TV/Film
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Ariana Grande is once again addressing how her speaking voice has changed in recent months, this time pointing out that male performers are rarely met with the same criticism she’s received for embodying her role as Glinda in the upcoming Wicked films.
While appearing as a guest on the Tuesday (July 9) episode of Evan Ross Katz’s Shut Up Evan podcast, the pop star opened up about her decision in June to explain why the sound of her voice sometimes changes. After a clip of her abruptly switching tones on Penn Badgley’s Podcrushed went viral last month, she’d commented on TikTok that she’d been “speaking like this for two years” on the set of the upcoming Wicked films and noted that using a higher register is better for her vocal health.
And on Katz’s show, Grande went into even more detail. “I did just spend a long time playing a character every single day and training my voice to do different things,” she said of her tenure as Glinda opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba. “The voice is in the body, it’s an instrument, and muscle memory is a real thing. That’s a normal thing for people who, it’s their job to transform.”
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The “Yes, And?” singer went on to marvel at how men in Hollywood are often praised when their characters carry over into their real-life personas, whereas she’s been made fun of online for the same thing. “You see male actors — sure, people make jokes here and there as well about everybody who experiences something like this — but it’s always after the fact that they’re like, ‘Oh, wow, how dedicated to his craft. What an amazing transformation! He’s a brilliant performer!’” she said. “And God forbid I sneeze like Glinda.”
“I had a job to do,” Grande added. “People change and habits happen. It’s a strange thing to be under such a microscope.”
The scrutiny she’s faced about her speech habits was just one of many topics the Grammy winner broached with Katz, who also asked Grande about why she deactivated her X account as well as her decision to gently call out body shaming with a vulnerable TikTok last year (something she called “impulsive,” but doesn’t regret). At one point, the pair discussed the reasons why the star has chosen to remain quiet throughout last year’s backlash to her romance with Wicked costar Ethan Slater, which they hinted at without referencing head on.
“There’s still a lot of misperceptions about everything out there,” Grande told Katz. “I’ve sent you so many drafts of things like, ‘I want to say this so badly!’ I always sleep on it and I always come back around to protecting and not taking that bait, because what I have discovered is that protecting my peace and my privacy and the actual details … sometimes when it would be addressing something, you would actually be exposing more of your actual real life.”
Listen to Grande’s Shut Up Evan interview below.
It’s Celebrity Family Feud week, and the survey says: Team Megan Thee Stallion will be matched up against Ne-Yo and his clan. Ahead of Tuesday night’s (July 9) premiere on ABC, Billboard exclusively obtained a clip from the episode featuring the Houston Hottie going toe-to-toe with the “Because of You” singer in the face-off round. […]
Nominations for the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards won’t be announced until July 17, but nominations for the 2024 Astra TV Awards were announced on Tuesday, July 9. The awards are presented by The Hollywood Creative Alliance, which includes critics, entertainment journalists, content creators, industry insiders and creatives.
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With 15 nods, FX’s The Bear was this year’s most nominated series, followed by Max’s Hacks and Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building with 13 each. ABC’s Abbott Elementary and CBS’s Ghosts are tied for third place with 11 nods each.
Apple TV+’s The Morning Show led the drama categories with 11 nominations. Prime Video’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith was the second-most nominated drama series with 10 nods.
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Several artists who have topped the Billboard Hot 100 received nominations in various categories. Selena Gomez is nominated for best actress in a streaming comedy series for Only Murders in the Building. Ricky Martin is up for best supporting actor in a streaming comedy series for Palm Royale (Apple TV+). Bradley Cooper is nominated for best guest actor in a comedy series for Abbott Elementary. Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) is up for best actor in a streaming drama series for Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
In other categories, The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix), about the 1985 recording session for “We Are the World,” is nominated for best documentary, where it is competing with In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon (Hulu) and STEVE (Martin): A Documentary in Two Parts (Apple TV+), among other shows.
Gaga Chromatica Ball (Max) is nominated for best variety series or special, where it is competing with 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (ABC) and the most recent editions of the Grammys, Oscars, Tonys and SAG Awards, among other shows.
Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story (Hulu) is nominated for best docuseries.
Carpool Karaoke: The Series (Apple TV+) is nominated for best short form.
Seth MacFarlane is nominated in three categories for Ted (Peacock) – best directing and writing in a streaming comedy series and best voice-over performance.
There are three new categories – best anime series, best children or family series and, remarkably, best Saturday Night Live host. Nominees in the latter category are Emma Stone, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Ryan Gosling and Timothée Chalamet.
The 2024 Astra TV Awards will stream live from the Avalon Hollywood on Sunday, Aug. 18. The ceremony can be watched worldwide on the official Astra Awards YouTube channel and KNEKT Television Network.
The Hollywood Creative Alliance, commonly called HCA, is a membership-based, not-for-profit organization. The vision and mission of the HCA is to amplify diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and culture in entertainment.
The Kid Laroi is set to perform at the 2024 Kids’ Choice Awards, which will be simulcast live on the East Coast on Saturday, July 13, at 8 p.m. ET/PT across Nickelodeon, TeenNick, Nicktoons, the Nick Jr. channel, TV Land, CMT and MTV2.
The Australian pop star will perform a medley that will include “Nights Like This,” a track from his debut studio album The First Time; “Stay,” his 2021 global smash that led the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks; and a non-album single “Girls.” Nickelodeon promises that his performance “will conclude with an epic sliming.”
Justin Bieber, The Kid Laroi’s partner-in-slime on “Stay,” performed at the 2021 Kids’ Choice Awards. The Bieb performed “Intentions” (with Quavo), “Hold On” and “Anyone.” Jack Harlow and Kid Cudi performed on the show in 2022. Lil Uzi Vert, Bebe Rexha and Lil Baby were among the performers on last year’s show.
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The 2024 show will be hosted by SpongeBob SquarePants (voiced by Tom Kenny) and Patrick Star (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke). This marks the first time that the show has been hosted by virtual characters. This year marks the 25th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants, which first aired on Nickelodeon as a sneak peek after the Kids’ Choice Awards on May 1, 1999, and officially premiered on July 17 of that year.
Taylor Swift is the leading individual nominee for the 2024 Kids’ Choice Awards, with six nods. She is followed in the nominations by Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo and Justin Timberlake, with four nods each.
Barbie also scored heavily in the nominations, with eight total nods. The box-office juggernaut has four nods in film categories (favorite movie, favorite movie actor for Ryan Gosling and favorite movie actress for both Margot Robbie and America Ferrera) and four in music categories (favorite album, favorite song for both Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” and Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” and favorite music collaboration for Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World” with Aqua).
The Kids’ Choice Awards, complete with green slime and Nick’s signature orange blimp award, has long been a top attraction for young viewers. This year’s show will be held at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion for the first time since 2010 and the 11th time overall.
Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2024 is produced by Nickelodeon Productions and overseen by Ashley Kaplan, executive vice president, Nickelodeon & Awesomeness Unscripted & Digital Franchise Studio; Paul J Medford, vice president, unscripted current series; Luke Wahl, vice president, unscripted creative; Jennifer Bryson, vice president, production, tentpoles, events & music & specials; and Ellen Rydzewski, senior vice president, celebrity, events & talent relations. Guy Carrington & Kevin Hermanson of Done and Dusted serve as executive producers, with Rob Paine serving as co-executive producer. The show is directed by James Merryman.
Robert Glasper stays busy. When Billboard recently caught up with the five-time Grammy winner, it was on the eve of his performance — with his band and special guest Yebba — at the annual Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival on June 16. And between rehearsals for that performance, he was in the midst of recording his next album.
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And this after announcing the arrival of his latest album, Let Go, just a few days prior. The release of the meditative instrumental album, one of several planned projects via an exclusive partnership with Apple Music, also coincided with the music platform’s celebration of jazz during Black Music Month.
Thanks to critically acclaimed, burgeoning jazz artists such as Grammy winner Samara Joy, fellow Grammy winner Laufey and 2023 Mercury Music Prize winner Ezra Collective, jazz has been making some headlines in the last several years. And as a noted jazz artist himself, Glasper is here for this new wave.
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“I think that people are OK with jazz moving into the modern times,” he says. “People are kind of letting go and allowing it to do what it needs to do. We already have jazz history. But new things [in jazz] also need to be done so that the new things can, in turn, make history. People like Samara Joy … she’s a breath of fresh air. She obviously has studied the history of the music, but you can hear her through it as well. And she’s not afraid of genre-hopping either. I love the fact that she’s steeped so deep in gospel music and R&B. People are seeing others like Esperanza [Spalding] and Gregory Porter, who are bringing jazz into a new day.
“They’re saying it’s OK to learn the history,” continues Glasper, “but don’t get held back by it. That lesson is being taught. And a lot of people are embracing this new wave of artists who are telling their stories and aren’t afraid to do so.”
Now back in the studio recording his next album for Apple Music, Glasper describes the forthcoming project as half jazz and half hip-hop. With fellow musicians Walter Smith on tenor saxophone, Keyon Harrold on trumpet, Vicente Archer on bass, Kendrick Scott on drums and Mike Moreno on guitar, Glasper is currently recording the album’s jazz half.
“We’re recording some jazz tunes in a very acoustic, sextet style,” Glasper explains. The other half of the album will be hip-hop versions of those jazz songs. I’m going to have different hip-hop producers sample each of those songs and make a hip-hop beat out of it.”
In the meantime, Glasper is busy ramping up for Blue Note Jazz Festival Presents: The Black Radio Experience. As earlier announced, John Legend, Jill Scott and André 3000 are headlining the Napa Valley, Calif., event during Labor Day weekend (Aug. 30-Sept. 1). The festival, a partnership between Blue Note Entertainment Group and Black Radio Productions, will be hosted by Sway Calloway.
Ticking off a lineup that also features Andra Day, Common with Pete Rock, Musiq Soulchild, Nile Rodgers and Christian McBride (more info here), Glasper — also doubling as artist in residence — says the festival “will be a tad bit more intimate than last year. We’re looking forward to a great weekend.”
Offstage, Glasper has been busy working on various television projects since scoring the music for Peacock’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot Bel-Air in 2022 with fellow artist/musician Terrace Martin. Those projects include creating the original score for the current Apple TV+ limited series The Big Cigar. With a cast that includes André Holland and Glynn Turman, the six-part drama chronicles Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton’s escape from the FBI to Cuba.
Glasper, who also counts The Photograph and season two of HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty among his film and television credits, most recently did the music for the forthcoming documentary about R&B/pop singer/songwriter legend Luther Vandross. Luther: Never Too Much, directed by Dawn Porter, is slated to premiere next year on CNN, OWN and Max.
“Luther was the soundtrack to my childhood,” Glasper tells Billboard about the chance to work on the documentary. “We didn’t have a family gathering without Luther’s music playing. Doing the music for this doc was close to my heart. It felt like him.”
So long as there are music fans, there will always be an audience for music documentaries. That’s why several new ones are on the way in 2024, from intriguing deep dives into music history, to behind-the-scenes looks at how music new and old was written, made and performed. And to keep you from missing any […]
“What if The Silence of the Lambs happened at a Taylor Swift concert?”
That was the question M. Night Shyamalan asked when he pitched the concept of his new film Trap, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker revealed in an interview with Empire magazine.
Trap follows a dad (Josh Harnett) as he brings his teen daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert to see Lady Raven, a fictional pop star played by Shyamalan’s real-life daughter, Saleka Shyamalan, The Hollywood Reporter says. But it’s not all fun and friendship bracelets here: they find themselves in the middle of a police operation to capture a serial killer known as “The Butcher.”
In the latest trailer previewing the movie, seen below, a stadium employee says in a hushed voice, “This whole concert is a trap.”
As Shyamalan told Empire, “I directed an entire concert! And it wasn’t just a thing in the background. It’s equally important. There is no pretend concert going on.”The director added, “I love the idea of cinema as windows within windows. One of the reasons to come see the movie at the movie theater is because there’s literally a real concert that you can see nowhere except in that movie.”
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Shyamalan said Trap was partially influenced by his daughter’s aspiring music career, and inspired in part by the 1985 “Operation Flagship,” a sting operation by U.S. Marshals and the DC Metropolitan Police Department that resulted in the arrest of more than 100 wanted fugitives who were lured in by free NFL tickets and the chance to win a trip to the Super Bowl. “The cops were literally cheerleaders and mascots. These guys were dancing as they came in. And they were all caught. It was so twisted and funny,” Shyamalan commented.
Trap, from Warner Bros. Pictures, will be in theaters Aug. 9.
Check out Warner Bros.’ new trailer for Trap and a clip of Saleka Shyamalan, who penned 14 original songs for the film, performing as Lady Raven below.
Of her goals in music, in a profile on the family published by The New York Times she said, “I think once he [M. Night Shyamalan] saw that I had passion for it in the same way that he had a passion for film, he understood it and was like, all right, I’m with you, let’s make this happen.”
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Amy Winehouse was portrayed by Marisa Abela in the much-buzzed about biopic, Back to Black, which hit theaters back in May. The film is now heading to streaming services, and is available to watch on Peacock beginning on Friday (July 5).
The biopic follows the life of the beloved Grammy winner, who is best known for her groundbreaking sophomore album Back to Black, which included the Hot 100 hits “Rehab” and “You Know I’m No Good.” Winehouse, who battled drug and alcohol addiction, died in 2011 at age 27 from alcohol poisoning.
The Studio Canal film directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (A Million Little Pieces) and written by Matt Greenhalgh (Nowhere Boy) was made with the support of the Winehouse estate, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Publishing and features a number of the singer’s most beloved hits.
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Iain Cooke, the film’s music supervisor, worked closely with Abela as well as Winehouse’s former band and her estate to capture the late superstar’s unique musical essence on film. See below for Billboard‘s chat with Cooke on all things Back to Black, and catch the film on Peacock now.
Bring me back to when you got the call to be the music supervisor on the biopic. What was it like?
It was it was really exciting. I also saw it immediately as a challenge, and one that would be sort of a journey to bring to life. I actually came on board 10 months before we shot — a long, long time before and there was only really the director, the producers and the writer. They hadn’t crewed up because it wasn’t officially greenlit. The first thing I was tasked with doing was to actually negotiate the rights for the Amy songs in order for the film to get greenlit and that was that was quite an intense few months negotiating. Once we got the approval, we began to prep.
We put Marisa in with a team, a vocal coach and a guitar tutor to work on the material and then we brought on our music producer, Giles Martin, who did a wonderful job. It was really an amazing process from pre-prep through the shoot, through the post production and the edit and on all the way to the final mix. It was about two years work.
What was it like working with Marisa to capture Amy’s unique essence?
She honestly was phenomenal. I’ve got nothing but praise and admiration for her because she works so hard. She was a complete joy to work with and really positive and she just immersed herself in it. She had phenomenal pitch and timing and she just really studied Amy as an artist and also studied some of her influences. She was great.
How do you preserve the authenticity of such a sensitive and widely told story?
All the filmmakers and collaborators involved just felt really passionate about the story and wanted to be the guardians of that authenticity. It was really important to preserve the integrity of her legacy and we all wanted to do the right thing by her. One of the things that we did was we approached her old live band early on — and we would have completely understood if they didn’t want to be involved — but we approached them to see whether they would like to come in and pre-record the live backing tracks and they did. It was just incredibly special and incredibly moving. It was her real band that played that those gigs who pre-recorded the music, and you can’t get more authentic than that.
Is there a scene in the film that you’re excited for people to see?
There’s a moment very early on in the film that Marisa sings ‘What Is It About Men’ — she’s just in her bedroom and it’s just a one-shot with nothing to hide behind. We knew that if we got that moment right, that the audience would be really in the film with us and in the journey. Marisa just did incredible.
I also absolutely love Glastonbury. You know, credit to the sound team. They did an amazing job in the mix. If you watch it, you get that spirit. You know, it’s wild and free. Chaotic, but just the energy of it is magic. Amy was one of the most important recording artists of all time, and she’ll stand up in history alongside the greats that influenced her. She had lyrical wit and one of the greatest recording voices and most distinctive recording voices on record. I hope that we’ll go back and listen to her again, and rediscover and keep listening to her because she’s a classic forevermore.
Lastly, what’s your favorite Amy Winehouse song?
“Love Is a Losing Game.” It’s a timeless, beautiful song.
Rumors that Taylor Swift will make a cameo in the third Deadpool film have been swirling for years, and they definitely aren’t dying down any time soon. That’s because the franchise’s star, Ryan Reynolds — who also happens to be a close friend of the pop star’s — recreated her Evermore album cover in a […]
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NBC is the official home of the 2024 Paris Olympics on TV, and the network will have hours of live coverage each night this summer. That means if you want to watch Simone Biles present a jaw-dropping floor routine or see who takes home the gold for track and field events, you’ll need to tune into your local NBC affiliate channel.
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In addition to letting you watch the Paris 2024 Olympics live, NBC is home to some of TV’s most popular entertainment and news programming, including Saturday Night Live, The Today Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show and The Voice. The easiest way to watch NBC at home would be through cable or a digital antenna (like this one from Amazon), but for cord cutters, there are some live TV streamers that’ll let you watch NBC without having to drop hundreds of dollars on a cable package.
Keep reading to learn the streaming options available.
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How to Watch NBC Without Cable At Home
If you’re going the non-cable route, the simplest way to get instant access to NBC programs and live 2024 Paris Olympics coverage is through the channel’s official streaming platform, Peacock. While there is no free trial for new users, the platform offers cheap plans starting at just $5.99 a month or you can get an annual plan for $59.99 a year (which gets you 12 months of streaming for the price of 10).
Content outside of the 2024 Olympics you can look forward to streaming includes Apple Never Falls, Poker Face, Ted, The Traitors, Couple to Throuple, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Bel-Air, Love Island, Love Island Games, One of Us Is Lying, Dr. Death, Yellowstone, Suits, The Office, Modern Family and Parks & Recreation. Bravo fans can also tune into content like Vanderpump Rules, Below Deck, The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip and Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard.
How to Watch NBC Without Cable for Free Online
For the most amount of content options, live TV streamers let you watch NBC without cable in addition to hundreds of other channels. Plus, through free trials and promos going on you can save money and watch NBC at home for free.
To help you find the best live TV streaming platforms online, ShopBillboard put together our list of favorites below.
DirecTV Stream
Watch NBC online through DirecTV Stream, a live TV streaming service that includes your local NBC station as part of its channel lineup. New users can score a five-day free trial through DirecTV Stream when you sign up for one of its four packages. Every streaming package includes NBC plus CNBC, MSNBC and dozens of other channels. Bonus offer: you can save $30 when you combine a streaming package with a “Sports Pack.” Right now, the Entertainment + Sports Pack is $85 (reg. $95) for the first three months.
You’ll also receive unlimited DVR storage, local channels and the ability to stream on as many smart devices as you want.
Sling TV
Sling TV’s latest promo gets new users half-off your first month when you sign up for one of the three packages offered. The Blue package comes with NBC in addition to sports, news and entertainment channels, plus 50 hours of DVR storage for $22.50 (reg. $45).
For the most channels, you can combine the Orange + Blue package for only $30 (reg. $60) and you’ll get all 48 channels — including FS1 and the NFL Network as well as the ability to stream on up to three devices at once.
FuboTV
Fubo is another cheap streaming option to watch NBC online without cable. Even better: the streamer is offering a seven-day free trial that’ll let you watch NBC and more than 100 live TV channels for no cost.
After the free trial is over, you’ll have a few streaming plans to choose from including Fubo’s Pro Plan, which is the cheapest option at $79.99 a month. You’ll have 199 channels to flip through, 1000 hours of DVR storage and the ability to watch content on up to 10 screens at once. For more content options, you can upgrade to the Premier plan for $99.99 a month, which includes everything in its Elite plan as well as access to Showtime and 275 channels.
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV is offering new subscribers a rare three-day free trial that’ll let you watch more than 95 channels including NBC online for free. Out of all the options available, Hulu + Live TV gives you the most content options, from live channels to the entire Hulu on-demand library of shows and movies. Once the free trial is over, you’ll be charged the regular subscription fee of $77 a month.
What we like: your Hulu + Live TV plan includes Disney+ and ESPN+ for exclusive sports coverage and programming from ESPN, and all the Disney+ originals.
Can You Watch NBC on Peacock?
Since Peacock is the official streaming platform for NBC, you’ll be able to watch original content from the channel in addition to live programing online. All you need to do is sign up or log in to your account and you’ll immediately get access to everything within the Peacock library including NBC content.
Can You Watch NBC on Amazon Prime?
NBC is not offered for free with Prime, but you can buy episodes and seasons of select NBC shows on Prime Video to watch at your leisure. Episodes go for as low as $2 or you can buy a full season starting at $25.