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Bad Bunny is about to cross off something else from his bucket list. The global superstar will host Backlash, WWE’s live event set to take place May 6 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan.
“In 2005 when I was a kid, I wasn’t able to attend New Year’s Revolution at el Coliseo,” the Puerto Rican hitmaker said in a statement. “Finally, 18 years later WWE returns to the island with a massive event, and this time I won’t miss it.”
“We’re excited to bring Backlash to San Juan as the demand for WWE premium live events outside of the continental United States continues to grow,” added WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. “Bad Bunny is one of the world’s most popular entertainers and nowhere is that more evident than in his native Puerto Rico.”
Bad Bunny’s love for WWE is no secret. In 2021, the “Booker T” singer had a stint during a tag-team match against The Miz and John Morrison at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., for WrestleMania 37.
Most recently, video game company 2K released a first look at Bad Bunny in WWE 2K23, the newest installment of the WWE video game franchise. From hitting the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania rings in 2021 to becoming a virtual playable character, the Puerto Rican artist is flaunts his wrestling skills in a new 40-second trailer. This is the first time the artist has appeared in the game.
More info on tickets for Backlash on the WWE’s website.
No blind audition is the same. And precisely no singer on NBC’s The Voice has made an arrival quite like Kala Banham.
The 24-year-old Windermere, Florida native stepped onto the Voice stage Tuesday night (March 7), for a rendition of “Both Sides Now,” a song that appeared on Joni Mitchell’s 1969 album Clouds.
Banham kept her vocals in a velvety pocket, finding the emotional connection while never showing off.
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Kelly Clarkson and Niall Horan turned together, only the former One Direction singer was fast enough to trigger a block on the U.S. country artist.
Another new additional to the panel, Chance the Rapper, turned, leaving Blake Shelton the odd one out.
There were tears of joy from Banham’s folks, who were watching on, feeling the vibe, and Clarkson blasted the non-plussed Shelton with multiple volleys of “what are you doing?”
“What a perfect song,” enthused Clarkson. “You showed dynamic, to see you emote like that, you really felt the message and the words mean something to you. We would have been beautiful together. I’m going to steal you, mark my words.”
Horan praised her “impeccable” song choice, and her ability to show tenderness in the softer moments. “I haven’t got a singer like you on my team.” Then he stepped up his sales pitch.
“You are unbelievable,” the 1D singer said. “You’ve got such a storytelling voice, so sweet so beautiful. And the song choices that are available for you is huge.”
After learning some of her story, Chance praised Banham for having the “most unique voice that we’ve heard so far” which, he notes, is coupled with the “most control and range.”
Shelton offered his 5 cents (he wasn’t familiar with the song), and it was over to Banham to make the tough choice. Ultimately, she joined Team Niall.
Does Horan possesses the luck of the Irish? We’ll have to wait and see.
Watch the performance below.
Kelly Clarkson was reunited with her 2019 The Voice team member, Jej Vinson, when the singer returned for season 23 — this time in a group.
The trio, called Sheer Element, took the stage for the blind auditions on Tuesday (March 7), where they delivered a sleek rendition of Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open,” complete with flawless three-part harmonies.
Their impressive performances got chair turns from Chance the Rapper, Niall Horan and Kelly Clarkson, whose jaw dropped when she saw her former team member Vinson. “What the hell!” she screamed upon seeing him.
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“He was Team Kelly on another season. He is incredible, that is insane,” Clarkson explained to her fellow coaches, before later telling the Sheer Element, “You’re incredible and I already love Jej’s voice. You’re so incredibly tight and you know your vibe. You’re not picking a coach to teach you anything about that. You’re picking a coach for song selection, and that’s really key.”
Horan also chimed in, noting that he turned his chair because the group’s performance “made me feel,” before adding that he has some experience in a group as a former member as One Direction. “I’ve been in a group. My favorite acts of all time are The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Boyz II Men. I feel that we could work very well together,” Horan shared.
Chance the Rapper also gave his pitch for the trio, sharing, “I can tell that you guys have done this together for a while because it sounds so tight. As an overall presentation, it was just insane.”
He continued, “I also produce music for a few different groups, and I think I could see exactly where you guys could go with your style, aesthetic and with the three of you guys as a group. So, if you want to win, come get down with Team Chance.”
Watch the full performance below, and be sure to tune into The Voice tonight (March 7) at 8 p.m. ET on NBC to see who Sheer Element chose as their coach.
Nick Cannon let slip earlier this week that he’s been expecting, and on Tuesday (March 7), the stork officially arrived with his latest bundle of joy … in the form of a new game show!
The host of The Masked Singer confirmed the news by dropping the official teaser for Who’s Having My Baby With Nick Cannon. Hosted by his close friend Kevin Hart, the series will premiere sometime this spring on E! and, according to the clip, seems to involve trotting out female contestants in front of Cannon for some sort of prize … and actual pyrotechnics.
“You’re gonna get some contestants that wanna have your baby,” Hart explains to Cannon, who then proceeds to jokingly pull an “Eenie, meenie, minie, mo” to choose among the ladies. The rest of the rules are unclear, but as the network cheekily promises in the tease, it’s sure to be the “mother of all game shows.”
Cannon’s already incredibly busy on the daddy-duty front, considering he now has 12 kids with six different women, including Dem Babies with ex-wife Mariah Carey. He’s welcomed all five of his youngest kids since last July alone — from Legendary Love with Bre Tiesi, Onyx Cole with LaNisha Cole, to Rise Messiah with Brittany Bell, Beautiful Zeppelin with Abby De La Rosa and, as of December, Halo Marie with Alyssa Scott.
In February, the Drumline actor fielded a question about possibly having even more children down the line, telling Entertainment Tonight, “God decides when we’re done, but I believe I definitely got my hands full.”
Watch the teaser for Nick Cannon’s new baby-centric game show below.
The Voice is officially back for season 23. With the show’s Monday (March 6) premiere, the competitive blind auditions have commenced, which saw new coach Niall Horan use a few unusual tactics to get contestant Ross Clayton to join his team.
Clayton took to The Voice stage to perform Keith Urban’s 2016 track “Blue Ain’t Your Color.”
“Blue looks good on the sky/ Looks good on that neon buzzin’ on the wall/ But darling, it don’t match your eyes/ I’m tellin’ you/ You don’t need that guy/ It’s so black and white/ He’s stealin’ your thunder/ Baby, blue ain’t your color,” the Oklahoma native passionately sang, which prompted a four-chair turn from all the coaches.
While Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and Chance the Rapper had already had luck securing contestants, Horan was the only coach left out, so he resorted to a series of interesting measures to secure Clayton as a team member.
After Clarkson and Chance briefly pleaded their cases to Clatyon, Horan switched things up a bit. “Ross, these two have spoken. I need a little privacy,” the former One Direction member said before pressing the button to turn the chair of each of the coaches to face away from the stage.
“Your voice is absolutely incredible. You gave that country tone to your voice, but to me, I was hearing so much soul. I came up onto a show like this when I was 16 years old and I get to point at fans of mine in this room. It’s fans of mine that would really love to take you under their wing,” Horan said, then got down on his knees to beg. “I’m telling you, please. Please … forget about whatever any of them said. I don’t wanna hear any more crap. [Shelton] was about to go, ‘This is my last season on this show, it’ll be an honor and a privilege.’ So Ross, please join me!”
Shelton, naturally, had a tough act to follow. “If I was pitching myself, I would have to talk about the fact that Ross would like to get out and do gigs and I happen to have venues he can do that in, and one of them in Oklahoma.”
But after a tough sell — and thundering cheers from the crowd — Clayton went with his gut feeling and joined Horan’s team. “Niall, let’s go,” Clayton said, launching the beginning of their coach-mentor relationship.
Watch the moment unfold in a clip from The Voice in the video above.
RuPaul’s Drag Race may not be dedicated to presenting the news of the day, but the latest episode of the series served up Diane Sawyer realness with ease.
Last week’s episode (aired Friday, Mar. 3) saw the queens getting to ask the tough questions in “50/50,” the show’s spoof of classic interview shows like 20/20. Splitting off into three groups, the remaining contestants got to partake in a series of interviews with a trio of celebrity guests, before offering up their best Sasha Fierce interpretations on the Night of 1000 Beyoncés runway.
Sasha Colby once again wowed the judges with her spot-on Bey look as well as her hilarious cooking segment with flamenco icon Charo, earning her third challenge win of the season. Meanwhile, Salina EsTitties and Malaysia Babydoll Foxx found themselves on the chopping block after failing to impress in their interviews of Love Connie and Frankie Grande, respectively.
Tasked with lip-syncing to Beyoncé’s forever iconic “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” Salina managed to pull out just enough moves to win her fourth lip-sync of the season, meaning Malaysia was asked to sashay away.
Billboard caught up with Malaysia following her elimination to talk about fans critiquing her runway silhouettes, making good television with some on-camera drama, and why she feels Sasha Colby’s theory about Beyoncé’s alter ego might be a “delusion.”
I want to say thank you for not being afraid to bring some drama this season — what was the experience like on set of going through the little tiffs you had with folks?
I mean … I didn’t plan on being the drama, but when you feel some type of way, it’s kinda hard to hold those emotions in. Honestly, after the first day there, you just get very comfortable, and you don’t even really care about the cameras being there — you’re just kind of being yourself. I’m a very expressive person when it comes down to it.
Just because I’m checking you or letting you know how I feel doesn’t mean I hate you or dislike you — I’m just letting you know. We can move on from it, which, in every situation on the show, I clearly moved on from it, I just needed my moment. Unless you did something extremely disrespectful, we’re good.
Right, arguing over who got to be in the fake metal group on national television is not a friendship-ending fight.
Completely. Also, I could’ve done anything in that challenge, but I’m not gonna back down from a good fight!
I have to tell you, I love that you have been trolling fans of the show right back when they comment on your silhouette. What has it been like dealing with that running commentary since joining Drag Race?
I mean, honestly, I thought there were many other things about me that would be talked about after being on the show. I never knew that wearing a dress would be the hot topic. I was shocked and appalled — but also, for me, I’m strong-minded in everything that I want to wear. So even when I work with designers, they can tell me that I should do this or that, but the final decision is mine. I treat the people out there who critique it the same exact way; there’s nothing you can say or do that will change my mind from what my vision is at the end of the day. It may be the same silhouette, but the idea and concepts are totally different. If you don’t have the imagination to go past the silhouette, then that just goes to show that you are a very close-minded person. I owe them nothing, I owe them no explanation, and I will forever troll people. I do drag for me, and that’s all that matters. If you love it, then thank you.
Also. wearing a similar silhouette each time worked great for Bianca Del Rio, why shouldn’t it work for you?
Right? We’re in a new era of Drag Race, where every little detail has to be commented on by the fans, I swear. If you let it get to you, it will bring you down to the lowest. If you love what you do, then you’ll be fine.
Let’s talk about the challenge this week — as someone who interviews people for a living, I understand the difficulty of what you were being asked to do in this episode. What was going through your head when you were on the cooking show set with Frankie Grande?
So, here’s the thing, it was forever ago, so I barely remember [laughs]. I was probably nervous! No, I was trying to focus on making sure I was doing everything right — we had cue cards, we had questions, we had all of these things — while also wanting to be as natural as possible. You don’t want to come across as a robot! All that is easier said than done. So that’s what was going through my head, just me saying, “Be natural! Be fun! Make a pizza! Ask a question!”
We get to the runway — your Night of 1000 Beyoncés look was one of my favorites! This 2018 Global Citizen look was spot-on, and it looked fabulous on you! What was it about that look that made you want to do it?
I think that I could relate to that one the most — being a queen of color, I knew it would be great to bring this look she wore in South Africa to the runway. And I knew there were a lot of looks from Beyoncé that … wouldn’t be appropriate on some of the girls, let’s say. So I was like, “Let me be the one to take this route and not take something that a typical person could do.” Plus, I like drag! I love all of the feathers and the patterns on this outfit. Also, it was a change of silhouette!
You changed your silhouette, and look what happened.
Exactly! As soon as I changed the silhouette they were like, “Nope, you’re out.” I knew I should’ve worn that damn gown.
I don’t know if you were listening in the work room, but I need to know your thoughts on Sasha Colby’s theory abut being the inspiration for the persona of Sasha Fierce.
Oh my god. Listen, I think queer people have inspired a lot of people when it comes to fashion, hair, makeup and art. We are very inspiring people. That being said, I think that was delusion [laughs]. No, no, no, I love Sasha! And maybe it is true — after all, Sasha’s old! [laughs] `
Not to bring the mood down, but I know this has been a hard week for queens around the country after everything that’s been going on in Tennessee — how have you been dealing with the news?
I … don’t indulge in the news if I can help it. I know what’s going on, but when you indulge in things like that, you’re making yourself a part of that. They [Tennessee lawmakers] are saying this is a problem, and what I love to do is not a problem. I love to spread love, and it sucks that we are being targeted as a community and as people. But we have to continue to do what we love to do, and I hope we can stand up to this and make a change where it counts.
Well said. What can we expect to see next from you, Malaysia?
Well, a lot of the same silhouette, of course. No, but listen, I don’t think I took a loss, I think I took a win. Like I said in that talent show, “I’m a queen, I’m a queen, I’m a queen/ I’m the fattest and the baddest on the scene.” This is just the beginning.
The thing about Drag Race is that it’s only a glimpse that the audience gets to see. But now that they’ve gotten the glimpse, they’re gonna want to know more. I’m excited to show folks everything that they didn’t get to see.
Kelsea Ballerini made her Saturday Night Live debut on March 4, delivering a pair of heartbreaking songs from her new EP, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat.
For her first musical performance of the evening, the 29-year-old country singer confidently stepped onto the Studio 8H stage for an emotional delivery of “Blindsided,” a new track inspired by her recent divorce from singer-songwriter Morgan Evans.
Backed by a full band and donning a zebra patterned black jumpsuit, the three-time Grammy nominee stood amid a large white screen that featured a silhouetted dancer who appeared trapped. At the end of the song, Ballerini added a new verse that some speculate is a response her ex-husband’s post-divorce cut “Over For You.”
“Now you’re singin’ it loud on the radio like you’re the only heart that breaks/ You would’ve searched the whole world over? Yeah, sure, OK,” she sings.
Later in the show, Ballerini returned for a stunning performance of “Penthouse.” This time around, she wore a beautiful silky white gown and delivered the slow ballad in front of a large white piano.
“We played the part five nights, but we were never there on the weekends, baby,” she belted out.
Saturday’s SNL episode was hosted by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who also made his debut on the iconic NBC sketch comedy show.
Ballerini, who announced her divorce from Evans in August 2022, addressed her marriage’s dissolution on her recent six-song EP, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, which was released on Valentine’s Day. The project’s handful of songs are littered with details of the couple’s crumbling marriage and the emotional wreckage left in its wake. The EP was accompanied by a 20-minute short film.
Rolling Up the Welcome Mat also follows Ballerini’s 2022 album, Subject to Change, which reflects on her personal growth over the past few years.
Watch Ballerini’s SNL performances below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes as well.
Vanderpump Rules has focused largely on the drama-filled lives of Lisa Vanderpump’s employees since its debut on Bravo in 2013. But while these glamorous SUR-vice workers might be slinging drinks and bringing you fried goat cheese balls in between screaming matches and drunken rage texts, they’ve also been dishing up some mind-boggling but always entertaining musical moments.
It makes sense, if you think about it. Several members of the cast — including Scheana Shay and James Kennedy, for example — are in Los Angeles not just for modeling and acting jobs, but also to try to make it in the music industry. She’s “Good as Gold” as a singer (as far as she’s concerned), and he’s a relatively successful DJ with his “See You Next Tuesday” gigs at Sur.
And who can forget Tom Sandoval’s band Charles McMansion and its unforgettable (and somewhat naughty and 100 percent catchy “T.I.P” – that’s “Touch in Public”)? There’s also his newer project, Tom Sandoval and the Most Extras (the members of whom he pays just to attend band practice, as he revealed in season 10), which the reality star and TomTom partner has taken on the road while trying to launch his and best bud Tom Schwartz’s lounge, Schwartz and Sandy’s.
Yes, many of the cast’s musical endeavors – some fun, some great just to give viewers laughs — have fortunately been captured on camera over the seasons for posterity. From their music videos to live performances, here are the moments on the reality TV hit that we’re always happy to revisit.
Scheana Takes the Stage
Season one, episode five
Scheana’s first live performance at The Roxy in L.A. was … awkward. From the moment she came out on stage to sing “What I Like,” the aspiring singer was a bit stiff, then tried too hard to be sexy with her gyrations. Frenemy Stassi Schroeder even joked as she watched the performance, “I knew I should’ve been a hooker!”
Bonus: Eagle eyes may have spotted a familiar blonde providing backup vocals and dance moves on stage. It was none other than Ariana Madix, who was a recurring player in season two before becoming a main castmember — and Tom Sandoval’s girlfriend — in season three.
Watch the moment here.
Then Scheana Takes the Bar
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Season two, episode 14
At Scheana and now ex-husband Mike Shay’s engagement party, the SURver decided to put the spotlight on herself. She (very unsanitarily) hopped up on the bar in beyond skin-tight gold shorts and a white tank top to sing her song “Good As Gold.”
“She’s not going to waste an opportunity with an audience to debut her single,” pal Katie Maloney astutely pointed out. (Note: This would not be the only time that Scheana would perform the song on VPR.)
Meet Charles McMansion
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Season four, episode 19
Sandoval, ever the overachiever, filmed a music video for his band Charles McMansion’s first single, the infectiously catchy “T.I.P” (that’s “Touch in Public”). The bartender-model-actor turned business owner revealed during the episode that he — as usual — went over the top with his project, spending probably more than $10,000 on the well-produced video that also features girlfriend Ariana and their costar Lala Kent, who was not yet a regular in season four.
This Kinda Blows
Image Credit: Courtesy photo
Season six, episode five
Lala and James were back in the studio recording a new tune, and they invited Sandoval to add a little something extra with his trumpet. Unfortunately, it was not exactly the sexy vibe the duo had hoped for. As he was in the recording booth, Lala grimaced, while James just looked stunned.
Later, Lala described the … uhh … less than dulcet tones best in her confessional: “Sandoval’s trumpet playing reminds me of being in a pack of baby dolphins just learning to communicate for the first time.”
Cut!
Season six, episode 13
Lala was feeling a bit shady while telling James how her recording session went. It turns out that Lala had Scheana record some vocals for her since the two use the same studio, and to say the former SUR hostess was less than impressed would be putting it mildly. As Lala first told James, “Obviously, I’m going to cut her part.” She then said in her confessional, “I love Scheana with all my heart, but the girl is tone deaf!” (Scheana later fired back on Watch What Happens Live, calling Lala a crappy lyricist.)
Watch the moment here.
All Eyes on Lala
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Season six, episode 20
Lala showed the gang how it’s done when she performed “Boy” during her music showcase. She was confident, had a good groove, and thoroughly entertained the crowd — even Scheana. “I love watching Lala on stage. Don’t wanna say jealous, but it makes me want to get back in the recording studio,” the waitress confessed.
Oh, He Went There
Season seven, episode one
Never one to have much of a filter — especially when drunk — DJ James Kennedy aired some very dirty laundry while spinning for his SUR night, See You Next Tuesday. During his set, the self-proclaimed White Kanye decided to show off his freestylin’ skills and rapped, “I just got rich/ I may cop a black Wraith/ Everybody remember when Jax f–ked Faith?”
Cue the screeching turntable, because that little line — which was dropped while the now sober James was standing next to Brittany Cartwright — reminded the world of Jax Taylor’s infidelity while he was dating the Southern belle who is now his wife, and kicked off a whole new season of drama.
In the Closet
Season seven, episode nine
While most people were furious with him, James still had the support of the Toms — Sandoval and Schwartz — who invited him to DJ the Daily Mail party at the almost-but-not-quite-ready TomTom. The day of the event, there was no AC and the DJ booth was still not ready, so James had to spin his tunes from a windowless closet while sitting on packages of toilet paper.
An Unexpected Instrument
Season seven, episode 18
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhIkXRgFdA3
After waking up on the final day of their Mexican getaway, Schwartz recalled some of the shenanigans the gang indulged in the night before. Not surprisingly, their habit of doing a few too many tequila shots led to some eyebrow-raising antics, including Sandoval playing a penis flute and Schwartz being accosted with said instrument.
The clip was so hilarious that even Rihanna couldn’t help but laugh, captioning the video on her Instagram, “easily the best clip on tv.” (In the following week’s episode, Sandoval was once again playing a penis flute when James came by for a visit.)
“One More Time”? Maybe Not …
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Season eight, episode 18
Scheana enlisted new SURver Brett Caprioni to play the hunk in the music video for her new tune “One More Time,” about … well … doing it one more time. It turns out that the super steamy scenes which had him smacking the aspiring singer’s behind and her sticking her tongue in his ear — among other intimate acts — made him feel “violated,” as he put it. Scheana’s response? “It’s called acting, Brett.”
Jennifer Hudson welcomed Paula Abdul to her eponymous talk show on Friday (March 3) to look back on their time together on season three of American Idol.
Of course, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking back to that early season was the shocking moment Hudson was eliminated in seventh place after finding herself in the bottom three with fellow frontrunners LaToya London and eventual winner Fantasia Barrino.
“Oh my goodness, that was a moment,” the OG Idol judge said. “When you were eliminated, it was like the whole world was pissed. That’s true! I’m sure they come up to you, I mean, people still talk to me about, ‘God, that night Jennifer Hudson was eliminated.’ I go, ‘I know!’”
However, the “Straight Up” singer also revealed some words of encouragement she shared with the Idol hopeful immediately after her controversial ousting. “It was on Entertainment Tonight, and I said you, ‘You know, I have a feeling some amazing things are gonna happen to you.’ ‘Member, I said, ‘People that need to win, win. And the people that don’t need to win end up winning big time.’ And you did.”
Abdul may or may not have psychic powers, considering Hudson has gone on to become the first and so far only Idol alum to reach EGOT status following her 2021 Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding interactive media for a daytime program, and 2022 Tony Award as a producer of A Strange Loop. (She previously won an Academy Award for portraying Effie White in 2006’s Dreamgirls, and has taken home two different Grammys over the years.)
Watch Hudson’s trip down memory lane with Abdul below.
Even Morgan Wallen fans who did not score tickets to Friday evening’s (March 3) free pop-up album release concert in Nashville — in support of his new album, One Thing at a Time — will be able to watch the show. Wallen’s team has announced the show will be livestreamed across several social media platforms.
His acoustic show will stream live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT.
“Since there are no tickets left cause you guys got ‘em so quick yesterday I wanted to make sure all of you had a chance to watch,” Wallen told fans via social media.
Since there are no tickets left cause you guys got ‘em so quick yesterday I wanted to make sure all of you had a chance to watch.. so we will be live streaming the free @BrdgstoneArena show on all my socials tonight at 7:30pm CT pic.twitter.com/zZy4uo7T3x— morgan wallen (@MorganWallen) March 3, 2023
The pop-up show was announced Thursday (March 2), and the only way to obtain free tickets was to line up outside Bridgestone Arena. Lines quickly formed, wrapping around the venue in downtown Nashville, and all tickets to the show were gone within hours.
For fans who did not obtain tickets, there are four ways to watch it via livestream:
Wallen’s 36-track One Thing at a Time album features a blend of his country, alternative and hip-hop influences, and includes collaborations with Eric Church on “Man Made a Bar,” HARDY on “In the Bible,” and ERNEST on “Cowgirls.”
“This record represents the last few years of my life, the highs and the lows,” Wallen said via a press release. “It also brings together the musical influences that have shaped me as an artist – country, alternative and hip-hop. There are 36 songs on this album because we just kept exploring with fresh lyrics, music and production ideas and these are the songs that felt right to me. It was a blast to create, and I was so grateful to be back in the studio to lay this out for my fans.”
