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‘Smile’ Is Coming to VOD: Here’s How You Can Watch the Horror Movie From Home
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Smile is headed to VOD. The horror film that scared its way to a No. 1 box office debut last month will soon be available on streaming platforms.
Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn and Rob Morgan star in the supernatural horror flick about a therapist who endures disturbing experiences after witnessing the suicide of one of her patients.
The film, directed by Parker Finn, was initially supposed to premiere on Paramount+. The studio opted for a theatrical release, and it paid off. Thanks in part to viral marketing stunts, Smile raked in $22.6 million opening weekend and has made nearly $100 million worldwide.
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Keep reading for details on how to watch Smile on your TV, computer, or smart phone.
How to Watch Smile from Home
Paramount+ subscribers will eventually be able to stream Smile at no additional charge (we’re still waiting for Top Gun: Maverick). If you’re not already subscribed, Paramount+ starts at $4.99 a month, after a 7-day free trial.
Paramount+
$4.99/month after 7-day free trial
What’s streaming on Paramount+? From movies and TV series to live sports, Paramount+ features a mountain of entertainment, with exclusives from BET, MTV, CBS, Nickelodeon and more.
The Good Fight, 1883, Ink Master, Evil, Mayor of Kingstown, Seal Team, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Why Women Kill, Before I Forget, iCarly, Rugrats, The Stand and other addicting shows are currently streaming on Paramount+.
Looking for Halloween movies to stream? Orphan First Kill, Scream 5, The Addams Family, A Quiet Place, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, and Monster High are some of the spooky movies streaming.
Paramount+ has yet to announce when Smile will arrive on the platform. In the meantime, Smile is available for pre-order on Prime Video for $19.99. The VOD release date has yet to be revealed, but there’s a chance that the film could hit streaming platforms in time for Halloween.
Smile
$19.99
You can also pre-order Smile on Google Play, iTunes, and Vudu.
Watch the trailer below.
Elton John & Britney Spears Drop Purple Disco Machine Remix of ‘Hold Me Closer’
Elton John and Britney Spears unveiled a new remix of their single “Hold Me Closer” by Purple Disco Machine on Friday (Oct. 21).
The remix comes complete with an animated visualizer that depicts a couple dancing and embracing against an appropriately purple background as the two superstars croon, “I saw you dancin’ out the ocean/ Runnin’ fast along the sand/ A spirit born of earth and water/ Fire flyin’ from your hands/ Hold me closer, tiny dancer/ Count the headlights on the highway/ Lay me down in sheets of linen/ You had a busy day today.”
Interestingly, Spears’ vocals, in particular, take a much more prominent role in Purple Disco Machine’s version of the song than in the original mix, with the pop princess even treating fans to new ad libs throughout the bouncing track.
Purple Disco Machine’s reimagining of “Hold Me Closer” is actually the second remix treatment the song has received following English DJ and producer Joel Corry putting his own spin on the hit earlier this month.
Upon its August release, “Hold Me Closer” bowed at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Spears her highest entry on the chart since “Scream and Shout,” her 2012 collaboration with will.i.am, a full decade ago. Since then, the pop star has openly reveled in the song’s success, publicly thanking Sir Elton for giving her the confidence to get back in the studio for the first time in years.
Meanwhile, John’s ongoing farewell tour has officially become the third-biggest in history, grossing $661 million and counting.
Watch the music video for “Hold Me Closer (Purple Disco Machine Remix)” below.
Here Are All the Celebs Swifties Think Taylor Swift References in ‘Midnights’
Taylor Swift‘s Midnights arrived at last on Friday (Oct. 21), and fans know that the pop superstar is not afraid of some subtle, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shade in her music.
The 13 tracks of the singer’s 10th studio album tell “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life,” according to Swift, which immediately had fans analyzing the lyrics to figure out what (and who) keeps Taylor up at night.
And while some of the swoon-worthy love songs like “Lavender Haze” and “Sweet Nothing” are clearly about her boyfriend Joe Alwyn, who wrote the latter with her, many of the songs are less obvious. As a result, Swifties flooded Twitter with their thoughts.
See below for some of the most popular unconfirmed fan theories about which celebrities Swift is calling out on Midnights, from John Mayer to Kanye West.
Jay-Z Wants Out Of Cognac Biz, But Says Bacardi Is ‘Lowballing’ and ‘Stonewalling’
Jay-Z wants to sell his stake in D’Usse Cognac, and says that Bacardi – which owns the other half of the business – is legally required to buy it. But in a new lawsuit, the superstar claims the liquor giant is “lowballing” and “stonewalling” him to get a cheaper price.
In a complaint filed in Delaware court, Jay-Z’s SCLiquor LLC says that it exercised a contractual option to sell its 50 percent stake in D’Usse to Empire Investments, the Bacardi unit that owns the other half and runs the company’s day-to-day operations. Hov’s company claims the move came after years of “mismanagement and underperformance” by Bacardi.
But according to the lawsuit, which was made public on Thursday (Oct. 20), Bacardi and Empire responded to the move not by following the rules, but by refusing to hand over key information and scheming to “artificially depress” the price it would pay.
“Empire sought to stall and stonewall SC’s efforts in an attempt to wrest SC’s 50% membership interest in D’Usse at a cheaper price by, among other things, refusing to provide necessary information,” SCLiquor’s lawyers wrote.
According to the lawsuit, SCLiquor holds a so-called “put option” on D’Usse’s corporate entity, a legal mechanism that, when triggered, requires Bacardi to buy out Jay-Z’s half of the business. The two sides are supposed to negotiate in “good faith,” exchange information and agree on a fair price.
But Jay-Z’s lawyers say that when they exercised the put option last year, Empire and Bacardi did anything but operate in good faith.
“Instead, Empire has abused its day-to-day control of D’Usse to deprive SC of information necessary to … assess D’Usse’s value,” SCLiquor’s lawyers wrote. “Empire has done so by engaging in an apparent shell-game with its parent company Bacardi.”
They say the move to sell off Hov’s stake came amid “growing concern” about how Empire was running the company, including its “blatant conflict of interest” with Bacardi. Jay-Z’s lawyers say Empire has relied on Bacardi to provide key services, even though the parent company has had repeated failures that hurt D’Usse, including supply chain failures and an unwillingness to change prices.
In its current form, the lawsuit is only seeking to force Empire to turn over more information about D’Usse. But the complaint says that information will also be used to “investigate potential future actions for damages.”
A rep for Bacardi did not immediately return a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Elon Musk Plans to Cut 75% of Twitter Workforce: Report
Elon Musk plans to lay off most of Twitter’s workforce if and when he becomes owner of the social media company, according to a report Thursday by The Washington Post.
Musk has told prospective investors in his Twitter purchase that he plans to cut nearly 75% of Twitter’s employee base of 7,500 workers, leaving the company with a skeleton crew, according to the report. The newspaper cited documents and unnamed sources familiar with the deliberations.
San Francisco-based Twitter and a representative for Musk attorney Alex Spiro did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
While job cuts have been expected regardless of the sale, the magnitude of Musk’s planned cuts are far more extreme than anything Twitter had planned. Musk himself has alluded to the need to cull some of the company’s staff in the past, but he hadn’t given a specific number — at least not publicly.
“A 75% headcount cut would indicate, at least out of the gates, stronger free cash flow and profitability, which would be attractive to investors looking to get in on the deal,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. “That said, you can’t cut your way to growth.”
Ives added that such a drastic reduction in Twitter’s workforce would likely set the company back years.
Already, experts, nonprofits and even Twitter’s own staff have warned that pulling back investments on content moderation and data security could hurt Twitter and its users. With as drastic a reduction as Musk may be planning, the platform could quickly become overrun with harmful content and spam — the latter of which the Tesla CEO himself has said he’ll address if he becomes owner of the company.
After his initial $44 billion bid in April to buy Twitter, Musk backed out of the deal, contending Twitter misrepresented the number of fake “spam bot” accounts on its platform. Twitter sued, and a Delaware judge has given both sides until Oct. 28 to work out details. Otherwise, there will be a trial in November.
Jhayco, Alejandra Guzman & More: What’s Your Favorite New Latin Music Release? Vote!
This week, our First Stream Latin roundup — which is a compilation of the best new Latin songs, albums, and videos recommended by the Billboard Latin editors each week — is powered by new music from Shakira, Jhayco, Snow Tha Product and Alejandra Guzman, to name a few.
The list includes a powerful collaboration between Yuridia and Ángela Aguilar called “Qué Agonía,” a romantic Mexican ballad about being in love long after a breakup. The track comes to life with beautiful orchestration by an all-female mariachi band among other musicians and sublime harmonies. The single is part of Yuridia’s new album Pa’ Luego Es Tarde, produced by Eden Muñoz.
Additionally, Jhayco’s new single “En La De Ella” recruits Feid and Sech for a new anthem for independent ladies; Alejandra Guzmán not only gets intimate and personal in her new single “TUYA” but also returns to her rocker roots; Colombian hitmakers The Rudeboyz managed to recruit Maluma and Adam Levine for a first-of-its-kind reggaeton dubbed “Ojalá;” and Mexican rapper Snow Tha Product dropped her first album in six years called To Anywhere. “Now that I’m growing up I realize I do deserve to be happy. And even though things are hard sometimes, you need to do what really makes you happy,” she says in the intro, setting up the vibe of the album.
Also in the poll are new releases by Shakira and Ozuna, Natanael Cano and Victor Cibrian, as well as newcomers GALE, Joonti, and Majo Aguilar.
What’s your favorite new Latin music release this week? Vote below!
Glass Animals‘ Dave Bayley Is ’A Little Bit Speechless‘ Over ‘Heat Waves’ Hot 100 Record
Glass Animals set a new record on the Billboard Hot 100 this week thanks to their smash single “Heat Waves,” and lead singer Dave Bayley gave Billboard his exclusive reaction via social media.
“I just found out some amazing news, that ‘Heat Waves’ has broken the record for the longest-running Hot 100 single of all time, and I’m a little bit speechless,” the frontman said in a video posted to Billboard‘s Instagram. “But I wanted to make a little video just to say thank you so, so much for making that happen.
“I think a lot of you probably know that when I wrote this song, I was writing about someone who I loved very much and miss very much, and it’s particularly beautiful for that reason.” he continued. “To see the song spread so much love and connection around the world, and you all made that happen. So thank you. And thank you to everyone who’s helped the song reach so many people. It really has meant so much over the last couple of years, I can’t even begin to explain it.”
Before signing off with “lots of love, bye-bye for now,” Bayley also teased that he’s just about ready to start working on new music to finally follow the band’s 2020 album Dreamland.
With its historic chart accomplishment at 91 weeks and counting, “Heat Waves” surpassed The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” which had previously spent 90 weeks on the Hot 100. Other long-running singles have included Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” (87 weeks), AWOLNATION’s “Sail” (79 weeks), Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” (77 weeks) and more.
Watch Bayley express his disbelief and gratitude at the continuing success of “Heat Waves” below.
Here Are the Top 5 Moments from Mary J. Blige’s Good Morning Gorgeous Tour in New York City
What’s the 411? The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, better known as Mary J. Blige, rocked the Barclays Center stage in Brooklyn on Thursday night (Oct. 20) for her Good Morning Gorgeous Tour, playing classics such as “Real Love,” “MVP,” “Just Fine,” “Good Morning Gorgeous,” and “Enough Cryin.” The New York native, who has six top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, was joined by newer R&B talents Queen Naija and Ella Mai as the opening acts. The two ladies warmed the crowd up for Blige with their own hit records, leaving fans wanting more.
The headlining Blige made the crowd swoon with her soulful vocals and iconic dance moves in four acts, with guest appearances from Jadakiss, Fivio Foreign, Fabolous, and more. Blige also brought out some of New York’s finest celebrities to her sold-out hometown show, including Fat Joe, Jim Jones, Papoose, and Remy Ma.
Billboard compiled a list of the top five best moments from Queen Mary’s show. Check it out below!
1.Ella Mai Brings Out Babyface
After Queen Naija performed, the London singer-songwriter took the stage to perform hits such as “Trippin” and the smash record that put her on the map, “Boo’d Up.” Ella Mai had the crowd singing to every song, but the moment that took her performance up a notch was when she welcomed Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds on the stage. Babyface, who has written for Whitney Houston, SWV, Toni Braxton, and countless other legendary acts, rocked the stage in an all-black ensemble to perform his recent collaboration with Ella Mai, “Keeps On Fallin.” The performance of these two sent the crowd into a frenzy, making it one of the most unforgettable moments of the night.
2. Diddy Bops
“Give me all your love and don’t stop” — Brother Love, that is! Diddy made a grand entrance during Blige’s performance of “All Night Long.” Blige, dressed in a yellow Louis Vuitton set from head to toe, and Diddy dressed in all black, did the “Mary Dance” across the stage, as the beat for the song continued. Diddy and Blige go way back, so it’s no surprise that the superstar paid a visit to his dear friend in their home state to two-step together once again.
3. Jadakiss Rocks the Mic
You can’t mention New York hip-hop without mentioning Jadakiss. For her performance of “Rent Money,” Blige brought out the rapper to spit his verse. “C’mon Jada!” Blige introduced him. The crowd applauded the collaboration, confirming that New York was definitely in the house on Thursday night.
4. Mary Shouts Out GloRilla
In the show’s 2nd act, Blige performed “Not Gon Cry,” actually leading to the singer crying real tears. She hit impressive high notes and even sung the record a cappella with a passion that made the singer look as though she caught the Holy Ghost. “If you ever see me crying, these are happy tears because I’m free,” Blige said to the crowd. She then broke out into rapping rising star GloRilla’s “F.N.F,” which the crowd joined Blige in chanting. Looks like GloRilla got a stamp of approval from another major celeb.
5. MJB is Da Real MVP
During the last act of the night, Blige changed into a sequence set with matching leather silver boots. She then went into her classic bag and performed her 2007 classic. The crowd jumped to their feet, dancing and singing while Blige hit some of her signature old school-dance moves. A shower of sparks flowed behind the R&B legend as she prepared to perform her last record of the night, “MVP.” “Thank my fans all around this building!” Blige raved. “I can call myself the MVP.”
