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Season 3 of the modern reimagining of Ghostwriter is coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, and for the series, Tank and the Bangas delivered a glimmering cover of The Rolling Stones‘ 1967 hit “She’s a Rainbow.”
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“It was pretty amazing re-creating this classic with the people I love,” Tarriona “Tank” Ball shared with Billboard in an exclusive statement. “We hope that our version brings you closer to the vision of what the story is telling, and takes you on a journey you’ll never forget.”
Ghostwriter is a fresh take on the hit early ’90s series of the same name from Sesame Workshop. The all-new season 3 — which you can watch the trailer for here — will feature an entirely new cast and a special literary adventure. The season follows a group of friends who work to solve the mystery surrounding the unfinished business of a ghost who haunts a bookstore and releases fictional characters into the real world. While tackling the big mystery, the young heroes embark on six fun and quirky adventures with characters inspired by L. Frank Baum’s story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, author Pablo Cartaya’s ¡Leo! El Magnífico; Beverly Cleary’s novel The Mouse and the Motorcycle; E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web; Jewell Parker Rhodes’ tale Bayou Magic; and, of course, “She’s a Rainbow” — which highlights the character Rainbow, played by Sydney Kuhne.
The psychedelic track, written by The Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richard, was originally featured on the band’s 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request. The song peaked at No. 25 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Jan. 27, 1968.
Listen to Tank and the Bangas’ take on “She’s a Rainbow” below.
There are harmonies, and there’s the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love”.
The brothers Gibb put on a masterclass for their Saturday Night Fever ballad, a hit that logged three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart back in 1977.
The track has lost none of it’s luster, though tackle it at your peril.
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On Tuesday night’s (Oct. 18) episode of The Voice, Parijita Bastola and the Marilynds did just that with a Bee Gees “Battle.”
Coached by John Legend, both acts hit their smooth targets, creating a difficult choice for their mentor.
“I’ve worked with some duos on this show,” says Blake Shelton of Kasey and Lindsay Marilynd, and there’s always one person that’s a little ahead of the other.” Not this time. “It’s just so locked in together.”
Bastola, the 17-year-old Nepalese-American hopeful, impressed the country star with her “unique” and “powerful” voice.
Camila Cabello likened the Marilynds’ harmonies to “dripping a vanilla candle into my ear,” but the teen, with her vocal mastery at such a young age, is at another level. “It seems effortless and you have such a gorgeous voice.”
Legend had a decision to make. The Marilynds, the pop-country duo, both from Maryland, “you all just leaned into those harmonies,” he says. “It was flawless. The quality of your execution today, it was just really, really strong.”
Bastola, however, is a step ahead. “There’s something where you just feel like you’re connected to who you are. And it’s just amazing that that amount of self-awareness, self-knowledge, self-possession is coming from someone so young. And your voice is just phenomenal. It feels so inviting.”
It was a hard decision, so hard that Legend went with Bastola, and used his only “Save” on the Marilynds, keeping them all in the family – and the competition. Everyone wins.
Watch below.
The Voice‘s season 22 lineup continues to be whittled down during the Battle Rounds, which saw contestants Cara Brindisi and Jay Allen going head to head on Monday night’s (Oct. 17) episode for a spot on coach Gwen Stefani‘s team. The two performed a stunning duet of Stevie Nicks and Don Henley‘s 1981 track, “Leather and Lace.”
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After Brindisi and Allen took turns singing pairs of lines from the song — which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 — the duo employed a fitting country twang for the track that soared as the chorus rolled around.
“Lovers forever, face to face/ My city, your mountains/ Stay with me, stay/ I need you to love me, I need you today/ Give to me your leather/ Take from me my lace,” the pair harmonized, with Brindisi going for a softer tone and Allen opting for a stronger belt.
John Legend started off the commentary. “Cara, you were like so perfect. I love when you were whispering. I love when you were belted a little bit more and it just relaxed me,” he said. “Jay, the power of your voice, the raspiness … it was just a little more compelling to me, so I pick Jay.”
Blake Shelton also agreed with Legend’s reasoning, and brought in his country expertise into this critique. “I feel like Jay has the more Stevie Nicks approach to his vocal, and you definitely stepped into that role. And man, it sounded good,” he said, adding that he picked Jay as the winner of the battle.
Stefani then stepped up to the plate to give a decision on who to keep for her team. “One of the things that Jay needed to work on, his voice is so powerful that it was coming out too much, and I’m so proud of you because you took the advice and went to another level. Cara, your voice is so soothing and there’s a confidence that has to come with that,” she told the pair and noted that her decision was a difficult one before ultimately picking Brindisi to keep.
After extending a gracious thank you to the coaches, Allen headed off stage thinking he was headed back to Nashville, but was later saved by Stefani in a split-second decision. “Well, honestly that was such a hard one for me and it was so confusing because I knew I wanted to save Jay,” she said, before Shelton slammed down his buzzer and cut in with, “What if somebody wanted to steal Jay?”
Citing his near 10-year stint in Nashville, his love of country music and Shelton’s status in the genre, Allen switched over to the country star’s team.
Watch Cara Brindisi and Jay Allen’s Voice battle below.
The woman who is believed to have inspired beloved Mamá Coco, the grandmother in Pixar animated musical film Coco, has died. María Salud Ramírez Caballero was 109 years old when she passed away Oct. 16 at her home in Michoacán, Mexico. Her death was confirmed by Michoacán’s Secretary of Tourism, Roberto Monroy, who on Twitter referred to Ramírez Caballero as “a tireless woman and life example who inspired this beloved character that went around the world.”
Pixar has not formally acknowledged that Ramírez Caballero was the inspiration for Mamá Coco, but the similarity between the real life woman and the animated character was undeniable. The similarities led many over the years to declare she had indeed been the template for Mamá Coco, and tourists were known to go to her home and take photographs with her next to a Coco poster.
Ramírez Caballero, a potter by trade, was born and died in the small town of Santa Fe de la Laguna, in Michoacán, one of Mexico’s many beautiful and colorful small towns. And like the film’s Mamá Coco, had children (three), grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Her picturesque hometown is very close to Lake Pátzcuaro, one of Mexico’s best-known destinations for Day of the Dead, the crux of Coco. In the 2017 film, a young boy named Miguel goes into the land of the dead on Nov. 1 – Día de los Muertos — to find his great grandfather, father to Mamá Coco.
Ramírez Caballero is expected to be buried Tuesday in her hometown.
Mamá Coco was voiced by Mexican actress Ana Ofelia Murguía, who is now 88 years old.
The gloves are off, the Battles round is upon us on NBC’s The Voice, and the remaining contestants are wearing their big boy/girl pants. It’s no time for a slip-up.
On Monday night (Oct. 17), Grace Bello went head-to-head with Reina Ley for a performance of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” a timeless gem that went all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1984.
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Ley, a thirteen-year-old hopeful from San Tan Valley, Arizona, is a member of Team Camila Cabello, catching the Cuba-born pop star’s attention in the Blind Auditions with a mariachi song, “Cielito Lindo”.
Bello, a 21-year-old who raised in Cibolo, Texas, and now based in Lacey, Washington, announced herself on the talent show with an audition of Justin Bieber’s “Ghost,” a performance that was rewarded with a four-chair turn and a spot on Team Cabello.
With the lights a little brighter in the Battles, and the pressure ratcheted up a notch, it was Ley who impressed.
“Reina, your voice is unbelievable,” Gwen Stefani enthuses. “I was shocked. Your tone is so warm and deep and rich, and I could feel you, that you understood what the lyric was doing and saying.”
John Legend remarked on how “secure” and “confident” she was in the melody and the moment. “I was really impressed.”
Blake Shelton cut to the chase. “I wish you could get in your head how super-talented you are,” the country star says. “I just felt like you’ve lost some confidence at some point between the Blind Auditions and right now. You seem scared up there, which, by the way, is ridiculous because you’re so good.”
Whereas Reina, he continues, “she’s 13 and she doesn’t even realize how much pressure this should be… She just came out here and did her thing and owned it and because of that your voice just came through stronger.”
The pressure then fell on Cabello, who had a decision to make. “This is just a sucky situation because I have two really talented people,” she remarks. “I don’t think one was better than the other. If I had a ‘Save,’ neither of you would be going home.”
Just before the axe fell, she added, “I hate this so much. This is the most terrible I’ve felt literally in all of these Battles.”
There could be only one winner, and that was Ley.
Watch below.
https://www.billboard.com/artist/cyndi-lauper/
ABC is rounding out the cast of its live Beauty and the Beast special.
The Dec. 15 special, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the film’s best picture nomination — the first animated feature to earn that honor — has added Martin Short, David Alan Grier, Shania Twain, Rizwan Manji, Jon Jon Briones and Leo Abelo Perry to its cast. They join an ensemble led by Grammy winner H.E.R. as Belle and Josh Groban as the Beast; Joshua Henry also stars, and Rita Moreno will narrate the special.
Only Murders in the Building star Short will play Lumiere. Tony winner Grier (A Solider’s Play, The Patient) will play Cogsworth, while Grammy winner and country music star Twain will play Mrs. Potts and Perry her son, Chip. The news of Twain’s casting comes less than a week after Angela Lansbury — who voiced Mrs. Potts in the 1991 animated film — died at age 96. Manji (Schitt’s Creek) plays Gaston’s (Henry) sidekick, LeFou, and Briones (Ratched) will play Belle’s father, Maurice.
“I am unbelievably honoured… and excited… and all of the emotions(!!) to announce that I will be joining the cast of #BeautyAndTheBeast30th to play the part of my favourite character – Mrs. Potts,” Twain wrote Monday (Oct. 17) on Instagram. “And of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t pay tribute to the iconic Angela Lansbury, I mean she IS Mrs. Potts and the reason why this character is so beloved. To follow in the foot steps of such an icon is a huge honour and I hope to do the part justice.”
The special, which ABC ordered in July, will feature a mix of live action and animation and new musical performances along with sets and costumes inspired by the movie. Jon M. Chu (In the Heights, Wicked) is executive producing, and Grammys and Super Bowl halftime show helmer Hamish Hamilton will direct.
Done + Dusted is producing the special with Walt Disney Television Alternative and Electric Somewhere. Caitlin Foito, Hamilton, Raj Kapoor, Richard Kraft and Katy Mullan also executive produce. H.E.R. serves as producer.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Kelly Clarkson kicked off a new week of The Kelly Clarkson Show with a very special Kellyoke featuring Dwayne Johnson! The twosome opened the Monday (Oct. 17) daytime talk show by duetting on Loretta Lynn‘s 1967 classic “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’.”
“An extra special #Kellyoke duet with Dwayne @therock Johnson in memory of the late, great @LorettaLynn,” the show’s Twitter account announced that morning.
“No, don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind/ Just stay out there, on the town and see what you can find/ ‘Cause if you want that kind of love, well, you don’t need none of mine/ So don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind,” the pair sing in unison over the song’s honky-tonk instrumentation. (During the performance, Clarkson also rebuffed a playful kiss from the movie star as she sang, “You come in, kissin’ on me/ It happens every time.”)
Released off the late country icon’s ninth solo studio album, “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’” earned the Coal Miner’s Daughter her very first No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, a feat she would replicate 15 more times throughout her accomplished career. It was later recorded by Tammy Wynette on her 1967 album Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad, and also covered by Gretchen Wilson on the 2010 LP Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn.
Johnson may be known for his acting, but he also notched his own Billboard Hot 100 entry back in 2016 when “You’re Welcome” from Disney’s Moana debuted at No. 83 on the all-genre chart.
Last week, Clarkson also welcomed Sam Smith to join her for a Kellyoke duet of her own 2004 smash “Breakaway” before covering Olivia Rodrigo’s “Traitor,” “Whitney Houston’s “Queen of the Night” and Alec Benjamin’s “Let Me Down Slowly” featuring Alessia Cara over her next four shows.
Watch Clarkson and Johnson pay tribute to Lynn below.
Robbie Coltrane, the veteran comic and actor known for his star turns in the British crime series Cracker and the Harry Potter movie franchise, died Friday (Oct. 14), The Hollywood Reporter has learned. He was 72.
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Coltrane’s agent Belinda Wright called him a “unique talent,” whom she’ll remember as “an abidingly loyal client.”
“As well as being a wonderful actor, he was forensically intelligent and brilliantly witty, and after 40 years of being proud to be to called his agent, I shall miss him,” Wright added of Coltrane in a statement.
The boisterous and decidedly eccentric Scotsman, who began his career in comedy and theater, also commanded the screen in two James Bond films during an illustrious career on both sides of the Atlantic.
Coltrane was born Anthony Robert McMillan on March 30, 1950, in Glasgow, Scotland, as the son of a doctor and a teacher. After graduating from Glasgow Art School, he continued his studies in art at Moray House College of Education in Edinburgh.
But as his attempts to become an artist failed to pan out, Coltrane took up stand-up comedy in Edinburgh clubs. And he changed his last name in honor of the jazz legend John Coltrane as he turned to acting in London.
Coltrane’s early TV credits include Flash Gordon, Blackadder and Keep It in the Family. His other comedy credits included series like A Kick Up the Eighties, The Comic Strip and Alfresco as he became a mainstay on British TV screens.
Coltrane’s breakout role was playing Dr. Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald, an anti-social criminal psychologist with a gift for solving crimes, in Jimmy McGovern’s Cracker series, which ran over 25 episodes between 1993 and 2006.
Coltrane won three consecutive BAFTA best television actor awards for that role, sharing a record for most wins in a row.
That performance led Coltrane to roles in two James Bond films, playing Valentin Zukovsky in GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. But most know Coltrane from his other big supporting role: Rubeus Hagrid, the giant groundskeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the Harry Potter films, starting with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling took to social media to remember Coltrane, writing, “I’ll never know anyone remotely like Robbie again. He was an incredible talent, a complete one off, and I was beyond fortunate to know him, work with him and laugh my head off with him. I send my love and deepest condolences to his family, above all his children.”
Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter alongside Coltrane’s Hagrid, said in a statement, “Robbie was one of the funniest people I’ve met and used to keep us laughing constantly as kids on the set. I’ve especially fond memories of him keeping our spirits up on Prisoner of Azkaban, when we were all hiding from the torrential rain for hours in Hagrid’s hut and he was telling stories and cracking jokes to keep morale up. I feel incredibly lucky that I got to meet and work with him and very sad that he’s passed. He was an incredible actor and a lovely man.”
Emma Watson, who played Hermoine Granger in Potter said in a statement shared on her Instagram story, “Robbie was like the most fun uncle I’ve ever had, but most of all, he was deeply caring and compassionate towards me as a child and an adult. His talent was so immense that it made sense he played a giant — he could fill ANY space with his brilliance. Robbie, if I ever get to be so kind as you were to me on a film set I promise I’ll do it in your name and memory. Know how much I adore and admire you. I’ll really miss your sweetness, your nicknames, your warmth, your laughs, and your hugs. You made us a family. Know you were that to us.”
Other Potter stars including Tom Felton, Bonnie Wright, Matthew Lewis and more also paid tribute to the late actor on social media.
Others sharing their memories included Hugh Laurie, who wrote on Twitter, “I used to ride with Robbie Coltrane between Manchester and London in his sort-of-restored MGA. I’d roll him cigarettes while he discoursed on the ways of the world, and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed or learned so much in my life.”
Stephen Fry said, “I first met Robbie Coltrane almost exactly 40 years ago. I was awe/terror/love struck all at the same time. Such depth, power & talent: funny enough to cause helpless hiccups & honking as we made our first TV show, Alfresco. Farewell, old fellow. You’ll be so dreadfully missed.”
Coltrane penned an autobiography, Coltrane in a Cadillac, and also starred in the TV series of the same name in 1993, where he drove across America from Los Angeles to New York City in a classic 1951 Cadillac.
Coltrane is survived by a sister, Annie Rae, his children, Spencer and Alice, and their mother, Rhona Gemmell.
The family, Wright said, “would like to thank the medical staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, Scotland for their care and diplomacy.”
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Kelly Clarkson kicked off the Friday (Oct. 14) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show with a beautiful and mellow rendition of Alec Benjamin‘s2018 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Let Me Down Slowly,” featuring Alessia Cara, for “Kellyoke.”
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The American Idol winner looked stunning under blue lights, rocking a black T-shirt, cheetah-print skirt and black boots while singing her heart out with her piano player in the background.
“Could you find a way to let me down slowly?” Clarkson sang. “A little sympathy, I hope you can show me/ If you wanna go, then I’ll be so lonely/ If you’re leavin’, baby, let me down slowly.”
Clarkson earned a standing ovation from her impressed crowd for her powerhouse vocals on the cover.
“Let Me Down Slowly” appeared on Benjamin’s 2018 mixtape Narrate for You and is the singer/songwriter’s lone Hot 100 hit, peaking at No. 79. The Arizona native said the song illustrates his first relationship. “I wanted to talk about one moment where I felt especially vulnerable, which is something I don’t think a lot of people talk about,” he told Billboard in 2018.
Benjamin collaborated with Cara after the songstress said she liked the song on Twitter. “I sent her my phone number. I said, ‘Want to do a verse?’ Two days later, she sent me a voice memo she recorded at home,” Benjamin said. “You can record her voice on an iPhone and it sounds as good as anything. She added a lot of really cool harmonies, and her perspective brought new meaning to the song.”
Watch Clarkson’s “Let Me Down Slowly” cover on The Kelly Clarkson Show below.
There’s a killer on the loose in this week’s episode of Atlanta.
Titled “Crank Dat Killer,” the season’s sixth episode revolves around Soulja Boy’s 2007 hit single and dance craze “Crank That (Soulja Boy).” That song, which earned the rapper his first and only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, is played at the very beginning of the episode — just before Young Thug’s “Tick Tock” is heard over the opening credits. Later, when Earn reveals that the eponymous Crank Dat Killer — a serial killer operating in the Atlanta area — preys on people who have previously recorded themselves dancing to the song, Al remembers that he, too, made a video to the hit and could be the killer’s next victim. He then calls Soulja Boy, whose cameo is backed by the rapper’s 2021 song “Whip It,” to ease his nerves.
Meanwhile, Earn and Darius try to buy a sold-out pair of sneakers from a local reseller who it turns out is not interested in taking their money. K-Ci & JoJo’s “All My Life” soundtracks that encounter, as the two men put aside their dignity for the shoes.
As Atlanta has evolved, music synchs have played a big role in the overall scene-setting of the show. Throughout the seasons, music supervisors Jen Malone and Fam Udeorji have chosen a variety of songs by old and new artists from various genres including OutKast, D4L, Gunna, Troye Sivan, Dua Lipa, Kodak Black, Jennifer Lopez and many more.
Atlanta airs on FX Thursday nights at 10 p.m. and is available to watch on Hulu the following day. Check out all of the songs used in season four so far below.
Episode Six, “Crank Dat Killer”
Soulja Boy, “Crank That (Soulja Boy)”
Young Thug, “Tick Tock”
Soulja Boy, “Whip It”
K-Ci & JoJo, “All My Life”
Episode Five, “Work Ethic!”
Anita Baker, “Sweet Love”
Janelle Monae, “I Like That”
Little Simz feat. Obongjayar, “Point and Kill”
Coco & Clair Clair, “Wishy Washy”
Episode Four, “Light Skinned-ed”
Dorothy Norwood, “Somebody Prayed For Me”
Chicago Mass Choir, “God Is My Everything”
Yolanda Adams, “The Battle is the Lord’s”
8Ball & MJG, “Top of the World”
The Ebony’s, “I’ll Try”
The Chi Lites, “I Want to Pay You Back (For Loving Me)”
Fivio Foreign & Polo G, “Bop It”
Gil Scott-Heron, “Save the Children”
Episode Three, “Born to Die”
Megan thee Stallion, “Money Good”
Al Green, “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”
Kodak Black, “Let Me Know”
Episode Two, “The Homeliest Horse”
Ciara, “Ooh Baby”
Japanese Breakfast, “Kokomo, IN”
Young Stoner Life, T-Shyne, Lil Keed feat. Big Sean, “Warrior”
PinkPantheress, “Attracted To You”
Rick James, “Cold Blooded”
Episode One, “The Most Atlanta”
Chief Keef, “B—h Where”
Deborah Cox, “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here“
Pell, “Tew Much”
Sly & The Family Stone, “Runnin’ Away”
