Month: April 2025

Categories
Rock Daypop

Iron Maiden to mark 50th Anniversary with new documentary this fall

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Universal Pictures Content Group announced it has begun production on a documentary chronicling heavy metal icons Iron Maiden‘s 50-year career. The currently untitled film is slated for release internationally in the fall, with U.S. theatrical distribution still to be confirmed.

The documentary will feature exclusive interviews with key band members and the final interview with original vocalist, Paul Di’Anno, who died in October 2024 at 66. In addition to rare archival footage of the group, the doc will also include all-new animated sequences with Maiden’s fan-favorite ghoulish grin zombie mascot Eddie, who has appeared on all their album covers. The film will be produced by Dominic Freeman, with Parker serving as executive producer.

The band posted on their social media: “In celebration of 50 epic years, Iron Maiden are excited to announce that an official feature documentary about the band will be released later this year! Created in partnership with Universal Pictures Content Group the long-awaited documentary is an emotive journey through Iron Maiden’s 50 Year history told from the perspective of both the band and some of their most devoted followers – from longstanding superfans to film and music icons such as Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich and Gene Simmons. The documentary will also feature exclusive interviews with pivotal band members including the final interview with original vocalist, Paul Di’Anno who sadly passed away last year. Featuring rare archival footage, including spectacular animation of our iconic mascot, Eddie, the film explores how Iron Maiden has helped shape a cultural movement, challenging conventional views of rock music and heavy metal’s broader impact on society and culture. #IronMaiden #IronMaidenDocumentary #IronMaidenFilm #IronMaiden50”

According to a press release, the documentary “offers a unique visual experience that highlights Iron Maiden’s widespread impact and the strong connection between the band and their truly global army of fans. The film also explores the cultural movement Iron Maiden has helped shape and their enduring legacy in both music and fan culture, challenging common perceptions of the wider significance of rock music and heavy metal.”

Universal Pictures Content group executive vice president Helen Parker said in a statement: “We’re thrilled Iron Maiden have entrusted us to bring their legacy to cinemas around the world. Working closely with the band and their passionate fans has been an unrivalled experience allowing us to tell their story in a unique way and celebrate their incomparable fearless creativity in their 50th anniversary year.” 

Iron Maiden will be gearing up to launch their 50th anniversary Run For Your Lives tour in Budapest on May 27, with 32 other dates currently scheduled throughout Europe through August 2.

Editorial credit: Narcis Parfenti / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Pop Daypop

Ariana Grande debuts at No. 1 with ‘Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead’

Ariana Grande at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hanger on February 7^ 2025 in Santa Monica^ CA

Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine album has debuted at No. 1 with her deluxe album ‘Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead.’  In addition, the critically acclaimed deluxe album captured the No. 1 spot for Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales, and Vinyl Albums.

The original album earned the singer her sixth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 and had two songs — “Yes, And?” and “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” — top the Hot 100 chart, making Eternal Sunshine the only album to produce multiple Hot 100 No. 1 hits in 2024.

The deluxe album features six new tracks from the artist, and was released alongside the short film, Brighter Days Ahead, written and directed by Christian Breslauer and Grande. Set to a backdrop of the album’s songs, the short film picks up 70 years after Grande’s music video for “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” –in that video, Grande portrayed Peaches, a heartbroken young woman visiting a clinic named ‘Brighter Days Inc.’ to have the memories of her lost love (played by Evan Peters) wiped from her mind.

Stream ‘Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead’ – HERE.

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

All-female Blue Origin crew, including Katy Perry and Gayle King, safely completes trip to space

Property of Blue Origin's Orbital Launch Site (OLS) manufacturing facility in Cape Canaveral^ Florida. May 29^ 2021

Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle, which included pop star Katy Perry and journalist Gayle King, launched into space on Monday, April 14. The Blue Origin mission marks the first all-female spaceflight since 1963, according to the company, following Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963.

New Shepard safely completed the historic trip that lasted approximately 10 minutes. just above the Kármán line — an invisible boundary at an altitude of 62 miles (above sea level) that is widely accepted as the edge of space — before the capsule descended under parachutes and landed in the Texas desert.

The all-female crew took off at 9:30 a.m. EDT in Blue Origin’s New Shepard (known as NS-31) from the company’s Launch Site One, around 30 miles outside of Van Horn, Texas. They touched down at 9:39 a.m. as the crew parachuted back down to Earth and landed in their capsule near the rocket at 9:42 a.m. The crew emerged from the capsule shortly after 9:50 a.m.

Joining Perry and King as part of the NS-31 mission crew were: Lauren Sánchez, a former journalist who is Jeff Bezos’ fiancée; Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist; Amanda Nguyen, a bioastronautics research scientist; and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn.

Oprah Winfrey, who was on hand for the launch, posted a video of her best friend King and the rest of the NS-31 crew as they drove to the launchpad Monday, during which King appeared to wipe away tears. Also among the onlookers at the launch site was Perry’s daughter Daisy and her partner Orlando Bloom, Kris Jenner and Khloé Kardashian.

King kissed the ground as she climbed out of the capsule, saying: “I am glad I did it. I have no regrets. I’m stepping away from my comfort zone. I may now get my ears pierced,” she joked. King then followed by paraphrasing a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “Courage is doing something that scares you, but you do it anyway.”

Editorial credit: Denny Pictures / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

All-female Blue Origin crew, including Katy Perry and Gayle King, safely completes trip to space

Property of Blue Origin's Orbital Launch Site (OLS) manufacturing facility in Cape Canaveral^ Florida. May 29^ 2021

Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle, which included pop star Katy Perry and journalist Gayle King, launched into space on Monday, April 14. The Blue Origin mission marks the first all-female spaceflight since 1963, according to the company, following Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963.

New Shepard safely completed the historic trip that lasted approximately 10 minutes. just above the Kármán line — an invisible boundary at an altitude of 62 miles (above sea level) that is widely accepted as the edge of space — before the capsule descended under parachutes and landed in the Texas desert.

The all-female crew took off at 9:30 a.m. EDT in Blue Origin’s New Shepard (known as NS-31) from the company’s Launch Site One, around 30 miles outside of Van Horn, Texas. They touched down at 9:39 a.m. as the crew parachuted back down to Earth and landed in their capsule near the rocket at 9:42 a.m. The crew emerged from the capsule shortly after 9:50 a.m.

Joining Perry and King as part of the NS-31 mission crew were: Lauren Sánchez, a former journalist who is Jeff Bezos’ fiancée; Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist; Amanda Nguyen, a bioastronautics research scientist; and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn.

Oprah Winfrey, who was on hand for the launch, posted a video of her best friend King and the rest of the NS-31 crew as they drove to the launchpad Monday, during which King appeared to wipe away tears. Also among the onlookers at the launch site was Perry’s daughter Daisy and her partner Orlando Bloom, Kris Jenner and Khloé Kardashian.

King kissed the ground as she climbed out of the capsule, saying: “I am glad I did it. I have no regrets. I’m stepping away from my comfort zone. I may now get my ears pierced,” she joked. King then followed by paraphrasing a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “Courage is doing something that scares you, but you do it anyway.”

Editorial credit: Denny Pictures / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

El Salvador President Bukele meets with Pres. Trump, says he cannot return man wrongfully deported from the U.S.

Usa and El Salvador Realistic Half Flags Together

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, where
he stated would not send the Maryland man the U.S. mistakenly deported to El Salvador back to the United States. Trump also discussed with Bukele  further cooperation on security and migration, El Salvador’s embrace of Bitcoin, and tariffs.

During their meeting at the Oval Office, Trump praised Bukele for opening his country’s prison system to house alleged gang members and detainees Trump wants to deport, and said he would send as many people living in the U.S. illegally to El Salvador as possible.

The Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, to El Salvador under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, including a Maryland resident, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, that they acknowledged was deported by mistake. However, Pres. Bukele said he did not have the power to return Garcia to the United States.

Bukele, who agreed with the Trump administration’s claim that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang. said: “How can I return him to the United States? Like if I smuggle him into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”  When asked if he’d be released in his own country, Bukele said, “We’re not very fond of releasing terrorists.” Garcia has never been charged criminally in the U.S. or El Salvador, according to court filings.

The Justice Department acknowledged that Garcia should not have been sent to El Salvador because of an immigration judge’s 2019 order barring him from being sent there, with the Supreme Court calling his removal illegal and directed the administration to “facilitate” his return while being respectful of the president’s authority.

Editorial credit: motioncenter / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Sports Daypop

Yankees’ Aaron Judge named captain of Team USA at 2026 World Baseball Classic

Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees celebrates after hitting a home run against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum. Oakland^ California - August 28^ 2021

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa announced on MLB Network that Aaron Judge has been named captain of Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. This marks the Yankees star’s debut in the tournament, after he sat out in 2023 due to free agency.

Judge expressed his excitement about the opportunity to represent the United States: “Just getting a chance to represent this country, what this country means to me. Honestly, every game, during the national anthem [and] ‘God Bless America,’ getting a chance to sit out there, for me it’s a time to reflect about all the brave men and women that have fought for this country and given me the opportunity to step on a baseball field and play a game that I love. Now, getting a chance to have ‘USA’ across my chest and represent all the great people in our country and represent what this country means, it’s a great opportunity. I never had this opportunity before, even growing up as a kid, so I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

The reigning American League MVP said Monday of his absence in 2023, where Team USA reached the finals but fell to Japan: “It wasn’t the best sitting at home watching Team USA battle. I wanted to be there I was in the middle of free agency, but I was looking forward to this opportunity again. Getting the chance to represent and be the captain is something that [Mike Trout] did last time and is a pretty special honor.”

Judge, who turns 33 this month, becomes the first player officially named to the 2026 roster and joins fellow Yankees captain Derek Jeter as one of the few to represent the franchise in the WBC.

The 2026 WBC will run from March 5–17, with games in Houston, Miami, Tokyo, and San Juan. Team USA is placed in Pool B alongside Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, and Brazil. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the quarterfinals, with the championship set for March 17 in Miami. Team USA last won the World Baseball Classic in 2017.

DeRosa, recently named manager, will be joined by a coaching staff that includes Skip Schumaker, Andy Pettitte, Matt Holliday, and others. The full roster will be revealed over the coming year.

Editorial credit: Conor P. Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Sports Daypop

Phoenix Suns fire head coach Mike Budenholzer after one season

Ex-Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer attends the Atlanta Celebrates the 3rd annual THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP on Sept. 18th^ 2017 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta Georgia - USA

The Phoenix Suns announced on Monday that they have fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after one season, and an 11th place finish in the West.

The team said in a statement: “Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season. Our fans deserve better. Change is needed.”

The firing of Budenholzer marks the third consecutive season in which the Suns have fired a head coach (they fired Monty Williams in 2023 following a second-round exit; and last season after hiring Frank Vogel as a replacement, they fired him following a first-round sweep).

Budenholzer joined the Suns on a five-year contract last offseason. An NBA champion with the Milwaukee Bucks and two-time Coach of the Year, Budenholzer  posted a winning record with the Atlanta Hawks before going to Milwaukee, where he finished with a 271-120 record. In nine of his 11 seasons at the helm he coached teams to the playoffs, while also winning the title in 2021.

Editorial credit: Jamie Lamor Thompson / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Rascal Flatts share ‘I’m Movin’ On’ collab with Kelly Clarkson

Guitarist Joe Don Rooney^ singer Gary Levox and bassist Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts perform on NBC's Today Show in Rockefeller Plaza on June 11^ 2010 in New York City.

Rascal Flatts are sharing their collaboration with Kelly Clarkson, “I’m Movin’ On” – the second song from the trio’s upcoming 10-track album, Life Is A Highway: Refueled Duets.

I’m Movin’ On, co-written by Phillip White and D. Vincent Williams, was originally released more than two decades ago on Rascal Flatts’ debut album.  Per a press release, the new version featuring Clarkson brings the song “to infectiously emotive, genre-bending heights. With award-winning artist Clarkson taking the reins and Rascal Flatts adding delicate harmonies, the anthem still hits home with a soulful, heartbreaking edge 25 years after its initial release.”

Clarkson’s collaboration with Rascal Flatts follows the trio’s pop-infused anthem “I Dare You” with the Jonas Brothers which was released earlier this year. That song was written by Jonas Brothers star Nick Jonas, along with Dan + Shay’s Shay Mooney, Dewain Whitmore Jr. and Tommy English.

Other artists appearing on Rascal Flatts’ Life Is A Highway: Refueled Duets include Blake Shelton, Backstreet Boys and more. Frontman Gary LeVox said in a statement: “It was such an honor to create this project with such incredibly talented artists, it’s a pretty indescribable feeling having your colleagues and friends do your songs in such unique ways and knock your socks off with the results. This album is just another attempt for us to thank our fans for the blessings they’ve given us on this crazy journey the past 25 years, thanks for riding along with us!”

Life Is A Highway: Refueled Duets will drop on June 6, marking the band’s 25th anniversary.

Listen to ‘I’m Movin’On’ – HERE.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Jelly Roll, Reba McEntire and Tim McGraw to perform at Nashville’s first-ever ‘Music City Rodeo’

Jelly Roll at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2024. SANTA MONICA^ USA. July 13^ 2024

Nashville will host its first-ever professional rodeo this spring, with the three-day event noted as the first and only Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeo in Nashville.

The Music City Rodeo will take place at Bridgestone Arena from May 29-31, featuring McGraw, Jelly Roll and Reba McEntire headlining shows during Nashville’s first Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) event. Check out the promo video for the Music City Rodeo – HERE.

According to a press release, “each day will showcase 7 thrilling rodeo events from bull riding to barrel racing, team roping to broncs, featuring the world’s best cowboys and cowgirls going head-to-head for over $200,000.00 in prize money. Fans will enjoy the full pageantry of rodeo with additional family-friendly activities like mutton bustin’, clowns and Rodeo Queens, before culminating each night in a headlining arena concert.”

McEntire is slated to perform on opening night (May 29), followed by Jelly on the 30th and McGraw on the 31st. McEntire shares: “It’s no secret that rodeo is in my blood, and I’m thrilled to be a part of starting a new Nashville tradition. Country music and rodeo coming together in Music City, what a perfect combination…I just knew I had to be part of it.”

Jelly Roll added: “As a Nashville native, this felt like a chance to be a part of a history-making event for the city. I have vivid memories when it was announced in Nashville that we were getting a hockey team with the Predators, or a football team with the Titans… and I watched Bridgestone Arena be built from the ground up. Headlining Music City Rodeo in my hometown as a part of the first rodeo brought to town feels like the same type of milestone.”

McGraw said in a statement, “For eight decades, Nashville’s music stars have been the soundtrack to America’s iconic rodeos — country music and rodeo go hand in hand. So, it was time to bring the magic of the rodeo home to Nashville and I’m thrilled to be bringing it here.”

Tickets for MCR are on sale now: HERE.

Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

See Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis in trailer for the sequel film ‘Freakier Friday’

Jamie Lee Curtis at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Halloween' held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood^ USA on October 17^ 2018.

Disney has shared the trailer for Freakier Friday, the sequel film to 2003’s Freaky Friday starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. Twenty-two years after the original film’s debut, Curtis and Lohan are reprising their roles as Tess and Anna Coleman, respectively.

Per Deadline, the story picks up years after Tess (Curtis) and Anna (Lohan) endured an identity crisis. Anna now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the myriad challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover that lightning might indeed strike twice. An official synopsis reads: “Years after Tess and Anna endured an identity crisis, Anna now has a daughter and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover that lightning might strike twice.”

A trailer for the film released Friday shows the mother-daughter duo visiting a psychic (Vanessa Bayer). Tess and Anna leave in a hurry but the next day, they appear to have switched places with Anna’s daughter and her “soon-to-be stepdaughter.” (Tess and Anna switched bodies in the original 2003 film).

Other returning stars from the original film include Chad Michael Murray, Mark Harmon, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Haley Hudson, Lucille Song, Stephen Tobolowsky and Rosalind Chao. Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Manny Jacinto and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan also star.

Freakier Friday will premiere on August 8; see the trailer – HERE.

Editorial credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com