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Pop Daypop

Walt Disney’s ‘Encanto’ soundtrack hits No.1 on Billboard 200 chart

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The soundtrack to the Walt Disney animated musical film ‘Encanto’ has hit No.1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.  The soundtrack jumped from 7-1 in its sixth week on the list, and is the first soundtrack to hit No.1 in more than two years, since Disney’s Frozen II sat atop the list for one week in Dec. 14, 2019.  Encanto earned 72,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 6. Streaming activity of the set’s songs drove the majority of that unit sum.

The Encanto soundtrack, with songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, was released on November 19, before the film arrived in U.S. theaters on November 24. The movie was released via the Disney+ streaming service a month later. Additionally, Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” becomes the first Disney Animation song to hit the top five on the Hot 100 since Frozen’s “Let It Go.”   You can take a listen to “We Dont Talk About Bruno” – here.

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Pop Daypop

Pink, Twenty-One Pilots, Metallica and more to headline BottleRock Napa Valley Music Festival

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The BottleRock Napa Valley music festival is scheduled to take place May 27-29 at the Napa Valley Expo, with Pink, Twenty-One Pilots and Metallica among the headliners of the three-day event.  Pitbull, Mount Westmore, and Luke Combs are also among the featured acts.

Along with the musical actds scheduled to perform on five stages, BottleRock Napa Valley features a culinary stage with celebrity chefs as well as food and drinks from the finest area restaurants, wineries and craft breweries.  BottleRock will follow all local and state health and safety guidelines in place at the time of the festival and will communicate such requirements to ticket holders before the festival.

You can check out the full lineup on the event’s official website.

For ticket information, head here.

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News Daypop

IRS says processing backlogs will likely delay refunds due to staffing shortages

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The Internal Revenue Service said on Monday that acute staffing shortages will likely delay tax refunds and other services this year as the agency prepares for the 2022 tax filing season, which will begin on January 24. IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig told reporters that this year’s window for filing tax returns for the year 2021 will run between Jan. 24 though April 18.  Rettig also said that “enormous challenges” faced by the IRS due to severe levels of understaffing will cause delays in many aspects of IRS operations, including sending out refund checks.

Agency officials said they are entering the new filing season with a backlog “several times” the typical level of 1 million unprocessed returns. Staffing issues caused by the pandemic have come in addition to a decade of significant budget cuts to the agency. From 2010 through 2018, IRS funding was cut by 20% in inflation-adjusted dollars, resulting in the elimination of 22% of its staff.

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News Daypop

Real estate heir and convicted murderer Robert Durst dies at 78

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California state prison officials announced Monday that real estate heir and convicted murderer Robert Durst has died at age 78 while serving a life sentence.  According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Durst died of natural causes early Monday while being treated at an outside hospital.

Durst was sentenced in Los Angeles County last year for first-degree murder in the 2000 death of Susan Berman. He had been housed at the California Health Care Facility, a state prison for ailing inmates in Stockton, Calif.  Durst died at San Joaquin, Calif., General Hospital; he had been put on a ventilator in October after contracting COVID-19.

Durst was sentenced to life imprisonment for the slaying of Berman, his best friend. Prosecutors accused him of killing Berman to stop her from talking about aiding him in the death of his first wife, Kathleen Durst, who disappeared in 1982 at the age of 29. Kathleen Durst’s body has never been found, but in November authorities in Westchester County, N.Y., charged Durst with second-degree murder in connection with her disappearance. Kathleen Durst’s murder case remained unsolved for decades, and made Durst the subject of a Hollywood film and an HBO documentary.  In 2015, he participated and handed over personal recordings for the HBO documentary The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. The tapes were played in California court during his trial for Berman’s death.

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Sports Daypop

NHLPA files grievance after San Jose Sharks terminate Evander Kane’s contract

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The NHL Players’ Association has filed a grievance against the San Jose Sharks for terminating the remainder of Evander Kane’s contract. The grievance contends that the Sharks did not have sufficient grounds to make the move.  The Sharks placed Kane on unconditional waivers on Saturday, saying the forward violated COVID-19 protocols while with the AHL Barracuda. Kane went unclaimed over the 24-hour period, putting the Sharks in position to terminate the remainder of the player’s contract.

The move will cost Kane about $22.9 million from the seven-year, $49 million deal he signed in May 2018. Kane is now a free agent and open to sign with any team, while awaiting the start of the grievance process.

The decision to terminate Kane’s contract comes after he faced accusations of gambling on games, purposely losing games he bet on, as well as sexual and physical abuse accusations from estranged wife, Anna. The NHL investigated and found no evidence to support those allegations, but did suspend Kane for 21 games for submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. When the suspension was lifted at the end of November, the Sharks placed Kane on waivers and sent him to the AHL when he was unclaimed.

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Sports Daypop

NFL coaching changes: Dolphins’ Brian Flores, Vikings’ Mike Zimmer, Bears’ Matt Nagy are fired

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One day after the NFL regular season ended, several clubs are making changes to their coaching staffs.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was fired, along with general manager Rick Spielman, after Minnesota finished out of the playoffs for the second consecutive year with an 8-9 record.  Zimmer, the third-winningest coach in Vikings history, compiled a 72-56-1 record over eight seasons, including two division titles and three playoff appearances.  Vikings owners Zigi and Mark Wilf said in a statement:“While these decisions are not easy, we believe it is time for new leadership to elevate our team so we can consistently contend for championships.” 

The Dolphins fired head coach Brian Flores after three seasons with Miami, the team announced Monday morning. In his third season with Miami, the Flores led the Dolphins to a 33-24 victory over the New England Patriots to finish the season with a winning record.

The Bears Matt Nagy’s exit was expected; the fourth-year coach saw his team struggling, ending the season with a 6-11 record. Both Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace were fired on Monday. Nagy was voted NFL Coach of the Year in 2018 when he led the Bears to a 12-4 record and an NFC North title.

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Country Daypop

Paramount+ to air Miranda Lambert’s “The Marfa Tapes” documentary

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Miranda Lambert’s documentary about the making of “The Marfa Tapes” will premiere on Paramount+ Jan. 20.  “The Marfa Tapes” follows the making of Lambert’s collaboration with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall as they write their Grammy-nominated album.  Following the trio for 5 days, the documentary gives viewers an inside look at the making of the 15-song collection and also includes candid interviews with Lambert, Randall and Ingram.

Lambert said in the documentary:  “I think you just let your guard down out here a little bit. You’re free to be you. It’s scary, it’s risky and very, very vulnerable and not have any fixes and not have any production, it’s just let the wind blow and the birds and the cows. I feel like we’re taking people on a raw and intimate journey.”

Take a look at a trailer for “The Marfa Tapes” documentary – here.

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Country Daypop

The Eagles extend their “Hotel California” tour with new 2022 dates

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The Eagles have extended their “Hotel California Tour”, adding North American dates that will take them through May 2022. The newly announced leg includes stops in Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Detroit, Philadelphia, Nashville, and points elsewhere. All today, The Eagles will play 22 shows between February and May.

The tour — which originally kicked off in 2020 — features the lineup of Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit alongside Deacon Frey and Vince Gill, playing 1976’s Hotel California in full. Each date promises a performance of the album with the accompaniment of an orchestra and choir, followed by a second set of greatest hits.

Tickets for the new dates go on sale starting Friday, January 14th at 10:00 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster. A pre-sale will precede the public on-sale on Thursday, January 13th (use the pre-sale code BELLS).

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Entertainment Daypop

Sidney Poitier documentary in the works for Apple, executive-produced by Oprah Winfrey

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A documentary about Sidney Poitier is in the works at Apple with Oprah Winfrey serving as executive producer.  The documentary is an Apple Original Films release from Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and Network Entertainment.

Poitier, who died last Thursday at age 94 in Beverly Hills, was the first Black man to win an Academy Award for best actor for 1963’s Lilies of the Field and opened the door for other minority performers through his work in such films as In the Heat of the Night, To Sir With Love and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?.

The documentary has been under wraps and in production with the participation of the Poitier family for more than a year, according to sources.  Filmmaker Reggie Hudlin is signed on to direct the upcoming feature. Hudlin directed The Black Godfather, the 2019 documentary about music executive Clarence Avant for Netflix, and Marshall, the 2017 Thurgood Marshall biopic starring Chadwick Boseman for Open Road.

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Entertainment Daypop

Watch the new trailer for the dramatic reimagining of Fresh Prince titled ‘Bel-Air’

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‘Bel-Air,’ Peacock’s dramatic reimagining of the Will Smith 90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, has dropped a new trailer. Bel-Air is a new series inspired by Morgan Cooper’s 2019 viral YouTube video. Cooper, who’s credited on Bel-Air as director/co-writer/executive producer, said of the series:  “With this dramatic reimagining, we wanted to create a show that stands on its own while honoring the spirit and innovation of the original series. Because Bel-Air is a drama, we’re able to really peel back the layers of these characters and themes in a way that you simply couldn’t do 30 years ago in the half-hour sitcom format. We’re able to go have tough conversations that challenge perspectives. At its core, Bel-Air is a celebration of the Black experience through the perspective of a family.”

Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith are producing the new take on the show through their Westbrook Studios. The one-hour drama stars Jabari Banks as Will, who’s left Philadelphia for a second chance.  The cast also features Adrian Holmes as Phillip Banks, Cassandra Freeman as Vivian Banks, Olly Sholotan as Carlton Banks, Coco Jones as Hilary Banks, Akira Akbar as Ashley Banks, Jimmy Akingbola as Geoffrey, Jordan L. Jones as Jazz, and Simone Joy Jones as Lisa.

Bel-Air will premiere on Feb. 13; the date coincides with Super Bowl LVI, coverage of which will be available starting at 1 p.m. ET on the Peacock platform, as well as by way of NBC and Telemundo.  For its Peacock premiere, Bel-Air will release the first 3 episodes. Moving forward, new episodes will be made available on a weekly basis.

Take a look at the trailer for Bel-Air – here.

The Fresh Prince Gets A Second Chance In Dramatic ‘Bel-Air’ Trailer

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