Month: August 2021

Categories
Pop Daypop

Rihanna reaches billionaire status, named richest female musician by Forbes

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According to a new profile on the singer and entrepreneur by Forbes, 33-year-old Rihanna has officially become a billionaire and is worth $1.7 billion. Forbes reported on Wednesday that Rihanna’s fortune comes primarily from her Fenty Beauty makeup line, which she has a 50% stake in. Rihanna’s other earnings come from her Savage x Fenty lingerie line, Fenty Skin line and her earnings as a singer and actress. Rihanna is now considered the wealthiest female musician in the world and is the second richest female entertainer in the world, behind Oprah Winfrey.

Rihanna landed a deal with French luxury group LVMH in April 2016 to launch Fenty Beauty, with a makeup line released in 2017. LVMH also partners with Rihanna on Fenty Skin. She launched her Fenty x Puma clothing line in 2016 and announced her clothing partnernship with LVMH in May 2019. Rihanna is the first woman to create an original brand at LVMH and is the first woman of color to head an LVMH maison.

On the music front, Rihanna hasn’t released an album since 2016’s ‘Anti’. She teased new music in February 2020, last appearing on PartyNextDoor’s “Believe It” in March 2020.

Forbes Officially Crowns Rihanna a Billionaire

Editorial credit: Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

Former President Obama to scale back 60th birthday celebration due to surge in COVID-19 cases

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Former President Barack Obama is scaling back plans to celebrate his 60th birthday this weekend in New England due to a resurgence of COVID-19. The celebration is scheduled to take place in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts on Saturday; Obama’s birthday was Wednesday.

Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama originally planned a star-studded party with guests including George Clooney, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, among others. However, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said the gathering was “not a good idea” now that coronavirus cases are going back up, due mainly to the more contagious Delta variant.  Additionally, Dukes County – which includes Martha’s Vineyard – has been identified by the CDC as a “moderate” risk community. Last month, Martha’s Vineyard issued an indoor mask advisory.

Obama spokeswoman Hannah Hankins said in a statement: “Due to the new spread of the Delta variant over the past week, the president and Mrs. Obama have decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends. He’s appreciative of others sending their birthday wishes from afar and looks forward to seeing people soon.”

Editorial credit: Nuno21 / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

New York International Auto Show canceled amid spike of COVID cases due to Delta variant

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For the second straight year, the New York International Auto Show has been cancelled. In a statement Wednesday afternoon, auto show president Michael Schienberg announced that the convention was being canceled due to spiking COVID-19 cases due to the highly-contagious delta variant.

Schienberg said, “As custodians of the 121-year-old New York Auto Show, we are committed to providing a safe environment for everyone including attendees, exhibitors, and the thousands of men and women who put the Show together. Over the past few weeks, and especially within the last few days, circumstances have changed making it more difficult to create an event at the high standard that we and our clients expect. The Covid pandemic has challenged our City, the country and the entire world, but just like the automobile industry, we know that the New York Auto Show will rebound and be bigger and better than before.”

The auto show was founded in 1900 and is one of the auto industry’s most popular conventions with more than 1 million attendees each year. This year’s event was set to begin on Aug. 20, just one day before the highly anticipated “We Love NYC” concert in Central Park. It’s not clear if organizers of that show, or other upcoming shows in NYC, will be making similar decisions to postpone or cancel events.

Editorial credit: Felix Lipov / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Sports Daypop

Point guard Kemba Walker signs with NY Knicks after agreeing to contract buyout with with Thunder

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Point guard Kemba Walker is signing with the New York Knicks after agreeing to a contract buyout with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. Walker’s representatives and Thunder general manager Sam Presti worked to come to an agreement on a buyout of the remaining two years and $74 million on Walker’s deal.

The Thunder acquired Walker, a four-time All-Star, from the Boston Celtics back in June. The Celtics received Al Horford and Moses Brown and a 2023 second-rounder in the trade. Walker averaged 19.3 points and 4.9 assists over 43 games for the Celtics this past season, his second in Boston. He averaged 20.4 points and 4.8 assists during the 2019-20 campaign with the Celtics.

Before joining the Celtics, Walker spent the first eight seasons of his NBA career with the Charlotte Hornets. Overall he has averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds over 704 career games.

Editorial credit: Chris Minor / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Sports Daypop

Tokyo Olympics: U.S. beach volleyball duo April Ross and Alix Klineman defeat Switzerland to reach finals

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The United States’ women’s beach volleyball duo of April Ross and Alix Klineman will compete for the gold medal at the Summer Games in Tokyo after a straight-sets victory against Switzerland in the semifinals on Wednesday. Ross and Klineman dominated Switzerland’s Anouk Verge-Depre and Joana Heidrich to reach the final. Ross and Klineman beat the Swiss pair 21-12 in the first set and 21-11 in the second.

The U.S. duo, also known as the “A-Team,” defeated Germany on Tuesday in straight sets to pave the way to the semifinals. Ross, who won silver at the 2012 Games in London and bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, is searching for her first gold medal at the Olympics. Klineman is competing at the Olympic level for the first time in her career.

Ross and Klineman will play the winner of the Australia-Latvia match in the final. The gold medal match is set for Thursday at 10:30 p.m. EDT.

Editorial credit: Mai Groves / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Jimmie Allen and Brad Paisley drop their video for ‘Freedom Was A Highway’

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Jimmie Allen and Brad Paisley’s duet “Freedom Was A Highway” reached country radio’s Top 20, and now the duo are dropping the video for the track, directed by Allen himself.  Freedom Was A Highway is featured on both Allen’s 2020 EP Bettie James, as well as that project’s Gold Edition which was released in 2021.

Allen is currently on the road as a special guest with Paisley through Oct. 9, at which time he will then join Nelly on select dates this fall.  Allen also recently announced he will be the Executive Producer of an episode of Netflix’s Titletown High, while Paisley recently released the single, “City of Music.”

Check out the video for Freedom Was A Highway – here

Editorial credit: Sterling Munksgard / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Sam Hunt and Ingrid Andress team up for the new video “Wishful Drinking”

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Ingrid Andress and Sam Hunt have teamed up for their new song and video, “Wishful Drinking.” The video features Hunt and Andress at the Nashville bar Flamingo Cocktail Club, decked out in flashy ’70s-type attire.

Andress said via a press release: “I’ve never done anything like ‘Wishful Drinking’ before. I’ve always wanted to work with Sam and have been such a fan of his for a long time. I admire how he stays so true to himself and am so happy to have him join me for my first collaboration. The song was co-written by my friend JP Saxe, and it became this amazing sad bop, which we all know I love.”  Hunt added: “I heard Ingrid’s music a while back and knew right away she was a very talented singer and songwriter. I met her not long ago at a Nashville Sports League kickball game and I really enjoyed getting to know her a little bit. When the opportunity came along to be a part of this song with her, I was all in.”

Andress will soon embark on The Feeling Things Tour, making stops in the U.S. and Europe. She will also serve as support for Dan+Shay on The (Arena) Tour, and will make her Stagecoach debut in 2022. Last year, Hunt released the single “Breaking Up Was Easy in the ’90s,” and earlier this year released the duet “When Was It Over?” with Sasha Sloan.

Check out the video for Wishful Drinking – here.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Rihanna reaches billionaire status, named richest female musician by Forbes

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According to a new profile on the singer and entrepreneur by Forbes, 33-year-old Rihanna has officially become a billionaire and is worth $1.7 billion. Forbes reported on Wednesday that Rihanna’s fortune comes primarily from her Fenty Beauty makeup line, which she has a 50% stake in. Rihanna’s other earnings come from her Savage x Fenty lingerie line, Fenty Skin line and her earnings as a singer and actress. Rihanna is now considered the wealthiest female musician in the world and is the second richest female entertainer in the world, behind Oprah Winfrey.

Rihanna landed a deal with French luxury group LVMH in April 2016 to launch Fenty Beauty, with a makeup line released in 2017. LVMH also partners with Rihanna on Fenty Skin. She launched her Fenty x Puma clothing line in 2016 and announced her clothing partnernship with LVMH in May 2019. Rihanna is the first woman to create an original brand at LVMH and is the first woman of color to head an LVMH maison.

On the music front, Rihanna hasn’t released an album since 2016’s ‘Anti’. She teased new music in February 2020, last appearing on PartyNextDoor’s “Believe It” in March 2020.

Editorial credit: Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and host Ryan Seacrest set to return for Season 20 of “American Idol”

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Judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie, as well as host Ryan Seacrest, are all officially returning to American Idol’s 20th season overall (and fifth on ABC) in the spring of 2022, The show’s live virtual audition tour, ‘Idol Across America,’ also returns to all 50 states beginning on Friday, August 6.

“American Idol is still the original music show that genuinely creates superstars and continues to evolve to allow true artists to succeed in this unique business,” executive producer and showrunner Megan Wolflick said. “The chemistry and passion Katy, Luke, Lionel and Ryan bring is second to none. We couldn’t be more ecstatic that they are returning for this iconic 20th season in search of the freshest new talent that this nation has to offer.”

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Rock Daypop

The Offspring part ways with drummer Pete Parada for choosing not to get COVID-19 vaccine

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The Offspring have apparently parted ways with drummer Pete Parada. According to Parada, it’s because he has chosen not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 due to medical reasons. Parada had been the band’s drummer since 2007; he explained his departure on Instagram, saying that his medical history and advice from his doctor has led him to choose not to get vaccinated at this time. He added that, as a result, the rest of the band feels he’s “unsafe to be around, in the studio, and on tour.” Parada’s full statement can be read here.

The Offspring released their latest album, Let the Bad Times Roll, back in April, marking which their first studio LP in nine years. It’s the first Offspring album where Parada played drums on the entire effort, having previously appeared on just four of the tracks on 2012’s Days Go By.

The Offspring are set to play a number of festivals in August and September, as well as Aftershock in October and Welcome to Rockville in November. As of press time, the band has not made any official statement regarding Parada’s exit.

Editorial credit: Antonio Scorza / Shutterstock.com