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The flames, the double kick drums blast beats, the headless Mario Antoinettes, the opera singer on a giant boat. There was nothing about French heavy metal band Gojira‘s set during Friday’s glittering opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics that you could have predicted from the first hard rock band to ever take the stage […]
While there was plenty to celebrate at the 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony, Christians took issue with one particular section of the extravaganza.
In one moment of the hours-long parade, famed DJ Barbara Butch performed alongside a large group of drag queens (including Nicky Doll, the host of Drag Race France) and created a tableau in which all of them appeared to be seated behind a large, long table. Some viewers quickly drew comparisons between the tableau and Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting The Last Supper, which then drew ire from conservative Christians who called the performance disrespectful and even “blasphemous.”
One group who denounced the performance was the French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops, who described the moment as “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity” and said that “our thoughts are with all the Christians from all continents who were hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes.”
As the criticism was occurring online, the official X account for the Olympic Games shared some further photos from the performance for context, showing that the scene was meant to depict the feast of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and revelry. “The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings,” the statement read.
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In an interview with the Associated Press, the show’s artistic director Thomas Jolly defended the tableau, saying that he wanted the performance to represent the “the right to love each other, as we want and with who we want.” “My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock. Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”
Olympics spokesperson Anne Descamps answered a question during a Sunday press conference about the backlash to the performance, saying that neither the International Olympic Committee (IOC) nor Jolly had any “intention to show disrespect to any religious group.” Instead, she added, “We really did try to celebrate community tolerance. Looking at the result of the polls that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense we are, of course, really, really sorry.”
See the Olympic Games’ tweet regarding the controversial performance below:
Though it definitely made for a soggy journey down the Seine, the steady rain in Paris during Friday night’s lavish opening ceremonies for the 2024 Summer Olympics did not deter Lady Gaga from stealing the show early in the four-hour spectacle. And while Gaga’s eye-popping take on Zizi Jeanmaire’s “Mon Truc en Plumes” (“My Thing With Feathers”) appeared to dodge the raindrops, that’s because it was pre-taped to avoid any potential weather-related issues according to choreographer and head of dance for the Olympics and Paralympics Maud le Pladec.
Le Pladec spoke to Variety about the intense preparations for the song-and-dance routine, explaining that Gaga filmed her performance hours before the athletes’ elaborate boat trip down Paris’ iconic river due to safety reasons. Gaga’s vocals were performed live as she made her way up and down a giant set of stairs along with dancers carrying oversized pom poms.
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Gaga’s was one of a dozen original performances created by Le Pladec and Olympics artistic director Thomas Jolly, with Le Pladec saying that the singer’s four-minute set was easily the “most artistically challenging” of the bunch. “Unfortunately, it was the only [performance] that, for safety reasons, we had to pre-record late in the afternoon, once we knew for sure that it was going to rain — we had minute-by-minute updates, we had never watched the weather forecast so closely in our lives,” Le Pladec said. “We assessed that it was going to be too dangerous for performers, even with a few drops of rain. [Gaga] wanted to do it absolutely so we preferred to pre-record it rather than cancel it.”
Le Pladec said the performance surface, including that giant set of stairs, would have been too slippery for Gaga — who was wearing high heels — to perform on. “We had to be extremely cautious,” Le Pladec said, noting that while she didn’t play live, Gaga was on site during the opening ceremonies and watched her bit on screen from her dressing room before returning to her hotel.
Not long after, Gaga wrote on X, “I am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organizing committee to sing such a special French song—a song to honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and theatre… Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music—I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth—Paris.”
Gaga noted that her team rented the pom poms from a “real French cabaret” theater’s archive, collaborated with Dior to create the custom costumes using naturally molted feathers and that she studied French choreography to put her “modern twist” on a French classic. “I rehearsed tirelessly to study a joyful French dance, brushing up on some old skills—I bet you didn’t know I used to dance at a 60’s French party on the lower east side when I was first starting out! I hope you love this performance as much as I do,” she added. “And to everyone in France, thank you so much for welcoming me to your country to sing in honor of you—it’s a gift I’ll never forget! Congratulations to all the athletes who are competing in this year’s Olympic Games! It is my supreme honor to sing for you and cheer you on!! Watching the Olympic Games always makes me cry! Your talent is unimaginable. Let the games begin!”
In keeping with her perfectionist streak, Le Pladec said that the singer was adamant about delivering a spectacle that would feel “authentic” and pay tribute to the French performance tradition. That explains her decision to do a cabaret-style act featuring singing and dancing with a mix of humor and glamour. The choreographer said Gaga — a “workhorse and a perfectionist” — was working until the final moments on her vocals and steps after training for weeks in Los Angeles with a number of dancers who flew in from Paris.
“She wanted to make a show à la Française,” Le Pladec said. “She puts so much effort and thought into everything she does and she has a very developed creative process.”
The party didn’t end after the performance, either. Over the weekend, Gaga also surprised French Little Monsters when she blasted what she said were two new songs from her as yet untitled seventh studio album from a laptop while dancing through the roof of her limo. At press time no additional information was available on those songs.
Rita Ora was forced to cancel her planned appearance at the Campus Fesztivál in Hungary over the weekend due to a doctor’s order to rest. The “Praising You” singer revealed to fans on Saturday (July 27) that she would be unable to perform at the event that night due to an unspecified illness. In a […]
In a campaign his new rival has taken to calling “weird,” former President Donald Trump raised eyebrows — and some alarm — over the weekend when he promised a group of conservative Christian followers that if he’s elected to a second term they will never have to go to the polls again.
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That seeming nod to a desire to unwind traditional democratic norms in the U.S. caused some concern among political pundits, as well as Cardi B, who has been very vocal lately about her thoughts on the upcoming election. “Whistle blowing a dictatorship? [concerned face emoji],” Cardi tweeted on Saturday along with the clip of Trump telling the crowd at Turning Point Action’s “Believers Summit” in West Palm Beach, FL to turn out to the polls just this one last time.
Convicted felon Trump — who is still facing a potential sanction in Georgia for alleged election interference from the 2020 election in one of his three major remaining cases tied to his single term in office — encouraged the audience to vote for him in November in what he deemed the “most important” election ever. “Get out and vote just this time,” Trump said. “You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years it will be fixed. It’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.”
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The comment, which appeared to suggest that after Trump is elected he might do away with the popular vote, or even elections entirely, was followed by a double-down. “You’ve got to get out and vote,” twice impeached Trump said. “In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.” Trump has continued to erroneously insist that he won the 2020 presidential election, despite experts finding no evidence to support his claims and election monitors saying the previous vote was among the most secure in the nation’s history.
Frequent Trump critic Bette Midler also weighed in on the former reality TV host’s concerning stance, tweeting, “He’s telegraphing his authoritarian intentions in plain sight. He means it’s over for democracy. You won’t have to vote because he’s taking your vote away from you. If he wins, he’s there for life, and there will be nothing you can do.”
Trump also said in an interview earlier this year that he would be a “dictator” just for one day if he were elected to a s second term.
Cardi has seemingly been energized by the news surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to take on Trump and run for the democratic nomination. She’s also been ticked off by the rampant misogyny and disrespect some pundits and politicians have heaped on the nation’s potentially first female, as well as Black and South Asian, president. “I always knew how people are when it comes to women, but the disrespect? Listen, if you don’t like her as a politician, that’s you. But if you disrespect her because she’s a woman? It’s very disgusting,” Cardi said on X last week.
“It’s crazy because four, five days ago, I was like, ‘Yo, I feel like I’m not a feminist.’ I’ve been feeling like a lot of these women are your worst enemies,” she added. “The toughest critics are women. […] But then, the natural self of me is like, ‘Damn, maybe I am a feminist. Men are always gonna blame your success on her p—-. People are blaming her success on her p—-. What? She f—ed Joe Biden? She f—ed the whole Democratic Party that the whole Democratic Party decided she should be Vice President? I hate that narrative because I feel like women work harder than men.”
At the end of the day, Cardi said, “The way that y’all disrespect her, makes me like her.”
Since Harris entered the race unexpectedly following President Biden decision to drop out, the veep has raised more than $200 million in one week and signed up more than 170,000 volunteers. Given Trump’s recent conviction on more than 30 felony charges in his New York hush money case, an earlier conviction in a sexual abuse and defamation case by writer E. Jean Carroll in which he was ordered to pay nearly $90 million and the other potential sanctions he faces in his three other pending trials, former prosecutor Harris has landed on a law-and-order approach to her campaign.
“I know Donald Trump’s type,” Harris said in one of her first campaign appearances last week to cheers of “lock him up!” from a crowd. She continued, “As attorney general of California, I took on one of our country’s largest for-profit colleges that was scamming students. Donald Trump ran a for-profit college that scammed students. As a prosecutor, I specialized in cases involving sexual abuse. Well, Trump was found liable for committing sexual abuse. As attorney general in California, I took on the big Wall Street banks and held them accountable for fraud. Donald Trump was just found guilty of fraud on 34 counts.”
See Cardi B and Midler’s tweets below.
“Trump Says Americans ‘Won’t Have to Vote Anymore’ If He Wins…He’s telegraphing his authoritarian intentions in plain sight.” He means it’s over for democracy. You won’t have to vote because he’s taking your vote away from you. If he wins, he’s there for life, and there…— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) July 29, 2024
Surely you didn’t think Lady Gaga would fly all the way over to Paris for just one Summer Olympics performance? After the singer lit up the Sienne on Friday night when she wowed the rain-drenched crowd along the banks of the river and all those watching from the dry comfort of their homes around the […]
Martin Phillips, frontman of the Chills, one of the outstanding acts signed to the Flying Nun Records roster, died on the weekend at the age of 61.
The singer, songwriter and guitarist passed at his home in Dunedin, on New Zealand’s south island, confirms a statement issued by Flying Nun Records.
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Phillips was “an integral part” of the university town’s scene in the 1980s, and of Roger Shepherd‘s Flying Nun Records family, whose roster would include the Clean, the D4, Headless Chickens and Tall Dwarfs, Chris Knox, Straitjacket Fits and the Verlaines.
The late artist was a “single-minded talent who took all components of a musical career seriously,” reads the statement, which lists off his top-shelf songwriting, performance and studio talents.
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A separate message posted on the band’s official page confirms that Phillipps “has died unexpectedly.”
The cause of death was not disclosed.
The musician was “demanding of perfection in others and himself,” the Flying Nun tribute continues, penning such songs as “Rolling Moon,” “Pink Frost,” “I Love My Leather Jacket” and “Heavenly Pop Hit” which enjoyed commercially success and “helped define the best of New Zealand music” during that era. “Heavenly Pop Hit” and its parent album Submarine Bells, almost launched the band to international success.
After a hiatus, Phillips relaunched the Chills in the mid-2010s, and the group would go on to release a string of new albums, supporting the works with domestic and international tours.
Their most recent LP, 2021’s Scatterbrain, cracked the top 10 on the New Zealand Albums Chart.
As news of Phillips’ passing spread online, the music community paid tribute. “Oh my goodness, I’m so terribly sorry, what a wonderful and sweet person and incredible artist. So much love and sympathy to his family and friends,” wrote Nada Surf singer Matthew Caws.
so sorry to hear of the passing of the wildly and beautifully talented Martin Phillipps. an absolute diamond. deepest sympathies to his family and friends. thank you for the heavenly pop ❤️https://t.co/zYX9LrhALz— matthew caws (@nadasurf) July 28, 2024
“Martin Phillipps RIP,” wrote Lindy Morrison, drummer with beloved Australian indie group the Go-Betweens.
Martin Phillipps RIP.— Lindy Morrison (@Lindymorrison8) July 28, 2024
The Phillipps family requests privacy at this time, and funeral arrangements will be advised in due course.
XG’s “Something Ain’t Right” tops this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (July 26) on Billboard, choosing the Japanese girl group’s catchy dance track as their favorite new music release of the past week. “Something ain’t right” in the relationship that has XG ranting in their new single, but fans stepped […]
Lady Gaga called Michael Polansky her fiancé, seemingly revealing the couple is engaged, while introducing him to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
“My fiancé, Michael,” Gaga is heard casually saying in a clip the prime minister posted on TikTok Sunday night (July 28). The short video shows Attal briefly hugging the singer and shaking hands with Polansky, Lady Gaga’s partner of more than four years, at an Olympic event.
Billboard reached out to a representative for Lady Gaga for comment.
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Gaga and Polansky have been publicly dating since early 2020; she made their relationship Instagram official with a post that February. In an interview a couple months later, she referred to Polansky as “the love of my life.”
Prime Minister Attal didn’t mention the pair’s apparent engagement on TikTok, instead focusing on the pop star’s show-stopping Friday night performance in Paris: “Thank you Lady Gaga for your stunning performance at the opening ceremony,” he wrote in a caption. “It was breathtaking.”
The multi-talented superstar — who will take over the big screen as Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux alongside Joaquin Phoenix when the movie hits theaters Oct. 4 — was the first artist to take the stage during the opening ceremony of the Olympics, providing her version of Parisian cabaret-style entertainment ahead of this summer’s games. Lady Gaga performed the French-language “Mon Truc en Plume” (“My Thing With Feathers”) in a highly choreographed, but playful, routine that led her from a long staircase to a piano.
While in France, Lady Gaga surprised Parisian fans on Sunday with the smallest teaser of music from her forthcoming, much-anticipated seventh studio album.
A thumping, dance-ready snippet off of LG7, and another teaser leaning more rock — both heard in the clip below — was played on the street from a vehicle’s rooftop while Gaga pumped her fist and spectators screamed.
“I’m so deeply touched by my French fans this week outside the hotel,” she wrote in an Instagram Story just before coming outside to play the song. “I’m gonna come out and say goodbye tonight with a few seconds of #LG7.”
The as-yet-untitled LG7 will be the follow-up to 2020’s Billboard 200 chart-topping album Chromatica, which was Gaga’s sixth set to debut at No. 1.
As Stray Kids’ new album ATE opens at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Aug. 3), they become the first group ever to debut at No. 1 with their first five charting albums. Stray Kids previously debuted atop the chart with ODDINARY, MAXIDENT (both in 2022), ROCK-STAR and 5-STAR (both in 2023). The […]
