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Kenny Chesney will become the first country artist to have a residency at Sphere when he brings his show to the Las Vegas venue starting May 22 for a 12-date run. Chesney announced the news on Today this morning.
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“I’m always looking for ways to deepen the way No Shoes Nation experiences this music,” said Chesney in a statement. “Over the years, they have shown me through their own response to these songs how passionate they are about what they mean, how these songs are part of their lives. When people give you that much heart, I want to give them even more.
The 17,600-seat Sphere’s one-of-a-kind immersive experience played into Chesney’s decision. “When we started talking about all of the possibilities playing Sphere offered, I was all in. Just the idea of 4D technology and the impossibly dialed in sound raises the experience for No Shoes Nation, literally immersing them in music, visuals, sound and being together. To me, this is going to be a whole new way of rocking the fans, and I can’t wait.”
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Kenny Chesney Live At The Sphere
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Chesney, whose Sphere run will be promoted by his long-time promoter The Messina Group, is the only country artist to hit $1 billion in grosses reported to Boxscore. His 2022 Here and Now Tour, which brought in $135 million, landed at No. 9 on Billboard’s all-genre 2022 Year-End Top 40 tours chart, making Chesney the first country artist to reach the Top 10. Last year, his tour grossed $159.5 million, according to Billboard’s 2024 year-end chart. He’s come quite a long way since his first-ever Billboard Boxscore report entry, for a Sept. 23, 1995 concert at Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, which brought in $135,000.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday (Jan. 31) starting at 10 a.m. PT via KennyChesney.com. The run is presented by Chesney’s Blue Chair Bay Rum.
Since opening in September 2023 with a 40-show run by U2, Sphere has hosted a number of acts, including Phish, Dead & Co. and Anyma. The Eagles are currently in a residency that started in September.
Chesney will appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight.
With his team’s first playoff game looming this weekend, Travis Kelce seems calm and confident, and his life off the field might have something to do with that. During an appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show on Wednesday (Jan. 15), the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was asked how things are in his personal life, since, as the host put it, “you livin’ a little bit better than most.”
“I’m enjoying all aspects of life, that’s for damn sure, man,” Kelce, 35, laughed, giving Smith the answer he was subtly digging around for about the status of the baller’s high-profile relationship with Taylor Swift. “Me and Taylor are happy and I couldn’t be happier to have that confidence and that comfort off the field and all the support I could ever ask for stadium.”
Veteran sports talker Smith then made a confession: he’d never listened to Swift’s music before, but he went to one of the Eras Tour shows and said it was “the greatest concert” he’s ever been to in his life. “It’s off the chain,” Kelce confirmed of the record-setting outing that wrapped up on Dec. 8 in Vancouver.
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Smith said his daughters “hoodwinked” him into taking 10 of their friends to a show at $2,000 a ticket (a price Kelce diplomatically noted was the “re-sale” value of the tickets), with the host joking, “I ain’t got your money, Travis! I damn sure ain’t got her money! I said, ‘this better be worth it!’ And I gotta confess, it was so damn good I went back twice.”
He then got serious again, asking if all the hoopla and attention to the couple’s now year-and-a-half long romance has “added” to Kelce’s football talents, comparing it to a struggling prize fighter used to grinding who suddenly hits the “jackpot with everything that you’re doing.”
“I think personally, that’s the beauty of being in a very strong relationship is that you get that support to be able to come in and focus on your craft,” Kelce said. “Focus on being the best version of you. That’s why I wanted to be at the concerts supporting her, being there for her and making sure she feels comfortable and supported in everything she’s doing in life.”
Kelce said he’s as focused as he’s ever been on his job, mostly because he doesn’t have to worry about things off the field. But when Smith recalled that some commenters said Kelce did not seem to be in his best shape at the beginning of the season, not necessarily blaming Swift for being a distraction, but speculating that all the travel Travis was doing to support Swift on her tour was “taking away” from his training, the 10-time Pro Bowler had a very simple answer.
“You have to be true to yourself,” he said of the criticism. “People are saying things [and] you’ve got to be able to reflect and look at yourself and see, ‘Why are they saying these things?’ I was still playing at a high level knowing all that. We were winning football games, which is all I ever care about and, on top of that, this building knew how hard I worked and how much focus I have on football throughout the year.”
All that said, the three-time Super Bowl-winner is gearing up to get back on the field and focus on his day job. So when Smith asked if the team is feeling confident going into their first playoff game this weekend against the Texans on Saturday — after earning a bye last week due to their divisional top spot — Kelce sounded positive about their path to a potentially unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat.
“Setting ourselves up with the No. 1 seed, having everybody have to come through Arrowhead [Stadium]… I think this year it was such a different team, such a different feel,” Kelce said. “We were barely winning football game at the end of the game, so there is always that feeling of ‘we gotta be better, we gotta be better, we gotta be better.’ And right now we’re playing our best football, man, and I’m definitely feeling confident.”
The Chiefs play the Texans at 4:30 on Saturday.
Check out Kelce’s interview with Smith below.
Pete Parada, the former drummer of The Offspring, has detailed the controversial circumstances surrounding his dismissal from the band in 2021.
Speaking on the Try That In A Small Town podcast, Parada recounted the events that led to his exit, citing medical advice and a turbulent interaction with the band’s management as key factors. Parada, who joined The Offspring in 2007, shared that his decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 was based on medical guidance.
Claiming he previously suffered from Guillain-Barré syndrome—a rare neurological disorder—his doctor advised against the vaccine due to potential risks. Despite presenting this exemption, Parada claimed it was dismissed outright by the band’s newly appointed manager.
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“He was new with the band. He’d only been with them since Covid hit. So I didn’t have a lot of history with this guy,” Parada said. “He chose to come at me like a flamethrower. I’ve gotten crappy phone calls before, this was the most abusive and threatening call I’ve ever had in my entire career.”
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“He made it clear that I was either to get vaccinated or I’d be replaced,” he added. “The phone call was so shocking.”
Parada revealed that he reached out to his long-time bandmates to voice concerns about the manager’s behavior, but his attempts were met with indifference.
“I tried to talk to them about him and I said, ‘You might fire me over this but you should know, this guy is not representing you well and if he’s treating me like this, he’s treating your crew even worse’”, he claimed. “I was told, ‘That’s not the concern right now, he’s not the concern, your refusal to do this is the concern.’”
Communication broke down soon after, Parada claimed, adding that he realized he had been replaced when his flight to a rehearsal was unexpectedly canceled. “That’s how I found out,” he said.
At the time, The Offspring was gearing up to promote their tenth studio album, Let the Bad Times Roll, released in April 2021, which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Albums Chart and No. 27 on the Billboard 200.
The band has yet to publicly address Parada’s recent comments, and they are currently preparing for their Supercharged Worldwide in ’25 tour in support of their 11th studio album, Supercharged., released in October. The album reached No.1 on the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, while the lead single “Make It All Right” reached No. 1. reached No. 1 on both the Alternative Airplay and Active Rock charts. The band have since released “Light It Up”, as well as “Come To Brazil”.
The Offspring: Supercharged Worldwide in ’25 Australian tour will kick off on Sunday, May 4 in Adelaide, heading onto Melbourne and Sydney, and closing out on Wednesday, May 14 in Brisbane.
In a statement before its release, Dexter Holland revealed that Supercharged was recorded in Maui, Vancouver and the group’s home studio in Huntington Beach with legendary producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi). “I feel like this is the best we have ever sounded! We’ve been rocking out and headbanging to it for months! And we can’t wait for you guys to hear it!” he said.
Leighton Meester’s music career is experiencing a revival following the devastating loss of her Los Angeles home in the recent wildfires.
With encouragement from none other than Flavor Flav, fans have rallied behind the Gossip Girl actress and singer by revisiting her discography, sparking a wave of support across social media and music platforms. Flavor Flav took to TikTok on Jan. 14 to spotlight Meester’s 2009 single “Somebody to Love,” which features Robin Thicke.
In the video, the Public Enemy rapper danced to the pop track, urging fans to “Stream @LeightonMeester ‘Somebody to Love’ and use the song in yo TikTok’s.” He captioned the post, “Starting to hype up my girl Leighton Meester and help her family recover from the fire.”
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The call for support comes amid reports that Meester and her husband, actor Adam Brody, are among the many families displaced by the wildfires that began last week, forcing thousands to evacuate. The couple, who share two children, have not publicly commented on the loss of their Pacific Palisades home.
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Fans have since responded with overwhelming enthusiasm by revisiting Meester’s self-written debut album, Heartstrings, released in 2014. Meester wrote all nine tracks featured on the record by herself, and the album was produced by Jeff Trott.
The album has now climbed to No. 18 on the iTunes all-genre album chart, surpassing notable releases like Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion, and Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N Sweet. Her single “Your Love’s a Drug,” released in 2010, has also cracked the iTunes songs chart.
This resurgence mirrors the support seen for Heidi Montag, another wildfire victim whose decade-old album, Superficial, recently topped the iTunes charts thanks to a viral TikTok campaign.
Flav has also been instrumental in promoting Montag’s music, posting several TikTok videos with the caption, “Doing my part to get Heidi Montag to #1.” Montag and her husband, Spencer Pratt, lost their Pacific Palisades home in the fires and turned to social media to share their journey and encourage fans to stream Montag’s music as a way to help them rebuild.
Following the success of Superficial, Montag’s album surged to No. 1 on iTunes. To celebrate, Montag and Pratt joined Billboard’s Tetris Kelly during a TikTok livestream to discuss future plans, including new music.
“We just actually had one of the most famous writers and producers reach out to us, and I recorded it yesterday,” Montag revealed. “They asked us not to specify who they are […] We’re really excited, and there’s a lot of stuff in the works. We really want to focus on getting a portion back to the community too, so we’re trying to figure out how to incorporate charities into everything we’re doing.”
Meanwhile, Flavor Flav, a vocal advocate for using music as a means of recovery, also announced on Jan. 11 that he has donated to wildfire relief efforts through GoFundMe campaigns and nonprofit organizations.
He encouraged others to join his efforts, stating, “They need us right now.”
Meester’s music career includes standout moments such as her collaboration with Cobra Starship on the 2009 hit “Good Girls Go Bad,” her role in the 2010 film Country Strong, and the release of singles like “Somebody to Love” and “Your Love’s a Drug.”
Zach Bryan has turned his focus to the world of film, recruiting actor Matthew McConaughey to help tease a new project called Motorbreath. Bryan’s new announcement came about in a pair of posts shared to Instagram on Wednesday morning (Jan. 15). In the first, he shared a clip of a new track ostensibly titled “Birdie”. […]
Actor David Schwimmer has looked back on some of his formative jobs, recalling the time he served Rod Stewart with divorce papers.
Schwimmer spoke about his previous career while appearing on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to promote his current role on Disney+ and Hulu’s Goosebumps: The Vanishing. While he’s spent more than 30 years as one of the most prominent actors in film and TV, his early career was far less stable, as he explained to host Stephen Colbert.
“One summer after my freshman year in college, I was just looking for work,” Schwimmer remembered. “And my mom said, ‘Well, you can be a process server for me’. My mom was a divorce lawyer. So I was the guy who would pop out of the bushes and serve you divorce papers. At the time I was 18, and I’m like James Bond. I’m not James Bond! ‘Cause you’re tipped off as to where they might be.”
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As he continued, Schwimmer turned his focus to one of his more famous ‘targets’ during this line of work. “Once, and oh man, thank goodness I’ve never run into him since,” added, “but I served Rod Stewart. I don’t even know if he knows. I don’t think he knows.”
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“He knows now,” replied Colbert before jokingly giving Schwimmer some sage advice. “Change your locks, man. He is vengeful.”
Stewart was previously married to Alana Stewart from 1979 to 1984, which coincides with the timeframe of Schwimmer’s time as a process server. In 1990, Stewart married Rachel Hunter, though they would divorce in 2006 following a separation in 1999. Since 2007, he’s been married to Penny Lancaster-Stewart.
Stewart is set to hit the road once again in February, performing across the U.S. before returning to Las Vegas to continue his Caesars Palace residency. He’s also one of the few artists officially confirmed to be performing at England’s Glastonbury Festival on June 25.
Appearing in the Sunday teatime Legends slot, he joins Neil Young at the festival, who recently confirmed his appearance after previously distancing himself from the event based on what he now calls an “error in the information received”.
The times they are a-changin’, and with just a few days to go before a potential U.S. ban of TikTok, veteran musician Bob Dylan has finally joined the popular video sharing app.
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83-year-old Dylan made his debut on TikTok on Tuesday (Jan. 14), sharing a single post which urges potential followers to “Explore the world of Bob Dylan, now on TikTok”. The accompanying video features numerous clips, stills, and record covers from Dylan’s lengthy career, soundtracked to clips of “Like a Rolling Stone”, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, “Hurricane”.
While Dylan’s appearance on the app in the wake of the release of James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown biopic has been well-received by his fanbase, much of the attention is being focused on his somewhat late arrival given the impending TikTok Ban.
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“You’ve got 30 minutes king,” wrote one user on Dylan’s post, while another added, “bob dylan save tiktok.” Others still made reference to his catalog in their posts, noting that “tiktok is knocking on heavens door”.
As it stands, TikTok is facing an imminent ban because the American government is worried about its Chinese ownership. After the Supreme Court last month agreed to hear TikTok’s challenge to the law that would either force ByteDance to sell the app or bar it from the U.S., the Court’s imminent decision means that if the law is upheld, ByteDance will be forced to sell off the app or face a ban on Sunday (Jan. 19).
Dylan’s immediate future, however, looks a little more certain currently, especially given that the response to A Complete Unknown has seen his catalog earn 11.6 million U.S. on-demand streams in the week ending Dec. 26.
While it’s unknown whether Dylan’s debut on TikTok is part of a biopic-inspired decision to reach a newer fanbase, it does come about shortly after his recent decision to ostensibly begin using social media with greater frequency. In November, Dylan shared a Tweet praising a performance from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in France, leading Cave to respond with gratitude.
“I was elated to think Bob Dylan had been in the audience,” Cave wrote on his sporadically-updated Red Hand Files website. “And since I doubt I’ll get an opportunity to thank him personally, I’ll thank him here. Thank you, Bob!”
Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are turning loss into creativity. The couple, who first found fame on the reality series The Hills, lost their home in the Pacific Palisades wildfire. Amid the tragedy, the pair turned to social media to share their journey and encourage fans to stream Montag’s previous music as a way to help them rebuild. […]
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Last week Redman shocked the world when he revealed that he’s been celibate and smoke free for two years and counting and though many feel it’s only a matter of time before he indulges in the aforementioned activities, we’re hoping the Funk Doctor Spot continues to do what’s best for himself and his health.
Addressing his revalations in his latest visuals to “Booyaka Shot,” Redman finds himself in an sex, drugs, and drinking anonymous session where he raps about his former habits much to the shock and entertainment of his fellow attendees. After all these decades in the game, Redman’s still got it, b.
Back in the barrio, Beantown representative Millyz gets his Spanglish on as he and Tivi Gunz show up and show out for the Latino community in the visuals to “Alpax Remix” where the Latino community welcomes the Boston representative with open arms as he spits some Spanish bars and shows that he could very well get by in Spanish Harlem or the Dominican Republic or something.
Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Larry June, Illa Ghee, and more.
REDMAN – “BOOYAKA SHOT”
TIVI GUNZ & MILLYZ – “ALPAX REMIX”
LARRY JUNE – “JAN 14TH”
ILLA GHEE – “DEMI GOD”
CHE’ NOIR & 38 SPESH – “ART OF WAR”
BELLY GANG KUSHINGTON – “TRAP STAR”
21 LIL HAROLD FT. ROB49 – “WORD ON THE STREETS”
VALIANT & WEEKDAY – “GRIMEY”
Lil Baby isn’t letting up. The Atlanta rapper recently dropped off the deluxe version of his fourth solo album WHAM and is planning on releasing another project entitled Dominique some time in February. He’s also mentioned working on a tape with Future, but made sure to mention Young Thug may be involved in what they […]