Month: November 2022

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Entertainment Daypop

HBO renews ‘The White Lotus’ for Season 3

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HBO announced that the anthology comedy-drama series “The White Lotus” will return for a third season on the network. HBO tweeted alongside a teaser: “I can’t wait to welcome you to the next White Lotus property.” 

The White Lotus, created, written and directed by Mike White, follows the guests and staff of the fictional ‘White Lotus’ resort chain. Season 1 took place in Hawaii and starred Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Lacy, Sydney Sweeny and Molly Shannon. Season 2 is set in Sicily and stars Coolidge, F. Murray Abraham, Meghann Fahy, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, Aubrey Plaza and Sabrina Impacciatore.

HBO programming EVP Francesca Orsi said in a press release: “Reflecting on The White Lotus’ humble, run-and-gun origin as a contained pandemic production, it’s impossible not to be awestruck by how Mike orchestrated one of the buzziest and critically acclaimed shows. And yet, he’s only continued to reach new heights in season 2, which is the ultimate testament to Mike’s raw, unparalleled vision. His courage to explore the uncharted waters of the human psyche, paired with his signature irreverent humor and buoyant directing style, have us all dreaming of more vacation days at the resort we’ve come to adore. We couldn’t be more thrilled to get the chance to collaborate on a third season together.”

Season 2 of “The White Lotus” premiered in October.

Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Ticketmaster apologizes to Taylor Swift and fans for ‘The Eras Tour’ ticket fiasco

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Ticketmaster is apologizing to Taylor Swift and her fans for the disasterous presale for her The Eras Tour, and for canceling the public on-sale. The company released an updated public statement about what went wrong during Tuesday’s Verified Fan presale that left millions of fans without tickets.

Ticketmaster’s tweet read: “We strive to make ticket buying as easy as possible for fans, but that hasn’t been the case for many people trying to buy tickets for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour. First, we want to apologize to Taylor and all of her fans – especially those who had a terrible experience trying to purchase tickets. Next, we feel we owe it to everyone to share some information to help explain what happened … Historically, we’ve been able to manage huge volume coming into the site to shop for tickets, so those with Verified Fan codes have a smooth shopping process. However, this time the staggering number of bot attacks as well as fans who didn’t have codes drove unprecedented traffic on our site, resulting in 3.5 billion total system requests – 4x our previous peak … We handle onsales for countless top tours, some of the biggest sporting events, and more. Never before has a Verified Fan onsale sparked so much attention – or traffic. This disrupted the predictability and reliability that is the hallmark of our Verified Fan platform.”

Ticketmaster added that it will work to improve its system in hopes this doesn’t happen again: “The biggest venues and artists turn to us because we have the leading ticketing technology in the world – that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, and clearly for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour onsale it wasn’t. But we’re always working to improve the ticket buying experience. Especially for high demand onsales, which continue to test new limits. We’re working to shore up our tech for the new bar that has been set by demand for the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour. Once we get through that, if there are any next steps, updates will be shared accordingly.  While it’s impossible for everyone to get tickets to these shows, we know we can do more to improve the experience and that’s what we’re focused on.”

Demand for Swift concert tickets was huge before the Verified Fan presale. Swift initially announced 27 dates and then added eight and then 17 new dates within two weeks. Swift will play multiple nights in all cities, tallying to 52 shows in US stadiums in 2023. And despite the ticket sale problems, Ticketmaster did note that “over 2 million tickets were sold on Ticketmaster for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour on Nov. 15 – the most tickets ever sold for an artist in a single day.”

Editorial credit: FashionStock.com / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Pop Daypop

Ticketmaster apologizes to Taylor Swift and fans for ‘The Eras Tour’ ticket fiasco

shutterstock_235852933

Ticketmaster is apologizing to Taylor Swift and her fans for the disasterous presale for her The Eras Tour, and for canceling the public on-sale. The company released an updated public statement about what went wrong during Tuesday’s Verified Fan presale that left millions of fans without tickets.

Ticketmaster’s tweet read: “We strive to make ticket buying as easy as possible for fans, but that hasn’t been the case for many people trying to buy tickets for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour. First, we want to apologize to Taylor and all of her fans – especially those who had a terrible experience trying to purchase tickets. Next, we feel we owe it to everyone to share some information to help explain what happened … Historically, we’ve been able to manage huge volume coming into the site to shop for tickets, so those with Verified Fan codes have a smooth shopping process. However, this time the staggering number of bot attacks as well as fans who didn’t have codes drove unprecedented traffic on our site, resulting in 3.5 billion total system requests – 4x our previous peak … We handle onsales for countless top tours, some of the biggest sporting events, and more. Never before has a Verified Fan onsale sparked so much attention – or traffic. This disrupted the predictability and reliability that is the hallmark of our Verified Fan platform.”

Ticketmaster added that it will work to improve its system in hopes this doesn’t happen again: “The biggest venues and artists turn to us because we have the leading ticketing technology in the world – that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, and clearly for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour onsale it wasn’t. But we’re always working to improve the ticket buying experience. Especially for high demand onsales, which continue to test new limits. We’re working to shore up our tech for the new bar that has been set by demand for the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour. Once we get through that, if there are any next steps, updates will be shared accordingly.  While it’s impossible for everyone to get tickets to these shows, we know we can do more to improve the experience and that’s what we’re focused on.”

Demand for Swift concert tickets was huge before the Verified Fan presale. Swift initially announced 27 dates and then added eight and then 17 new dates within two weeks. Swift will play multiple nights in all cities, tallying to 52 shows in US stadiums in 2023. And despite the ticket sale problems, Ticketmaster did note that “over 2 million tickets were sold on Ticketmaster for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour on Nov. 15 – the most tickets ever sold for an artist in a single day.”

Editorial credit: FashionStock.com / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Rock Daypop

Roger Waters shares new version of classic ‘Comfortably Numb 2022’

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Roger Waters has released “Comfortably Numb 2022,” a new version of Pink Floyd’s iconic track from 1979’s ‘The Wall.’  Waters in a statement: “During Lockdown I made a demo of a new version of ‘Comfortably Numb’ as an opener for our new show ‘This Is Not A Drill.’ I pitched it a whole step down, in A Minor, to make it darker and arranged it with no solos, except over the outro chord sequence, where there is a heartrendingly beautiful female vocal solo from Shanay Johnson, one of our new singers.”

“Comfortably Numb 2022” was recorded during the U.S. leg of Waters’ This Is Not A Drill Tour, and was produced by Waters and Gus Seyffert, who also contributes bass, synth, and percussion on the track. Additional featured musicians include vocalists Dave Kilminster, Shanay Johnson and Amanda Belair, drummer Joey Warner, Jonathan Wilson on harmonium, synth, guitar, and vocals, Jon Carin on synth and vocals, Robert Walter on organ and piano, and Nigel Godrich on strings and backing vocals.

“Comfortably Numb 2022” runs exactly two and a half minutes longer than the original, which was six minutes and 22 seconds in length. Waters’ nearly nine-minute version is accompanied by a video, which you can take a look at – here.

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Categories
Rock Daypop

Iron Maiden teams up with Marvel for new apparel line

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Iron Maiden and Marvel have just launched a new apparel line that is now available to order via Amazon.   The heavy metal legends posted on Instagram: “Eds up! The brand new Iron Maiden X Marvel collection has just launched… and it looks awesome! Order here – https://gtly.to/WHmK-6zIE #IronMaiden #Marvel #Merch”

The line available includes four different shirts: An off-white (natural) t-shirt called “Marvel Zombies Eddie”, as well as a black “Marvel Aces High War Machine”.  There is also a black “Iron Maiden Marvel Guardians Of The Galaxy” shirt, and the black “Can I Play With Madness Deadpool” shirt.

All four are can be purchased via Amazon – here.

IRON MAIDEN & Marvel Team Up For New Merch Line

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Categories
News Daypop

Nancy Pelosi stepping down as House Democratic leader after two decades

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is stepping down from House Democratic leadership but will remain in Congress. The 82-year-old Pelosi made the announcement in a floor speech on Thursday, and received a standing ovation from her colleagues. Noting she will continue to represent her San Francisco, California district, Pelosi said: “I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress. The hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect.”  She later tweeted:  “Thank you all — and may God continue to bless the United States of America.”

Pelosi was the the first woman to hold House speakership, and is the Democratic Party’s longest-serving House leader. Her decision will have a major impact on Democrats in their new position as House minority. Republicans officially won majority control in the U.S. House, ending a four-year Democratic majority despite a strong midterm showing for the party. As of Thursday morning, Republicans had captured 218 seats in the chamber compared to Democrats 211.

The announcement comes weeks after her husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked in their family home in California, a crime believed to be politically motivated.  Pelosi had said the attack on her husband Paul would impact her decision to stay in House leadership post-midterms.

President Joe Biden said of Pelosi in a statement: “History will note she is the most consequential speaker of the House of Representatives in our history. There are countless examples of how she embodies the obligation of elected officials to uphold their oath to God and country to ensure our democracy delivers and remains a beacon to the world. In everything she does, she reflects a dignity in her actions and a dignity she sees in the lives of the people of this nation.”

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Categories
News Daypop

Gabby Petito’s family awarded $3M in wrongful death lawsuit against Laundrie estate

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Gabby Petito’s family was awarded $3M after they filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the parents of Brian Laundrie, who they believe killed their 22-year-old daughter last year. Months after Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt filed a civil suit in Sarasota County (where Brian’s parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, reside), a settlement was announced on Thursday, signed by Sarasota County Circuit Judge Hunter W. Carroll.

The suit alleged that the Laundries hindered the search for Petito and knew that she “had been murdered by their son,” who later died by suicide. Patrick Reilly, an attorney for Petito’s family, said: “The Petito family lost their daughter, and they were also denied the opportunity to confront her killer. No amount of money is sufficient to compensate the Petito family for the loss of their daughter, Gabby, at the hands of Brian Laundrie.” Brian Laundrie did not have $3 million at the time of his death and the settlement amount is “an arbitrary number.” The money will go toward the Gabby Petito Foundation, which was established after her August 2021 death.

Petito and Laundrie were on a cross-country trip when she disappeared. The engaged couple left Blue Point, New York, on July 2, 2021, in a 2012 Ford Transit van and documented their journey on YouTube and Instagram. They traveled to Kansas, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming before Petito was reported missing. Reports of altercations began to surface including one incident where police in Moab, Utah, responded to a report of a “domestic problem” between the pair. Petito stopped communicating with her family, and Laundrie returned to Florida alone with the van, which was recovered by North Port police at the home the couple shared with his parents. Wanted for questioning in Petito’s disappearance,Laundrie then vanished and his body was found in Florida in October 2021, a month after Petito was found dead in Wyoming. A coroner ruled Petito’s death a homicide and said she died by “manual strangulation.” Officials have said that Laundrie died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and left a note saying he was responsible for his fiancée’s death.

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Categories
Sports Daypop

NFL moves Sunday’s Bills-Browns game to Detroit due to snowfall forecast in Buffalo

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The NFL has moved Sunday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns from Buffalo to Ford Field in Detroit due to a forecasted ‘epic snowstorm’ on the verge of hitting western New York. It is the first time in eight years that the NFL has made the decision to move a regular-season game due to inclement weather. The time of the game remains the same, and is still scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

The National Weather Service has already issued a snow advisory that will be in place for the Buffalo area until 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, with the current forecast calling for two to four feet of lake-effect snow, including “paralyzing snowfall for the Buffalo and Watertown areas,” expected through the weekend. It added that a “crippling” lake-effect snowstorm remains possible Thursday night through Sunday night. The warning included Orchard Park, N.Y., where the Bills play, which sits just off the eastern tip of Lake Erie.

Moving the game to Detroit means the Bills lose their home-field advantage against the Browns, as Cleveland is only a 2.5-hour drive from Detroit. However, the Bills do have the slight benefit of not having to travel for their Thanksgiving game.

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Categories
Sports Daypop

MLB investigating if Mets, Yankees communicated improperly about Aaron Judge’s free agency

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The Athletic reports that the MLB Players Association has requested that Major League Baseball investigate whether owners of the New York Yankees and New York Mets had improper communications regarding free agent Aaron Judge, constituting a violation of baseball’s collective bargaining agreement. MLB is expected to request text, phone, and email records between Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and Mets owner Steve Cohen.

The MLBPA’s request stems from an article published Nov. 3 on SNY TV, the Mets’ television network’s website, which cited Mets sources and stated Steinbrenner and Cohen “enjoy a mutually respectful relationship, and do not expect to upend that with a high-profile bidding war” for Judge. Details in the story caught the attention of the Players Association, which asked the Commissioner’s Office to investigate whether improper communication occurred between the respective owners of the clubs, according to sources briefed on the situation.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred addressed the matter with reporters on Thursday, saying: “I’m absolutely confident that the clubs behaved in a way that was consistent with the agreement. This was based on a newspaper report. We will put ourselves in a position to demonstrate credibly to the MLBPA that this is not an issue. I’m sure that’s going to be the outcome. But obviously we understand the emotion that surrounds that word [collusion] and we’ll proceed accordingly.”

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Categories
Country Daypop

Chase Rice announces new album ‘I Hate Cowboys and All Dogs Go To Hell’

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Chase Rice has shared the title and release date for his upcoming album.  I Hate Cowboys and All Dogs Go To Hell, Rice’s sixth studio album, will be released on Feb. 10, 2023.  In addition to the title and release date, Rice also unveiled the album’s cover art, which is a vintage photo of his late father, Daniel.

Rice said of his father in an album press release: “My dad was one of those good guys you read about – tough, hardworking, always helping other people out. I try to live my life in a way that would make him proud. I haven’t always measured up to that, but I get closer to that man I want to be and the man he’d be proud of every single day … Making this album was a big step towards that musically, too. Not only is it the most vulnerable I’ve ever been, it’s also a sound he’d enjoy listening to. I’ve always wanted to honor him by using this photo as an album cover, and I know this project is the one that deserves that. I can’t wait for y’all to hear it.”

I Hate Cowboys and All Dogs Go To Hell is now available to pre-order / pre-save – HERE.

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