Month: July 2022

Categories
Rock Daypop

Wolfgang Van Halen gets engaged to longtime girlfriend Andraia Allsop

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Mammoth WVH ‘s Wolfgang Van Halen and his longtime girlfriend, Andraia Allsop, are engaged. The son of Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli revealed the news via social media, sharing a picture of the happy couple with Allsop showing off her engagement ring, along with the caption: “She said yes!!”   The couple have been together since 2015, and Allsop works as a software engineer.

Van Halen and Allsop, along with Bertinelli, recently attended the 2022 Grammy Awards after Van Halen received his first Grammy nomination for his song ‘Distance.” Following his loss, he shared: “We came, we saw, but we did NOT conquer and that’s ok! I got to have a wonderful night with the two most important women in my world. Such an honor to be nominated for the first song I ever released on my own, in a category with artists I’ve looked up to my entire life. I don’t know if that’ll ever fully set in. Pop didn’t win the first time he was nominated too, so it looks like I’m following in his footsteps quite nicely. Who knows what the future holds. All I know is I’m feeling pretty damn grateful. What a wild experience this was. Thank you to @recordingacademy for the recognition, and thank YOU for the support. Y’all mean the world to me.”

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Categories
Rock Daypop

Carlos Santana said to be ‘doing well’ after collapsing onstage at Michigan concert

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Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana, 74, collapsed on stage during a show in Michigan on Tuesday, and was rushed to a hospital.   The rocker shared on Facebook later that evening that he was “Just taking it easy. Forgot to eat and drink water so I dehydrated and passed out. Blessings and miracles to you all.”

On Wednesday, Santana’s manager Michael Vrionis in a statement that the rock star was “doing well.”  He had been taken from his show at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, some 40 miles northwest of Detroit, to the emergency department at McLaren Clarkston for observation Tuesday night, and was released during the night from the hospital.

Wednesday’s show at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, has been postponed; however, it was not immediately known when or if Santana would resume his tour. The tour has 21 dates left through late August before Santana is scheduled to head back to Las Vegas for his residency at the House of Blues..

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Categories
Pop Daypop

Bad Bunny’s ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’ reclaims the No. 1 spot on Billboard 200

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Bad Bunny’s fourth solo studio album, Un Verano Sin Ti, has reclaimed the No. 1 spot on Billboard 200.

Un Verano Sin Ti moved over 100,000 units in each of its first eight weeks, which hasn’t been accomplished since Views by Drake amassed 100,000-plus in its first 10 weeks over the summer of 2016.

Drake’s seventh studio album Honestly, Nevermind dropped from first to third in its second week, with the debut of Growin’ Up by Luke Combs taking the No. 2 spot – making it the biggest debut for a country album this year.

Chris Brown’s latest album Breezy finished in fourth place, and rounding out the top five is Lil Durk’s 7220. 

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Categories
Pop Daypop

Blackpink announces plans for new music and 2022 world tour

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South Korean girl group Blackpink will release new music in August, and launch a world tour by the end of 2022.

The K-pop stars agency, YG Entertainment, said in a press release that Blackpink are in the “final stages of recording a new album.” The new music in August will kick off “a continuous large-scale project which will extend through the second half of the year.” In addition, the group promised the new tour will be the “largest world tour in the history of a K-pop girl group.”

Blackpink– which consists of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa – released their first full-length effort, ‘THE ALBUM’, in October 2020. The album features the singles “How You Like That,” “Ice Cream” and “Lovesick Girls.” The group have not released any new music since ‘THE ALBUM’; however members Rosé and Lisa embarked on their solo careers, releasing their respective debut single albums in March and September. Meanwhile, Jisoo took on her first-ever leading role as an actress in the historical-romance K-drama ‘Snowdrop.’

The group’s dance performance video for “How You Like That” passed 1 billion views on YouTube in February. In addition, Blackpink become the first musical act to reach 75 million subscribers on YouTube last week.

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Categories
News Daypop

Justice Department sues Arizona over proof of citizenship voting law in presidential elections

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The Justice Department has filed suit against Arizona challenging its recently enacted voting law that requires proof of citizenship in order to vote in presidential elections. The Department of Justice announced the lawsuit Tuesday, contending that Arizona’s House Bill 2492, which is set to take effect in January, directly violates Section 6 of the National Voter Registration Act and Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act. The Supreme Court previously rejected an effort by Arizona in 2013 to require its residents to provide proof of citizenship in order to participate in federal elections.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement Tuesday announcing the lawsuit: “House Bill 2492’s onerous documentary proof of citizenship requirement for certain federal elections constitutes a textbook violation of the National Voter Registration Act. For nearly three decades, the National Voter Registration Act has helped to move states in the right direction by eliminating unnecessary requirements that have historically made it harder for eligible voters to access the registration rolls. Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections.”

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who signed the law in March, said it was necessary for “prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote. H.B. 2492 is a balanced approach that honors Arizona’s history of making voting accessible without sacrificing security in our elections.”

Arizona is the only state that requires voters to prove they are a U.S. citizen when they register to vote, by providing a government-issued identification, like a driver’s license, tribal ID or passport. The 2013 Supreme Court ruling allowed the requirement for state elections, but Arizona cannot require proof of citizenship for federal elections, like president.

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Categories
News Daypop

Grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia subpoenas Lindsey Graham, Rudy Giuliani and others in probe into election interference

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The Fulton County special grand jury investigating possible criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 elections has issued subpoenas for Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and several others in former President Donald Trump’s team. The special grand jury also subpoenaed attorney and podcast host Jacki Pick Deason.

The subpoenas, which were filed Tuesday in Fulton County, cite appearances in December 2020 by Giuliani and Eastman before Georgia’s state Senate where they blamed Trump’s loss to Democrat Joe Biden on disproven claims of widespread voter fraud. Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, testified in front of Georgia lawmakers on several occasions in late 2020.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump broke Georgia’s election laws, specifically citing audio of a separate call in which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” to overturn the state’s certified election results because “we won the state.”

The 23-person special grand jury, which was seated in May from a pool of 200 candidates, has begun hearing evidence. Raffensperger and Georgia Attorney Chris Carr testified in June, while Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is scheduled to give video testimony later this month.

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Categories
Sports Daypop

Pittsburgh Penguins re-sign goaltender Casey DeSmith to two-year contract worth $3.6M

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The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed goaltender Casey DeSmith to a two-year, $3.6 million contract on Tuesday. The organization tweeted:  “Welcome back, Casey! The Penguins have agreed to terms with DeSmith on a two-year contract. The contract runs through the 2023.24 season and carries an AAV of $1.8 million.”  DeSmith was slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 13.

The 30-year-old DeSmith posted an 11-6-5 record with three shutouts during the regular season and recorded a 2.79 goals-against average and .914 save percentage. He started Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs against the New York Rangers and made 48 saves before exiting midway through the second overtime period due to injury.

DeSmith, who was undrafted and joined the Penguins as a free agent in 2017, holds a 43-28-11 career record over four seasons in Pittsburgh.

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Categories
Sports Daypop

Novak Djokovic defeats Jannik Sinner to advance to 2022 Wimbledon Men’s Semifinals

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Novak Djokovic came back from behind to defeat Jannik Sinner in the 2022 Wimbledon men’s quarterfinals Tuesday. Djokovic held a 4-1 lead in the opening set before the 20-year-old Italian surged ahead to win the first two sets.  Djokovic, a 20-time major champion, then made a remarkable comeback with five breaks over the final three sets. The No. 10 seeded Sinner finished the match with 43 winners and 41 unforced errors.

Djokovic, a six-time Wimbledon champion who’s won the last three Wimbledon titles (the event wasn’t held in 2020), advances to face either Cameron Norrie or David Goffin in the semifinals.

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Categories
Country Daypop

Little Big Town debut their new song “All Summer”

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Little Big Town have shared their new single, “All Summer.”  The beloved country quartet — comprised of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook — called their latest release “the perfect summer anthem for ‘drinking wine on the water.’”  In an Instagram post, they shared the song with the caption, “Cheers y’all.”

“All Summer” comes shortly after Little Big Town debuted their song “Hell Yeah,” performing it live for the first time at the 2022 CMT Music Awards in April, and releasing a new music video for that single just last month.

Take a listen to the new single, “All Summer,” here.

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Categories
Country Daypop

Reba McEntire to star in Lifetime movie with boyfriend, Rex Linn

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Reba McEntire is set to star in a new Lifetime movie with her longtime boyfriend, Rex Linn. Titled ‘The Hammer,’ the film was inspired by the life of traveling circuit judge, Kim Wanker.  The film also stars McEntire’s good friend and former Reba co-star, Melissa Peterman. McEntire will also co-produce the project.

According to a press release from Lifetime, McEntire will play the role of Kim Wheeler, who is described as an “outspoken, firecracker lawyer” who is appointed Judge of the 5th District of Nevada. Linn will portray Bart Crawford, “a mysterious cowboy with unknown motives.”

The plot description of the film reads: “As one of the few traveling judges left in America, Wheeler finds herself covering a new circuit after the reigning judge passes away under what is described as “suspicious circumstances.”  With gavel in hand, she lays down the law with a no-nonsense brand of justice, that quickly earns her the nickname ‘The Hammer.’ As the investigation of the former judge’s death heats up, Kim’s sister Kris (Peterman), who runs the local brothel, suddenly becomes the prime suspect, and Kim must work even harder to make certain the appropriate justice is served.”

McEntire previously worked with Lifetime in 2021, starring and executive producing the holiday film, Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune. The country music icon will also be joining Season 3 of ABC’s Big Sky as a series regular.

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