Month: June 2023

Categories
Sports Daypop

A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Brittney Griner among 2023 WNBA All-Star Starters

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On Sunday, the WNBA announced its 10 starters and captains for the July 15 game in Las Vegas, airing on ABC @8:30 p.m. ET.

The Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson, New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner, and Indiana Fever’s Aliyah Boston headline the starters for the All-Star Game. Wilson and Stewart were the highest vote-getters among the fans and will serve as captains of the two All-Star squads for the second year in a row. It is Wilson’s third time being a captain and fifth All-Star appearance overall. Team Wilson won the All-Star Game in 2019 and 2022. It is also the fifth All-Star Game for Stewart and second time being a captain.

The six other starters are guards Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young of Las Vegas; guard Arike Ogunbowale and forward Satou Sabally of the Dallas Wings; forward Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks; and guard Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm.  It is Ogwumike’s eighth selection, the fifth time for Gray and Loyd, the third for Ogunbowale, and the second for Sabally and Young.

The WNBA’s 12 head coaches will select the 12 reserves, which will include at least three guards and five frontcourt players, plus four players at either position (they cannot vote for their own players). Reserves will be announced Saturday, and the captains will pick their teams in the WNBA All-Star Team Selection Special on July 8, airing on ESPN, 1 p.m. ET.

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Categories
Sports Daypop

Phoenix Mercury fire head coach Vanessa Nygaard after 2-10 start to season

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The Phoenix Mercury announced Sunday they have fired head coach Vanessa Nygaard after the team started 2-10 this season. Assistant coach Nikki Blue, who has coached in the NBA and WNBA for 15 years, has been appointed interim head coach.

Mercury GM Jim Pitman in a press release: “We have chosen to make a change at head coach. We thank Vanessa Nygaard for the way she endured and managed the adversity of the last year-plus. Our organization and our fans have high expectations for this team, and we have not reached those with our performance this year … We have confidence in the job Nikki Blue will do as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2023 season.”

Nygaard was hired in January 2022 to replace longtime head coach Sandy Brondello, who was then hired by the New York Liberty. Prior to coaching Phoenix, Nygaard spent a year as an assistant coach for the Aces and a decade as the head coach of the Windward School high school girls basketball team in Los Angeles. Nygaard had a 15-21 record in 2022, bringing the Mercury to the playoffs (which they lost in the first round).

Nygaard’s firing comes one day after the Mercury lost 97-74 to the Seattle Storm, their fifth-straight loss and their second-straight loss by 20 points or more. Phoneix has had an awful season thus far, and currently hold the worst record in the WNBA.

Blue, who played in the WNBA from 2006 to ’10, takes over as the interim coach after joining the team as an assistant last year; she previously served as an assistant coach at four different colleges. Blue’s first game at the helm will be June 27 when the Mercury take on the Dallas Wings

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Categories
Country Daypop

Tim McGraw shares the new song ‘Hey Whiskey’ from upcoming LP

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Tim McGraw has shared his new song, “Hey Whiskey,” the latest preview of McGraw’s forthcoming new album, Standing Room Only due out Aug. 25. The 13-song set includes its title track, which is currently No. 17 and rising on the Mediabase Country Chart.

McGraw posted on social media: “#StandingRoomOnly THE ALBUM coming August 25th!! 13 songs. And we just released a new song “Hey Whiskey” available everywhere now. I can’t wait to share this whole project with you…. pre-order bundles available for a limited time at timmcgraw.com!”

McGraw shared in a statement: “As an artist, I always want to dig deeper and get better every time I make a new record — it’s a big part of what drives me, and I really believe this is one of the best projects we’ve made. I’ve been working on this album since 2020, and this collection of songs are some of the most emotional, thought-provoking, and life-affirming music I’ve ever recorded … “I’m excited to have ‘Hey Whiskey’ out so fans can start hearing more of what we’re working on — and maybe even more before August.”

Exclusive album packages of Standing Room Only are available for pre-order now at McGraw’s merch store.
Take a listen to ‘Hey Whiskey’ – here.

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Categories
Country Daypop

Luke Bryan announces 2024 Crash My Playa

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Luke Bryan announces the return of his annual concert vacation Crash My Playa for 2024. Bryan posted on social media: “The lineup this year has me fired up! Let the countdown to the playa begin! #CrashMyPlaya”

2024 Crash My Playa will take place January 17-20, 2024 at the Moon Palace Cancún, featuring four nights of country music on a private white sand beach. The 2024 event weekend features headliners Luke Bryan for two nights, Jelly Roll one night, and Jon Pardi one night, with performance by Bailey Zimmerman and the return of Dustin Lynch’s all-day pool party. The full lineup will be announced soon.

Bryan said in a statement: “The lineup this year has me fired up. Everyone knows I love to have a good time and I know these artists feel the same. There is nothing I love more than seeing all my friends in front of the stage as well as on the stage having the time of their lives and that is what Crash My Playa brings.”

All-inclusive Crash My Playa 2024 event packages will go on sale to the public at 1 pm EDT on Thursday, June 29th via crashmyplaya.com. Previous Crash My Playa attendees as well as Luke and Jelly Roll’s fan club members will have access to special pre-sale tickets beginning at noon and 2 pm EDT on Wednesday, June 28th, respectively. Citi cardmembers will have access to Pre-Sale packages beginning June 28th at 4 pm EDT until 11:59 pm EDT through the Citi Entertainment program.

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Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Take a look at Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman in the trailer for ‘Special Ops: Lioness’

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Paramount+ has shared the teaser trailer for Taylor Sheridan’s Special Ops: Lioness. Zoe Saldaña stars as Joe, an agent in the CIA Lioness program, with her mission ‘to get close to the loved ones of targets so she can move in for the kill.’

The teaser shows Joe in a hearing being interviewed by Morgan Freeman about her last mission. Nicole Kidman plays Joe’s superior in the Lioness program, and also serves as executive producer. Laysla de Oliveira plays Joe’s new partner and Michael Kelly another Lioness overseer. Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Stephanie Nur and Hannah Love Lanier will also star.

Special Ops: Lioness premieres July 23. Check out the teaser trailer – here.

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Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Ryan Reynolds launches TV channel, debuts series ‘Bedtime Stories with Ryan’

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Ryan Reynolds is launching his own channel with FuboTV. FuboTV announced in a press release that it has partnered with the 46-year-old Reynolds and his production company, Maximum Effort, on the Maximum Effort channel. The Maximum Effort channel will also feature “original and classic TV and movies — as well as some surprising content breaks.”

Reynolds’ first project is the original series Bedtime Stories with Ryan as his first project, directed by Vincent Peone and consisting of 15 episodes. Bedtime Stories with Ryan will see Reynolds “read new and classic bedtime stories in an attempt to soothe your mind and soul (and also his own).”

Reynolds said:  “We’re so happy to create a program with the express goal of putting people to sleep. This show has actually been a dream of mine for a while. Story time is a nighttime staple in our home and is a daily reminder of the power of storytelling. We’re extremely grateful to our always amazing partners at Autodesk for helping bring this show to life with their design and make platform.”

Check out a preview of Bedtime Stories with Ryan – here. 

Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Rock Daypop

NEEDTOBREATHE shares their new track “Everknown”

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NEEDTOBREATHE have shared their latest track “Everknown” off their forthcoming album, Caves. The band dedicates the new song to “the humble heroes that don’t get enough credit for the good they have brought to the world.”

NEEDTOBREATHE shared in a statement: “‘Everknown’ is a song inspired by those in our lives that have helped shape us into the people we are today.”  Frontman Bear Rinehart also said of the band’s upcoming ninth album, Caves: “This record is probably the most ambitious record we’ve made in a long time.”

NEEDTOBREATHE also announced the first leg of The CAVES World Tour, which is set to kick off on October 13 in Savannah, Georgia and will feature alternative rock band Judah & The Lion as special guests. Tickets are available now at NEEDTOBREATHE.com.

Take a listen to ‘Everknown’ – here.
To stream ‘Everknown’, head here.

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Categories
Rock Daypop

Aerosmith’s ‘Greatest Hits’ collection due out August 18

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Rock legends Aerosmith will release of an ultimate Greatest Hits collection, celebrating five decades of rock’ n’ roll hits, on August 18.

The Super Deluxe Edition of Greatest Hits features 44 handpicked tracks with packaging curated by Aerosmith, representing each era of Aerosmith’s history. The Super Deluxe Edition is presented in premium book-style sleeves, includes four black-and-white lithographs, and boasts stunning live photography as well as iconic and rarely-seen photos of the band.

The set is now available for pre-order, along with a brand-new merch collection. Greatest Hits will be available in numerous different formats, including standard CD and LP editions, plus also as a 3CD expanded edition (featuring 44 tracks) and in 2LP and 4LP deluxe editions.Pre-order Aerosmith’s Super Deluxe Edition of Greatest Hits: here.

Aerosmith announces ‘Greatest Hits’

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Categories
Pop Daypop

Doja Cat announces first headlining tour

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Doja Cat has announced her first North American Arena tour this fall, dubbed The Scarlet Tour — named for the alter ego she introduced with First Of All.

The 24-date ‘The Scarlet Tour’ will kick-off on Halloween, Oct. 31st, in San Fransisco with stops in Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, New York, Boston, Detroit, Toronto and more before wrapping-up in Chicago on Dec. 13th. Special guests Ice Spice and Doechii will join the superstar on select dates across the tour.

Registration for tickets can be accessed: here. Fans will be randomly selected to receive a code that grants them access to the presales starting Wednesday, June 28. A limited number of tickets will be available during a general on sale starting Friday, June 30th at 10 AM local time at Ticketmaster.com while supplies last.  For more information head to: www.dojacat.com.

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Categories
Pop Daypop

Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice team up in the video for “Barbie World”

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Nicki Minaj, 40, and Ice Spice, 23, have teamed on the single and music video for the song “Barbie World (with Aqua)”, for the upcoming Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken.

“Barbie World” is a reinterpretation of Aqua’s single “Barbie Girl,” and features a sample of the hit song. The video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis, shows Minaj and Ice Spice run the town in Barbie Land. You can take a look at the video: here.

The film’s soundtrack, Barbie the Album, also features “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa and songs by Karol G, Lizzo, Charlie XCX, HAIM, The Kid Laroi and other artists. Barbie The Album will be available the same day the Barbie film opens in theaters, July 21. To pre-order/save Barbie The Album, head here.

Stream Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s Barbie World (with Aqua) – here.

Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Releases New Song & Video “Barbie World”

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