Month: November 2021

Categories
Country Daypop

Sam Hunt & friends heading to Cancun, Mexico for ‘Casa Fiesta’ experience in March 2022

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Sam Hunt is heading to Cancun, Mexico for spring break next March, along with Parker McCollum, Nelly, The Band Camino, Surfaces, Tai Verdes, Lily Rose, Shy Carter and Connor Smith, for “Casa Fiesta Featuring Sam Hunt and Friends,” set for March 14-18, 2022.

The five-day experience, presented by tech company Pollen, will include performances on the beach near Cancun’s hottest clubs, activities, pool parties, add-on excursions and much more. Dan Merker, Head of Country & Rock Content for Pollen, said in a statement:  “We’re excited to work with Sam to curate such a unique and intimate experience for his fans, especially with a line up of contrasting genres that brings everyone together for a fun party on the beach.”

Local COVID protocols and guidelines will be observed. More information can be found here.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan to fly to space on Blue Origin

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Good Morning America co-host and NFL legend Michael Strahan announced that he will fly to space on Jeff Bezos’ ‘Blue Origin’ on its next flight, to take place on December 9.  It will be the rocket’s third human flight this year, and marks the first flight with a full astronaut manifest of six crew members in the capsule. Liftoff is set to take place at 9 a.m. CT on Dec. 9 at the “Launch Site One” facility in the West Texas desert.

Strahan said that one of the reasons he wants to travel on Blue Origin is the opportunity to be part of space exploration: “I believe that this is the way of being innovative, creative, pioneers in aviation, now space travel. And it’s going to take a while but I do believe that it will bring a lot of technological breakthroughs and also innovations to us here on Earth, and I just want to be a part of it.”

Joining Strahan on the mission will be Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Alan Shepard, who is the first American to fly to space and the namesake of New Shepard on the space flight. They will also be joined by Space industry executive and philanthropist Dylan Taylor, investor Evan Dick, and Bess Ventures founder Lane Bess and his child, Cameron. Lane and Cameron will be the first parent-child pair to fly in space.

Strahan began preparing for the mission two weeks ago, and has spoken to his fellow crew members via Zoom. The crew members will meet in Texas to begin training and undergo safety briefings soon.

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

General Hospital’s Steve Burton fired for not complying with the show’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate

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General Hospital’s Steve Burton, who has played the role of Jason Morgan on and off since 1991, is leaving the long-running ABC soap opera after deciding not to get vaccinated. The 51-year-old actor took to social media on Tuesday, November 23 to confirm he had been fired by the series for not complying with the show’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Burton said via Instagram: “Well, I know there’s a lot of rumors and speculation about me and General Hospital, and I wanted you to hear it from me personally. Unfortunately, General Hospital has let me go because of the vaccine mandate.”  In his video, Burton explained that he “did apply for my medical and religious exemptions, and both of those were denied, which, you know, hurts. But this is also about personal freedom to me.”  He also noted that he’ll always be grateful for the show that gave him his start, adding: “I love it there, I grew up there, I grew up with some of you. Maybe one day if these mandates are lifted, I can return and finish my career as Jason Morgan. That would be an honor.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network later confirmed that Burton was dismissed for his inability to comply with their vaccine policy. His last day was October 27.  Burton’s departure comes two weeks after his costar Ingo Rademacher, who played Jasper “Jax” Jacks on GH, was also fired for refusing to get the vaccine. Rademacher had been outspoken on social media about his opposition to vaccine mandates, posting Nov. 7th on Instagram: “I will stand with you to fight for medical freedom” and adding the hashtag “no mandates.”

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Categories
Rock Daypop

2022 Grammy Nominations: rock categories include AC/DC, Foo Fighters, Mammoth WVH and more

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Nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards were revealed on Tuesday by the Recording Academy via a Livestream from Los Angeles, and the Foo Fighters, AC/DC, and Mammoth WVH are among those nominated in the rock categories.  Nominees also include Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix and Chris Cornell, among others.

The Best Rock Album category includes AC/DC’s Power Up, Foo Fighters’ Medicine at Midnight, McCartney’s McCartney III, the posthumous Cornell covers LP No One Sings Like You Anymore Vol. 1 and Black Pumas’ Capitol Cuts – Live From Studio A.

McCartney and Foo Fighters are also nominated for Best Rock Song, the former recognized for “Find My Way” and the latter for “Waiting on a War.” The category also features Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH (“Distance”), Kings of Leon “(The Bandit”) and Weezer (“All My Favorite Songs”).

AC/DC’s “Shot in the Dark” is up for Best Music Video and Best Rock Performance. The latter category also includes Foo Fighters’ “Making a Fire,” Cornell’s cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Deftones’ “Ohms” and Black Pumas’ live version of “Know You Better.”

You can see the full list of nominees here. The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on January 31, 2022, live on CBS.

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Categories
Rock Daypop

Guitarist The Edge confirms a new U2 album is ‘in the works’

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U2 is focused on the future as they continue to work on a follow-up to 2017’s Songs of Experience.  The Edge spoke with Rolling Stone last week to share he was working with bassist Adam Clayton on a new song idea.

“We are firmly locked in the tower of song and working away on a bunch of new things,” the Edge said, noting that they’re still in the very early stages of the process. “I’m just having so much fun writing and not necessarily having to think about where it’s going to go. It’s more more about enjoying the experience of writing and having no expectations or limitations on the process.” Additionally, at this stage, the band has yet to settle on any producers: “I so enjoyed working with [Dutch DJ] Martin Garrix [on the UEFA Euro 2020 song ‘We Are the People’] and I hope to work with him in the future. But we haven’t made any firm decisions on what the next thing will be in terms of personnel. I just don’t know.”

U2 have shared only one new song in the past three years  — “Your Song Saved My Life” from the soundtrack to the animated film Sing 2 where Bono provides the voice of lion rock star Clay Calloway. Edge says: “That’s not a thing that U2 normally does, but it’s in the of spirit of mixing it up, keeping people guessing, and trying different things. It felt like a worthy thing. And also, it’s a movie about great songs and we we felt very comfortable in the company that we were keeping there.”

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Categories
Pop Daypop

2022 Grammy Nominations: Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish lead this year’s nominees

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Nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards were revealed on Tuesday by the Recording Academy via a Livestream from Los Angeles. Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish both earned seven nominations, with Doja Cat, Justin Bieber, and H.E.R. earning eight nods each.  Jon Batiste earned the most nominations, with 11 in total.

Olivia Rodrigo’s seven nominations include Record of the Year (“Drivers License”), Song of the Year (“Drivers License”), and Best New Artist.  Eilish earned nods for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for “Happier Than Ever”, as well as Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Music Video for its title track.  Doja Cat’s Planet Her was nominated for Album of the Year, as well as Best Pop Vocal Album.

Justin Bieber and H.E.R. are each up for eight Grammys. Bieber’s “Peaches” is up for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best Music Video.

You can see the full list of nominees here. The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on January 31, 2022, live on CBS.

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Categories
Pop Daypop

Taylor Swift earns her 8th No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 with ‘All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)’

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Taylor Swift just scored her eighth Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with her recently re-recorded track “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”.  This marks Taylor‘s 30th Hot 100 top 10, making her the sixth artist to reach that milestone.

According to Billboard, the two versions of the song – both the original 5-minute track and the extended 10-minute one – were combined into one listing for Billboard‘s chart Streams for the extended mixes the charts dominated, earning 62% of its clicks and 78% of its downloads. As the 10-minute version is the dominant track, it can be considered the longest No. 1 by run time in the Hot 100′s history. “All Too Well” beat out previous record holder, the eight-minute, 37-second 1971 Don McLean hit “American Pie (Parts I & II),” which held the record as the longest song for nearly 50 years.

Red (Taylor’s Version) also debuted at No. 1 in the U.S. making Swift the first artist ever to simultaneously top the Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100 for the third time.

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Categories
News Daypop

President Biden nominates Jerome Powell for second term as Federal Reserve chair

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On Monday, President Joe Biden nominated Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. Biden nominated Powell, a Republican, for another term at the central bank at a White House event despite opposition from progressive Democrats in Congress who are concerned about his leadership. He also nominated Fed Governor Lael Brainard, the progressives’ choice for the top spot, as vice chair of the board of governors. If confirmed, she would succeed Richard Clarida, whose term expires Jan. 31, 2022.

Biden said he picked Powell because the economy, while showing solid recovery, is still unsettled due to the lingering pandemic, presenting “enormous potential and enormous uncertainty.”  The President said that Powell provides a strong element of continuity and security during uncertain times, saying: “When our country was hemorrhaging jobs last year and there was panic in our financial markets, Jay’s steady and decisive leadership helped to stabilize markets and put our economy on track to a robust recovery.” He also praised Powell’s commitment to “delivering full employment. We’re making strong progress toward that goal now.”

During Powell’s first term, the Federal Reserve instituted massive levels of low-interest lending designed to keep small and large businesses afloat during the pandemic while slashing interest rates to near zero.  Powell’s nomination now go to the Senate, where he is expected to easily earn confirmation.

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Categories
News Daypop

NY Assembly finds evidence that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo “engaged in sexual harassment”

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The New York State Assembly’s Judiciary Committee released their report on its investigation into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which details evidence of Cuomo engaging in sexual harassment, utilizing state resources to write a book, and hiding nursing home death numbers during the coronavirus pandemics.

The report. completed by the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, was released by Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.  The committee found Cuomo engaged in multiple instances of sexual harassment and created a hostile work environment in the process. and cites “overwhelming evidence” of sexual harassment committed by the former governor. The investigation also discovered Cuomo utilized state resources and property, including work by executive chamber staff, to write, publish and promote his book. The report said the book guaranteed Cuomo at least $5.2 million in personal profit while using the state’s staff and resources.  Cuomo was also not fully transparent to the public regarding the number of nursing home residents who died as a result of COVID-19.

Committee Chairman Charles Lavine said Cuomo’s conduct was “extremely disturbing” and was “indicative of someone who is not fit for office.” The report said the state constitution clearly states impeachment was reserved to remove an official from office and does not address former officials.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/probe-finds-overwhelming-evidence-misconduct-cuomo-81327729

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Categories
Sports Daypop

New Orleans Saints and Taysom Hill agree to unique four-year, $40M extension which will pay according to position

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Taysom Hill and the New Orleans Saints agreed to a contract extension for four years and $40 million with $22.5 million guaranteed for injury and $20 million fully guaranteed.

Hill receives $10 million each season over the next four years if he remains in his current role in which he serves as backup quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end, as well as being a special teams ace. However, the deal can be worth up to $95 million if Hill becomes the Saints’ starting quarterback over the next four years.  The deal includes $22.5 million in guarantees. Hill, 31, was scheduled to become a free agent after this season after he signed a two-year, $21 million extension with the Saints in 2020.

Hill hasn’t started any games at quarterback so far this season is because he was dealing with a concussion in Weeks 5-8 and a foot injury this past week that held him out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Hill  is 7-of-8 passing for 56 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. He has run the ball 20 times for 104 yards and three TDs. And he has four catches for 52 yards.

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