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New York City Mayor Eric Adams sat down for an interview with Tucker Carlson, sparking more concern and drawing more criticism.
A day after attending the inauguration of President Donald Trump, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was more vocal about his criticisms of former President Joe Biden and his Democratic Party in an interview with Tucker Carlson. The interview, which was previously taped, aired Tuesday night (Jan. 21). “People often say, well, you know, ‘you don’t sound like a Democrat’ and ‘you seem to have left the party,’” Adams said in the interview at Gracie Mansion. “No, the party left me, and it left working-class people.” Adams has stated he will run for office again as a Democrat (he was once a registered Republican in 1990), but has cozied up to Republicans heavily in the last year since being federally indicted on corruption charges.
The 50-minute interview also showed Adams attacking former President Biden, stating that in conversations with aides in the White House, he was told to tone down his criticisms of the administration’s policies regarding migrants entering the U.S. “Basically, be a good Democrat, Eric,” Adams said to Carlson. “That was the basic overall theme.” He also related what another Biden aide told him: “Listen, this is like a gallstone. It’ll pass.” Carlson also touched on Adams’ five federal indictments. “I have no reason to suck up to you,” he said. “I thought it was ridiculous.” Adams responded gaily, ‘When I read it, I was like, where are the bags of cash?”
The interview was a sea change, as the embattled mayor had previously blasted Carlson as someone who “perpetuates racist, anti-immigrant propaganda.” Adams has been under fire after abruptly canceling his appearances at events to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday (Jan. 20) to attend Trump’s inauguration, and he offered no comments on Trump’s subsequent executive orders. State Senator Zellnor Myrie, who is running against Adams in the upcoming Democratic primary, ripped the interview in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“If you’re busy tonight, you can catch him on the Steve Bannon podcast tomorrow.” Even one of Adams’ strongest allies, the Reverend Al Sharpton, questioned Adams’ intentions. “To say you’re not going to raise your eyebrows would be being dishonest,” Sharpton said in a segment on MSNBC. “I think this is going to cause a lot of us to say, ‘What is this all about?’”
01/23/2025
Of the 4,717 tracks identified at the 2024 season, 50 were played more than all the rest.
01/23/2025
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Pharrell Williams went back to his roots for Louis Vuitton’s Paris Fashion Week show. He infused streetwear throughout and positioned the label as the style’s luxury gold standard.
As per The Guardian, the multi-hyphenate creative has done it again. On Tuesday (Jan. 21), he brought a totally different aesthetic and flair for Louis Vuitton’s Fall / Winter 2025 collection that not only was a salute to his beginnings but also reshaping the narrative of the Dandy Man. Pharrell Williams partnered with his friend and long time collaborator NIGO for many of the ready-to-wear items. Hosted at the Cour Carrée du Louvre, the show unveiled the forthcoming collection, which included several memorable pieces ranging from coats, wide leg jeans, accessories and of course bags for different usage occasions.
Some of the standouts included Louis Vuitton branded varsity jackets that come directly influenced by the Billionaire Boys Club ICE CREAM Y2K skate era. Other pieces seem to be a nod to staple streetwear items, including their version of the Carhartt Detroit jacket. We also get a top that features caricatures of both Pharrell and NIGO on the right and left chest. As the show closed several items from each of their private archives were illuminated; these collectibles will be auctioned on Joopiter this week.
You can view some highlights from the Louis Vuitton Paris Fashion Show below.
For their next act, Linkin Park 2.0 are stripping it down, all the way down. The rebooted rockers announced on Wednesday (Jan. 22) that they will release From Zero A Cappellas on Friday (Jan. 24), a vocals-only version of the group’s Nov. 2024 comeback album featuring new singer Emily Armstrong. Explore Explore See latest videos, […]
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Looks like another reality TV romance has bitten the dust. Ashley Adionser and Tyler Francis, the Season 7 couple from Netflix’s hit series, Love is Blind, who once set our hearts aflutter, have decided to call it quits.
A little over a year after jumping the broom together on the show, the crowd-favorite coupe has parted ways, with Ashley issuing a statement confirming their decision to end their relationship, saying:
“After much reflection, I want to share that Tyler and I have been separated for several weeks and have now made the difficult decision to end our marriage,” Ashley said in a statement to People. “While I had hoped for mutual understanding and transparency in our relationship, it has become clear that our paths are no longer aligned, making it impossible for me to continue in this marriage.” She added that she knows that this decision is “necessary” for her own “growth and peace.”
While Ashley’s statement to People didn’t offer details, she concluded her message sharing that she “will value the time and love [they] shared.
“While this chapter is ending, I will always hold respect for the time and love we shared,” Ashley continued. “I kindly ask for privacy during this deeply personal time as I focus on healing and building a new future. Thank you for your understanding and support.”
The couple’s onscreen love story hit a bump when Tyler revealed that he had donated sperm to help a friend, fathering three children that he initially said he had no relationship with. Photos challenging his story, as well as claims from the mother of said children, later circulated online when the season aired. Tyler, who spoke about wanting to have kids multiple times in the show, was side-eyed by many viewers (some of whom began calling him Tyler the Procreator).
During the reunion, Tyler acknowledged that he had lied about not knowing what the children looked like and suggested that he had wanted to protect their privacy. Ashley also clarified that she knew about the situation before having an on-camera discussion, calling it “insulting” to her intelligence for people to “imply that she was blindsided.”
Tyler has yet to publicly comment on the split.
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It seems that the 2025 Grammy Awards will be very lively from the opening. Trevor Noah has been slotted as the host for this year’s event.
As spotted on Variety, the comedian will be the master of ceremonies for the 67th annual Grammy Awards. This will be Trevor Noah’s fifth time hosting the star-studded affair that honors the very best in the music industry. The 2025 Grammy Awards will be hosted at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. According to a press release, this edition will “will carry a renewed sense of purpose: raising additional funds to support wildfire relief efforts and honoring the bravery and dedication of first responders who risk their lives to protect ours.”
This is not the first time Trevor Noah has served as the host for music’s biggest night. He has previously hosted the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, and the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. The 2025 Grammy Awards will be broadcasted live on the CBS Television Network and will be available for streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+ on Sunday, Feb. 2.
One of the survivors of the Oct. 7, 2023 invasion and massacre of Israelis by Hamas forces will represent her county at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 24-year-old aspiring singer Yuval Raphael — who escaped the mass killing of hundreds at Israel’s Nova Music Festival — punched her card this week to sing for her nation at this year’s contest in Basel, Switzerland after she won the 11th season of Israel’s singing competition Rising Star. The victory resulted in her being tapped to represent Israel at the global sing-off.
Previous Eurovision representatives from Israel who went on to Eurovision after winning the show include Israeli singer Netta, who won Eurovision in 2018; pop stars Noa Kirel and Eden Golan finished in third and fifth place, respectively, over the last two years.
According to THR, Raphael won Rising Star on Wednesday (Jan. 22) after performing a stripped-down version of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” a nod to the Swedish pop supergroup that blew up after their 1974 Eurovision win; she also performed a cover of Sam Smith’s 2015 Oscar-winning song James Bond Spectre track “Writing’s on the Wall.”
In addition to praising her vocal abilities, the show’s judges said Raphael’s gripping personal story of surviving the massacre resonated with them. The singer described running away from the EDM festival and taking cover inside a public bomb shelter outside of Kibbutz Be’eri, where she hid in a cramped cement bunker, trapped under dead bodies as she herself played dead for more than eight hours to escape being murdered by Hamas invaders.
The singer who is fluent in English, French and her native Hebrew, was rescued by the father of another Nova attendee, who drove into the battle zone to save his daughter, and others’, lives. “Every time we [those who were still alive] raised our heads, we couldn’t understand why there were less and less people in the bomb shelter,” Raphael said in a March 2024 speech in front of the UN Human Rights Council on behalf of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice. “We thought the terrorists were taking the dead bodies. We didn’t realize it was because of the grenades, blowing up their bodies.”
Raphael has been an advocate for Israel over the past year and has said that she hopes, “the world will hear a first-person account of what I went through and have been dealing with every day, so no one could claim otherwise.” The Oct. 7 assault in which Hamas militants killed, sexually assaulted and abused more than 1,200 mostly civilian Israelis and took 251 hostages led to a nearly three-year war between Israel and Hamas that ended over the weekend thanks to a tenuous ceasefire.
The world’s biggest music event — which regularly draws 200 million viewers in more than 40 countries — is headed into its 69th year. Typically averse to any displays of political speech or nationalism, the European Broadcasting Union defended the inclusion of an Israeli contestant last year in the midst of the war that Palestinian authorities said resulted in the death of more than 46,000 residents of Gaza. As some called for Israeli contestant Eden Golan to be left off the stage in much the same way that Russia was uninvited in 2022 following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the singer faced boos when she sang “Hurricane” on the show. Golan, who finished fifth, later said she faced death threats during her run in last year’s contest.
Tina Turner famously left it all on the stage when she performed. The late rock icon also left behind some unheard songs from her career-defining 1984 Private Dancer album and now we can hear one of those tracks thanks to the release on Thursday (Jan. 23) of the previously unheard album outtake “Hot For You Baby.”
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The uptempo rocker featuring Turner’s signature gritty, urgent vocals over a galloping beat and a chorus of male backing vocalists repeating the title phrase back to her will be included on the upcoming 40th anniversary edition of Turner’s fifth solo album, which was originally released in May 1984.
The collection helped push Turner back into the public consciousness thanks to a handful of now-iconic hit singles, including “Stay Together,” “What’ Love Got to Do With It,” “Better Be Good to Me” and the title track.
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Singing in her husky, growly voice, Turner belts, “The way that you’ve been moving to the music as you’re dancing/ Sweet sight to see/ But I can’t take it anymore, that’s why I’m out here on the floor/ So, won’t you dance with me?,” before the track rolls into the burning chorus: “I’m hot for you, baby/ I wanna love you/ I’m hot for you baby/ How hot can you get?”
The barreling chronicle of all the ways a lover’s dancing is getting her hot and bothered has a brief, classically early 1980s wailing guitar solo and plenty of cowbell. But despite fitting into the rock/soul groove Turner explored on the album, it was left off the final version. Australian singer John Paul Young (“Standing in the Rain”) originally released the song in 1979 to little notice. It was written by fellow Australian musicians George Young and Harry Vanda and produced by John Carter, who also produced the album’s title song.
Private Dancer ran up to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album chart and included the Hot 100 No. 1 smash “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” The previously unreleased song will be featured on the anniversary release due out on March 21, which will also come in a 5CD/Blu-Ray version that will rope in more never-before-released songs, live performances and music videos. Among the special extras is an upgraded 55-minute Private Dancer Tour show filmed in 1985 that featured guest spots from David Bowie and Bryan Adams.
Private Dancer marked an only-in-Hollywood-style revival for Turner, who had set the world on fire in the 1960s and early 70s when she and then-husband Ike Turner released a series of career-defining hits including “River Deep, Mountain High,” their signature cover of CCR’s “Proud Mary” and “Nutbush City Limits,” among others.
The couple split in 1976, after what Tina Turner later said were years of physical abuse from Ike, leading to nearly a decade in the pop wilderness for Turner, who struggled to gain attention with her solo career as she played Las Vegas showrooms and released a series of solo albums to little notice.
Her fortunes were turned around by Private Dancer, which leaned into Turner’s many strengths — vulnerability, power vocals, sensuality, grit — and earned her three Grammy Awards, including record of the year for the slow-burn ballad “What’s Love Got to Do With It”; the latter also served as the title of a lauded 1993 semi-autobiographical biopic that earned stars Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne Oscar nominations.
After her tumultuous years with Ike, Turner found love again with German music exec Erwin Bach, who she married in 2013 after nearly 30 years together. After years out of the public eye, Turner died in her home in Switzerland at age 83 in May 2023.
Listen to “Hot For You Baby” below.
Trace Cyrus has issued an emotional statement in response to his father Billy Ray Cyrus’ widely criticized performance at Donald Trump’s inauguration Liberty Ball on Jan. 20.
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Following accusations of lip-syncing and speculation about the singer’s state during the event, Trace, the elder brother of Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus, took to Instagram on Jan. 22 to share the family’s deep concerns for the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer.
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“Since my earliest memories, all I can remember is being obsessed with you and thinking you were the coolest person ever. I wanted to be just like you,” the former Metro Station guitarist began. “The day you adopted me was the happiest day of my life. Sadly, the man that I wanted so desperately to be just like I barely recognize now. It seems this world has beaten you down and it’s become obvious to everyone but you.”
Viewers of the Liberty Ball performance had commented on technical issues that plagued Billy Ray’s set, leaving his guitar inaudible and forcing him to perform a cappella.
However, Trace’s statement moved beyond the performance itself, addressing years of strained family dynamics and expressing concern for Billy Ray’s well-being.
“You may be upset with me for posting this, but I really could care less at this point. Me and the girls have been genuinely worried about you for years but you’ve pushed all of us away,” Trace wrote. “Noah desperately has wanted you to be a part of her life, and you haven’t even been there for her.”
He continued, “That’s your baby girl. She deserves better. Somehow just like me, she still idolizes you though.”
“We are all hanging on to memories of the man we once knew and hoping for the day he returns. You’re not healthy, Dad and everyone is noticing it. Just like I showed up for you at Mamaw’s funeral when you didn’t expect me to, I’m still here right now.”
Trace also reflected on his own struggles and progress, offering his father a path toward reconciliation. “As I write this with tears in my eyes, I hope you realize this message only comes from a place of love and also fear that the world may lose you far too soon.”
Trace shared that he was “over a year and a half clean from alcohol,” adding, “I don’t know what you’re struggling with exactly, but I think I have a pretty good idea, and I’d love to help you if you would open up and receive the help.”
He concluded with, “You know how to reach me. Till that day comes I will continue to pray for you.”
Billy Ray has yet to publicly respond to Trace’s statement, but his performance at the Liberty Ball has already drawn major attention. While technical difficulties marred the event, Billy Ray defended his appearance in a previous statement, saying, “I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar, and monitors worked or not. That’s called rock and roll!” he told People.
Pioneering British heavy metal icons Black Sabbath are on track to be given prestigious honors by their hometown of Birmingham, England.
On Tuesday (Jan. 28), Birmingham City Council will receive recommendations that the four founding members of the band – vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward – each be given the honorary title of City Freeman. The title recognizes the contributions that the recipient has made to the city.
“Birmingham has a fantastic musical culture and Black Sabbath are a major part of that history, a pioneering band that still influences today’s musicians,” said city council Deputy Leader Cllr Sharon Thompson. “They have become synonymous with the city and have been true ambassadors throughout their phenomenal careers.
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“Conferring these honors on these Birmingham legends would be the perfect way of saying thank you for all that they have done for the city.”
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Black Sabbath, who first formed in the inner-Birmingham area of Aston in 1968 are long considered to be pioneers of heavy metal, with their influence being felt by bands such as other iconic groups such as Metallica, who inducted Black Sabbath into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. “Black Sabbath is and always will be synonymous with heavy metal,” said drummer Lars Ulrich.
“I’m honored and, at the same time, shocked that I would have ever been considered for this very special commendation,” Osbourne said of the honor. “I’m a proud Brummie from Aston through and through. I’m still amazed to this day that no one outside of Birmingham can understand a word I say, but that’s always made me laugh.
“I started with nothing but a dream, which I shared with Tony, Geezer and Bill,” he added. “We never gave up on that dream. My only regret is that my Mom and Dad are not here to see what I became. Birmingham Forever!”
“I’m over the moon! What a great honor to be a City Freeman,” added Iommi. “I’m aware that very few are given out. It ties us to the rich history of our hometown Birmingham, and that’s fantastic. I’m deeply grateful for the recognition.”
This is far from the first time that Birmingham has recognized the continuing impact of Black Sabbath. In 2019, Birmingham named both a bench and a bridge after the band. In 2024, Osbourne stated his desire to visit the bench, claiming he would do so “if I have to crawl there”.
Alongside Black Sabbath’s upcoming honors, the Birmingham City Council will also discuss awarding late musician, poet and actor Benjamin Zephaniah a City of Birmingham Medal. Zephaniah passed away in 2023 at the age of 65, having risen to greater fame in his final decade for his role of Jeremiah Jesus on Peaky Blinders.
In 2003, Zephaniah had turned down an offer to be appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), stating, “I get angry when I hear that word ’empire’; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised.”