeds from this year’s Helping Hands Concert & Auction will benefit Metallica’s All Within My Hands foundation, which focuses on creating sustainable communities by addressing issues such as hunger and workforce education.

72 Reasons is Metallica’s first studio album since 2016’s Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, which debuted as the band’s sixth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The rockers will hit the road in support of the forthcoming album in April 2023.

Watch Metallica’s first live performance of “Lux Æterna” here.

17 Dec 2022

Sharon Osbourne Hospitalized for Medical Emergency

Sharon Osbourne was taken to the hospital Friday (Dec. 16) in Santa Paula, California, after suffering a medical emergency.

The Ventura County Fire Department confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that an EMS team responded to an emergency call at the Glen Tavern Inn at 6:30 p.m. and that a patient was taken to the Santa Paula Hospital. Santa Paula Police chief Don Aguilar confirmed to THR that the patient was Osbourne.

THR has reached out to Osbourne’s team for comment. There is no word on her current health status.

TMZ reported that the star was at the Glen Tavern Inn for a television shoot.

Osbourne, 70, is a TV personality and music manager who shares three children with rocker Ozzy Osbourne, her husband of 40 years.

She revealed in November 2012 that she had undergone a double mastectomy due to her predisposed risk for breast cancer. Osbourne underwent surgery for colon cancer in 2002, and her health journey was featured on the family’s MTV unscripted series, The Osbournes.

Osbourne exited CBS series The Talk in March 2021 after 11 seasons as a panelist following an on-air debate about racism and multiple accusations of racist comments.

In May, Osbourne’s daughter Aimee, 39, was among those to escape a Hollywood recording studio fire that killed a 26-year-old music producer.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.