State Champ Radio TV/Film
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Ever watched an animated movie and heard a voice that you couldn’t quite place? That could have been because a character — be it a blue-haired troll or a singing crocodile — was actually played by someone whose tone you’re much more used to hearing in song.
Over the years, dozens of celebrity musicians have added a whimsical film project or two to their resumés by lending their certified platinum voices to colorful 2D characters. There was Taylor Swift in The Lorax, Rihanna in Home, Beyoncé in Epic, Katy Perry in Smurfs, Selena Gomez in the Hotel Transylvania franchise, and Nicki Minaj and Jennifer Lopez in Ice Age. At this point, it’s practically a trend. No family-feature film made by the folks at DreamWorks, Illumination or Disney Animation Studios feels complete these days without at least one cameo from a star singer-songwriter, whether it’s queen of pop Madonna or a hip-hop icon such Snoop Dogg. (They were actually both in the same movie, but more on that later.)
In some cases, these guest musicians become part of a voice cast simply to try out something new. In others, they contribute their own expertise to the project by working on an animated film’s soundtrack — oftentimes to great success. One of Justin Timberlake‘s best-charting songs, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” was written for Trolls 2, in which he also starred, and took home the Oscar for best original song in 2017.
Keep reading to see which of your favorite musicians have starred in an animated film below:
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Suspect someone’s lying? Natasha Lyonne is sniffing out the truth in Poker Face, a 10-episode series premiering on Peacock on Thursday (Jan. 26).
Lyonne plays Charlie Cale, a casino worker who can tell if a person is lying by looking at their face. After discovering her new talent for spotting lies, Charlie takes her crime-solving skills on the road.
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Lyonne, who previously starred in Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black and Russian Doll, revealed that Charlie is inspired by Jeff Bridges’ character, The Dude, from The Big Lebowski. Speaking to the Associated Press, Lyonne described the character as “a person a little bit set back who’s kind of got sun on their face.”
“I’m usually more of a city slicker and someone who avoids getting hit by taxis and runs down in a subway,” she said.
Lyonne serves as executive producer on the mystery-of-the-week series created and executive produced by Rian Jonhson, the man behind Knives Out. The native New Yorker reunites with her OITNB co-star Dascha Polanco, who plays Charlie’s friend Natalie in Poker Face (Polanco also appeared in Russian Doll).
Adrien Brody, Benjamin Bratt, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Stephanie Hsu, David Castañeda, Lil Rel Howery, Jameela Jamil, Ellen Barkin and Chloë Sevigny are some of the series’ guest stars.
Maya Rudolph, Ram Bergman, Nena Rodrigue, Nora Zuckerman, Lilla Zuckerman and Iain B. MacDonald are co-executive producers. Keep reading for details on how to stream Poker Face from anywhere.
How to Watch Poker Face Online for Free
The first four episodes of Poker Face dropped on Peacock on Thursday. Subscribers can stream the show at no additional charge.
Not subscribed? Good news! Peacock is currently offering a discount on its annual plan. Join today and pay just $29.99 (regular $49.99). This limited deal ends on Feb. 7.
Peacock Limited Offer
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If you’d rather pay monthly, Peacock starts at $4.99 for ad-supported streaming and $9.99 to watch commercial free. You can access Peacock on your TV, computer, smart phone and other devices (use ExpressVPN to stream Peacock internationally).
From popular movies and beloved TV shows to Peacock Originals such as Poker Face, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, The Traitors, The Real Housewives: Miami, Sick and Bel-Air, Peacock is home to thousands of hours of bingeworthy programming.
You’ll also find episodes of Yellowstone, The Office, That ’70s Show, Days of Our Lives and other cult hits along with daily news, sports and pop culture content, kid-friendly content, Spanish-language series and live sporting events such as WWE’s Royal Rumble streaming only on Peacock this Sunday (Jan. 28) at 8 p.m. ET.
Watch the trailer for Poker Face below.
The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal will make his Saturday Night Live hosting debut on the Feb. 4 episode of the show, which will feature musical guest Coldplay. While the actor who stars in the new HBO drama based on the wildly popular action-adventure video game as well as Disney+’s The Mandalorian will be taking the stage at 8H for the first time, next month’s performance will mark Coldplay’s seventh go-round on SNL.
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The pair join a 2023 run that has already included White Lotus star Aubrey Plaza and Sam Smith last weekend and Creed‘s Michael Jordan and Lil Baby preparing to rock SNL this weekend.
Coldplay recently announced a new run of West Coast shows in September on their massive “Music of the Spheres” world tour while the first two episodes of HBO’s apocalyptic pandemic drama has been a ratings juggernaut, with Sunday’s second chapter up 22% (5.7 million viewers) over the 4 million fans who tuned in for the debut.
Smith turned heads last weekend with a dramatic pair of performances of songs from their upcoming album. For their third appearance as an SNL musical guest, the singer unleashed unforgettable live performances of chart-topper “Unholy” and the title track from their soon-to-be-released fourth album, Gloria, due out Friday (Jan. 27).
Smith opened with their smash hit “Unholy,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 2022. Donning an extravagant fluffy pink dress, Smith belted out the opening lines of the song before sneaking in Kim Petras, who is featured on the track, to assist with her verse. For their second performance, the singer surprised with a guest appearance from Oscar-nominated actress Sharon Stone, who lounged on a gold-covered couch while Smith delivered their recently dropped single “Gloria.”
The bizarre Lea Michele illiteracy rumor is one for the history books. And after her former Scream Queens costar Emma Roberts’ recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the rumor is sure to continue.
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Just a couple days ahead of the premiere of her new film Maybe I Do, Roberts joined host Andy Cohen and Kelly Ripa on WWHL Tuesday (Jan. 24), where she was asked to share what she thinks is the “biggest misconception” about the Glee star in a fan-submitted video.
Cohen was the first to bring up the reading rumors, which have been circulating for years and have newly resurfaced following Michele’s recent success playing Fanny Brice in Broadway’s Funny Girl revival. Roberts laughed off the question, but never actually stated firmly that she believes the rumors to be false.
“I mean, we’ve not been in a book club together,” she joked.
Then, Ripa chimed in with, “Why is reading so important, godd–n it,” to which Roberts simply shouted, “Guys! No.”
Michele herself has addressed the illiteracy rumors a few times, both jokingly and seriously. In September, she posted a TikTok poking fun at her supposed inability to read social media comments, and prior to that, she brushed off the gossip by telling The New York Times, “I went to Glee every single day; I knew my lines every single day.”
“And then there’s a rumor online that I can’t read or write? It’s sad. It really is,” she added. “I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case.”
In other news, Roberts also chatted with Cohen and Ripa about getting to see Michele perform in Funny Girl in October. “I was crying at the end,” she gushed. “I’m just so happy for her, she’s so down to earth and so talented. She just deserves everything she’s getting with all the Funny Girl praise and I couldn’t be happier. Truly.”
Watch Emma Roberts talk about Lea Michele below:
After its synch in HBO’s new series The Last of Us, Depeche Mode’s ‘80s hit “Never Let Me Down Again” blazes to No. 1 on Billboard’s LyricFind U.S. and LyricFind Global charts dated Jan. 28.
The LyricFind Global and LyricFind U.S. charts rank the fastest momentum-gaining tracks in lyric-search queries and usages globally and in the U.S., respectively, provided by LyricFind. The Global chart includes queries from all countries, including the U.S. The company is the world’s leader in licensed lyrics, with data provided by more than 5,000 publishers and utilized by more than 100 services, including Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, Microsoft, SoundHound and iHeartRadio.
“Down” reigns following its appearance in the series premiere of the HBO show (based on the video game of the same name), which premiered Jan. 15.
According to LyricFind, lyric searches and usages for “Down” zoomed 182% globally and 999% in the U.S.
Thanks to the synch, the song also found its way onto Billboard’s Alternative Digital Song Sales and Rock Digital Song Sales charts at Nos. 7 and 18, respectively. In the Jan. 13-19 tracking week, the song earned 1,000 downloads, up 1,199% from a negligible amount the previous period, according to Luminate.
It also saw a significant stream boost: 552,000 official on-demand U.S. streams Jan. 13-19, a 210% gain from Jan. 6-12.
“Down” reached No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. It can be found on 1987 album Music for the Masses, which peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard 200.
Paw-some news! Kim Kardashian is joining the cast of Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie along with her two eldest children, North and Saint West.
Paramount Pictures unveiled the cast of the animated sequel to 2021’s Paw Patrol: The Movie — which also includes Kristen Bell, Christian Convery, McKenna Grace, Lil Rel Howery, James Marsden, Serena Williams, Taraji P. Henson, Marsai Martin and Ron Pardo — in an Instagram post on Wednesday (Jan. 25). “Who’s ready for another PAWsome adventure on the big screen?” the studio captioned the post before revealing the film’s Oct. 13 theatrical release date.
North and Saint weren’t included in the big announcement, but the two elementary schoolers are listed among the cast on the movie’s official IMDb page. While the reality star will reprise her role as Delores the poodle, E! News reports that North will voice a character and Saint’s role will be a “cameo” of some sort.
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie will serve as the first major movie roles for both North and Saint, though the siblings are, of course, more than used to be in front of the cameras on their famous family’s two reality shows, Hulu’s The Kardashians and its E! ancestor Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
Just after the Thanksgiving holiday, Kardashian finally settled her divorce from the kids’ father, Kanye West, nearly two years after she first filed to dissolve the marriage in early 2021. And earlier this month, she hopped on TikTok with North to dance it out to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” — a rather surprising song choice given the Skims co-founder and Kanye’s rather rocky history with the pop superstar.
Check out the announcement of Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie below.
Lady Gaga just got to dance, dance, dance with her hands, hands, hands above her head, head, head to one of her older songs playing on the radio, and it’s all thanks to Netflix’s Wednesday. After a massive dance trend using Bad Romance deep cut “Bloody Mary” took off on TikTok following the show’s release, the song has been receiving mainstream airplay for the first time, more than a decade after its release — and Gaga is tuning in.
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In a new TikTok, the 36-year-old pop star captured on camera the moment she spontaneously heard “Bloody Mary” on the radio while riding in her car. “We’re on the radio!” she cheers in the clip, before filming herself singing along to her own song.
In text layered over the video, she wrote, “WHEN YOUR SONG FROM 2011 IS A 2023 SMASH.”
“Driving home from set 🃏❤️ my song came on the radio 😭,” she captioned the TikTok, hinting with her emoji choices that “set” indicates the upcoming Joker film, in which she recently snagged a starring role.
Ever since TikTok users began pairing a sped-up version of “Bloody Mary” to a viral scene from Wednesday, in which leading lady Jenna Ortega shows off her unorthodox moves at a school dance, the track has experienced a commercial renaissance. Despite being released back in 2011, the song just made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this month, and this week reached a new peak at No. 57. (The original dance scene in Wednesday actually features The Cramps’ 1981 classic “Goo Goo Muck,” which also got a nice bump after the series debuted.)
Gaga herself engaged with the show’s hype in early January, tweeting, “Slay Wednesday!” and making a Wednesday-inspired TikTok of her own.
Watch Lady Gaga react to “Bloody Mary” getting radio airplay below:
Get ready for dreams to come true next month when American Idol returns for its 21st season. In a Las Vegas-themed teaser tweet on Wednesday (Jan. 25), judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan were joined by host Ryan Seacrest as the quartet posed next to a giant slot machine to announce that the prime time singing competition will be back on your screens starting Feb. 19.
The ABC series promo promises “the best is yet to come” and in her twist on the announcement, Perry — who, of course, is in the midst of her Vegas “Play” residency — wrote, “American Idol has been making dreams come true for 21 years, you think we’re not gonna go BIG?!” alongside slot machine, music note and dice emoji.
The 2022 season was won by Kentucky country singer Noah Thompson, who beat out runner-up HunterGirl. Thompson, who said he ended up on the show because a friend signed him up, posted a tribute to the viewers who supported him following his win, writing, “Had a hard time making this post because I truly couldn’t find the words to say.. I was In complete shock in this moment and I still am and I probably always will be! Thank you all for giving me this opportunity, thank you for everyone who voted, thank you guys so much for everything!! I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you all so thank you guys so so much. I’m looking forward to continuing this journey and seeing where this thing goes. Love all of you all.”
Thompson’s just dropped the video for his new single, “Make You Rich,” this week.
Check out the Idol teasers below.
American Idol has been making dreams come true for 21 years, you think we’re not gonna go BIG?! 🎰🎶 Roll the 🎲 with us, the season premiere is Feb. 19 on ABC! ✨ pic.twitter.com/3lQlGWKjcJ— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) January 25, 2023
As the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, Riley Keough has rock in her DNA. The Terminal List star proves it in the first trailer for the upcoming Amazon Prime Video show Daisy Jones & The Six, a limited series in which Keough plays Jones alongside the rest of the Six — Sam Claflin, Suki Waterhouse, Will Harrison, Josh Whitehouse and Sebastian Chacon — in a story about a fictional 1970s band whose meteoric rise to fame crashed and burned after a sold-out show at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
The show catches up with the group decades later as they finally agree to sit for interviews to tell the real story of what caused their blow-up. The trailer opens with Keough’s Jones slowly walking to the stage as an unseen crowd shouts her name, intercut with images of hordes of fans mobbing the group at the airport and Jones doing a dramatic spin on stage in a gauzy, butterfly-like top that will give viewers some serious Stevie Nicks vibes.
“Look, I know that I said I would tell you everything, but how much of everything do you really wanna know,” Jones says to an interviewer years later. With the urgent first single, “Regret Me,” swelling up, the trailer then cuts to a montage of the group on their way to the top, touring in an old 1970s microbus, playing a gig in the desert, laying down tracks in the recording studio and then falling apart in slow motion.
The limited series from Amazon Studios and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine is based on the 2019 New York Times bestselling novel that was optioned by the actresses’ media company a year before it even hit shelves. According to a description, “the group became a band both on-screen and off – with some of the multi-hyphenates learning their character’s instrument for the very first time during production, and Keough and Claflin lending their vocals to each track.”
The series was directed by Grammy-winning songwriter/producer Blake Mills (Bob Dylan, Fiona Apple) and it features songs co-written by Marcus Mumford, Phoebe Bridgers and Jackson Browne, with additional production from producer Tony Berg and instrumental help from performers in Rilo Kiley, The Who, Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, David Bowie, Elton John, Jeff Beck, The Wallflowers, and others.
“Creating the library of music for Daisy Jones and The Six was an experience I’ll never forget,” said Mills in a statement. “I am grateful that, among other things, it afforded me an opportunity to collaborate with so many of my peers, and also some of my heroes.”
Atlantic Records will release the 11-track debut album from the group, Aurora, on March 3 (the same day the show premieres), including the roaring country rock lead single, “Regret Me.” The song sung by Keough’s Jones and her bandmate Billy Dunne (Claflin) was “written” by the star-crossed pair in the 1970s for Aurora and released on their fictional record label, Ellemar Records.
Watch the trailer and listen to “Regret Me” below.
Don’t go sneaking up behind Michael B. Jordan. There may still be a few days left until the 35-year-old actor is set to make his Saturday Night Live hosting debut this weekend, but there’s already been some collateral damage behind the scenes, as captured in a hilarious new teaser video posted Wednesday (Jan. 25).
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In the video, Jordan — who plays heavyweight boxing champion Adonis Creed in the Creed films — is shown admiring the SNL stage he’ll conquer this Saturday (Jan. 28). When featured player Michael Longfellow walks up behind him and takes the actor by surprise, Jordan swiftly turns around and punches the comedian in the face not once, but twice.
“Jesus B. Christ!” shouts Longfellow, clutching his nose.
Jordan, apologizing profusely, explains that the punches are “muscle memory” from his role in the Rocky spin-offs.
“I can’t have a broken nose,” Longfellow says. “I was hired for my looks, not my talent.”
“I know how that feels,” Jordan earnestly replies.
It was first announced that the star would host the sketch show Jan. 28 at the beginning of the month, along with news that Lil Baby will serve as the night’s musical performer. “New year, new shows!!” tweeted SNL‘s official account Jan. 5
Last weekend, it was Sam Smith and surprise guest Kim Petras who took on the stage, performing their Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash duet “Unholy,” with Aubrey Plaza serving as host.
Watch Michael B. Jordan get a little too ramped up for his upcoming hosting duties in the new SNL teaser above.
