State Champ Radio TV/Film
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Work really sucks the life out of you — especially if you’re Nicholas Hoult in Renfield.
The upcoming comedy horror film stars Hoult as the titular character, who works as an servant to Count Dracula, played by Nicolas Cage. After following in love with a traffic cop named Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina), the lackey decides to finally stand up for himself and break free from his abusive boss.
The trailer for the film, released on Wednesday (March 22), highlights Renfield’s 90-year journey as Dracula’s lackey in New Orleans, Louisiana, fittingly soundtracked by Radiohead’s 1993 classic, “Creep,” featured on the band’s debut album Pablo Honey.
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“I’m a creep / I’m a weirdo / What the hell am I doin’ here? / I don’t belong here,” the band’s frontman Thom Yorke is heard singing as Renfield explains his bloody situation to Quincy, before a battle breaks out between Renfield and his creepy boss.
Two years ago, Radiohead unveiled a “Very 2021” remix of the hit that propelled them into stardom, twisting the tune even slower and darker. The new version was cut for Jun Takahashi’s Fall 2021 collection and features artworks from the Japanese fashion designer.
Renfield is out on April 14. Watch the final trailer, featuring “Creep,” below.
Kelly Clarkson — or Ms. Clarkson, if you’re nasty — gave one of Janet Jackson‘s 1986 hits a shot for Wednesday’s (March 22) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show for its popular Kellyoke segment.
Backed by her band Y’all, Clarkson delivered a soulful rendition of “When I Think of You” and kept it largely close to the original version.
“I just get more attached to you/ When you hold me in your arms/ And squeeze me/ And you leave me making me blue,” the American Idol alum passionately sang before launching into the song’s infectious chorus. “It’s when I think of you, baby/ Nothing else seems to matter/ It’s when I think of you, baby/ All I think about is our love.”
“When I Think of You” was released as the third single from Jackson’s third studio album, Control. The track became Jackson’s third consecutive top five hit from the LP, as well as her first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100. The song crowned the chart for two weeks in 1986, and stayed on the chart for a total of 19 weeks.
Tracks by Jackson are popular choices for The Kelly Clarkson Show‘s opening Kellyoke segment. The Voice judge previously covered “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” “Escapade,” “Love Will Never Do” and “If” on previous seasons of the talk show.
Watch Clarkson perform “When I Think of You” for Kellyoke above.
Though a John Legend biopic is a few decades away from happening, the “All of Me” singer has an idea about who would be cast in the major roles. Legend appeared on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast on Wednesday (March 22), and revealed who he thinks could be tasked with filling his and wife Chrissy Teigen’s shoes when it’s time to film the story of his life.
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The 44-year-old hilariously shared that if anyone were to play him, it would most likely be a baby. “Everyone puts their light-skinned babies up and they all think, ‘My baby looks like John Legend,’ because I have cheeks and dimples and a lot of babies look like me,” he explained to Cooper. “Basically, my biopic will happen 30 years from now, and one of the Internet babies will play me.” (The podcast host suggested that Regé-Jean Page of Netflix’s Bridgerton could play the 12-time Grammy winner.)
As for who would portray Teigen, Legend has a former Disney Channel star in mind. “Maybe Olivia Rodrigo or something?” he mused.
While the 20-year-old has primarily embraced her music career in recent years, she initially got her start with acting, and appeared in Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Like Teigen, the “Brutal” singer has Asian ancestry from one parent (Rodrigo is half Filipino, while Teigen is half Thai).
Legend’s also pondered having himself and Teigen in a future biopic, since they have some acting skills. “I don’t know how this works, because we kind of have acted,” he noted. “Do we play ourselves? 50 [Cent] played himself [in Get Rich or Die Tryin’].”
Watch Legend talk about his future biopic casting on Call Her Daddy below at the 18:41 mark.
Katy Perry is getting some heat for a joke she made at an aspiring singer’s expense on American Idol.
When the 38-year-old pop star and her Idol co-judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan discovered on the March 5 episode that a hopeful named Sara Beth Liebe was the mother of three kids at just 25, she stood up and clutched the table in front of her, leaning back on it in shock.
“If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out,” Liebe exclaimed, to which Perry quipped, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”
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The young mother has since called out Perry’s joke, saying in a recent TikTok that it was “embarrassing to have that on TV.” “It was hurtful and that’s that,” she continued. “I think that women supporting and uplifting other women is so cool, and I think that mom shaming is super lame and I think that it’s hard enough to be a mom and it’s hard enough to be a woman.”
“I see all of the young moms and just moms in general … keep loving your babies,” Liebe added. “Nobody deserves to feel crappy about that.”
Billboard has reached out to Perry for comment.
After performing renditions of Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” and Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets,” Liebe went on to receive a golden ticket from the judges — but only after enduring further criticism from Perry. The “Dark Horse” singer expressed doubt that the hopeful, who was bubbling with nervous energy, was ambitious enough for the show. At another point, she said the singer was “like a comic strip character came to life.”
Viewers also weren’t happy with the other judges’ reactions to Liebe — Bryan laughed heartily along with Perry’s table joke and Richie was the only judge who voted against passing the singer on to the next round — though most expressed particular disappointment in Perry’s remarks.
“The judges seemed to go out of their way to judge her before they had anything to actually judge,” commented one on the audition video posted to Idol‘s YouTube channel. “After she sang her pure heart out, the judges acted like they needed to save face and stay rude towards her instead of acknowledging they might have jumped the gun forming an opinion too quickly…. Shame on Katy especially.”
“I love that she powered through all the rudeness,” wrote another, calling Liebe “a ray of sunshine.”
Watch her American Idol audition above.
Let me be your star! More than a decade after it premiered on NBC, Smash is finally getting the Broadway treatment.
A musical adaptation of the short-lived cult favorite series, which starred Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty as rival actresses competing for the lead role of Marilyn Monroe in a new musical biopic called Bombshell, is currently in the works and aiming to take its first bow during Broadway’s 2024-2025 season.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the stage version of Smash will be helmed by Broadway legend Susan Stroman with Hairspray composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman in charge of the score, which will contain new music in addition to original favorites from the series like “Let Me Be Your Star” and “Don’t Forget Me.”
Running for just two seasons back in the early 2010s, Smash also starred Debra Messing (and her many scarves), Anjelica Huston and Broadway royalty such as Christian Borle, Brian d’Arcy James, Jeremy Jordan, Krysta Rodriguez, Leslie Odom Jr., Andy Mientus and Will Chase with Stephen Spielberg serving as an executive producer.
“Smash is near and dear to my heart, and it was always my hope that a musical inspired by the show would eventually come to the stage,” Spielberg said in a statement about bringing the series to Broadway. “We now have an incredible creative team, and I’m looking forward to completing the Smash journey which began with my producing partners over 10 years ago.”
This is hardly the first time a Smash-related production has tip-toed toward the Great White Way. In 2015, the cast reunited to stage a special, one-night-only concert of Bombshell at the Minskoff Theatre, and later hosted a live-stream concert in May 2020 during the pandemic.
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Beyond being a globally beloved dance music producer, Martin Garrix can also really shred on the guitar. It’s a skill the Dutch artist been putting to work with AREA21, his live project alongside Detroit-born rapper-singer-producer Maejor.
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Now the citizens of Earth can experience more from the group via the upcoming debut of Live on Planet Earth. This performance film from AREA21 will feature Garrix and Maejor playing with a full band on elevated scaffolding ensconced by dazzling pyrotechnics. Live on Planet Earth will expand the AREA21 backstory, exploring the duo’s journey to Earth and adjacent alien themes. (And yes, they perform in space suits.)
This 46-minute show is premiering April 5 on Hulu in the United States, Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ under the Star banner in all other territories.
‘’We’ve always been dreaming of having AREA21 on stage with a band,” Garrix said in a press release. “The music on the album has been made with a lot of live instruments like real bass, real drums, so it’s amazing to be able to put that into a full live performance now.’’
“This is the beginning of an evolution of the music and sounds of AREA21,” added Maejor. “It’s a great opportunity to show different sides of the project and introduce people to things they haven’t seen from us yet.”
The film will come alongside the Live on Planet Earth album, released on all streaming platforms in tandem with the premiere and featuring the music heard in the performance. The projects follow AREA21’s 2021 debut album Greatest Hits Vol. 1.
Elsewhere in the Garrix universe, the producer will play Ultra Music Festival in Miami this weekend and continue his Las Vegas residency at Omnia and Wet Republic through the summer, in addition to other global dates.
Watch Billboard‘s exclusive preview of Live on Planet Earth below:
In the HBO Original documentary Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed, the multiple Grammy-winning artist strips down the recording process, but also reveals struggles outside of the studio.
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“When I have a hard day I can’t just go home and have a drink. There’s no escape for me,” says Isbell, who has been sober for a decade, in this first look at the film’s trailer.
The film, directed by Sam Jones, largely chronicles Isbell recording his 2020 album Reunions with his band, The 400 Unit, and takes its name from a song on the critically acclaimed set. The documentary, which debuts on HBO and streamer HBO Max on April 7, also shows Isbell, like many of us, figuring out how to navigate demons the pandemic lockdown conjures up.
Also weighing in is Isbell’s wife and frequent collaborator Amanda Shires, an acclaimed artist in her own right. “Most people don’t go to work with their wife,” states Isbell, as Shires gives him feedback on how to approach some of his material and he pushes back. “You’re fighting with all these voices inside your head,” she declares.
He also examines the creative process and, as he notes, “Once you write a song, your mind isn’t focused on creating, your mind is focused on re-creating. You can only create something once and if the tape’s not rolling, you’re just sh– out of luck.”
While focusing on the making of Reunions, the documentary also examines Isbell’s childhood in rural Alabama and his years with the Drive-By Truckers. In addition to Isbell and Shires, the film includes interviews with musicians Chad Gamble, Sadler Vaden, Jimbo Hart, Derry DeBorja and Patterson Hood; producer Dave Cobb; and manager Traci Thomas.
Jason Isbell
Courtesy of HBO Max
HBO Documentary Films made Running in association with Ringer Films, Duplass Brothers Productions and Beware Doll / GraySky. It is the latest installment of the Bill Simmons-created Music Box series, which focuses on pivotal moments in music.
The documentary’s release comes as Isbell and The 400 Unit prepare to release their latest album, Weathervanes, on June 9 via Southeastern Records/Thirty Tigers
It was fitting that during Tuesday night’s (March 21) final round of season 23 blind auditions on The Voice Katie Beth Forakis sent chills through the studio with her haunting cover of Justin Bieber‘s “Ghost.” The final single from JB’s 2021 Justice album was center stage as the Tennessee grad student performed a bare bones rendition of the synth pop single that ended up drawing two chair turns.
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“Youngblood thinks there’s always tomorrow,” Forakis crooned in a silvery falsetto as first-time judge Niall Horan said, “Ohh, I like that.” As she continued, Horan continued to get lost in the spare piano arrangement and Forakis’ gentle vibe as he ooh’d and aah’d his way through the performance.
But it was Kelly Clarkson who smashed the button 45 seconds in, followed quickly by Horan. Soon-to-depart judge Blake Shelton kept his powder dry and flashed a quizzical look at the camera while fellow first-timer Chance the Rapper closed his eyes and seemed lost in the moment, but not lost enough to turn around.
When Forakis, 25, hit a run of feathery “ooh-ooh-ooh”s Clarkson seemed convinced her turn was warranted, saying, “Wow. It’s like an angel!” Horan was equally shook, shivering and murmuring, “oh my God!” and rubbing his arms to show off his goosebumps as Clarkson delivered a final verdict: “that was pretty.”
Forakis teared up after the final note, as Horan told her, “I honestly didn’t even know I could have hairs on my cheeks,” alluding to his apparent full-body shivers. Niall told her that as soon as Forakis opened her mouth he thought, “all right, great song choice.” And though he expected her to follow Bieber’s lead and “go off and take it to a bigger place,” she kept it at a low boil that appealed to him.
“There’s nothing sweeter than when someone comes in and plays a piano version of what is a massive pop song and completely controls their falsetto for effectively 90 seconds,” he said. Dubbing her rendition “fairy tale stuff,” Niall told Forakis he had one spot left on his first-ever team, then offered her a slot. Chance complimented Forakis’ floor-length orange wrap dress, but noted that his team was full while complimenting her vocals.
Clarkson, who also had a spot to fill, told Forakis she did exactly what the talk show host singer loves to do on her daily Kellyoke segments by taking a song people know and doing it differently, while praising Beth’s “heartfelt” tone.
Watch Forakis on The Voice below and find out whose team she ended up on.
NariYella put the “dream” into Dreamgirls when she performed “One Night Only” for her Blind Audition on NBC’s The Voice.
The 20-year-old native of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania saved the best to the end, when she strolled up Tuesday night (March 21) for the final episode of this early stage. She made sure the judges and everyone watching on wouldn’t forget her, with a sparkling performance from the Oscar-winning 2006 musical drama, Dreamgirls.
The performance was loaded with vocal gymnastics, soul and power. The baying studio audience felt the vibe, as did the four judges, all of whom turned to face the talent.
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“Incredible,” Chance the Rapper blurted out.
NariYella explained that she’s been singing since she could talk. No one would argue. And none of the judges would complain about the gifts she shared with each, blue kyanite tumble stones. “I’m very big on energy,” she explained.
Of the performance, Niall Horan commented: “That was insane. You were, like, so comfortable up there.”
Blake Shelton chimed in, “your voice…it was actually shocking to me, how powerful you are. Anybody who can be that open and connected to the moment, those are the artists that make it all the way.”
Kelly Clarkson then took the mic. “You have a personality that is just so incredibly captivating…you were so comfortable, and confident, so excited. And that kind of passion is what it takes to win a show like this.”
Chance rounded it out, remarking that he was “blown away” and that, technically, her skill level is “way, way, way beyond your years, way, way, way beyond your experience.”
The talking shop closed, and NariYella had to make a tough decision. She took a Chance.
Watch below.
Actress Vanessa Hudgens is heading to the Philippines to explore her family history as the star of a new travel documentary. The film will capture Hudgens’ first trip to the country of her mother’s birth, showcasing her close relationship with her family and her personal trajectory as an American-born, half-Filipino woman who has become one of the world’s most recognizable stars.
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The project is set to begin shooting in the Philippine cities of Palawan and Manila later this month. Hudgens will be accompanied on the journey and in the film by her mother, Gina Guangco, and her sister, Stella Hudgens. The actress has often spoken with pride about the biography of her mom, who left the Philippines for the U.S. at age 25.
“I feel like ours is such a relatable story to so many women all over the world,” Hudgens says. “The more that we can share, the more we can lift each other up.”
The still untitled film will be produced and directed by Paul Soriano, director of Mañanita (a competition entry at the 2019 Tokyo International Film Festival) and the Manny Pacquiao biopic, Kid Kulafu. Soriano also produced Lav Diaz’s A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (2016), which won a special film award at the Berlin International Film Festival and Transit (2013), which was the Philippines’ entry in the Best International Film Category for the 86th Academy Awards. Philippine boutique studio TEN17P is producing the new Hudgens doc.
“We are honored to work with Vanessa for this film project,” says Soriano. “It’s inspiring to note that with everything she has achieved in life, she wants to discover her Filipino roots and pay homage to her mother’s country. Hopefully, this opens doors for many more collaborations to come.”
Hudgens most recently starred in Lin Manuel Miranda’s Oscar-nominated Tick, Tick…Boom! She began her career in the world of musical theatre at age eight, eventually finding global fame in the Disney Channel’s High School Musical. As a young adult, some of her other credits have included Spring Breakers, Gimme Shelter and Bad Boys for Life. She also executive produced and starred in the films The Knight Before Christmas, and all three installments of The Princess Switch for Netflix. She’ll next star in the indie comedy French Girl and Michael Bay’s Bad Boys 4.
Hudgens is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, The Lede Company and Ziffren Brittenham.
The forthcoming travel documentary will be executive produced by Paul D. Soriano and Mark A. Victor of TEN17P.
This article originally appeared in THR.com.
