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Gilbert Gottfried’s widow Dara, as well as director Neil Berkley (behind the 2017 documentary Gilbert) and friends of the late legendary stand-up comic and actor have come together to release Still Screaming, an album of his best bits and impressions — which will aid research on finding treatment for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2, the rare, progressive disease that led to his death in 2022.
Multimedia producer Dara Gottfried, who was married to the comic’s comic — known for his manic, squinching delivery, and voiceovers as the parrot Iago in Disney’s Aladdin and the duck in AFLAC Insurance Company commercials — for 15 years, says a portion of proceeds from sales of the album will benefit the Gilbert Gottfried Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2 Research Fund at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY. “They are leading the way in research for treatments and hopefully eventually a cure,” she says. “Right now, there is no cure, and they’re working on developing treatments with the money I’m raising.”
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Dara, who previously ran top 40 promotion for Interscope Records, says the album will be the last recording of Gilbert’s comedy released, in part, because her husband “didn’t update his act much… He was still doing jokes about Molly Ringwald, Gary Coleman and O.J. Simpson, and he refused to put out an album [because] he thought it would jeopardize his act,” she explains. “That’s why we didn’t put it out while he was alive.”
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Still Screaming is a collection of jokes that Dara says was Gilbert’s “main act.” They were culled from Berkley’s documentary, who filmed two years of the comic’s performances. The album is available in digital and physical formats, including a limited-edition deluxe double album. The gatefold packaging was designed by art director Grammy-nominated art director Perry Shall, a close friend of the comic. “Perry went through all of Gilbert’s archival material and scanned everything,” Dara says. “The track listing is Gilbert’s handwriting.” In addition to photos of Gottfried over the course of his career, there is a reproduction of a Super 8 motel notepad. “Gilbert was so cheap, he collected soaps and perfumes from the hotels and motels where he stayed when he was on the road, and that notepad was one of the things he brought home,” she says.
Comic and illusionist Penn Jillette also contributed a biographical essay about his close friend, and another pal, roast specialist Jeff Ross, came up with the album title, and one side of the double album is etched with a reproduction of Gilbert’s artwork, Chico Needed the Money. “No one knew that he drew,” Dara says. “Underneath his bed, I found all these incredible R. Crumb-esque drawings. Her discovery led their then-15-year-old daughter Lily Gottfried to make the documentary The Hidden Talent of Gilbert Gottfried.
In October 2001, Gottfried made headlines when three weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he told the crowd at a Friars Club roast of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner in New York, that he couldn’t get a direct flight from New York to California because “they said they have to stop at the Empire State Building first.” After cries of “Too soon” — which Dara had inscribed on his tombstone — Gottfried redeemed himself by telling his version of “The Aristocrats,” a classic joke (and arguably the filthiest in comedy), which is personalized by the darkest thoughts of the comic telling it. Gasps of prolonged laughter followed at a time when few people were laughing at all.
The performance inspired Jillette and comic Paul Provenza to direct The Aristocrats, a documentary in which a cavalcade of funny people told their versions of the joke.
It was a big reason, Dara says, that “people didn’t realize Gil was actually a clean comic. When we started dating, he would say it’s lazy and cheap to work blue. If you listen to all of his old jokes, they were all clean.” She adds that after The Aristocrats, which also featured Gottfried, her husband began ending his show with a series of dirty jokes “to fill time, because he was bored with his act.” That’s when, Dara says, she convinced Gilbert to put out his only other recording — a collection of classic dirty jokes called, appropriately, Dirty Jokes.
Almost 10 years after his Friars roast performance, Gottfried lost his job as the voice of the AFLAC duck after tweeting jokes about a deadly earthquake that hit Japan. Gottfried may have avoided working blue, but, Dara says, “He said whatever he wanted, and paid the price for it.”
In addition to raising money to fight Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2, Dara says Still Screaming is another way for comedy fans to revisit — or discover — and enjoy the comedy of her husband, who didn’t archive his jokes. “Unlike Joan Rivers, who had her note cards and filing cabinets, Gilbert never wrote anything down,” she explains. “All I have is three pieces of notebook paper, where he scribbled the name of each joke he knew.”
“I wanted to share his genius,” she says.
A link to donate to the research fund can be found at gilbertgottfried.com
It’s common practice for artists to thank their families when winning major awards. But, as rock star St. Vincent proved at the 2025 Grammys on Sunday (Feb. 2), it’s rare to see artists reveal that they’re married with kids during a massive event.
During the evening’s pre-telecast awards, Annie Clark (St. Vincent’s offstage name) took home the best rock song trophy for her 2024 single “Broken Man.” During her acceptance speech, the singer surprised fans and audience members by offering a special shout-out to “my beautiful wife Leah [and] our beautiful daughter.” In a later acceptance speech for best alternative music album for her 2024 LP All Born Screaming, Clark thanked her family for a second time.
Clark is known for remaining tight-lipped about her personal life, a fact that she acknowledged in a backstage interview after winning her award. When a reporter from the Associated Press said that they were “totally unaware” of Clark’s marital status, the singer jumped in to add that “most people were,” revealing that she and her spouse have made a concerted effort to keep their relationship out of the public eye.
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“She’s young, we’ve kept it under wraps,” she said, before quickly clarifying her point with a laugh. “The child is young, just to be clear, the child is young, not the wife!” The singer added that she and her family had plans to celebrate her victory with her sisters, but that Clark intended “to be in bed by 10” that night.
Elsewhere in her backstage interviews, Clark reflected on the LGBTQ+ representation at the annual show and across the industry, remarking that queer people existing in the industry and the world at large is not news. “There have always been queer people in the history of the world, and especially in music,” she said. “There’s a bunch of queer people being celebrated this year. And that’s great, of course it’s great — empathy and humanity, let’s go.”
For Billboard‘s 2024 Pride cover story, the singer opened up about the history of queer people in the music business, while pointing out the importance of LGBTQ+ artists remaining on the cutting edge of culture. “There have been plenty of queer people in music. Even if the culture was saying no, there were always queer people in the arts. Please. We have built this,” she said at the time. “If you’re safe for the TV screen, you also invite an aspect of grift [from the outside world]. Which … I raise an eyebrow at.”
The All Born Screaming singer took home three trophies at Sunday night’s ceremony — best rock song, best alternative music album and best alternative music performance for “Flea.” Clark was nominated in the best rock performance category, but ultimately lost out to the Beatles’ AI-assisted track “Now and Then.”
Taylor Swift may not have won any new awards at the 2025 Grammys Sunday night (Feb. 2), but she still got to show off something sparkly — thanks to Janelle Monáe. During the show’s sprawling Quincy Jones tribute, which the “We Are Young” singer closed with a phenomenal performance of Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop Till […]
Amy Allen made history at the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 2), becoming the first woman to win for songwriter of the year, non-classical. The category is still fairly new: This was just the third year it was presented. Tobias Jesso Jr. was the inaugural winner in 2023, for writing songs by such artists […]
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LiAngelo Ball’s beef with Cam’ron is one of the more unexpected but entertaining hip-hop storylines. It all started last year when LiAngelo, who had been trying to carve out his own lane in rap, made waves by claiming that Cam’ron wasn’t even a top-10 rapper. His bold statement was that, just like Cam never reached the top of the NBA, Cam didn’t reach the top of the rap game either. The shot didn’t go unnoticed, with Cam’ron firing back on his It Is What It Is Podcast, calling out LiAngelo and making light of his career aspirations.
Fast forward to today, and Gelo—who goes by G3 in the rap world—has had a breakout moment with his track ‘Tweaker’, a hit that has garnered attention and placed him in the spotlight. Recently, in an interview, G3 reflected on his past beef with Cam and doubled down on his belief that he’s a better rapper than the Dipset legend. With his recent success and a new deal with Def Jam Records, G3 feels his talent is finally being recognized, and he’s not backing down from his earlier statement.
It’s safe to say that the Ball family’s presence in sports and entertainment is undeniable, and G3 is out to prove that his skills as a rapper are just as strong as his athletic roots. As he continues his press runs, the world is now watching to see how his music career evolves and if he can truly outshine the established rap veterans he once clashed with.
Beyoncé notched a number of firsts on Sunday night (Feb. 2) at the 2025 Grammy Awards. Not only did she become the first Black woman to take home the album of the year award as the lead artist this century when Cowboy Carter took the top prize, but she also finally scored her long-sought first win in the AOTY category after four previous nominations and losses.
Asked what the award means to her by ET after the show, Beyoncé said, “It’s very surreal and it’s been 25 years of working really had and trying me best to keep growing and keep opening up doors… so I’m just very honored.” In accepting the award, Bey shouted out the members of the Los Angeles Fire Department who presented it to her, thanking them for keeping Angelenos safe during the recent deadly wildfires that were acknowledged frequently during Sunday’s fundraising broadcast.
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“I’d like to thank and acknowledge and praise all of the firefighters for keeping us safe,” she said during the show. “I just feel very full and very honored. It’s been many, many years.”
A reporter for the Recording Academy also caught up with the singer backstage and got a similarly jubilant answer. “I feel overwhelmed, so full, thank you so much. This is a beautiful night,” she said, adding with some sass and a wrist roll, “the Beyhive is buzzin‘!”
In her chat with ET, Bey also said she was glad that her and Jay-Z’s eldest daughter, Blue Ivy, was on hand to see her mom triumph and join her on stage for the big moment. “Taller than me, and I don’t like it at all,” the singer joked about the 13-year-old, noting that their youngest daughter, four-year-old Rumi — who is also on Cowboy Carter — was “at home watching and I forgot to thank her so I get to thank her now: Thank you, Rumi.”
Beyoncé also took time to acknowledge that the Carter album was a means to introduce many more people to the deep history of Black country artists while showcasing such contemporary players as Rhiannon Giddens, whose hot banjo licks on the “Texas Hold ‘Em” single likely put a lot more eyes on her long career in country/bluegrass music.
“The banjo has a deep history and I just feel honored to reintroduce some of that history that I think has been lost and very, very honored that I got the response and the open heart and that people welcomed the album,” Beyoncé said, appearing to get a little teary-eyed when the interviewer mentioned how touched Giddens said she was in an chat last year about her prominent spot on the album.
“The love I got from the country community tonight really made me feel so seen and I’m very grateful,” Beyoncé said. “Hopefully they continue to open up the world for people that just love and respect the genre, no matter where they come from, everybody should be invited.”
In addition to AOTY, the 11-times nominated Cowboy Carter also won best country album, making Bey the first Black woman to ever take home the prize; she also won best country duo/group performance thanks to her Miley Cyrus team-up on “II Most Wanted.”
Watch Beyoncé talk AOTY Grammy win below.
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The Country Music community may not have thought much about Beyoncé’s forte into their music genre, but the good folks over at the Recording Academy felt otherwise as they crowned Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter thee Album of the Year at last night’s (Feb. 2) Grammy Awards ceremony.
Having already been blessed with Best Country Album, Cowboy Carter went on to take home the biggest prize at the end of the night when Beyoncé beat out the likes of Charli XCX, Jacob Collier, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Taylor Swift, André 3000 and Sabrina Carpenter for Album Of The Year honors. Y’all just know MAGA country is foaming at the mouth over this, but hey, those the breaks.
Taking to the stage to accept the award, Beyoncé thanked the firefighters of Los Angeles who’ve been battling the devastating wild fires in LA for weeks and went on to say, “I just feel very full and very honored. It’s been many, many years, and I just want to thank the Grammys, every songwriter, every collaborator, every producer, all of the hard work. I just wanna dedicate this to Ms. Martell and I just hope we keep pushing forward and opening doors. God bless y’all and thank you so much.
Good for her!
Beyoncé’s Album Of The Year award comes just one year after her hubby, Jay-Z took to the stage at last year’s Grammy Awards to openly advocate for his wife to finally take home the award after more than a decade of coming up just short of the win. While many praised him for publicly supporting this better half, others felt he was influencing the members of the Academy to finally give Beyoncé her well-deserved flowers some time in the future.
Well, it seems like that time has come and we couldn’t be happier for Beyoncé, her family and her fans. Also pissing off the Country Music community after they made Shaboozey the butt of many jokes at last year’s Country Music Awards did add a little “Umph!” to the moment so there’s that too.
What do y’all think about Beyoncé taking home Album Of The Year honors at last night’s Grammy Awards? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Beyoncé has revealed more details of her highly-anticipated—to say the least—Cowboy Carter Tour, which includes multiple dates in cities like Los Angeles, London and Washington, DC. The news arrives after Queen Bey finally won an Album of the Year Awards at the Grammys.
Source: Parkwood Entertainment / Parkwood Entertainment
The Cowboy Carter tour was first announced late on Saturday night (Feb 1) via a social media post that revealed a tour was forthcoming—,however social media, particularly NBA fans, was busy discussing the blockbuster Luka Donic to the Lakers trade.
But now we have more details, as the Cowboy Carter tour kicks off April 28 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles before hitting cities like Chicago, East Rutherford (that will cover the Tri-State Area), and Houston before concluding on July 11 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta (its second date in the city). There is also a European leg that starts June 5 in London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for four dates (over a week), followed by a pair of dates in Paris at Stade de France.
With 11 nominations, the Cowboy Carter album won three Grammys including Album Of The Year, Best Country Album, and Best Country Duo/Group Performance. The tour is produced and directed by Parkwood Entertainment and promoted by Live Nation. Also worth mentioning SirDavis, Beyoncé’s own premium whiskey, is the official spirit of the tour and Cécred, the singer’s award-winning hair brand, is the official beauty brand of the tour because, she’s a business, man.
Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty
Oh right, ticket details:
TICKET DETAILS: There will be multiple presales ahead of the general on-sale. The general on-sale will take place starting Friday, February 14 at 12pm local time at beyonce.com. Additional presale information below.
BEYHIVE PRESALE: The BeyHive presale begins February 11 at 12pm through February 12 at 11am local. More information will be available at Beyonce.com.
ARTIST PRESALE: Fans can sign up for the Artist Presale now through February 6 at 8AM ET at livemu.sc/beyonce for U.S. + UK shows and livemu.sc/beyonceparis2025 for the Paris shows. The Artist Presale will begin February 13 at 12pm through February 13 at 10pm local.
In addition, sponsored presales will take place in select markets internationally:
U.S. – Citi Presale: Citi is the Official Card for the presale of the COWBOY CARTER TOUR. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets in the U.S. beginning February 12 at 12pm local time until February 13 at 11am local time through the Citi Entertainment® program. For those who are not existing Citi cardmembers, consumers can apply for the Citi Custom Cash Card online.* For complete presale details visit www.citientertainment.com
U.S. – Verizon Up Presale: Verizon will offer an exclusive presale for the COWBOY CARTER TOUR in the U.S through Verizon Access, just for being a customer. Verizon Access Presale tickets for select shows will begin February 12 at 12pm local time until February 13 at 11am local time. For more details visit Verizon.com/Access.
U.K. + France – Mastercard Presale: Mastercard cardholders have special access to Presale tickets in London & Paris. Mastercard Presale starts February 12 at 12pm local time and ends February 13 at 11am local time. Plus, Preferred ticket access to some of the best tickets are available from February 14 at 12pm local time. Check out priceless.com/music for details.
Marriott Bonvoy, the world’s leading hospitality company and official hotel partner of COWBOY CARTER TOUR, is providing Marriott Bonvoy members the opportunity to access unparalleled perks and experiences in cities across the tour.
Check out the full routing information for the Cowboy Carter Tour below, and reactions in the gallery.
COWBOY CARTER TOUR DATES:
April 28, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium
May 01, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium
May 04, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium
May 07, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium
May 15, 2025 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
May 17, 2025 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
May 22, 2025 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
May 24, 2025 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
May 25, 2025 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
May 28, 2025 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
June 05, 2025 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 07, 2025 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 10, 2025 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 12, 2025 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 19, 2025 – Paris, France – Stade de France
June 21, 2025 – Paris, France – Stade de France
June 28, 2025 – Houston, TX – NRG Stadium
June 29, 2025 – Houston, TX – NRG Stadium
July 04, 2025 – Washington, D.C. – Northwest Stadium
July 07, 2025 – Washington, D.C. – Northwest Stadium
July 10, 2025 – Atlanta, GA – Mercedes Benz Stadium
July 11, 2025 – Atlanta, GA – Mercedes Benz Stadium
2. Just because.
3. Impeccable timing.
5. But you gotta start somewhere, no?
AfroFuture, a global entertainment platform dedicated to celebrating the diverse culture and work of the African diaspora, and Bedrock will host AfroFuture Detroit this summer, Billboard can exclusively announce Monday (Feb. 3). The highly anticipated U.S. debut of the festival will take place on Aug. 16-17 at Bedrock’s Douglass Site, at the corner of Alfred […]
AC/DC are bringing their Power Up tour back to Europe this summer. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legends announced on Monday morning (Feb. 3) that they’ve booked a 12-date run of shows as part of their ongoing global tour.
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The new shows will kick off on June 26 at Letňany Airport in Prague, Czech Republic, and touch down in stadiums in Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, Estonia, Sweden, Norway and France before winding down at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium on August 21.
The new European dates join the band’s first planned U.S. tour in nine years. That run is slated to hit 13 stadiums across the nation from April 10 through May 28. The shows will kick off on April 10 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN, before moving on to Arlington, TX, Pasadena (CA), Vancouver, Las Vegas, Detroit, Foxborough (MA), Pittsburgh, Landover (MD), Tampa, Nashville and Chicago before winding down on May 28 at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland.
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The new shows are all in support of AC/DC’s 2020 Power Up album and they follow on the heels of a 2024 European leg, which also filled stadiums. Tickets for (most) of the new European shows will be available on Friday (Feb. 7) at 10 a.m. local time; the Imola, Italy show on sale will be on Friday at 11 a.m. CET and ticketing for the Paris show will open on Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. CET. For more details on ticketing click here.
Check out the announcement and the dates for AC/DC’s summer 2025 European tour below.
June 26 — Letňany, Czech Republic @ Prague Airport June 30 — Berlin, Germany @ Berlin OlympiastadionJuly 4 — Narodowy, Poland @ Warsaw PGE July 8 — Düsseldorf, Germany @ Düsseldorf Open Air Park July 12 — Madrid, Spain @ Madrid Metropolitano StadiumJuly 20 — Ferrari, Italy @ Imola Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e DinoJuly 24 — Tallinn, Estonia @ Tallinn Song Festival GroundsJuly 28 — Gothenburg, Sweden @ Ullevi Aug. 5 — Oslo, Norway @ Oslo Bjerke RacecourseAug. 9 — Paris, France @ Paris Stade De FranceAug. 17 — Karlsruhe, Germany @ Messe KarlsruheAug. 21 — Edinburgh, Scotland @ Murrayfield Stadium