That’s a wrap! Japanese Breakfast, the alt-pop brainchild of musician and author Michelle Zauner, made its musical guest debut during the season 47 finale of Saturday Night Live on May 21.

In the Natasha Lyonne-hosted episode, the act delivered a pair of songs from its 2021 album, Jubilee. The indie pop outfit opened with with the springy and rhythmic single “Be Sweet” and closed with a visually stunning performance of “Paprika.”

Zauner also made a brief cameo in a sketch titled “Women’s Commercial.” The skit also featured SNL cast members Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant, who are departing from the iconic comedy series after this season.

The 33-year-old musician, who is currently touring North America, will soon be celebrating the one-year anniversary of her June 2021 album, JubileeThe set follows Zauner’s grief-examining memoir, Crying In H Mart, and debuted at No. 56 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Tastemaker Albums chart.

Saturday’s episode marked the SNL debut for both Zauner and Lyonne. After an action-packed 47th season, the late-night show will go off the air for the summer.

Watch Japanese Breakfast’s SNL performances below, and see the full episode on Hulu here. The streaming service is currently offering a 30-day free trial, which you can sign up for here.

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One of the biggest entertainment events in Alabama, the beachfront Hangout Festival, is back after a two-year break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three-day music festival opened at the public beach in Gulf Shores on Friday (May 20), and it continues through Sunday night. More than 40,000 people are expected, and the festival already is sold out.

The festival wasn’t held during either of the last two years because of the pandemic, and organizers said there’s pent-up demand this year for a lineup that includes Post Malone, Fallout Boy, Halsey, Tame Impala and Megan Thee Stallion.

“It’s going to be really awesome to come back strong after what’s going to end up being a three-year break since the last festival,” said festival spokeswoman Marie Roussel.

Roadblocks and detours will be needed all weekend around Gulf Shores. With chances for rain and thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday, the two biggest days of the event, city officials are keeping an eye on the sky.

Organizers asked festival goers to clear out on the first day Friday as storms approached.

“When you get 40,000 people in a controlled environment like a music festival, we’re always very concerned with weather,” said city spokesman Grant Brown.

The Notorious B.I.G. is coming back to life in the metaverse.

The estate of the late rapper, born Christopher Wallace, is working with Burst Live Inc. and Surreal Events to create a new virtual world called “The Brook” — a reference to the artist’s hometown in Brooklyn — that will feature a hyper-realistic model of the man himself. The activation is expected to launch later this year and will allow fans to explore the virtual environment, purchase virtual real estate in The Brook, attend concerts, and buy and sell NFTs.

To participate, users will be able to create accounts via The Brook website and can access the world on their desktop or mobile devices. The Brook is also expected to have activations later this fall that will require VR headsets.

“Technology continues to create opportunities that are beyond one’s imagination and I’m excited that we are stepping into the future with a beautiful rendition of a hyperrealistic avatar of my son Christopher,” Voletta Wallace, Biggie’s mother, said in a statement. “I’m thankful for our wonderful team of creative partners for their work to deliver Biggie into new media for his fans to enjoy.”

The hyperrealistic model of Biggie was created from images and videos of the late rapper. The development was led by Remington Scott, the CEO of Hyperreal the VFX director best known for his work on Gollum in The Lord of The Rings and in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, and Elliot Osagie of Willingie Inc.

Burst Live Inc. will be responsible for producing content that will appear on The Brook, while Surreal Events will handle the development, hosting and maintenance of the platform. Biggie’s estate is represented by WME, which will provide support for the metaverse project.

The Biggie metaverse project follows a growing number of estates working to create virtual projects on Web3. In March, the Nelson Mandela Family announced it was creating a metaverse project, called “A Long Walk to Meta: Mandelaverse,” with NFT art collections and a “holographic” gala expected to take place in L.A. this summer.

Watch the trailer for The Brook project below, which features the voice of Biggie’s former manager, Mark Pitts.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

The Kravis wedding train has rolled into Italy.

After a Las Vegas practice wedding (no marriage license) with an Elvis impersonator officiating, followed by a small ceremony (with license) in Santa Barbara, California, Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker stepped out Friday (May 20) in the jet set playground of Portofino, a fishing village known for its multicolored houses and crystalline green water on the Italian Riviera coast.

Photographers snapped the couple, along with the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, as they arrived for dinner clad in Dolce & Gabbana. Notably absent was Scott Disick, the father of Kourtney’s three children. They took to the streets again Saturday on their way to lunch, Kourtney in a veil and short black dress emblazoned with a likeness of the Virgin Mary.

The wedding was to be held at some point over the weekend at the rented Castello Brown, a castle built in the Middle Ages overlooking the Gulf of Portofino, according to TMZ.

The reality star, 43, and the Blink-182 drummer, 46, are known for their PDA and didn’t disappoint in Portofino, where they were seen Friday on a boat sharing a kiss in the abundant sun — she in a T-shirt of her beau’s band and he in his favorite style condition: shirtless with his multiple tattoos on display.

On their way to dinner, “momager” Kris Kardashian was in a black dress on the arm of Guilherme Siqueira, a brand ambassador for Dolce & Gabbana. With sis Kim’s eldest child, North West, and her own daughter, Penelope Disick, at her sides, Kourtney wore a sheer corseted red gown and matching furry stole. Barker? Shirtless under a black suit as he walked with daughter Alabama.

The third wedding round was to include family and a small circle of close friends, with a larger reception planned later in Los Angeles, according to reports.

Barker and the oldest Kardashian sister went Instagram official with their relationship early last year. He popped the question in October, beachside with a ring of red roses and white candles at a Montecito, California, hotel. Last month, just hours after the Grammys, word of a Las Vegas wedding spread quickly, though no marriage license could be found. Kourtney later clarified they couldn’t get one in the wee hours but went ahead with a drunken practice run.

In Santa Barbara, they posted photos after making it legal at the courthouse May 15, the bride in a short white dress with veil and the groom in black, his coat buttoned up for a change. Travis’ father, Randy Barker, and Kourtney’s grandmother, Mary Jo “MJ” Campbell, were in attendance.

Kourtney didn’t marry Disick. Barker has been married twice. His first marriage, to Melissa Kennedy, lasted nine months. His last divorce, from Shanna Moakler, came in 2008. They wed in 2004 and share two teen kids, Alabama and son Landon. Barker is also close with his 23-year-old stepdaughter, Atiana De La Hoya, from Moakler’s previous relationship with former boxer Oscar De La Hoya.

The Kardashians ended their long-running Keeping Up with the Kardashians on E! last year and decamped to Hulu for a new iteration, The Kardashians, which debuted in April.

Olivia Rodrigo is reflecting on the success of her massive debut album, Sour.

The 19-year-old singer-songwriter — Billboard‘s 2022 “Woman of the Year” — took to social media on Saturday (May 21) to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Sour, which arrived last May through Geffen Records/Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA).

“my first album SOUR came out a year ago today. it is impossible for me to sum up in words how much this album means to me and how grateful I am to have gotten the privilege to make it and watch it exist in the world,” Rodrigo wrote on Instagram.

The songstress’ post included a reflective gallery of photos and videos from the past year, including images of her handwritten lyrics, a snapshot of her multiple Grammys, a text message screenshot, and more. She went on to thank producer Dan Nigro, who co-wrote and produced her breakthrough single “Drivers License.”

“thank u @dan_nigro for making it with me and believing in me more than anyone,” the three-time Grammy winner added. “and thank u to everyone who has embraced my 17 year old lamentations and forever changed my life in the process.”

Sour spent five weeks atop the weekly Billboard 200 in June-July 2021 and launched a pair of Hot 100 No. 1s in “Drivers License” and “Good 4 U.” The set finished at No. 2 on the year-end Billboard 200 Albums tally in 2021, while “Good” and “License” are Nos. 5 and 8, respectively, on the same year-end Hot 100 Songs recap.

Rodrigo was also No. 1 on Billboard’s 2021 year-end Hot 100 Artists, Hot 100 Songwriters, Billboard Global 200 Artists, Streaming Songs Artists, Pop Airplay Artists and Billboard Canadian Hot 100 Artists rankings.

See Rodrigo’s post on Instagram below.

 

Family and friends of late hip-hop icon The Notorious B.I.G. gathered for the 2nd Annual Biggie Dinner Gala at Guastavino’s in New York City on Friday (May 20).

Hosted by Lil’ Kim and presented by Lexus and Pepsi, the event was in celebration of Biggie Smalls’ 50th birthday on Saturday. Although 25 years have passed since his tragic death, the rapper’s legacy has been kept alive through monumental occasions over the years.

With a vibe similar to that of a warm family reunion, the evening started at around 8 p.m. with star-studded guests arriving on the red carpet, including Fat Joe, members of Junior M.A.F.I.A., T’yanna Wallace, Havoc, Sway, members of Smif-N-Wessun, Prayah, Ceaser Emanuel of Black Ink Crew, DJ Enuff, and many others.

B.I.G.’s son, CJ Wallace, stepped onto the carpet as he prepared for a “bittersweet” night ahead. For CJ, no matter how many years go by, he feels his father’s presence every day.

“I know he would be proud,” Wallace told Billboard. “He’s getting all his wishes up there, and everything that I’ve ever dreamed of has been obtainable for me. All of my aspirations are coming to fruition.”

“Nothing is going to be handed to me,” he added about the important lessons from his father he still carries. “I appreciate him for instilling that in me. Wanting to strive for certain things and wanting to be something that’s bigger than just ‘somebody’s son.’ It’s bigger than that for me and my sister as well.”

The carpet was later cleared for the woman of the hour, Lil’ Kim, who has always made sure to bring people together on this day, every year. However, doing so is not so easy on her heart.

“I have mixed emotions,” Kim said on the red carpet. “For me, it just never goes away. It never gets better. I’m just always missing Biggie, who I love with all my heart. It’s also a great day. It’s a celebration of his life. I’m super proud because God did something special when he put me and Biggie together.”

Later in the evening, guests checked in and made their way up a stunning, candlelit spiral staircase at Guastavino’s. At the top, attendees would first see an enormous “B.I.G.” ice sculpture, which led into a luxurious ballroom with a lively band already in full swing.

Media veteran Sway Calloway, host of Sway in the Morning, took the stage shortly after to share some of his core memories with B.I.G. Lil’ Kim closed the night out by bringing up numerous guests throughout her set, which included performances of Biggie’s most insatiable hits that kept every guest dancing all night long.

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