Cruise goers will have to wait a little longer to hop on Virgin Voyages’ ships after the company announced that it will delay its U.S. debut. Virgin Voyages postponed its … Click to Continue »
Anthony Wainscott has known his share of hardship, living the last two years on the streets of California’s Antelope Valley. But his personal misery index reached a new plateau during … Click to Continue »
The deadly collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside has brought a little-noticed loophole in Florida law to the attention of lawyers, condo management companies, Realtors, insurance companies and consumer … Click to Continue »
Olivia Rodrigo gets the upper hand in the U.K. chart battle with Queen, though there wasn’t much in it.
Rodrigo’s Sour (Geffen) snags a fourth week at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, with an advantage of just 270 chart sales over Queen’s evergreen Greatest Hits (EMI).
Sour is the U.K.’s biggest album of 2021, so far, the OCC reports. Queen’s Greatest Hits, however, is the U.K.’s biggest album of all time, shifting more than six million units since its release in 1981, and logging 985 weeks on the chart, a streak bettered only by ABBA’s Gold (1001 weeks, and counting).
The rock legends’ career retrospective enjoys a spike thanks to a 40th anniversary reissue campaign. According to the charts compiler, 78% of Queen’s final total during the week was made up of physical sales (vinyl, CD and cassette) with Greatest Hits the best-selling vinyl album of the chart week.
Elsewhere on the tally, Jack Savoretti’s Europiana (EMI) is the week’s best-seller on downloads, despite dipping 1-4, while Bo Burnham’s Inside (The Songs) (via Imperial) lifts 6-5, a new peak.
Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie and French artist Jehnny Beth score a No. 12 debut with their collaborative effort Utopian Ashes (Sony Music CG). It’s Gillespie’s 13th Top 40 appearance, the first as a solo artist, and it’s Beth’s first appearance in the upper reaches of the chart.
Over on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” (Asylum) enters a second week at No. 1, scooping 103,000 chart sales, including 10.9 million streams, an effort that eclipses its opening week.
Australian pop artist Tones And I takes off with “Fly Away,” lifting 33-25, a new high. “Fly Away” is Tones’ second Top 40 hit after 2019’s “Dance Monkey” (Parlophone), which nailed top spot for 11 weeks, a record for a solo female artist.
Finally, football fever sweeps the chart with no less than six soccer anthems landing in the Top 100.
The top scorer is “3 Lions” (Epic) by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and The Lightning Seeds, which rockets 22-4 ahead of England’s appearance Sunday (July 11) in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium.
Andy Williams, who was the drummer for Christian rock band Casting Crowns for several years, has died after suffering injuries in a motorcycle accident. He was 49.
“Early this morning, around 1:00am, Andy Williams went to be with Jesus,” read a statement shared on the band’s Instagram account on Friday (July 9). “He fought a great fight, but the injuries that he suffered took a toll on his physical body.”
The note continued: “You prayed along with us that Andy would be healed. You prayed along with us that Andy would wake up. You prayed along with us that God would perform a miracle. While we mourn that Andy isn’t here with us, and that we didn’t get to witness the miracle we longed for here on earth, all of our prayers were answered. He is healed, he is awake and we believe that he is more alive today than he has ever been. We hold fast to Paul’s words that we look not to the things that are seen, but to those things that are unseen, for they are eternal. We celebrate that Andy is in the arms of his Savior and we are grateful for the memories and laughter that Andy brought to all who knew him.”
“We can’t thank you enough for your prayers, support, and unending love,” the post said. “You have walked with us through this very difficult journey and we felt you there the entire way. We love you so much and we thank you for the support. At this time the family has requested that you respect their time together and allow them to receive some much needed rest. Please hold off on reaching out with texts and phone calls for a few days.”
Casting Crowns first told fans of Williams’ accident on June 27, when they wrote, “Our friend & former drummer, Andy Williams, was in a motorcycle accident this morning and really need your prayers!”
On Friday, the group posted a video of Williams drumming as a tribute to their late bandmate.
“We love you Andy,” they wrote. “We miss you already!”
A GoFundMe to support the needs of Williams’ family has been created, with the goal of raising $250,000. The page provided updates throughout his stay at the hospital, where he had been on a ventilator.
Williams is survived by his wife and children.
Italy won in the Euro 2020 final, beating England, but Adele continued to show unwavering support for her country’s team throughout the night.
“You did us so proud! You brought our game home and brought us all together,” Adele wrote Sunday night (July 11) on Instagram, where she shared a photo of herself wearing an England jersey, looking blissful in the garden.
Earlier in the week, she’d posted a clip watching television as she wildly cheered her team on.
“ITS BLOODY COMING HOME,” she wrote, enthusiastic that they would be taking the final to Wembley Stadium.
The tournament was originally scheduled for June 2020, but was postponed to July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
See Adele’s latest selfie below.
Justin Timberlake made an impressive shot across the golf course.
Although he was there to play golf — as part of a celebrity charity event, the 2021 American Century Championship, in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada — the pop star apparently took a moment to shoot a basketball straight into a hoop from quite a far distance, to wild applause.
“Shots between holes @acchampionship #accgolf,” Timberlake captioned the clip, which he posted Sunday (July 11) on Instagram.
On Saturday, the singer also shared a snapshot of himself on the green with Stephen Curry, both wearing butterfly-print shirts. “IT JUST HAPPENED,” Timberlake wrote.
See Timberlake’s shot below.
Britney Spears posed in deep red lingerie for a photo shared on her Instagram account this weekend.
“All has been said and done full circle,” the pop star’s Saturday (July 10) photo was captioned. “back to RED !!!!!”
For the snapshot, Spears wore a black choker, short nightie and black heels.
On Sunday, Spears’ Instagram was updated again — this time, to show off a souvenir from her Hawaii vacation.
“My beautiful find from the ocean in Maui,” read the caption on a picture of what appears to be coral.
The new Instagram updates follow last week’s topless (and mysteriously tattoo-less) look at Spears’ back.
A later post shed some light on the topless Instagram photo: “Ok so … I edited out my tattoo on my neck cause I wanted to see what it would look like clean … and yeah I like it better so while you guys are talking behind my back go ahead and kiss my a– haters !!!!!!”
Last month, Spears directly addressed an open court for the first time in 13 years since entering into a conservatorship that has controlled her life and career. In her 20-minute testimony, the singer gave a harrowing account, arguing that her family and management have been taking advantage of her and exploiting her situation for their own financial gain. Over the past week, her longtime manager and her conservatorship lawyers resigned.
See Spears’ “red” selfie below.
Until Friday, Haiti’s top two politicians were each claiming to be the rightful leader in charge of running the country in the aftermath of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. … Click to Continue »
The American Federation of Teachers presented Steven Van Zandt with its Making a Difference award on Saturday (July 10). The award, which was presented virtually during the AFT’s TEACH summer educational issues conference, recognizes the rock musician’s “years of work promoting and appreciating the work of educators.”
In a taped acceptance speech to the audience of educators, Van Zandt said, “This is an amazing award, coming from my favorite people — you! You, my friends, are the ones who make a difference every day. Teachers are on the frontlines against ignorance. Honestly, we have never needed you more.”
Van Zandt also noted that the “A” for arts in STEAM education is essential to helping engage students. STEAM is an arts-inclusive twist on the well-known STEM acronym, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“There are no wrong answers in the arts,” Van Zandt said. “The arts provide a comfort zone, and that extends to other disciplines. I can’t overstate my appreciation for all you do and for this award. I salute you. You are helping to create the next generation of engineers, scientists, doctors, nurses, artists, activists, writers and even musicians.”
Van Zandt is a founding member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and also leads his own group, the Disciples of Soul. Additionally, he is an award-winning actor and a noted activist.
With the E Street Band, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the musical excellence category in 2014. With the rest of the cast of HBO’s The Sopranos, Van Zandt received two SAG Awards (and seven nominations) for outstanding performance in a drama series.
Van Zandt, 70, attended Middletown High School in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, N.J., in the mid-to-late 1960s. He was kicked out of school for having long hair. He went back to school to appease his mother and ultimately graduated in 1968.
Randi Weingarten, AFT president, said in a statement: “Steven passionately spreads the gospel of teachers’ tireless work and actively engages with teachers and students during regular classroom visits and through teachrock.org, his free online music and arts curriculum. He lends his name and notoriety to supporting educators, which is particularly special given everything they’ve done to support students in the last year.”
She noted that Van Zandt doesn’t miss a chance to publicly promote the work of teachers, including at his concerts and on his SiriusXM radio show. He has even walked picket lines with striking teachers.
Weingarten said that the silver lining of the pandemic was that the public saw just how hard teachers worked to support their students during such challenging times. “Steven knew this long before the pandemic and speaks truth to power whenever and wherever he can.”
