Month: May 2023

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Entertainment Daypop

Adam Driver named honorary starter for Indianapolis 500

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Indiana native Adam Driver will wave the green flag as the honorary starter for the 107th Indy 500 on May 28.  The Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced: “The force will be with us on Race Day. Indiana native and former Marine Adam Driver will serve as honorary starter for the 107th #Indy500 presented by @gainbridgelife on Memorial Day Weekend.#INDYCAR | #ThisIsMay”

Indianapolis Motor Speedway president J. Douglas Boles said in a release: “Adam is going to experience one of the most exhilarating, powerful and exciting moments in all of sports as he stands atop the flag stand and waves the green flag to officially start the world’s greatest race. Indy 500 Race Day is full of meaning for our drivers, our fans across the globe and most especially our active-duty military members and veterans. Adam is not only a star recognized across the world but also a former U.S. Marine who will be a very fitting addition to ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’”

Driver, a Julliard graduate and former Marine, attended the University of Indianapolis for a year. He co-founded Arts in the Armed Forces, a non-profit organization that staged theatrical and musical performances for members of the military. Driver is perhaps best known for playing Kylo Ren in the last three “Star Wars” movies. He has been nominated for two Academy Awards, four Emmy Awards and a Tony Award.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway previously announced that singer-songwriter Jewel will perform the National Anthem, while ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ actress Stephanie Beatriz will serve as grand marshal. Coverage of the 107th Indy 500 will begin Sunday, May 28 at 9 a.m. ET exclusively on Peacock. At 11 a.m., NBC and Peacock will broadcast pre-race through post-race interviews.

Editorial credit: Denis Makarenko / Shutterstock.com

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Pop Daypop

Taylor Swift releasing deluxe version of ‘Midnights’ featuring Ice Spice, Lana Del Rey

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Taylor Swift will release a deluxe version of her latest LP, Midnights on Friday, May 26.  ‘Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition)’ includes the original album, the “3am” tracks, and the Target CD bonus song “Hits Different.” Swift wrote on Instagram: “Um. SO much to tell you. I’m a massive fan of this brilliant artist and after getting to know her I can confirm: she is THE ONE to watch. So delighted to say that Karma Featuring the incredible @icespice will be out TOMORROW night at MIDNIGHT ET as a part of the new Midnights (Til Dawn Edition) deluxe album”

‘Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition)’ will feature a new remix of “Karma” with Bronx rapper Ice Spice (the original song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,) as well as a new version “Snow on the Beach” featuring additional contributions from Lana Del Rey. Fans had complained about the small role that Del Rey played in the original version of “Snow on the Beach.”  Said Swift: “You asked for it, we listened: Lana and I went back into the studio specifically to record more Lana on Snow on the Beach,  Love u Lana 🥰😆☺.”

Additionally, at Swift’s show at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday, she will offer an exclusive CD edition of the new deluxe album that has another new track, “You’re Losing Me.”  Said Swift: “But wait there’s more… for those of you going to the East Rutherford shows – we will have a new special edition CD available ONLY on site starting at 12:30pm ET on Friday! This CD will have a never before heard Midnights vault track called “You’re Losing Me”!”

Editorial credit: Brian Friedman / Shutterstock.com

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Entertainment Daypop

Take a look Fantasia and Halle Bailey in the trailer for The Color Purple remake

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Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg have reunited to create a musical remake of The Color Purple, nearly 40 years after the original film was released. The new remake stars Fantasia, making her big feature film debut, as well as Halle Bailey, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, H.E.R., Corey Hawkins, Ciara and more.

Winfrey, who played Sofia in the original film, shared what makes the forthcoming project so special: “The reason this moment is so important is as long there is a need for self-discovery, self-empowerment, as long as there is a need for victory in someone’s life as long, as there is a need for people to know what it feels like to be loved up and to be made full and hold to somebody else’s love, there will be a need for ‘The Color Purple.’”

The Color Purple will premiere on December 25.
Watch the trailer – here.

Editorial credit: Fred Duval / Shutterstock.com

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Pop Daypop

Maroon 5 drop the video for their song ‘Middle Ground’

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Maroon 5 dropped the video for their new song “Middle Ground.” The new track’s arrival marks the first release from the band since 2021.

The music video, directed by David Dobkin, sees Maroon 5 — featuring members Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, James Valentine, Matt Flynn, PJ Morton, and Sam Farrar — sitting around in a songwriting session and performing together in a home studio. It also features a few special guest stars: Levine’s wife Behati Prinsloo and the couple’s two eldest children, daughters Dusty Rose, 6, and Gio Grace, 5. Levine, 44, and Prinsloo, 35, welcomed their third child together in January.

Maroon 5 also just opened their Las Vegas Residency, M5LV; and will be back to Dolby Live! at Park MGM in July 2023.

Buy or stream “Middle Ground” – here.
Take a look at the video for “Middle Ground” – here.

Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Rock Daypop

Maroon 5 drop the video for their song ‘Middle Ground’

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Maroon 5 dropped the video for their new song “Middle Ground.” The new track’s arrival marks the first release from the band since 2021.

The music video, directed by David Dobkin, sees Maroon 5 — featuring members Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, James Valentine, Matt Flynn, PJ Morton, and Sam Farrar — sitting around in a songwriting session and performing together in a home studio. It also features a few special guest stars: Levine’s wife Behati Prinsloo and the couple’s two eldest children, daughters Dusty Rose, 6, and Gio Grace, 5. Levine, 44, and Prinsloo, 35, welcomed their third child together in January.

Maroon 5 also just opened their Las Vegas Residency, M5LV; and will be back to Dolby Live! at Park MGM in July 2023.

Buy or stream “Middle Ground” – here.
Take a look at the video for “Middle Ground” – here.

Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

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Pop Daypop

Kelly Clarkson shares video for the single ‘Favorite Kind of High’

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Kelly Clarkson released the single and music video for the song “Favorite Kind of High”.

The video for “Favorite Kind of High” shows the 41-year-old singer and television personality performing the song live at the Belasco theater in Los Angeles. Clarkson shares that the track captures a happier moment in her relationship with her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, from whom she split in 2020: “I don’t want just some sad, I just got divorced and my life sucks, dumpster fire record. Now that’s in there, but I wanted it to be about the whole relationship. One thing I have learned, in a lot of therapy, is it’s not about just the bad. It was a whole thing. It doesn’t mean everything is bad. There’s nothing like that high when you first see someone.”

“Favorite Kind of High” appears on Clarkson’s forthcoming 10th studio album, Chemistry, set for release June 23.
Take a look at the video for “Favorite Kind of High” – here.

Kelly Clarkson Shares New Summery Single “favorite kind of high”

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News Daypop

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces 2024 presidential bid

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has officially declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president, announcing the news with a campaign video during a glitch-riddled event on Twitter with the owner of the social media site, Elon Musk. DeSantis filed paperwork on Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, before his planned event with Musk.

DeSantis said: “I am running for president of the United States to lead our great American comeback … But we know our country’s going in the wrong direction. We see it with our own eyes. And we feel it in our bones.” In his campaign video, DeSantis said he was running to “lead our great American comeback … We proved it can be done. We chose facts over fear, education over indoctrination, law and order over rioting and disorder.”  DeSantis painted a dark picture of a country he said is going in the wrong direction under Biden and urged Republicans to get behind him: “My pledge to you is this: If you nominate me you can set your clock to January 20, 2025, at high noon because on the west side of the US Capitol, I will be taking the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States. No excuses, I will get the job done.”

DeSantis’ decision to announce his campaign in a Twitter conversation with Musk ultimately backfired; the audio stream crashed repeatedly, making it virtually impossible for most users to hear the new presidential candidate in real time. Musk said the event’s technical glitches were due to “straining” servers because so many people were trying to listen to the audio-only event; more than 20 minutes passed beyond the scheduled start time with users getting kicked off, hearing microphone feedback and hold music and dealing with other technical problems.

Editorial credit: Hunter Crenian / Shutterstock.com

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Sports Daypop

Florida Panthers sweep Carolina Hurricanes to head to Stanley Cup Final

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The Florida Panthers are heading to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996, after sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes with a 4-3 win in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday.

Matthew Tkachuk scored a power-play goal with 4.9 seconds left in regulation to send the Panthers ahead, his second goal of the game. Tkachuk’s goal came after Jesper Fast tied the game 3-3 with 3:22 remaining. Aleksander Barkov had two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves for the Panthers, who are the second wild card from the East.

Florida will play either the Vegas Golden Knights or Dallas Stars in the Final. Vegas leads that best-of-7 series 3-0, with Game 4 taking place on Thursday.

Editorial credit: Wawx / Shutterstock.com

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News Daypop

Student arrested in fatal shooting of schoolmate outside Pittsburgh school

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One student is dead and another is in custody after a shooting early Wednesday outside a school in Pittsburgh. The ages of the students involved in the incident outside the Oliver Citywide Academy were not immediately clear; however according to the city school district’s website, Oliver Citywide Academy is a full-time special education center serving grades 3-12.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said the shooting happened around 7:25 a.m. on the steps outside the school. It wasn’t immediately clear what spurred the shooting, and no other injuries were reported. The names of the students have not been released, but police said both were under the age of 18. Authorities said the wounded student was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Pittsburgh Major Crimes Cmdr. Richard Ford said during a news conference at the school that “We believe, based on the information that we have and the video we’ve been able to see, that we have the actor in custody and there’s no potential threat to the other schools,”  adding that the victim was killed as he was walking into the school. Maria Montano, a city spokeswoman, said most students were still on their way to the school when the shooting happened, and buses were rerouted to another school building. Students who were already in the school were kept in the building. Classes there were canceled for the day following the shooting.

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Categories
Sports Daypop

Washington Commanders TE Armani Rogers suffers Achilles injury

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Second-year Washington Commanders tight end Armani Rogers suffered a ‘noncontact Achilles injury’ while running during an OTA practice on Tuesday, and will likely miss the season.

In 11 games, Rogers caught only five passes for 64 yards last season.  He started three times, but missed games with various knee and ankle injuries. Rogers had transitioned from being a college quarterback with Nevada and then Ohio University to an undrafted free agent NFL tight end.

Coach Ron Rivera said of Rogers: “It’s a blow. The young man really progressed well for us last year. But we feel confident in the group of tight ends.” Washington still has veterans Logan Thomas and John Bates, as well as 2022 fifth-round pick Cole Turner, and Curtis Hodges, an undrafted free agent last year in

Editorial credit: Wawx / Shutterstock.com