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Ariana Grande’s performance as Glinda in Wicked has been generating awards buzz since even before the film’s Nov. 22 release. Now, the Palm Springs International Film Awards has selected Grande as the winner of the Rising Star Award, an honor previously presented to such actors as Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) and Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone).
The awards ceremony will be held at the Palm Springs Convention Center on Jan. 3. The festival will take place from Jan. 2-13.
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“In Wicked, Ariana Grande’s portrayal of Glinda elevates her to new heights with a powerful acting performance that beautifully combines her outstanding musical talent, brilliant characterization and impeccable comedic timing,” Festival chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi said in a statement. “Ariana is an iconic global performer, who has seamlessly transitioned to film in her first major starring role, proving herself to be a multifaceted and undeniable talent. This role is certain to be the beginning of the many accolades she will garner throughout her acting career. It is our great honor to recognize Ariana Grande with the Rising Star Award.”
Billboard’s Joe Lynch was similarly impressed with Grande’s performance. He allowed that he wasn’t sure she had the acting chops to play the role made famous on Broadway by Kristin Chenoweth. “No one with ears could question Grande’s pipes, but based on her acting credits, we simply didn’t know if she was capable of filling Chenoweth’s small but mighty heels. Well, having seen Wicked: Part 1 in theaters, I can say without exaggeration that Grande isn’t just a good witch – she’s sinceriously astonishing,” playing off Glinda’s penchant for amusing spoonerisms.
Lynch’s bottom-line: “Some pop stars turned actors acquit themselves competently on the big screen, but like Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born, this performance signals the arrival of a formidable cinematic talent with a lot more to show us.”
Fans, of course, have also rallied behind the film, which was directed by Jon M. Chu and which also stars Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh and Jonathan Bailey. The film has grossed $275.8 million in the U.S. and Canada. Worldwide, it has grossed $372.9 million.
This year’s award winners also include Timothée Chalamet for the chairman’s award for his performance as a young Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown and Emilia Pérez actors Karla Sofia Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Edgar Ramírez and director Jacques Audiard for the vanguard award.
Matty Healy is stepping back after a heated back-and-forth social media exchange with Azealia Banks.
“Guys I don’t have the right kind of intelligence / emotional maturity etc for social media I literally just end up saying stuff that immediately regret etc,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday (Dec. 4). “I’m actually just gonna stick to music cos I’m good at that. Having manic episodes on twitter at 35 is kinda pathetic.”
Guys I don’t have the right kind of intelligence / emotional maturity etc for social media I literally just end up saying stuff that immediately regret etc. I’m actually just gonna stick to music cos I’m good at that. Having manic episodes on twitter at 35 is kinda pathetic ❤️— Truman Black (@Gooodmorninguys) December 4, 2024
The post was seemingly in reference to his feud with Banks, which started when the “Liquorice” rapper took aim at Charli XCX, who is engaged to Healy’s The 1975 bandmate George Daniel. Banks called out the “360” singer’s looks, saying she “used to be soooo pretty. Ugh.”
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In response, Healy wrote, “Azealia you seem to have a blind spot when it comes to your ‘reads’. All the women you attack seem to be culturally relevant, attractive, divisive and NICE people. I think this makes you jealous cos you’re so talented but everything else about you is a failure. Just rap bro.”
Azealia you seem to have a blind spot when it comes to your ‘reads’. All the women you attack seem to be culturally relevant, attractive, divisive and NICE people. I think this makes you jealous cos you’re so talented but everything else about you is a failure. Just rap bro https://t.co/xKe9b71UV1— Truman Black (@Gooodmorninguys) December 3, 2024
The reply spawned a sequence of aggressive words between the two, and while Healy deleted a number of his posts in the feud, he at one point threatened to “slap” Banks after she began throwing jabs at his fiancée, Gabbriette. “The b—- look like Frankenstein to me. You both look like you share needles. Lmao,” Banks wrote when Healy claimed he would “use my mental illness to full affect” and “dox” anyone who were to attack Gabi.
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Healy then wrote to Banks, “I now you think your life is some episode of the library is open but I am not the one. Talk to me like that I’m not gonna side eye you at an awards do I’m going to f—ing slap you so hard I’ll get a Guinness world record for the highest a rat some b—- calls a wig has ever flown.”
However, the “So American” singer quickly took back his words and deleted the post, then asking Banks to “sort this out on the remix,” adding, “Nah I can’t be saying I’m gonna hit a girl that’s insane I’m sorry. You just can’t keep being so mean about my mates and my mrs it’s really hurtful gets me well defensive.”
“She’d f—in batter me tbf,” he continued.
Banks then threatened to sue Healy, and leaked DMs in which he apologized to her. She concluded by attacking The 1975 frontman for getting “fined 4m for kissing a man on stage In Malaysia, doing a nazi salute, watching violent porn, being a heroin addict, writing s—ty songs, randomly attacking black women and caping for trash white b—-es. I question the women who associate with him. I’m signing off for today, because my anger is really really really boiling.”
Some of Banks’ post was in reference to Healy stirring up controversy in 2023 when he made racist and sexist remarks about rapper Ice Spice on the Adam Friedland Show, during which he and the hosts made jokes about the rapper sounding like an “Inuit Spice Girl” and looking like a “chubby Chinese lady” before performing racist accents. After one of the men suggested Healy should have asked the MC about her ethnic background while dropping an Inuit ethnic slur, Healy called Ice Spice “dumb.” He later somewhat apologized for his comments.
Healy also kissed his bandmate Ross MacDonald for an extended period of time onstage at Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia in July 2023, but the set came to an abrupt end after he spoke out against the country’s stances on LGBTQ+ rights.
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Beyoncé has already leveled up after being snubbed at the Country Music Awards. Billboard has named her the greatest pop star of the 21st century.
As reported by HuffPost, the trade publication recently curated a list of the greatest talents in music. On Tuesday (Dec. 3), Billboard released their Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century list. The editorial staff ranked the 25 most prominent talents in the game. Included in the exclusive list are the likes of Drake, Jay-Z, Adele, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Bad Bunny and more. Landing at the top spot is Beyoncé, crowning her as the best of the best with the receipts to match the claim.
Billboard chronicles her epic run of hit songs starting with her first No. 1 single “Bills, Bills, Bills” as part of Destiny’s Child. The group would follow things up with “Say My Name,” which also topped the Hot 100 chart. From there they track her game-changing solo career that has produced several anthems and left an indelible impact on popular culture. Since then, she has won over 16 American Music Awards, 36 BET Awards, 27 Billboard Awards, 32 Grammy Awards and 30 MTV VMA Awards. “There are no flop eras for Bey, no periods where she disappeared for a half-decade, no clear missteps that were not immediately and emphatically course-corrected. There are only varying degrees of winning for over two decades,” the feature reads.
You can read Billboard’s editorial on why Beyoncé is the greatest pop star of the 21st century here.
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After almost two decades of being a programming stable on the USA Network, WWE Monday Night Raw will be making their much publicized move to Netflix in January 2025 and while fans don’t know exactly what that may mean for the show, it seems like not many changes will be made.
According to Deadline, WWE and Netflix executives spoke to the media Tuesday (Dec. 3), and revealed what we can expect from Monday Night Raw when it streams on Netflix Jan. 6 (hopefully it won’t involve an insurrection) and where they hope it goes going forward. With WWE overlord Vince McMahon no longer involved in the company due to some scandalous accusations, his son-in-law, Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and WWE President Nick Khan will steer the franchise going forward. With a 10-year deal worth an impressive $5 billion dollars, best believe they’ll do what they can to keep the show fresh, relevant and utterly entertaining.
With that being said, do not expect the move to Netflix to automatically set the rating from PG-13 to a hard-rated R as Nick Khan promises the wrestling soap opera will continue to be a family affair that people of all ages can enjoy.
Per Deadline:
“We’re not changing the rating of our programming. So there’s some online chatter about, ‘oh, it’s going to be R-rated, or for us old folks, X-rated.’ That’s definitely not happening,” he said. “It’s family-friendly, multi-generational, advertiser-friendly programming. It’s going to stay that way. I would look for more global flair, especially as the relationship continues to develop. Countries outside of the United States are as important to us as the United States is. So we have certain targeted countries that are priorities for Netflix. They’re priorities for us. You’re going to see more of that. I think that’s the way you’ll see a bit of a difference.”
That’s all good and dandy, but we wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Monday Night Raw return to the golden “Attitude Era,” which bore many classic moments and matches that blurred the line between PG-13 and NC-17. Just sayin’.
While fans are worried that the move may lead to streaming problems as we witnessed during the fiasco that was the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight, it seems like that’s a risk that Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria and company are willing to take.
“We expected a big number, for sure. It was a big number. But again, you don’t know, and you can’t learn these things until you do them so you take a big swing. Our teams and our engineers are amazing, moved super quickly, and stabilized it, and many of the members had it back up and running pretty quickly. But we learn from those things. And we’ve all obviously done a lot of stuff to learn and get ready for the NFL and Beyonce at halftime and so we’re totally ready and excited for WWE.”
Added Levesque jokingly, “I’ll just say, if it blinks a couple of times and we do 60 million, I’m good with that.”
Heck, for $5 billion we’d be good with a few blinks too.
Aside from remaining true to their platform, WWE does expect more celebrity involvement in future matches (Bad Bunny actually held his own during his WWE run) and possibly taking their SmackDown and NXT shows along with them to the streaming platform when those contracts are up.
What do y’all expect from WWE Monday Night Raw when it moves to Netflix? Let us know in the comments section below.
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The move by President Joe Biden to pardon his son Hunter Biden has led advocates to make their case for former prosecutor Marilyn Mosby to receive a pardon as well.
The decision by President Joe Biden to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, earlier this week after previously stating he wouldn’t, has prompted advocates representing the former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to request one for her. “It is time for Joe Biden to pardon Marilyn Mosby,” said civil rights attorney and media figure Angela Rye, who is working on Mosby’s legal team. Mosby, who rose to prominence in 2015 for charging six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, Jr., was convicted of mortgage fraud and perjury earlier in the year. Critics of the decision have maintained that the prosecution was politically motivated due to her racial justice policies.
“There are thousands of people who have been wrongfully convicted and sit in federal prisons today. While Hunter Biden was selectively prosecuted, he’s not the only one,” Rye said in a joint statement with attorney Ben Crump, who is also working with Mosby’s legal team. They point out that the application for Mosby’s pardon is still with the Department of Justice with proof of “receipt of the application on May 28.” That request is accompanied by 91,000 signatures petitioning the government for Mosby to be pardoned. The former attorney was on home detention after being sentenced and has appealed the decision. The Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland called for her law license to be suspended, but the Maryland Supreme Court dismissed that request.
“Marilyn Mosby is on house arrest right now with her law license hanging in the balance over purchasing property with her own money. Kim Gardner (the former East St. Louis prosecutor) was forced into taking a plea deal for a $5000 expense that was approved in an ethics opinion,” Crump and Rye wrote. They cited similarities in the two situations – the lead prosecutor in Mosby’s case, Leo Wise, also successfully brought charges against Hunter Biden for the purchase and possession of a firearm in 2018 and on federal tax charges. They also pointed out that the basis for Hunter’s pardon can be applied – selective prosecution. “They need to find a rule and equally apply it,” Rye stated.
Shenandoah, Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean recorded a new, collaborative version of Shenandoah’s 1989 song “Sunday in the South” earlier this year. Now, they’ve teamed up for the corresponding music video. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The video clip was directed by Edde Brothers, with segments of […]
Spaniard Quevedo claims his highest-charting album on any Billboard tally, as his second studio album, Buenas Noches, launches at No. 2 on Latin Pop Albums (dated Dec. 7), for his first entry and top 10 there. The 18-track set concurrently opens at Nos. 29 and 11 on Top Latin Albums and Latin Rhythm Albums, respectively.
Buenas Noches, released Nov. 22 via DQE/Rimas, is Quevedo’s most pop-inclined project to date, and first album with Rimas. Exploring Latin pop sounds with Spanish singer-songwriter Aitana and Pitbull, the 22-year-old also paired with Latin rhythmic greats De La Ghetto, Sech and Rels B.
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“It’s an eclectic album,” Quevedo told Billboard. “Since I had not released music for a long time, what I most wanted was to flow in the studio and do things that I felt like doing. Make a fun album above all, not so introspective.”
Buenas Noches debuts at No. 2 on Latin Pop Albums with 4,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. during the Nov. 22-28 tracking week, according to Luminate. Streaming contributes most of the debut week activity, which equates to 5.3 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs.
One unit equals to one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.
While Quevedo secures his first entry and top 10 on Latin Pop Albums with Buenas Noches, the 22-year-old Canarian artist previously scored a top 10 on Latin Rhythm Albums through their debut set Donde Quiero Estar, which also peaked at No. 12 on Top Latin Albums in February 2023.
Notably, with the new album launching in the top 10 on Latin Pop Albums, Quevedo becomes the first artist who primarily records Latin rhythmic songs to secure a No. 2 start on Latin Pop Albums in 2024. Here are all the artists who debuted in the list’s top 10 this year:
Debut Pos., Title, Artist, Debut DateNo. 1, Orquídeas, Kali Uchis, Jan. 27No. 1, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, Shakira, April 6No. 6, Final, Vol. 2, Enrique Iglesias, April 13No. 4, Música Buena Para Días Malos, Jay Wheeler, May 11No. 8, García, Kany Garcia, May 11No. 2, Buenas Noches, Quevedo, Dec. 7
Though none of the songs from Buenas Noches preceded the album across the songs charts, Quevedo took the stand-alone single “Columbia” to the stage at the recent Latin Grammy awards. The song earned him his last top 10 the Billboard Excl. U.S. chart, reaching No. 7 high in August 2023.
Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour is set to end this weekend after nearly two years on the road — but a new show will soon set up shop after being directly inspired by the trek.
During an interview with SiriusXM’s Hits 1 Miami With Mack & Jen, will.i.am revealed that The Black Eyed Peas‘ upcoming Las Vegas residency wouldn’t be happening had he not checked out the pop superstar’s blockbuster concert tour earlier this year — even though he was an Eras skeptic at first. “I’m like, ‘Everybody’s talking about that Taylor Swift show,’” he told listeners. “And they’re really hyping it. Like, ‘How dope can it actually be? It’s just a show.’ When people praise stuff that much, there’s no way that it’s that dope. It’s impossible.”
At this point in time, the “I Gotta Feeling” group had already been offered a residency slot in Las Vegas, but he and his bandmates apl.de.ap and Taboo were reluctant to take it. When they happened to be in town for Swift’s duo of July performances in Italy, will.i.am decided to tag along to one of the concerts — after which his mind was quickly changed on more than one front.
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“I went to Taylor Swift, like, with super heavy skeptics goggles on,” the rapper said before giving his honest review of the “Anti-Hero” singer’s three-hour-plus performance. “That was hardcore, bro. The best sh– in the world.
“I left like, ‘Yo, we definitely doing Vegas. Let’s do it,’” will.i.am continued. “That’s how transfixed I was [with] that Taylor Swift show. And then from there I called our management like, ‘Yo, that Vegas offer still there? Say yes to it … I just came from Taylor Swift’s show, and we’re gonna do it.’
“I’ve been freaking energized and inspired,” he added. “So thank you Swift.”
Following the pop star’s lead, The Black Eyed Peas are now set to kick off their residency at Planet Hollywood starting in February. As of now, the trio has dates scheduled through the end of May next year.
As for Swift, the 14-time Grammy winner’s incredible global run is just three shows away from its close. After performing a trio of concerts in Vancouver Dec. 6-8, Swift will finally tie a bow on a historic global sweep that found her performing songs from almost all her 11 studio albums each night. By its end, some reports estimate that the trek will gross well over $2 billion.
Watch will.i.am. explain how The Eras Tour inspired The Black Eyed Peas to do a residency above.
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Thinking Huts, an international nonprofit organization committed to providing sustainable education solutions for underserved communities, is hosting a special charity benefit auction that features exclusive items donated by some of the biggest names in entertainment and fashion, including Jennifer Lopez, Billboard, Reformation, and many more.
Every bid placed directly supports Thinking Huts’ mission to leverage innovative, humanitarian-driven technology to increase access to education and opportunity for children around the world. By funding the construction of cutting-edge 3D printed schools, the organization is creating affordable, sustainable learning environments that can help transform the futures of countless children. With each school built, Thinking Huts is working toward ensuring that no child is left behind when it comes to access to education and the chance to thrive.
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“Education has the power to change lives, and together, we can create pathways for millions of children who currently lack access to quality learning environments,” said Maggie Grout, Founder and CEO of Thinking Huts. “This auction is a chance for people to make a real difference, not just by supporting an important cause, but by doing so in a way that brings the global community together.”
Tyler Henry, Board Member of Thinking Huts, echoed the sentiment, adding, “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with the entertainment industry in this mission. By harnessing creativity and collective action, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of children in need, helping to create opportunities for brighter futures.”
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The Thinking Huts Charity Auction offers a unique chance to bid on exclusive items from Jennifer Lopez, Billboard, Reformation, and more, while directly contributing to a transformative cause. Join us in supporting a future where every child, regardless of where they live, has access to the education they deserve.
Visit the Thinking Huts Auction here for a chance to place your bid and be part of this incredible movement.
Selena Gomez gave a thoughtful speech about what representation and inclusion mean to her while accepting the Equity in Entertainment Award at The Hollywood Reporter‘s Women in Entertainment Gala on Wednesday morning (Dec. 4). After an introduction from her Only Murders in the Building co-star Molly Shannon, the 32-year-old singer/actress took the event stage at […]