Month: November 2021

Categories
Sports Daypop

NBA officially launches investigation into Chicago Suns owner Robert Sarver

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The NBA announced an investigation into Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver following allegations of racism and misogyny from more than 70 former and current employees interviewed by ESPN.

NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement:  “The allegations contained in today’s ESPN article are extremely serious, and we have directed the Wachtell Lipton law firm to commence a comprehensive investigation. The NBA and WNBA remain committed to providing a respectful and inclusive workplace for all employees. Once the investigation is completed, its findings will provide the basis for any league action.”

The NBPA also released a statement: “We are continuing to review the allegations in today’s ESPN story. We view these allegations as serious and applaud the League’s decision to conduct an investigation. We will defer any further comments until that process has been concluded.”

Included in the accusations against Sarver was his alleged use of the N-word around coaches and players on multiple occasions.  Employees also alleged Sarver’s repeated use of misogynistic language, and was also accused of describing staff and players as “inventory.”

In a statement following ESPN’s publication, Sarver welcomed an investigation and alleged “misrepresentations from former Suns coach Earl Watson and other unnamed sources.”  Sarver added: “At this point, I would entirely welcome an impartial NBA investigation, which may prove our only outlet for clearing my name and the reputation of an organization of which I’m so very proud.”

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Categories
Country Daypop

Darius Rucker announces intimate theater tour for 2022

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Darius Rucker has announced a special tour next year that will visit theaters in 12 cities across the U.S. The tour is set to kick off on February 17th in Philadelphia, Pa. at The Met and will be wrapping up on April 1st in New Orleans, La. at the Saenger Theatre. Caylee Hammack will join Rucker on the road as his special guest.  Tickets go on sale on December 17.

Rucker said about the tour: “It’s been a dream of mine for a while to bring our show to these beautiful theaters. Some of my favorite venue memories over the years are at places like the Apollo in New York or the Royal Albert Hall in London, as it’s just a different experience when you’re that close. With Hootie, we went straight from playing dive bars to arenas, so there are still a lot of theatres I’ve never had the opportunity to play. I’ll just say that this tour will have a lot of firsts, even for me.”

He had this to say about the song, “One of the most common questions I got asked last year was if I had picked up a new hobby during quarantine. I always answered that I was trying to learn piano, and someone asked if I was any good yet. J.T. Harding heard my response in that interview – ‘I can’t play piano like Ray Charles’ – and knew we had to write a song around that line.”

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Categories
Country Daypop

Deluxe version of Adele’s album ’30’ to feature a duet with Chris Stapleton

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The tracklist for the deluxe version of pop star Adele’s next album ’30’ has been revealed, and it features a collaboration with country superstar Chris Stapleton.

The duet will be a new version of Adele’s current single, “Easy on Me.” She recently shared the solo version of that song as a first taste of the collection, which comes out — in both its basic and deluxe editions — on Nov. 19. The version of “Easy on Me” that includes Stapleton’s vocals is on the deluxe version of 30, which expands the track list from 12 to 15 songs and will be available exclusively at Target.

Adele has been a fan of Stapleton’s for years, performing “If It Hadn’t Been for Love,” a song that Stapleton co-wrote and performed during his days as a bandmate in bluegrass outfit the SteelDrivers. “If It Hadn’t Been for Love” was a staple of Adele’s live set in her early days, and she even included it as a bonus track on the U.K. limited edition of her second album, 21.

Adele Reveals New Chris Stapleton Duet

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Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Mariah Carey to bring a new Christmas special to Apple TV+ “Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues”

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Mariah Carey has announced a second holiday special for AppleTV+ titled Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues, which will arrive this December. Mariah’s Christmas comes on the heels of the singer’s previous 2020 special for Apple, Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special, which featured guest stars Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, and Snoop Dogg.

The Magic Continues will see Mariah teaming up with R&B singer Khalid and gospel legend Kirk Franklin, for the first and only performance of their new single, “Fall In Love At Christmas.” The new single is set for release this Friday, November 5.  Carey herself will executive produce The Magic Continues, which will be helmed by music video director Joseph Kahn. While the special is slated for December, no official release date has been confirmed.

Carey’s classic holiday hit, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” made its annual return to the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart back in November, landing at No.1 nearly 27 years since its 1994 release.   On November 1, the star shared a teaser on social media, with carved pumpkins on a front porch that spelled out “It’s Not Time,” quickly followed by Carey smashing one of the pumpkins with a candy cane baseball bat, as her classic “All I Want for Christmas is You” plays in the background.

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Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Take a look at Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson in the trailer for the upcoming film ‘Moonfall’

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Lionsgate has just released director Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall teaser trailer. Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry star in Moonfall, from the makers of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. 

The official synopsis reads, “In Moonfall, a mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact and the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler (Halle Berry) is convinced she has the key to saving us all – but only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper and a conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman believe her. These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is.”

Take a look at the trailer for Moonfall – here.  The film hits theaters Feb. 4, 2022.

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Categories
Rock Daypop

Slipknot to drop new single ‘The Chapeltown Rag’

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Slipknot have announced the release of a brand new single, ‘The Chapeltown Rag’, which is set to be released today, November 5.

The band tweeted the news on Thursday, sharing a link to an interview with Knotfest, in which they revealed ‘The Chapeltown Rag’ is a “punisher” of a new tune that will get its live debut tomorrow at Knotfest Los Angeles. The track is named after the West Yorkshire suburb Chapeltown, known for being where some of the Yorkshire Ripper murders took place.

Slipknot’s last album was 2019’s ‘We Are Not Your Kind’, which earned them the No. 1 spot in the UK for the first time in 18 years.

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Categories
Rock Daypop

Kraftwerk announce 2022 North American Tour

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Kraftwerk have announced an extensive 2022 North American tour, marking the band’s first live appearances since 2019. According to a press release, the upcoming tour will incorporate “music, 3D visuals and performance art” and is set to begin on May 27 in St. Louis, wrapping-up on July 10 in Vancouver.

Over the weekend the German electronic pioneers were recognized at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony as an Early Influence. The band had been nominated six times before finally receiving the award, which included a video tribute from Pharrell Williams.  Williams said: “The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a very special place. But I’m going to suggest that we create a new hall within the hall, reserved for artists who actually invented their genre, because Kraftwerk belongs there. Today, electronic music is everywhere. But what Kraftwerk did was groundbreaking and revolutionary.”

Tickets for Kraftwerk’s upcoming tour will be on sale to the general public Nov. 5.  For more details, follow Kraftwerk on Instagram.

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Categories
Pop Daypop

Charli XCX shares new single “New Shapes” and sets release date for album “Crash”

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Charli XCX revealed that her fifth studio album, Crash, is set to arrive March 18. Charli XCX also released the  song “New Shapes” featuring Caroline Polachek and Christine and the Queens.  Crash is Charli XCX’s first album since How I’m Feeling Now, released in May 2020.  Crash is available for pre-order here.

In support of the forthcoming album, Charli also revealed tour dates across North America and Europe beginning next spring. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 12, and a presale begins Wednesday, November 10.

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Categories
Pop Daypop

Lorde shares her latest video for “Fallen Fruit”

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Lorde has shared the music video for the latest single “Fallen Fruit,” off her album Solar Power.

In the video, Lorde returns to the beach we first saw music visual for “Solar Power,” only now the beach is cluttered with litter and debris. In a letter posted alongside the release, Lorde shared the source of the chaos: “Humans doing as they do, getting greedy, treating the land with disrespect and stripping it of its beauty.”In her letter, she asks: “There’ll always be another pristine place to start again, right?”

Lorde also announced that the deluxe edition of Solar Power featuring the bonus tracks “Hold No Grudge” and “Helen of Troy” will arrive on streaming services on Friday.

Check out the video for “Fallen Fruit” – here.

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Categories
News Daypop

Senate Republicans block voting rights bill once again

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Senate Republicans again blocked a voting rights bill Wednesday that would strengthen the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The chamber voted 50-49 in favor of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, 10 votes shy of the 60 needed to advance the bill. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer voted against it so he’d have the option of bringing the legislation back up in the future. Republicans also blocked an earlier version of the bill — the Freedom to Vote Act — in October.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named after the congressman and civil rights activist from Alabama, was passed by the House in August. The bill seeks to strengthen the 1965 Voting Rights Act that has been weakened by a pair of Supreme Court rulings. If signed into law the bill would restore the Justice Department’s ability to block certain jurisdictions with a history of voter discrimination from altering their voting rules, after the Supreme Court in 2013 ruled the method used to implement the provision was outdated.

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