Lisa Marie Presley
20 years since he took up the role of vocalist of Foreigner, Kelly Hansen has announced that he will be leaving the band this year.
Hansen’s news was shared on the season finale of NBC’s The Voice on Monday (May 20), where the band was on hand to perform a medley of their hits.
Following a rendition of “Feels Like the First Time,” Hansen took the opportunity to announce his plans to the audience. “After 20 magical years fronting this band, this will be my last year with Foreigner,” he revealed. “At the end of this summer, a new great voice will sing these songs for you; my friend Luis Maldonado.”
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Hansen then welcomed Maldonado for a performance of “Juke Box Hero,” before the pair shared lead vocals on “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
“Being the voice of Foreigner has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” added Hansen. “But it’s time to pass the mic. Luis has the voice, the energy, and the soul to carry these songs into the future. I couldn’t be prouder to hand this off to him.”
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Hansen rose to fame in the ’80s as the vocalist for Hurricane, whom he fronted until their 1991 dissolution. Following years spent working with other bands, such as Air Pavilion, Unruly Child, Perfect World, and recording with Slash’s Snakepit, Hansen joined Foreigner in 2005 following the departure of co-founding vocalist Lou Gramm two years prior.
Maldonado, meanwhile, joined Foreigner in 2021, having previously served as the guitarist of Train and having worked with names such as John Waite and Lisa Marie Presley. “This music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember,” Maldonado added. “I’m ready to honor Foreigner’s legacy and bring my heart to every performance.”
The status of Hansen’s role in the band had previously been the subject for debate in March, when it was announced that actor Geordie Brown, who is perhaps best known for his role in Foreigner’s own Jukebox Hero – The Musical – would be fronting the band for their Canadian Farewell Tour throughout October and November. Foreigner’s recent South American tour also featured Maldonado on lead vocals, while Gramm returned as a guest musician.
Foreigner was first formed in 1976 by former Spooky Tooth guitarist Mick Jones, with the band releasing their self-titled debut album the following year. They topped the Billboard 200 in 1981 with the aptly-titled fourth album, 4. The record also boasted top five songs “Urgent” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” though they would release their highest-charting single in 1984, with “I Want to Know What Love Is” topping the Hot 100 after it was issued as the lead track from Agent Provocateur.
Various lineup changes over the years have left Jones as the only original member of the band, though he has been absent from the live stage since 2023. In October 2024, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Sammy Hagar.
Riley Keough has been named the sole trustee of her late mother Lisa Marie Presley’s estate, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Daisy Jones & The Six actress moved to approve the deal on Monday (June 12) in Los Angeles Superior Court, and her grandmother Priscilla Presley will be paid an undisclosed amount to drop her […]
Cherishing the memory. Riley Keough shared the very last photo taken with Lisa Marie Presley on Tuesday (Jan. 24) before the latter’s sudden death earlier this month.
“I feel blessed to have a photo of the last time I saw my beautiful mama. Grateful @georgieflores took this,” she captioned the snap of herself and her mother cozied up while out to dinner together, punctuating it with a red-heart emoji.
Actress Georgie Flores commented on the photo, writing, “I love you both with my entire heart,” while Zola’s Taylour Paige added, “I’m so thankful I witnessed you taking this beautiful photo. You both looked stunning that night with our yummy oysters.”
The daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley died earlier this month after suffering a heart attack at just 54 years old. Days prior, she had attended the Golden Globes in support of the Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic about Elvis’ life and career, during which Austin Butler picked up the trophy for best actor in a drama for his portrayal of The King.
In the weeks since, the “I Love You Because” singer has been laid to rest at Graceland, though her official cause of death has been deferred by the L.A. County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner pending further investigation into her death.
In the meantime, a public memorial was held at Elvis’ iconic home in Memphis, Tenn., with performances by Axl Rose, Billy Corgan and Alanis Morissette, and tributes have poured in from the likes of Dolly Parton, Nicolas Cage, Questlove, LeAnn Rimes, Octavia Spencer, Nancy Sinatra and more.
See Keough’s final photo with Presley below.
Following the devastating news that Lisa Marie Presley had died at age 54, Baz Luhrmann — who directed the 2022 critically acclaimed biopic about her father Elvis Presley — took to Instagram to honor her.
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“Over the last year, the entire Elvis movie family and I have felt the privilege of Lisa Marie’s kind embrace,” he captioned a photo of Lisa Marie laughing with actor Austin Butler, who portrayed her legendary father in Luhrmann’s Elvis. “Her sudden, shocking loss has devastated people all around the world. I know her fans everywhere join me in sharing prayers of love and support with her mother, Priscilla, and her wonderful daughters Riley, Finley and Harper.”
Luhrmann concluded by writing, “Lisa Marie, we will miss your warmth, your smile, your love.”
“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Priscilla Presley said in a statement on Thursday (Jan. 12). “She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known.”
The announcement came just hours after Priscilla had confirmed that Lisa Marie was rushed to the hospital earlier Thursday.
Los Angeles County paramedics were dispatched to a Calabasas home at 10:37 a.m. following a report of a woman in full cardiac arrest, according to Craig Little, a spokesperson for the county’s fire department. Property records indicate Presley was a resident at that address. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said paramedics performed CPR and “determined the patient had signs of life” before taking her to the hospital immediately.
Lisa Marie attended the Golden Globes on Tuesday, on hand to celebrate Butler’s award for playing her father in Elvis.
Lisa Marie Presley has reportedly been hospitalized after suffering cardiac arrest at her home.
While there is no information surrounding her current condition, TMZ reported that paramedics performed CPR at her Calabasas house on Thursday (Jan. 12), regaining a pulse before she was transported to the hospital. The Hollywood Reporter also confirmed with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department that deputies responded to a call about “a female in her 50s” that suffered a cardiac arrest, though the spokesperson would not confirm if the woman was in fact Lisa Marie.
Billboard has reached out to Lisa Marie’s reps for more information.
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Just two days prior, the 54-year-old daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley attended the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards with her mother and Austin Butler, who portrayed her father in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, and ended up taking home the award for best actor in a drama motion picture.
“Thank you for opening your hearts, your memories, your home to me,” Butler told Lisa Marie and Priscilla during his acceptance speech. “Lisa Marie, Priscilla, I love you forever.”
“I really didn’t know what to do with myself after I saw it,” Lisa Marie told ET on the red carpet of the popular biopic. “I had to take, like, five days to process it because it was so incredible and so spot on and just so authentic that, yeah, I can’t even describe what it meant.”
She added that she was there “to support Austin and Baz and the film.”
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